San Antonio, Texas
Welcome back in! I hope you’re all planning a great adventure for yourselves!! Today we go to the South…the Lone Star State, Texas! I have a bunch to say and lots to cover so let’s get to it!
There are allot of places in Texas that are worthy of seeing. Lots! I won’t cover them all, mainly from having not gone to all of them, but the ones I will cover need going to. Especially for those of German descent…I’ll let that fester a bit.
San Antonio, Texas, is a lovely, rich in heritage, city that boasts allot of history for Texas. There is a famous River Walk that winds through downtown San Antonio. To the left, Love Lock Bridge. This has been made famous, and is on the River Walk, by folks that have been married at a nearby chapel. Most of the locks have names and dates, most likely the wedding day date and only first names from what I could see, and it has snow-balled its way to what you see in the photo. You’ll have to research it more to get more facts on when exactly it started and why, but it’s an unusually neat bit of history to see whilst on the River Walk.
This is small section of the San Antonio River as it winds throughout the River Walk. Most of what you’ll see, in terms of boating, are tourist trip boats that explain to those, not in the know, out-of-towners how everything came to be that coincides with how the river formed and how the city grew-up around it. If you plan on visiting San Antonio more than once, as we have, then taking the cruise around the river is something you should do. If for no other reason than to take a load off after walking around for hours on the River Walk. But the history lesson is beneficial and if you get the right guide, can be entertaining as well. You’ll pay a nominal fee and, if you enjoyed the ride and presentation, the guides gladly accept tips. (Disclaimer) The boat pictured to the right is NOT a tour boat. Think a little wider, a little longer, open top but enclosed with bench and single seats. Think of the one you see here as a flatbed truck making a delivery.
You will see all sorts of restaurants, on both sides of, along the River Walk. Everything from Japanese to Irish, Italian to Texas BBQ and even a few fine dining places. There are statues of all sorts of people/things, man-made waterfalls, like pictured to the left, and other things. There are waterfowl to be seen and you may, as we did, see a Green Heron take roost somewhere, scoping out its next meal. Artists of all sorts will dot the River Walk and the galleries can be a nice escape from the heat. It was anywhere from 95 to 101 degrees during our visit and all the humidity you can stand…but it was still worth it to take a stroll on the River Walk one more time and enjoy everything it had to offer. There are also plenty of places to stay that are right on the river as well as throughout the city. Most places along the riverfront are well-to-do establishments and you’ll pay for it for sure, especially if you want a river view. The River Walk is easy to access from where ever you come from and you may pay a small fee, like 5 bucks as we did, to park in someone’s lot and it was all day. So, you have lots of choices.
One of the highlights, from a photographic and historical point of view, is the 5 missions you can go see with San Antonio. Pictured to the right, Mission San Jose’, is one of the larger ones to tour. Self-guided tours that are free to the public and offer some great history lessons for the area. There are even masses that are still held inside these missions, Easter being one of them.
Mission Espara is also on the tour for the missions and is really, a very photogenic structure. Not nearly as big as the rest of them, but very lovely and quaint inside the chapel. Not a bad photo to be had here, even on an overcast day like we had.
Now, we have been to all 5 missions, you can actually participate in the National Park, The San Antonio Mission National Historical Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can pay to go on a tour, gathering all sorts of historical facts from a well-knowledged guide or, if you’re feets is in good shape, you can get on the trail and walk, or ride, you can rent bikes/scooters, as it is 10 miles in length but hooks all the missions together. To the left, Mission Valero, is the most famous of the five. Davey Crockett keeps watch out front of this mission.
Mission Valero. This mission is better known as The Alamo. Davey Crockett and others, laid their lives down in a hail of gunfire from the Spanish Army. They held their position for a while, but the shear numbers of the Spanish Army overtook Mission Valero and left no one alive. Going into the main hall, through the front doors, you look around the entire room and see the bullet torn walls and what hellish reality they all lived, and died, in. It’s such an eerie feeling. But it’s all part of the history of San Antonio and how it formed. Go, do, be and enjoy. You will not be disappointed in any of it!
That’s going to do it for this edition of The Nomadic Lensman! I hope you enjoyed this episode and next time, I’ll speak to all of you folks of German descent…and those who have no German in their blood, all will find interesting the history of Texas that I’ll serve up next week! Until then, as always, be and travel well.
