Another one off the bucket list

We left Louisiana, although reluctantly. All that fresh seafood at our fingertips was too tempting. But San Antonio was near the top of my bucket list and our next stop.

We were right beside the Alamo and didn't even recognize it. It just looked like a walled Spanish garden, and indeed they have made the back of it into just that. They have walkways and koi ponds and benches. The facade of the Alamo is widely recognized, but coming on the side, this is what you see.

The other thing not widely publicized is how close to all the downtown buildings the Alamo is. You can see the top of the courthouse on the other side of the old barracks. It is on the other side of the street, and there are highrises and office buildings and hotels all around it. It is literally in the middle of the city. But when you step inside, you enter a whole different world. The old mission chapel is a shrine and you are not allowed to take pictures or talk loudly, and men must take off their hats. The old barracks had been made into a museum with all the artifacts and history timelines. Anyone who has had the misfortune of waiting for us in a museum (sorry, D4!) will know that we read every written piece presented, and scrutinize the artifacts. Thus, it was well after lunch before we came back out into 2011.

Lunch was taken at the famous RiverWalk. San Antonio has made pathways along both sides of the river, at a level lower than the street so the traffic noise doesn't intrude. There are cafes and bars and shops all along the river and boats motoring quietly up and down. There are also no handrails along the waterside of the walkways, and weekends can be relied on to have at least one partygoer fall into the river. Good thing it is only three feet deep.

By the time we finished walking up and down the river, the lights had been turned on. It became a fairyland of Christmas lights on all the trees, boats and bridges. We walked to a outside concert area to sit and watch a performer singing Christmas songs on the other side of the river. It was a very full day, and we drove back to the trailer pleasantly tired.




The weather has now turned, and it is drizzling. Our tourist day was beautiful weather, but today is a good day to travel. So on we go.

W