Mission San Juan
Monday, February 06, 2006
San Antonio
We had an absolutely beautiful day for sightseeing today! It was sunny and a little breezy, but that kept it from being too warm. Our drive was an easy hour into San Antonio and we found parking right away - just a short walk from The Alamo.
It was very strange to see this mission/fort right in the middle of a city! I am so used to these type of historical areas being out of the way, with lots of land or gardens surrouding them. But, here was The Alamo right smack in the middle of San Antonio.
These structures are well-maintained, considering they are almost 300 years old! All of the missions we visited are that old - amazing! We think we are so smart here in the 21st century, but the masonry of these buildings is just phenomenal. And when you think how hard they had to work to build them, well, it's just mind-boggling. At least to me.
From The Alamo we walked along the River Walk. This is a below the city walk that meanders along the San Antonio River. I must admit to being a little disappointed with this. We had visited Savannah and went to its River Walk and I was expecting something similar. It was not. Savannah's is along its river and outside. This walk is under a mall and a couple of hotels. It was pretty, but just unexpected. Glad we did it, though. A picture of a waterfall along the River Walk is posted here.
After the River Walk, we went back to the truck to drive the nine-mile Mission Trail. This course takes you to four additional missions that were founded to bring Christianity, specifically Catholicism, to the Indians. Again, all of the buildings were gorgeous. And they were all different, which was surprising to me because they were all commissioned by the same folks - Catholic friars. We really enjoyed seeing the differences. We were also surprised to find that each of the missions, with the exception of The Alamo, are still in use. They all have congregations and hold regular services. That was pretty cool. One of them even has an active convent!
The Mission Trail follows the San Antonio River. We had to cross it a couple of times in order to continue along the trail. There were signs that gave you a detour to follow if the water levels were high and you couldn't cross. It was pretty cool - haven't fjorded a river in quite a while! Just to the left of one of the crossings, there was a small waterfall. I've included a picture of that.
I've posted pictures of each of the missions. For more pictures from different views and for inside pictures, just go to our Webshots site. I took a lot of pictures, including one of each sanctuary. Again, it was interesting to see how differently each sanctuary was decorated. The grounds of each mission were different as well.
Hope you enjoy. We're going back to San Antonio tomorrow to visit a couple of historic neighborhoods. So, more pictures to come!
It was very strange to see this mission/fort right in the middle of a city! I am so used to these type of historical areas being out of the way, with lots of land or gardens surrouding them. But, here was The Alamo right smack in the middle of San Antonio.
These structures are well-maintained, considering they are almost 300 years old! All of the missions we visited are that old - amazing! We think we are so smart here in the 21st century, but the masonry of these buildings is just phenomenal. And when you think how hard they had to work to build them, well, it's just mind-boggling. At least to me.
From The Alamo we walked along the River Walk. This is a below the city walk that meanders along the San Antonio River. I must admit to being a little disappointed with this. We had visited Savannah and went to its River Walk and I was expecting something similar. It was not. Savannah's is along its river and outside. This walk is under a mall and a couple of hotels. It was pretty, but just unexpected. Glad we did it, though. A picture of a waterfall along the River Walk is posted here.
After the River Walk, we went back to the truck to drive the nine-mile Mission Trail. This course takes you to four additional missions that were founded to bring Christianity, specifically Catholicism, to the Indians. Again, all of the buildings were gorgeous. And they were all different, which was surprising to me because they were all commissioned by the same folks - Catholic friars. We really enjoyed seeing the differences. We were also surprised to find that each of the missions, with the exception of The Alamo, are still in use. They all have congregations and hold regular services. That was pretty cool. One of them even has an active convent!
The Mission Trail follows the San Antonio River. We had to cross it a couple of times in order to continue along the trail. There were signs that gave you a detour to follow if the water levels were high and you couldn't cross. It was pretty cool - haven't fjorded a river in quite a while! Just to the left of one of the crossings, there was a small waterfall. I've included a picture of that.
I've posted pictures of each of the missions. For more pictures from different views and for inside pictures, just go to our Webshots site. I took a lot of pictures, including one of each sanctuary. Again, it was interesting to see how differently each sanctuary was decorated. The grounds of each mission were different as well.
Hope you enjoy. We're going back to San Antonio tomorrow to visit a couple of historic neighborhoods. So, more pictures to come!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Gruene, Texas
Started the day by going to church. There is a Baptist church located (very conveniently) just across the street from the campground. It was such a beautiful day, we walked to church! They are beginning a revival today and their guest speaker is named -- you're NOT gonna believe this -- Bubba Stahl!! YES, I said BUBBA!!! Now, where else but in Texas, the Bible Belt, would you find a preacher named Bubba. Randy and I just laughed! It was a great way to start the day. And, Bubba wasn't too bad. This church is a nice mix of contemporary praise & worship and traditional. We really enjoyed it.
We then headed to the historical town of Gruene (pronounced "greene"). Again we found the strong German influence here. It seemed every building has a historical marker on it, giving its history. I didn't load those pictures on the blog, but if you're interested, you can go to our Webshots website to see them.
We had lunch at the Gristmill Restaurant which overlooks the Guadalupe River. This building was originally the town's cotton gin and was built in 1878. The food was great and not that expensive (which, of course, is always a consideration!) and we were seated outside in the 75 degree weather. It was wonderful. We didn't have a table overlooking the river, but that probably wasn't a bad thing. I looked at those tables and it was kinda queasy looking down at the river and that was just walking by! So, I'm not too sure I would have liked eating there.
After lunch we just walked through the town, looking at the different shops and enjoying the beautiful weather. We just can't believe it's February! Sorry to rub it in, but we are loving it. A "cold" front is supposed to come through tonight and it's only going to be in the mid-60s the rest of the week. AWWWWWWW, poor us! :) I know all of you in Maryland are just feeling so sorry for us. hahaha
We're off to visit San Antonio tomorrow. We're going to the Alamo and then several other missions. Really looking forward to that. More pictures to share, I'm sure!
We then headed to the historical town of Gruene (pronounced "greene"). Again we found the strong German influence here. It seemed every building has a historical marker on it, giving its history. I didn't load those pictures on the blog, but if you're interested, you can go to our Webshots website to see them.
We had lunch at the Gristmill Restaurant which overlooks the Guadalupe River. This building was originally the town's cotton gin and was built in 1878. The food was great and not that expensive (which, of course, is always a consideration!) and we were seated outside in the 75 degree weather. It was wonderful. We didn't have a table overlooking the river, but that probably wasn't a bad thing. I looked at those tables and it was kinda queasy looking down at the river and that was just walking by! So, I'm not too sure I would have liked eating there.
After lunch we just walked through the town, looking at the different shops and enjoying the beautiful weather. We just can't believe it's February! Sorry to rub it in, but we are loving it. A "cold" front is supposed to come through tonight and it's only going to be in the mid-60s the rest of the week. AWWWWWWW, poor us! :) I know all of you in Maryland are just feeling so sorry for us. hahaha
We're off to visit San Antonio tomorrow. We're going to the Alamo and then several other missions. Really looking forward to that. More pictures to share, I'm sure!
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Texas Hill Country
Took a long drive today into the Texas Hill Country. Our campground is at the east end of the hill country, so we just headed west. We got to Johnson City, boyhood home of LBJ, and stopped to tour it. Pretty interesting. They were one of the few families to have running water in their home - and it was done by a windmill system! The National Park Service has also preserved the original Johnson Settlement in Johnson City which was started by LBJ's grandparents. Got some good pictures.
Then we continued west and went past the LBJ State & National Historical Parks. These include a living history farm and LBJ's ranch. We didn't stop to tour because you had to take their trolley and it took 2.5 hours to tour. We had Blackie with us and it was getting later in the afternoon, so we marked that down to do the next time we were in this area.
Another half hour west found us in Fredericksburg. There is a very strong German heritage in the Texas Hill Country, and it is evident here in Fredericksburg. Very quaint town with lots of unique shops, many of which have a German flavor. We did take a tour of the Pioneer Museum. This was the home of one of the original German settlers in the area - Henry Kammlah. The original structure was built in 1849 and was added to as his family and their needs grew. Other structures on the site were brought in from other areas, but they are all original structures. Sure makes you grateful for our technology!! One of the coolest things we saw in the museum is the Peace Treaty document that was agreed to between the German settlers and the Comanche Nation. This was brouight about because of the vision of one of the German settlers' leaders, John Meusebach. He knew they would never survive unless they could come to a peace agreement with the tribe. In the followig 150+ years, the treaty was never broken by either side. This allowed five million acres of land to be colonized in Central Texas. Pretty amazing!!!
We really like this area. Going into another historical German town tomorrow, Gruene (pronounced "greene"). Then on to San Antonio Monday & Tuesday.
Hope you enjoy the pictures. These are just a few of what we took today. If you want to see more, go to our website where we've posted all of the pictures. http://community.webshots.com/user/guiler85/0
Take care!! We love you all.
Then we continued west and went past the LBJ State & National Historical Parks. These include a living history farm and LBJ's ranch. We didn't stop to tour because you had to take their trolley and it took 2.5 hours to tour. We had Blackie with us and it was getting later in the afternoon, so we marked that down to do the next time we were in this area.
Another half hour west found us in Fredericksburg. There is a very strong German heritage in the Texas Hill Country, and it is evident here in Fredericksburg. Very quaint town with lots of unique shops, many of which have a German flavor. We did take a tour of the Pioneer Museum. This was the home of one of the original German settlers in the area - Henry Kammlah. The original structure was built in 1849 and was added to as his family and their needs grew. Other structures on the site were brought in from other areas, but they are all original structures. Sure makes you grateful for our technology!! One of the coolest things we saw in the museum is the Peace Treaty document that was agreed to between the German settlers and the Comanche Nation. This was brouight about because of the vision of one of the German settlers' leaders, John Meusebach. He knew they would never survive unless they could come to a peace agreement with the tribe. In the followig 150+ years, the treaty was never broken by either side. This allowed five million acres of land to be colonized in Central Texas. Pretty amazing!!!
We really like this area. Going into another historical German town tomorrow, Gruene (pronounced "greene"). Then on to San Antonio Monday & Tuesday.
Hope you enjoy the pictures. These are just a few of what we took today. If you want to see more, go to our website where we've posted all of the pictures. http://community.webshots.com/user/guiler85/0
Take care!! We love you all.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Canyon Lake & Dam
Seems like we are always near a lake! There is a walk across this dam - it was cool. Literally as well as figuratively, the wind was blowing! We walked about 1/3 of the way across and got some nice pictures. I'm pretty excited about one of the pictures I got - it's a beautiful shot of the sun setting. Hope you enjoy it as well as the others.
Getting Settled
Our first day in any new town is usually spent settling in - going to the grocery (WalMart Super Center!!!), driving around to get a feel for the area, etc. BUT, today our first thing to do was go to CRACKER BARREL!! Yes, we have one about a half hour from the campground! We saw it yesterday as we were coming down the road and Randy said that's our first stop tomorrow. I thought maybe he was kidding - well, he wasn't! :) So, here's a picture of Randy in front of the San Marcos, TX Cracker Barrel. And, yes, we did get to the grocery eventually.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Moving On
Here's a picture Barb took of us Monday. Are we just gorgeous!?!?! Wasn't planning on having my picture taken, can't you tell!?
We leave Thursday for Canyon Lake, TX. It's a small town about an hour north of San Antonio. This will be a very short trip - only about 4 1/2 hours. Really looking forward to seeing San Antonio. Seems to be a lot to see. Hopefully, we'll get some good pictures so you can "visit," too.
We leave Thursday for Canyon Lake, TX. It's a small town about an hour north of San Antonio. This will be a very short trip - only about 4 1/2 hours. Really looking forward to seeing San Antonio. Seems to be a lot to see. Hopefully, we'll get some good pictures so you can "visit," too.
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