February 2nd--Scenic Tour

Tuesday morning was again cold, damp and cloudy. We wanted to see more of the area and since it was not nice to be outside we decided to take a scenic drive through the area west of San Antonio. We followed the map describing the "Hill Country Trail". It was a very nice drive through hills and valleys with many streams. The terrain changed numerous times from rocky, barren areas to open fields with trees and cactus. We passed many large ranches with cattle and goats---lots of goats. Not sure what the goats are raised for but there seemed to be more than cattle.

The drive took us through Bandera the "Cowboy Capital of The World".

We stopped for lunch in Medina which is a very small town about one block long. The cafe was such a cute little place and almost full. Harry had a very large piece of brisket with potato salad, beans, bread and tea for $9 and I had a smoked sausage wrap. All was very good and the waitress was very friendly. When I asked if they had a restroom she pointed and said "outside on the side". We laughed when we realized it was a porta-potty!
As we drove after lunch the sun actually peaked out once in awhile. Total miles we drove was about 120 so we were glad to be home late in the afternoon.

San Antonio--River Walk

Since we were already damp and cold
from the drizzle we decided that we
could not visit San Antonio without
doing some of the River Walk. The river runs right through the middle of the business district a few steps below the city streets. The river is lined with paved walk ways providing for a great place to stroll and visit the galleries and craft shops. In nice weather it would be a great place to have dinner along the river---there are numerous restaurants with outside dining. The paths are lined with trees and flowers and are lighted at night. There is a boat ride you can take with a narrator giving information along the way. Or you can take the boat as a taxis, hopping on and off when you want to see something. We really did enjoy the short area we walked in but would
like to do this again in nice weather!

San Antonio---Buckhorn Saloon

The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum is a fun place to visit. It has over 520 mounted animal species on display from all over the world. The museum is a step back to the Old West with artifacts from Texas history. There are horns of all shapes and sizes every where you look. It all started in 1881 when the owner offered to trade deer horns for a beer or a shot of whiskey. The saloon is still operated as a bar and restaurant.

San Antonio--San Fernando Cathedral

The San Fernando Cathedral was founded in 1731 by colonists from Spain and is the oldest parish in Texas. A lady on the trolley told me that in the 1830's the church and the Alamo were the only things in the area. Many improvements and restorations have been made to the cathedral over the years. It is just beautiful inside. There are many statues and beautiful stained glass windows. It was very hard to take pictures because there were several people praying and kneeling at the alter and I felt I was intruding on their private time. I wish you could see the alter and the area above it. It is all overlayed with real gold. The church is open from 6 AM to 4:30 PM daily and they still have mass every Saturday.

San Antonio--The Alamo

Harry was very interested in seeing the Alamo. It happened to be across the street from the visitor center so we started our touring there. We first saw the film "Alamo...The Price of Freedom" at the IMax theatre. It was a 45 min. film depicting the 13 day seige in 1836 between the Mexicans and the Texans at the Alamo. Very informative and helped us understand what the Alamo was all about. Over 200 men were killed there, including David Crockett, Jim Bowie and the commanding leader William Travis. The Mexican army out numbered them by about 2,000 men thus resulting in the Mexicans overtaking the Alamo. The battle was very important in the fight for Texas Independence.

Several months later Sam Houston and his army defeated the Mexicans

allowing Texas freedom from Mexican

rule.

The building to the right is part of the original Alamo where many of the men died. There are also rooms where the women and children hid. It is now the Shrine honoring the men who fell in defense of the Alamo. Many of the old stone walls have been rebuilt.

February 1st--San Antonio

On Monday we decided to make the most of our time despite the weather. It was very cloudy and damp with the temperature 39 degrees but the rain prediction was only 20% for the day so we thought we had better do our outside sight seeing today. So we dressed in layers and set out for San Antonio. As we were driving into the city it started to rain lightly but we were almost there and too late to turn back. We first found our way to the visitor center and after gathering information set out on foot to do our touring. It continued to drizzle the entire day and by 3:30 in the afternoon we were damp, cold and tired. We also wanted to get out of the city before the rush hour exodus.

January 31st--Medina Lake

Sunday we left Conroe and drove to Lakehills, Texas, about 40 miles west of San Antonio. It was a cold, damp drive with the heater blasting the entire way. The Medina Lake campground is way out and you feel like you are driving to nowhere. As soon as we arrived at the gate we started to see the many deer here that everyone talks about. We were lucky to find a relatively dry site with 50 amp. After setting up we took a short walk---it was still only 40 degrees. It had stopped raining and the sun even came out for about an hour before it set. The deer roam freely right up to the campers and even get within several feet of you when out walking. They didn't even seem to mind that Kate had her eye on them. We are here for 3 days and the weather prediction is for up to 90% rain each day and temps of 50 degrees. Guess we will have to make the best of it.