The San Antonio (Part II)

San Antonio, Texas
(Part II)


A Day Out on the "Mission Trail"

 The Missionary Position

The next day came too soon! Time for some exercise. Thankfully, San Antonio has a very efficient and reliable city-bike rental system. In no time, we were out along the river, cycling to all four Spanish Missions along “Mission Trail”, each one a historical treasure and for us, a treat for all the hard work.





The stars of the show were definitely the first mission we visited, "Conception".....

... and "San Jose", the second and very large mission on our route.  It was here that we took a wonderful tour of this very extensive mission.  

One thing seemed to intrigue me though, as we made our way from building to building:

Eerie!

The faces of the natives these missions once served still, still seemed to be in the stone edifices and walls that they built.

The latter two missions on the Trail involved a lot more pedaling and sadly some slightly anti-climatic results. I guess there's a reason why tour buses only hit the first two.


As for the day, the beautiful weather, the wild life, 

the guided tours, the gentle exercise, 








.......the company, and plain good history made it amazing.


                         One great museum

Any visit to San Antonio has to include a museum visit. Our choice was the brand new and very modern Briscoe Museum, which as you can see below highlights.........

......American Western Art, telling a story of perseverance, conflict, hope, and survival in the taming of the West. It was simply an amazing place.

A "fair-ly" good time...

...At Hemisfair Park: 

On our last night in S.A, Ken and I found time to visit the official 1968 World's Fair site, Hemisfair Park, for a quick beer at the top of the Tower of the Americas. 

 Just a short walk from our condo, the 750-foot Tower's observation deck was the right place to get a night panorama of the whole city and of course,  of a “Shiner Bock”.

An added bonus:
Two quick visits to the King William District and the Historical Arts Village of La Villita were a delight.  They offered both a peek into the past of San Antonio and a welcome walk in the warm Texas sunshine. 

Oh, and one last thing:
Heading down to the lobby in the elevator one morning, an old rancher, in town for the Rodeo, saw my Canada pin and remarked somewhat disheartened that he had seem the two Olympic Hockey Games (Canada won two gold medals.) on T.V. There was some wisdom in what he said next so I thought I'd pass it on:

“Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”

Adiós mis amigos.

Next stop: Austin, Tx
Until then.