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Sunday, February 13, 2011

San Antonio Sights

We went downtown to see another famous mission church in San Antonio - the Alamo.  It is specifically known as Mission San Antonio de Valero.  I have been there four or five times and I love seeing it every time.

It was built in 1724 and later became a legendary focal point of American history with the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.  An overwhelmed number of Texians and Tejanos (about 200) and volunteers held out 13 days before Santa Anna and his forces (about 1800) overcame them.
Jim Bowie, Davie Crockett and Lt Col William Travis were among the causalities.   Not surprisingly the details and accounts of the battle do not all agree.  It is likely the Walt Disney and John Wayne movies of the Alamo have some legend intertwined with the facts.  But then what historical account doesn't?

Compared to the large San Jose Mission, the Alamo mission grounds downtown are considerable smaller and have been overtaken by commercial development.  But it was spectacular none the less.

A highlight was being able to talk to a conservator named Pam.  She is doing research on the interior walls of the building and documenting the types of mortar, paint, stucco and coverings.
It is meticulous and slow work but she loves what she does and is able to detect small changes and match them to earlier findings.  She can tell when the walls were repaired and who might have done it (e.g. military, church members).

After time at the Alamo, we walked across to the Hyatt hotel and went past this glass gift shop.  It reminded us of the glass artwork we saw in Grand Rapids Michigan last year.
 Very unique, beautiful and expensive.

Then we strolled along the Riverwalk.  It was conceived in the 1920's, built in the 1930's and really expanded with improvements in the 1960's.  Today, it it might be the U.S.'s closest equivalent to the canals of Venice, Italy.  I know it is really completely different but you catch my drift...,
It continues to get a lot of traffic and is one Texas' and San Antonio's most visited attractions.  It was a little cool but a spectacularly gorgeous day for a walk.

Yesterday we found a couple of flea markets in the area.  It was not hard to do - they some big ones and lots of little ones all over the San Antonio area.
Lots of produce and about everything you could image.  Some vendors had specific things (boots and hats, car parts, clothes) ~ while others were more of the garage sale variety.
I am looking for some work boots.  These were not it...

This outdoor market had a little more variety of tools.
We did not find anything we had to have but enjoyed walking around.  It was a beautiful day.

We have enjoyed our time in San Antonio and will be heading south toward Del Rio Texas.  Friends have a RV lot at Bracketville and we are looking forward to seeing what that is all about.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Glad you stopped by!

10 comments:

  1. Very interesting post (as always). It brought back some great memories of our visit last year Safe travels!

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  2. The first time we visited the Alamo we were so surprised. We had no idea in sat in the middle of development. I guess we assumed it was still out in the country.

    We took a ride on one of those barges at the Riverwalk. It was in late May and very hot. I stood up and collapsed. Heat exhaustion. I slept most of the next 3 days. I now realize the importance of being hyrated and take water along with me.

    What? Not interested in $500 boots to work in?

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  3. Nice pics of the Riverwalk, I'd sure like to visit there someday. And, of course, every kid who was a big fan of Davy Crockett still wants to visit The Alamo - including me. Thanks for a great tour!

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  4. We've spent quite a bit of time in San Antonio. Tracy's oldest son used to be stationed there. It is an interesting city with lots of history. It's a little too crowded for me, but we've enjoyed the Riverwalk many times. Sounds like you're enjoying your travels. I look forward to hearing about your next adventure. Travel safely!

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  5. Good tour of the Alamo. It was great to revisit without leaving the RV.

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  6. Nice tour of the area, thanks for taking us along with you!

    Ya just gotta stop and Market those Fleas once in a while, ya know. LOL

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  7. Nice tour of the area, thanks for taking us along with you!

    Ya just gotta stop and Market those Fleas once in a while, ya know. LOL

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  8. Enjoyed all the pics & the info on the Alamo...have been there, but it has been a loonnngg time -- ready to go back after reading this post!

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  9. Following your blog has really been saving me a lot of gas money! Getting to see and learn about all the great places has been excellent! Where we going next???

    -Mike
    97 Roadtrek 170P "Taj Ma Trek"
    HTTP://WWW.VanTramps.Com

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  10. We hope to make it to San Antonio one of these days. I was especially excited to see all the cowboy boots. I really want to own a pair of those someday too.

    Really enjoyed your blog.

    ~hippo hugs~

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