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!