I think everyone who comes to San Antonio has to do 2 things: 1) Walk along the Riverwalk 2) Visit The Alamo. Both sites are located in downtown San Antonio, and it's a very pleasant atmosphere in which to get a feeling about San Antonio. It seems like there are about a hundred freeways zipping in and out of San Antonio, but traffic really isn't that bad. They seem to be quite used to us tourists, and driving around with NY plates, I noticed that people expected me to get in the wrong lane most of the time. Satellite Sue did a pretty good job getting us into the downtown area, and Debbie and I soon found a parking spot for the jeep. We had come down Sunday evening after arriving from Houston, and we spent a few hours walking along the river, looking at the tourists and checking out the menu's in front of the numerous restaurants bordering the canal. We even found an Irish pub, and had to stop in for a quick beer and an Irish coffee for Deb.
There were pontoon boats moving tourists around and the operators told the stories of old San Antonio. Again, the weather was quite cool, and the area would probably been a little more inviting if the flowers and trees were in bloom. All the shops and restaurants were busy, and we settled down at a little Mexican place and gorged ourselves on some pretty good carne asada. We wandered over to the San Fernando Cathedral and discovered that in the front entryway, the burnt remains of the heroes of the battle of The Alamo are kept. Everyone seemed to be very respectful of the remains, some pausing to say a little prayer before proceeding into the Cathedral.
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The inside of the Cathedral was very modest, except for the wall behind the altar where the Tabernacle and Cross were displayed, which was a complete wall of gold. Extraordinary! Pope John Paul must have been pleased. We attended Daily Mass today since we had missed the Sunday Mass. I'm probably going to hell....but this is what I witnessed. The introduction to the Mass was given by a nun speaking in Spanish. The priest was either from Pakistan or India, and said the Mass in English. Except for the sermon, which he gave in Spanish. I have never heard someone from Pakistan speaking Spanish!
Today, Debbie and I went over to the imax theater near the Alamo, and saw a 45 minute movie on the battle. It seemed to make the events that occurred a little clearer in our minds, and looking at the ruins made a little more sense. The area around The Alamo is quite touristy, and the kids seemed more interested in the "Tomb Raiders" across the street, but all in all, the State of Texas does a pretty nice job.
The carriage rides in San Antonio are quite a bit fancier than in Natchez, and i just couldn't see myself taking a ride in a Princess Carriage. i know Debbie would have taken my picture and within minutes, the whole world would see.
Tomorrow we're heading for San Angelo, just up the street a bit. My BP classmate Randy and his wife have invited us over for a visit. I haven't seen Randy since 1983. I wonder if we've changed???
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