As you all know, I was rather forced to drive across the southern tier of the country a while back, due to family emergencies and a car that I still have to sell. I visited some wonderful cities, and met some amazing people. I ate some fabulous local cuisine, and soaked up as much local culture as I dared. But, I have to say, the drives are sometimes long and the landscape often had me puzzled.
One of the times that happened was on our way from Roswell, New Mexico to San Antonio, Texas. We had to drive a large part of a day on country highways through oil and ranch land. Somewhere amongst the sagebrush, mesquite, dry grass, and empty riverbeds; I learned a lot.
We spent six hours or so looking at the world go by. It was largely flat and barren. There was an occasional town, and by town I mean a group of houses and a gas station or so. There just isn't much out there.
We saw some vehicles, mostly trucks. I saw some gates to ranches, but no buildings in most cases. I saw cows in the fields, eating the dried grass and no water in sight. They were healthy, so someone was taking care of them. I saw oil fields, pumping away and large fields of wind turbines.
I actually saw tumble weeds tumbling. We crossed several rivers that held no water. I saw forests of mesquite and a few evergreen trees along the way. Cactus abounded.
The roads were straight and long. The gas stations and such were available every couple of hours, and sometimes there was food available. I didn't see many rigs. They were all south of us on I-10.
I've been to a lot of vast, desolate places in my time. I've been all over Arizona and the Grand Canyon. I've been to Iowa and Kansas. I've been to Iceland. I've been through the woods of Oregon, North Carolina, and Maine. I've never seen anything like west Texas. Very rarely, I become uneasy in a vast, desolate place with no people, and I had that experience there. There was so much of nothing that I started to fear it would never end. Not a feeling I like.
Would I ever return to that section of Texas? No. Would I return to Texas? Yes. Why?
San Antonio for one.
We eventually found I-10 and headed east to San Antonio, and the whole world changed again. We found ourselves in a labyrinth of multi lane connectors and bypasses, winding our way to the center of the city where history abounds.
The Alamo still stands in the center of downtown, and there is much to learn about the missions, and the famous last stand. An hour before reaching the amazing city, I was wondering if we would ever see human life again. Apparently, yes we would.
We had to take a few connectors to our hotel for the night, which was in a rather industrial district where working people lived. We went for some supplies and met some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. I sometimes don't want to pay the exorbitant prices to stay in the tourist district in a city like San Antonio, where the tourist attractions are virtually all in one place for convenience. The hotels along the river are ridiculously priced and not nearly as quiet as our section of town was. Good advice for visiting a city where the tourist section of town is its own separate neighborhood.
The Alamo, the plaza, and the mission churches are the oldest part of San Antonio that you visit today. There are several places around the Alamo that teach you different aspects of the history of it. They even have Lego displays.
Shopping is something that you can't escape in the downtown that even still has a Hard Rock Cafe. There are gift shops all around the plaza and inside the Alamo. You have ample chances to buy a souvenir from the Alamo.
We took the walking tour, which is free and you can easily guide yourself and read everything along the way. Because of covid, you must get a free ticket with an entrance time on it to enter. You are free to roam most parts of the complex, save the chapel where you have to enter at your assigned time and exit out the back of the building. Everywhere else you can wander at your leisure.
I enjoy visiting historical places and learning about historical events. The Alamo delivers on both counts. We all know the story of its fall. But, it's more than just the battle that's covered on the grounds. You also learn about how the soldiers lives were inside. They teach you about the daily workings and everything. Fascinating. A must see, even though it's a total tourist attraction, and not my normal highlight.
San Antonio is set up for tourists. There are about a thousand signs leading you to the tourist area. Parking is easy to find, navigate and purchase. There is no free parking. The Alamo is the center of attention, and the world famous river walk is only steps away down some stairs.
The San Antonio River Walk started as a flood control project in the 1920's, functionally finished by 1940. By the mid to late 40's enough of mother nature's temper tantrums had been successfully thwarted and the area started to become noteworthy for visitors with the opening of the Riverwalk Restaurant. The rest, as they say, is history. Nowadays, if you don't take a ride along the river and check out some of the local restaurants, bars, and stores; you haven't really visited San Antonio.
One of the things every visitor should know about the San Antonio River is that it is a natural river. The downtown section is designed to control it. You must go below street level to visit the river walk and its businesses. For me, it was the first real body of water I'd seen in weeks.
Another thing that everyone should be aware of when visiting is that there are different kinds of boat transportation and there are different areas to catch different voyages. Ask around if you don't pick up a brochure anywhere. There is basically a water taxi you can catch, but it doesn't always run. There is a tour which is boarded in a different area that will take you on a great tour of the downtown river area. Go Rio is a boat tour company that operates pretty much every day of the year. You can purchase tickets by Commerce Street along the river.
I say that the tours go most days, simply because they were operating while we were there, and it was cold. I don't mean a little chilly. Cold. I wore a hoodie and a parka. I almost took out my gloves. That was a problem that plagued us the entire trip through the south and the reason why we were driving so far south that we could see the Mexican border several times. We had to stay south of the snow.
The trip along the downtown river takes a little over half an hour and travels five miles around the area. It's a lovely trip with a great guide who tells a lot of the history and points out some great special places where you can do anything from eat, sleep, drink, see a concert, or even get married. Cold or not, it was a great ride. They have specialty cruises like dinner cruises as well.
We took time to try some local food and drink in some of the restaurants along the river. Our tour guide on the boat warned us of too much partying, and that most people who end up in the river are just drunk, so we didn't have much alcohol. Just in case.
San Antonio's downtown is a feast for the senses. It's full of art, history, cuisine, drink, scenery, and one gigantic engineering marvel. It's a one of a kind experience, and we only had time to check out very little of it all. I would like to return to San Antonio and the area with some more time to spend in warmer weather. I feel like I missed even more than the multitude of sights I saw. It was cold, and no one cared. It was dreary and no one cared. San Antonio is a beautiful city, and we had a really good time.
So, should you isolate yourself to the Alamo and downtown district? No. I loved meeting people who lived closer to our hotel. Like I said, there was more to see and do. I didn't hardly scratch the surface. So, visit the Alamo and the River Walk, but take the time to check out the rest of that amazing town. I guarantee it's worth it, and I intend to go back sometime. But, for now, I got a taste and it was great, so try it out and enjoy!
https://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/SanAntonioTX/activity/?msclkid=19b65a38b9dd19f59f06386d081bee95
https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/
https://enchantingtexas.com/san-antonio-riverwalk/
https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/DAO/RiverWalkMap-RiverBend.pdf
https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/san-antonio-river-walk/
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/satdt-san-antonio-marriott-riverwalk/overview/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/HotelsNear-g60956-d105056-San_Antonio_River_Walk-San_Antonio_Texas.html
https://www.tripsavvy.com/san-antonio-river-walk-guide-4774940
https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Riverwalk+Restaurants&find_loc=San+Antonio%2C+TX
https://texastourism.com/SanAntonioPackages/
https://www.tourtexas.com/destinations/san-antonio
https://www.sanantonio.com/attractions
https://texastourism.com/sanantonioattractions/
https://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/things-to-do/visitors-guide/
https://www.travelocity.com/Cheap-Flights-To-San-Antonio.d178303.Travel-Guide-Flights
https://www.cheapflights.com/flights-to-san-antonio-tx/
https://www.thealamo.org/visit/
https://www.passporttoeden.com/visiting-the-alamo/
https://www.tripsavvy.com/restaurants-on-the-san-antonio-riverwalk-1656359
https://www.sanantonioriverwalk.com/san-antonio-riverwalk-restaurants/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-grotto-san-antonio
https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/san-antonio-texas
https://www.sanantonioriverwalk.com/nightlife-on-the-riverwalk/
https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/events/
https://www.sanantoniocityinfo.com/riverwalk-bars/
https://sanantonio.culturemap.com/eventdetail/grand-hyatt-san-antonio-river-walk-loteria/
https://www.sanantonio.gov/Mission-Trails/Mission-Trails-Historic-Sites/Missions
