Thursday January 8th 2018

I woke up this morning to more thick clouds and cold weather. It was in the mid thirties overnight and was slow to warm up. The TV weather people were back peddling from their forecasts of sun faster than a downhill racer. (Time for the winter Olympics comparisons.) The only improvement from yesterday was the wind had calmed considerably.

Long Barracks to the left and the church center frame at the Alamo. The picture is taken across the street approximately where the outside wall was located in 1835.

The weather didn’t really inspire me into action, but I’m only here until Saturday. I can’t wait for the weather to clear all week. After taking my time over breakfast to allow it to warm up into the forties, I dug my winter jacket out of the closet and headed for downtown San Antonio. After traveling twelve miles north on Interstate 37 I took the exit following the signs to the Alamo. I was right in the middle of the city surrounded by tall buildings. I found a parking garage near where I thought the Alamo was located and so the fun began.

Mission Church at the Alamo. Pictures are not allowed in side the buildings out of respect.

I’d been to downtown San Antonio once before. On a business trip to Austin eleven years ago, I toured the Alamo and River Walk. Knowing what to expect helped find the right area because I was turned around as soon as I walked out of the parking garage. I didn’t count the turns in the staircase so I was surprised when I left the building on a different side than I entered. The tall buildings and narrow streets were a challenge to navigate until I found direction signs to the Alamo.

The ruins of the old mission and fortress are located in a park area in the middle of the downtown area. The church and long barracks are the two big parts of the original Alamo that remain. There are modern day buildings and roads where the outer walls of the fortress once stood. The area seems to be maintained more as a memorial to the fallen than as a historical education tool. Without a general understanding of the history of Texas I’m not sure you’d know what was going on. The restored long barracks is maintained as a museum. It tries to provide the historical context, but it didn’t work for me. For example, one placard seems to imply that the battle for the Alamo and the “Remember the Alamo” rally cry are the reason the United States became a super power. Huh? I enjoyed my visit to the Alamo, but left confused.

River Walk

Service barge in the river under the bridge.

One of downtown San Antonio’s other big draws is the River Walk. The San Antonio river has been channeled and diverted to provide a large area along which hotels, restaurants and entertainment thrive. Passenger barges transport people along the river on tours and as water taxis. Pedestrian walkways are along both sides of the river which is located twenty feet or so below the surface streets.

The pink barge contains one of the tours.

Flowers have been planted in many areas along the banks of the river. It will look very pretty in a few weeks.

I enjoyed a walk along the River Walk looking at all the scenery and empty restaurants. It was the middle of the afternoon so not many people were eating. Most people were just walking along the river. On a warm evening I think the area would be very active. As I completed my walk along the river, I managed to find my way to the surface near the correct parking garage. I consider that a major accomplishment. Getting lost was one of the things that crossed my mind when I left the parking garage.

The sun tried to come out a couple of times during the day. By the time I got back to the RV park it was completely cloud covered again. Tomorrow is currently forecast to be another cloudy day. We will see. I’m not sure the forecasters know what is going to happen.