SAN ANTONIO TEXAS

SAN ANTONIO TEXAS

A day in San Antonio we started the day off early to visit a few places on our list. We went to the downtown area to find a local parking lot. The price was $5 for 3 hours across from the Alamo. Best deal, we did everything under 3 hours.

First on our list was visit The Alamo. Admission free. http://www.thealamo.org/ Since we were there early we got our picture and went inside with very few people. No picture allowed inside The Alamo main exhibits room. The Alamo takes a picture of you as you enter the main exhibit room and are available for sale on site or online. The online are not free like Jack Daniels was.

Second on the list for downtown San Antonio was the river walk boat ride. http://riosanantonio.com/ Again, early and few people so there was no line for tickets or wait for seat on the boat. Admission $8.25, but $6 for military. The boat ride is about 45 minutes. The city of San Antonio was going to drain and fill in the river walk, but for the idea of one person to vote against it to keep the remarkable sight and build the city around the river walk ... best idea ever!

Saint Anthony the given name of San Antonio

Cafe's line the famous river walk

Amphitheater seat on one side of the river with the stage on the other (not pictured)  

We had about one hour left on our parking spot so we walked around did some shopping and ate Haagen Dazs ice cream.

      

About 20 minutes away we went to a Japanese tea garden that had a remarkable view where we ate our packed lunch and enjoyed the sights. We then took a peaceful walk admiring the park that dates back before WWII. The Japanese family that oversaw the tea garden was rounded up and sent to Japanese prison camps. After the war the family returned and made it what it looks like today.

National Parks are reopened and the last visit of the day was to Missions San Jose National Park. This National Park along with the work of the Missions were questionable in my mind. Native Indians came to these Missions for safety from the stronger aggressive tribes taking what ever they wanted that was in the way. However, these Indians who seeked safety behind the walls had to leave there way of live behind by changing their given names to Spaniards and learning to speak Spanish and learn the ways of the church. They lived in the wall that protected the Mission and had to pay the highest taxes. Those who did not learn all the stages of the church before death was not allowed to be buried inside the Mission. These Natives who were once free and roamed as hunter were caged behind walls and became growers (farmers). Still today the San Jose Mission is an active church that hold services every Sunday in the Spanish language.

 Model of what the Mission grounds would have looked like

Outside door of where the Indians would have live 

 Inside corner wall were soldiers would fight off enimies

A few days before we visit a town or city we don't know, we do our homework to find cheap and safe parking, address and location of sites we want to see by program the navigator to make sure we arrive without getting lost.