Sunday, August 18
We had a free breakfast in the hotel lobby this morning. They had eggs, bacon, potatoes, make your own fresh waffles and so much more. Everything was great. Fully fortified we set out to conquer the Missions of San Antonio.
In 1493 Pope Alexander VI gave the Americas to Spain on the condition that they turn the native peoples into Catholics. During that period the Spanish created Franciscan Missions all along the southern region of the United States in order to indoctrinate the Native American populations. Six missions were setup in San Antonio, one failed and five still exist. The most famous mission is arguably The Alamo (at that time it was called the San Antonio Valero Mission). The Alamo was actually a church.
The five missions together have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are US National Historical Parks. We visited the Alamo first. It was a very interesting visit. Aside from the historical nature we learned a lot about Spanish history, the history of Mexico and the events that led up to Texas becoming part of the United States. We love that, and the best part is that the cost of admission to all the missions is free! Here’s a little history lesson…
When Spain assumed control of Mexico it was named New Spain. Following the example of the American Revolution Mexico fought for and gained independence from Spain on September 16, 1810. The country was founded as a Republic. In 1833 General Santa Anna was elected president of Mexico. In 1835 Santa Anna destroyed the Republic in favor of a new government where the power was consolidated in the capital. That same year government forces were sent to San Antonio to retrieve a cannon. The Texans dared them to, “Come and Get It”. Some Texans favored a restoration of the Republic and some favored complete independence. The first shots were fired from the Alamo on October 2, 1835 marking the start of the Texas Revolution.
On March 6, 1836 Santa Anna’s forces overcame the Alamo’s defenses. In April 1836, forces lead by Sam Houston battled Santa Anna at San Jacinto. Santa Anna was defeated and Texas gained her independence. On December 29, 1845 The Republic of Texas was admitted to the Union as its 28th State.
Today The Alamo and its grounds are preserved as a museum. Most of the buildings are undergoing restoration efforts. You can visit the church and a building that contains a very nice museum. Some of the outbuildings are still visible but cannot be visited.
(Mission San Antonio Valero / The Alamo)
The other four missions, Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan and Espada, are still operated by Franciscan Monks and still hold services. The layouts of the missions are all different and are all distinctly beautiful. There is a 16 mile walking/bicycle loop that will take you along the Riverwalk where you can stop at every mission. We walked to The Alamo and drove to the other four. We had a great time.
(Mission San Jose)
Our intention was to have a light lunch, go back to the hotel and rest for a while, before heading out to fully explore the touristy parts of Riverwalk. To that end we stopped at another place that we’d never been to before: The Golden Chick.
As you may suspect they specialize in chicken. We ordered four chicken strips (two regular and two spicy) and a drink. It came with a side (we chose potato salad) and a roll. We’re not sure if they made a mistake or not but we got six chicken strips. The food was ok but nothing special at all. There was a very interesting surprise however – wait for it – they have a soft service ice cream machine near the soda fountain that said, “free ice cream”. I don’t know if all their locations do that but we were delighted. They even supply cones. The ice cream was not particularly good and had the consistency of ice milk. Still, on a hot day after walking five different missions, it was very refreshing. Total cost: $7.78.
A small aside: We have SPRINT as our wireless carrier. We’ve had very good service in Las Vegas but since we’ve been traveling the service has been spotty. We noticed that the service in Florida was really poor and it has continued to be poor all along Route 10. Even in the larger cities like New Orleans and San Antonio the service has been wanting. If you plan to live or travel in this part of the country we suggest you investigate other carriers. Why do we have SPRINT? Because we got one year of service for the both of us for free! This in an unadvertised special that is available intermittently during the year. Check it out: SPRINT Free For One Year. Caveat Emptor!
This evening we walked most of the commercialized portion of the Riverwalk. Last night the restaurants were bustling with activity. This evening, Sunday, many of the malls closed at 6:00 pm but the stores and restaurants along the waterfront were open for business. We had a pizza for dinner and then splurged at Ghirardelli’s for a dessert consisting of ice cream sundaes. We’ll be sorry to leave San Antonio.
(Riverwalk)