On the Trail Again

Gazebo gas fire pits

Our stay in San Antonio was at Green Lake RV Park. Really our first experience with an RV park and it was pretty great. As a newer property it was still in great shape and well taken care of.














Gas grilling, chilling and sink and ice is nice areas

They had some strict rules which made it easy to get along with a couple of hundred other RV'ers. Restrictions on noise, leaving junk around and lots of common sense.










Rec room and exercise machines

They had some very nice amentities for grilling out and they did all the clean up so it was an easy choice when we wanted to grill out Salmon. The laundermat was affordable and efficient.














TV lounge and computer room, complimentary coffee and popcorn

The pool and spa were super nice as well as showers plus an adult only use time. Unfortunately the pool wasn't heated and it took a couple of nice days for the water temps to come up over 60 degrees until I finally took a swim.













Pool and hot tub patio  

The common areas were a great place to meet others. Many were here on a semi permanent basis. From an Airforce man finishing drone pilot training, people with job transfers for a year or two and they don't want the hassle of selling a home. Plus a few who are maybe displaced homeowners for various reasons. And of course people like us Snow Birds or Southern Texas.

Dog wash and walking areas






 

 

 

Variety of libations



Fresh made tortillas at HEB

A few things I'll miss, the fresh made tortillas and selection of drinks at HEB groceries. Oh wait they are all over Texas. 

 

 

So we are off to our next destination around Austin.

 

 




 



San Antonio Fork in the Trail

 

 

Rodeo BBQ at Bubbas

A sample of the local cuisine, from TexMex, BBQ and local farmers markets.


We also had some fabulous BBQ from B&B Smokehouse, before I could get a photo we had already dug in to Brisket and Ribs with no sides. It was messy so I couldn't pick up a camera.

Chicken Kabob easily for two

Gruene River Grill for Burger and Crawfish Chowder

 A side trip to New Braunfels a very nice town settled by german immigrants. We stopped at the farmers market had a lot local tasting of products and a breakfast taco of course. Then went to the Historic District in Gruene for the art market and a stop for lunch.














New Braunfels Farmer Market & Krause's Biergarten

Farmer's Market purchase


We used our Duck Eggs for some steak and eggs and had to improvise on making some toast. Very rich yolks.


Our own Texas Toast grilled on our single burner

Sopas and Mini Tacos at Taco Revolution in the Mercado

A visit to the Mercado (Market) in San Antonio is like going to Mexico shopping although the prices weren't too cheap.



Street Michelada aka Beer Bloody

Beer here is used in everything from your Bloody Mary's to Margarita. We still have yet to find a nice micro Brewery to try out.

 

Margaritas with a Beer

Stopping for some rest and libations we indulged in a pitcher of Margaritas. By the end of our stop we invented a new game "Who That" our own people watching contest. Since when you travel every one looks familiar.

A pitcher of Margaritas along the River Walk

Corn dip notice the chip, they did give us a freebie

When traveling we do need to stop for provisions and the HEB grocery stores are a great source for whatever we needed. Even bought a dress there.

San Antonio Happy Trails

Texas Long Horn

 It was on my bucket list to see a Long Horn. What better place than the San Antonio Rodeo.

We spent the day wondering around the exhibits taking in all things texas.


 


Cowboy Stance

Important Signage

Horse Trailer for Sale

Grooming for the Competition

Sand Art

Boots for Sale

San Antonio River Trail

Sculpture in front of Briscoe Western Museum

 The pride of San Antonio's downtown is the River Walk. Instead of burying what was once a blight they embraced the San Antonio river and turned it into a beautiful focal point.





Faux Trees 

Along miles of stone paths you find restaurants, shops and lots of art work. Set below street level you forget the urban hustle and noisy traffic of the streets above.



Local Patrols



Fish Art under bridge-lights up at night

The water has a cooling effect and a green space that is often lacking in a city of concrete.





Tour rides





The Grotto

San Antonio Mission Trails



Mission Concepcion

Detail

San Antonio's 300 year old Mission Trails was full of interesting tales and architectural features. The 5 National Park sites are separated by only miles, along the San Antonio River. We just parked at a mission and took advantage of the bus system to travel to each site. You can also rent bicycles and follow a path that runs parallel.

Active Chapels






Irrigation Systems



Mission Espada










Mission San Juan






We gained a lot of local history, meeting a docent who shared a bus ride with us. His described the tales of the local indigenous people who helped build the missions.  

His ancestors helped build the missions and he described some of the correlations in the design which reflects their ancestral beliefs along with Christianity.

He noted an important date to remember Oct. 14, 2023 when annular solar eclipse passes directly over San Antonio and the lands of his people. 

 

Mission San Jose

Alamo

Padre Island Texas

Malaquite Beach

We stayed at the first come first serve Malaquite Campground on the Padre Island National Seashore. Although the weather wasn't lovey we did enjoy being off the grid for a couple of nights.

Long-billed Curlew

The sound of the surf drowned out any generators in use and we had the pleasure of a guided bird hike with two VIP's. Volunteers in Parks and saw 29 different birds from the shores to the prairies and ponds.

Aplomado Falcon

Sailors Valentine with Heart Sea Beans in Center and Shells

Sand Dune Flowers

Another program featured Sea Beans. Which I'm sure you are as curious as I was. They are the seeds and nuts that make their way from lands across the sea onto beaches like Padre Island. Actually Padre Island is the hot spot for Sea Beans, shells and anything that floats along the gulf currents. The other part of anything that floats, is all the garbage, especially plastic, dumped by boats, ships and various uncaring peoples.

Barnacles

So with the good comes lots of bad. The park offers big yellow bags to all beach combers hoping they take out more than just shells. It unfortunately continues to wash ashore everyday.




Many brave souls try to venture to the end of the island, a 60 mile journey on the beach with many rewards at Big Shell Beach. You have to have 4 wheel drive and a lot of luck. People do get stuck out in the sand with the tide coming in. I heard it can cost hundreds or more to hire someone to haul out.




We made it to mile marker 5. Maybe not as brave as some but we were successful in finding a few Sea Beans and my new favorite barnancles.

Barefoot Parade

Celebrating Mardi Gras Corpus Christi style with a parade on the beach.
































Cars and people lined up for a couple of miles. You can always tell a good parade when it's hard to distinguish the spectators from the spectables.





























A great day for people watching. Usually you see a some political positioning at a public gathering. Here we only saw a few democratic floats.
















Golf carts decorated as sharks was a favorite.










We caught our share of beads and snacked on a Oyster Po Boy.