We arrived in San Antonio yesterday and rode in on a huge storm.   I was driving and thankful for operational windshield wipers.   I think some of the CA drivers moved to TX!   I am always nervous when there are more than three lanes of traffic.   I learned how to drive in three lanes of traffic and I don’t see any need for any more, it just means keeping tabs on more people who want to cut me off.  They drive way too fast here and cut in and out like CA.    I am not sure how I drove before Google Maps (thank you to the company my son in law works for and I always think he is responsible for any Google product I like.   I really know he is not, but it is more fun that way to think he made it).  Google Maps always tells me exactly what lane I want to be in for my next turn.   I really appreciate that.  Once we got settled in the campsite we called an Uber, there was no way we were trying to park the big beast downtown where the rental car agency is.  The Uber driver was most helpful telling us about what was going on in town this weekend; The Mexican Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos; The Alamo; where to eat; the River Walk and museums.  One surprise we found out is the San Antonio Missions are a National Historic Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

So, after we drove in the rain, yes, another recorded rain day that makes 7 now, we picked up our car and was heading to the River Walk.  It was only 3 miles from the rental car agency.  Before we got there the sky opened up and we had to pull over since it was such a bad storm.   They have serious rain here in Texas.  We sat in the car for about 15 minutes and the rain stopped.  It was early dinner time so we found a really good BBQ spot and had the best BBQ I have ever eaten.   If you know how much BBQ and in how many states, I have eaten BBQ you will understand the magnitude of that statement.   When we finished eating, I went back to the counter and told them how much I enjoyed it and how good it was and to please tell the chef how much I enjoyed it.   Similar to the man who wanted to show me the 5^th House built in Sonora; they invited me into the kitchen to meet the chef.   Again, I declined but needed to decline several more times.   What is it with these Texans?  Don’t they know I am a New Yorker and signs of excessive friendliness from strangers make me uncomfortable?  We had plenty of leftovers since I wanted to try everything and we brought them back to the RV.   Here is what we ate, coleslaw, pickles, Mac N’Cheese with bacon, jambalaya, pulled pork, brisket and pork ribs.  They only had one kind of BBQ sauce, Texas original which I didn’t like so I ate everything natural and got the full flavor.   Everything was exceptional.  If I had to pick my favorite it would be the ribs and Mac N’Cheese, but only if you forced me to make a choice.

After we ate the clouds were gathering again but it was not raining so we walked a bit on the River Walk.   Friday night there was boat parade on the River for the Day of the Dead.   The parade was starting at 7 and it was only 6 and it was beginning to rain so we decided to leave but did see a few boats on their way to the starting point of the parade.   If you see the seats along the River, they were priced at $85 a seat.    When we felt more drops, we went back to the car and back to the RV.   The RV park is about 9 minutes from downtown and mostly everything is in downtown in about a 4-mile radius.  Aside from the rain it was humid and the heat was oppressive.  When we got back, we decided The Alamo would be first thing in the morning.

Today our tickets for The Alamo were at 10:30 am.  We had a guided tour which I really enjoyed.  I did not know much about The Alamo except that Texas lost.  Maybe you know what I will tell you so skip over this paragraph.  The Alamo was originally a Spanish Mission to convert the indigenous people of Texas.   The Spanish were in Mexico and moved up into Texas.  The name of the mission was Mission San Antonio de Valero (St. Anthony of Padula).  It is part of the National Park Mission system.  When the Bishop felt the “mission” was complete and the people had converted, they closed the mission.  The church didn’t even have a roof on it.  When things between the Mexicans and Texans became difficult, the Texans took over the property, it had fortified walls and buildings already and made it a military position.  Texan drew up a constitution and declared their independence from Mexico.  And the fighting started.   I was surprised to learn that people came to The Alamo from states in the union and countries in Europe to help the Texans.   There was a huge battle inside the church with cannon fire and many dead.   There were 28 women and children at The Alamo who hid in the church sacristy and were not harmed by the Mexicans.  Mostly all of them were widows by the end of the battle and the Mexicans gave them two coins and a blanket to start their new hard life.  The youngest soldier for the Texans was 15, the oldest 80.  If any of you history buffs or Texas readers see a mistake, please correct me.

I remember the Davy Crockett movie from Disney and I was so interested in Davy Crockett because of it.  He died at The Alamo.  But you know who else like the movie?  Phil Collins, he has a huge Davy Crockett collection that was on display in the museum.  I enjoyed looking at it and he narrated a diorama presentation.   Funny to hear his accent talking about the Texas Revolution.  Hearing about the conflict and Texas history first being part of  Mexico and then an independent state and then part of the US, made me think about the conflicts here today and how it has a deep history.  All in all, going to The Alamo provided me a new prospective on Texas.

After we were done, of course it was time for lunch.  It was $22 to park the car to see The Alamo downtown.  Lunch needed to be walking distance from The Alamo.   Jerry found La Boulangerie a short walk away.   It is a French Bakery/Café.  We had roasted chicken on a baguette with tomato and fresh basil and salad greens.   It was so good.   Then Jerry had a raspberry croissant and I had a fruit tart.   Everything was delicious.   I asked the owner if she made everything herself and she was a French trained chef and did.   Oh, to cook like that!  So good.

After lunch we went to two more missions.   The first was Mission San Juan that was a large agricultural site using water from the San Antonio River to irrigate the crops.  The missions provided structure and protection from the weather and warring people.   The missionaries taught the people how to farm differently, raise animals and brought horses that changed their way of life. 

From there we went to the Mission San Jose.  This mission was the best preserved and one of the largest.   There was a church that is still in use, an old abandoned convent and the ring of the courtyard had one and two room homes.   There were many outdoor ovens for cooking.  By time we were done at this mission it was so hot I could not stay out any longer.   We came back to the RV to cool off and rest.

I wanted to go to Mass in one of the missions, but had to change that plan since it was too hot in them.   I was able to find and air-conditioned church 2 miles away from the campsite and we were able to go there.  The music had a Mexican vibe and the priest was Mexican.   The church was very pretty and they made us stand up at the beginning and welcomed us as visitors.   There were maybe 50 people there altogether.   I did not want to strand, but Jerry was on his feet waving to the crowd.  I don’t know what got into him.   They had a Day of the Dead altar set up with the church members who died during the year and other people. 

When we got back, we had both steak dinner and BBQ leftovers and had a bit of each for dinner.  Oh, we also had a whole loaf of French bread.   Do you think I should name our travels eating across America?