ON A MISSION TO THE MISSIONS

     On our way to San Antonio, Texas we got a little side-tracked to the town of Langtry.  Langtry is the home of Judge Roy Bean...the "Hanging Judge"..."The Law West of the Pecos."  The Judge is famous in Texas as he was quite a character.  Apparently, his rulings were highly creative in finding conduct, malicious or not, to justify the imposition of hefty fines.  And, by the way, the Judge pocketed all the fines for himself.  In fact, there is no evidence that the "Hanging Judge" ever sentenced a person to be hanged.  I guess he found hanging to be less lucrative than fining.  At any rate, the State of Texas established a beautiful museum to celebrate this colorful character and we couldn't resist stopping for a visit.

Judge Roy Bean Museum
Langtry, TX

     San Antonio is a gorgeous city on the San Antonio River and features the famous "Riverwalk." Somebody way back in 1926 had the foresight to "save" the river and prevent the town from burying the river into a giant sewer pipe.  Construction of the Riverwalk did not begin until 1946 and has developed into a beautifully landscaped riverfront attraction with an endless variety of dining and entertainment opportunities.

The San Antonio Riverwalk.

The San Antonio Riverwalk.

The San Antonio Riverwalk.

A raptor show on the San Antonio Riverwalk.

     We happened to be on the Riverwalk the night of the annual Christmas parade.  At sunset the Riverwalk was illuminated with millions of Christmas lights and was followed by a multitude of floats on the river passing in front of several hundred thousand Christmas revelers.  We lucked out with a riverside table for dinner and joined in on all the festivities.

The San Antonio Riverwalk Christmas Parade.

     Of course, the highlight of San Antonio and the #1 tourist attraction in Texas is "The Alamo."  In 1836 this tiny mission housed approximately 100 Texan troops to battle against the onslaught of 1,500 Mexican Army troops lead by Santa Anna.  The "Battle of The Alamo" lasted 13 days before the final massacre of all Texan troops.  Today the Alamo is well preserved in a garden setting in the heart of downtown San Antonio and stands as a pivotal benchmark of American and Texas history.

The Alamo

     Since we were in San Antonio on Thanksgiving we had to find a way to celebrate.  Our first year on-the-road we celebrated in New Orleans with shrimp etouffee and last year we stayed in the rig in Tucson to celebrate with spaghetti.  This year I made my "family famous" shrimp fra diavolo.  It seems that we really know how to party on the holidays (hummm...).

Mission Concepcion

Mission San Juan

     The Riverwalk is not just about downtown as it extends for several miles along the San Antonio River and serves as a walking/biking trail linking 4 missions which form the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park.  The best way to view the missions is by bike and we were fortunate to be joined by Ted Campbell and Karen Cravens for this adventure.  Over several hours on a beautiful sunny day we whisked up the bike trail to experience 3 of the missions.  It was a great ride and Ted and Karen made the day memorable.  Of course, we ended the day just in time for happy hour at the Blue Star Brewery, which located adjacent to the parking lot for the bike trail.  What a great ending to a great day!

Mission San Jose

Mission San Jose

Nancy, me, Ted & Karen on the Missions bike trail.

     Now it is on to Texas Hill Country.
CHEERS!