Jeffrey Hellmers Travels: Domestic: Big Bend: San Antonio

Texas—Big Bend Country 2007
San Antonio

	We concluded our Texas trip with an overnight visit to San Antonio. After checking into our hotel, we took in San Antonio's best known attraction—The River Walk. Being a Friday evening during spring break, it was a busy place.

	One of the visitor options we did not do is take a tour of the Rio San Antonio on a boat.

	Before leaving home, we had made a reservation online for Boudro's Restaurant. Being in the midst of the crowds on the River Walk was a fascinating contrast to the solitude we experienced earlier in the week in the Big Bend desert. By the way, Boudro's makes a tasty margarita!

	Boudro's turned out to be an excellent choice. Norm and Pat shared the "Big Tails, Little Tails" (pan-seared baby lobster tail and giant Gulf shrimp smothered with spicy crawfish tails; served with lemon, avocado and roasted tomato risotto and grilled scallions). Jeff had the "Vegetable Enchilada" (sauté of zucchini, squash, spinach, and mushrooms rolled in corn tortillas, topped with roasted garlic guajillo sauce served with black beans, queso fresco, and cilantro rice).

	We topped off dinner with "Louisiana Bread Pudding" with whiskey sauce.

	After dinner we took in the large-screen movie at the restored Aztec Theatre and then walked around in San Antonio's historic downtown. We ended our evening with ice cream and a walk to San Antonio's icon, the Alamo.

	We had an excellent overnight stay and a fine hot breakfast buffet at the Drury Inn & Suites River Walk, located in a restored commercial building. Our room overlooking the River Walk was just right.

	Day 7 (Saturday, March 31) began with a stop at the San Fernando Cathedral, where we heard a mariachi band at Saturday morning mass. The Cathedral is considered the nation's oldest, work on it having started in 1738.

	We also took an early morning stroll along the now-quiet River Walk.

	We walked south to the King William Historic District. On the way, we ran into runners and walkers in the 10th Annual Komen San Antonio Race for the Cure. We later learned that the race had over 27,000 participants and they raised over $1 million to fight breast cancer. Here runners are going past a San Antonio landmark, the Torch of Friendship.

	The King William Historic District is a 25-block area first settled by German emigrants (its name comes from Prussia's King Wilhelm I). After declining, the area was "rediscovered" in the 1990s, with houses being restored and many being turned into bed-and-breakfasts. King William Street has been called "the most beautiful residential street in the state." The houses are truly magnificent.

	From the King William Historic District, we took a spur of the River Walk back toward downtown with the Tower Life building reflected in the San Antonio River. We walked through the La Villita Historic Arts Village before visiting the Alamo.

	The Alamo, which tells the story of how Texas achieved independence, is maintained by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and is treated as a shrine. No pictures are allowed inside. After visiting the Alamo, we made a brief stop at the Historic El Mercado (Market Square). In the afternoon, we stopped at the chain of missions that make up the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. The northernmost and oldest is the Mission San Antonio de Valero, founded in 1718 and better known as the Alamo (not a part of the national park).

	The mission of Nuestra Señora de la Purisima Concepción (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception) is said to look much as it did in the mid-1700s.

	Much of the original interior remains at Mission Concepción.

	In 1720 Fray Antonio Margil de Jesús founded what became the best known of the Texas missions, San José y San Miguel de Aguayo (Saint Joseph and Saint Michael [the Archangel] of Aguayo).

	Remnants of the geometric designs on the original exterior finish of Mission San José can still be found. Mid-tour of the missions, we had a fine lunch at Rosario's Restaurant near downtown.

	Mission San Juan Capistrano (Saint John Capistrano), with its rich farm and pasturelands, was—by the mid-1700s— a regional supplier of agricultural produce.

	A statue sits outside the church door of Mission San Juan.

	San Francisco de la Espada (Saint Francis [of Assisi] of the Sword) was the southernmost of the five San Antonio missions, and appears almost as remote today as it did in the mid-1700s.

	The doorway of the Mission Espada attracts much attention. San Antonio Missions National Historical Park provided a fascinating glimpse into the Spanish control of this area in the 18th century.

	After our mission tour, we headed for the San Antonio airport from where we took this American Airlines jet back to Chicago's O'Hare. Bad weather forced us to land temporarily in St. Louis, so we had a late-night return drive home to Valparaiso. We all agreed that west Texas and Big Bend turned out to be an excellent place to visit in late March and we recommend it to anyone.

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