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Published: July 19th 2008
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San Antonio: 30/06-06/07
We were now getting closer to Mexico but wanted to stay in the US for the fourth of July so we dropped the car off in Austin and took a bus South to San Antonio. We had booked a week in a campsite on the edge of town so when we arrived, we caught the local bus to the campsite where we pitched out tent in a nice spot under some pecan trees and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. In the morning we took the bus into town to find the market which turned out to be a collection of tourist shops selling Mexican crafts and not the fresh produce stalls we had expected. We did however manage to find some breakfast in a small food court. Although San Antonio is very much in the USA, it has a very Mexican feel to it and so it gave us a taste of what to expect.
We went to the McNay art centre which had a mixture of local and international art as well as a large sculpture garden. As we were about to leave it started to rain very heavily so we had to shelter for
San Fernando Cathedral
The oldest in the United States. a while before getting the bus back into town. On the way back we visited the San Antonio museum of art but we didn't stay long as we were 'arted out' for the day. Instead we went to San Antonio's river walk which meanders through the town centre and has many bars an restaurants. We had some Mexican food and large margaritas before heading back to the campsite with some beer!
After breakfast we went into town again to visit the San Fernando cathedral where the remains of Davy Crocket and the rest of the Alamo heroes are kept. We then visited a Mexican art museum where there was an exhibition of work by Oswaldo Guayasamin which was very striking but also quite macabre. The Alamo was our next destination where we watched a film and a live talk all about the history of the Alamo and the famous battle which Texans are very proud of as it was where their fight for independence from Mexcio began. It was interesting to see the names and nationalities of all the people killed at the battle which included people from all the countries of the UK. We had a beer at the
Buckhorn saloon which is a taxidermists dream bar as it is decorated from floor to ceiling with stuffed animal heads as well as a full sized mammoth, polar bear and large deer. We got some groceries on the way back and had a barbeque at the campsite under the stars.
San Antonio also had a water park, as we had enjoyed the last one so much we decided to go. It was quite difficult to reach by public transport and we had to walk along the highway for the last few hundred yards to the entrance. Unfortunatley this park wasn't as big or as new as the one in Galveston and they had to close it down for an hour as a storm passed over and it rained again. Once we had had as much fun as we could in the small park, we went back into town for pizza and got some pre-made margarita to take back to the campsite. Unfortunately it rained again so we sat in the laundry block drinking our margarita until bedtime.
The next day was the 4th July, Americas big celebration of breaking free from English rule. We had our breakfast at the campsite's
chuckwagon and then headed to Woodlawn Lake park, we had earlier found out that there would be good fireworks there. The weather was still unsettled and twice we had to cram in under a shelter with the locals whilst the sky opened up. Earlier in the day we were treated to some kids singing karaoke, which was pretty awful. The bands later in the evening were not so bad. We treated ourselves to a massive barbequed turkey leg from one of the many food stalls, although as the meat overload began to kick in the novelty wore off. We found ourselves a good spot by the lake to watch the fireworks, which were pretty good. Not so good though was the 'great get away' afterwards as we had to wait ages for a bus to get through the huge queues of traffic. The following day the KOA campsite was holding a family celebration which involved us getting a free hotdog and some watermelon whilst watching kids having go-kart races. We went shopping for more barbeque food and bought corn in their husks which barbequed a treat and went well with the baked potatoes we cooked in the embers. After dinner
we drank wine and chatted to our neighbour, Beth, who told us about her job as a park ranger.
On our last day at the campsite we sat in the sun finishing our groceries and doing not much. We had more barbequed corn and potatoes in the evening and started planning our trip into Mexico.
P.S That's three new entries today, we'll be expecting a few comments and messages so we know you're still thinking about us. Out of sight......etc! ;-)
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Paul & Jacq
non-member comment
San Antonio
eh...who are you??? Watch out for the chillies when you guys head to Mexico!! You might need a more regular laundry routine :-) Can't believe you guys mange to find so many bars selling beer for $1, must be the Paisley blood in Richard.....