Anyhow, we knew to get out there early if we wanted to enjoy the bike ride. We set out at about 8:45am.
The five San Antonio Missions are all set fairly close to the San Antonio River. And they have made this beautiful network of cycle and walking paths so that you can access all the missions by bicycle. And, the network of paths goes all the way to downtown.
The San Antonio River.
Egyptian goose.
The cycle path.
Ruth, riding over the bridge.
Arrived at Mission Concepcion.
Built in 1755, it is the oldest unrestored stone church in America.
They built things to last back then!
Some of the original frescoes are still visible in the interior.
Ruth at Mission Concepcion.
The interior is very plain compared to many of the churches we have visited in Mexico.
From there, we went to the King William Historic District where there are many grand old homes.
Some are open for tours.
And then, we realized that we really weren't very far from downtown. It was never in our plans to visit downtown San Antonio... we had been there many years ago, and the downtown area is very touristy. But, the bike paths were beautiful, so we decided to head downtown.
San Antonio has a very high tech flood tunnel diversion system.
Almost downtown.
We parked the bicycles and locked them up at an office building near the courthouse. We walked over to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk, and then to the famous Alamo.
The back of the courthouse.
The San Antonio River Walk.
Lots of people doing boat tours.
Lots of nice gardens.
No question, the River Walk itself is pretty.
We're glad we came back downtown and did the River Walk. It was a gorgeous day, and despite the heat there were a lot of shaded sections. Plus, we were still fairly early in the day so it wasn't crowded with people.
Colorful umbrellas.
We walked up to the famous "Alamo".
The Alamo site was one of the original five missions in this area, but it was overtaken by the military in 1803.
Wandering around there with the hoards of tourists, I began to wonder why it was so popular. I guess it's famous just because it's famous! There is really not much to see there. A small museum, and the original church which is nothing like it was when it was actually a church. It spent most of it's life being a military barracks. In fact the grounds themselves aren't even close to what they were originally.
I was unimpressed. And, all of the businesses around the plaza where the Alamo is located are all tourist operations... Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not... the Guinness Record Museum.. that kind of stuff.
We enjoyed doing the River Walk, but the Alamo.. not so much. The other mission properties are much better in our opinion.
Fancy hotel.
The front of the courthouse.
We had brought some snacks with us, and even thought about buying lunch downtown. But the prices for the restaurants along the River Walk downtown are ridiculous, and we eventually decided to just head back to Sherman. The snacks did us fine until we got back around 1:30pm.
We checked our GPS app back at the motorhome, and we had done a combined 18.6 miles (30 kms) of bike and walking exercise!
It was hot though... we sat outside under some shade trees for the afternoon. Played some backgammon, and read.
But it's time for another change of scenery. Today, we think we're going to head towards Palmetto State Park and if we see anywhere worth stopping for along the way, we will stop.
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Nice price drop on the Champion 3100 Inverter Style RV Ready Generator. Normally sells for between $750 to $800.
And in Canada...
San Antonio is a city I would love to see - but I still refuse to enter the USA until the orange man is gone :) so it will wait.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, you have to wait for 2014,
DeleteNot very smart.
I think you mean 2024!
DeleteAgreed on the Alamo. In fact, so many of the "great" tourist sites around the world are a disappointment. For example, Chechinitza and Coba get so much focus yet we found many others that were much better and they are virtually unknown. Keep Balam in Quintana Roo is a perfect example.
ReplyDeleteYep, we totally agree with you on that! Chichén Itzá, is beautiful but all the vendors and visitors really take away from that beauty. Coba used to be a nice off the beaten path ruin the first time we were there but the second time it was way more crowded and that was back in 2009, so I would hate to think what it is like now. Went to Calakmul a year ago and loved it there, this one is definitely an under visited ruin, I wonder how long it will stay like that?! Haven't been to Ek Balam before, but there are definitely a few of them like that, that are less well known and would be much better to visit.
DeleteEk Balam sorry
ReplyDeleteThe bike paths are certainly awesome. The "touristy" stuff? Not so much. Probably one of the reasons why we haven't visited Niagara Falls in decades. I have no desire to be cheek to jowl with tourists, nor do I have any desire to see Madame Tussaud's wax museum or its ilk. Nic pics.
ReplyDeleteWe loved the bike paths and would come back to the area just for that. We agree with you about places like Niagara Falls! When they start making places look like you are in Disneyland then it just isn't for us anymore, sort of ruins the atmosphere of the place.
DeleteIf it's free to see, I don't complain much to visit sites. I'm a country gal but love the cities too so I don't mind visiting beautiful cities touristy or not.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice that it is free and we definitely enjoyed our day but we won't enjoy the downtown area during high season or at the high point of the day. We are glad that we went early in the morning.
DeleteWe don't mind visiting big cities, especially ones like New York City or London because there are so many places that you can go that are interesting but away from the crowds. We still prefer smaller places though, ones that are less visited.
the beauty of the alamo is what it means to texas history not as a tourist trasp wwm
ReplyDeleteWe totally understand that and think that it is a great piece of history for Texas. It is such just unfortunate that the city has allowed such tacky tourist type places to be in business directly across from it, that is what makes the area a tourist trap. The other two missions in our mind were much better, although I know that they were lacking the same history that the Alamo has.
DeleteI love the River Walk in SAN Antonio too. Gotta check out that Historic District next time we’re there.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed the River Walk as well especially early in the day when it isn't nearly so crowded. The King William district is really pretty with some lovely homes. I hope you take the time to go back and visit more of the downtown area. :-)
DeleteWe visited San Antonio Riverwalk (fun) and the Alamo (boring, unimpressive) back in early 2014. We were renting a condo on North Padre Island for a month and did a day trip. Wish we'd known about the bike path, although with our dog, we realistically couldn't have done it without an overnight hotel stay anyway. We walked for miles along the Riverwalk and finally found a restaurant off the beaten path (not right on the water) where we got a reasonably priced lunch. If we ever return to that area, we'll make sure to check out the bike path!
ReplyDeleteThe bike path is fantastic and goes for miles, it is actually an extension of the Riverwalk, but just out of the city itself. We hope that you can make it back to this area another time, just so that you can bike along the trail.
DeleteNice that you found a place for a reasonably priced lunch, that is sometimes hard to find but getting away from the touristy area is definitely a step in the right direction. :-)