Texas

It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  Clear blue skies and warm sun.  We were trucking south on I-37 towards Corpus Christi going our usual less-than-the-speed-limit speed when a group of 8-10 motorcycles passed us in the left lane.  They had some really nice looking bikes and they were all wearing their Calaveras Motorcycle Club of San Antonio jackets.  Maybe 10-15 minutes later I see brake lights ahead and so I slow down to see a bike down in the middle of the interstate!  All his comrades had peeled off the interstate and were coming back to his aid…many of them didn’t even use their kickstands….they just dropped their bikes and were running back.  As we approached I could guess what happened.  There was a pretty good chunk of carpet in the interstate and more like it in the back of a pickup that was pulled over.  So I think the carpet flew out of the bed of the truck and interfered with the biker.  As we creeped passed we could tell the man was moving but we prayed…we prayed hard that he would be ok.

How quickly a perfect day can turn into a nightmare.  I thought about the man’s mom…the pain she would feel knowing her son was hurt.  I thought about the guy in the truck hauling the carpet…the guilt he must feel.  I thought about the importance of community as the biker’s buddies all came running to help without regard for their pricey bikes.

Lord, give peace to the biker’s mom/wife/family, healing to the biker’s body, healing to the heart and mind of the carpet hauler and blessings to the biker’s buddies.  Amen

We took the bus into downtown San Antonio to explore the famous river walk.  We went by the courthouse and then to the cathedral where a funeral was just wrapping up.  It was a beautiful building outside and in.  Next we went to the market square where there are a bunch of little Mexican shops.  I thought for sure I could score some of my favorite Mexican candy Pulparindo.  The first time you eat pulparindo you are certain that someone is playing a trick on you…surely nobody would purposefully make something that tastes so nasty.  The 2nd time you try it you are just mad at yourself for trying it again.  But by the 3rd time you’ll be hooked on it!  To my disappointment, nobody had it or seemed to know where I could score some of this strange but delicious treat.  We stopped along the river walk to eat our brown bag lunch then went off in search of the Alamo.  On the way back to catch the bus we decided to splurge on some Ben and Jerry’s since we had 2 for 1 coupons…even with those, its crazy expensive.  My favorite was The Tonight Dough starring Jimmy Fallon….peanut butter in chocolate ice cream is the best.

We asked 3 different people where to catch the 42 bus before we got someone who actually knew.  It was an uneventful ride back to the campground and once there the kids quickly changed into their swimsuits to play in the pool.

The San Antonio we saw was definitely for tourists…not my favorite.  But it was nice to be outside, with my family and exploring something new.

We are staying at a private RV park about 5 miles from downtown San Antonio and decide to take the day to visit the famous river walk.  We considered riding our bikes but its a bit far for Brielle.  The beast is so big its hard to maneuver and parking could be a bear.  But the #42 bus stops right across the street from the RV park and takes us right downtown.  $4.75 gets all 5 of us a ride and we couldn’t have timed getting on the bus any better.

As we’re riding along with pretty typical city bus folks I decide I need some help figuring out where to get off the bus.  Who should I ask?  We’re pretty much the only people who aren’t tatted up…one guy in particular is inked up pretty good including a large one across the back of his bald head that reads “Lopez”.  I decide I will NOT ask Mr. Lopez for help and instead find an older guy to ask.  As the older gentleman is trying to help who should turn around, but Mr. Lopez.  Mr. Lopez suggests a stop for us but really I don’t hear anything…I’m still taking in how this guy looks.  He must sense my lack of comprehension and says “just get off with me and I’ll show ya”.  So, when the bus stops and Mr. Lopez stands up we all follow him off the bus and he very kindly walks us about a half a block to the stairs leading down to the river walk.  He describes what we can find in each direction before leaving us to go on our merry way.

Thank you Mr. Lopez for helping us out.

God, forgive me for judging Mr. Lopez  based on the way he looked.

San Antonio – The River Walk

To Walk or to Ride, that is the question. We chose the bus! It never ceases to amaze me how nice people are and how willing they are to offer help getting from one place to the next.

We got off the bus and headed along the River Walk. Dacen insisted on looking at the Courthouse since our tour guide in Austin told us the one in San Antonio is taller. It was ok, but nothing too great. The Cathedral across the street was gorgeous though! There was an area in the front that was very ornate.  In the back of the cathedral it had the remains of the heroes of the Alamo. After the Cathedral we asked some bicycle police their opinion of little known places to go, etc. They mentioned we should check out the market which has Tiendas/a Mexican Market. It was interesting to walk around. There was also an Art Museum at one end that we explored. The Trees of Life was one of the exhibits. There were both sculptures and paintings, and a display showing how they make/assemble the sculptures. They even showed the tools they use and how they grind various plants and flowers to make the paint. I can see Mr. Gage having the kids do something like this 🙂

   

A little lunch back on the River Walk and we continued on. I LOVED ALL the fountains and waterfalls! I was actually a little surprised to see so many. There is after all a river/waterway there, so why the need to add more to it? I’m not complaining – you can never have too many fountains! It was really neat to see so many and so many different ones. I love fountains!!

  

 

The Alamo
I’m so glad they have recreated the Alamo. It was interesting to learn the history and the people’s tenacity. Interesting to learn that Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie (as in the Bowie knife) were there at the Alamo! It’s also interesting that my kids love to pose at podiums! I do hope they continue to develop their public speaking abilities.

  

Back at the RV Park Huck worked, the kids played shuffle board, pool, and played in the pool. I was able to enjoy a very short work out and do lots of laundry.

There is always more we wish we could see and do, but we have a long ways to go still! The next day was the parade and I wish we could have visited more of the Missions around there, but it was time for us to move on!

Post note: The next day as we started on the highway Huck prayed for safety as always. A motorcycle group passed us (we go slightly below the speed limit pulling the rig.) A few minutes, maybe 5 min later we came upon one of the motorcycle riders lying on the highway. We were so thankful they were not right in front of us as it takes a little longer to stop with the rig. It looked like a couple scraps of carpet flew out of a pick up. We don’t know if they hit the motorcyclist directly, or if he was trying to dodge them. He was moving, thankfully, but I’m sure he was quite injured. People had stopped to help and he had about 8 riders he was with. We kept going since we didn’t see what happened and there wasn’t anything we could do to help at that point. We didn’t want to be in the way of the emergency vehicles, but we did pray that he wasn’t too badly injured. Days later, I still wonder if he’s ok.
Later down the road – just off to the side – we passed a bunch of fire trucks and noticed they were battling, or had just finished battling a mobile home that was nestled in the trees. It was a total loss. Again, so sad for the person affected, so thankful for the fire fighters, and so grateful for our safety.