SAN ANTONIO, TX - Feb. 5 - 8

I-35 from Fort Worth to San Antonio was under construction for what seemed liked hundreds of skinny lane miles.  Our campsite is about 5 miles from downtown and with a bus stop right across the street, we hopped on the city bus and rode to downtown San Antonio.  Some mighty interesting characters ride the bus!

The tourist area along the River Walk is a lively and busy area with both sides of the river lined with lush vegetation, sidewalk cafes, restaurants and bars, clubs, hotels, and shops.  River taxis cruise up and down the river, while music from strolling mariachi bands fill the air.  The River Walk was built as a means to control the San Antonio River from flooding downtown and is now one of San Antonio's main tourist attractions.

San Antonio River Walk.  This place really perks up at night.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO! - Feb. 6
Alamo Plaza is in the heart of San Antonio.  The iconic symbol of the Alamo church is just a small part of the original mission and fort built in 1724.  The famous battle at the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution and became a symbol of a heroic struggle over impossible odds.  We decided to take the 1 hour guided tour, as well as the audio tour.  Our tour guide, Jeff, said he was a history teacher and his tour focused more on the personalities involved in the famous battle rather than the military aspects.  Sounded good to me!  I wanted to hear all about Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie helping to defend the Alamo against the Mexican army.  Jeff's 1 hour tour lasted almost 2 hours.  After about 45 minutes of listening to blah, blah, blah, I wished I had a Bowie knife to put me out of my misery.  And, according to Jeff, the John Wayne movie version is incorrect.

Daniel Boone & Davey Crockett were here!

LBJ RANCH - Feb. 7
We took a day trip to the Hill Country to visit the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, TX.  President and Lady Bird Johnson bought this ranch in 1951 from his aunt, and in 1972 donated a portion of it to the National Park Service with the stipulation that it remain a working ranch.  While the original ranch house was added on to over the years, the home is not extravagant and is mostly furnished as it was in the 1960's while LBJ was President.  Anytime the house was updated, the furnishings were put into storage so the house could be returned to the 1960's era.  After putting in a landing strip, Lyndon B. Johnson spent about 25% of his presidency working from this Texas White House.

LBJ's Air Force One...Nice way to commute to work.

WINE COUNTRY
After the ranch tour we drove to historic Fredricksburg, TX, which was settled by German immigrants.  Most of the impressive main street buildings are made of local sand stone.  We stopped for lunch at a German restaurant and had the best Jagger Schnitzel ever.  This is also Texas wine country, so we stopped at a couple places to sample the local wines.  The lady pouring wine samples at the Fredricksburg Winery was...well, let me just say she had a German accent and I got scolded.

MARATHON, TX - Feb. 8
We left San Antonio today.  On our way west we made a quick stop in Kerrville to say "Howdy" to one of Jim's girlfriends :)  Jan Zenner and Jim met several years ago while both were brokers for Transamerica.  It was great catching up with this California city-girl turned Texas cowgirl.

Jan is still the crazy gal we remember.

On the road again we continued west on I-10 leaving the Hill Country, driving through the changing Texas landscapes of prairie and desert.  Among the mesas and buttes, we passed several cattle ranches and oil wells.  Early evening we arrived in the desert town of Marathon, which is about 60 miles north of Big Bend National Park...our destination tomorrow.