The Alamo and Riverwalk

February 22 - 25
San Antonio, TX

We arrived at Braunig Lake RV Park located a short distance south of San Antonio, TX late in afternoon. The weather was mild, around 68 degrees, and again windy. Monday we loafed around in the morning and then went out for a late lunch and some shopping. Where else, WalMart.

On Tuesday we drove to The Alamo. Debbie is walking into a side gate.


Inside the gate this vine covered walkway led to the front of The Alamo.


Inside the Alamo were several displays containing artifacts found at the Alamo site.

The grounds around the Alamo are planted with lawn, shrubs and trees and are enclosed by a stone wall. We enjoyed a walk through it.

After The Alamo we walked over to the Rivercenter Mall which sits right on the Riverwalk.

Riverwalk is a beautiful area centered around the San Antonio River. There are sidewalks on each side of the river and restaurants and some shops boarder the other side of the sidewalks. There are no railing along the river side of the sidewalks.

Small boats operate up and down the river ferrying tourist. The Riverwalk is below street level and each street has stair access down. There are also bridges that allow you to cross to the other side.

Almost all of the thousands of restaurants have outside dinning tables.


We walked a mile or so along the river and at some points had to squeeze through other tourists being careful not to fall in the river. The temperature climbed to 83 degrees but the wind kept it nice. It was lunch time all of the outdoor tables were full. We had a late breakfast so that was fine.

There were six missions established along the river to the south and we left Riverwalk and headed toward Mission San Jose. The Missions were walled to protect against Indian attacks, both Apache and Cherokee. Here is the walk to the main gate. On the right is a domed bastion which had small bore cannon holes at the bottom and rifle holes along the top. From these bastions the wall could be defended.


Just inside the gate, the stone church building came into view.

Stone arches still survive where the living quarters for the church staff once existed. A stone well in the foreground.


This Mission's baroque decoration on the front served as visual assistance in communicationd the concepts of Christianity to the natives. The Hearts, Crosses, Shells, etc. all had symbolic meanings.