Misty Alamo-Missions
Meandering Life Rating: [usr 4]
When in the San Antonio area, you must go to the famous Alamo. But in addition to the Alamo, there are four other missions in the area that are a must see. The missions form a trail of sorts to go from one to the other. The missions to visit are: Mission San Antonio de Valero (Alamo), Nuestra Señora de la Purisima Concepción, San José y San Miguel de Aguayo, San Juan Capistrano, and San Francisco de la Espada.
The chain of missions was established along the San Antonio River in the 1700s.
Collectively they form the largest concentration of Catholic missions in North America. The missions were the vanguard for converting the Indians spiritually to the Catholic faith and helped push the Spanish empire northward. The missions flourished between 1747 and 1775. The Spanish missions helped form the foundation for the city of San Antonio.
The strange things about the Alamo is that it is literally in the middle of downtown San Antonio. I think we thought it was isolated, but it is not. The other missions are also in populated, suburban type areas. The day we went the missions were not busy, but the Alamo was packed! That took away some from the experience because we didn’t get to learn about the history of the Alamo as much as we could have if it was not so busy. It was still worth the trip and we would recommend visiting all the missions in the area.
The Riverwalk
Meandering Life Rating: [usr 5]
The city of San Antonio loves its river and it was obvious when you go to the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is an amazing experience. It is essentially a downtown area right on the river. You can walk along the river and find restaurants, souvenir vendors and shops. It was around Christmas time when we were there so all the trees were decorated with Christmas lights and it was beautiful in the evening. They also have river boats you can ride to learn more about the history of San Antonio and the river. That was worth it, but you have to get in line early to get your tickets! The Riverwalk was busy, but well worth the time. We went once during the day and twice at night. Would recommend!
