A Full Day in San Antonio

On Saturday, March 29th, we decided to take a longer walk on the Riverwalk, extending beyond the loop that is the most touristy. But first breakfast and coffee! We found a great little spot called La Vida Coffee Lounge (@lavidacoffeelounge). We enjoyed chatting with the super friendly owner, Victor. We thought we were intrepid travelers, but we are nothing compared to Victor! He is piloting solo around the world next year to raise awareness about diabetes and what those affected can do. Very inspiring and the coffee was spot on! 

The weather was lovely, and we had a great walk from downtown up to the Pearl property again, about 1.5 miles. We enjoyed reading the many placards that explained the history of the San Antonio River and the Riverwalk itself as we strolled, as well as the public art that was installed along the way. There were flowers blooming and lots of birds, including some really pretty black ducks and their little ducklings. So cute!

It may be hard to read, but the sign I am pointing to says Houston Street - had to get a pic for my baby brother of the same name!

This was our turnaround spot for our walk. Love the public art all over here. There is a Mexican restaurant under and behind the trees. I had a great salad for lunch with the house vinaigrette - cilantro lime. I'll be trying to recreate this when I get home!

This is a pretty little dam area that they have made very attractive for both humans and waterfowl. The ducks loved the little man-made ponds here. We saw lots of ducklings in this area.

This picture doesn't do the colors on this "black" duck justice. He had iridescent green on the head and dark blue under the wings.

Ducklings with their Mamma.

Mallard ducklings with their Mamma.

Despite staying literally next door to the Alamo, we weren't able to tour it. Poor planning on our part for not purchasing tickets ahead of time, plus they had shortened hours on this particular Saturday because of a fundraiser that was happening on the grounds to support the major additions that are ongoing there now. 

However, we didn't let that daunt us from finding more history to explore. We made it out to the Mission of San Jose for a ranger-led tour of the grounds in the afternoon. Both the tour and the film that we watched at the visitors' center were very informative about a part of history that only gets touched on quickly, if at all, in lower grades. We learned about the Tejano people, who were the Native Americans living in the area when the Europeans came to dominate the geography and the people. Unlike other Native Americans, they lived in small family groups rather than in larger tribes. This way of living ultimately made them easier to dominate/pressure into living in the missions for protection.

Our ranger did an excellent job educating us on the history, including the environmental and political aspects that led to the rise and fall of the missions. Protecting our federal workforces is extremely important to protecting our history. There are 5 missions in San Antonio, and they are a World Heritage Site.

There is still an active church within this structure.

While the fundraiser threw a monkey wrench into our plans, it had unexpected benefit of providing us with a great fireworks show in front of our hotel.