San Antonio

Ok, now that I've got the pictures of Larry, Moe and Curly out of the way, we can go on to more current events in our trek to staying at Emerald Cove Resort near Parker, Az.

We left Canyon Lake about the time that a cold snap was coming down to Texas, and we couldn't stay in the campsite we were staying in there as it had a previous reservation for the day we were leaving.  So rather than pack up and move to another campsite that may or may not have fit us at the resort we were staying at, we just decided to move on down the road where it would be closer to our destination at that time, which was Rockport, Tx.  And we couldn't go there because our Coast 2 Coast reservation at Bay View RV Resort wasn't available until a couple of days later.  Besides, the further south ya go, the warmer it gets, right?  Well, maybe not.

So after packing up and travelling the 50 miles southwest to River Walk RV park, we only hooked up our electricity as connecting the water or sewer were unnecessary as we had plenty of fresh water and tank space on board.  Along the same lines, we did a minimal of setting up because we were only gonna be there for two days.  Then, not wanting our spare time to go to waste, we sought out the McNay Art Museum which we thought would provide us with a couple of hours of looking at different paintings.  And while it did that, we thought it'd have more historic paintings in it, which it didn't.  I mean there were historic paintings there, but the founder of the museum, Marion Koogler McNay, wanted the museum to be a modern art museum, so there were more pieces of modern art, which doesn't mean as much to us, than historic art.  So we were somewhat disappointed for not being able to see more, but that sometimes happens when ya go to an art museum.  

Getting back to the rig, we noticed that it was getting cold enough that the furnace needed to be turned on.  However, the furnace didn't want to turn on, even though I'd set the thermostat higher.  It was then that I decided to check how much propane we had left in the tanks, and found all three tanks to be empty.  As it was going to get below freezing that night, it was very important that we have propane for the furnace to work and keep the pipes in the basement from freezing.  I disconnected two of the tanks, put them in the car and set out on my trek to find a place to refill those two tanks.  My first stop was to go to the office to see if they would be able to tell me where to go to find a refill spot.  I went to the resort office to find out where propane was readily available in the area, and found the staff bundled up trying to stay warm with electric heaters blowing in their direction.  I was blessed to find out there is a convenience store less than half a mile away with pre-filled 20 pound bottles of propane.  However, the price was outrageous at $30 a bottle.  But it was a convenience store, right?  So I really shouldn't have cared about the price.  NOT!  What's more, the bottles were kinda light, and I later found out that the bottles sold there aren't always filled completely, which kinda added insult to injury.  So while them pre-filled bottles are convenient, ya really pay for it!  That is that's how it was at that convenience store.  I'm thinking that it'd be a little different price at Wal-Mart, or some other big box store that sells them.

Not letting any days go to waste while we were there in San Antonio, we ventured out the next day with the idea of seeing a couple of things at least.  Maybe the Alamo.  Doing our research, we found there was Fort Sam Houston located a couple of miles away.  I don't know why we didn't quite understand that it was a working US Army fort rather than a historic point, but we didn't, and drove up thinking that we'd be able to get a tour of the facility.  However, when we got to the main gate, there was a sign pointing to where visitors would check in.  And when we went to check in to see what we could see, the man behind the counter looked at us kinda weird and said that we'd have to wait till a certain time that I don't remember now.  As we didn't want to just sit around, we headed on down the road to see the Spanish Governor's Palace in downtown San Antonio.  Parking is at a premium there, and we decided that the cost of parking wasn't worth the cost of seeing the palace, but you can see it if you click on the link above, or see pictures by clicking here.  It had an interesting history before it became famous for what it was, being a bar, a clothing store, a produce market, a tailor shop, and a school.

So we headed off to see the Spanish frontier missions of Mission Concepcion and Mission San Jose.  Just like the missions of California.  The first three below are Mission Concepcion, with the ones below it being Mission San Jose.

Didn't know it at the time, but there are active congregations there which is why there are lights inside.

Ok, there ya have the blog posting I've been "working" on getting done for the past ...how many days!  I hate it when I forget things.  Hope all are well, next post will be coming...