Road Trip to Houston: San Antonio

Day 7

We slept late today and just relaxed as it was nice not to have to get up and hit the road.   While I waited for Val I went down and took a few pictures of our hotel and the River Walk..

Besides the tour boats, they also have water taxis.

Val is watching me from our balcony, she is near the top in the middle of the picture.

 

We decided to skip breakfast and eat an early lunch so after getting cleaned up and dressed we were on our way to the Alamo. The Alamo is a short walk from the hotel so we were soon there and walking around the grounds.  We watched a very interesting short movie on the history of the Alamo and Texas independence.  The Alamo is considered a sacred shrine in Texas and is treated with respect and reverence, it is a pretty amazing story. After going through the museum and visiting the church we headed back to the hotel.  Here are some pictures of the Alamo, but because it is a shrine, no photography is allowed in any of the buildings.

The next thing we wanted to do today was go to Market Square, which is a large Mexican market with many street vendors, shops and restaurants.  Surprisingly, both Val and I are still feeling the effects of our walk down into Carlsbad Caverns so we decided to take a cab instead of walking.  After arriving at Market Square, our first order of business was lunch and we had heard that the Mi Tierra Café and Bakery had very good Tex-Mex food so that’s where we ate.  It is a huge restaurant and we enjoyed our meal and the atmosphere.  After lunch we couldn’t resist the bakery and bought some pastries for dessert.  We wandered around the shops for a while and then headed back to the hotel for a little afternoon rest.

I was feeling a little uncomfortable being serenaded, but it did add to the fun.

 

You can see why we couldn't resist a visit to the bakery.

 

After our rest we decided to go down to the River Walk and walk the full loop.  The part of the loop that is the main river channel is not very interesting as there is not much going on, but overall it was an enjoyable walk.  Once again it was a beautiful, balmy evening, but being a Friday night there were a lot more people out than last night.  We completed the loop and decided to look for something to eat.  

Just past the bridge there is an amphitheater.  You can see the seating on the right and across the channel is the stage.

Val told them to look mean and angry for their picture, but the fellow on the left didn't get the message.

We weren’t very hungry as we had a full dinner at lunch so we just opted for ice cream.  We returned to the room and enjoyed the evening from our balcony for a while and then retired to the room.  I spent the rest of the evening downloading pictures and working on the blog and Val planned our route through the Texas Hill Country tomorrow.

We really liked staying here at the Omni Hotel and will be sad to leave, but we have other places to go and things to do so it’s back on the road tomorrow.

Road Trip to Houston: Carlsbad to San Antonio

Day 6

We got up early as we had a nearly 500 mile drive to San Antonio.  After a quick breakfast at the hotel we were on the road by 8:30.  The drive on US Highway 285 from I-40 to Carlsbad was a nice four lane highway, but south of Carlsbad it was only one lane in each direction with lots of truck traffic.  Despite the fact that oil prices are in a slump, it seemed that most of the trucks were carrying equipment for the oil fields and we could see plenty of activity along the road as we drove south.  I believe most of the activity was more for production than drilling as we didn’t see any drilling rigs.

We crossed Interstate 20 in Pecos and continued south to Fort Stockton where we picked up Interstate 10 headed east.  The interstate is not our preferred way of travel, but it was a relief to get on a four lane highway and away from all the slow truck traffic.  There was very little traffic on I-10 and the land was hilly, barren and desolate with very few towns.  As we got nearer to San Antonio we entered what is known as Texas Hill Country, which has more interesting scenery and there were also more towns.

San Antonio is a good size city with a population of just under 1.5 million.  We would be staying right in the downtown area so we had to contend with quite a bit of traffic, but we made it to our hotel by 5:00 and were soon in our room.  We are staying at the Omni la Mansion del Rio Hotel, which is right on the famous San Antonio River Walk.  The hotel is in a historic building that was originally a boy’s school.  We had opted for a river view room, but when we checked in we were told we had been upgraded to a balcony room, yea, good luck again.  Our room was on the fifth floor with the balcony looking right down at the River.

The view of the River Walk from our balcony.

You can take a tour of the river on these boats.

The San Antonio River Walk is part of the San Antonio River with a channel coming off the main river and then reconnecting further down making a loop.  There is also a channel leading to the convention center and a large shopping mall.  There is a continuous walkway all along the river and channels with hotels, shops and restaurants all along the way.  Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating along the walkway and river.  There are numerous pedestrian and vehicle bridges along the way.  It is very picturesque and we were very impressed.

After settling in, we went down to the River Walk to explore and have some dinner.  It was a beautiful and balmy evening and despite this being the slow time of the year, there were lots of people strolling or sitting in the restaurants enjoying the evening.  We decided to take a boat cruise and get the lay of the land along the River Walk.  It was a guided tour that took the full loop plus the channels that led off the main loop.  The sun had just gone down so it was very nice with just a twilight sky and all the lights along the way.  The cruise took about 35 minutes and we were glad we did it as it was very interesting.

I'm enjoying our cruise along the River Walk.

We were getting hungry so after the cruise we started looking for a restaurant and decided to eat at Ostra, a seafood restaurant right across the channel from our hotel (and apparently owned by the hotel).  It was an excellent dinner, which Val and I both enjoyed.  After dinner we strolled along the River Walk for a while and then decided to walk over to the Alamo which is nearby.  We didn’t stay long as we are planning on visiting tomorrow morning, but we did want to see it lit up at night.  We walked back to the River Walk and our hotel and decided to call it a night.  Our first night in San Antonio was wonderful - perfect weather, good food and the very nice River Walk.

The Alamo

Road Trip to Houston: Carlsbad Caverns

Day 5

Today we are visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which is about a thirty minute drive from our hotel in Carlsbad.  We slept in a little and didn’t get on our way until just before 10:00.  The area around the park is quite hilly compared with the flat land around Carlsbad.  We checked into the visitor’s center and found out the elevators weren’t working so the only way into the Caverns is the long steep trail starting at the natural entrance.  Val had some worries about how she would handle the long walk, but decided to go for it and off we went.

The park information says that it is a steep (20% grade) 750 foot descent into the cave, but the reality is, it was a 1.3 mile walk down to the Great Room, which is one of the main features of the cave.  I believe the 750 feet must mean the vertical drop, not the actual distance.  It was a steep walk down and it seemed like a lot longer than it was, but we made it.  The formations aren’t quite as spectacular as some other caves we’ve been in, but the sheer size of the Great Room was very impressive.  We took a walk around the outer edge of the Great Room before coming to a rest area with restrooms, seating and a snack bar; this is also where we would get on and off the elevators if they were working.  Because the elevators were broken, there wasn’t much food available, but Val and I split a sandwich and rested a while before starting the trek back to the surface.  Here are some of the pictures we took, but they really don't show the immensity of the caverns.

The natural entrance and the beginning of the long walk down.

Going up is easier on the legs and knees than going down, but the steep climb up is very tiring.  They said the trail is a 20% grade, which didn’t sound too bad, but in practice it seemed pretty darn steep.  It was a long slow climb to the top with quite a few stops to catch our breath and rest.  There are benches spaced along the trail and they were well used.  After about an hour’s walk we were back at the top, tired but very happy we made it.  I was very proud of Val who despite a hip and knee replacement and arthritis did very well and made it without problems.  Altogether today we walked close to four miles, most of it either going steeply up or down so we were pretty tired by the time we got back in the car.

We start the long, steep trek back to the surface.

 

Daylight at last, but we still have quite a way to get to the surface.

I did learn one thing today that I had been wondering about – what is the difference between a cave and a cavern?  I asked a ranger and he said you can walk into a cave, but you have to use a rope or a ladder to get down into a cavern.  We were able to walk into Carlsbad Caverns, but until a trail was built you had to use a rope to get into it so it is still called a cavern.  Now I know.

We made the half hour drive back to the hotel and when we got out of the car we realized just how stiff and sore we were.  For dinner we decided to just go down the street a little ways and have a sandwich at a deli.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and resting our tired legs.  Tomorrow we have a long drive to San Antonio, Texas where we will spend a couple of days.