San Antonio, Texas -- Day 6, January 27, 2023

 

San Antonio, Texas – Day 6, January 27, 2023

We ventured outside the San Antonio ring today, traveling through a portion of what is called the Hill Country northwest of the City.  Fredericksburg is a City in the Hill Country with a strong German heritage, a place that we enjoyed exploring most of the day.  A stop at the Visitors’ Center caused us to realize we should spend several days here because there’s so much to do!

We started with The National Museum of the Pacific War, recognized as a world-class culturalinstitution, affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute. Spanning over six acres, it is said to be the nation’s most comprehensive account of World War II in the Asiatic Pacific Theater. Facts, stories, authentic artifacts of the Pacific War … including submarines, both American and Japanese planes, the case of the atomic bomb, clothing and other personal effects of service members, stories of witnesses to the various battles and war-related paraphernalia. We studied for about hour or so before leaving, not even getting through half of all the information.  Bob stayed behind but joined us for lunch an hour later, then went back to continue exploring the museum.  And he didn’t finish even after a couple more hours of time spent there.  You can probably guess that he’s the history buff in the family … and loving it!! 

We never did get over to the Admiral Nimitz Gallery portion of the museum, a tribute to Fredericksburg’s own native and fleet Admiral of the Pacific theater.  There is also the Japanese Garden of Peace and the Memorial Courtyard that would have been nice to visit if we had the time.  But the lure of strolling the Main Street’s boutiques, galleries, cowboy wears, etc., was just too tempting!  Of course, in the spirit of “doing what the natives do”, we opted for a nice German lunch at the Silver Creek Beer Garden and Grill.  Their German beer was very tasty, their German sausages outstanding, and the Rueben and Schnitzel sandwiches were delicious! 

We continued with more strolling in and out of shops along Main Street after lunch, admiring the Cowboy stores with that wonderful smell of leather!  And one cannot pass by a Chocolate Shop without stopping in to indulge … cabernet- or tawny port- or whiskey- or bourbon-filled chocolate … yummm.  The kids didn’t get any of those, of course! St. Mary’s Catholic Church was also a good stop.  The stained-glass windows depicting the various stages of the life of Jesus, the colorful pieta, and the very lovely altar all provided a peaceful respite for a few prayers before leaving town.

But wait … as we came into town this morning we saw a big sign saying “Das Peach Haus” with such a cute antique-type facade, we just knew that this Peach family had to stop there on our way back … which we did.   A peach orchard was planted in 1928; a roadside produce stand opened in 1989, and the specialty food company founded by Case Fisher and Mark Wieser grew from there. They do over 150 specialty sauces, jams and jellies. They host a cooking school plus a tasting room for their wines!  It really was a fun little stop – a great place to find all things “peaches” … or jalapeno, raspberry, berry, salsa, flavored balsamic vinegar, etc. , etc., etc.

After enjoying a day of meandering around a portion of Texas and then picking up a few items needed for tomorrow and the trip home, we relax with a couple movies and chill out with the family. 

God Bless!

San Antonio, Texas -- Day 5, January 26, 2023

 

 San Antonio, Texas – Day 5, January 26, 2023

The Lackland AFB graduation ceremony on this somewhat chilly morning was very moving and touching. The Air Force works very hard to instill a sense of patriotism and excellence in these young men and women who have now become part of the larger force which defends our Nation.  The sound of 561 new Airmen saying the Air Force pledge and taking their oath, in unison, brought shivers over me.  Their pledge is one that every person should strive for!  We are very proud of our Isabelle!

We all had a delicious Mexican breakfast/lunch at Martinez Café, then drove downtown to explore the Spanish Governor’s Palace.  This Presidio … and numerous other mission churches and forts in the area …  was  built during the time of rivalry between Spain and France in an attempt to guard against France advancing further into eastern Texas.  This building was originally constructed in 1722 as a one-room house for the Captain of the garrison, but the building was expanded to include more living area, an office, bedrooms and a kitchen.  Another room was added when the captains starting to sell merchandises brought up from Mexico to supplement their income.  The space ceased to function as a military post in 1821, after which the building was used for commercial purposes until the 1920s. The City of San Antonio started restorations on the building in the 1930s, continuing that restoration even today. 

One of the functions of the Presidio was to protect the priests at the local Missions including the Alamo as well as the families that came to settle here. In 1731, fifteen families from the Canary Islands immigrated to establish the town we now call San Antonio. They also established what is now the Cathedral of San Fernando located just a few blocks away.  While they are doing restoration on the outside of the front entrance to the Cathedral, the inside is so beautiful.  The most striking is the beautiful golden altarpiece, the large three-dimensional Stations of the Cross, the beautiful wooden Pieta and the beautiful wooded carving of St. Juan Diego with Our Lady of Guadalupe’s image on his tilma. There was also a very beautiful … new-to-me … image of Our Lady … Our Lady of Candelarlia, Patroness of the Canary Islands. It was donated to the Church in honor of those 56 immigrants from the Canary Islands who had such a significant influence in the settling of this area.

Next up … a very leisurely stroll along the River Walk … enjoying the beauty of the walkway, the varied types of restaurants, some shopping, the theatre area, the ducks, the tourist boats … a delicious ice cream cone!!  The River walk is the icon of San Antonio, and they certainly do a nice job of creating an inviting environment.  All of us, most of all Isabelle whose been up since 4 a.m., were tired; so we came back to the house for relaxation, more family time, Texas BBQ for dinner, then … after an emotional final good-bye … taking Belle back to the base.  Again, so, so many Blessings!!

 

 

Antonio, San Texas -- Day 4, January 25, 2023

It’s been an exciting day reuniting with Isabelle after her Coining Ceremony. It was also quite nostalgic for Bob as well … it was 60 ½ years ago that he too graduated here at Lackland Air Force Base as an Airman. Having a granddaughter follow that same path merits a special pride.  Isabelle knew that her parents and we were coming down, but she did not know about her two brothers … there were many tears of joy!  So Airman 2^nd Class Isabelle Peach was able to spend the rest of the day with us … breakfast with her favorite, doughnuts, catch-up with everything that’s gone on the last almost 2 months and games at the house; and then we ventured out to explore a piece of San Antonio together.

There are four Mission Communities in the San Antonio area, established here by the Spanish since the early 1700s, and still very active today. This was all Spanish colonial land at that time, and through these missions the indigenous and Spanish cultures gradually melded together. We toured the mission of San Jose with its very large center area that houses the Church along the northern edge, the granary in the northwest corner and living quarters completely surrounding the central courtyard.  Ranching was done outside of the walled area.  The entrance to the Church had a large bell tower to one side (with the bells ringing at 3 p.m. when we were there). Surrounding the main entrance to the Church were several statues and ornate carvings, with both a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and of Our Lady.  The sanctuary itself as well as the Chapel were both very beautiful … very reverent places to pray. 

We then headed into town to find an Italian restaurant … Dough Pizzeria was open, so we ventured in and thoroughly enjoyed not only their delicious pizzas and homemade mozzarella cheese, but drinks (wine flights for Suzanne and me) and great family time together before having to take Isabelle back to the barracks … until tomorrow’s graduation ceremony!  Words do not adequately express our gratitude for His many Blessings bestowed upon us! 

 

San Antonio, Texas -- Day 3, January 24, 2023

  San Antonio, Texas – Day 3, January 24, 2023

It’s been a lazy, rainy morning with everyone catching up on sleep; however, we did watch the movie The Alamo prior to visiting the actual Alamo … a good history lesson for the boys!  The Alamo itself wasn’t anything like I imagined … I was surprised to find the remains of the fort/church are actually right downtown San Antonio, with most of what was the fort area now incorporated as part of the city! But the historical background was well done as well as fascinating, as history usually is.  Some interesting tidbits the boys took away that they hadn’t learned before are:  the Mission was first built over 300 years ago; over 167 people died in the battle when Santa Anna overran the fort; that a dozen women and children did survive that battle; that that 1839 battle was not so much about the land as it was about Texans not wanting to be under the tyranny of Santa Anna who had dissolved the Mexican Constitution; that the Mission Church had many changes over the years and at one point even had a wooden roof … not in line with the building materials of the day!  This was a nice stop.

After that we strolled the River Walk … that too was a bit different than I had anticipated, as I didn’t realize the river takes so many twists and turns. And the actual “walk” is well below street level. But the City has really done a great job because the walk is leisurely and peaceful, many ducks in the water as well as birds making themselves at home along the river, the scenic tour boats driving up and down the river, the many restaurants, the obvious Spanish influence in the architecture and bridges with the cowboy culture incorporated via statues and types of restaurants.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant overlooking the river and enjoyed the strolling mariachi band come by every so often!  Great food there as well!

Frank and Suzanne fly in late tonight; and very, very early tomorrow morning we go onto Lackland Air Force Base to watch Isabelle’s run (well, maybe the rest will go and we'll just be ready to greet her once she gets back here at our abode!). We then get to spend the rest of the day with her … Am so excited to see her and to learn about her boot camp experience here since early last December!  

San Antonio, Texas -- Days 1 and 2, January 22 & 23, 2023

San Antonio, Texas – Days 1 and 2, January 22 & 23, 2023

As we leave home with our two grandsons, the hoar frost on everything creates an absolutely exquisite landscape all the way down to Kansas City.  We constantly marvel at the beauty and bask in its majesty. We also give thanks for nature’s exhibition of sun rays radiating from behind the clouds, and the evening star (planet) and just the slightest sliver of the moon aligned perfectly just at dusk.  How good it is!

As we drive through southern Kansas and into Oklahoma, there are thousands of red lights on both sides of the road … some close, some far off, blinking in no discernible pattern.  What are they??  We did enjoy seeing 5 eagles and a whopping 21 hawks as we traveled along!  It’s been a long day, so sleep came easily in Blackwell, Oklahoma.

Monday morning we awoke to frost all over the car … it’s still below freezing.  But the daylight illuminates the thousands of wind turbines all around us … thus explaining the red light district!  The remaining drive to San Antonio was long … interesting scenery in Oklahoma; but, surprisingly, mostly city from Dallas all the rest of the way.  We did stop at the Visitors’ Center upon crossing the Texas border to pick up maps and other pamphlets.  One of those suggested a must-stop at the Czech Shop/Bakery along the way.  It took some doing, but we found it and did enjoy kolachki, reminding ourselves of our heritage … but also noting that probably this Nana’s Kolachki are even better!!! Only sighted 11 hawks today!

We settle into our abode for the next week, enjoy the now 60-degree weather, pick up a few groceries, watch a funny movie and hit the pillows for some needed sleep, thankful for arriving safe and sound.  It’s been very good spending this time with grandsons!