Just what the doctor ordered...

Today was the first day we have been able to get out and about. We arrived in San Antonio last Wednesday. The weather has not been so good here...rainy, windy, sleeting and yes, even a few snow flurries...with highs in the upper 30's - low 40's F. Clouds early this morning gave way to sunshine about 10:00 am with a high around 50 and we were so outta here! First stop...The Alamo.

 

This is the entrance we took from Crockett Street. The Alamo is maintained by the Daughters of the Republic (since 1905). There is no admission and the DRT depends solely on money from donations and proceeds from the gift shop. The Long Barrack Museum was built using the remains of the original Long Barrack. It houses exhibits on the Alamo's historic past as well as a theater which shows a very informative 15 minute video.

Acequia...the waterway marks the remains of the irrigation system that served the Spanish communities along the San Antonio River. We have never seen such huge coy!

 A couple of happy tourists!

The Shrine...dedicated to the memory of the men who fell in defense of the Alamo.

The stone walls and arches that surround the Alamo have been erected since the 1920's.

The well in the background dates back to the Mission Period. This live oak tree was transplanted to the courtyard around 1912. It was 40 years old when it was moved.

If you want to hear God laugh...

The old table and booths...

...the new table and booths...

...the new table, chairs, and cabinet with baskets!

  It all started when we were in Freeport, FL. We stayed there 2 months and had planned on going to the Ocala area Dec. 1st. We had reservations at the Wilderness RV Resort in Silver Springs for 3 - 4 months. Two weeks before we were to head that way,Joe started with a tooth ache which led to a chain of events that landed us back in Pine Mountain, GA where we stay when we are visiting in our hometown area. What a blessing that was...the evening we arrived, Joe was in severe pain with acute gastritis. It seems the antibiotics he had taken for his tooth, ate away the lining in his stomach. While he was recovering from that, he had a tooth pulled, a new root canal done on the tooth that caused all this mess in the first place and then a new crown. One of Joe's favorite expressions is.....If you want to hear God laugh, just tell Him your plans!
  So here we are in Victoria, TX. We arrived on Dec. 23rd. We headed this way instead of back tracking to Florida because our travels for 2013 were to be out west. I have never seen the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Southern California, etc. But weather wise, we knew we needed to stay south. The older we get, the more we dislike cold, rainy, windy weather! Southern Texas seemed like the perfect solution. We booked a stay at the KOA on South Padre Island on the Gulf. Once we arrived in Victoria, we took a google satellite view of the KOA on SPI and were shocked! It looked like a Wal-Mart parking lot and not somewhere to spend a month! We read some reviews and quickly cancelled! So on January 2nd we head to San Antonio instead. I have never been there either. We don't expect the weather to be much better, but at least there will be places to go and things to see.
  There isn't much in Victoria...so we have been busy doing things around the house! While we were in Pine Mountain, we ordered a new dining table from rvfurniture.com so it could be delivered to our land house. The old table was made from the same pressed paper product with a vinyl coating that the old countertops we had removed were made from. I now have a real wooded cherry table. It is very pretty! Once we got here and set it all up, we both agreed the booths had to go! So we found chairs and cushions at Pier One here in Victoria and Joe dismantled the booths. I will miss the storage, but it sure makes our space look and feel so much bigger! All my seasonal "decorations" will now be stowed under the bus. We also found a small cabinet unit with baskets (no drawers) to store small things in at Hobby Lobby. I do like our new look.....but I am alittle sad for the pups. They so loved the booths!!!