Backyard Traveler: San Antonio, Texas

Enjoyed the sites of my home state of Texas at the Riverwalk in San Antonio with my dear friend Debra, who was visiting from Buffalo, New York.

I don’t know what’s taken me so long to spend a long weekend in San Antonio but it was an incredible joy! Between the peacefulness of the Riverwalk and the history of the Spanish missionaries from Spain, San Antonio truly has everything that I love to see and do while I travel.

In 1929, San Antonio native and architect Robert Hugman submitted plans for what would become the Riverwalk built along the San Antonio River. The present 15-mile winding Riverwalk is lined with restaurants, bars, museums and more.

Enjoy the Riverwalk sites.

Debra and me as we begin our walk along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 23, 2019)

Over time, the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, has expanded, and today there are over fifteen miles of walkways, as well as countless attractions and sights. (Nov. 23, 2019)

The Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 23, 2019)

A barge full of tourists moving under one of the many picturesque bridges along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 23, 2019)

A small garden along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 23, 2019)

The Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, winds and loops under picturesque bridges with two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants, bars and shops. (Nov. 23, 2019)

A cowboy sculpture along a bank of the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 23, 2019)

This marker along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas commemorates the 275th anniversary of the naming of the site that became the city of San Antonio. During the feat of St. Anthony of Padua on June 13, 1691, Padre Damian Massanet, encamped on the banks of this river, celebrated the first mass. And, subsequently, the city of San Antonio was established here in 1718. (Nov. 23, 2019)

A close-up of marker along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, that commemorates the 275th anniversary of the naming of the site that became the city of San Antonio. (Nov. 23, 2019)

One of the many picturesque bridges of the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, with a barge full of tourists passing underneath. (Nov. 23, 2019)

Me getting ready to enjoy my Tacos at the Casa Rio Tex-Mex restaurant along the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas. But what you don’t see is the delicious top-shelf Margarita on the rocks. (Nov. 23, 2019)

A night view of the Riverwalk in San Antonio with the red Torch of Friendship sculpture looming behind one of the many bridges. (Nov. 23, 2019)

A night view of the Riverwalk in San Antonio with the red Torch of Friendship sculpture. (Nov. 23, 2019)

Debra and I spent most of the day visiting the four missions established by Spain’s attempts to increase its wealth and spread the Catholic faith.

By the 1600s Spaniards penetrated areas to the east, encountering the Texas Indians for whom Texas is named. The missions formed part of a colonization system that flourished between 1747 and 1775, despite periodic raids by Apache and Comanche Indians.

By entering a mission, the natives were escaping the Apache raids from the north, deadly diseases from Mexico and drought in exchange for giving up their traditions to become Spanish, even accept a new religion and pledge loyalty to an unseen Spanish king.

Check out the four UNESCO World Heritage Site Spanish frontier missions at the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park and some other San Antonio sites.

Debra and me in front of the Mission Concepción Catholic Church which is said to look essentially as it did in the mid-1700s as the mission’s center of religious activity. It was Spanish policy that missionaries make mission community life like a Spanish village’s life. To develop a solid economy, they taught Mission Indians vocations. Men learned carpentry, masonry and stone-butting for building elaborate buildings. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Misión Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña (Mission Concepción Catholic Church) was originally established in 1716 in East Texas and moved to San Antonio in 1731. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Sunday mass taking place inside the Mission Concepción Catholic Church in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Wall paintings from the 1700s at a building by the Mission Concepción Catholic Church in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Indians of the San Antonio area, the Coahuiltecans, lived in small scattered groups. They took their food from the land and moved with the seasons. They spoke distinct dialects and practiced a religion of gods close to nature. They were a tough and skillful people who made a good living from a tough and harsh land. Threatened by warrior tribes on horseback and weakened by European diseases, many Coahuiltecans accepted the food and refuge offered by the missions. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The bastion or wall of the Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo in San Antonio, provided protection against Indian attacks and was founded on February 23, 1720. (Nov. 24, 2019)

A wonderful park ranger guide, Carmelita, with the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas, did a tour through the Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo. The mission was founded on February 23, 1720, because another mission had become overcrowded with refugees from the closed East Texas missions. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Indian Quarters, homes for the families entering the Mission San José were completed around 1755 and reconstructed again in the 1930s. (Nov. 24, 2019)

A close-up of the Indian Quarters at the Mission San José. (Nov. 23, 2019)

The Mission San José in San Antonio with the Indian Quarters to the right and the Cathedral in the distance. (Nov. 23, 2019)

Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was founded in 1720. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo in San Antonio founded in 1720. The church and the remains of the convent, which provided housing for the missionaries. The ruins reflect a major reconstruction begun by the Benedictine monks in 1861 that was never completed. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Me standing by the Rose Window of the Mission San José in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The church of the Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo in San Antonio. The mission was founded on February 23, 1720. The church, which was the second permanent church built by the mission inhabitants was completed around 1782. (Nov. 24, 2019)

A closer view of the exterior of the Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo church facade in San Antonio features, from the top: a cross, representing Jesus Christ, St. Joseph (San Jose) holding the infant Jesus, St. Dominic and St. Francis, Our Lady of Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary), and St. Joachim and St. Anne holding the infant Mary. (Nov. 24, 2019)

After Sunday mass service at the Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo church in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Inside the church of the Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo in San Antonio. (Nov. 23, 2019)

The Market Square area in San Antonio has been a public market for more than 100 years. (Nov. 24, 2019)

La Margarita Mexican Restaurant & Oyster Bar at the Market Square area in San Antonio is where Debra and I stopped for a late lunch and enjoyed the foot, the surroundings and definitely, the traditional margaritas. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Debra and I shared the beef fajitas for two at La Margarita Restaurant & Oyster Bar at the Market Square in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Tile art at the Market Square in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The beautiful San Fernando Cathedral also called the Cathedral of Our Lady of Candelaria and is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in downtown San Antonio, Texas, facing the city’s Main Plaza and is considered to be one of the oldest active cathedrals in the United States. (Nov. 24, 2019)

A close-up of the beautiful San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 24, 2019)

A close-up of side view of the beautiful San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Along the side chapel at the entrance of the San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio, Texas, are the remains of entombed Alamo heroes. (Nov. 24, 2019)

On the exterior courtyard of the San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio, Texas, is this statue of San Antonio De Padua for whom the city of San Antonio is named. This statue was presented to the city by Order of the Alhambra on Aug. 14, 1955. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Mission San Francisco de la Espada, also known as Mission Espada, is a Roman Rite Catholic mission established in 1690 by Spain and relocated in 1731 to present-day San Antonio, Texas, in what was then known as northern New Spain. Missions were established by Catholic religious orders to spread Christianity among the local natives. This mission, along with four others, comprise the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The altar inside the Mission San Francisco de la Espada, also known as Mission Espada, is a Roman Rite Catholic mission established in 1690 by Spain and relocated in 1731 to present-day San Antonio, Texas, in what was then known as northern New Spain. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Mission San Juan Capistrano, originally christened in 1716 as La Misión San José de los Nazonis and located in East Texas, was founded in 1731 by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order, on the eastern banks of the San Antonio River in present-day San Antonio, Texas. The Stations of the Cross, carved stone embedded into the ground in Roman numerals, are located along the eastern path leading to the Mission Capistrano church. (Nov. 24, 2019)

A close-up of the Roman numeral Stations of the Cross, carved stones embedded into the ground, along the eastern path leading to the Mission San Juan Capistrano, originally christened in 1716 as La Misión San José de los Nazonis and located in East Texas, was founded in 1731 by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order, on the eastern banks of the San Antonio River in present-day San Antonio, Texas. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Mission San Juan Capistrano (originally christened in 1716 as La Misión San José de los Nazonis and located in East Texas) was founded in 1731 by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order, on the eastern banks of the San Antonio River in present-day San Antonio, Texas. A $2.2 million renovation in 2012 stabilized the foundation of the mission’s church. The shifting clay soil beneath the building had caused severe cracks and falling plaster. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Inside the Mission San Juan Capistrano in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Tierra Sagrada, in same complex as the Mission San Juan Capistrano, is the site of a burial ground. Beginning about 1780, the remains of indigenous people and other local inhabitants were interred in this church that was never completed. They were removed during an archaeological investigation in 1967. They were reinterred in 1999 in a joint ceremony conducted by the Archdiocese of San Antonio and descendants of the original people. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Bexar County Courthouse in downtown San Antonio was designed by architect J. Riely Gordon in the Romanesque Revival style out of red sandstone. Ground was broken for Gordon’s structure on August 4, 1891, and the cornerstone was laid December 17, 1892. After several delays, construction was fully completed in 1896. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The Courthouse functions as the county seat of Bexar County and borders the Main Plaza along with another architectural landmark, the Cathedral of San Fernando. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Founders Monument, cast in bronze metal, represent a Native American man, a Franciscan friar, a Spanish soldier stationed at the presidio, and a couple who migrated from the Canary Islands at the Bexar County Courthouse along the Main Plaza in downtown San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Founders Monument, cast in bronze metal outside the Bexar County Courthouse along the Main Plaza in downtown San Antonio, are five figures who represent the cultural crossroad of early San Antonio: a Native American man, a Franciscan friar, a Spanish soldier stationed at the presidio, and a couple who migrated from the Canary Islands. (Nov. 24, 2019)

This close-up shows a Spanish soldier stationed at the presidio, and the man from a couple who migrated from the Canary Islands are two of the symbolic Founders Monument depicting five primary figures in bronze are representative of groups that contributed to life in the colonial village of New Spain that would grow into San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Looking down onto the Riverwalk in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

My selfie with this Mayan Aztec head sculpture on the upper street by the Riverwalk in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Mission San Antonio de Valero, commonly called the Alamo, began as a Spanish mission church in 1718 but became a military stronghold for the Texas independence movement. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The historic Alamo in San Antonio tells the story of 189 colonists, American volunteers and Tejanos, undeterred by the Mexican Army’s superior numbers, vowed to give their lives in defense of the Alamo and the cause of Texas’ independence. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Calvary Courtyard at the Alamo features bronze statues of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo including William Barret Travis, John William Smith, David Crockett, James Bowie, Susanna Dickinson and Jose Antonio Navarro. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The bronze statue of Juan Nepomuceno Seguin (1806-1890) at the Calvary Courtyard at the Alamo in San Antonio. Seguin was born to a prominent San Antonio family. He was both a soldier and politician, becoming Mayor of San Antonio in 1841. He was at the Alamo for the first part of the siege, and survived only because he was sent to gather reinforcements. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The bronze statue of David Crockett (1786-1836) at the Calvary Courtyard at the Alamo in San Antonio. Crocket was a frontiersman who became a well-known politician and humorist in early 19th Century America. In a period of history that celebrated the rise of the common man, no common man had become a household name by the time of his death at the Alamo on March 6, 1826. Born in Tennessee, Crockett took advantage of changes in society that opened public office to more people. Crockett came to Texas to revive his political career. Instead, he became the best-known Alamo defender. (Nov. 24, 2019)

This Live Oak tree by the Calvary Courtyard of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio is dedicated “To The Alamo Heroes” by Walter Whall. The tree, which people at the time were surprised to learn that trees could be transplanted, was already about 40 years old when Whall brought it to the Alamo in 1912. The base of the century-old tree now measures 12 feet in circumference while its main branches are over 50 feet long. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Alamo Cenotaph, also known as the Spirit of Sacrifice, is a monument close to the actual Alamo in San Antonio. It commemorates the Battle of the Alamo of the Texas Revolution, which was fought at the adjacent Alamo Mission. The monument was erected in celebration of the centenary of the battle, and bears the names of those known to have fought on the Texas side.
The shaft of the monument rises 60 feet from its base which is 40 feet long and 12 feet wide. It was erected in grey Georgia marble and pink Texas granite and incorporates images of the Alamo garrison leaders and 187 names of known Alamo defenders, derived from the research of historian Amelia Williams. Later research has shown some listed on the cenotaph were not there, and the total of Alamo combatants has risen with newer research. (Nov. 24, 2019)

The Alamo Cenotaph, also known as the Spirit of Sacrifice, is a monument close to the actual Alamo in San Antonio. The marker on the cenotaph was erected by the State of Texas in 1936 to commemorate 100 years of Texas independence. (Nov. 24, 2019)

Topping off our grand time in San Antonio with this delicious Margarita at La Margarita Mexican Restaurant & Oyster Bar at the Market Square area in San Antonio. (Nov. 24, 2019)

A quick stop in Waco.

Often associated with cult leader David Koresh, Waco has found a new life as a new found lifeas a tourist attraction thanks in large part to Joanna and Chip Gaines’s hit HGTV home renovation show Fixer Upper, which brought fresh attention to Waco through the show and their Magnolia Market area. Debra is familiar with the show and since Waco is just an exit off of I-35, as we made our way back to Dallas, a quick stop was in order.