San Antonio to Fort Stockton

On the road again....

Charlotte driving the rig!!!!!

Home, home on the range.

Saw no deer or no antelope playing.

Old Spanish Missions

Exterior of church

Mission San Jose

2 Room Apartments housed Indians

Courtyard

La Ventana de Rosa

The Chapel

Another courtyard

Courtyard Espada Mission

Espada Chapel

Espada Chapel Interior

Espada Chapel Entry

Our last day in San Antonio. We spent the afternoon exploring a couple of the old missions in the area which date back to the 18th century. "They were established as an outreach of the Spanish Government and the Catholic Church. The Franciscan Fathers founded each mission to evangelize the regional natives, teach them skills to help them adopt to Spanish ways and minister to their needs."(www.oldspanishmissions.org)
The architecture and methodology of those times simply amaze me.

Enjoying Our Hobbies On The Road

Charlotte led me here.

I led Charlotte here.

Happy Camper!!

Down the fairway

We had a down day on Wednesday just hanging out at the house. On Thursday we traveled north to New Braunsfel, TX which we thought might be similar to some of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Amish communities only German based but were unable to find anything of interest to us. We did find a quilt shop though so all was not lost. Today Charlotte was going to quilt shop hop while I golfed but many roads were block off for "Fiesta" Parade in down town San Antonio so she only made it to one shop. I, on the other hand, did get to play a nice golf course. Historic Brackenridge Park Golf Course is right outside of down town and has been played by some very notable golfers. Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Bruce Lietzke to name a few. Couldn't come close to matching their abilities or scores but did enjoy my day. By the way, Charlotte didn't come home empty handed from the quilt shop girls.

San Antonio, Texas

The Alamo

A beauty amongst the beautiful. 

Getting started at the River Walk.

Beauty, River Walk, San Antonio, TX

Koolaid

River Walk, San Antonio, TX

River Walk, San Antonio

One of many outside eateries.

San Antonio skyline

As you can see, we made it to San Antonio, TX. Departed New Orleans Monday AM with an overnight stop in Beaumont, TX. 270 miles New Orleans to Beaumont. 278 miles from Beaumont to San Antonio. Its been taking us about 5 to 6 hours per segment which seems to be the perfect amount of time to spend on the road. This time includes a 30 to 45 minute break for lunch at a rest stop and of course stopping to feed the monster at an available gasoline trough.

San Antonio has been a joy so far. Visiting the Alamo took me way back to my childhood when on many occasion I elected to be Davy Crockett while protecting my yard or Dad's garage from the evil General Santa Anna. It is much smaller than I envisioned and is now being utilized as a solemn beautiful memorial to those who gave their lives defending this wonderful country.

The River Walk is everything and then some of what people have told us. Its hard to believe that someone had such a vision back in 1929. I'm sure it has evolved over time but to have such a vision in 1929 is beyond my comprehension.  I'm hoping the pictures give you some sense of the place because I don't think I can give it justice with my words. All I can say is I love it!!!

New Orleans

Home is where we park it.

People enjoying the streets.

We were here!!!

Blue Angels

Where in the world are the meandering mountaineers now? You guessed it The Big Easy, New Orleans, La. Left Fort Pickens National Campground on Wednesday and drove the 210 miles to our current home on Lake Pontchartrain. Thursday drove into the French Qtr only to find parking places to be at a premium. Came back to campground where we were entertained for over an hour by the Navy's Blue Angels practicing practically over our camp site. They will be here all weekend to help celebrate Navy week in NOLA. This celebration is to commemorate the Navy's importance to the War of 1812 as well as its continued defense of our nation.  We took the shuttle from the campground into French Qtr where we observed tall ships parked along the Mississippi near the Riverwalk, sampled seafood at Drago's Seafood Restaurant, beignets at Cafe Du Monde, and strolled the streets including the infamous "Bourbon St" until dark. We'll be hanging around here until Monday as we continue our trek westward.

Fort Pickens National Sea Shore Campground

This is a peek at the campground at Ft. Pickens

Departed Holt, Fl on Sunday and headed 58 miles west to Fort Pickens National Seashore Campground. Quite a different landscape as you can see. Very desert-like but very white sand and surrounded by the aqua waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Nice park!! 

Had a great visit on Saturday afternoon with cousins Jim and Shirley Riggs from Atmore, Alabama. They were located about 65 miles from our campground in Holt, Fl.

This is a man made lake and beach located in the campground near Jasper, FL

A premium site at Florida Gateway Resort. Includes your own private hot tub under cabana with

grill and fire pit. Nice digs for on the road but will set you back about $80/night.

2nd day of our journey landed us in River's Edge RV Campground, Holt, FL. 247 miles from Jasper west on I10. It was a pleasant drive. Nice to see the greener foliage this area has to offer. Gain an hour time wise just don't know what to do with it.

Our nice shaded campsite in River's Edge.

This is an example of life on the road, so far.........

Off We Go

Today was the first day of our journey. We traveled 303 miles from Live Oak RV Park just north of Punt Gorda, Fl to Florida Gateway Resort near Jasper, Fl. Trip was relatively uneventful until our GPS girl sent us 1.6 miles down a dusty all sand road. Was like off roading in a 35 ft motor home. But she did get us to the park. Off to Holt, Fl tomorrow for a couple of days.