Kathy and I just spent a week in San Antonio, Texas, so that we could warm up and thaw out. This is the second year we have visited this area as part of our “Get Warm Program.” We were joined again by her sister Mary and brother-in-law Mike and we really enjoyed spending our time with family.
We stayed at Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch which turned out to be a wonderful place to spend time. Good food, nice exercise room, heated (84 degrees) indoor\outdoor pool with hot tub and water slide.
http://www.wildoakranch.hyatt.com
View from our balcony
Views of our unit
The first two days we were there we read books and spent a lot of time in the pool and hot tub and just relaxed. Also it was cool (40-50 daytime and 30s at night) and damp outside. Then the sun came out and temps moved in to the high 60s to mid 70s and we went outside to enjoy the weather.
San Antonio has many sites to see and one of these is the San Antonio Mission Trail. We visited several of these and learned some of their history and purpose. The first one we visited was Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo and it is the one with the National Park Visitors Center where we stopped first and also took a tour of the mission with a park ranger. For more info on the missions go to www.nps.gov/saan many of the missions had restoration done by the WPA. Although it is a National Park, the Catholic Church still owns and operates the churches and at the two we visited services are still held.
Views of Mission San Jose…
The second one we visited was Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion and it is noted for having original frescos that date from mid 1700s.
Front view of Concepcion
View of Concepcion
Concepcion Fresco
Concepcion Fresco
Concepcion Fresco
Concepcion Fresco
Inside Concepcion
Kathy and Mary in front of Concepcion
We spent part of another day at the Botanical Gardens and although it was not the ideal time of year to visit gardens it was a great place to explore.
Fern room
Pool
Palm Tree area
general view
The part I liked the most was the tropical plant area and the unique structure that housed it.
On our last full day we took a road trip to Corpus Christi for a great seafood lunch/dinner (it was a ton of food) and a boat tour of the waterfront. This tour included a look at a replica of the Nina, Columbus’s ship and of the aircraft carrier the USS Lexington which served from 1943 until 1991 and was acquired by Corpus Christi in 1994.
Skyline from the water
Nina
Warer front
Shrimp boat
USS Lexington
USS Lexington
Ross and the girls
Ross, Mike and Mary on tour boat
Of course, the rule in life is all good things must come to an end so early in the AM on Saturday we headed to the airport with hopes that we could get home…which we did. Returning home was a return to the reality of life in the “Far Frozen Northland” that we call home…
Friday
Saturday
The good part of returning home was the greeting we got from Charlie the Cat on Saturday night and from Buddy Dog when we picked him up on Sunday morning….
