Day 3: San Antonio

Once again we had a hiking-less day... thank God. We started off visiting Pedernales Falls State Park, or should I say, the Pedernales trickle of water. Again we missed out on what could have been a marvelous cascade of water, but we still had fun walking among the rocks and spotting fish and turtles in the lake. With the day growing hotter by the minute though, we didn't stay in the park for very long, and within a hour or so we were making our way back up the short trail to our car.

Our next stop was the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch, also known as the Texas White House. We were only hear to see the family ranch, but settled for taking an audio tour after the rangers at the visitor center urged participation. Two minutes after we put the CD in, we were going in the wrong direction, with a grandfather voice telling us random information about the area. Towards the end of a seemingly never ending tour, past exciting grass fields and dry river beds we came upon the Johnson Ranch. Just in time for a tour through the house and garages, we bought our tickets and proceeded into the ranch. It was like stepping back in time, seeing the outdated wallpaper and furniture, in addition to remote-less TV. We walked through Johnson's study, the family room, the kitchen (were the former president resided in a plush throne while sitting a the dinner table) and out into the yard. The house was beautiful, and our tour guide had a lot of interesting information to tell. Afterwards, we took pictures by Johnson's private plane - and my personal favorite, the presidential podium, where we had a lot of fun posing as political speakers.

After about an hour's drive we arrived in San Antonio, making our first stop in the city the San Jose Mission. We weren't allowed inside, but the building's outside architecture was beautiful - stone arches and carvings of crosses and saintly figures. There were also wooden shelters surrounding the perimeters that were made for Indians. Almost all the doors were closed except for one - and as we walked over to peek inside, we amused to find it occupied by a Coke machine. After taking pictures we headed into the visitor center, where we each got small hand made weaving, and where I made a rubbing print of all the San Antonio Missions.

Finally, we ended the day on the famous river walk. We made our way past boat tours, gardens, restaurants, and the occasional tourist shops. The entire walk was gorgeous - the kind of scenery I imagine Verona would have. Along the way we past the legendary Alamo. This was a quick stop, only consisting of a couple pictures and a brief walk through the building and the grounds. Then we were back on the river walk, enjoying the city before retreating back to our hotel room for the night.