Pictures of San Antonio!

So here are my pictures from this past few days! In the middle of downtown is this sculpture, and is in all the travel books. Welcome to SA!

There were lots of ducks in the water! They made me happy. Yippee :)

On my own I decided to visit the four missions around downtown. The first one was lalalala Mission Concepcion. It really has a long name but the sign says it all. It's very interesting, though, because there's a barrio/ghetto just beside it.

Closer up..... So, if you don't know much. The taller area is the church. The arches beside it occupied the library, the mill, etc. No ac in a Texas summer? God must have REALLY been with them...

Then I went to the largest mission, Mission San Jose. This picture was taken when I entered the area. The SMALL rooms along the outside were where the Native American families slept. The Native Americans took refuge here because of the Apache Indian massacres and European disease both wiping out their hunter/gatherer tribes.

A further away view of San Jose as I was walking along the Native American houses.

Up close to the church...

The Native Americans usually began their days with prayer. Then the Spanish friars would give them work to do. One of their MARVELS was building aqueducts. They built them all the way San Antonio river to all four missions. It really is amazing to think of how they did this.

This was my favorite picture because it captured the church and arches and also part of the garden. I love colors...

I had like 5 travel books with me and one of them told me this was the best BBQ in San Antonio. Although San Antonio is not known for BBQ, hello!!!! We're still in Texas, home of the best bbq. This place was very weird. The signs all talk about their breakfast and their fried chicken. Last time I checked when you BBQ you cook meat without any coating. I got a chopped beef sandwich, which was waaay cheap. It was more like a sloppy joes but it worked. Everyone else in the restaurant had chicken fingers so it was just weird....

Then a short distance away was the Mission Espada Dam. Pretty area huh? Except it's in the middle of nowhere and I was kind of worried my body would never be found.

Then I traveled to the DESERTED Mission San Juan. There weren't even park rangers there. I was too nervous to go into the church alone. It was just kind of spooky. However, the land was a sacred burial ground back in the day so maybe it just didn't have a good vibe.

While on the way to Mission Espada I passed by its aqueduct. Just....amazing to think of how much work and brains this must have taken.

And last there was Mission Espada. A very small church, and not as deserted. There was a cute sign inside the church, though, that asked to keep the door close so that dirt and CATS didn't come in....supposedly it has been a problem...awwwwww meow!

Then Shanna was done with her conference so I met her back for some shopping and the talent show. Then we ate at Cafe Ole on the River Walk....boy, was it a bit warm. But the margarita helped :)

So did the mariachi band :)

This morning we woke up (late) and just had enough time for Market Square. We did some more shopping (I am so good at shopping...I wish it was my job.)

This was the indoor market. Many Mexican goods...clothes, sombreros, sculptures, etc. I got some mini sombreros, those colorful robe-thingys, and this fun game kind of like the Dreidel game. I thought the kids would like it when we celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

In the other indoor market was a traditional dancing performance group. Pretty good. The audience was a drag, so quiet. It was a little dancers birthday (like 7 years old) and she was all dressed up in the pretty dress and she danced with her mom, dad, and other dancers. It was cute (and free...whoop whoop)

We tried to eat at Mi Tierra (in THE BOOK) but it was a 45 minute wait so I decided I'll eat there some other time. And now I'm safe at home once again. I have meetings Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so travelling with have to wait until after then. Til next time!!

Adios :D

San Antonio Weekend

So, my friend Shanna called me up yesterday with a free trip to San Antonio and I took her up on it. However, I left so quickly that I didn't bring the connection to upload pictures. However, it's been a fun day.

I went and saw all the missions (except the Alamo which I've already seen plenty of times). The Top 10 San Antonio book said to try this BBQ place called Bill Miller's BBQ, or something like that, but it wasn't good. In fact, they didn't swear by their BBQ as much as their fried chicken...and last time I checked fried chicken was not bbq. Thanks, San An...

Then I met Shanna at the River Center Mall for some shopping. Got a cute San Antonio picture frame, ornament and children's book. Then we went to the Convention Center and watched a talent show of choir directors which is part of Shanna's convention.

After that we went to the River Walk and eat some Mexican food and a big margarita. [Not without waiting 30 minutes in the 95 degree heat.] Good times though! The mariachi band was great.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to see the Alamo IMAX, maybe the McNay Museum, and go to Market Square for some shopping and authentic Mexican food before heading home.

Houston

Ok, so I've talked to a few people and feel bad because I never finished the trip. I was getting tired of traveling so I made it home July 4 at like 3am. My dad breathed a sigh of relief and things went back to normal. I'm just working on school stuff and organizing things. As August approaches I'll be getting ready for school to start. Always exciting for a brand new start!

Check back for some fun places as time goes on. :)

Day 17: Old Lyme, CT

Ok, I finished up the Hill-Stead Museum today and stayed at the Bee and Thistle Inn. Time to go home! I'll leave tomorrow morning after a good night's sleep. It will probably take me about 3 days to get home but hopefully can see home by July 4. I'll post some more pictures if I get the chance. Thanks for reading and sharing my journey with me. Hope to see you soon!

Day 16: Ridgefield and Westport, CT

OMG FINALLY! I've been working on uploading these pictures for 2 days now. Last night I got the previous days up but then I couldn't get a wireless signal to save my life. Then today my the site is being goofy about uploading pictures. So....here's YESTERDAY's adventures... I started the day in Ridgefield, CT which is closer to the NY border so I drove a good hour or so from the northern coast.

The Book talked about Chez Lenard which is a hot dog stand that's been in business for over 150 years. The vendor was the actual owner and he couldn't have been nicer. These aren't your average hot dogs, though. They are french hoity toity dogs. The one talked about in the book has toppings of french cheese fondue cooked in a white wine sauce. I asked for that one but the vendor suggested the Le Suisse (I believe it was called) blah blah blah blah with something extra...which turned out to be horseraddish sauce. It was shown on an episode of Martha Stewart and won all these fancy awards. So I hesitantly tried it and it wasn't bad. Very filling. In case I didn't like it I ordered a regular, plain hot dog just instead and ended up eating that for snack after shopping haha.

After shopping in the coolest toy store and children's book store I went to the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. It was craaaaazy. I have some pictures I'll post on my regular sight soon that show some of the exhibits. Craziness for sure. You know how men hang antlers and animals on the wall? Well these were animal bodies with human heads. Definitely spooky yet, I think it was saying something.....

Then I drove a good 20 minutes or so to the Bruce Museum which was actually on my things to do list a week ago but Greenwich is just so far away. It's right on the border and I've been doing things about an hour and a half away. However, I was closer and, although the picture makes you think it's like 5 stories.....it was just one. So, it was cool. The greatest thing??? All museums are FREE on Tuesdays. :)

After the museum it was time to check in to the Inn at National Hall. GREAT place! It looks more like a NYC apartment building to me. However, when you go in those doors it's just an elevator. So, I was completely stumped. (You have to go up to the 3rd floor.)

Each room has a theme and I had the Lemon Room...everything was yellow...duh, huh?

For my evening entertainment I went to the Westport County Playhouse and saw "tick, tick...Boom!" about a guy who turns 30. Throughout the whole thing I started thinking...that is all gonna happen to me way too soon.

I'm going to go for a walk and take some pictures of where I am currently. Then I'll come back and post them on here. (There is no tv at this inn but there is wireless internet so we're good!)

Day 15: (Yesterday) Essex Steam Train

So, first off, sorry about not posting last night. I'm sure it broke your heart and you were probably biting your finger nails and now they're all bare. :( Eh, I was working on my real travel site. You'll see in the pictures that there wasn't really a work area so it was really uncomfortable to have the laptop out. So, YESTERDAY, I rode on the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat. It was quite the experience. How slow our previous citizens travelled! The Steam Train ran up about 10 miles and then back. In between there was an hour and a half trip on a riverboat. This was the engine. I LOOOOOVED the sound of the ..... "toot toot." I don't know what that's called ... :D

I rode in a pullman car. The seats were so squeaky. And you swish from side to side.

Here's what my view was on the inside...

and outside the window...... :D

This would be the riverboat...

Great views of the Connecticut River. I'd had quite a few of these lately.

Then I stayed at a well-known CT Inn named the Copper Beech Inn. It was quite nice. My reward for hassling with them was staying in a suite for the price of the regular rooms. However, my credit card still shows that I paid for a suite. (I'm totally getting screwed on these deals but I'm harrassing them until my credit card bill shows otherwise.)

The bedroom area...

The seperate seating/tv room...I ended up eating dinner here in their nice french restaurant. It wasn't that good....

Day 14: Essex, CT

Today is the two week mark. Wow, I've been gone for two whole weeks. I must be outta money. Good thing payday is on its way! Well, today I was in Essex, CT. It's right off the Connecticut River so more beautiful scenery. In fact, I just spent some time by the dock reading and talking to Mom. Very peaceful here. No fast food. No traffic lights. It's like a whole other world. I started my trip to Essex at The Griswold Inn, opened since 1776. They have a famous Sunday Hunt Brunch which I ate at. The waffle station was my favorite :) I'm also staying here tonight.

Then I walked down to the Connecticut River Museum. As you can almost tell it's right on the water.

Apart of the museum was the Mary E, a schooner boat. I chose to get the more expensive ticket so I could ride on my first sail boat. I was really excited because it said it went all over the river and it said it was an hour and a half. Well, we didn't use the motor other than to get up to the dock and out....and the wind wasn't really blowing....so we kind of went out into the river and came back. I could see the museum at all times. So, note to self, sail around the world in a MOTORIZED boat.

However, the views were great and the weather was a perfect 75-80 degrees.

Then I walked up and down Main St looking at the not-so-many shops. Most of them were real-estate companies haha.

But I did find.....ESSEX BOOKS :)

Then I walked back towards the museum and water and got some coffee here. I took my book and walked to the water and just sat and read and relaxed, remembering what vacation was reallllly about!

And here's where I stay tonight. You can actually see my room with the lights on in the top left-hand corner. There's a band playing in the bar down below so I'm just sitting in bed, listening to music and blogging. Not bad for a Sunday night. Tomorrow I'm going on my first Steam Train and River Boat. And I told Mom today I'll probably head back to Texas around July 2-3. I've been making reservations and they're annoying to set up at these little inns. I'm starting to get that spark back, too, to get some school stuff done this summer.