I had hoped to post weekly but wow, when we added visiting people to the trip, it go SO busy. So I will go back and catch up and then maybe I can post more often.
We reached San Antonion area and stayed in a nice park. We decided to look around the 2 small towns we were closest to. Had a great lunch on the river where it was so lush and green and folks were tubing and kayaking, so relaxed and lazy. We hit the small town shops and just found it relaxing to stroll in his awful humidity. We planned dinner at the Phoenix Saloon for live music. The music turned out ok with a young lead singer that was a bit full of himself and we didn't stay long...but the burgers and beer were delish - my first Shiner Bock.
Next day we planned to see the Mission Trail - the other 4 missions that included the Alamo. They were spectacular. One was more preserved than the other 3 - we spent most of our time there. The architecture was beautiful but the story was facinating. As I remember it....the Indians of that area which is now south Texas existed in small tribes of various kinds. The Spaniards had come to the area south (now Mexico) and to the north were the Comanches, a much larger tribe and who had acquired horses from the Spanish. The Comanches were enlarging their hunting territories to the south and with those horses the small bands were no match for them. The Spaniards had brought diseases from Europe that these same small bands were not able to overcome. So they were forced to look to the Spaniards for help. Spain saw it as an opportunity to enlarge their numbers gaining converts and workers - so these smaller bands were offered shelter homes inside the missions and medical attention if they converted to Catholisism. These Indians had to serve a King they did not know, a religion that was foreign to them and learn a new language. These Missions were built to teach them the ways of the church as well as provide the little homes were where they lived. Unfortunately they still died from the various European diseases and then the numbers were too small to keep up the Missions, they Missions failed and were abandoned. However, a new Culture was set in motion - Indians turned Catholic and taught new ways of living with a new language...Spanish. I understood it to mean that what we might refer to as a Mexican culture came out of that. I was facinated
Little Row Houses in the background
We had dinner on the River Walk - a lively place on a summer's evening
We headed East toward Mobile and stopped for one night on the way - it rained as soon as we parked and I hopped out to wash off the rig - our friend Gordon Kemp told us that is the best time to wash w/o useing park water. I had some company :>)
We arrive in Mobile to a wonderful shrimp and crawfish stew for dinner. My friend Leah is such a good cook. We "camped" at her daughter's mother in law's home in the back yard - she is the sweetest person, home from 30 years in University Education Missions work in Santiago, Chili - her husband had passed away before they returned to the States only 1.5 yrs ago. What an enriching couple days that was.
We took a boat ride on the Mobile Bay Delta and learned all about the "nature of it all" and saw several large alligators. We could have kayaked but none of us were willing - duh!!
Followed that eveing by another luscious seafood dinner in downtown Mobile at a historic restaurant
All day beach event the next day with family - it was windy but beautiful - we walked for an hour on the water edge and took in the sea air. Mobile Bay does have intersting structures in the water like Oil Rigs and this is a Shrimp Boat...my friend Leah's dad had such a boat till recently
John and Leah at the "shoe drop" area where eveyone leaves their shoes - you hope yours have not "walked" off with someone else, but apparently almost never.
That last evening dinner with Leah's family - again awesome seafood at Ed's on the Bay.
The sister and brother in law on the left, he is actually Cajun, and the sweetie by John is Aunt Della where we camped. Ice cream and cake at her sister's afterward...mmmm.
On our way to Atlanta we remembered that Leah's sister told us that the Gees Bend Quilters were north and nearly on our way. We had to go up into the mts of northern Alabama to get to them and take a ferry across a river. We stayed in a beautiful State Park up there and the owner showed me a quilt she was working on - her husband does the piecing and she quilts them. She said not to expect too much when we went over to see the Gees Bend Quilters. They are so famous we didn't understand that but went anyway. Now you will have to read about these quilters but back in the 1800's these women made blankets for their families and someone discovered these rare style quilts and put them on tour all across the US. It made these quilters famous. But it was not just the "lack of European designs" that made them famous but the stories. Now these poor gals are trying to eek out some living from the notariety and many of them are a bit thrown together to sell. It was a stranage thing - they do not understand that I was there to see THEM, and their quilts. It's like they don't feel worthy of you wanting to see them personally. They just funnel you into the sales room - sit on a bench and wait for you to buy something. I told them I would buy a small piece (the prices were very high) but mostly I wanted to talk to them and watch some of them work. John just sat in the background and waited and watched. I came away with a bit of a sad feeling that maybe they had been encouraged to make some money and now it is not materializing. This village was dirt poor in every way and this would be the only money anyone would make here ....if any. Auburn University has taken an interest in trying to build up more history and Amerian Art developement in these quilters and are working now on some ideas for helping them and sharing their quilts with the rest of America. Their quilts have been on US Stamps and in Museums in NY and TX to name a few.
One woman's art in the Welcome Center - looked like old boards from their houses and the beautiful colorful art in their quilts. It was an intersting experience and I will be be pondering it for a long time
We ended the week with a stay at Stone Mountain Resort - an amazing place with a mountain of stone in the middle. This had a Marriot hotel, a water park, a village of shops and ropes courses etc. along with a nice RV park with full ammenities. We sat up on a huge lawn hill at dark and watched the lazar show with a couple thousand other folks - shown up on a "relief" carving Memorial to the Confederacy. It was fantastic - color, video and all narrated with music.
note....I will have to share this pic next wk - it won't load for some reason :>(
We only stayed 2 nights and went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens the one day in between. It was beautiful and so fun to see all the plantings we had learned about and used in our landscaping at the lake in NC. It was a walk down memory lane. Their works of art were amazing tho - sculptures of massive sizes and so beautifully done.
A couple Chihuli Glass Sculptures
We head north for week three thru South Carolina and North Carolina up to Banner Elk area of the Apalachian Mts. for a week at Habitat for Humanity RVers Build - to work on 2 homes. We worked at this site 3 yrs ago and one couple we worked with will be there too. All the workers will be in some kind of "rig" as we are all RVers for this build. It is always a great time and we will miss our friends from 3 yrs ago (who live in their MH) Gordon & Judy - they are WAY out in the Northwest.
Week 3 and 4 soon. We currently are in Lancaster, PA for several days.
