TEXAS HILL COUNTRY…SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS

Thursday, October 28 – We had appointments in San Antonio this morning for physicals to upgrade are life insurance. It seemed to go well.....I think we both passed????

Afterwards, we went on the Texas Missions Trail to visit the San Antonio Missions. in 1718 Franciscans and Spanish representatives established the first mission. Within 13 years, five were located along the San Antonio River. The missions’ purpose? To acculturate and Christianize the native population and make them Spanish citizens. Spanish missions were not churches, but communities, with the church the focus.

The Coahuiltecan Indians were the predominate Indian Tribe in the area.

Our first stop was Mission Concepcion.

The doorways are very low. Marsha fits through easily.

Paul is another matter.

It stands proudly as the oldest unrestored stone church in America.  The Church was dedicated in 1755. Except for the gradual disappearance of the colorful frescos, little of its appearance has changed.

Altar

Beautiful pews

Marsha and her ceilings…tons of color.

Paul was fascinated with the locks.

 

The extensive art inside the buildings contains a blending of Christian, Spanish, and Native art elements. Experts restored original frescos on the convento walls and ceiling in 1988. Here are some of the original frescos still visible in several of the rooms.

This one is called "Eye of God" or “All Seeing Eye”.

The other frescos do not have names.

 

Prayer garden

 

Religious services are still held at Mission Concepcion. Seasonal decorations may be seen in the church's interior.

Our next stop was Mission San José. This is the largest Mission.

Wall around Mission.

Church

Plaza where building such as the blacksmith, carpenters, etc. were probably located.

In 1719, Father Margil de Jesus, a seasoned Franciscan missionary, was at Mission San Antonio de Valero (today's Alamo) requested permission to establish a second mission south of San Antonio de Valero. The Marques agreed and founding ceremonies took place on February 23, 1720.

Families lived in two-room quarters.

Fireplace

The building of the limestone church, with its extraordinary Spanish colonial Baroque architecture and statuary began in 1768. At that time there were 350 Indians residing in 84 two-room apartments. Based on Father Morfi's description in 1777, Mission San Jose came to be known as the “Queen of the Missions.”

Front doors are being refurbished.

 

They were able to uncover some of the original coloring on the church.

The Rose Window at the San José Mission in San Antonio is known as much for its mystery as for its beauty. The biggest riddle of all is why the Rose Window is so named. It is not related in any way to traditional roses. It really has pomegranate around it.

The short version of the story goes like this…a noted Spanish sculptor named Pedro Huizar, charged with carving a religious window at San José, instead used his considerable talent to carve a monument to his lovely sweetheart, Rosa. When the window was complete, he sent for his love—who died in a shipwreck on her way to New Spain. How sad.

There use to be a roof over this area. The clergy lived here.

 

Altar

Door way

We enjoyed visiting these two missions.

Before we went back to the motor home, we decided to visit an historical site in Bandera. St Stanislaus Catholic Church is the oldest Polish Catholic church in Texas. The second oldest Polish Catholic church in the United States. The Church had its beginning in 1855 when 16 immigrant families from Poland landed at Indianola, Texas. They then proceeded to Bandera to settle. This was only six weeks after the settling of the first Polish Parish in the United States at Panna Maria, Texas.

 

So much color.

The stained glass was hauled by wagon from a port on the Gulf and installed by determined farmers.

 

A gorgeous church which continues to hold mass every day but Monday.

Friday, October 29 – Woke up this morning to 39 degrees and of course the furnace wouldn't come on....jeesh! We'll have to have that checked-out!

We drove to Love Creek Apple Orchards in Medina (about 10 miles north) for what is called the “Best Hamburger in Hill Country.” Now it's the only burger we've had in Hill Country, but if it isn't the BEST we'd sure like to find one better.

If you are ever in Texas Hill Country, be sure to head to Love's. Oh, and there apple pies..... WOW! We didn't taste one, but we saw 'em. Unbelievable! It takes a 14-inch slab of dough to drape over the 4-pound mound of apples grown in their apple orchard. Unbelievable price too.........$22.95 for a whole pie.....Yowzie!

We then walked around downtown Bandera. Not much worth seeing there! We did check out the Honky Tonks and know where to go tonight. We are headed to the 11^th Street Bar. It has a huge outside patio area with a huge dance floor. Had a great time at the Honky Tonk.....hee..haw!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you back real soon. Have a great day!

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY…BOERNE

Monday, October 25 – With a high wind advisory for this afternoon, we took off from Balmorhea, TX at 7:15 a.m., hoping to avoid any problems. Everything was calm until the last hour. As we approached our destination, Bandera, TX, the wind kicked up and the gusts did toss us around a bit. Nothing scary, but I didn't want it to get any worse. Once we left I-10, the 30 miles South to Bandera were calm. We are at Skyline Ranch RV Park in Bandera, TX. We had planned on staying at Pioneer River Resort, but after reading a couple poor reviews we decided to change campgrounds. We did drive by Pioneer River and in retrospect, it would have been fine. Skyline Ranch is nicer though. We have gravel streets and pads with full-hookups.

One of the three clubhouses.

The deer roam all over the campground....that should give Bella something to checkout.

We took a walk down to the Medina River. It's a short half-mile down a trail right in front of our MH.

The river is very nice. The water is clear as glass. We even saw some kayakers floating down the river. 

Of course, we saw plenty of deer, a couple donkeys, a couple Texas Longhorn Steer and lots of butterflies.

We took a short, get acquainted drive, through town. Not much there, but we'll spend an afternoon walking around and seeing the historic sites and a few of the shops. Bandera is billed as the Cowboy Capital of Texas.....not sure about that??? There are some honky tonk type bars we'll have to check out!

Tuesday, October 26 – Had a great day sightseeing.....or should I say “shopping.” We drove up to Boerne (pronounce BER-nee). A very quaint little town. In 1849, a group of German colonists from Bettina camped on the north side of Cibolo Creek, about a mile west of present-day Boerne. They called their new community Tusculum, after Cicero's home in ancient Rome. In 1852, Gustav Theissen and John James laid out the town's site and changed the name to Boerne in honor of Ludwig Börne, a German poet and publicist. Ironically, Mr. Börne never visited the town that was named after him.

We stopped first at the Visitor's Center and was assisted by a very helpful lady. She told us everything to see and gave us a great map of the downtown area. Her first recommendation and our first stop was the coffee house/bakery called Bear Moon.....yummmmmm!

From there we walked through the downtown area, stopping in ALL the little shops (well, at least 10-20). They really were very neat shops. Marsha bought some gifts for family and friends (these will have to remain a secret incase someone is reading). She just loves buying gifts for her family and friends.....jeesh! Here are some of her favorite shops.

Corner Cartel…it has just about anything anyone would want. The owner was so nice. She has the store arranged in themes. A “Not To Miss” place.

The Tall Pony – a ton of neat gift ideas at a very reasonable price. It has the original bar from the 1800’s. It is an Ice Cream Parlor

Carousel Antiques and Pickles – tons of antiques and pickles. The “Pickle Lady” had samples of her pickles. Yes, we bought a quart of the spicy pickles. They are delicious!!! No antiques were purchased.

She hit tons more stores but that is enough for now.

We did the walking tour of the city. We stayed on Hauptstrasse Street. For you non-Germans, that translates to Main Street.

Adler-Bermann Lumber (1911) – Oldest lumber-hardware store in Boerne. It has survived Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

Gotlieb Weiss Home (1877) – He was a German pioneer blacksmith with his shop in the back. The garden in the back was beautiful.

Kendall County Courthouse (1870) – The Clerk of Courts and Judge are the only ones housed in this building. Renovation of the building was just completed in July.

When we went upstairs to see the courtroom, the Clerk of Courts gave us a great history lessons on the building. She was so nice to talk with. The room is restored to the original look of the 1800s.

Marsha asked about the floor colors. The CC said that they had found a swatch of carpet and painted what the original carpet colors and pattern on the floor.

 

The ceiling was awesome. Ignore the resist lighting. That isn’t original:)

Dienger (Joseph) Building (1890) – was a restaurant but now is the library.

Ye Kendall Inn (1859) – was built as a home and later expanded as a hotel and stage stop. It is now a conference center, and hotel with dining room.

 

The back has a huge courtyard with tables and a rose garden.

This is a wonderful stop in Hill Country. Everyone was so friendly!

We did stop and get the Jeep inspected. Texas requires annual inspection. We had registered the Jeep and Motor Home on line, but are required to get inspections within ten days after returning to Texas if the inspection sticker is expired. Ours expires November 1. Paul plans on taking the MH in tomorrow for its inspection. Sure seems like a money making deal. $14.50 for each inspection. Of course the inspection station found the license plate bulb was burned-out. $1.45 for the bulb and $7.50 labor to change it. If we would have left and changed it ourselves, we would have had to pay for a second inspection.....$14.50. So Paul checked all the marker lights on the motor home this evening, before the inspection tomorrow.

Marsha took Bella for a walk and to introduce her to some of the neighbors. Bella wasn’t afraid at all. Marsha had to hold her back from going to close to her new friends.

For rest of the evening, we planned the rest of our site seeing in Hill Country.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again real soon. Have a great day!