Wherever We Go, There We Are

Friday, February 16, 2007

Nina

This replica of Columbus’ ship is in the Corpus Christi Harbor.

Whataburger

Here is a local Texas institution – the orange and white rooftop. It is a Whataburger fast food place. Dan is waiting patiently for his order. Next you see him chomping down. YUM

Drilling

Because the taxpayers couldn’t afford to buy the mineral rights, there is well drilling on the National Seashore. However, there are restrictions to protect the environmental aspects.

Don’t touch

While we were on the beach walk with this informative Park Ranger, he told us “Don’t touch” the tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war. Notice the beautiful color of the man-of-war.

Padre Island National Seashore

The park protects the longest section of undeveloped barrier island in the world. This 80-mile preserved stretch of beach located on the south Texas coast is beautiful. The very busy birds dotted the seashore and made for fun bird watching. Notice the one legged birdies. We saw some people fishing and others windsurfing. The 58 degree water temp was too cold for swimming.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Trees from The Garden of Roots

Garden of Roots

Jardin de Racines or Garden of Roots is located in the Castroville Regional Park where we camped for a week. It is a living gift from the citizens of Alsace to the city of Castroville. In 1997 a team of students and faculty from Alsace(located between France and Germany) began work on their gift. They planted trees for each village in their country. I counted over 50 trees in this area.

Guess Who?

This was taken on The River Walk near where the band was performing.

More of The Alamo

The Alamo

We couldn't go to San Antonio without seeing The Alamo, the most famous spot in Texas. It was established in 1718 as the city's first mission.

Friday, February 09, 2007

The River Walk

While riding on the Rio Taxi, or River Shuttle, we saw the River Walk. There are hotels, art and gift shops, restaurants and sidewalk cafes, boutiques, and live music along with beautiful vegetation and interesting buildings.

Castroville

Castroville, also known as "Little Alsace," is located west of San Antonio. Many emigrants from Alsace, a province of France, came to this area in the 1800's.

On January 15, 2004 Castroville, Texas was designated as a Preserve America Community. This program was designed to support and encourage communities to protect their cultural historic heritage. 44 homes that were built in the 1800's have been restored and have the "Alsace look." Here you see the roof line that depicts the history of this town. Metal was used on these roofs.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Cross Hill

Mt. Gentilz, known as Cross Hill, offers a panoramic view of the Medina Valley. It was an old European custom for a village to proclaim its faith by erecting a cross in a prominent place. The Alsatians brought this tradition when they came to Castroville.

Castroville Regional Park

The campground is right near a park that is used by many of the locals. The park has picnicking, swimming pool, fishing, bird and butterfly watching, athletic courts, playground, walking trail, scout trail, and a root garden, a little bit of everything. On one of our bike rides around the park, we were surprised to see all of the moss hanging from the trees near the trail.

Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center

This Visitor Center, operated by the Texas Department of Transportation, features a rustic saloon, courtroom and billiard hall, and opera house of Judge Roy Bean. He was know as the "Law West of the Pecos" in the 1880's. His six-shooter justice makes for some interesting stories.

The Maker of Peace

"The Maker of Peace," a unique statue, stands outside the Seminole Canyon State Park Headquarters in Texas. It is a memorial to honor all of the ancestors whose art adorns the canyons (of this area) and whose prayers still echo in the wind.