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Sunday, August 09, 2009

Tour of San Antonio Missions

Yesterday, Seth and I loaded our bikes and met a couple of friends at the Mission San Jose in San Antonio. We were all excited about what the day had in store for us. It was my first trip to visit the Missions and I was enamored with their history dating back to the 18th century. We began our tour with a "tour" of Mission San Jose, the largest mission. Impressive. You could easily envision what everyday life was like back then living within its walls. After exploring it for a while, we jumped on our bikes and pedaled to the three miles to Mission San Juan. On the way, we saw three clever iron/hay characters. San Juan was small, quaint and rather nondescript overall. We were happy to see that there was a bike rack, restrooms, and a fountain where we could refill our bottles. The day was beginning to heat up rather quickly and there was very little shade on the trail. We got back on the trail and pedaled about two miles to the Mission Espada, the last mission we would visit. This mission was lovely and home to Father Hickey who has a little glass workshop on site where he makes pendants, platters, and other items. We milled about enjoing the A/C and shade outside and then vowed to head back to San Jose.

It was a good day on the bike although it really was too hot for it to be considered a great day. It was a real effort to stay hydrated and to find shade. I will return to do it again and to visit Mission Concepion. I regret that we we unable to bear the heat for another 45 minutes or so, but we all vowed to return for another visit in cooler weather, maybe even participate in the organized bike tour that happens in December I believe. We called it a day and happily headed to Nicha's down the street and gorged ourselves on amazing mole enchiladas, tamales, and flan.


Mission San Jose


Hay Structures near Mission San Juan


Mission San Juan


Mission Espada