Ya'll wanna see some pictures of the Lonestar State I'm a hearin'

 The San Antonio Temple was beautiful all lit up at night.

We went to a session the next day.

They have stained glass windows on all sides of the Temple.

The Gardens were also well dressed and cared for.

We visited the Alamo which is in Downtown San Antonio. The building behind is a shrine to the 200 Men that died and showing respect by removing your hat and talking softly is requested and enforced.

No building in downtown San Antonio is allowed to cast a shadow on the Alamo. One of the hotels had to redesign their blueprints with 23 less floors to adhere to this strict law.

The grounds around the Alamo "mission" (it was originally a Catholic mission) were well cared for. A garden of cactus, flowers, trees and bushes as well as a bird bath was admired.

A Memorial wall with the names of the Men that bravely gave their lives for an independent Texas from the self proclaimed dictator of Mexico, General Santana (Texas was a state of Mexico). Texas is the only state that was once an independent country. Texas was under 6 flags after settlers started to arrive there. Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, United States and the Confederate States of America.

We took a tour of the Toyota maufacturing plant. They make Tacoma's and Tundra's only.

Below is the inside of SAS shoes store (they sell the shoes that don't make the grade for retail stores, so they are not as expensive).

SAS (San Antonio Shoes) store front below. They have alot of old cars out front and a couple inside.

An old horse drawn hearse.

Mom really enjoyed the San Antonio Transportation Museum.

I'm sitting inside one of the passenger cars.

Earl said he was born in Ontario and then his family moved to New York.

He volunteers here.

They also had alot of old cars and other interesting items ie. many poster advertisements of cars etc.

One poster said that the King of England? or France? bought the first battery powered car (built in the late 1800's). It could go approx. 17 miles before it needed to get recharged (it took approx. 4-6 hrs to recharge). 





A horse drawn Fire Engine.

Above: We had an awesome dinner that Emily (4thfrom the left) prepared for us and Matt (3rd from left) BBQ'd. Trish (Patricia) is on the right and Gordon is the 2nd from the right.

Below is Patrick. He made us breakfast burritos at the restaurant he works at. They tasted great. The best part of the trip was meeting and visiting with Gordons family. Their hospitality was top notch. And the Taxi driver was super!

Stopped in at Luckenbach but Waylon, Willie and the boys were a No Show, but COWBOY "R" and his Longhorn showed up. Gordon says that Willie Nelson has a Whoop-up once a year here.

Mom and Gordon resting during the walk through the "Wildflower seeds Farm". They have fields of flowers and a gift shop.

In the gift shop we met Alphonse Dotson, He played a number of years in the NFL and then played for the Winnepeg Bluebombers in '71 (not sure how many years). He grows grapes and makes wine that have won competitions.

Some of the country side south of Luckenbach.

The San Antonio River runs through the city and has been turned into a "River Walk". They built side walks and a canal joining the natural river and it winds through the downtown core. We checked out the "Walk" from the comfort of a boat tour.

  The Andean Fusion from South America were playing near us when we stopped for a snack.

 On a Trolley Car (diesel powered trolley on rubber wheels) was a nice break from walking downtown. Both Mom and I didn't want to tire ourselves.

Below Chris (the driver) and Mae gave us a tour in the downtown area. Mae responded on voice command to stop and go. Notice the mane of the horse matches the drivers "mane".

Before we took a tour of SAS shoes (they are handbuilt) we checked out the old buildings and cars once again!

We couldn't get pictures inside the Factories of SAS shoes or Toyota. They don't allow cameras or phones while inside.

"SHUT THE FRONT DOOR" 13 and 1/2 cents a gallon....fill me up!

SAS shoes store front, notice all the old cars.

Above: A maze of overpasses.

Below: Amazed at the store we passed!

Don't Drink and Drive!

We had to Transfer to another terminal at Houston so we took a shuttle. It's electric and runs on rubber wheels on a cement track approx. 20 feet above the ground. It has a guide in between the "tracks" just like a Tyco race car set.

Two days before we hopped on the plane, Dallas was hit by a category 5 tornado. The area around Dallas had a total of 13 twisters sighted. We were not sure what kind of weather we would see at Houston. San Antonio was 25 deg.C plus and as high as 38 or so during the day. night time was a "comfortable" 15 to 20 C. It was an excellent vacation and was especially nice to meet Gordons family and to visit with them.

Hope you enjoyed the Pics,

Uncle Brent