Since last winter went so swimmingly, let's try it again! TFS has very graciously opened her home in the west San Fernando Valley to me again. This time her daughter AS (and dog and cat) are there too. Two women + two dogs + two cats = not my usual solitary winter again. Huzzah! Place name links like Los Angeles, CA go to Wikipedia. Place name links like Los Angeles use a local tourism or government website.
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National Museum of Funeral History |
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San Antonio - Day |
| 2014.04.18 |
To San Antonio Through Texas Hill Country |
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This weekend we go to San Antonio, TX , the second-oldest city in the US. We'll take the long way, for another trip through Texas Hill Country. Unlike last time, I'll take pictures of the countryside as we go, so you can see what the area looks like.
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We decided to check out Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, an enormous pink granite rock formation about 15 miles (24 km) north of Fredericksburg . There's not a lot of terrain in this part of Texas, so whatever there is is worth checking out.
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Rather underwhelming, and it didn't look very pink from our vantage point in the parking lot. Not worth $10 per person to see closer, so we hit the road again, and not far away we had to stop for pics of a much more captivating valley view as we rounded a bend in the road.
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Note the wall in the foreground - the whole property is walled with 3-foot-high rock gabion baskets - must have cost a fortune to pack all those rocks and place them for at least a mile from far left to right and down a hill. | |
TFS's camera can do panoramas. That'll have to be a feature of my next camera. | |
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| After exiting the park area we stopped in Fredericksburg to see what we missed last time when we just drove through. There are a few blocks of shops and wine- and beer-tasting places, popular with tourists. | |
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| Back on the road to San Antonio |
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| On the outskirts of San Antonio, roadway cuts show the limestone that defines the terrain of the Balcones Escarpment and made the lives of early agricultural settlers very difficult. |
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| Now we're in San Antonio! |
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more impressive | |
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freeway | |
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engineering | |
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San Antonio | |
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skyline | |
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After settling into our hotel with a view of the Alamo grounds, we headed out into downtown to find some food and see some sights. Lots of tourists milling about in the warm evening it's a big Fiesta weekend here. After dinner in the outdoor patio of a funky Cajun-style restaurant across from the Alamo we hit the River Walk for our first encounter with it. My camera batteries were recharging and my phone camera isn't so good for low-light shots, so more on all that tomorrow. |
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drinks and dinner first | | |
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< Previous
National Museum of Funeral History |
|
Start
........................................ |
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Next >
San Antonio - Day |
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