San Antonio and the ride home
San Antonio was good to us and a great last destination for this road trip.
It was a long days drive from Big Bend and we thought about breaking the drive into two stays and stopping somewhere unplanned on our route but after further thought we decided to leave earlier, push through to do all the driving in a day and have an extra night in San Antonio. It turned out to be a good plan. When we rolled into town it was time for the Auburn basketball game. They won which lead them to them advancing to the Final 4 which would to be held in… drum roll please… San Antonio. After the game we went straight to supper at In-N-Out. We had eagerly been awaiting this food stop all trip so it was a fun way to celebrate the Auburn win. Once back at the campground the kids got some playground time and then fired up a movie while I caught up on laundry after not being able to do any on our previous stop.
As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, sometimes we camp at places with very few amenities at a lesser cost and sometimes we sprinkle in a campground with a lot to offer at a greater cost. The San Antonio/Alamo KOA was one of those greater cost places. It was our most pricey stay of all of our camping spots, with a total of $214 for 3 nights, but we didn’t regret it. The park is spacious with a year-round pool and a lot to offer. It’s close to everything you want to see and do in San Antonio and a nice spot to relax as well. There was actually an Airstream rally at the campground when we arrived. Though we weren’t part of the rally, it was fun to meet a few of the people that were (and weren’t) and compare notes on the ins and outs of travel life.
On Monday we made breakfast (and I snagged a coffee since it was exciting to be back in a town with coffee shops after being in the secluded desert) and then headed to the pool . The kids had been begging to swim since we first entered the campground so we took advantage. Evan worked poolside and we enjoyed the mix of sun, shade and cool water for awhile. It was time to hit the town after lunch and of course we had to start our adventuring at The Alamo. While you would expect The Alamo to be part of the National Park Service, it’s actually not. While the kids couldn’t earn a Junior Ranger badge, they did learn a lot. We felt like The Alamo was well done preserving its history and offering education about its past. Its undergoing more refurbishments and adding more things to offer as well.
Just down the street from The Alamo is the all famous San Antonio River walk.
We’d heard so many great things about the area and it did not disappoint. It was nice and shady and unique to the city. We were able to score more delicious Mexican food and entertainment right on the river just before a storm came through. Thanks to the many bridges arching over the riverwalk area we were able to easily duck under one while we waited on the storm to pass. There were sweet treats on every corner but Evan has a specific dessert plan while in Texas and that plan revolves are Shipley Donuts. So we left the riverwalk area and found a Shipleys that was open later than others and wha la, sweet were purchased for him and the kids and there was much excitement over it.
Once we were back at the campground and got Cruz to sleep, the kids begged for a night swim. We ended up having the pool to ourselves and apparently we were rowdy because the security guard came to check that we had an adult with us. Note: if you want someone to think you’re in your teens and not late 30s, wear pigtails and challenge your kids to all sorts of loud pool games and races. Next, stay in the dark portion of the pool while talking to a security guard talks to you so he can’t properly see you. While I was absolutely THRILLED to be mistaken as someone young, the kids thought it was absolutely absurd that there was a mixup and were quick to tell the security guard my age.
The next day, and our last big day of the trip, there were two big goals: earn more ranger badges and go to a Spurs game. We accomplished both. There are several Spanish Mission sites still standing in the San Antonio area and a few of them are preserved by the National Parks System. So we, of course, went to experience them. The kids actually earned two badges for doing a little extra work. I, on the other hand, just looked around and kept imaging scenes from the movie Nacho Libre while I was there. The kids got a few more pool hours and then changed their clothes for the Spurs game. It’s no secret that we are basketball family so while the Spurs aren’t so great this year, it’s never a bad time to go to a pro game. Our original reason for staying at our particular campground was because it was walking distance to the Frost Bank Center where the Spurs play. Cruz and I dropped off Evan and the three big kids and then took ourselves for ice cream. After the game (where the Spurs lost but the kids had the time of the lives) they were able to walk back to the campground which was such a nice perk since Cruz had been in a bed for awhile and he was able to keep resting.
On Wednesday we hit the road fairly early to start the long drive home.
We had a generous offer of supper from Evans aunt and uncle that live in Louisiana and wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to make it for the promised catfish (it was oh so yummy…thank you Mark and Paula). We made a little stop along our way at Big Thicket National Preserve before the roads led us out of Texas. This park had a lot of great information on the diverse habitats in the area and was totally different from the other parks we had hit. The kids picked up two more Junior Ranger badges for what they learned at Big Thicket that which gave them a grand total of 12 badges total for the trip. We spent the night at a lovely Loves Gas Station that also holds a casino. It wasn’t our most restful night of sleep thanks to the warm Louisiana air and the speaker system that worked so well at announcing shower availability to the truckers who were also parked there, but it did the job to rest us up enough to finish the journey home on Thursday. We returned home to beautiful Alabama after lunch. We often forget how beautiful our own area of home is with all the tress and creeks. It looks a lot different from the majority of our time spend in the desert. There’s no place like home.
