Retirement Travel and a Weird Mix of Other Stuff
If you’d like to learn more, follow the link provided above.
The image above is a sprawling mesquite tree. The image below is a close-up of the leaves on that mesquite tree.
The image above shows the convent on the right and the church on the left.
This was the largest of the missions we visited.
Next up, Mission Concepcíon.
I have no idea what kind of trees these are, but I find the bark very interesting.
Mike and Belle were waiting patiently for me to get back with the cooler bag that held our lunch.
Next up… Mission San José.
The park actually has four distinct visitor areas — one for each mission — each about 2.5 miles apart. We started at Mission Espada, the one furthest away from downtown and worked our way north, finishing our tour at Mission Concepción, which is only about three miles south of downtown San Antonio. The other two are Mission San José and Mission San Juan.
The missions, which were all built in the 1700s as part of Spain’s attempt to expand its hold from Mexico into Texas, are mostly ruins and are in varying stages of preservation.
Following are some of the images I captured as we explored the mission site.
The San Antonio Riverwalk Bike Trail (link to map), not to be confused with the Riverwalk area along the river and adjoining canal in downtown, is a walking/biking path that travels along the river south of the city to the various missions. The trail also passed close to our campground.
Mike rode his bike to Mission Espada the first full day we were in San Antonio. He wanted me to see this cool art installation that’s along the bike path, not far from Mission Espada.
The art installation, Árbol de la Vida: Memorias y Voces de la Tierra (click if you want to learn more), is a tree-like structure made of steel that is adorned with 700 clay sculptures. The individual pieces are physical reflections of stories crafted by the people of San Antonio, and are meant to reflect the ranching heritage themes and stories related to rich cultural traditions.
Next up… Mission San Juan.
All of the images that follow were captured during the tour. It was unseasonably cool that day, so we didn’t see any alligators. But it was still a beautiful place to see.
I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing Cypress trees draped in Spanish Moss. It was a very nice stop on our way to Texas.
The Machidas, who are from Fairbanks, Alaska, have been full-timers for a few years. They usually spend extended time during summer in Alaska. Earlier this year, they ordered a Jeep (from a dealer in Idaho) to replace the Prius they had been towing. The plan was to pick the Jeep up in August, shortly after returning to the lower 48. Sadly, the Jeep wasn’t ready, so they had to continue their journey through the lower 48 without a toad (RVers slang for a towed vehicle).
The Jeep finally arrived in early December, so Richard had to leave Bridget and fly to Idaho to pick up their new Jeep. That wasn’t a problem for Bridget, it freed-up more time for the two of us to go kayaking! We also went off-roading with their e-bikes through a nearby wildlife refuge. We went exploring one day in the Jeep, too. We had so much fun together, I’ll have to do a separate post to share pics from our “girls’ day out” adventures. Bridget is also a crafter, so we did some crafting together, too. Sadly, no crafting pics to share.
Richard got back from Idaho on December 20. Mike, Belle, and I left for North Carolina on December 22 to spend Christmas with some family. We got back to the campground on December 26.
On December 28, two other moto-blogger friends, Chris and Lori, arrived to spend a couple of nights with all of us. Chris and Lori are from Dahlonega, Georgia. They are in the process of fitting-out an overland expedition vehicle, which they use to RV in really remote places with rougher terrain than we could ever hope to traverse in our more-mainstream big rigs.
Chris and Lori left on December 30. Bridget and I went kayaking at Crystal River on December 31. We all retired to our coaches well before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
The coolest thing we did as a group happened on January 1. That’s when we rented a pontoon boat from the campground and spent the day out on the river. We even packed a picnic and anchored on the water just south of Fanning Springs to enjoy our little feast.
We docked around 3:00 for a quick potty break. Mike opted to stay at the coach with Belle while Richard, Bridget, me, and their dog, Leinen, headed back out on the river to use-up our final boat time.
That evening is when we learned that our son-in-law had tested positive for COVID a few days after we left North Carolina. As soon as we learned that we’d been exposed, we let all of our friends know. We were careful to keep our distance for the Machida’s remaining days at YJRR.
Richard and Bridget left YJRR as planned on January 3. Since I’d been feeling extra tired for a few days, I decided I should probably test, too. I couldn’t find any at-home test kits, so got an appointment scheduled for January 4. Despite being fully vaccinated and boosted, I tested positive, too. Mike never did test, but assumed he had COVID, too, since he had a sore throat and mild cough. I had a slight sore throat, too, but that was it.
Thankfully, none of our friends tested positive. Only two of the five family members we visited tested positive. Those who were sick had very mild symptoms, thanks to being vaccinated, and all of us are fully recovered.
I’ll share pics from the outdoor adventures Bridget and I shared in a future post.