Day 34--San Antonio, TX

Another very full day! We rode our bikes about .6 miles to take the 9:00 hike at Honey Creek Natural Area. This protected area can only be entered when you are with a guide. It was sunny and in the high forties when we started but warmed up nicely the whole way. The guide shared some of the history and ecology of what was a German farmer’s land in the early 1900s. We walked to the bluff overlooking the Guadalupe River and then descended to the bank of Honey Creek. The creek is only about 3 miles long from where it comes out of the aquifer to where it meets the River. In between it actually retreats back underground in a few places so that it looks like the creek is dry. But where we saw it, the area is called a Palmetto-Cyprus plantation. It fit my idea of a sylvan glen. The clear green-blue water bubbles and gurgles over a limestone bed and one can see small fish in the calm areas. We climbed back up to the savannah and then rode our bikes back to the campsite. Then we made the drive to San Antonio. After parking on Houston Street we walked to the Alamo and wandered around what remains of the old mission. We continued on to the Riverwalk, joining it about midway along the canal. We walked all the way to the San Antonio River and then back the other arm of the canal. We stopped at a quiet table in the sun to enjoy a lunch. After we were seated we heard from the water taxi drivers that the small island near us is called “Marriage Island” because so many people choose to be married there. Sure enough we realized that a small group of 15 people or so was gathering and, as we ate our lunch, a couple about our age was married, with their children standing up with them. How romantic! We finished walking the canal, cut through the large riverside mall, and returned to the truck. We drove past the Governor’s Palace, which appeared to be closed and then to the Farmers’ Market but, since parking was such a hassle and so expensive, we opted not to stay and instead drove back to the campsite. There we sat in the 68° sunshine and read for an hour or so. Then we rode our bikes around the other camping loop, just to see it. After a chili supper we had our first campfire of the trip. Most of the campgrounds we’ve been in have not allowed any ground fires at all. It was a perfect night for a fire, with clear skies and a full moon, no wind to blow the smoke around and temperatures in the high forties. After S’mores (with peanut butter, of course) we watched the USA take the gold in bobsled and hit the sack.