RV Life – Year 3 – Texas Winter

The region around San Antonio offers mild weather for the Texas Winter. Although it was a bit chillier than expected, we did enjoy the moderate temperatures and ample sunshine throughout the winter months of 2019-2020 (December – March).

There’s plenty to see and do here. Historical locations, natural beauty, and tourist attractions offer a long list of activities. We enjoyed many outings with my daughter and son-in-law. Some of our favorites include …

The River Walk

A pleasant sidewalk stroll along the banks of the San Antonio River. The River Walk meanders through downtown tourist spots, like the Shops at Rivercenter, HemisFair Park, the San Antonio Museum of Art, and the city’s Spanish Colonial Missions.

San Antonio Zoo

This 50+ acre zoo in Midtown San Antonio is home to over 750 species. With an annual attendance of more than 1 million it ranks among the most visited zoos in Texas.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

This is next-level movie watching. Lean back in an oversized cushy chair and order a delicious meal, tasty local beers, and signature cocktails brought right to your seat.

Main Event

Hours of fun for all ages! We bowled, shot pool, played laser tag, arcade games, and mini golf.

Texas Winter

The most iconic attraction in San Antonio is probably The Alamo. The site where the Battle of the Alamo occurred in 1836, this was a key event in the Texas Revolution. The historical significance of this location is undeniable, so we spent a day exploring the old fort and its 300 years of history.

Established in 1718 as Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo has been a historical crossroads since its humble beginnings. Existing under the flags of five nations and serving as a garrison for as many armies, the Alamo has a rich and inspirational heritage.

Here’s a few other San Antonio attractions we enjoyed …

Comanche Lookout

Native Americans used this hill as a vantage point for warfare and hunting. The Apache and Comanche once occupied the area, hunting along nearby Cibolo Creek. The hill was also a prominent landmark used by travelers to navigate 18^th & 19^th century frontier trails.

Texas Winter

Tower of the Americas

Cheri and I enjoyed a wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner in this spectacular rotating restaurant 750 feet above the city. The vantage point provides one of the best views around of the Texas sunset and the San Antonio city lights.

Local Cuisine

We tried many delicious restaurants across the metro. Here are a few standouts for us; Pompeii Italian Grill, Salsalito Cantina & Mexican Restaurant, Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse.

Cheri has a cousin in the area, living in the nearby community of New Braunfels. We visited them a few times during our stay, but the Superbowl gathering was especially memorable. Cheri and I are both from the Kansas City area. Lifelong fans, we had been patiently waiting for as long as we could both remember for the Kansas City Chiefs to play in the big game once again. Their last appearance was 50 years prior, for the 1969 season, winning Superbowl 4 in 1970. We were both small children then, so this day was a long time coming.

Texas Winter

I spent a fair amount of time and money during our Texas Winter making modifications to the new Cardinal Fifth Wheel. Much of the salvaged gear I retrieved from the totaled Crusader did not work for the Cardinal. So, I had to buy several new accessories and even fabricated a few of my own.

Referring to my RV Life article titled, Year One – Lessons Learned, my goal was to maximize space, implement back and body savers, and set-up my gear for quick and efficient set-up/tear-down. I spent about $1000 on these convenience items, including a great new feature known as the TOGO. Now discontinued, this was an excellent roof-mounted device in 2020 that provided awesome Internet and TV reception. Check out Winegard to see some of the latest gadgets.

Winter was not quite over with when we left San Antonio. There were a couple of places we wanted to see in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (DFW), so we moved the rig north about 4 hours and set-up camp at the Traders Village RV Park in Grand Prairie.

Texas has a reputation for doing it big. Traders Village lives up to that reputation. In all my life I have never seen such a vast flea market of over 3,500 vendors selling every kind of merchandise imaginable. We wandered this place for hours and never found the end. If that isn’t enough, there are food vendors everywhere, plus an amusement park, and live music. Simply put, this place is incredible!

The two main attractions in the DFW area we came to see are Dealy Plaza & Coryell County.

Dealy Plaza

It was a few years before my time, but most of us know what happened here on November 22, 1963. A terrible and tragic day that changed America forever, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in his motorcade as it passed by this location.

We explored the plaza area, including the Grassy Knoll Landmark. A classic “X marks the spot” is painted on Elm Street where it happened. We toured the Sixth Floor Museum and then boarded a bus tour that traveled along the infamous route. Sobering and somewhat disturbing, I will never forget that moment when the bus rolled over the Elm Street X as the onboard narration played perfectly timed gunshots and crowd screams. A very real nightmare on Elm Street for those who were there on that horrible day.

We continued to other historical sites, such as, the Lee Harvey Oswald home and the Texas Theater where he was taken into custody. While it was interesting and enjoyable to experience these locations and learn more details about how these events unfolded, it was emotionally draining to imagine the heartbreak for Jackie and the Kennedy family.

Coryell County

We took a day trip into the beautiful Texas Hill Country to see Gatesville, the Coryell County seat. Referring to my Eye of the Beholder article titled, Inspire Me – Family Roots, you can learn about my ancestor from the S-line (Samuel) … James Coryell. James was an early member of the Texas Rangers who homesteaded in this area in the 1830s.

We explored the town, visited the County Courthouse, and toured the Coryell Museum & Historical Center. Much like my experience in New Hope & Lambertville, I felt a great sense of family pride walking around town bearing the same last name.

Our Texas Winter came to a close and we set our sights on the next RV Life summer adventure. The new Cardinal was ready to go and we wanted to go west again into the high country. Cheri had it all planned out to enjoy Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and several areas across the Pacific Northwest.

Year 4 Here We Come!

Psalm 145:5-7

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