The next day was much more eventful. We decided to follow the San Antonio Mission Trail. There are 5 total missions that the Spanish Franciscan Priests started to help convert the native people of the area to Catholicism and to teach them modern ways of life. The missions were beautiful. It was neat to look at the old architectures and to imagine what life was like for these people hundreds of years ago.
The first mission on the trail was called Mission Espada. It was the simplest of all the missions, but it was still beautiful. The church and side building are still used today. Nuns are still living in the parish at this time as well. We unknowingly took a picture right in their backyard
The next mission was San Juan. The inside of this mission was pretty big and there was a large cross in the middle of a bunch of cacti. I asked my sister to make sure she got a picture of it because it was cool. She had no idea what I was talking about at first, but when she actually saw it she thought it was awesome.
The next mission was San Jose. This was the largest mission for the natives- it was a meeting place and a lot of trade/business went on here. I thought this was the most beautiful of the missions. I loved the archways and the church.
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| The stone fire pits were in front of most of the rooms. Could you imagine using this to cook all of your meals each day? |
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| We were surprised to see all of the palm trees. It was about 60 degree, so they kind of felt out of place at the time. |
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| My sister took some really great shots of the mission, so I copied some of her photos. Thanks Ems! |
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| Leo and Mama on our first vacation together. |
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| I love this picture of my mom and Johanna. There were so many gorgeous flowers and vegetation throughout our trip. |
Mission Concepcion was next. It was much harder to find. The cathedral here was also very beautiful. Mom, Emily, and I enjoyed walking around the grounds and looking into the different rooms. The church had really large wooden doors and someone started knocking on them while we were inside. It was kind of creepy!
We waited for my brother-in-law Jeff to arrive to visit the final mission, The Alamo. I have done many American History lessons about his famous battle, so it was really interesting to see it in person. I was so excited to take some pictures that I didn't even see all of the signs that stated, "No Photography!" inside the Alamo. As I was taking a picture of flags from the inside this worker came running at me yelling, "Miss! Miss! There is NO photography! There are signs everywhere!" I almost started laughing. I guess I was a rebel that evening, lol. We actually went back again a couple of days later to get a better look. If you haven't watched the most recent movie about the Alamo with Billy Bob Thorton, I highly recommend it.
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| We were amazed at how huge the Oak trees were. Beautiful! |
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| The forbidden picture. |
There was also a monument in front of the mission honoring the men that fought during the battle.
Remember the Alamo!
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