We Have Visitors from Houston! - Saturday, March 23, 2024

And not just any visitors! Rich and Kristin are part of our family. They moved from New Jersey to Missouri City, Texas, 2-1/2 years ago. He worked for Costco and got transferred to Costco Business in Stafford, Texas. Kristin also works for Costco in their Optometry Department. 

We visited them in Missouri City when they first moved to Texas. That was a fun trip and we explored parts of Houston together.

They are settled into their home now and have time off together. We are thrilled they are letting us show them San Antonio this weekend. Rich has never been here before.

When they arrived, we stored their bags at our place until they could check into their hotel and took our car to Cheddar's at Brooks City Base for lunch. We then took them to see Espada Dam, Mission Espada, the Acequia, Stinson Airport, and Mission San Jose.

At Mission San Jose (known as the Queen of the Missions) in San Antonio, we watched the 25-minute video. Um, I think Bob, Rich, and I fell asleep. Kristin saw most of it. The soothing voice and music put me to sleep when I watch it. It's very interesting, though. We live 1/2-mile away from the mission and I have watched the movie multiple times before, so there's that.

The curious keyhole door at Mission Espada.

Bob, Kristin, and Rich at Mission Espada.

Inside Mission Espada.

Mission San Jose - "the Queen of
the Missions."

Mission San Jose - "the Queen of
the Missions."

Mission San Jose - "the Queen of
the Missions."

Rich and Kristin at Mission San
Jose - "the Queen of the Missions."

The ornate entryway to the church
at Mission San Jose.

Inside the church at Mission San Jose.

This explains the symbology of the
ornate façade of the church at 
Mission San Jose.

Mission San Jose - replica of a room that shows
how the Native Americans lived at the mission.

The arches of the granary.

Inside the granary at Mission
San Jose.

Kristin and Rich were tired from the 3-1/2-hour drive today. We agreed we all needed a break and would get back together at 6:45 pm to explore the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio and have dinner.

Randall, our son, joined us for the evening exploration. A parking garage was our best bet for parking on Saturday night! 

We walked the Riverwalk downtown at night. It is beautiful and crowded. We found The River's Edge Café & Patio Bar where we had dinner.

Then we walked the Riverwalk some more. "San Antonio: the Saga," a history of San Antonio, was playing at the San Fernando Cathedral. It is a 25-minute laser light show projected onto the façade of the cathedral accompanied by music. 

When that ended, we walked across the street to the Bexar County Courthouse. It looks awesome at night!

Randall, Bob, Kristin, & Rich in front
of the Bexar County Courthouse.

The Lady Justice in front of the 
Bexar County Courthouse.

We walked down Houston Street, past the Majestic Theater, and back to the parking garage. The weather was excellent all day and evening. We ended up walking 4.4 miles, according to my phone. 

Tomorrow, we will show them the King William Historic District, The Alamo, The Pearl, the Japanese Tea Garden, and whatever else we can pack into a few hours. We're happy they were able to get away for the weekend!