San Antonio, TX (USA)

Had to drive to Corpus Christi today for work. My unit let me get a rental car, which will help keep the miles off my own car. The Enterprise Branch in North Richland Hills picked me up and, after getting the keys to my vehicle (0905), I got on the road. The traffic actually wasn't bad at all - surprisingly - and I was able to get through Fort Worth on I-35W rather quickly. As usual, Enterprise gave me a nearly empty gas tank, so I had to stop for fuel in Grandview (1000). Continued south on I-35 for several more hours without stopping (I'd brought my lunch) and had no trouble with the traffic in Austin or northern San Antonio. Took I-410 around the city and began looking for signs for the local National Park (missions). It wasn't hard to find the signs, but there was some construction and blocked roads (flooding on the San Antonio River) and I had to make several backtracks before I finally found the visitor's center. I've been to the Alamo (see NOV 1999 and NOV 2009) but these other missions are far more interesting, since they are not in a tourist area. The history of the Spanish missionary work in the area is impressive - and the condition of the buildings was too. I spent several hours walking the grounds - the weather was great. Finished up around 1530 and headed back to the interstate. Took I-410 over to I-37 and drove towards Corpus Christi. Stopped in Mathis for gas and McDonalds (1620). The rest of the drive was pretty easy - not much traffic at all. That changed when I arrived in Corpus and exited onto TX-358. Still, I made it to my hotel (NAS Corpus Christi Navy Gateway Inn) at around 1800. This is the first time I've spent the night in this part of Texas - even though I've visited several times - since 1994. The sea breezes made for a pleasant evening. I spent the rest of the night taking care of emails from work.