VISITING SAN ANTONIO TEXAS (NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS, BUCKHORN MUSEUM)

MY WEEK IN PHOTOS: OCTOBER 1–7, 2018! VISITING SAN ANTONIO TEXAS (NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS, BUCKHORN MUSEUM)

This is the second half of the week. Part one is here. In this part, we road trip to San Antonio and get dressed up for a wedding. I visit a taxidermy museum and saloon, and stumble across Texas’s largest commercial cave. No bats sighted, unfortunately.

Enjoy!

Saturday morning we decided to stop at Zach’s all time favorite childhood restaurant. We always have to eat here and this time we were here for some breakfast tacos.

Took them to go and gobbled them up as we gassed up the car.

The weather was so confusing on the drive. It was raining and then blue skies and then raining and then blue skies…(also Slaughter Lane? Suspicious)

Made it to San Antonio!

The Alamo. I remember visiting San Antonio with my mom when my dad had a business trip when I was kid. I don’t remember much. I figured since we were in San Antonio for the day (and the wedding we were there for was at night) we should do some San Antonio stuff.

The line to get into the church. I’ve seen Miss Congeniality and heard “Remember the Alamo” but I honestly didn’t think much about the Alamo. But it’s not unique in having a fraught, violent history, one that has been mildly erased with a smart fun story about some tough Americans doing fun American hero stuff. But “The Alamo” was first a Spanish mission, designed to convert Native American populations.

Love that history starts in 1724 and the Native Americans who lived in this area pre-Spaniards is a literal marginal note. Best line: “The water and a Native population made an ideal location for the mission.” Also interesting to learn that Americans were immigrants to Mexico (where San Antonio is now) and were encouraged to move and live there with great land gift benefits. When they got sick of the Mexican government over reaching, they sought independence as Texans and that is when the memorable siege went down.

“The Alamo” event that you might think took place a while after the mission was already abandoned, and then fortified. The chapel was turned into a military fort for Mexican troops to fight against the Spanish. And then later in 1836, the U.S. Texans to fight against Mexico. 13 days the Texans held out against the Mexican force, but early in those days Texas had already won their independence on another front. But yeah, Davy Crockett was there. All of this is really generalized. I apologize.

San Antonio

Walking the Riverwalk. The riverwalk was born after a 1920s flood of the river meant building some kind of flood control. Now it’s full of shops and touristy restaurants and nice picturesque bridges.

The Buckhorn Saloon and Museum!

Took a break from the heat and bought a huge beer for $9!

This place was a saloon opened by Albert Friedrich in 1881. He started to accept antlers, horns, pelts, and other game trophies in exchange for paying for drinks. Then he’d take those gifts and make furniture out of them, chairs and tables, etc. He eventually decorated the whole place, and his wife joined the fun by making rattle snake rattle art.

During the Prohibition era, the saloon stayed in business as Friedrich charged for people to see his growing collection of curios.

Now it is full of taxidermy animal heads divided into regional displays.

That’s what dingos look like?!

Whoaaa, this buck had another buck’s antler in its antlers plus it was all wrapped in barbed wire.

Rattlesnake art

“Abnormal” deer display

Derp

Rare Irish Elk! It’s been extinct for 9000 years.

Underwater homies

The museum had other random displays, including one about sideshows (not super well thought out) and this area about Texas Ranger times including a recreation of Bonnie and Clyde’s car after they were killed.

So happy we found this place on yelp: shaved ice and icecream with Mexican candy toppings. This is the Fresanada: watermelon shave ice, chamoy, lucas and strawberry sour belts.

Made it the beautiful Airbnb.

SO HAPPY to be joined by doggos.

Getting ready for the wedding.

Zach killing it with the photo angles.

Bye Coco, see you later!

Texas sunset and the wedding ceremony

The wedding was at an art museum in San Antonio. We got to wander the exhibitions before dinner. Unfortunately, I didn’t shoot too many more photos.

Sunday morning! Everybody slowly trickled back to Austin.

I surveyed the damage on my legs from the ruthless Texas mosquitos. 40 bites. Yep.

Bye, Airbnb!

We were on the freeway driving back to Austin when we saw a sign for Natural Bridge Caverns. I thought this would be a total tourist trap, like $40 to see a dinky cave and leave. But it was actually a 90 minute tour through Texas’s largest commercial cave. So cool! This is the natural bridge that the place takes its name after. A sinkhole collapsed this area and that was all that was left.

About the formation of the caverns: “The cavern formed by an underground “river” moving slowly through cracks and pores within the limestone. Rainwater seeping through cracks started dissolving the limestone. In time, the original narrow cracks or joints enlarged to form huge underground conduits or passages.

Perhaps due to changes in climate, vegetation, or other natural forces, the water drained to lower levels within the earth. As the water left the upper passages, it moved deeper and started forming a second level. The water eventually moved to another level even deeper within the earth. As the water left the lower level, stresses within the rock led to many of the layers collapsing to form break-out domes. This final stage of collapse led to the creation of the passages our visitors now see.”

The caverns are still living and growing.

Somebody on the tour asked why the lighting was so bad and the guide so kindly was like, “Sir, caves are dark…”

Little baby stalactites

THE COOLEST big room at the end, the original big collapsed space leaving this big dome.

Tall

Had to pull out some pants and plane cover ups so I would be prepared to be dropped at the airport.

Drive back to Austin, finally the rain returned.

FINALLY! My favorite queso in town: Torchy’s Tacos.

Catfish taco

Fried chicken tacos

Still more time to kill before the flight: Pickle Road.

Stumbled across the Cosmic Coffee and Beer Garden.

Calling the cable company, enjoying a coffee and beer, just relaxing before the flight.

Wished I was hungry because there were some good looking food trucks.

Plants on plants?!

They also have live music and live chickens!

I didn’t take any more than that, but the rest of Sunday was spent flying from Austin back to Los Angeles, three bags in tow. I got home, threw on a face mask and then passed out.

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Some questions that you may or may not feel inclined to answer? Let’s do it. And make it fall themed again. I invite you to answer in the comments:

1. What should I carve my pumpkin into? Ideas?
2. Most recent scary movie you’ve seen?
3. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?

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1. What should I carve my pumpkin into? Ideas?
   I’m asking you… 🙂
2. Most recent scary movie you’ve seen?
   Just watched Jigsaw (which is basically Saw 8). I fell asleep because I tend to do that, but hey, still enjoyable as a Saw movie. I really hate paranormal movies and can’t watch them, but for some reason gore is okay with me.
3. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?
   My dad made me a cow costume complete with a bell around my neck.

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Thanks for reading! Much love friends.