Texans

Ted. There is probably not a more stereotypical image of a person from the US than a Texan. Say that word anywhere on the planet and it conjures up a certain image. From my years living in Colorado, it was not a flattering picture. A loud, brash, gun totting provincial comes to mind. 

Having just spent five weeks in the Lone Star State, however, my opinion has softened. The Texans that we met were generally soft spoken, kind and friendly and rarely spoke with a pronounced accent. Having also lived in Arizona, I was aware of a Westerner’s need for freedom, rights and open spaces. You had to be tough to carve a life out of the wilderness. In the South, folks are raised to be friendly, courteous and respectful. Texas bridges the two cultures, thus the term “Southwestern.”

Longhorns - the basis for the original Texan economy

There are a few characteristics that stand out. They seem comfortable with public displays of faith and patriotism. State pride is obvious. We probably see five Texas flags for every one US flag. Maybe that has something to do the unique political history of the state. Local residents (English speaking Texians and Spanish speaking Texanos) fought a war to carve out an independent republic in a corner of Mexico, and then merged with the US, joining an invasion of Mexico. A few years later, Texas seceded from the US to join the Southern Confederacy. After losing that war, Texas once again became part of the US.

WWI soldier memorial in Llano

Texans come in all colors and faiths. At least 50% of the folks at the rodeo appeared to be Hispanic. Newly freed slaves traveled to Texas right after the Civil War to create a number of communities that still form a vibrant part of the local culture.  

Guns are an important of the state’s history as a guarantor of personal freedom. However, they are to be handled responsibly.

Llano County promoting gun training

Texans don’t mince words. As an example, the signs on the highways forbidding littering say “Don’t Mess With Texas!” A show-off is dismissed as "All hat and no cattle!"

Personal responsibility and self-reliance are important. When a country road crosses a stream, there is rarely a bridge. The road goes down into the stream bed with a depth gauge on the side. It is assumed the driver knows the maximum depth at which the creek can be safely forded.

So, the next time someone mentions Texas or Texans, I will no longer smirk. California and New York? Well, it’s not a stereotype if it’s true!

The Hill Country

Judy. I’ve wanted to see the Hill Country of Texas for as long as I can remember. Ted’s reminded me of that: “So how long have you been asking me to come here? Thirty years?” Fortunately, we both have truly enjoyed it. And once again, it was not what I would have expected.

Our "Quaint Cabin"

When we arrived a week ago, there was not a bluebonnet to be seen, and the only wildflowers we saw were little yellow daisy-like blooms in the harsh, 

rocky, thorny hills. Our cabin was located on a ranch, and as we drove up the driveway, I was relieved to see that the main house and cabin were surrounded by beautiful trees, some sort of gnarled oak that gives this part of Texas a special beauty. We found out later that this is a species of live oak that is smaller than those found in Georgia. Our little cabin had a screened porch, a lovely Texas mountain laurel bush covered in purple blooms, and a resident tame deer who stopped by to beg. And we found we were on a Monarch butterfly migration route—right by the cabin. They loved stopping to snack on the mountain laurel!

Chatting with "Petsy"

Filling up for the journey

With the Covid-19 threat rearing its head, we found ourselves just driving through towns, sometimes getting out to walk, as in the charming town of Comfort, or to take our chances to eat some seriously fine Texas Barbecue in Kerrville (and scrub our hands like mad before and after). With the ranch up on a ridge, we found we could see changes in the countryside as we drove around, and began to appreciate how different this area is.

Our front view

On the ridge

One day we drove to Pedernales Falls State Park to hike. It’s spring break, and we were supposed to make a reservation to get in—true for all of the parks in this area. Fortunately, most of the hundreds of people there were at the Pedernales Falls area, and we were in the opposite direction, crossing the river on foot, and climbing up to a ridge for a five mile hike. I can’t say it’s the prettiest hike I’ve ever taken, but the park was originally a ranch (a bequest to the state), and it was interesting to see old stone fences and corrals now covered in brush. We saw very few people on our walk, and it was good to get outdoors. 

Pedernales Park view

We drove in Fredericksburg and Dripping Springs on separate occasions to buy groceries and see something new, and got a taste of the empty shelves and long lines to buy food during the possible quarantine. Interestingly, it didn’t seem to keep folks from shopping and gathering in tight groups. We kept our distance!  

Typical Fredericksburg house

Another day we drove to Llano to stand on a bridge (social distancing) and watch the World Championship Rock Stacking contest. There were categories in artistic creations, height, balance and arches. We couldn’t get too close, but enjoyed it—it inspired Ted to try his own hand at rock stacking on one of our ranch walks. 

World Championships!

New hobby?

On our way home, we stopped to look at Enchanted Rock—the Hill Country version of Georgia’s Stone Mountain. It is truly beautiful, but the line of hikers walking up the hill looked like those photos of folks waiting to summit Mount Everest!

Enchanted Rock

Back at the ranch, there was plenty enough to do.  We walked down to an overlook that Larry, our host, told us about, to watch a glorious sunset, watched as Larry flew his gyrocopter around the area, walked to another overlook for a view for miles.

Larry's gyrocopter

Sunset from the ridge

The walk back to the cabin

Each time we drove out, as we began to descend the hills, we saw more and more wildflowers, exactly what I had hoped for! I knew we’d not see meadows blanketed in bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush, but we saw enough to know what a knockout view it would be in a few weeks.

Early in the week

Toward the end of the week

Yeah, it was worth waiting thirty years to see.

Coronavirus, Part 1

Ted. The current worldwide health crisis is the first big test for the life style that Judy and I adopted three years ago. No, we are not sick but yes, we are affected by all of the changes that are occurring around us.

For starters, we have learned a lot from watching  two CNN Town Hall Meetings about the coronavirus. You can still stream them at CNN.com. [As an aside, our son, who works for CNN, did the design work for the specials.]

We also just received an email from a long time Servas friend of our who told us about life today in Turin, Italy. Her warning to us and all Americans is to take the virus very seriously.  

Sitting on the porch of our cabin on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country, it is easy to imagine that the cares of the world are far away. A trip to the grocery store quickly brings us back to reality. Our little corner of Texas, like the rest of the world, is in full blown panic mode. Is it justified? Time will tell. Is our world changing? Unquestionably. Like everyone else on the planet, we are in a “Wait and See” mode.

Short term, we are making some adjustments. On next Tuesday, we had planned to fly from San Antonio to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the next leg of our Southwest US adventure. We have now cancelled the flight and will rent a car and drive there. When we arrive, we will follow social distancing guidelines and not go out of our way to meet new folks (church, volunteering and Servas being our usual methods). Many museums and galleries may be closed and concerts and plays are being cancelled so there will be time for walks, books and puzzles. With March Madness (college basketball championship) cancelled and baseball postponed, I’ll be watching more Netflix and less sports. But these are all minor problems.

We are witnessing a planetary paradigm shift that is surpassing 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis. When it is over, I think our country, and the rest of the world will be stronger. We are all adopting healthier habits, like proper hand washing. Teachers will learn how to teach remotely and more companies will explore remote working. Businesses will expand their supply sources to decrease dependence on a single country (Ikea being a leader at this).

Will we be going to Europe this summer? Will our family gather for my Dad’s 90^th birthday celebration? Will we, our friends or family members get sick? The answer to most questions is…”Wait and See.”

By the way, we always enjoy hearing from folks who choose to read our blog. If you would like to share how you and/or your community are dealing with the coronavirus, you can use the "Contact US" block on the right side of our home page. 

Our cabin in the Texas Hill Country

Discovering San Antonio

Judy. Once I read an interview with a woman from Lagos, Nigeria, who had come to the US to study. She said the greatest misconception about her home was that people thought Lagos was filled with grass huts. “No,” she had to explain, “it’s a big city—skyscrapers and all!”

Truth is, I probably thought the same as those folks she met. I’d like to tell you I’m better than that, especially with internet photos available to me, but the fact is that I often picture places differently before I get there.

Take San Antonio. I already told you I have a sense of “big” here, but before we came, I vaguely remembered the little town with the Alamo as the center that I had visited as a child. When we asked friends who had visited here what we should do, the immediate response was “Riverwalk!” which I pictured as a small downtown touristy area. Certainly there had to be more to do than that.

But San Antonio IS big, and the Riverwalk is so much more than the sweet, touristy downtown walk with shops and restaurants and an occasional tour boat. And while we’ve spent days at home, we’ve also really come to appreciate how much there is to see and do here.

Downtown Riverwalk

The Riverwalk now runs on either side of the city for several miles. Ted told you in our last post about biking the Mission Trail, which is a part of it. But even downtown, we often took some of its winding walks from one part of the city to another, avoiding the noise and traffic above us on the streets. Early on, we went to the Pearl, a brewery turned live/play/work community, and wandered on the walk toward downtown. It was quiet, and really beautiful, and USED by people.

 

Riverwalk by the Pearl

We waded through the crowds at the Alamo, but it’s only the first of the five Missions located near the river in the city.  Our visit to those other missions taught us a lot about how and why they were established, and their part in the history of this area of Texas.

One afternoon we rode the bus downtown and walked to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, one of the two “painted churches” in San Antonio itself. German and Czech immigrants missed their elaborate churches back home, and painted the interiors to reflect the glory they remembered.  

A Painted Church

At the Briscoe

We took the bus to the Briscoe Western Art Museum, with its Western art and historical collection of artifacts, and another night, after a dinner of appetizers and drinks, rode it again to see the historical sound and light show on the façade of the Cathedral, where, incidentally, we had seen a harp concert two weeks before.

The historical sound and light show at the Cathedral

Not far from us is the Japanese Garden, built by a Japanese family, decades ago, in an old quarry. It was well worth the short walk, even on a crowded Sunday. 

Waterfall at the Japanese Garden

The bus system itself worked well for us. We bought senior passes for the month and rode to the Rodeo, the McNay Art Museum, the grocery store, and downtown whenever we felt like it.

Around the corner from our home is NOLA, a New Orleans-inspired breakfast place. I can’t say the beignets and café-au-lait were as good as in NO, but the blue crab omelet was killer. And around the corner from that was their evening restaurant, the Cookhouse, with the best oysters I’ve had in awhile, straight from the Gulf.

 

The church we attended, Christ Episcopal, is huge, with a full campus of buildings and four Sunday services, but they have numerous Bible study groups and some great outreach opportunities. On Saturday mornings, we were able to help make breakfast tacos which they served, restaurant-style, to the homeless and working poor who came, and who later were welcomed to the food pantry and the clothes closet. On the Sunday before Mardi Gras, they had a Gospel Jazz service that had been started by Jim Culloum, who used to do the Riverwalk Jazz program on NPR, Jim has since passed away, but there were some mighty fine jazz musicians on that altar. 

Groceries ready for those who need them

Texans being the way they are, an old friend from high school, one of several who've become Texans, drove five hours to spend time with us. Melvin--now using his middle name "Dallas"--is a good friend. 

Texans have big hearts

We never made it to the Tower of the Americas, for a view of the city, or to the zoo, but we saw plenty of other San Antonio sights.

So, yeah. San Antonio is big and bustling, with a lot going on. And a whole lot more than the Riverwalk. 

Sunset from our house

San Antonio Missions

Ted. Of course, Judy and I have heard of the famous San Antonio River Walk but we thought it was just a two-mile long canal with tourist boats plying the waters and touristy cafes lining the banks. That happens to be true of the original stretch of river, which was developed downtown in the 1930’s. Since that time, though, the city has wisely expanded the walk to create a trail that now follows the San Antonio River for 15 miles.  For most of that length, it is a peaceful paved path, often on both sides of the river. 

South of town, the River Walk strings together four missions to form the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the Alamo is certainly the most famous mission in this area, the 18^th century Franciscan monks established a whole series of missions along the river. 

We decided that the best way to explore this area was on two wheels so, after taking the bus to the Blue Star Arts Complex, we rented bicycles ($20 for a half day). Loading a picnic lunch and water into our baskets, we headed out on a 20 mile round trip adventure. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon and the trail was not crowded at all. 

Crossing the San Antonio, which is not a big river

Mission Concepción

Why were the indigenous hunter/gathers in this region willing to provide the labor to build these impressive complexes? Apparently, several forces were at play. Diseases introduced by the Spaniards and attacks by the warlike Lipan Apaches led to an increased need for safety and reliable food supplies.

The walls of Mission San José encompass a large area

Originally, the walls of the churches were brightly painted

Mission San Juan

In addition to the missions, we saw some wildlife and remnants of the irrigation canals (acequias)  built during the mission days to supply the crops.

This acequia is still in use

Courtyard of Mission Espada

We finished up at the Blue Star Brewery; a perfect end for an interesting day – one of the best during our visit.

We knew we were nearly back in San Antonio when we spied the tower of the Americas