Texas really is vast. We have wandered along a winding route, admittedly, but after several days we still have not left the state. Today we arrive in San Antonio. Here my wife and I decide to take Interstate 35 north through Dallas, then head toward Georgia. Our companions plan to continue on I-10 through Houston and New Orleans to Florida. Over farewell hamburgers at McDonald’s, we wish one another a safe, healthy journey and reluctantly say goodbye. We have relied on each other along the way, and traveling separately now makes me a little uneasy. Yet, as the old Buddhist saying reminds us, all who meet must eventually part.
San Antonio is the second-most populous city in Texas and seventh in the country. After more than ten days passing through small towns, the first things that catch my eye in the city are the big supermarkets. We decide to replenish our food supplies before moving on.
One of the country’s popular shopping destinations, San Antonio has upscale boutiques, shopping malls and the largest Mexican market in the United States. Its scenic, atmospheric River Walk is famous. Along more than 15 miles of riverside paths are hundreds of shops, restaurants, hotels, historic landmarks and museums. Festivals celebrating food, wine and live music seem never to end in a city where Spanish, German and American cultures mingle. Its four Spanish missions and the Alamo, famous for the battle against Mexico, are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Even the cheapest hotel here costs two or three times what we have paid in the places we have passed through. We skip the city sightseeing and find an RV campground short of Austin. I must be a campground person at heart. A campsite is much more comfortable to me than a confining hotel room. For a start, I can have a campfire, cook a meal or take a walk without feeling constrained. RV parks have electricity and showers, too, and charging the portable power-bank batteries is convenient. On a rainy day we can cook and take care of everything inside the vehicle. On the road, aside from breakfast and coffee, I find little that makes a hotel better value.