March 21, 1993: A Day in the Hill Country
	March 19, 1993: San Antonio: Missions, Alamo and River Walk
	Return to the South Texas Trip Index

The next morning, we slept in and then went to IHOP for breakfast. After that, we went to a museum across the street and walked through it for a while. Frank and Joe had to get back to the ranch, but Fred and I had more to see in San Antonio, so they went on and we went back downtown to the site of Hemisfair.

HemisFair Park

HemisFair '68 was the official 1968 World's Fair (or International Exposition), and it was held here in San Antonio. The theme of the fair was "The Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas", celebrating the many nations which settled the region. The fair was held in 1968 to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio in 1718. More than thirty nations and fifteen corporations hosted pavilions at the fair.

We drove down to the park which was left after the fair; we wanted specifically to go to the top of the Tower of the Americas- the signature building from the Fair.

The Tower of the Americas is a 750-foot observation tower/restaurant located at HemisFair Park; it was designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford and was built as the theme structure of the 1968 World's Fair. The Tower was the tallest observation tower in the United States from 1968 until 1996, when the Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower was completed. It is the tallest building in San Antonio, the 27th tallest building in Texas.

The Tower is located in the middle of HemisFair Park and has an observation deck that is accessible by elevator. In addition, there is also a lounge and revolving restaurant at the top of the tower that provides panoramic views of the city. It was those panoramic views that we wanted to take in, so we walked to the tower, paid the entrance fee and took the elevator to the top.

When we got to the top of the tower, the views were as promised- quite spectacular. In the 90 minutes we spent here at the top of the tower, we took quite a few pictures that show the city of San Antonio to great advantage.

The San Antonio Convention Center Along I-35 Fred tells me that this convention center will be unique- there will be no parking in or adjacent to it; the city is apparently going to force people to take public transportation to get to it. While a laudable goal, I think that in a city like San Antonio, which is car-oriented, this is not going to work. I will have to make a point to see how it goes once it opens.

I-35 Going South and West Through San Antonio The new Marriott Hotel, which is one of the prime entrances to the Riverwalk, is at the lower left. We are looking West toward Uvalde and where Frank and Joe live way out in the hill country. Note that the weather has improved markedly since yesterday.

From the Tower of the Americas, we could see the Marriott and the North end of downtown San Antonio. The River Walk system is down there, it is just very hard to see from this height. In the picture we took, below right, if you look at the new hotel just in the center of the picture, and look at the street immediately this side of it, you can see that there is a bridge over something, and then you can pick out the Riverwalk system.

From this height, it looks like a park in front of that new building, but that curved green area is not grass but the surface of the canal. You can also pick out some of the foot bridges across the canal that you saw in a previous picture. Just "above" that new building in the picture is the green area where the Alamo is.

At left is my picture of Fred on the observation platform of the Tower of the Americas. Although there was a system of railings to keep anyone from jumping or falling from the tower (it has happened three times before the railings were installed), both Fred and I were just a bit uncomfortable out here in the open air.

The problem was the wind, and the fact that it was causing the tower to sway perceptibly. Fred, with his mild fear of heights, was OK if he didn't get near the edge. I got a bit nervous whenever I leaned towards the railings and my center of gravity shifted. With the action of the wind, it made me feel as if I would fall.

But when we stayed away from the edge, the Tower of the Americas offered some of the best views of any city that I can remember- perhaps because San Antonio has no buildings so tall as to block the expansive views of the city and the country beyond.

Fountains in the Park at the Base of the Tower Many of the structures erected for Hemisfair are still in use, and the fair did a good job of creating water features and fountains that could remain long after the fair was over. From above, the water in this fountain makes an interesting pattern.

Downtown San Antonio San Antonio has grown to the point where it is the nations tenth largest city, which is hard to believe but true. Many people don't realize it, but Texas has three of the ten largest cities in the country (as of the 1980 census). They are Dallas, Houston and San Antonio (Austin is 11th).

We enjoyed the Tower of the Americas, although it wasn't until we got to the top that I discovered that the stairs were actually open. It might have been neat to have walked up, although I am sure it would have taken time. Even though the fastest recorded time up the tower's 952 steps is only 5 minutes 18 seconds (1981). We went back down to ground level to walk around HemisFair Park itself.

(Picture at left) Fred at one of the water features in HemisFair Park. This area is similar to the water gardens in Ft. Worth.       (Picture at right) Fred, with some of the water gardens at HemisFair Park in the background. (It seems to me that Fred gets better and better looking the longer I know him.)

Since the weather had been so bad the day before, and since we had some extra time before we had to head out to Frank and Joe's, we stopped by the Alamo one more time before heading out.

I might have wished that when we returned to the Alamo, there would not have been so many people around as there were yesterday, but with the weather much better, there were even more folks milling about. So it was inevitable that my picture of the Alamo today would have the backsides of even more people in the picture.

Fred and I spent some time in the gift shop so Fred could get a couple more things that he saw yesterday, and we also spent a bit of time walking around the downtown area, descending again to the River Walk for another look.

About five in the afternoon started out for Frank and Joe's- a 90-mile trip.

From San Antonio, we took US 90 West to Sabinal, and then turned north on Texas 127 and finally US 63 to Leakey. We stopped at a Spanish bakery along the way to get some rolls for breakfast.

We got to Frank and Joe's in time for dinner, and we spent a pleasant evening with them feeding the animals and playing with their new litter of kittens. Their Manx cat had had four of them, two calico and two black and white. One of the calicos and one of the black and white were also Manx, the other two had normal tails. I thought all of them were very cute, and of course Frank and Joe immediately started pushing me to take one of them. They were awfully cute, but I had neither the time nor the patience to litter-train them or take one before it was weaned. I did, however, start thinking seriously about the possibility of getting a cat of my own.

You can use the links below to continue to another album page for our South Texas trip or to return to the trip index page from which you can continue on through the photo album.

	March 21, 1993: A Day in the Hill Country
	March 19, 1993: San Antonio: Missions, Alamo and River Walk
	Return to the South Texas Trip Index