October 13-21, 2010: A Trip to New Mexico and Arizona
	September 8-22, 2010: A Trip to Fort Lauderdale
	Return to Index for 2010

Just after we'd returned from Florida, we took a short trip down to San Antonio to visit with Ron, Prudence and Guy. The three of them, along with Prudence's sister, Nancy, and her husband, Karl, were leaving on Thursday, September 30th, for a trip to Italy, and we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see Guy to go down there and visit.

Getting to Ruckman Haus

You've probably seen a map of the route from Dallas to San Antonio before. It is pretty simple, for once you get on the Tollway south from my house, and merge onto I-35 South, it is a straight shot for about 280 miles all the way to downtown San Antonio.

This was a short trip, and we didn't do much while we were here. We just wanted to visit with Guy and Prudence and Ron, and I also wanted to drop by Chicken Paradise and finalize some things about their web site. We did do one new thing in San Antonio- we visited the new Main Plaza.

Main Plaza in Downtown San Antonio

On Wednesday morning, after Ron and Prudence were done with their other guests, we took a short trip downtown to a new little area called Main Plaza ('cause it is right off Main Street, naturally). I did not take my camera with us, so all the pictures I have included here were from Fred.

As you can see from the little map, it is not far at all from Ruckman Haus and if you'll take a look at the aerial view below, you'll see the new plaza with its brightly-colored covered tables and chairs as well as the small fountains sprinkled about.

The park is right outside the front door of the Church of Nuestra Senora De La Candelaria Y Guadalupe. In fact, we went in the church at one point where we found a small chamber orchestra practicing for an upcoming performance while ten or fifteen people sat in the pews and listened.

In the Guadalupe Church

We went inside the church to listen to the music, and Fred made this good movie of the practice performance.

According to Ron, this plaza is a new addition to the downtown cityscape, and there seemed to have been some controversy about its construction. For example, the colorful shelters aren't shelters at all; the coverings are just slats, and so, if it rains, they don't provide any cover for the people who might be there.

There is a good deal of history surrounding the plaza. One of the buildings that border it was built on the site of the old T. C. Frost Wool Warehouse. Frost went on to create the Frost National Bank, one of the largest private banks in the country. The building currently on the site houses city offices and is also the home of the City of San Antonio City Council Chamber.

Right next to the church there is a new structure and a smaller courtyard where you can find some small businesses and a couple of cafes. On the south side of the plaza is the original San Antonio City Hall- still used today. The other sides of the plaza are surrounded now by new buildings and the Riverwalk.

Fred (and I) took a number of pictures in and around the plaza, and I want to include a few more of them here. Just click on the thumbnails below to have a look at them:

The visit to Main Plaza was about all we did on this trip, other than to see Ron, Prudence and Guy, of course. Once again, the Ruckmans had engaged a couple to run the B&B while they were gone, and we met them on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, Ron, Prudence and Guy left at about 5:30am to drive up to Dallas, visit Prudence's mother, collect Nancy and Karl, and get to the airport for their 4pm flight to Europe.

After seeing them off, we went back to bed for a little while, and left for Dallas about ten in the morning. As always, we enjoyed our short visit, and we hope they have a great time in Europe.

You can use the links below to continue to the album page for different day.

	October 13-21, 2010: A Trip to New Mexico and Arizona
	September 8-22, 2010: A Trip to Fort Lauderdale
	Return to Index for 2010