Fleeter Logs: September 2006

#47 The Missions of San Antonio

The Missions of San Antonio

September 29, 2006
Friday

After Panna Maria, I continued northward to San Antonio with my mind on Mission Stamps.

Here's the story and here's my plan...
I'll be entering San Antonio from the south so I'll visit Mission Espada first.

Mission Espada.

Mission San Juan

Mesquite trees like this one are plentiful in this part of the country...considered a "trash" tree.
They can can certainly "trash" a paint job if vehicle is parked underneath one!

Mission San Jose is the most well known of the four San Antonio missions.

Mission Concepcion

And here they are...
The different mission stamps, collected as I visited each one.

And though not an actual mission, don't forget the last on the trail is the Alamo.
Because we have been reminded before...
"Remember the Alamo!"

And while downtown, there are a couple other sights to share of the many sites to see.

The famous Crockett Hotel sits right behind the Alamo.

Hemisfair Park was the site of the 1968 World's Fair.
And yes, I did attend it when I was six years old...before my birthday in September.

Inside the park is the Hemisfair Tower.
The top houses a restaurant and slowly spins.
As you eat you can eventually enjoy a 360 degree view of San Antonio.

North of town, the 40 foot tall boots still stand on the north side of North Star Mall.
Joske's is long gone, but the boots remain.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/JJ/dhjqn.html

Moving on down the road to New Braunfels to spend a week with my sister, Lorrie, and her family.
I will spend the week performing "Aunt duties" as assigned by Lorrie.

Still following trails blazed long ago...

#39j Panna Maria, Texas

RTT (Return to Texas)

September 9 - October 26, 2006

Day 16 - Fri
September 29, 2006
118 miles

Goliad, TX to San Antonio, TX

This Livestock Auction house has nothing to do with Panna Maria, except that it is a few miles south, outside the town of Kenedy, Texas. This is where my Dad took many a calf to sell at the weekly auctions. Karnes County is one county over from Goliad County.

Panna Maria, Texas

Now for the star of this Fleeter Log... The Church building at Panna Maria. Originally built in 1855, it is home to the oldest Polish Catholic Parish in America.

The cornerstone plaque located on the front corner to the right of the front doors. The Texas State Historical Marker to the left of the front doors.

Next stop... The Missions of San Antonio

#39i Old Chase Airfield & Berclair Haunted Mansion

RTT (Return to Texas)

September 9 - October 26, 2006

Day 20 - Thursday

September 28, 2006

100 miles

Goliad Short Ride

Old Chase Airfield & Berclair Haunted Mansion

Thursday I met up with some friends I haven't seen in about 20 years. Guess what? Now they, too, like to motorcycle around on back roads. So I rode out to Weesatche to meet up with Janna & Gary to see what we could see.

The ride started out simple enough, but then we came across an open gate.

And an invitation into the old Chase Naval Airfield now owned by Goliad County.

Now the ride starts to get more interesting. This airfield was built in the 1960s as a practice landing field for Navy jets to practice "touch and gos" on land before going out over the Gulf of Mexico to try it on aircraft carriers.

The tower is open so we head up to see what the view is like from the top.

The view of the runways was so great that we knew what we had to do to complete the experience...

Yep. We had to go ride on them. Absolutely! When might you ever get another chance to fleeter down a 7,000 foot runway? ...a runway large enough to land ANY size plane. Matter of fact, Air Force One has landed on this exact runway!

This is close to where Pres. George H. Bush would come to South Texas to go quail hunting.

A 7,000 foot runway is about 1 1/2 miles long.

Can't see the end of it...

Janna was deputized as photographer.

We had another stop down the road before going home...

The Haunted Mansion of Berclair, Texas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berclair_Mansion

Check the windows closely. There have been reports of an older woman watching the grounds even though the house is uninhabited. Could this be the original owner, Miss Etta Wilkinson Terrell, watching after her home? We didn't see anyone at the windows today, but maybe we were blinded by the sun.

https://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2012-10-26/day-trips/

If you knew the size of Berclair, you'd realize that any mansion there is a story in itself, but a haunted one gets even more attention. This one has lots of stories...some of them are shared...

http://www.scarlettonline.com/berclair_mansion.htm

It's been a fun day ...

Flying with Fleeter & checking on Miss Etta.

#39h Fleetering Around Goliad

RTT (Return to Texas)

September 9 - October 26, 2006

Day 16 - Sunday

September 24, 2006

193 miles

Magnolia, TX to Goliad, TX

Fleetering around my hometown for a few days.

September 24-27, 2006

On my way from Magnolia, I went past the Country Club of Cat Spring.

This helicopter is a Vietnam Veteran's Memorial north of Hallettsville. Just how wide do you think one of those might be?

Not as wide as I thought it would be!

Lavaca County courthouse in Hallettsville, Texas.

Just another fabulous Texas sunset.

Fleetering around my hometown for a few days.

September 24-27, 2006

My friend and roommate from years ago, Lynette with her husband George, own and operate the Raisin L Ranch. It's not your typical kind of ranch, but then ... Lynette never was typical! www.RaisinLRanch.org It's a great place. Check it out.

Now this is deep in the heart of my old stomping grounds. Really...if you count two-stepping as a kind of stomping. This is where I spent many a Saturday night (even some Friday nights) way back in the day...

And you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you this is where we had parties. But really, this caleche pit was the location of at least one high school graduation party.

Goliad County Courthouse

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...one fence line over, there was a slight fire control problem. Seems the wind picked up and spread a once "controlled" brush pile fire.