See Rock City - My Third Trip.

I don't often tread the same ground in my travels. I like to see new things more often than not. That said, I had a very strong desire to See Rock City one more time.  I was nearing the end of a six week travel trip and I can honestly say, this was not on the way. More like 900 miles out of the way. Due to flooding on my intended route home from Texas I decided to drive a slightly more northern route. Then I very unexpectedly shot straight into the mountains. I arrived very late near Chattanooga TN.



I would like to mention for those who may have forgotten - I'm from Florida. All our roads are straight and level and the entire state is lit like New Year's Eve in Times Square. About 9:00 PM in the pitch black mountains, in the rain, was pretty much my limit on thrill rides. I found myself taking hairpin turns and drastic elevation changes. I was pretty far from where I wanted to be but a hotel presented itself in the mist so I went for it.



The next morning I woke up in the most beautiful place, mountains all around, a light mist, and no plan for the day. Did I mention I lost phone connection for the last 50 miles of my trip. I can not even remember the last time that happened and I've owned a cell phone since they came out. I use that phone to make every major decision these days and without it I can even drive from point A to B.



With a little wifi at the breakfast bar, I discovered I was pretty near Rock City. I was last there in 1978 when I took my parents then later in 1990 or so. I have very strong memories of the place. Happy times. In my mind I had a vivid image. I decided that was to be my destination - a walk in the park and down memory lane.



When I arrived I found parking for hundreds of cars and mine was the only one. It seemed I was there an hour before they opened. I had no idea, just thought it was a slow day, but since I was carrying a couple of professional cameras, they sold me a ticket a little ahead of schedule and let me in. I had the entire park to myself.



Memories are a funny thing. I know Rock City has expanded a bit since the 90's but not that much. It's all rock. As huge as it was in my mind, it was vast in person. I do not remember the suspension bridge but in my youth I had a horrible fear of heights. I thought of that as I bounced across and even stopped in the middle to shoot photos, then walked back across as if it were a sidewalk.



Life moves so fast and changes so much. My parents can no longer make the journey let alone enjoy this amazing place. But I remember walking these paths with them. Re-walking these paths I remember more of my previous visits. This was but one stop of many but for Mom and Dad I brought back plenty of photos. It will be fun to compare them to the old photos albums.

[click here] for a few more photos or better yet, visit and make your own life long memories.

McKinney Falls State Park - Who Turned off the Water?

I think these photos very nicely sum up my four week trip to Texas. Water and flooding everywhere I went except for the one place I really wanted it. McKinney Falls State Park. Well - more like the time. It absolutely poured rain and hail stones the very next day. But I was 100 miles up the road.



I met a very nice park ranger who let me know there was some tremendous flooding not too long before and most of the park was closed. There was a large welcome center nearby that was still closed  because of the water damage she said. Nearby as in these lovely dry rocks would have been 25 feet below the water line.



This mere trickle is nothing compared to the photos I had seen of the falls so imagine my disappointment. To photograph a roaring torrent of water would have a dream come true. That's not to say I didn't have a good time. The ranger let me know there was a fairly strenuous hike along the water if I was up for it. Not a problem.



Above is rock gouged out by fast moving water. The photo below is facing the other way. It's hard to get a sense of scale but there is a giant tree wedged into the branches of another giant tree at about the height I am standing. That would have taken a lot of water indeed.



A little farther downstream there are tons upon tons of river rocks for miles. The power of nature is a wonderous thing. Even though I did not see a great falls, I still managed to get some great photos of rocks. And pebbles. Lots of pebbles.



[click here] for more photos and if you have any with water - please share. Just so I can see what I missed.

Passing through Waco

Like the many cattle drives before me, I only had enough time to pass through Waco TX. I had only done enough research to visit the Texas Ranger Museum and get in a few photos of the  Waco Suspension Bridge.



I was not expecting to see an entire cattle drive cast in bronze. There are quite a few of these statues all gathered around the bridge.



From 1870 to 1889 according to the sign I found, this was a toll bridge for pedestrians, wagons, and cattle. I'm pretty familiar with cattle and I can not even imagine how one would entice a single longhorn let alone a whole herd to cross this bridge. Looking down to the water through the gaps in the very modern woodwork I can't imagine how I crossed it either.



Trying to compare the modern police car to the horse riding Texas Ranger also sets my mind reeling. At the Texas Ranger Museum they show an entire history of the rangers right up till today. Yes - they are still in business. This museum is huge just like the history of these crime fighters.



Although I could not spend much time, the time I did spend was well spent. [click here] to view the rest of my photos but visit Waco to get a sense of the history.

Inner Space Caverns - Too Convenient not to Stop.

I've been to caverns all across the country. Some were Mammoth, some just a crack in the earth with a big wooden door, and many in between those extremes. This one was just too close to the highway to pass by so I stopped in to check it out.

Inner Space Caverns is one of those in between sort but still had some very interesting features and formations. I was fortunate enough to have a small group and a very enthusiastic tour guide. There is a pretty good walk involved but he had a full set of stories - both to the end and back. More than I could remember. He even told me there was more to tell and he likes to mix them up. A lot going on in "Texas' Newest Cave"



Timing is everything and when we arrived there were bus loads of children touring that day. They managed to squeeze our little group of 8 right in at lunch time. Very lucky and most of the noise was enjoying a sandwich while we enjoyed the pristine silence with the occasional drip of water from the ceiling.



I did not do too badly with my handheld point and shoot camera on these photos but I noticed on the website they have a Photo Tour option. In all the caverns I've visited, I've always wished there was a tour that I could take more impressive photos or at least use a tripod. They also have a wild cave tour. Pretty full service touring.



If you don't care for caves, you can always hunt for gems. Inner Space Caverns is so close to the highway, that the highway accidentally drilled into it while it was being constructed. For the full story on that you need to take the tour.



I took a lot of photos underground and as you can well image most were a bit blurry but for the rest of the good ones [click here]

Austin - One Weird Day

I am usually a great trip planner but lack of research, last minute hotel booking, late arrival, and a very poor understanding of the area all conspired to make the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan of Austin Texas a very real thing.



I thought I had done a good job. 6th Street Austin looked like a really happening place. A last minute hotel choice lead me to a pricy Hilton right off the highway and right where the action is. All seemed in order.




Lets just say at the end of the block I chose was too weird even for me. In fact when I told the concierge I was heading over to the Museum of the Weird, he gave me a very weird look and asked if I was sure. It was where I thought was the closest place to get the tour bus tickets. I even found it quirky enough to buy a ticket and take the museum tour. Later I found out the closest place to get bus tour tickets was a block away from the hotel at the visitors center / convention center. Of course then I never would have ventured this way so doing things the weird way has it's benefits.

Walking even farther down the street I found a great english pub for some fish and chips. That did not take away from the fact that this section of town is not quite as polished and nice as the rest of Austin. In a few years I'm sure it will be amazing but where I was - it has some maturing and a lot of clean up to go through. But if you are into weird - this is the spot. When I started to see the night crowd roll in - I thought it best to head back to the hotel.



The next day was an early start and I opted for the bus tour which took me to many points of interest. Because of my poor research and planning skills, I spent way too much time at the state capital building and I did not make it back in time for the last Duck boat. I seriously considered staying one more day and doing it. Given the choice of one over the other, I think I would have opted for the boat.



But then I would have missed a collection of Rat Rods on South Congress (SOCO). Not to mention a great meal and the SFANTHOR House of Wax. Yes I toured that too. It was a weird day. Our guide told us this strip of awesome shops and eateries was the worst section of town not that long ago. It was quirky cool and of course, I didn't have nearly enough time to see it all. Yes my entire day was out of sync.



Austin offers so much great music and entertainment. I managed to avoid all of it. In fact it was like I almost planned to have a weird day. I really do wish I had spent just one more day exploring. But I can go back one day much better prepared. By the time I make it back - 6th Street might even be artsy and cool as opposed to the college drink fest it seems now.



I would really like to hear from other visitors to see what I missed. Send me some comments.

For photos of my weird adventure [click here]

Riverwalk San Antonio - Ready to do it again

Four days was not nearly enough for me to fully enjoy San Antonio Riverwalk. Our hotel was right on the river. Even though the drive was a few hundred miles to get there, I dropped the suitcase as soon as I got to the room and headed out to explore.



The first thing that was immediately apparent, the walkways are right on the canal, the later it gets, the more people there are, and for most of it there are no guard rails. Being from South Florida, I'm no stranger to walking on the water's edge but a little caution is required.



The nice thing is you don't see as many people texting and walking as you do elsewhere in our modern world. Not dry ones at least. I asked our boat captain around the third day how many people fall in.



The not so surprising answer is about 200 reported a year. He also mentioned that what's reported is probably far less than what happens. Now in Florida, a canal this wide could be anywhere from 20-40 feet deep depending on how much swamp was in need of draining and filling. The Riverwalk about knee deep and there are giant gates to keep it that way incase of a flood.



After finding out that last little fact I was far less concerned about getting bumped in and had a beer or two. There is no shortage of places to get that beer along with a fine meal if you are so inclined. Which I was - A lot!



From the Tower of the Americas, you can not even see the Riverwalk. It is dead center of the photo below. As we were driving in, getting lost, ignoring the GPS misdirections, circling around, we passed over the many bridges in criss crossing the river and never realized it. The crazy, nerve racking, traffic of the city is completely lost to the cool, peaceful quiet of the river basically one staircase below. It is a true wonderland in the heart of a major city.



Eating and drinking are the prime activities but there is the Briscoe Western Art Museum right in the center of the river loop. Well worth visiting, and an especially good bargain on free tuesdays.



There is so much to see, do, eat, and drink that if I had another 4 days, I could easily have had a completely new experience to write about. The sites are not the whole story. Not by a long shot. It was the people of this town that made it special.

Every place we ventured into had someone willing to make us feel welcome. We had several boat captains but one in particular had such a long history with the town and such pride in the recent happenings it was a pleasure to listen for the hour long tour around. He was actually on a decision committee for their recent $71 million dollar expansion. I don't know of any place else that uses the opinions of those with a ground floor history to shape its future.

Another memorable person invited us to enjoy the greatest steak on the river at the Lone Star Cafe. He was not wrong. I really just wanted to sit on a street level balcony and overlook the river. Having a great steak was a bonus.

On our last day I wanted to have a last beer at the very posh Hyatt Regency. They have an elegant glass balcony overlooking the atrium. I spotted some lights outside the opposite door and I wanted to check them out. I hate to miss anything when I travel.

I found the Beir Garten Riverwalk. The place was virtually empty and seemed like a much more appropriate end to this visit. We had the full attention of the waitress who helped me find two of the finest beers I've had then basically hang out with us a while. She was telling us how they had just started up the place and it was very quickly catching on even though the location is a bit hard to find. She was also the perfect example of how friendly and welcoming this town is. Before I left, all the tables were filled and she was much busier but still with a huge smile for every table.

When I go back - I think this is the place I will start - I hope I can get a seat by then. If I took a photo of everyone who made this trip special I would have run out my memory card. Even to the guy sweeping the porch at our hotel who jogged over to open the door for us and asked with interest how we were enjoying our stay. I am almost certain he did not own the hotel but with four full days of that kind of universal, city wide pride and pleasantness it's easy for me to say - Go to San Antonio! - Stay on the river!

[click here] to see many more photos of my visit and take a look at my other posts from San Antonio.

The Missions of San Antonio TX

Decision time. I only had a limited number of days in San Antonio. Was I going to commit to a half day trolley ride to see the Spanish Missions.

The Alamo was one of those missions and to be honest it was a pretty moving experience. I did not even know the others existed.

I chose the tour to Mission San Jose and Mission Concepcion along with other points of interest to give a more varied experience. I even jumped off the trolley before the last stop to get in a two mile walking tour of some historic houses. I would not really recommend that last part. The last stop is the Tower of the Americas and it was a whole lot farther from the previous stop than it seemed.  Once that Texas sun starts beating down on you - Yeah - just stick with the tour.



The missions are around 200 - 300 years old depending on which one you are visiting. At the time they were built, they were the only structures of their type for hundreds of miles. They were built along the San Antonio river. In this part of Texas water comes in bunches or nothing at all so a continuous running source is important when building small towns.



On the way to the missions you pass thousands and thousands of houses and buildings. The amount of time that has passed when these missions were the only significant structures till now is miniscule. The amount of change is hardly conceivable.



I always think to the trail blazers eeking out mere survival in a world too primitive for any of us to survive a week in. Could they have even envisioned what would happen in the life time of their great grandchildren or maybe a bit farther along.



Add just another hundred years to that and an entirely modern world has engulfed these small outposts. Luckily they were saved and restored so we can all marvel at those who went before us. If you really stop and think, you can't help but appreciate deeply all that we enjoy now.



The story of these missions was a powerful one. I'm glad I was able to squeeze this tour in. If you get the same opportunity, the San Antonio Trolley Tour was a very convenient way to enjoy the sites.

For more photos of the missions [click here]