A Christmas Day in San Antonio

I'm resting my feet and back today - I have only walked 1.8 miles so far today and don't plan to do much more other than walking next door for dinner tonight. I went out earlier today for a walk along the River Walk. There were a lot of people out but not much open. I'm spending the day, other than taking a walk, catching up on emails, reading and working on my trip book on the computer. 

River Walk: The River Walk here is quite a feat. It is a network of walkways, one level down from the street, along the San Antonio river that runs through town. In September 1921, there was a disastrous flood along the San Antonio River took took 50 lives. Plans were then developed for flood control of the river.  Among the plans was to build an upstream dam and bypass a prominent bend of the river in the Downtown area, then to pave over the bend, and create a storm sewer. The San Antonio Conservation Society successfully protested the paved sewer option. Nothing happened until in 1938 when a plan was accepted to build the 2.5-mile-long River Walk. The project was built by the WPA and finished in 1946. There are locks upstream and downstream plus large doors that can be closed under streets to control water. The canal and walkway was added to for the 1968 World's Fair that was held in San Antonio. It is now approximately 5 miles long. The  is going to be drained on Jan 4-9, 2016 so it can be cleaned.  Needless to say, this does not happen very often but I agree that the water needs it. 

The boats were running on the River Walk when I went for a walk. The Christmas lights at night are beautiful. The strands are in the trees and hang down at least 20 feet - not wrapped around branches like in most places. There are 1.8 million LED lights hanging from trees.

Christmas Eve Mass: When I was at San Fernando Cathederal yesterday, I noticed that besides the Midnight Mass, they were having one at 7 p.m. How often do you get the chance to attend a service in a 365-year-old church so I decided to go. It was beautiful and standing room only.

By far, the best part was listening to the Christmas Carols being played on this huge pipe organ that is upstairs in the back of the church.

Misc items: And now for some tidbits of misc information.....

• The security here is amazing.  There are bicycle police on the River Walk and there were several in the Plaza last night near the church. I passed several bicycle police when I walked the 2 blocks to the church. In the hotel, the elevator won't go up without you putting your room key in it. 
• My hair is thrilled to bet back to soft water! All the curl and body is back...
• I am not one for sitting in a hotel room - never have been and probably never will at this age. When I was working and traveling, I never ordered room service. The only time I stayed in my room was to work in the evenings. Here, I take my camera and Kindle and go set along the River Walk or just set on the hotel's balcony. 

Two more days here and then I head down to Corpus Christi. I'm not looking forward to the rain tomorrow since that may cut into my tourist activities. We'll see....