The population of San Antonio, is a diverse and integrated community made up of many European descendants. The 1800's found the Germans that had relocated from states east and north of Texas, doing well. They centralized themselves in a community along the San Antonio river, now referred to as the King William Area. There is a walking tour through the area which takes you down King William Drive and Washington Ave. There are several dozen restored homes. There were two in particular that caught my eye.

The Ike West Home: The unusual entrance of this Second Empire style house suggests that it was adapted from a pattern book design for a corner lot. Notice the simple cast iron cresting, wooden spindles, brackets and turned balustrades. The house built by Smith M Ellis, was bought in 1892 by the rancher Sol West who passed it to his son Ike West.The George Kalteyer House: This house was designed by architect James Riely Gordon, best known for his Texas courthouses, including the one in Bexar County in San Antonio. It reflects his interest in the powerful masonry forms that are associated with the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Notice the solid, heavy proportions: the banded, arched windows heads; the turrets and the friezes above the second-story bay and entrance portico and around the larger tower. George kalteyer was a prominent local druggist. Another place to drive around and look at is Fort Sam Houston. This is one of the five major military bases in San Antonio, and the only Army post. This is now the training center for the military combat medics. There is a medical museum which is closed on Mondays and Thursdays.

Across from the Alamo, made into a large box, is a man made river gliding through the heart of the shopping and dining area. The walks on either side are fondly known as River Walk. This is one of the most picturesque area to behold with its arched bridges and riverboats. The boats can be taken from many starting points along the river. The famed La Villita area has an amphitheater at which many famous performers have appeared. The Old San Antonio is located around this amphitheater and now is mostly tourist shopping. The boatman/pilot/guide can greatly increase the ride with tales of history and personal experiences. Gilbert Perez, our guide, was just such a person. Filled with many stories of the happenings along the river he kept our attention for the entire trip with jokes, whistles and tales of marriage island and divorce rock, along with other unusual yarns.
In the idle time between adventures I would organize a one man unauthorized freelance rattlesnake hunt in the brushlands adjacent to the trailer park. One could wander for miles in most directions without running into another person. Fields of prickly pear cactus between scrubby trees with red ant hills flourished everywhere. Needless to say, I broke even. I was not bitten by a snake, and of course I didn't find one either. Laura seemed to think that the worst part of this assignment was that the photographer (her) had to go into the snake-infested bush with the intrepid hunter.


 As a side trip we traveled north out of San Antonio to New Braunfels where the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch lays spread out over many acres of open range. The animals are separated by natural barriers and most of the African plans hoofed animals are represented along with Bison and Deer. One lonely Puma sits in a cage in the middle of the park. For 50 cents we bought some animal food and drove through the park feeding those that would come close enough,  which was just about all of them. Big headed cows and antelope were no problem. I was caught off guard by the Ostrich (none too affectionately nicknamed "Gertrude") who, although quite large, had a head that quickly passed through the open window and into the bag of food in my hand. Laura was laughing so hard she couldn't roll up the window as Gertrude knocked the food bag out of my hand, and was vigorously attempting to pick up the food that had fallen onto the seat between my legs. This bird has really big eyes when you're a nose length from it.