One of the best things about the Big Adventure in the Big Rig is the adventure part. It’s interesting and fun to travel through different parts of the country. It’s also interesting and fun to stay at different campgrounds. What’s not interesting and fun is non-existent Internet.
We are currently in Florida and I am happy to say we finally have a good Internet connection. That has not been true over our travel days from San Antonio.
Time to catch up, starting with day two in San Antonio, River Walk day. The San Antonio River Walk is an extensive network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River. The downtown loop of the River Walk is lined with bars, shops and all variety of outdoor dining. The walkways are one story beneath street level with access points all over the city.
As luck would have it, one of the River Walk access points was located at our campground. The trail map showed a mere 5-mile walk into the city. At first Other Half and I dismissed the possibility of a 10-mile round trip walk. Too much. Too hot. Too out of shape. Of course, we decided to go for it.
We left Rigby in the Big Rig (with the air on) and headed out about 9:30 am. The sky was overcast and there was a breeze. The 5 miles into the city takes you on a paved walkway following the bends of the river. The river is a wildlife lover’s dream. It is full of birds, waterfowl and lots and lots of turtles. The turtles are not only abundant. They are gigantic.
At several points you cross foot bridges and come upon sheltered picnic areas. The walk takes you along an impressive dam that controls the water flow into the city. As you get closer to downtown you walk through a warehouse district that is being revitalized into condos and shops. The path is used by joggers, bikers, walkers and maintenance people in 4-wheelers.
Once we got into the city we had lunch. Since we had Mexican the day before, we opted for barbecue. We sat outside along the river and enjoyed resting our feet and watching the tour boats pass by.
Since we were in San Antonio during Fiesta week, we wanted to check out the El Mercado, the hub of the party. We walked another several miles there and back. Both of us resisted the liquid temptations at Fiesta since we were facing a 5-mile return trip.
The 5-mile walk back was a bit more challenging. For one thing, the sun came out and the breeze disappeared and we both had blisters working. We stopped to rest a few more times on the way back than we did on the way there. It took us about 2 hours to do each 5-mile leg of the trip. By the time we got back to the Big Rig, my FitBit read 31,285 steps, 14.82 miles. A record for us.
We finished the day off with one more short walk – across the street to the authentic Mexican restaurant. We seriously needed Margaritas.