Day Fourteen: Camino Real de Texas ends at the Alamo

I spent the night last night at Camino Real Motel.  It was clean and I felt safe.  If it wasn’t for the fact that I was zonked out tired I might have been annoyed by the late night basketball game going on in the parking lot.  Who puts a basketball hoop in the parking lot of a motel? 

I got a late start because I didn’t have much to do today.  I have two locations left on my itinerary Mission Concepcion and San Antonio de Valero (Commonly known as the Alamo ;)  Since my motel was near Mission San Jose the morning mission profile caught my eye and I took another picture. 

I then rode up the mission trail to Concepcion.  What a blessing.  There were lots of cars parked in the parking lot and people in Sunday dress going in for mass.  Someone told me the missions had evening masses but I didn’t know they had a 10:00 am mass.  The service was fully packed.  They had to bring out chairs for some of us to sit in.  The nave was full of voices singing and praying together as it has since 1731.  Year of our Lord: Seventeen hundred thirty-one.  A number of just tourists stumbled in.  The ushers were incredible.

Along with screaming babies and noisy conversation everyone just rolled with whatever happened.  The people that were there to pray and worship, prayed and worshipped.  They didn’t let the tourists or unengaged interlopers distract them from worshipping.  The ushers let the tourists go into the side chapel without a hint of annoyance or judgment.  It was graceful.

The sermon was good from Fr. David who sounds like is in charge of all the missions along the trail.  He preached on the Samaritan leper who was for many an outsider yet was the only one of ten to return and thank Jesus for healing him.

The service was bilingual and comfortable even when we held hands during the Lord’s Prayer.  After mass I was the last one out to greet the priest.  I explained to him my pilgrimage and he offered a blessing for a safe return.

After punch, off I rode on the quiet quiet streets of sleepy San Antonio.  It was 11:30am and the edges of Alamo Plaza along the Mission Trails (roadway) had nary a driver.  That changed as soon as I entered the Plaza area.  Cars and people traffic teamed along the downtown shops and eating establishments.  I’ve been to the Alamo a few times. 

So when I saw the line waiting to go in I decided all I needed was a picture with my bike in front. So I explained to the docent what I was doing and he gladly took my picture.  We talked a few minutes about the millions of dollars’ worth of artifact donation that Phil Collins made.  They haven’t been included yet in the museum because there is room for it all.  The state purchased the storefront property along the west side of the plaza and may convert some of the space to museum. Or they may rebuild destroyed portions of the northern wall and house them there.  They’ve got a big 10 year plan so it will be worth coming back again.

I was getting hungry so he suggested a hole in the wall Mexican Manhattan but it was closed on arrival. (Sunday—good for them.)  So I circled around and found Jalisco which hit the Tex-Mex spot.  A fifty yard walk to the bus stop and this pilgrimage is done. 

Kate joins me tomorrow to lay low for a day.  Then we come back to Houston.  Thanks to everyone who came along with me on this journey. Keep praying.  Keep doing good things. Blessings.