Monday, 4 March 2019
MCTS Season 2 Episode 11 - Spanish Missions Part 2
Hey guys, our latest video is up! we continue to tour the Spanish missions of San Antonio then afterwards do a little window shopping at the Mexican market in downtown San Antonio. Later we visit a local flea market then finish the episode with a drive through Texas' famous Hill Country!
Friday, 1 March 2019
Hello Austin!
After leaving San Antonio this morning we are now set up at McKinney Falls State Park just outside Austin. These sites are huge, at least four times the size of a typical RV site at a typical RV park. 😎
Gotta love state parks!
Gotta love state parks!
Leaving San Antonio
After spending a month here in San Antonio, Texas our most southern, and most western point in our travels, it's time for Sheila and I to turn around, and VERY slowly work our way back to the Maritime Provinces up in the Great White North 😃
Next up is a three week stay (give or take a couple days) in Austin, TX and Waco, TX. After that comes Hot Springs Arkansas...then maybe St. Louis...then maybe Memphis...then who knows!
Next up is a three week stay (give or take a couple days) in Austin, TX and Waco, TX. After that comes Hot Springs Arkansas...then maybe St. Louis...then maybe Memphis...then who knows!
Tuesday, 26 February 2019
Castroville Regional Park
For some time now, we've been aware of the Regional Park down the street in Castroville. It seemed to have an abundance of recreational areas and trails but we never took advantage until today. We didn't really have anything on our agenda so we hit the park to do some hiking. At first we just saw the flat and smooth walking trails, but after looking around, we discovered these great hiking trails that climb mountains and go through ravines!
Monday, 25 February 2019
Roadside Attractions in San Antonio
We toured around San Antonio trying to locate some unique roadside attractions! And we found a few 😊
(1) First up was the 9/11 memorial just down the highway from our campground. Unfortunately it appears to be underappreciated, as it's fallen into quite a state of disrepair. There are several monuments at this site representing different elements of the tragedy - The Pentagon, Flight 93, and the twin towers.
(2) After that was the Muffler Man Indian. This Indian is part of the 'Muffler Man' collection that can be found across the country. If you're like me, you never heard of these giant figures before. This collection is a bunch of 20 foot tall fiberglass figures that were constructed back in the 1960s starting with a Paul Bunyan. They were used for advertising and promotion. After Paul, there was a slew of mechanic figures holding mufflers. Eventually they were all called Muffler Men!
(3) Next up was a true junkyard dog! Built from scrap parts of cars, it sits in front of a scrapyard where I suspect the materials came from!. The junkyard was sold years ago, and the new owner of the property decided to hold onto the dog! It's primarily a full size Plymouth Fury standing on end, the nose being a hood from a VW bug, the tongue is from the hood of a Cadillac.
(4) Later we came across the oldest kid's amusement park in the US. Established in 1925, and restored in 2006. It features a carousel built in 1918 and a miniature ferris wheel. It still operates on a seasonal basis. It's only open in summer so it was closed when we there.
(5) Finally, these last photos are of a statue I came across at a local campus. The statue is affectionately known as the 'mansplaining' statue. It was created in 2006 and you could say it flew under the radar for several years, until 2015 when Cathy de la Cruz started a teacher certification course. She spotted the statue and tweeted a photo with the tag #mansplaining. It went viral overnight and caused quite a stir. You should google 'mansplaining' if you're not familiar with the term, then it'll all make sense...lol. When we were there, I noticed a sign next to the statue stating it is called 'Classmates', but honestly it screams mansplaining :-)
(1) First up was the 9/11 memorial just down the highway from our campground. Unfortunately it appears to be underappreciated, as it's fallen into quite a state of disrepair. There are several monuments at this site representing different elements of the tragedy - The Pentagon, Flight 93, and the twin towers.
(2) After that was the Muffler Man Indian. This Indian is part of the 'Muffler Man' collection that can be found across the country. If you're like me, you never heard of these giant figures before. This collection is a bunch of 20 foot tall fiberglass figures that were constructed back in the 1960s starting with a Paul Bunyan. They were used for advertising and promotion. After Paul, there was a slew of mechanic figures holding mufflers. Eventually they were all called Muffler Men!
(3) Next up was a true junkyard dog! Built from scrap parts of cars, it sits in front of a scrapyard where I suspect the materials came from!. The junkyard was sold years ago, and the new owner of the property decided to hold onto the dog! It's primarily a full size Plymouth Fury standing on end, the nose being a hood from a VW bug, the tongue is from the hood of a Cadillac.
(4) Later we came across the oldest kid's amusement park in the US. Established in 1925, and restored in 2006. It features a carousel built in 1918 and a miniature ferris wheel. It still operates on a seasonal basis. It's only open in summer so it was closed when we there.
(5) Finally, these last photos are of a statue I came across at a local campus. The statue is affectionately known as the 'mansplaining' statue. It was created in 2006 and you could say it flew under the radar for several years, until 2015 when Cathy de la Cruz started a teacher certification course. She spotted the statue and tweeted a photo with the tag #mansplaining. It went viral overnight and caused quite a stir. You should google 'mansplaining' if you're not familiar with the term, then it'll all make sense...lol. When we were there, I noticed a sign next to the statue stating it is called 'Classmates', but honestly it screams mansplaining :-)
Sunday, 24 February 2019
Latest Video is up...MCTS Season 2 Episode 10
Hey guys, our latest video is up on YouTube! We check out the Riverwalk, we visit the Ranger Creek distillery of San Antonio, then later we explore a couple of the Spanish Missions!
Saturday, 23 February 2019
The Pig Stand Since 1921!
We made an interesting discovery today! While out driving around San Antonio, we came across a restaurant with a fascinating past.
The 'Pig Stand' here in town has been around since the 1920s. This was a very innovative restaurant and came up with a lot of forward thinking concepts back in the day that now might seem pretty mundane. A lot of firsts can be attributed to this restaurant:
- The first drive-in restaurant with carhops.
- The first drive-through window.
- The first to use neon signs.
- They created onion rings.
- They came up with chicken fried steak.
- They coined the term 'Texas Toast'.
The Pig Stand grew quickly from one location to a country wide chain within a few short years...in fact they invented the concept of chain restaurants.
During the Second World War, expansion halted and instead they retreated to just Texas locations.
By the 2000s they were struggling, with the chain declaring bankruptcy in 2006.
A few months after closing, Mary Ann Hill former waitress at this location in San Antonio bought this restaurant and reopened it. It's still open today - the one remaining location of a chain that once stretched from sea to sea.
The day we were there, we ordered their specialty, the Pig Sandwich combo - pork sandwich, onion rings, fries, coleslaw and a sweet tea. it was all very good!
The 'Pig Stand' here in town has been around since the 1920s. This was a very innovative restaurant and came up with a lot of forward thinking concepts back in the day that now might seem pretty mundane. A lot of firsts can be attributed to this restaurant:
- The first drive-in restaurant with carhops.
- The first drive-through window.
- The first to use neon signs.
- They created onion rings.
- They came up with chicken fried steak.
- They coined the term 'Texas Toast'.
The Pig Stand grew quickly from one location to a country wide chain within a few short years...in fact they invented the concept of chain restaurants.
During the Second World War, expansion halted and instead they retreated to just Texas locations.
By the 2000s they were struggling, with the chain declaring bankruptcy in 2006.
A few months after closing, Mary Ann Hill former waitress at this location in San Antonio bought this restaurant and reopened it. It's still open today - the one remaining location of a chain that once stretched from sea to sea.
The day we were there, we ordered their specialty, the Pig Sandwich combo - pork sandwich, onion rings, fries, coleslaw and a sweet tea. it was all very good!
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