...San Antonio...Day TWO...

...we worke up to another sweltering day in Texas...the heat index was forecast to be 110° F (43° C)...and the Airbnb host came over to their second house to let us know that the AC repairman had given him a repair window of 9 - 3 PM...but at least we'd be back in our house with Air Conditioning by evening...

...so we decided to head up into the hill country...

...it was really pretty and different terrain...

...as at the Alamo...a lot of buildings use the indigenous limestone...this is the beautiful Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Helotes, TX...

...along the highway...we passed a sign that said "historical marker →"...so of course, we had to turn around an go find it...we missed it...and turned around and then missed it again...and finally on the third time we saw it...tucked up under the trees...it marks a private residence...the Marnoch Homestead...there's an amazing article about it here...

...then we continued on our way...into the hills...

...past vast ranches...

...through cuts...

...and down steep hills and back up the other side...

...heading to Median lake...this is our fist glimpse of the lake shimmering in the heat...

...we continued on down a narrow single lane not very well maintained road...

...past the now defunct Mico, Texas Post Office...it reminded me of when our little Balsam Grove, NC Post Office closed its doors...

...and then further down to the Medina Lake Dam...that was impressive...

...and further down the hill...we crossed the Medina River that flows out of the dam...

...it's gorgeous...and very green...

...we continued on down the bumpy little road...

...and we started seeing the gigantic flowers from the Century Plant...or agave...

...they're crazy tall...the plant that flowers withers and dies right after flowering...but it's an impressive flower for sure...

...they even propped this one up...

...another historical marker...the Haby Homestead...

...the grain bins we passed reminded us of North Dakot.a

...then we arrived at the Rio Medina Store...

...they had a historical marker too...

...and an old blue mailbox...

...and inside at the back of the store...a super cute and quaint little post office...I asked if I could take a photo...and they very sweetly complied...

...much of the rest of the drive looked like this...

...and next we came to Castroville...The Little Alsace of Texas...I've been to Alsace...and the buildings do look Alsatian...but the heat is all wrong...haha...

...this little building with the patched up roof is the visitor's center...

...so we picked up this welcome guide...

...and headed over to the bakery...

...established in 1974...we bought some delicious bread to take back to the house...

...and smelling the delicious bread reminded us that it was lunchtime...so we found the Alsatian Restaurant...

...so...very adorable...

...we were seated in the oldest part of the buldling...and our server said the building was built in the mid 1800s...and the owner told us all about his cats..Pancho and Pancha...so cute...

...after lunch...our guidebook had a historic walking tour...

...so we headed out...

...first up was the St. Louis Catholic Church...

...a nice statue of St. Louis...

...and the whole town celebrates St. Louis Day...which began in 1882 as a small church homecoming, but now attracts some 10,000 visitors to this little historic Alsatian settlement...

...built with the pretty and soft limestone...I was sorry we couldn't go inside...

...continuing the tour...each house had a marker...so you could find it in the guide book and read about it...

...a lot of these old houses had two front doors like this...at first we thought that it must be some custom...like the Shakers having two doors to their churches (one for males and one for females)...but the booklet didn't specifically say...and we finally figured that it was just because a lot of these houses were also used as a business...so one door was for the home and one for the shop...

...the old hotel...

...and another Church...

...Lutheran...of course...

...and another historical marker...

...lots and lots of adorable little old houses...

...then on to the Landmark Inn...

...which was originally the Vance Hotel and Store...

...and yet another historical marker...

...and a little bit more history...

...and finally our last stop of the day was at this park...

...and this peaceful and somewhat cooler spot by the river...

...and then we headed back to San Antonio after a day full of sightseeing...and our air conditioning really did work...and that was a blessing...

~Have a lovely day!