On a mission

While we were in Goliad, at the state park, we "toured" the Mission Nuestra Senora Del Espiritu Santo De Zuniga.  Well, most of the original Mission is long since gone, after all it was built in the 1700's.  However, from 1935-1941 crews of the Civilian Conservation Corps worked to restore what remained.  In the 1970's the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. rehabbed the chapel and built exhibits in the restored granary.

The first photo above is of the chapel looking up from the parking area (the campground we were in is behind the parking area, with two other campgrounds on the same property, but a mile beyond the mission).  Directly above are some of the grounds to the left of the chapel.

The restoration and painting within the chapel was pretty spectacular.  I still have "issues" with the concept of what the Franciscan priests were trying to accomplish by "civilizing and Christianizing" three native American tribes.  A mission that quite clearly failed miserably.

Below is the granary and weaving exhibit within.  I found the exhibit quite interesting, but it was "fenced off", unfortunately!  I understand why but darn, it would have been nice to get a bit closer!

Down the road 1/4 mile is the Presidio La Bahia (photos below)

Isn't the chapel below gorgeous!

Below is the description of the Presidio as quoted from the Texas Parks website.  Rick toured this property while Sir Arlo and I waited outside and took a nice walk on a beautiful sunny day.

"Across the river, visit the Presidio La Bahía. Located 1/4 mile south of Goliad State Park on US Highway 183 and 77A and operated by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria. View exhibits, enjoy an interpretive program and exciting re-enactments and imagine life at the fort. Originally built in 1749 to protect the Mission and the frontier, it later played a major role in the Texas Revolution. Here, Colonel Fannin and his ill-fated men were held prior to being executed at Santa Anna's order, an act of infamy later recalled at the Battle of San Jacinto with the cry, "Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!" For a very special experience, make reservations to stay overnight in the comfortable Priests Quarters."

We left Goliad on Sunday and headed to the NAS in Corpus Christi where we had a  reservation for 11 nights.  What a nightmare that turned out to be!  The military campground website I used clearly indicated that this particular facility IS open to civilians (most military campgrounds are for active or retired military only) and there was no issue with that when we made our reservation on the phone.  

The problem came when we stopped at the entrance to the base - UGH .... the woman who took the reservation didn't tell us the hoops and passes and security checks we would need in order to be granted access - a process that in the end would have taken weeks!  So there we are, for an hour trying to get through this, while tying up one lane of traffic and keeping one guard busy trying to wade through the red tape ~ to no avail!

We ended up at a less than desirable KOA in the tiny town of Mathis, 40 miles from where we thought we'd be!  The closest grocery store is 12 miles away, the closest Walmart is 25 miles away!  

We will be leaving here tomorrow and headed to the Rio Grand Valley for 12 nights, before we head back to San Antonio.  I tried about 10 campgrounds in "the valley" before I found one that had sites long enough for us to leave the trailer connected to the coach.  That is one of the down sides to "resort" areas.  I'm not even sure it is "resort" like, but it is  where "northerners" go in Texas to try and stay warm during the winter ....

stay tuned .....