Day 2 (37) San Antonio’s Museums

I am writing this Sunday morning. I find it hard to get going in the morning as the time difference of two hours makes 6:30 feel like 4:30. Ugh. So, on Saturday, my alarm went off on my phone. I turned it off, rolled over, and was up at 7:45 (same as this Sunday). Zorida worked on Saturday, so I padded out in my robe and slippers (I brought both for the trip) and moved the purple SUV known as Air Honda.

Zorida cooked me a lovely breakfast with some smoked brisket and eggs. This and coffee got me a long way today. I spent the remains of the early morning writing. I ran out of time, so the post is not as well edited as I would like, but some days, I don’t have time to polish the wording.

I discovered, falsely, that I had left my toothbrush and other valuable items in Oregon at the Raddison. I showered and did what I could. I would have to stop at a CVS Pharmacy or Target to replenish. I found the McNay Museum on my iPhone, as Air Honda does not have Navigation and headed out with one hand on the wheel and the other holding my iPhone, showing me the way.

Driving in Texas with one hand is a bit exciting. Having to look down while going 70 mph to make sure you are going the right way is not ideal. Few cars let you in, and some will cut you off. I remember a Mercedes SUV that would rather crash than make room; I had to merge behind them and saw several other close calls for the German-made SUV. I had one vehicle change three lanes and cross within inches of my bumper at 45 mph to exit. I gave them a yeehaw as they did it. Air Honda is expensive as it includes total coverage and has a star crack in the windshield. We will see if Air Honda makes it through this.

The Austin Highway is much like other city roads that pass through a college, The University of the Incarnate Word, with food joints, cool bookstores, and rundown strip malls. I kind of like the area. In the same area is McNay Museum, the former Mansion of a wealthy family that collected art in the 1900s. The family turned their house into a museum, and from what I saw, the collection is still expanding.

The McNay mixes and matches its paintings in themes, and often, a display will have beautiful items from the museum’s origins and new acquisitions of new art (made in the last ten years). But they did leave their few excellent French Impressionists in the same room. Monet, Chagall, Gaugin, Cezanne, Picasso, and more cover the walls. Gaugin’s self-portrait is one of the best of his works I have ever seen (from McNay’s personal collection), and various Picasso periods are presented in different rooms.

There are multiple floors, and I used the tiled stairways and looked over the walls into a fantastic courtyard. There, on the second floor, was a religious art. The El Graco was tiny, for El Graco, head of Christ with eyes that capture the pain and hope of the moment, was a surprise. The painting was doubted to be from the master for years, but it seems settled now.

I spoke to the docents, who were helpful and knew the paintings and art in the museum. A piece of stained glass from the 1500s seemed too good of condition. The docent agreed, and it may have been repaired, but the docent and I looked at the lead, and it was unmarked, so the window may be original. The collection had bits of European churches in it here and there. Likely left over from repairs or from demolitions after WW2.

The sculptures are modern, not my cup of tea, except for Rodin’s Burghers. I had never seen them before, and they had the whole collection. I found them in a case near an elevator. I think it is some of his best work.

McNay was worth the $20, and parking was free (something that is not true in most of San Antonio and can be expensive). I would recommend the mansion museum, and I suspect the grounds are lovely in the spring and summer. Next, I crossed the town to the San Antonio Art Museum in the repurposed Long Star Beer brewery.

Air Honda crossed San Antonio with my one hand piloting and my iPhone in the other. Parking was over $10, and you had to perform a scan of a QR code and pay. I would have preferred a choice other than all day. I crossed the street to the museum.

This is a historical art museum with collections of ancient art to current modern. Many folks have donated their family’s collections gathered in the 1930s for the ancient items (from reading the sources). Fragments and broken pieces were everywhere on the first floor. I was surprised to see Akhenaten in the Egyptian collection. Bits of walls of his palaces are mounted in an excellent display. It is the first time I have seen the image of Akhenaten from his palaces! The Greco vases and plates were also excellent and covered the period well. Again, these are not great pieces but representative. The giant statues and Roman bust collection were tremendous and impressive.

I was tired, and my back hurt after four hours of standing on hard floors and climbing stairs. The Japanese collection included important swords and some armor. The China collection was endless pottery and some fabulous clothing. I rushed the rest. The European collection was more a study of typical styles by date–no great masters in the collection. The Modern art section was new pieces and none of the more well-known items. So I did not mind the rush. Overall, it is a good place for the history of art and ancient culture, but other than the Egyptian and Roman sections, it was the same as in many secondary museums. Worth a visit, but compared to the McNay–do McNay!

I asked my phone for food locations, and I was next to a Tre that served Italian-style food on the river walk behind the museum. I walked for a while, and the directions were suggesting at one point, you are beamed up into the restaurant. I walked the other way and found a path and a sign. There was also a sign I often saw about gun regulations in Texas. Unarmed as I was, I ignored it.

The place was buzzing with energy, and the hostess set me at the bar, which was more like sitting in the kitchen. Perfect. The bartender, Stacy, was happy to get me a nice glass of wine and picked out pasta to match the wine. I passed it on to the fixed-price menu for Saturday. The $30 price did not stop me; I did not want that much food. It looked nice, and maybe on the next trip.

Stacy was headed to New Orleans for her birthday on Monday, and I gave her my email and blog URL as I drove to New Orleans. She had car issues (I don’t have permission to retell her story here) and was taking the Greyhound. I told her to email me if something went wrong, and I would help as we traveled to the exact location. I don’t expect to hear from her, but I would not mind company in the long drive.

The food, slightly salty (like all the food here), was excellent, and the pasta was freshly made and had that perfect bite. The beat sauce was great with the right mix of meat and sauce. The wine, costing almost more than lunch, was an excellent pairing. Stacy was proud of their food, smiling, “Yes, I know it is that good.”

After lunch, saying goodbye to Stacy and also doing a “light” dessert, I headed out. This time, I discovered I could just walk through the museum entrance to the restaurant. The courtyard is made of old bricks, and I did trip but managed not to fall. My fear is always to fall when alone on a trip–I have no time for 911 calls!

I got back into the Air Honda and was sad to leave after paying for a whole day of parking. This was part of the reason to find food in the area. I would hate to pay twice for parking! I called Leta while sitting in the warm car. I wear my sweater in the dry 44F (6C), so the warm car was excellent. Leta, Susie’s mother, is not feeling well today but looked good in her chair in her home. Barb, her daughter, was there. We chatted for a few minutes.

Next, I tried more edging things. I found the closest board gaming store and drove into the more rundown parts of San Antonio. They are no longer the old mansion-like homes but are more industrial and fading. The funky-looking antique stores were everywhere. I found the store, a house made into a gaming place. It seemed clean, and there was a warning not to let the free-roaming kittens out. It smelled clean, and the players of Warhammer and Magic were all young and clean-looking. The owner said it was a mom-and-pop place, and they mainly played collectible card games (I saw the locked display of treasured cards you can acquire for money), and they had cheap figures for sale. It looked like they bought sets cheap and then sold them individually. A much better plan than investing in a wall of figures and hoping to turn a profit in months. I bought some pre-painted Templar Knights on horseback in soft-ish plastic for a few bucks each. I would have bought the whole set if I was traveling back from here. These are salvaged from some board games; I have not seen them for sale before. I always find something unique when I find these stores on my trips.

I spoke to the owner, and she was thrilled to have a visitor from the Portland area. She loves it in the Portland Area and even visited the Nike Campus. The bars on the windows and the wrecked car near the building suggest the area has seen better days.

Next, I headed to Nowhere Bookstore. The main street has angle parking that requires you to back into traffic. I nearly connected with a car backing up. My reactions and the brakes worked on Air Honda. I also did not get rear-ended and managed to get around the vehicle, which continued to back up. Texas driving is about making your way, not getting out of the way!

I circled back and parked in the strange angle parking place and found a liberal Texas bookshop. The aggressive stickers for sale, a wall, were much more in-your-face than you would see in Powell’s or another locally owned bookstore. Apparently, “bleeding heart liberal” in Texas means I rip your heart out and eat it dripping with blood in front of you. Being liberal in Texas is to not be timid. I was impressed. I got a cup of coffee at their coffee bar–good coffee. I read and finished the last twenty pages of my Canada-based murder mystery. This time, I was right on the murder!

I read another sign on the coffee bar. In Texas, it is a felony to bring a gun into the store without proper permits, and it comes with jail time. It appeared that Texas is not the gun-carrying mecca it is reported to be. You bring a gun into this bookstore, and you go to jail unless you have a concealed weapon permit. I only report what I read and saw this sign in many places. I was unarmed.

Air Honda, and I have no issue pulling out as the rear-view camera gives me a safe view. But I do have a problem. I left the battery charger at the house. My phone is nearly dead. It is my lifeline for navigation in this town I barely know. I have a map and can do analog traveling, and I know the basic road structure of San Antonio, but it will be much more error-prone and likely to take longer. I rush back to Zorida’s racing battery death. I just made it, and I have to stop at the gate. I have to find the gate code on my phone. Other cars are behind me. I have the past. Someone knows the code and opens the gate just as I find it.

I make it to Zorida’s place and soon have the phone and the battery charging. Zorida appears soon after, and we plan on a Texas steak dinner at the Longhorn Restaurant; we always remember Susie at dinner and toast her memory. It is a thing. The wait was thirty minutes with folks jocking for a bar seat, but I will not sit at a location that is not clear. The bartender was not filling drinks fast for those not seated at the bar. She was busy being a waiter for ten people sitting at the bar. Also, my COVID-19 distancing still makes it uncomfortable for me to be that close to strangers. Not to mention the flu, colds, and RSV going around now.

Zorida does the steak and lobster tail; I have an excellent NY strip. The chaos means our bread comes late, and drinks are slow as the bar is behind. But still, the salad was good and the food excellent. My steak is not overly salted. Someone in the kitchen knows what they are doing.

We returned to Zorida’s house in the dark no-streetlight Texas roads. It always seems scary and dark.

I was in bed at 11 and slept better.

Thanks for reading.