…La Bahia Del Espiritu Santu…a Texas history lesson

“Mission Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo de Zuniga, generally called Mission Espiritu Santu was founded in 1722 near Matagorda Bay to serve the Karankawa Indians and their allies.   Because of treats from the French and Indians, Spain founded this mission and it’s auxillary fort, Presidio Nuestra Senora De Loretto De La Bahia. The mission was to convert the natives and the Presidio was to defend it’s territory.  The Presidio is currently 1/4 mile Southeast of the mission, here in Goliad.   Difficulties caused both to be moved to this present site in 1749. “  (The Presidio is totally a different blog.. where I can concentrate on the Massacre of Goliad in it’s entirety.)

“Mission Espiritu Santu was the first large cattle ranch in Texas, and was granted jurisdiction over all land between the Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers as far north as Capote Hills near Gonzales. Espiritu Santu existed as a mission for 110 years, longer than any other Spanish colonial mission in Texas.   In 1758, about 180 persons resided at the mission and the fort, surrounded by the Indians who worked here, living in clay plastered and thatched huts.”

Yep, that’d be me..channeling history …and there’s Den, pretending he is Kix Brooks from the Brooks and Dunn music video  “He’s Got You”.  It was filmed at the mission, at the presidio and some  here in the courthouse square at Goliad…(I think Den forgot his guitar.)

“In 1886, a severe hurricane destroyed virtually the entire mission. Reconstruction efforts began in the 1930s with the Civilian Conservation Corps, giving Mission Espiritu Santo and nearby Presidio La Bahia new life.  The building  is a replica of the original, built in the 1930’s.  Some of the old parts still remain, as well as the old stone fence.  The area is quite important to Texas and Mexican history, being the cradle of the Texan rebellion against Mexico, and subsequently the Mexican rebellion against France.”

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“Today, Mission Espiritu Santo is part of 187-acre Goliad State Historical Park. Free self-guided tours of the mission's church, living quarters, and grounds are the focal point of the park.”  McGuyver and I have taken the tour before, but we had to walk through it all again.

FYI, if you are camping here at the State Park, you can come and go to the mission as you please.  Here are some photos inside the sanctuary..

Above is the beautiful sanctuary…..                            and above , right, is the baptismal room

 

…the choir loft ( The steps up to it were in a room to the left)…and…the dreaded confessional in right pic…(Dreaded only by those of us who would spend most of the day in it..like moi!!)

 

..Some very haunting statues…I was somewhat moved to genuflect at this point, doing the “sign of the cross”.. and I am not even Catholic. A very solemn moment for anyone visiting.

 

 

YOU KNOW THIS IS MY HAND, CHANNELING HISTORY THROUGH THE OLD STONE FENCE SURROUNDING THE PROPERTY…IT IS THE ORIGINAL, FROM 1758, AND I GOT GOOSE BUMPS JUST STANDING BESIDE IT.  IMAGINE HOW THIS PLACE WAS , 254 YEARS AGO… I sure hope our grandkids get to experience some of the great history stories our country has to tell…

 

 

 

We did our walk today up to the Presidio La Bahia, and I will blog about that next time…This is what I love about this park…you can “stroll into history” anywhere near here…

Our weather has been cloudy but warm.  I actually took my shower with the shower vent over my head wide open last night…Let me just say to the poor birds who happen to look down as they flew over, I am very sorry for scaring you to death..I hope I didn’t mark you for life. 

Our trip to the Laundromat was pretty interesting…You know it’s a bad sign when you walk in and there is water running all over the floor …Can you say “maintenance man??” I know McGyver would have fixed that “bad boy leaking machine”, if it were his laundromat! Pretty soon a few guys came in and mopped the floor..Then one of them pulled out a washer and looked behind it. (Have you ever looked behind a laundromat washing machine?..There are small villages, alive with dust balls and germs living behind there!!  ..not unlike mine at home )

Obviously no one was going to fix anything, all they wanted was the coins in the machines.. Sooo.. we chose 3 of the few washers that DIDN’T leak,  found a couple dryers who didn’t “eat quarters and not heat”, did a record breaking fold job, then got the He—outta there!!  SHEESH!!…When I die, I want to come back as the owner of a Laundromat…Just jam some machines in a broken down building , then sit back pretending it isn’t yours.. unless ..it’s time to empty the quarters out…WHAT A CASH COW!! …

More of your Goliad history lessons on our next blog.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”
                                                                              ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Goliad, TX…One of the Cave’s Fave’s!!

  Yesterday we were feeling like drowned rats as we stowed stuff away in the misty rain at Goose Island…Every darn cord that touched the ground  had to be wiped down with a wet rag to get the icky wet sand off.  I got everything pulled in on the inside first before I went out to help Mr. Cheerful .  Once we started tromping around in the mud, we didn’t want to go back inside the Hiker for ANY reason..As you RV’ers’ know, it’s hard to keep those carpets looking new for very long, if at all!! We finally had got hooked up, dumped and “squished” on down the road toward Goliad.  That weather man was a big liar..He said the sun would come out yesterday morning…NOT!…It rained all the way to Goliad (which is only about 1 1/2 hours)…. It did settle into a very fine mist for us to set up in…The upside to all this moisture, is that Goliad has lifted their Burn Ban..

Here is our site…all set up for the next 2 weeks…

..All sites in this loop are full hook-up and pull through…AND level, so we didn’t have to pull up on blocks..This means that my last step out the camper door is just the right height for vertically challenged people with very short legs..!  Hey, would ya just LOOK  at that green grass. McGyver and I agree that we have never seen this park so green …

We are on the loop that has the Mission Espiritu Santo  just adjacent to the campers…If that link works like I want it to, you will see a short video on U-Tube about this mission…If it doesn't work , try this link for  Mission information ..

I will post photos of the inside soon.  We are also just a short walk from the Presidio La Bahia , known for the Goliad Massacre..You will learn lots from these links, and I will give a short walking tour of my own soon. Here are a few photos of the outside of the Presidio..

This town is rich in history, and you can bet that I will be touching every old wall and old artifact they will let me…I just LOVE old things…(that’s why I love McGyver!)…Just wait until he reads this blog…HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, DEN…LOVE YOU!!

I walked with McGyver this AM…it went OK..I figure, what the He—!  My feet are sore no matter what I do, so why should I miss walking with Dennis?? After all, I CAN still walk!…I refuse to sit on my behind…and riding my bike by myself is getting quite boring…I have no one to race with!

I need to welcome another brave follower, heyduke50..HEY DUKE!! Get in the truck, but ya gotta fight for a window seat!!

I am finding myself having trouble sitting in front of a computer screen for any length of time lately…My creativity level is at a new all time low, and in order to keep this thing flowing, I just may have to cut it back to twice a week..That is , unless something earth shattering happens to blog about…like winning the lottery, or …hmmm…Den and I going out for a candlelight dinner …Bear with me…I am trying very hard to work this out, keeping myself happy, yet still spending more time being outside, creating new adventures (without ending up in jail)!! Thanks to all for tolerating  me!

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”  ~ Mary Lou Cook

Our Last Day At Goose Island…

  Today is our last full day here at Goose Island State Park..Our weather has been a bit rainy, but I’m not going to whine…Illinois yesterday was a high of 16 degrees…I’ll just shut up and enjoy the rain..Yesterday I rode my bike out to the new pier…in my jacket and stocking cap….The wind was hawking on the bay, and it was only 52 degrees…but I’m not complaining, no siree….

 

This is what happens when you are by yourself and want a photo….You get 3 double chins, a squinty eye, and sour puss expression..BUT..NOTE THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY!!…No complaints here…nope.

(*#$@!#*!! , but it’s cold!)

WHO SAID THAT??? Not ME…no way, no how!!…LOVIN’ THIS WEATHER!

 

I gotta tell ya, that the ride to the pier was WELL worth it…I ran into my friend Mr. Spoonbill having his breakfast..

…Dude….you gotta come closer so I can get my great shot…NO!! GO NO FURTHER OUT!!! STOP!!!

…MUCH better, but still not a great shot…All I wanted to do was say “good bye” and thanks for the photo shoot…Okay, Okay,..I’ll leave you alone with your meal…bye.

Here is a few pictures from Goose Island we have taken here over the years…memories.

 

Friday after noon we had surprise visitors…The 2 “D”s, Denise and Dawn came by our Hiker to say goodbye..and they caught me at my best…in one of my great “ensembles”…I know they are great gals, because they weren’t scared off!

NOW HERE IS A TRIO THAT COULD GET THEMSELVES IN A HEAP OF TROUBLE!!!

Thanks, ladies, for a great visit…Hope to see you “down the road” sometime!!

Well, tomorrow is move day and there is a 70% chance of rain…and a 100% chance McGyver will be , shall we say, a bit frazzled????…See y’all when we get set up at Goliad….hopefully not fully drowned from setting up in the rain..But..HEY!! ..and so it goes when camping, right????

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

                                                                             ~ Douglas Adams

“Squirrels With NO Nets”…a New Circus Act Performing in OUR Campsite!

  It’s been a gray and rainy few days here…and cooler that I would like.   Before the sun began it’s “hide and seek” routine, Den and I took a ride through some of the back streets here on the bay and came across a new “gated community” that’s being built..It is called The Boardwalk, and I think I could easily live here..

…I need to finish that sentence above..I think I could easily live here… if I had a “lifestyle of the rich and famous”…There are only 3  houses completed here, and the bay front lots only go for around $180,000 dollars.

 

NO HOUSING CRUNCH HERE.. SOMEBODY HAS SOME BUCKOS!!

This house above is my new dream home…The left photo I took from the street this home is built on…The right photo I took of that same house from the fishing pier in the park..Nice view, eh?? “Come ON, McGyver!! Open up that wallet!!” YIKES…The dust that just came outta that moth eaten wallet took my breath away !

Here are few more photos I took in the park before Dr. Gloom showed up…This water is really pretty clear here..

There are some homes on the inner canals  leading to Copano Bay, adjacent to the state park.. Because my feet are still pretty sore, I have been forced into more bike riding than walking lately. Here’s how it works:  McGyver takes off in one direction, wearing his Reeboks, and I jump climb on my old lady bike with the camera, and go in the other direction…(This, my friends, is what helps make a good marriage last to 43  years.)

 

 

 

 

EITHER THIS FAMILY HAS A VERY LARGE PET….OR, I KNOW WHAT IS FOR DINNER TONIGHT!..ACTUALLY, THIS IS A CLOSED UP FISHING LODGE DOWN BY THE BAY…I WONDER WHEN THE LAST TIME WAS THAT ANYONE ACTUALLY SPOTTED AN ELK ON THE BAY??…

On my bike ride, I went through a residential area and found another neat home…with an indoor pool..

It just so happens that this home is “for sale”, too…Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo….which fine home is worth the dough?? Truth be known, this Rockport/Fulton area is presently on our list of “we could live there” places, key word being “could”…We COULD live there…. until we had to cough up $$ for flood and hurricane insurance… plus food, heat, elec., furniture…beer and wine.

Above is the beginning of a nice, sunny day….Later…Dr. Gloom snuck up on us,  and this was when the rain moved in…

McGuyver has been fighting the good fight with acrobatic squirrels here at our campsite…First  he hung our feeder in a tree..and the squirrel immediately made it his personal “diner”…So, Dennis figured he would try the old “hang it out on a rope” trick to thwart Mr. Squirrel…

I now present to you “Squirrel Wallenda”, a member of the Animal Traveling Circus and the famous act , “Squirrels With No Nets”.   What they are is a group of high wire dare devils, who risks paws and tails to get to the feeder..(You gotta look close to see the feeder hanging from the rope)…I thought I had “the fix” for this problem…My thinking was to light the gas grill underneath him, wait for him to fall and “have our lunch and eat it too!”..JUST KIDDING!!

So, today is another day of grayness..Score 3 for Dr. Gloom and zero for Suzy Sunshine…It is warming up here, slightly, and we finally turned our heater/fireplace on low.  I am finding it hard to come up with much humor lately, and as the sunless days mount, my sense of humor wanes..It hasn’t helped that I am fighting  an ongoing battle with Facebook’s new look, a.k.a. Timeline…Maybe it’s my age (YA THINK?),  but why do they gotta screw with something that isn’t broken??  I am very tempted to dump the whole Facebook thing, but unfortunately, it one of the ways I keep up with our kids and family…I must try to overcome this anger…and write 100 times “I will LEARN TO LIKE IT,  I WILL LEARN TO LIKE IT……Can I just say “ditto” 98 more times and call it a day???

 

“It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.” ~ Dave Barry