Signature City San Antonio

Activity note: Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration: 3:00 p.m. After you have your room assignment, ask front desk staff or check signs in the lobby for the location of our Road Scholar meeting room to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes and other important information. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Orientation meeting 4:00 p.m.. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Our Group Leader will then present an introduction of San Antonio, explaining how the River Walk was developed and offering a short explanation about how various cultures converged on the area to make it the unique place that it is today. Each day at 5:30 p.m., the hotel has a reception on the second floor to which all are invited for free with a rotating menu of hot food and cold beverages. Save room for dinner!

Dinner: At the hotel, we'll have a catered dinner with coffee, tea, water included.

Evening: At leisure. Continue gettting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night's rest for the day ahead.

Activity note: Getting on/off public transportation. Walking up to 2 miles and climbing stairs; downtown streets.

Breakfast: In the hotel’s second floor mezzanine, have what you like from the breakfast buffet with choices such as scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, bagels, toast, muffins, jellies and jams, oatmeal, cold cereal, milk, juices, coffee, tea, water.

Morning: We’ll be joined by a professor from St. Philip’s College who will explain why Texas is the most universally famous place in America in a two-hour lecture focusing on the sweeping events and fascinating characters that make Texas the amazing place it is: what John Steinbeck described as "a state of mind…a mystique closely approximating a religion…the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.”

Lunch: We’ll walk to a nearby restaurant for a buffet lunch with salads, soups, made-to-order pasta, dessert, coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: We’ll embark on a field trip with a local expert to explore some of San Antonio’s most iconic sites. We’ll also learn about the development of the River Walk and its impact on the transformation of the area. The Spanish colonial mission we know as the Alamo was established in 1718, and moved to its current location in 1724. Its history is fascinating and complex. After the gallant defense by 182 Texans against Gen. Santa Anna’s army in 1836, “Remember the Alamo!” became a rallying cry for Texas independence. We'll hear the story of the Alamo, then visit the Shrine, view artifacts, and watch a short movie. The Menger, the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi, was established in 1859 and set the standard of luxury for its day. Among the historic events that took place here, Teddy Roosevelt recruited his “Rough Riders” cavalry brigade. Our expert will take us inside for a peek at the elaborately appointed lobbies and the Menger bar, to see memorabilia from TR's time. We’ll understand more about Texas pride as we visit these historic sites. We’ll return to the hotel at the end of our field trip for some time to relax or enjoy the hotel reception.

Dinner: We'll walk to a nearby restaurant that offers a variety of entrée choices; coffee, tea, water included, other beverages available for purchase.

Activity note: Walking up to one mile and standing for up to two hours at museums. Ability to board a motor coach with minimal assistance several times a day.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: Hispanic citizens comprise a majority of the population in San Antonio and Texas. We'll learn more about the Hispanic experience through the eyes of a professor who grew up on the US/Mexico border. She'll tell us about cultural traditions, folklore, literature and current experiences.

Lunch: We’ll venture to “South Town” for a meal at a popular local restaurant.

Afternoon: After lunch, we'll take a quick look at a neighborhood filled with historic homes, before traveling by coach to explore the San Antonio Mission National Historic Park where an expert will lead as we explore the missions that make up the historic park. Learn about the early settlement and efforts of the Spanish to convert local people to the Roman Catholic Church and an agricultural lifestyle. See how the Spanish used “acequia” (irrigation systems) to develop self sustaining agricultural communities along the San Antonio River.

Dinner: The cost of this meal has been excluded from your program cost for you to enjoy dinner at the location of your choice. There are a wide variety of restaurants within a short distance from the hotel .

Evening: A San Antonio native will regale us with stories about the city's interesting past and colorful characters. If you like, after the lecture, you may walk across the plaza adjacent to the hotel to the San Fernando Cathedral to see it like never before during a light show put together by French artist Xavier De Richemont. This 24 minute show tells the story of San Antonio from its beginnings to present day, projected on the front of the Cathedral. The Cathedral of San Fernando was built from 1738-50 by settlers from the Canary Islands who had been granted land by Spain's King Philip V. Santa Anna raised the red flag of “no quarter” from the church tower during the siege of the Alamo.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: We’ll be joined by a local university professor on the intriguing story of German immigrant Mary Menger, who operated two large San Antonio enterprises in the mid 19th century and demonstrated that a woman can thrive during a time when men dominated local commerce. As a widow and single mother, Menger profited from both the Western Brewery and Menger Hotel, becoming San Antonio’s largest employer. After a short break, we'll catch a narrated barge ride on the San Antonio River, located 20 feet below street level and just steps from the famed Alamo. See how stone pathways connect shops, restaurants, hotels and museums with a blend of historic and modern architecture that resonate the depth of this centuries-old metropolis. The barge driver will tell you all about the history of the area and the buildings you pass as you float along the river.

Lunch: We'll enjoy lunch at a river walk restaurant near the hotel with a variety of entrée choices, which inclueds tea, coffee and water.

Afternoon: The rest of the afternoon is an opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions.

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Evening: At leisure.

Activity note: Walking up to one mile, standing for up to one hour. Ability to get on/off coach with minimal assistance.

Breakfast: Full breakfast buffet at the hotel.

Morning: We'll start the day by taking a peek at the system of folk medicine that came to be used by the early Texans, who were often forced to find substitutes for remedies that had been available in their previous environs. They began to share “cures” with people from other cultures such as Native Americans, Mexicans, Germans, Poles, Swedes, and many others. A local educator will join us as we look inside the medical cabinets of these early settlers. We will then have a culinary adventure with all you need to know to begin Tex-Mex cooking at a family owned restaurant. With the head chef and owner, learn how to prepare a delicious Mexican meal with picante while hearing the story of how her mother struggled to start the restaurant and how the family business has expanded to satisfy the hunger of thousands of happy customers.

Lunch: At the family restaurant, savor a delicious meal of Tex-Mex cuisine.

Afternoon: After lunch, we'll travel by coach to the McNay Museum of Art, a Spanish Colonial Revival-style home which opened as the first museum of modern art in Texas in 1954. Today, its visitors are captivated by magnificent works of art by modern masters including Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Finish off this day of exploration with a stop that takes us back in time to the Spanish colonial era of San Antonio in the 18th century at San Fernando Cathedral. The oldest church sanctuary in the United States, it was completed in 1750 and is still an active parish of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Construction began on the cathedral shortly after the Canary Island colonists, granted land and title by Spain’s King Philip V, settled here in 1731.

Dinner: We’ll enjoy a farewell dinner and reflect on our week's experiences.

Evening: At leisure. Linger over dinner or return to the hotel and prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

Activity note: Hotel check-out by 12:00 Noon.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: Enjoy breakfast prior to your departure. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!