Ramble #62: Some San Antonio Missions

Monday, January 19, 2026, 9:30 AM (MLK Day)

At the Mission San Juan Capistrano. Photo Courtesy of Google Maps

Let’s take another road trip and visit some San Antonio Missions.

There are four Missions in SA; we’ll plan to visit two of them. Our day will look like this:

• 9:30 AM - Mission San Francisco de la Espada

• 11:30 PM - Lunch

• 1:00 PM - Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo

Our first location is about 2 hours from Round Rock, so we’ll need to get on the road by 7:30 AM. We’ll wander about Mission Espada for 1.5 hours or so, then head to lunch at a local spot. After lunch, we’re off to Mission San Jose, where everyone is free to spend as much time as they like. Afterwards, head back to Round Rock, or visit another location. Mission San Juan is recommended as a third spot.

If you want to know more about the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas, check out the National Park Service web pages.

Mission Espada (10040 Espada Rd) is located on the south portion of Loop 410. Parking is off of Camino Coahuilteca.

Mission San Jose (6701 San Jose Dr) is a 15 minute car ride from Mission Espada. There is a parking lot accessible from San Jose Dr. Also, the National Park Service has a facility at this location.

Possible lunch locations (that are more-or-less between the two locations) include:

• Esmerelda’s Mexican Restaurant

• Trailblazer Cafe

• El Cevichero Restaurant Y Cantina

• Bubba’s 33

• Bar B Q Republic

We can take a poll that day to decide.

Note

Last year, a planned outing to Bastrop was prevented due to bitterly cold weather. As it’s been warm of late, it’s expected that we’ll have a lovely day. But note that sometimes the universe has other plans.

Therefore…. please keep reading.

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Communication

We now use a WhatsApp group to disseminate last minute information about rambles, or during the outing. You can choose to leave the group between events, or ignore any activity you do not attend.

Access to the group will be by invite. You will need to:

1. Install WhatsApp on your phone.

2. Request to join the group:

   1. Send an email (our usual email addy) with your request

   2. text Gary

   3. use this link

   4. scan a QR code on location

This will enable us to let everyone know about any last minute cancellation due to unforeseen (or foreseen) circumstances.

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