The drive from Kerrville to Victoria was a bumpy one. The weather did damage to the I-10.
Getting to the RV park was a small task... the highway in front of the park is under construction. The Garmin directed us to the park... however it was not aware that a left turn was not possible, so we had to get off the highway , drive a couple miles down the frontage road to a turnaround, then pull into the park.
We hit a couple of major hot spots... Home Depot, Sam's Club, and Slaughterhouse Butcher.
Once we hit all the hot spots in the area, we decided to hit a couple of "run of the mill" places. We took a drive to Port Lavaca, and vicinity. The drive was a short drive... distance wise, time was a different story. There was traffic on the road heading south because of a "motorhome" that was traveling slowly.
I know, technically it was a home pulled by a motorized vehicle. We followed behind for about five miles before they turned left... and on off we sped.
Anyway... there was a park with a fishing pier on one side, and a veterans memorial on the other. The town has a little history during the civil war days. The U.S. Navy (a.k.a. Union) was working on taking control of Confederate ports. After easily taking Galveston and Indianola in 1862, they went after Port Lavaca (then called Lavaca). The Union bombarded the town without success, and the Confederate forces held on, keeping the port until 1863.
The drive home was uneventful, and we made it home for dinner. After dinner we planned our excursion for the next day.
Off to Goliad for more history. A lot happened during several periods of time. Back in 1836, after the fall of the Alamo, General Sam Houston ordered Colonel Fannin and his troops to retreat from Goliad to Victoria. Before Fannin's troops could retreat the Spanish attacked. It was a bad battle for Colonel Fannin and his troops... all 350 soldiers were taken as prisoners of war. They thought they would be treated as prisoners of war, but dictator Santa Anna ordered them all to be killed.
Because of his actions a town was named after Colonel Fannin, and a memorial was built in honor of Colonel Fannin and his troops.
The memorial lists the name of all the soldiers killed. The monument was erected in 1936. The memorial groundskeeper doesn't mow during the spring so visitors can enjoy the wildflowers in bloom.
Let's go back to 1829 when a boy was born, and given the name Ignacio Zaragoza. In 1829 the area was under Spanish control and was called "Bahia Del Espiritu Santo". Now speed forward to 1862, when as a general, Ignacio Zaragoza and his troop took on the French... and beat them. You ask what is so important about this conflict. This battle was between a small group of poorly armed Mexican soldiers and the very experienced army of France, who out numbered the Spanish force 2 to 1. Oh yeah, this battle occurred May 5th. Ignacio Zaragoza is known as the "Father of Cinco De Mayo". This is why Mexico celebrates 5 May... did not have anything to do with independence, it was victory over the French.
The original birthplace of Ignacio Zaragoza required rebuilding after his childhood home was ordered to be torn down by Colonel Fannin, believe it or not. The home is only three rooms, and it appears that cooking was done outside.
Like most places in the southwest, there is a mission somewhere nearby, this place is no different. There were actually two missions in the area. The story told is that the two local Native American Indian tribes did not get along, so the church figured it was easier to build another mission to accommodate both tribes. The mission we visited was Mission Nuestra Senora Del Espiritu Santo De Zuniga.
Most of this mission is reconstructed. When the mission was abandoned the local settlers raided the stones for other structures. There is only one portion of the mission still standing.
Upper left is the only part of the original structure.
This is a panorama picture from the inside of the mission museum of the original section of the mission.
It was a nice day outing to see all the sites. For those that like tent camping, or have an RV, there is a campground here.
For more information regarding the Goliad State Park, go to:https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/goliad.
We headed back home for dinner and preps to leave for some point east.
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