Day Five—Hump Day: Half Done!

Brought to you by Emily Ward

Today we again went to our separate locations and did more of the same work we have been doing. It was barbeque day at Roseville, so the boys and Tracy got to enjoy a fun meal with the residents. At MANNA, we served more food, and were able to recognize more faces and even some names. It’s also amazing to watch Miss Winnie in action. We learned that she is turning 80 this year, but she’s still going as strong as ever. She works at MANNA six days a week, and when she tried to take Mondays off as well, her replacement only lasted 2 months. She has an amazing spirit and strength that I hope to have some of when I’m her age.

            This afternoon, our group went to visit the San Jose Mission south of the city during our City Search. Like the Alamo, this mission was formerly a location of some of the Franciscan Missionaries. It houses a gorgeous church and courtyard. It is the largest mission in the area and once was the home for 300 people. There are two other missions near San Jose, but we were hot and worn out, and chose to head back to the church instead.

            This afternoon, we were planning on going to Schlitterbahn, the big water park just outside the city. We decided that we probably wouldn’t have enough time, so chose to tour the city instead. We stopped by the Alamo again for Tracy and the boys to see, and spent some time in the shops nearby, including Del Sol, a store with solar-changing apparel. We then went to dinner at La Tierra, a local restaurant in The Market. It’s a huge place! There are several large dining rooms, all fully decorated with bright colors and murals on the walls. There was a huge painting of President Clinton running in a La Tierra T-shirt hanging in one corner. He, evidently, likes to frequent the restaurant when he’s in town. After dinner, we were walking back to our van when we decided to go through a park as a detour. The park was so cute, so we had a little photo shoot. We took so many pictures, all with different themes. It was a lot of fun. We all had a much better time than we would have standing in line at the water park. We then walked up and down the River Walk, simply taking in the atmosphere. It was a very enjoyable evening.

Day 5 Photos

Day 6 Report