A San Antonio Tour

By Joe Herron
March 26, 2018

When you hear the name San Antonio what comes to mind? The Alamo? The Mission Trail? The River Walk? Or possible the Spurs? During a recent trip to San Antonio with my wife, we were able to explore all those places and things in real life, along with so much more. We discovered a deep, rich history interspersed with modernization.

The first place we visited was the Alamo. This structure is filled with abundant life and history. The foundation for the church was laid in 1744—a full 92 years prior to the 1836 “Battle of the Alamo”. The San Antonio de Valero mission is one of five Spanish missions founded by Franciscans visiting the region in the early 1700s. The present location of this mission was chosen in 1724. The post-Texas Revolution years resulted in the church building changing hands several times, until the early 1900s, when Texas purchased the buildings to remain as a shrine to Texas liberty. It truly was an honor and privilege to stand where these men fought and died in that famous battle.

Due to time constraints, we visited only one other mission that comprises the San Antonio Mission Trail. The Mission Trail is a 15.1-mile loop connecting the missions. As with the Alamo, these other missions were built in the 1700s. Mission Concepción is the oldest unrestored stone church in America. Our visit to this mission offered ample evidence of the resiliency and dedication of our Spanish forefathers.

Next up on San Antonio tour was the River Walk, which is a relatively modern development compared to the other sites we’d visited. The bypass channel work began in 1926. To say this venue is multi-faceted is an understatement! At times, we experienced a quiet, romantic stroll...and other times, we heard the loud laughter of people enjoying music from a live mariachi band. Any short walk along the path takes you to a host of available restaurants, entrances for the river cruises, and even shopping complexes. Oh, how I wish my wife had not found the shopping area!

We were fortunate to stay in the Omni La Mansion del Rio hotel on the River Walk. This hotel is another prime example of blending old and new together. This structure started as a school in 1853 and later became St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1934. In 1968, the hotel opened in time for the World’s Fair. There is a considerable amount of fascinating history, so it is impossible for me to describe it all in this short blog, but I’ll try to mention just a few more. We marveled at how the Hilton Palacio Del Rio was built in 202 days using a new construction method to build a whole room at a time offsite. There’s also the still active bar where Roosevelt founded the Rough Riders, and so many more.

The trip was both enjoyable and educational. As we toured, there are two major things that jumped out at my wife and me. First, the respect and honor for the heritage of this town is evident all around. Secondly, the recognition of new is a good thing, but modernization does not have to forsake the strength, history, and value of the old. New and old do not have to conflict with one another. It was a firm reminder that getting old is not such a bad thing after all!

It was also a fresh way to think about my work at Equinox. We certainly honor the history and tradition of excellence we’ve established while also embracing the technological changes in the industry. And while we hire new team members to accommodate growth, we are extremely proud that our average tenure is nearly 17 years across the entire company and 19+ years among development staff members. Finally, we are always thrilled when a new customer selects us to assist with their business assurance projects, but we continually acknowledge and celebrate the long-standing customer relationships we have—many of them stretching over decades.

About the Author

In his role as Vice President of Support for Equinox, Joe Herron oversees all of customer support, including quality assurance, product documentation, installation, upgrades, and the customer support help desk. His team’s primary task is working with customers on the day-to-day issues, for example scheduling product updates, turning up a new switch, fine-tuning a configuration setting, or helping troubleshoot a technical issue. When he’s not putting the processes and standards in place that ensure Equinox customer uniformly rave about the service they receive, he enjoys reading and spending time behind the wheel of his convertible.
To learn more about Equinox, its products, and staff, visit www.equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.