Texas A&M San Antonio

This past weekend my wife, my granddaughter, and I went to a festival at the rather new Texas A&M San Antonio campus. This was, to my knowledge, the first annual festival to celebrate San Antonio's Fiesta Week. If you don't know about Fiesta Week in SATX, then you need to get out more often!

Well any way...our first visit to this campus was an eye opener! It is set in a beautiful wilderness atmosphere on the southern edge on the city. At first view, the main and only building appears in the horizon like an oasis in a desert. But don't get me wrong, you won't find a desert here!

Beautiful Texas wildflowers completing surround this oasis. You smell the freshness of an untouched garden. Lady bugs and honey bees make their way from stem to flower and back to stem. On the horizon I saw a majestic hawk hunting for its afternoon lunch. As they say...beauty is in the eye of the beholder..and I was a beholdin'!

As for the festival on the campus grounds...they had everything from nachos to Star Wars characters (brought to life by the local wrestling group called River City Wrestling). Everything was neat and handy. There was enough to satisfy a hungry palette but not so much as to confuse your senses of smell or sight. There was plenty of food and fun for all!

For the art lover, the university had a Picasso, Amigos y Contemporaneos Exhibit. I'm not much of a Picasso guy, but his art work in ceramics and gold sure were both interesting and mind opening. His paintings were fascinating to observe, yet as an amateur art connoisseur I couldn't get it?! Honestly, I prefer van Gogh...but to each his own.

During the afternoon, dignitaries from the San Antonio Fiesta Week celebrations visited with the crowd. Unfortunately they took second place to the A&M festival itself. Never let a "king of anything" get in front of a juicy beef or chicken taco al carbon!

It was a great visit to San Antonio's newest university. Plans are under way for at least two more buildings to dot this pristine country side. The buildings like the current main facility will not take away from the sights and sounds of Mother Nature, but will blend in like a welcomed guest.

If you are ever in San Antonio, take IH-37 south to Loop 410 West. Travel west on 410 past scenic wilderness. Exit on South Zarzamora Street. Take the turn around (you'll see signs). Turn right on University Way (look for the A&M tower). Drive about two miles on University Way  and finally...feast your eyes on the latest addition to our city's halls of learning!

On May 23, 2009, Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 629 that created Texas A&M-San Antonio as a stand-alone university.

http://www.tamusa.tamus.edu/index.html