The day after Thanksgiving we took a ride out to the Mission District. The chain of missions were established along the San Antonio River in the 1770's. Together, these missions form the largest concentration of  Catholic missions in North America. These missions consist of The Alamo, Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose,

chapel of Mission San Jose

outside Mission San Jose chapel

compound in Mission San Jose

Mission San Juan and Mission Espada.

entrance to Mission Espada

Inside Mission Espada

Christmas tree outside Mission Espada

It is an easy drive to visit these missions. (They are well marked). In 1978, Congress created the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. By agreement with the Archdiocese of San Antonio, the mission churches remain active centers of worship.
As we were driving to the various missions,

we noticed that at the cemeteries along the route, the majority of headstones all had flowers.
  Also you come across the Espada Dam (completed in 1745) which is the preserved acequia system. It still diverts river water into a mother ditch, which is ten carried over Sixmile Creek via Espada Aqueduct (see picture - is the oldest Spanish aqueduct in the United States. Floodgates controlled the flow of water. 

Espada Aqueduct