One of the best road trips I’ve ever taken was to San Antonio and Austin, Texas, during Spring Break of 2002. It wasn’t Padre or Cancun, but I had a good time because I love Texas culture and it was just my girlfriend (at the time) and I.
I really don’t know what prompted it, but there we were South of San Antonio, in a low key neighborhood not too far from the San Juan Mission is an intersection of roadway and railroad track that has become known in a catalog of American ghost lore. The haunted railroad they call it.
Brief History of the Haunted Railroad
Here’s the back story: In 1941, a catholic school bus full of kids made its way down the road and toward the intersection. It stalled on the railroad tracks and a speeding train crushed the bus, sacrificing all of the children. The bus driver, a nun, survived, until she went insane and committed suicide. Since the accident over 60 years ago (as the story goes), any vehicle stopped on the railroad tracks will be pushed by tiny unseen hands across the tracks to safety.
Ghost picture inside.
When we got there after weaving through some dark dirt roads off the beaten path we met up with some people who were already there. They said they come there nightly and talk to the travelers from around Texas and the country who come to do their own ghost hunts. In the last ten years, the railroad crossing has grown has grown rapidly in popularity, with tourists visiting nightly mostly due to online ghost and haunting stories research on the Internet.
Every night new people come like clockwork thinking they are one of the first. We spoke with our unofficial tour guides and they told us the full story. There were no toll booths or cheesy gift shops. They ended up taking us on another wild ride and showing us another supposedly haunted area.
The San Antonio River Walk
We decided that visiting the Alamo and the River Walk while we were down was a good idea. My girlfriend ate at a Mexican restaurant, took pictures, and had ice cream.
My girlfriend had a friend who lived in San Antonio so we had a place to stay for free. We ended up going out to eat together with her and her boyfriend, then taking a horse carriage ride around San Antonio.
I had visited San Antonio a handful of times as a kid and once as an early teenager. I really enjoy the River Walk and all the history that goes along with it.
After that, we had also planned on making the trip to Austin, but ended up in College Station where my best friend from high school was in medical school. We stayed with him and got a tour of Aggieland. It was a great trip that I will always remember while being in college.
If you love Texas as much as I do and would like to celebrate it through colorful original Texas art on your wall now or in the future, add The Texas Artist, my father, Larry Lemons to your group of friends. You can also follow him on Twitter @TheTexasArtist. By adding him, you’ll also receive weekly updates on art shows, new Texas-inspired paintings, and other interesting and valuable facts about Texas. For more Texas travel stories, tips, and adventures like this one check my blog, www.TexasTravelJournal.com.