San Antonio - Day 5

We got to spend a whole day driving around San Antonio, testing the phones and seeing the city. I loved San Antonio. It was a very fun place to visit. Our first stop was by Our Lady of the Lake University, a private Catholic college. The road right around the university was undergoing major construction so we didn't get to park by it. But we found this little park nearby. One of the trees was full of white cranes. There were so many birds there that it was crazy. 

Brian and I took turns walking around the park and taking pictures. During my turn, I was trying to get a picture of the crane tree when I was ambushed by these turkey-like birds. I wasn't even super close to them at the beginning, but when they saw me they quickly moved into a "V" formation and came after me. They were growling as they walked towards me. I've never heard birds growl before. So of course I back away not wanting to get into an altercation with these touchy birds. I looked back later and they were doing the same thing to a guy that was walking down the pathway by them. When the guy noticed them he let out a yelp and starting running away.

The buildings at the university were really gorgeous, but because of all the road construction we didn't get any pictures of them. You can see the spires of one of the buildings above the tree line in the picture below.

Our next stop was at a historic Roman Catholic Church named the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower. What a mouthful. We don't know much about it other than it looks cool and has a long name.

We parked by a house that was bright blue with a matching fence covered in large, brightly colored silk flowers. This Texas sign was on the fence. Go Texas!

 

We were able to visit the Alamo while we were in town. This was our favorite stop of the day. Downtown San Antonio is very charming. There were horse pulling buggies,

and trolleys.

The Alamo is located in a square in the center of downtown San Antonio. This main building was originally the chapel of the mission. Today it is the Shrine for Texas Liberty. 

I didn't know much about the Alamo before I came here. We were able to spend some time walking through a portion of the museum reading about the events that took place here. By the end I was in awe from reading about the sacrifice of the men who gave all for freedom. They had a plaque of the letter that William B. Travis, the man in charge along with James Bowie, wrote and sent out to surrounding areas asking for reinforcements and supplies.    It said:

"Fellow citizens and compatriots;

I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis

Lt. Col. Comdt.

P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

Travis

The Mexican government offered land for really cheap, much cheaper than what the United States was offering land for, to entice immigrants to move to and settle Texas. Once the area was settled, the Mexican government imposed several rules to prevent American immigrants from gaining too much power or influencing the local government to be more like the U.S. government. The U.S. immigrants did not like this because they had come from America where they were used to certain freedoms. The Texas Revolution began as a result of these differences. The men at the Alamo (only a couple hundred) held their post against Santa Ana's forces (thousands of men) for thirteen days. During this time, many Texan civilians were able to evacuate, but more importantly Texas was able to declare its independence from Mexico. The Alamo fell and all inside were killed by Santa Ana's forces. However, because of their brave sacrifice, Texas broke free from Mexico and became the Republic of Texas.

The United States then annexed Texas which started the Mexican-American War. Through that war, the United States gained the land that would later become the states of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah and Nevada. So the Alamo was a part of the process that led the United States to becoming what she is today. I don't think the men fighting at the Alamo had any idea that their actions would be so significant. They were just standing up for what they believed in and fighting for the freedom of the people. Their sacrifices had a huge and lasting impact on our country. I love history. It is so neat to look back and see how events, such as the Alamo which could be considered a failure if you just look at that battle, play such an important role in the success of much greater things. It is very inspiring.

In the museum portion we got to see a lot of the weapons that they fought with. Davy Crockett was one of the men that fought and was killed there. We got to see his rifle, bear hunting knife and a lock of his hair inside a glass locket. I thought that was neat, seeing as I had grown up with my Dad telling us kids stories about Davy Crockett. Out in the courtyard of the Alamo they had Mexican cannons on display. These were used to continually fire at the walls of the Alamo for days.

Apparently they do re-enactments of the battle of the Alamo, and there were a couple of guys that are involved in the re-enactments showing off some replicas of weapons and equipment used in the battle.

The area in and around the Alamo was very pretty. There were lots of plants and it was nicely landscaped.

 

All too soon, it was time for us to move on. There was still so much more to see and read there, but we had to continue the tests for the day. We got to see the Tower of the Americas, which is a 750 foot tall observation tower with a restaurant at the top.

We drove by this pig-house. The pig doesn't look to happy to be a house, and I'm sure that I wouldn't be too happy to live there.

While in San Antonio we also got to stop at a mission. There are lots of old missions in the area, but we only had time for one and so we picked the Mission Concepcion. It was a very pretty spot.

I got to go inside while Brian was with the car. The main room inside is still used as a church today and they were setting up for some event while I was there. I loved the domed ceiling.

It was very pretty inside.

Our last stop of the day was at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. We didn't make it there until 4:30 and they closed at 5:00 so we didn't get to go in. :( I would have really liked too because I've heard from multiple people that the gardens are gorgeous. Oh well, that just means we'll have to plan another trip back sometime!

We stopped at a place called "The Big Bib" for dinner, where I got to have my first taste of Texas BBQ. I ordered some pulled pork with coleslaw and potato salad while Brian had a plate of ribs and brisket with coleslaw and mac and cheese. It was delicious! Thumbs up to Texas BBQ!

We went back to our hotel to get the phones plugged in to charge and sending their data. The elevator at our hotel was a little scary. When we stepped inside, it made a clanking noise, which was a little nerve racking. Then there were two panels of buttons, only one of which worked. Once it started moving, you could hardly tell because it was the slowest elevator I've ever been in. It took forever for it to pull us up to the fourth floor! We were lucky we were only on the fourth! Brian and I joked that we would be old by the time we stepped out of the elevator, and heaven forbid if you forget something and had to go back up to your room. You could be gone for years! hahaha 

We went to enjoy the hot tub but it was cold! Brian went and got someone at the front desk while I stayed to see if it got any warmer. I was shivering by the time he came back and the hotel staff couldn't figure out how to fix it so we gave that up. I took a long, hot shower when I got back to the room to warm up! 

Even though the hotel was not that great, we did have a good view of downtown. I loved the Tower Life Building because it was lit up red, white and blue both nights we were there.

We had a lot of fun in San Antonio and would definitely like to come back and visit again, next time for more than a day!