Texas history

We made it to San Antonio on Sunday afternoon and spent the rest of the day watching football and the Dodgers' playoff game (since the Angels are already out of the playoffs).

With all day Monday open (since our delivery wasn't scheduled until 8:00 p.m.), we called for a taxi and headed downtown to the Alamo. Being from Southern California, we related to the building's history and architecture as a mission. But after hearing the story of the battle of the Alamo, it become clear why Texans have such pride in their heritage. To those of us not from Texas, "Remember the Alamo" is just a phrase we learned in American history class. From what we can tell, many Texans continue to take it to heart. However, I like the phrase attributed to Davy Crockett (and embroidered, printed, and silk screened on all sorts of souvenirs), "You may all got to hell, and I will go to Texas."

Here are some photos I took while we were there...

The iconic front facade (which is actually the church that was located at the rear of the compound). The characteristic "hump" in the top center of the front was added many years after the battle by the U.S. Army.

A well outside the "Long Barracks" which originally housed the priests during the mission period. This section of the compound eventually became part of a large grocery store operation. Over the years, it was forgotten until the grocery store was scheduled to be demolished. That's when a local woman bought the site and led an effort to have the barracks restored.

The Alamo is just a short walk away from the River Walk, a series of restaurants, shops, hotels, and other businesses located along the river that runs through downtown. Actually, river level is about 20 feet lower than street level, which makes it easy to forget you're in the middle of a major metropolitan downtown.

We walked along some of it and then took a 30-minute guided tour boat ride. Here are some photos of that...

All in all, it was a fun and informative day.

Not sure where we're going next but we'll find out soon enough!