More things to Do in Texas

... (continued from Things to Do in Texas)

Visit The Alamo and the River Walk:

When in San Antonio you have to see The Alamo. I mean, it’s the iconic San Antonio attraction! A former mission, and the site of a siege which lasted 13 days, nearly 200 years ago, ending with all the defenders dead, and a chunk of the Mexican army as well, the Alamo is actually rather small, and unassuming. But the events that took place here were really instrumental in creating the Republic of Texas, and ensuring that all the states west of here became part of the U.S. and not Mexican. “Remember the Alamo!” is the rallying cry that created an independent Texas, and the history of the Alamo helps explain the special fervor of the Texan people for the ideals of freedom and national pride. Before walking through the Alamo and its exhibits, we watched the IMAX movie about the siege at the theatre across the street first. The movie gave a pretty good overview of the events, although I think Morgan found it a bit disturbing, as during the final battle scene he curled up in his chair and said to me, “Okay, I think the Alamo is dead”. There’s nothing quite like strong imagery to hammer home a point. Regardless, I do think that watching the movie first made it easier for the both kids to understand why remembering that bloody moment in history is important as we looked at the displays. (I also understand that to a 5 and 8 year old learning history can be pretty boring, but we keep persisting anyway, in the hopes that they retain something!)

So grumpy looking!

That's better

After walking through the Alamo we wandered along the canal section of the River Walk. Through downtown, the San Antonio River has been tamed and the bank developed with a pathway to stroll along many ethnic restaurants to choose from. The bank is full of trees, flowers, benches to enjoy the scenery & ambiance, hotels, restaurants, and history. Several arched bridges allow pedestrians to cross from one side of the canal to the other, and occasional vehicle bridges on street level above remind one that there is a bustling city directly overhead. At river level, it’s a bit like descending into another world. River taxi/tours ply the loop of canal closest to the Alamo enticing weary or curious tourists aboard. Both the kids wanted to take a ride, but we wanted them to walk and burn off energy. And it’s not that far a walk! We briefly rose to street level to explore through the La Villita (the site of the old village, now turned into artisan shops). The River Walk pathway continues on in both directions of the river where the canal connects with the main river but we stuck to the loop, so I can’t say what is beyond this area.

Keep the Tooth Fairy busy:

Always the show stealer!

Lily lost a tooth the day we re-entered Texas (after visiting the caverns) and Morgan lost a tooth on the day we left. Apparently Texas is a good place to lose baby teeth! Both times the tooth fairy found us just fine and the kids were thrilled. Morgan's penpal back home had told him a while back that the tooth fairy would bring him more money if he cleaned his tooth really good, so of course he had to clean it really really well (toothbrushes, soap & water, and such were involved). He was not disappointed. (Lily was pretty happy with her toothy reward too.)
  

Visit family:

Bob has extended family in the Houston area; a cousin, who upon hearing that we were in Texas promptly invited us to come visit her & her family. So after thawing out in San Antonio, we headed to Houston in beautiful weather. It has been years since Bob had seen her, and I never had met, but that didn't matter one bit! We parked the trailer on the street outside their house and spent our first night out of our home since we moved in nearly 7 months ago. It was a very weird feeling not sleeping in my own bed. But the company was fantastic, and the entire family made us feel extra welcome as we visited, had supper & then pretended that my wild kids would settle enough on their own to go to sleep in an unfamiliar bed. We could have easily stayed in Houston for a longer visit (after finding a close by RV park), but Bob and I were both a bit worried about the weather and our deadline to get to Florida. 

And so we said goodbye to Texas. The old saying about Texan hospitality has certainly proven true, as we have felt so welcome everywhere we have gone. As usual though, the weather seems to be dictating our travel plans and we have once again said goodbye to friends and family in favor of continuing adventure (and Feb plans in Florida).