Summer Vacation 2013: Day 12

Today we woke up to rain in Austin, of course, so we decide to head to San Antonio, as it wasn’t supposed to rain there until late afternoon. It was about 1½ hours away, so we got to see more of Texas! We went straight to the Alamo, and although there were a lot of people, it was a quick wait to enter. For me, the Alamo is an inspiring place to visit, knowing that these people were willing to fight to the bitter end for freedom from tyranny, and many of them voluntarily walked for hundreds of miles to help in that effort. I always am impressed with buildings that were erected so many years ago, that have stood the test of time and war, too. Anyway, the fact that shops and businesses now surround it, for me, doesn’t take away from what the Alamo stands for. The mission is interesting with incredibly thick walls. The artifacts from some of the people who fought there are interesting to see, although it appeared to us that every other rifle displayed belonged to Davy Crockett. The man must have had a huge personal arsenal! To walk through the small museum and read about the area and the settlements and “politics” leading up to the battle at the Alamo and the subsequent victory and liberty from Mexico at Jan Jacinto, is very interesting (but apparently only for me, since everyone was sitting and waiting for me when I was done). I like the walk through history.
From there, we started on the River Walk, which is just beautiful. There are so many gorgeous fountains and gardens, and the shops, hotels, and restaurants are lively and crowded. We enjoyed seeing so many people enjoying the area. In our attempt to “eat local” we have tried to find restaurants that are unique to the area we are in, and today’s choice was “Dick’s Last Resort,” located along the River Walk. Had we known what kind of a restaurant it was when we entered, we probably would not have chosen it, but the kids enjoyed their mother’s embarrassment and the food was really good! The restaurant prides itself on its servers being obnoxious and rude. For example, after serving our drinks, our waitress ran by and threw the straws at us. Although she wanted to appear rude, we all thought she was actually nice, but was keeping to the atmosphere of the restaurant. She made everyone wear hats that had rude things written on them, and yelled at anyone who took it off during the meal. It was an experience that I don’t necessarily want to repeat, but it was fun while it lasted. After lunch, we continued on the river walk but detoured to the San Fernando Cathedral which is the oldest Cathedral sanctuary in the United States. It was founded in 1731. It was beautiful but simple and is where the remains of the “Heroes of the Alamo,” William Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie are entombed.
We continued back along the river walk when it started to rain. After a little longer, we decided we had had enough and headed up to street level, when it decided to POUR down. We were several blocks from our car, and even those of us with umbrellas were soaked! Another fun day of rain on this vacation. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at Jan’s while the kids played with her dog. A great first day on our second trip through Texas!