The ShoreXplorers: Remember the Alamo - San Antonio TX [April17-18, 2017]

The front of the Alamo church

The back of the Alamo church

The Alamo is one of Texas' most revered historic sites. Most people you talk to outside of Texas have heard of it as well. It is located in the midst of downtown San Antonio, one of Texas' top travel destinations. So, there is a lot to see and do in San Antonio, but we started with the Alamo.

Outside the Long Barracks

If you ever watched the John Wayne movie about the Alamo, you would imagine that the historic mission is located out in the dessert. It is actually located near the San Antonio River. The mission was founded in 1718 to convert Indians to Christianity. 75 years later, the mission was turned over to the Spanish who used it as a military garrison. In 1821, Mexico declared its independence from Spain, and the mission became a Mexican military garrison. The Texans revolted against the Mexican ruler, Santa Ana in 1835. In the early morning hours of March 6, 1836 Santa Ana's huge army defeated the tiny outpost of 186 Texians (Texans of US heritage), Tejanos (Texans of Spanish or Mexican heritage), Americans and Europeans, killing them all, including James Bowie and Davy Crockett. 6-weeks later, the Texans defeated Santa Ana, enabling the creation of the Republic of Texas, and creating the battle cry "Remember the Alamo". The Alamo continued to be used as a garrison, and then did some time as a dry goods store. Eventually, it passed to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and was opened as a museum.

Window in the Long Barracks

Over the years, many of the mission buildings were torn down, the church front had the iconic bell shaped section added to the top of the front, and church got a roof. Now when you visit, you are asked to remove your hat and treat the ruins with reverence. Only the church and the Long Barracks remain. The gardens inside the mission walls are just beautiful. This was Dana's third visit, and each time the presentation of the story of the mission and the battle has improved. Admission is free, or you can take an audio tour ($5 for senior citizen veterans) or a guided tour. There are informational signs throughout, a brief video, and staff on hand to answer questions. The Long Barracks is full of artifacts and interesting panels explaining the history and culture of the times.

River Walk

After spending a good, long time at the Alamo, we wandered several blocks over to the River Walk. Set 10 steps "down" from street level, the River Walk is a meandering, shaded waterway lined with restaurants, hotels and a few shops. Lovely bridges cross the River, or you can take the stairs up to street level, cross over on the bridge for the street, and descend back down to the other side. We ate lunch at Rio Rio under a colorful umbrella right next to the River, under the watchful eyes of resident mallard ducks. The River Walk came about after a devastating flood in 1921. The River has a natural bow here, so a section was dug connecting the top parts of the of the bow to direct flood waters away down the river with flood gates that protect the bow itself.

River Skimmer

Do you recognize this stage? It was used as a location in the movie Miss Congeniality

We took a Rio San Antonio Cruise and floated down the river, hearing about the history of the River Walk. We learned that it is drained once a year, and the cell phones dropped into the water are collected from off of the bottom. When we had been eating lunch, we saw a leaf skimmer boat go by cleaning floating debris off of the water. On the cruise, we learned that green food coloring turns the river water Kelly Green each St. Patrick's Day. Mostly we just enjoyed seeing the lovely shoreline glide by.