San Antonio and the Alamo

One of the things on Sandy's bucket list was to do the River Walk in San Antonio and to visit the Alamo. We discovered this was an easy enough task if one is willing to park in the downtown area and do some walking. Fall had not come to San Antonio yet.....Monday's high was 95 degrees with plenty of humidity. We had just become accustomed to fall weather with the cooler days and now it was time to start up the air conditioning in the 5th wheel trailer again.

We were glad it was foggy and overcast when we started out at 9 AM. There was so much moisture in the air that you could feel the little droplets on your skin as you walked. No need for a moisturizer, that's for sure!

First stop: The Alamo, which originally started out as Mission San Antonio de Valero. This is the place where David Crockett died (I'll always think of him as Davy Crockett because of the TV show that was on during the time I was growing up). The Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. It was there in 1836 that the Texans defended the fort for 13 days against the huge army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The Texans lost the battle, but the story of their heroic struggle will live on forever.

Inquiring minds want to know: is the favorite dessert here pie "Alamode"? And if the infantry men divorced, did they pay Alamo-ny? If anyone knows the answer to these two questions, please email me.

The Convento Courtyard is shaded by a beautiful tree. The well in the courtyard dates back to the Mission period.
This is a side view of the Alamo building. People were working on restoration of the interior of the Alamo on the day we visited.
The oak tree provided shade and the bench was a great spot for Sandy and Jerry to rest for a minute.
After lunch we decided to take a ride on one of the riverboats that ply the San Antonio River. The river is a dark, murky green and we couldn't see the bottom even though the guide said it's only 3 feet deep. It's drained every January, so if you want to enjoy the boat ride, don't come to San Antonio during that time.
There are a lot of restaurants sitting alongside the river, making them nice spots to have lunch or dinner.
Along with the ride, we also picked up pieces of information about San Antonio and the river itself. You can soak up the atmosphere and history at the same time!
After the boat ride we decided to do some walking along the river. I handed the camera over to Sandy and asked her to take our picture on the bridge as we crossed to the other side. Thanks, Sandy!
Next on our agenda was to visit the King William Historic District not far away from the downtown area. This area was settled in the 1840's by Germans who had migrated to Texas. So many Germans lived there that it was known as "Sauerkraut Bend" to the rest of San Antonio. Most of the gorgeous old mansions here are still used as private residences.
Both Sandy and I loved the use of stone on this mansion. There are only two main streets in the King William Historic district, both of them 5 blocks long. We picked up a guide that gave us information about each house. Even though there are many architectural styles, most of them made use of locally quarried limestone.