Okay, I am sure that you have all heard the phrase, "Remember the Alamo!" but how many of us who live(d) outside the US know what that's all about.  Some big battle long ago or something, right?  Well, when Joe and I set off to explore San Antonio, we got a little history lesson as well.  Briefly: Texas was part of Mexico in 1832 when Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana was elected president and decided that he would rather be dictator.  He revoked the constitution of Mexico and this upset the settlers who had been promised democracy when they moved there.  Texas was still relatively sparsely populated, but there were some towns who did not want to be part of Mexico under a dictator. The first shot of the war for Texas Independence, begun in 1835 was reputedly from a cannon in Gonzales.  The Mexicans had left it there to protect the residents from indians, and when the Mexican army came to retrieve it, the residents fired it at them and dared them to "Come and Take It"!  This became something of a battle cry, and the small Texian army won their battle here and in Goliad, before taking San Antonio as well.  When Santa Ana came to take back San Antonio from the rebellious Texians, he met with resistance.  The Mission of San Antonio had long since been abandoned, later used as a Spanish military garrison and renamed the Alamo. This is where the settlers and armed men retreated to fight it out with the Mexican army on February 23, 1836.   The small Texian army of about 200, was led by Colonel William Travis. Among the men were Jim Bowie (of the Bowie knife) and Davey Crockett.  The siege lasted 13 days, during which time Travis requested assistance from General Sam Houston.  Houston could not spare the men, nor would they have been able to get there in time to assist.  He did, however, meet with other Texians at Washington-on-the-Brazos and together they declared Texas an Independent Republic on March 2, nine days into the siege.
The chapel at the Alamo, now a museum with Texian items, a memorial to the Alamo defenders and letters written by  Colonel Travis during the siege.
After thirteen days the siege ended when 1400 Mexican troops attacked in the pre-dawn.  Nearly 600 of the Mexican troops were killed or wounded, and all the Alamo defenders were slain, either during the battle or afterward under Santa Ana's orders.  Some women and children and slaves were allowed to leave unmolested.  Santa Ana marched on as Houston, declared General of the Texian army retreated to Galveston, burning Gonzales and San Filipe along the way.  He ordered Goliad abandoned, but the men were not quick enough and were surrounded by Santa Ana.  After a two day battle, they surrendered.  They were marched back to Goliad and a week later executed by order of Santa Ana.  (So it would seem that surrendering would not have saved the men of the Alamo.) Santa Ana continued his push to quell all rebellion and when he reached the Brazos River on April 20, Houston turned to confront him and a single advance division at San Jacinto.  The next day, amid calls of "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!", the Texian army won a decisive victory in less than 20 minutes.  Texian independence was secured. ************* Okay, so I wasn't so brief.  But this helps to illustrate where that independent Texan spirit comes from.  Texas was a republic for nine years after this victory, and although never recognized as such by Mexico, was recognized by the US, France and Britain.  Texans know they can make it on their own.  Their Lone Star stood alone for nine years before being annexed by the US.  And the Alamo inhabits a special place in the spirit of Texas.  You can see we learned a lot on this little expedition -- and it sure helped us understand why we were supposed to "Remember the Alamo!" and what went on at San Jacinto, which we had visited in April of '98.  San Antonio is a place of much history and a lovely city as well.
The Alamo. If you ask the park Ranger nicely, he'll take your picture.
We saw a great film on the Alamo at the Rivercenter Mall -- it was an IMAX film (IMAX was developed in Canada) which recreated the siege at the Alamo and explained a lot to those of us not familiar with the story.  We saw the film after going to the Alamo, I would recommend seeing the film first.  The Alamo is maintained by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, who have made it a serene place after all the bloodshed seen there.  After a stop in the gift shop (okay, I can't help myself!) we headed over to the Hyatt and the Riverwalk.  I had been told about it from a girl I work with at the Clinic and she promised me that the Riverwalk alone was worth the trip.  She was right.
This fountain, near the entrance to the Hyatt in downtown San Antonio, suggests the beautiful waterscapes to come. This water runs through the lobby of the Hyatt out to the Riverwalk	The Riverwalk is a two and a half long stretch of the San Antonio River, maintained by San Antonio Parks and Recreation.  It is a loop off the main river channel and is one level below street level.  Streets and pedestrian walkways pass over the river while the sides are lined with walkways, trees, and cafe seating.  It's lovely.
The Riverwalk as we see it today began after the worst flooding in years created mass destruction and loss of life.  There was always flooding after heavy rains, but this time there was talk of paving over the river.  Luckily for us all there were people who saw the benefit of the river as it was and they managed to sway public opinion.  The Riverwalk architect Robert H. H. Hugman, now known as the "Father of the Riverwalk" created a plan for the area, incorporating the natural beauty of the area with formal designs.  At first he was thought of as rather eccentric, and people worried about his fate when he moved his offices to the Riverwalk level, but soon people came to see that there was merit to his idea and the result is the gorgeous place we visited.  There are now floodgates to protect the Riverwalk from high level waters and you can see them from the Yanaguana cruiseboats that give guided tours of the waterway.  We took the tour and found it to be quite informative.  We were lucky to go there in December when we could enjoy the Christmas lights which were hanging from all the trees along the river.
Pedestrian walkways make the Riverwalk  the perfect place for an afternoon stroll.  You can work up an appetite for dinner at  one of the many restaurants that line the river.	Festive umbrellas and beautiful shade       trees line the Riverwalk in San Antonio.
As you walk along the river you will come across many shops and restaurants.  The temptation is to stop and shop or eat.  But don't forget to see the rest of the Riverwalk. Joe and I continued walking along to La Villita (The Village).  This is an area of San Antonio with original houses from the 19th century that have been converted to artist's studios and galleries.  The Village is a National Register Historic District.  There was some really beautiful artwork and crafts here -- the pottery and sculpture really caught my eye.  Before you climb the stairs to La Villeta, look at the Arneson River Theatre.  This is lovely outdoor theatre where the stage is on one side of the river and the seats (grass covered) are on the other! I hope we get to come back and see a production here -- it must be lovely on a spring evening.  The five bells at the back of the stage represent the five missions of San Antonio set up by the Spanish in an attempt to colonize the area.  I understand that in January they drain the portion of the river surrounded by the Riverwalk and clean it up.  They also crown a Mud King and Mud Queen!  We'll have to go see that sometime.
View of the stage of the Arneson River Theatre from the  top row of seats -- on the opposite bank of the river!
We followed up our exploring with a fantastic dinner at "The Republic of Texas" restaurant.  And with it the most marvelous Margarita I have ever tasted!  The next day we set out to do a little more discovery of San Antonio -- we headed over to the grounds of the "HemisFair" a world's fair that San Antonio hosted in 1968.  We were disappointed that the water fountains were turned off due to the construction on the convention center at Hemisfair Plaza.  We thought about going up to the top of the Tower of the Americas but decided not to.  Too bad because our friends Winston and Natalie sad they had a lovely lunch at the restaurant at the top when they were there.  We also decided to go to El Mercado -- the Mexican Market.  It was pretty cool, but not really to our taste.  I know that we'll come back to San Antonio --we've got to see the San Antonio Zoo on one of those trips.  Maybe Joe will adopt a skink for me!
My friend Rose and I went to San Antonio in May 2000 and we saw many of the same things pictured above, and we also went on the "Mission Trail".  Now we were there in May and it was very hot for May so we didn't walk it but we went to all the missions except Espada.  We found that seeing them really gave a fuller understanding about their place in Texas history.  We found that taking the Mission Trail into the city was a relaxing way to get to the Alamo too -- we didn't have to battle traffic or try to figure out freeways, we just meandered in.  Mission San Jose, "Queen of the Missions"
San Antonio totally charmed us -- we'll be back!

 
 

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