The flight to San Antonio was uneventful, despite the warnings of issues at the airport due to the current “Schumer Shutdown”. Hopefully we won’t have any issues departing San Antonio, but SFO was operating normally, perhaps even better than normal.
Our first night we had dinner at a highly acclaimed steakhouse that was old school. All the wait staff were very dressed up (we’re talking tuxedos) and I was wearing shorts. Oh well, it’s warm here, and after seeing how some of the “ladies” were dressed they could hardly complain. It was just ok, so no need to mention them here.
After dinner we decided to walk 10 minutes along the River Walk to San Antonio’s Main Plaza so we could watch the “Saga Light Show”, which is projected on the front of San Fernando Cathedral.
This show is shown every night at 9:00. This is the prelude before the show starts.
The show is basically a San Antonio history lesson. We recognized some of the people depicted, but had no idea about many of them. Regardless, it was a fun show with excellent music to match.
Some sections of the show were quite colorful!
One last video. This is obviously a “must-do” if you visit.
The next day we visited The Alamo!
I drove through San Antonio back in 1986 on my way to Rhode Island for the U.S. Navy’s Damage Control Assistant training, and while I walked by The Alamo, I didn’t actually see much of it, so I was happy to be able to rectify that. It helps that I’m much more into history now than I was then!
We opted for a guided tour to start with, and I highly recommend this, as our guide Andrew was excellent! Here is Andrew discussing one of the hero’s of The Alamo, Davy Crockett.
There are living history volunteers throughout the site, dressed in historically accurate clothing and carrying historically accurate replica rifles. At least I think they are replicas. With these guys, who knows!
Just in front of the church, legend states that in 1836 Lt. Col. William Barret Travis unsheathed his sword and drew a line on this ground before his battle weary men stating “those prepared to give their lives in freedom’s cause come over to me!” This is said to be the origin of the term “line in the sand”.
This plaque on the ground near the church is said to be where one of the last survivors, Davy Crockett, met his demise.
This is the inside of the church, which requires a ticket to enter. If you do the guided tour the entrance fee is included. The line inside is to see the Sacristy, where the women and children hid during the 13 day siege of The Alamo by General Santa Anna and the Mexican Army. The line moves fast, so do it.
There is a museum of artifacts that opened fairly recently, and is filled with all sorts of weapons, cannonballs, swords, uniforms, you name it! This is another paid area, covered by the guided tour. Oddly enough, Phil Collins of music fame is perhaps the worlds foremost collector of Alamo artifacts! I’m not sure how that came to be, but fortunately he has allowed his collection to be displayed here.
One of the items he owns is the actual sword owned by the Mexican General and President Santa Anna! Word is that the sword is slightly bent as a carriage drove over it. I can’t imagine the value of this thing!
Inside this museum is a large historically accurate diorama of the Alamo, and Phil Collins himself narrates how the battle proceeded. Definitely a worthwhile visit.
Also inside the museum is Pee-Wee Herman’s bicycle. WTF? Yes, this bicycle was featured in “Pee-Wee Herman’s Big Adventure”, where upon his bike being stolen Pee-Wee is told by a phony pyschic (is there any other kind?) that his bike is in the basement of The Alamo. Pee-wee travels to Texas and visits The Alamo only to find it doesn’t have a basement. Yeah, it’s a weird movie, but worth a watch.
One last look at the facade of the church at The Alamo, with the beautiful Emily Morgan Hotel in the background. As info, most of the Alamo site can be visited without a ticket, but we found the extra info that the guided tour provided was well worth it. The guides here are excellent!
Here is a shot of the River Walk on our way back to our hotel. It’s quite beautiful when it’s not crazy crowded, which we would discover over the upcoming weekend!
Coming up, more San Antonio, including a review of what is likely the best restaurant in San Antonio (in our opinion of course).
We remember the first time we saw the Alamo thinking they should have kept more green space around this legendary edifice.
Nice to hear from you, Chris and Kim. Looks like life and travel keep you busy. Enjoy your adventures! We think your travel blogs are great memory keepers of all the fun and adventure you two have had together.
Peace and Blessings…Mark & Denise Brown
Mark and Denise, Thanks for the wonderful comment. I can’t believe we haven’t connected again since 2018! Let us know when you make it back to California.
We saw Pee Wee Herman’s bike in a museum in Hollywood. The boys loved Pee Wee and his bike. They also had the Batmobile which was also a hit with the 5-10 year olds.
Enjoyed reading about the Alamo – heard of it but didn’t know too much.
It’s got a pretty interesting overall history. I might have to read a book about it at some point.