The Alamo

Okay, so Chris is gone for about the next 4 months, so I've decided to take the kiddos out and explore around the area as much as possible to keep away the "I miss daddy" blues. I was born in Texas (Austin), and went to elementary school in a town about an hour away (San Marcos). I remember learning all about the Alamo and the heros that fought there as a kid, so I decided to try to instill that love in Ethan. We went down to the Alamo with a friend who has a little boy that Ethan is friends with. He watched a little video about the Alamo and got to see guns shot by Davy Crocket and knives used by James Bowie. I think he had fun.

The Alamo. Many Texans still believe in their hearts that Texas should still be its own independent country. I'm not kidding! I see bumper stickers everywhere showing the Texas flag with the caption "Secede!" I'm not that fanatical, but I do think Texas has a history that is interesting. I mean where else do you find a group of about 200 poorly supplied men who refuse to surrender and instead decided to take a stance against a well armed army of 6000 soldiers from Mexico? While they didn't win, they did at least hold out for 13 days! Pretty impressive, I think!

Addy wasn't too impressed, but she's still got time!

Ethan and his friend, Austin

In front of the Alamo.

While we were there, we looked across the street and saw the Menger Hotel. It doesn't look like much, but it's got quite a history. Teddy Roosevelt recruited his "Rough Riders" here and Babe Ruth and other famous people have stayed here. It's also supposedly home to the ghost of a rancher who owned The King Ranch, which was about 250 million acres. He died here and (for some reason I don't understand) they still have that bed in the room for guests to stay in! (I don't believe in ghosts, obviously, but it was fun to see a place that had been on TV!)