Texas Capitol

31 May 2011--Went to see the Texas Capitol building and the Texas History Museum today, starting at the Capitol. These pics show the Capitol from the front, and then the back of it. It is actually prettier in the back, if for no other reason than you can see the whole thing.



Along the walkway leading up to the front of the Capitol, titled "Monuments of the Great Walk", are 4 prominently displayed statues. Two are fairly inocuous; the 1st is a monument to the defenders of the Alamo, while the 2nd is a monument to those Volunteer Firefighters who have died in the service of Texas.



The last 2, however, are really monuments to a denial of history. This one, with Jefferson Davis atop it (the only president of the Confederacy), is a monument to the Confederacy Dead. Now that would not be a problem, I guess, until you read the inscription at the bottom. Here they claim that all the dead died for "States Rights", which were guaranteed in the constitution, to preserve their rights, and that the north resorted to coersion. No mention of slavery, of course. How can we expect our country to be "one nation, indivisible" if we can't even admit to a common reading of history?



The 2nd is another monument to Confederate soldiers...so 2 of only 4 statues prominently displayed on the grounds are to the Confederacy! No wonder the current governor throws around the "secession" word with impunity here.



The inside of the Capitol is very pretty, but fairly hard to capture on camera because it is so big. In the middle of the rotunda, centered on the floor, is a display of the 6 flags that have flown over Texas during its history. Starting with Spain and followed by France, they then had Mexico as their rulers.



When they broke away from Mexico in 1836, they declared their independence and became their own country...the only state in the Union to ever be a country unto themselves! The Republic of Texas was in existence until 1845, when they joined the United States. This Republic flag has the star of "Lone Star" state, and then an "oak branch" symbolizing strength, and an "olive branch" symbolizing peace. By the way, in the constitution they wrote for their new country, they put in there that all "free blacks" had to the leave the country. I guess that was one one of the "states rights" they would later fight for when they seceded!!!



When Texas then seceded from the US during the Civil War, this flag became the Texas flag of the Confederacy...they put the likeness of George Washington between the oak and olive branches. A little unseamly? Or is it just me?



As you look up past the 4 floors to the dome, you see the pics of all the Texas Governors and then this rather pretty staircase that leads to the dome itself. It is much more impressive in person than I am able to convey here...haha.



The star at the top of the dome is 218 ft from the ground, and 8 ft across the ceiling...doesn't look that big as you look at it.



There are really only 3 pictures very prominently displayed in the building. This is Sam Houston, the 1st and 3rd president of the Republic of Texas, and the Governor of the state of Texas right before the Civil War. He advocated against seceding from the Union, and was actually removed from office for doing so. He died 2 years into the Civil War as a private citizen. Also noteworthy, prior to coming to Texas, Houston was once the Governor of Tennesee, the only man to serve as governor of 2 different states. Pretty impressive fellow!!! (The Army base Cathy and I are staying at is named after him.)



This painting depicts the surrender of General Santa Ana, the president of Mexico, to Sam Houston, after the Battle of San Jacinto. This brought an end to the war and independence for what was then the new country of Texas. Interestingly, Santa Ana had just 6 weeks prior to this crushed the defenders of the Alamo, leading the soldiers to shout "remember the Alamo" as they attacked the Mexican soldiers.



Finally we have Davy Crocket. Like Sam Houston, he was actually also from Tenessee, and had only come to Texas in February of 1836...a month before he died with all the others in March of 1836 at the Alamo. The guide we had thru the building told us he had come to Texas in the hopes of getting one of the land grants the state/country was handing out in their quest to settle the land and create a tax base. I thought it was interesting that he spent so much time as a politician, a fact I don't think was every mentioned in the tv show I saw repeatedly as a kid! haha



Finally, we have a picture of the Texas House of Representatives, almost identical to the Senate, except the number of chairs/desks. Texas has 31 state Senators and 150 House members who meet for 140 days a year, every other year. Like most of the other western states we have visited, I am amazed at how seldom these politicians are in session.



From the Capitol we walked down to the State History Museum. This is the only pic I have because they didn't allow pics, even without a flash, inside the building. That is unfortunate because it was a really well layed out display. On the 1st floor they covered the early history from the Indians to the Spanish and French colonization, while on the 2nd floor was a good synopsis of the revolution against the Mexicans, the time as an individual country, and then secession and the Civil War/Reconstruction. The 3rd floor covered industries in Texas with an emphasis on cattle, oil and even sheep herding. It was a good series of exhibits and we enjoyed it.



On to the LBJ Library and Museum tomorrow. Again, stay tuned!

Town Lake, Austin

30 May 2011--Left San Antonio to spend a few days in Austin, just for something different to do. We are staying at this RV Park, about 12 miles from downtown. Pretty nice, lots of trees, and a nice pool area...although I can't use it, it looks nice anyway!



We didn't get to Austin and fully set up till around 2:30 PM, so we decided to head out to Town Lake, a lake in downtown Austin, for a bike ride. Our friend Donna works in Austin and told us it was a very pretty area, and she didn't disappoint. This 1st pic is downtown, with the capitol building at the end of the pic (and 2nd pic). We are going to the capitol tomorrow. There are lots of bridges going over the lake, so as you cross this bridge you can see Town Lake below.



Town Lake used to be called Lady Bird Johnson Lake, but has recently been re-named (I don't know why). The city has developed a 10-mile hiking/biking trail that completely encircles the lake and is heavily used by the people of Austin. It is a really nice area, with people hiking, biking, walking, running, playing with their dogs and fishing for their supper. Certain spots reminded me somewhat of the Charles River in Boston.



Cathy and I got a little lost a couple times, so we know we biked at least 10 miles, but think it was probably closer to about 13 miles before we were thru. A couple times we took the wrong trail and had to double back. And once we saw the 5 mile marker, then the 7.5 mile marker, and a while later we saw the 5 mile marker again. That was a bit discouraging (haha) as we were fairly tired at that point. But after asking a handful of people for directions we found our way back after 2 3/4 hours on the trails.



This bridge actually holds anywhere from 750,000 to 1.5 million bats...yes, I said bats!!! Mexican bats come up from Mexico to this spot, have their babies in June, and reach their peak numbers in late July and August. We are going to come back later in the summer to see them leave from under/inside the bridge at dusk to go hunting for bugs. Stay Tuned!!!



Most people on the water were canoeing, but I liked these sort of surfboards being paddled by these kids. It was really windy out there, so I think they were finding they needed a little more effort than they bargained for. haha



A couple of swans and a Green Heron. I wish I could have gotten a better pic of the black swan.

Holy Heatstroke, Batman!!!

29 May 2011--It has been a couple weeks since we did anything worth blogging about, but Cathy and I, along with our friend Hallie, set out to see the sights of downtown San Antonio yesterday, so I thought I would fill you in on our day.

We had read an article in the paper saying that the city had a self-guided walking tour, covering 2.6 miles, pointing out 79 different sites of historical interest, and you could get your pamphlet telling you all about these spots at the Visitor's Center. We knew it was going to be a hot one, this is afterall Texas in May, but it was supposed to be pretty breezy, so off we went. What we didn't know was that the heat index was going to hit 105 degrees, and any breeze to be had was blocked by all the buildings downtown...I couldn't have stirred up a breeze if you had spun me in circles!!!

So, our pamphlet told us that in front of each historical building/site we would find a large circle with half a star at the top (signifying the Lone Start state) and the outline of the Alamo at the bottom. We also were to look for the small circles along the streets that would guide us in the right direction as we went from site to site. (We had a map also, but the circles were helpful.)



The Alamo and the River Walk (across the street from each other) are the number one tourist attractions in the state of Texas. It probably helps that 50 weeks a year Basic Training graduates from Lackland AFB have their town pass on Saturdays...there are an average of anywhere from 500-700 graduates a week, so along with their visiting family members they pour a lot of money into the city.



Here we are as we are about to set off on our hike. Notice how "fresh" we look, especially Hallie! (We are not long out of the air-conditioned car at this point.)



The Alamo was originally built in 1718 as a Catholic Mission, but became known as we all know for the beating that was delivered by Santa Ana on Texas troops in 1836 during the Texas Revolution. The Mission/fort once covered a lot of the downtown area, but now is down to maybe a couple acres in the heart of the city.



Directly outside the Alamo, on the plaza, is this monument to the men who fought and died there.
(Bowie, Crockett, Travis and Bonham are singled out with their names above their likeness.)



This is the building that housed the 1st federally chartered bank in San Antonio, built in 1866 and operated straight thru 1970. It is now the law office of a very prominent San Antonio family. The 2nd pic is just a mural of a parade in old San Antone!



This building was once a bank built in 1929, but is now a hotel. We went inside more to get cooled off than anything else, but once inside I just had to take these pics. I took them to show to Walter and my friend Barb...they are the only ones I know who read the book "Atlas Shrugged"...don't the 2 pics depicting Thrift and Trust look like something out of that book???!!! That's all I could think of when I saw them.



Just a short note here: I said earlier that there were 79 sites listed in our pamphlet of historical significance. Well, a lot of them were empty buildings looking for tenants, from old grocery stores to furniture companies and everything in-between, so I will spare you that (haha). At this point, however, we were into our tour for about 1 1/2 hours of what would ultimately take us almost a solid 3 hours, so we were not only a bit tired but hotter than we had been in years. It was really brutal surrounded by all this concrete! I don't know how anyone ever talked the newspaper into promoting this tour, but I thank God we didn't pay for it!!! (But I digress!)

This is the old courthouse, built in 1891.



The San Fernando Cathedral, on a site established by the Spanish crown and built in 1737, is the most famous church in the city. It is really pretty inside, but as you enter the doors on the left, the 1st thing you see is this casket with the remains of the heroes of the Alamo.



The view from the back towards the front, and then from behind the actual altar facing to the back of the church.



The altar area is really beautiful...and for those of you who don't know this, Hispanics are very much into the Virgin Mary.



I wish I could say that Cathy, Hallie and I were smart enough to rent these Segways (sp?), but we weren't...didn't want to mess up our hair with those helmets, I guess?



This was the Spanish Governor's Palace, built in 1749.



Between the concret-like walls and rock floors, it was a lot cooler in here than outside even with no A/C. Looks like this has been a hot tourist spot for a while...that is Baron Von Trapp and his wife, from the famed Sound of Music movie, that visited here in 1942.



Cathy hoping for, and then ringing, the freedom bell!



This was a sort of cool kitchen stove. Notice that beneath the pots holes are punched out so they could heat things up in what they thought was a controlled manner back in the day. Hadn't seen one like this yet.



The O. Henry House...all I know is that he was famous short story writer.



La Villita and Hemisphere Park, shopping spots. In the pic of Hemisphere Park is the Tower of the Americas, the top of which is a revolving restaurant. Very expensive, but has a great view of the city.



This sculpture is supposed to denote "Friendship" of some sort, and was given to the people of San Antonio by the Mexican government about 15 years ago. It is smack in the middle of downtown, no one really likes it, and wasn't even mentioned in our pamphlet.



This Catholic Church was built by German speaking San Antonians back in 1868. I somehow deleted the pic I had of the outside, but I thought the inside was interesting in how different the altar is from the San Fernando Cathedral. Big difference between the Germans and the Hispanics. Cathy and Hallie are sitting there, not praying for anything, but offering thanks for the A/C!



We have finally, after 3 hot and increasingly miserable hours, arrived back where we started and are about to get something to eat down on the Riverwalk. But I want you to take a good look at Hallie...she is struggling to get her breath in the 1st pic, faking a smile in the 2nd, and finally just has to sit down before she passes out in the 3rd. What a trooper!!!



This was probably the busiest person in San Antonio yesterday. Set up right outside the Alamo, just think of all those familes from northern states who came to visit their Basic Trainee. If we were beat by the heat after all these years, I can't imagine how hot those people thought they were! I bet they made a bee-line for the sno-cones!!!



Cathy and I are heading to Austin tomorrow for a few days of sightseeing up there, so i should have a coupleore postings over the next couple days...hopefully a little more compelling, and I pray cooler, than yesterday's excursion. Time will tell!