We left the prairie west of Texarkana around noon heading for The Alamo yesterday. After deciding to take back roads rather than the expressway, we arrived in Hutto around 6:00 to dinner w/ my cousins. A good meal & some nice catching up later, we were back on the road & hit San Antone around 10:00. We found a hotel room in walking distance to The Alamo & The Riverwalk, but the parking situation is pretty weird. We park in a fenced in lot, but there’s no gate, so the fence seems kind of pointless. It’s $5.00 a day, & we just shove 5 bucks in a little slot w/ the # of the parking space on it. I don’t quite know how it works or who collects the money, but it seems to be fine so far. (Check back tomorrow for the continuing saga of the trip log.)
After a good night’s sleep & some acceptable eggs & waffles, we headed across the street to The Alamo. Now, I need to pause here to remind you that I’ve been a Davy Crockett enthusiast since I saw the Fess Parker movie w/ my cousin when I was 3 years old. However, I was given some mixed reviews of The Alamo itself. While some people said it was cool, the general feeling was that it wasn’t worth it. The people who said that were WAY off. It is super cool. I had such a great time. If you get the chance to see it, be sure to do so. The gardens inside the walls are fantastic, the tribute to the people who gave their lives is amazing, & the gift shop has great stuff. I don’t understand why they don’t get state or federal money to operate though. I feel they must have turned it down. It’s run solely on donations & revenue from the gift shop, so I did my part by spending too much money. You should check out the pics on my facebook page too because it’s an awesome place.
Also awesome is The Riverwalk. It’s kind of strange, & a little Venicesque, but it’s cool. Lot’s of bars, restaurants, & little shops down in the river valley but hidden by all the buildings that surround it. We walked around it all afternoon, had lunch & dinner down there, & then enjoyed it @ night all lit up by millions of lights in the trees. We happened upon a few old cathedrals, all of which were oddly locked up, but that didn’t stop us from trying to get in to see the insides. We also happened upon the house of Gen. Cas (the brother-in-law of Santa Anna & the man who may be responsible for making Santa Anna so mad that he marched his men for three months from Mexico to The Alamo in order to kick Texan ass). We even found a dude playing the bagpipes, so that was goo too. Not to mention the Irish pup w/ a real live Irishman singing songs & playing piano. His playing was pretty good, but I didn’t think to request the obvious Elvis tune. Maybe because I can’t decide which one would be the obvious one for him to play. I guess “It’s Alright Mama” would be good, but maybe “A Little Less Conversation” because I really kind of dig that tune. I guess that might not be enough to make it an obvious choice for that guy, but it’s good enough for me.
We got to hear both songs the other day when we stopped @ Graceland on our way to Texas. Like The Alamo, it’s not to be missed. Unlike The Alamo, it’s campy & ridiculous. We took the tour that also allowed us to see the Elvismobile museum & his plane, The Lisa Marie. I really enjoyed the house & the plane, & I was impressed by the gold alligator roof on his Lincoln, but in general, it’s absurd. It was hard to keep a straight face while 2, count them… 2!!! Unrelated people cried @ his grave. One of them, a woman in her late 40s also prayed to the grave. I didn’t get it. I didn’t laugh @ her, but I didn’t get it.
I also didn’t get the fact that the racquetball &gym building had easier access to the bar than the racquetball court, but @ least I can sympathize w/ the thought process that went into designing it.
I also didn’t get the billiard room draped in weird ass fabric. I didn’t get it, but I kind of want to do it to a room in my house.
I also didn’t get the room w/ 3 televisions built into the wall so as to watch all 3 networks @ the same time. Apparently, he heard that Johnson or Nixon or Ford or someone watched all 3 news broadcasts @ the same time & wanted to do the same. I guess I could understand watching soccer, The Soup & Seinfeld @ the same time, so maybe I do get it after all.
I also didn’t get the year-long pass that allows people to visit Graceland as often as they want throughout a calendar year. Who in their right mind would need to go back multiple times in a year? Maybe the crying/praying lady, I suppose.
All in all, The Alamo rules & I would go that repeatedly, so to each his or her own I guess. San Antonio is a great town, but I’m sure if I lived here, I would skip the Riverwalk like Washtenaw County locals skip the art fair. Visiting here is fantastic though… Do it…& maybe check out Graceland on the way.
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