Day 3 of Texas~ Friday (Happy 4th of July!)

We tried to be out the door early on Friday morning to beat the heat. Actually, the weather wasn't too awful. It does get humid there, but I'm convinced that it gets more humid here. We reached the River Center around 9:30 am and the mall didn't open till 10 am so we walked over to the Alamo first. The Alamo is right in the middle of downtown San Antonio and is surrounded by sky scrapers. It makes it look like a small place. It's beautiful though. They make sure it stays green and pretty during the summer. I wish I had a picture of the actual walkway. This is a view looking out of the walkway at one of the buildings.Here is the front of the Alamo. They had some re-enactors there in booths and tents and they would talk to the visitors. In one of the courtyards a speaker was giving the history of the battle of the Alamo.
Here is a view of the back of the Alamo. We saw several trees that grew out of the ground sideways. I don't think I've seen that here on the east coast. The parts of San Antonio that I got to see (aka the Alamo and Riverwalk/River Center Mall) have a very definite Spanish/Mexican flavor the the architecture, etc. It is so different from what I'm used to. I loved it. And most of the houses are shaped differently because they are built to withstand the heat more than our houses are. Most of the trees are shorter too. It's very pretty though. I think if they had more rain it would be really beautiful.

Look Mom, we're getting along. :) Cheryl kindly took a picture of us at the Alamo for me. :)
On the stairway to the River Walk. You have to go down stairs from the street to get to the River. All of the plants along the river are very green too. Some of the plants looked kind of tropical almost.

This was our tour guide. I forget his name. You can take a little boat ride along the river and the guide talks about the different sights you will see. I'm pretty sure one of the requirements for this job is to have a talent for stand-up comedy, because he was really funny! He had someone else who worked there meet him when we passed under a bridge to hand him his breakfast in a paper bag. Then he tried to pass him the money for his breakfast but he dropped it in the river. Oops! I guess he'd have to pay him back later. :)

This is what I meant about the plants looking almost tropical here and how the architecture looks like it is Spanish-inspired. When you are on the river tour you see lots of bridges and stairways and things like that. A lot of them curve around and aren't just straight up and down, and some of them are made of stone while others (like this one) are not entirely made of stone.

Here is one of the sights he pointed out to us. When you pass it a certain way it looks kind of like a free-standing wall with windows. It's really kind of triangular shaped.
Some of the boats that passed us. I didn't get a picture of our boat. There were all kinds of restaurants and buildings along the river. Even an old hospital that Carol Burnett and Kenneth Star (and some other people I don't remember) were born in or sick in. I don't remember if it still functions as a hospital or not. There are also hotels and apartments and offices along the river. You can live in the apartments if you are wealthy. :)
Here is one of the bridges I was talking about earlier.
Cheryl got her picture taken on one of them. I think there were 2 of them. Or maybe I just saw the same one more than once.
There was even a craft fair going on. Cheryl and Adam would not let me stop to look around. :(

The meanie moes! Just joking. :)

There were lots of Texas stores in the malls in Texas. You go into most stores and you can find all kinds of stuff with Texas logos on them. In fact, just travel around Austin and you'll see more Lonestars, Longhorns, and Texas state shapes than you ever wanted to see. :) We got our picture taken in front of one of the Texas stores.I snapped this picture on our way out of the River Center before we got back in the car. The red statue is called the Friendship Statue (Cheryl, correct me if I am getting this wrong) and it was a gift from Mexico. I can't remember the name of the building behind it. You can see the tops of these from the Riverwalk, but you can get a better view from the street.

Adam and Cheryl getting their picture together in the River Walk Mall.

San Antonio is a beautiful city. It is also a very large city. I am sure I would get lost a million times before I became comfortable there and then I'd still probably get lost afterwards. It is a fun place to visit. It is one of the most popular places in Texas to visit, I believe. If you ever get a chance to go see the Alamo and River Center, I would recommend that you go. It is a really pretty place.

We went back to Austin that evening and watched some fireworks from the Barton Creek Mall. It was a nice show. :) We were so tired! But it was a busy, fun day. :)