San Antonio,Texas- part II

                    San Antonio- part II

Fri. March 1, 2019- San Antonio, Texas

          We were up by 6 A.M. It was a chilly 46 degrees out. Coffee and news programs occupied us, until we set out along the Riverwalk at 9:30 A.M. At Alamo, Square, we boarded again the “hop on hop off” bus for an early tour of the central city. A different driver/guide gave us new takes on the local attractions.

         He mentioned yet another battle that had been fought at the Alamo, this one occurring in 1861. This time, the U.S. Army was matched up against the Texas militia, during the early years of the American Civil War. The Union forces carried the day. It reinforced, in Texas minds, the historical import of the Alamo mission. Local legislation forever mandated that no building in the area could be erected that would cast a shadow on the Alamo mission.

       Next along the way, we were introduced a charming two-story Victorian home, curiously the home of VFW post # 76, the oldest in Texas. The Buckhorn Saloon, vintage 1851, also houses the Texas Ranger Museum, with memorabilia from that storied corps of early lawmen. Legend has it that the proprietor of the saloon would swap a beer, or a shot of whiskey, to trappers who had deer and elk antlers but were short on cash. The many antlers now adorn the walls of the old saloon.

       A small, green-space park nearby had been named after Alamo commander William Barret Travis. Last year, protesters had demanded and gotten local leaders to remove his statue from the park, charging that he was a “confederate racist.” The guide pointed out the irony of the fact that Barret had been slain at the Alamo, twenty-five years before the Confederacy had been formed in 1861. Politics is always fraught with curious anomalies. As we returned to Alamo Square, we parked near the historic Menger Hotel. Built in 1859, it had been visited by many Texas notaries. Legend has it that future President Teddy Roosevelt had recruited members for his “Rough Riders” outfit, that stormed San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish American War, at the bar of the Menger Hotel, after buying several rounds of drinks for the lads assembled.

        We walked back along the Riverwalk to our hotel, to glory in the heating of our room. The short outing had chilled us. Later that afternoon, we walked back to the Riverwalk and boarded one of those quaint, narrow tour boats for the run up the San Antonio River. It is a brief, 35-minute cruise through an attractive stretch of hotels, restaurants and local points of note, like the La Brisco Art Museum. The riverbanks are well-treed and planted with flowering shrubs. It is relaxing and bucolic scenery, as you tour the area. Convention centers, riverfront-malls, schools, and residential units populate the river banks. A small island, with a wrought Iron shape of a heart and named appropriately “Heart Island” is a popular spot for weddings and pictures afterwards. The guide, as usual, kept up a snappy patter about all of the  things we were viewing. This ride is a must if you want to see the natural beauty of the area. Usually, the boats are sro, with lines of people waiting at all of the landings waiting to board them.

      From our boat ride, we walked back along the Riverwalk and selected Paesano’s for a late afternoon lunch. It was a good choice. They served up the best eggplant Parmigiana that we had tasted in a while. The Chianti was decent as well. We ate indoors because of the cool temps. The restaurant, like most along the way, features riverside seating to view what passes along the waterway. The temps had eased by late day and there were throngs of people walking up and down the river. A boot camp class, at nearby Lackland AFB, must have graduated. There were multiple, proud family units accompanying the new airmen, resplendent in their crisp blue uniforms. Each airman looked clean cut, ship-shape and ready to serve. Bless them all for their service to America.

     The day was waning. We had logged over five miles of walking and were tiring, so we repaired to our room to catch up on the news, read our books (“Texas”- James Michener) and turn in for the day.   

                                                -30-

                                           (727 words)

                                       Joseph Xavier Martin