Spring Break 2011-Day Eight

There had been some minor over-imbibing with the Waldron’s the night before coupled with getting to bed at midnight so we actually slept in until almost 9 am. We had planned on going to the Alamo this day and thought about taking the bus since there was a stop right at the KOA. After seeing that the round trip would cost us $11 and remembering that when we last went to the Alamo we paid $10 to park, we decided to drive anyway. We ended up doing exactly what we had done last time, but this time it was on purpose. We parked in the pay lot behind Denny’s and filled up on good greasy diner food before heading over to another spot every Texan should see at least once.


The overwhelming impression of the Alamo is one of reverence. You have to remove your hat when you go in, there is no photography or videotaping allowed, and they ask for silence. As you walk around and read the names of the defenders who gave their lives to the dream of a free Texas you can’t help but feel emotional. Each name has underneath it the state or country the soldier hailed from. We saw everything from Denmark to Scotland to Massachusetts to Tennessee.

In the museum display area there are artifacts not only from the battle at the Alamo, but also from Goliad and San Jacinto. Sam Houston’s shaving mug, flattened musket balls that littered the ground at Goliad where the surrendered soldiers were slaughtered, buttons from a pile of burned bodies, a ring William Travis had given to his woman before the battle started. It is very nearly impossible not to feel a lump in your throat as you see these items. The average age of the Texian Army soldiers at the Alamo was 27.8 years old. The youngest hero was merely 15. Davy Crockett was one of the oldest at 49.

After leaving the Alamo behind we walked light-heartedly through the Riverwalk area for a bit and wound our way back toward the lot where we had parked. We headed back to the trailer to relax a while before returning to the Waldron’s for Round 2. San Antonio has many fine steakhouses. We could have gone to Saltgrass, or Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris and gotten a fine meal. They would not have compared with Matt’s steaks that night. Bacon-wrapped filet mignon over an inch thick and the biggest Porterhouses I had ever seen cooked to perfection on the grill. Twice baked potatoes and sautéed asparagus rounded out the meal. For dessert we ate Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownies while we rocked out to Rock Band on the Wii. Suffice it to say that Matt should have been a metal singer and Pattie plays a mean set of drums and an awesome time was had by us all.

All good things must come to an end though, and when Clay and Pattie both fell asleep, we figured it was time to head back to the trailer. We said goodbye to Matt and Ann, Ann’s niece Allison, and the dogs, Shooter, Ozzy and Ginny. We made solemn promises that it would not be another 7 years before we did it again. In fact, we expect to hear from them in a couple weeks with a date in July that they will either come up to our house, or meet us at the land for some East Texas Pineywood redneckedness (yes, I made that word up and I LOVE it!!)

Dinner spread at the Waldron's