Riverwalk and The Alamo

Brrrrrr, it's very cold out. I took the dogs for their morning walk at 8:00 am. With the temperature about 35 and the wind blowing, my ears were frozen by the end of our walk. My hands were fine because I'm wearing ski gloves.

Since we only planned to be at the Tejas Valley RV Park for two days, if we want to do anything in town it has to be today. By 10:30 it warmed up a couple of degrees and we headed for San Antonio. We had mapped out the drive the night before along with where we wanted to park. Forty minutes later we parked within 100 yards of the Riverwalk and Alamo.

The San Antonio Riverwalk is a 2 1/2 mile stretch of beautifully landscaped waterfront that features many of San Antonio's most spectacular hotels, restaurants, night clubs, bars, shopping centers and businesses. It is one of the most dynamic tourist attractions in the entire state of Texas, pouring nearly $800 million a year into the local economy.

It almost didn't come to be. In September 1921 the worst flood in San Antonio's history killed over fifty people and caused millions of dollars in damage to the city. City planners struggled over what to do and eventually decided to cover over the river and turn it into a large culvert. But the vision of one man, architect Robert H. H. Hugman, rallied the citizens of the community to turn the area into a beautiful urban park with apartments, dining, shopping, boat rides and walk ways lit with old-fashioned street lamps. He wanted it to be just as if one were walking in Venice, Italy.

After convincing city officials and business leaders of the financial benefits of his plan, the dream became a reality and the riverwalk was eventually sculpted into the masterpiece you see today http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/ .

We spent a couple of hours walking along the river with a stop at Budros Restaurant for lunch.

After lunch we returned to the car and got the dogs. It was a short walk to the Alamo and as we walked through the remains of the wall we were surprised by the beautiful landscaping. The interiors of several buildings are filled with displays showing artifacts, weapons and diagrams of the fight. Starting in 1979 there has been a limited amount of restoration to stabilize and preserve the historic shrine. We walked around the grounds and through several of the buildings before returning to the car and heading home.

To see all of today's photos click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Today's side trip, 37 miles.