Reunion '09
San Antonio, TX - 12-15 October 20
City Tour
San Antonio has a long and proud history. The town was founded by the Spanish when they built a presidio there in 1716. The Catholic Church founded a number of missions in the area where Indians were converted, were housed, and taught domestic sciences. After Mexico gained its independence, it invited North Americans to settle in the area. Texas declared its independence in 1836 and San Antonio was seized by the Texians. We all know the story of the Alamo and that is the centerpiece of San Antonio's history.
The tour took us to visit one of the Missions, Mision San Jose. The mission has been restored.
The interior with the Indians' apartments around the perimeter (l); the church is stilled used (r)
Next we headed for the Riverwalk to take a boat tour of the area.
After that, we headed to the Menger Hotel for lunch. The Menger is a landmark. one famous event was that Teddy Roosevelt formed his Rough Riders in the bar in this hotel. An infamous exploit was by an Amazon named Carrie Nation who attacked the bar with her famous hatchet whilst on her crusade to deprive Americans for their liquid refreshment.
Is this one of our guys eating all that mousse?
Next, the Alamo!
After lunch, we went to the IMAX theater to view Alamo the Price of Freedom, an awesome film about the famous battle. Then we headed to the Japanese Tea Gardens. Originally name that, it was renamed Chinese Tea Gardens during World War II since the Picking was fighting the Japanese at the time. It was renamed Japanese after the War was won.
At right, Gordon and Donna Monroe