San Antonio Trip: Day Four

Finally...it's time for some Texas wine and Texas landmarks! I enjoyed meeting people, watching the Spurs, seeing the gardens, etc, but I was absolutely itching to see the Alamo! I'm a weird history-loving person like that. And we went there on day four! Yee-haw! :)

That morning, we drove slightly north of San Antonio to visit some wineries. Our friend Becky came with us, and we had a great time! We went to two wineries (see our Wine Blog when we update it) and then to lunch at Rudy's (Tony Parker and Eva Longoria Parker lunched there!).

The barn that housed Sisterdale Winery! It used to be a cotton gin, but now it produces excellent wine.

Becky and Adam outside Comfort Cellars Winery.

Ahhh, surrounded by wine barrels! :)

Some of the BBQ at Rudy's

Rudy's...it was delicious, despite their catchphrase as the worst BBQ in Texas.

Afterward, Adam and I drove into the center of San Antonio, checked into our beautiful hotel room, relaxed for a teensy bit, and then went to the ALAMO!! YAY! Although you can't take pictures inside, I did enjoy the inside and I learned a lot from the visual aids that they had throughout the Alamo. Granted, it's a little weird to walk across busy streets and see giant skyscrapers all around while you try to imagine what the battle of the Alamo must have ben like. Still, the Alamo delivers.

distance shot of Alamo and the retaining wall

beautiful church of Alamo

I had no idea there were so many beautiful botanicals inside the Alamo (although, to be fair, most of them were only transplanted or planted there in the early 1900s when it became a National landmark).

Live oak tree...the sign said it was grown for 40 years in a town 200 miles away,
transplanted here in 1909, and has flourished ever since.

Me, by the old well by the live oak

One of the best parts of the Alamo was a bit of a surprise. I was looking at a 19th century hospital set-up at the Alamo (spoiler: it looked scary!) and, all of a sudden, there was a posse of Texas rangers right there! Yikes! I thought I was going to get arrested (for being too northern? for mentally calling them all "Walker"? for wearing a skirt in the Alamo?), but they were just there to collect the money from all the collection boxes scattered throughout the Alamo. I kept seeing them all around the place (good for the Alamo...lotso money!), so I snapped a surreptitious picture. You gotta have your fun!

How many Texas rangers does it take to get the collection money?

I wish that I could have taken pictures of the inside of the Alamo because it was really neat. Also, the lay-out was really intriguing. I didn't know the lay-out and how large the original Alamo complex was. The church of it was really just a small part, but it was great to read and understand the whole area. I highly suggest visiting and enjoying if you're ever in Texas. But they did have lovely stonework throughout, and, well, I enjoyed the atmosphere.

One of the sweet arches in the courtyard of the Alamo

pretending to be someone important giving a speech in twangy Texan

cannon-sitting

Adam looks very regal among all the flags

Us outside the ALAMO!

good TX flag in the background

After the Alamo, we had a fantastic happy hour at the hotel, went to a great restaurant for dinner, and explored the Riverwalk. BUT, I'm a little ill and dead tired, so I'll group all of that with the other Riverwalk stuff during my next San Antonio post.