Downtown San Antonio

On Monday, April 11 we left the JAWs at home, work, and school, and our little clan went into downtown San Antonio to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We were partially successful.

We first wandered around the Alamo Plaza. I wanted to go through the museum first so that we would know what we were looking at. However, it wasn't labeled very well and we weren't sure where to go.

Adah's shirt matched the cactus flowers on the Alamo Plaza.

Being nearly lunchtime, we decided to head in the direction of the Riverwalk and find somewhere to eat and then do the full Alamo tour afterwards, since we'd need to return that way to get back to the car.

See the cute, hungry baby? She needs lunch.

After burgers and mix-your-own sodas at Fuddruckers, we descended below street level to meander along the famous Riverwalk. The San Antonio River is a natural waterway, but what now goes through downtown is completely manmade. Restaurants with their patio seating line the river and flat-bottomed boats travel along the water.

It was shady and serene as we wandered along the pavement. We happened upon a wandering Mariachi band and got to listen to a few numbers they paid to some restaurant diners. That evening there was going to be a parade on the river, with real floating floats (good one, eh?). You have to get tickets for it and they were beginning to set up the seats. They aren't visible in this photo, but much of the way had a row of folding chairs at the edge of the water. It proved to be a very reassuring barrier between Gunnar and the water. I didn't have to worry about him getting too close and falling in. So, if you're ever going to to the Riverwalk with an active young child, I recommend going the afternoon before the Fiesta Parade.

We eventually made it back to the Alamo Plaza. They were setting up a podium and chairs for some Fiesta-related event later on. We wandered around the back and eventually made it into the Long Barracks where the museum is located. We watched a video about the famous battle of the Alamo and then looked through the exhibit a bit. THEN, we finally headed over to look in the actual Alamo. As I approached the front door, a small sign printed on regular paper said, "The Alamo will close at 3:00 today." It was 3:05.

AAAAAAAGH!! Are you kidding me? I was SO DISAPPOINTED and SO FRUSTRATED. We had wandered all over that plaza TWICE that day, and nowhere had we seen a sign indicating that the chapel would be closing early. The docent who'd presented information after the video we watched in the Long Barracks didn't say, "Now be sure you hurry over to the chapel before it closes in 5 minutes." Nothing. I've been haunted with the knowledge that if we'd just hurried up at an single moment during the day we would have made it there before 3:00. I suppose most people head straight to the front door upon arrival. That's what I get for wanting a little historical context to what I was going to see before actually seeing it. SIGH.

We'll always remember the Alamo . . . at least the outside of it.