Pass Thru Guadalupe Mts, El Paso- Carlsbad Caverns Highway

Carlsbad Caverns Highway in El Paso.  The postcard is note postmarked.

Riverwalk San Antonio Texas May 2021

 You can't go to San Antonio without seeing the Riverwalk!

Alamo Related Toy Soldiers

 And, just for the heck of it, while I am still on an Alamo kick........  Here are a couple of photos of Alamo collectibles I like a lot.....

The top photo shows some roughly 1/32nd scale soldiers I have painted.  Most are made by the great toy soldier companies Conte, TSSD, and Expeditionary Forces.  The top shelf is mostly well known Alamo defenders.  The bottom shelf is made up of Santa Anna's Army, with a couple of defenders misplaced beside them.

The lower photo shows a couple of action figures I remember from my childhood.

The Little Legends/Legends of the West line was out in the late 70s and early 80s.  They were the same scale as Star Wars, so you could have Davy Crockett shooting down aliens at your creature cantina playset.

I loved these small figures when I was little and I remember my mom buying them for me at some of the stores in Owensboro.

On the right is a very traditional looking Davy Crockett.  On the left is Santa Anna figure who really doesn't look that much like the famous Alamo general.

 

Briscoe Western Art Museum San Antonio Texas May 2021

I tip my hat to Davy Crockett's Cabin located inside of the Menger Hotel in San Antonio for telling us about the wonderful Briscoe Western Art Museum.

Menger Hotel San Antonio Texas May 2021

 There are some hotels around that are straight up legendary.  The Menger is at the top of that list.  In the massive state of Texas, it might be the MOST legendary.  

On our recent trip to town, we were able to spend some quality time there over a few nights.

We had a very cozy room and we had several meals at the restaurant.

The Menger is famously haunted- though we did not experience anything ourselves on this visit.  I DID hear a weird voice there on a previous visit, and I did bring that up briefly in the video.

I am fascinated with this hotel for several reasons myself as it is built right beside the Alamo.  No doubt, men fell on this ground at that time.  Also, Teddy Roosevelt and Gutzon Borglum spent time here.  AND, its just a beautiful old hotel.

Davy Crockett's Cabin San Antonio Texas

Inside of the Menger hotel, there are several cute little shops.  We had enjoyed visiting the old toy soldier shop that used to be there selling King and Country Miniatures.

Well, that spot is now occupied by the GREAT Davy Crockett's Cabin!

Sure, they had some of the basics other stores had, like T-shirts.  BUT, they had some more interesting items too.  Like the shop here before it, they had some highly detailed and collectible toy soldiers.  For the kids, they had bags of plastic soldiers and other toys.

They had an impressive selection of books too.  AND, it was the only place in town where I found a Lego style Davy Crockett mini figure (the Legoland Discovery Center next door didn't even sell one of these!).

AND, the very friendly fellow who runs the place, Martin, is a great ambassador for the area!  We ended up talking to him for a long time, and he made several suggestions for our visit to the area! 

Again, this great shop is just a baseball's throw away from the Alamo AND it is inside of the historic Menger Hotel!

 

Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk May 2021

  On our first trip to San Antonio, we stayed at the very nice Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk.  We stopped by again and hung out our trip in May 2021.

Starbucks in San Antonio Texas

Inside of the Shops at Rivercenter Mall, just steps away from the Alamo, we stopped by a cozy little Starbucks one evening.  

I know, its a Starbucks, but I admired all of the artsy references to the Alamo inside.

 

Hard Rock Cafe San Antonio Texas

I wanted to put up a few photos from the Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio.  I still love stopping by HRCs when we travel.  I usually pick up a pin or two.

I know the chain has become a bit cliche over the years.....  but I always love seeing cool rock memorabilia.  AND, I have never had a bad meal at one.

 

AND, ANOTHER trip to San Antonio Texas!

So, not too long ago my wife and I were thinking of doing a four day trip somewhere, and she suggested San Antonio.....  again.  I immediately said that sounded good to me.  No arguments.  San Antonio has become one of those places we love, and we are OK with going back as often as possible.  There are spots there I feel drawn to......  and spots that I still want to discover.

This would be our 3rd trip to this great Texas town in about a six year period.  

I made several videos of our time in town that I will be posting.

Of course we spent time at the Alamo again.  We went to the market.  We were all over the Riverwalk.

We did visit the AMAZING Briscoe Western Art Museum for the first time.  We were FINALLY able to stay at the legendary Menger Hotel.  AND we attended a service at the San Fernando Cathedral.  More on all of those things later.

San Antonio is filled with historic hotels, and we felt lucky to get a room at the Menger this time, but we still ended up hanging out a bit at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk, which is right across the street from the Alamo.

We stayed at this slick hotel on our first trip to town and it is kinda special to up.  Part of the Riverwalk actually flows through the hotel.

On our first trip to San Antonio, we really enjoyed our stay at this hotel, and we hung out at their coffee shop each day, enjoying tea and coffee, and writing out our postcards.

It was nice going back to that little spot, which might be unremarkable to some, but has become special and sentimental to us.

We really enjoyed the service at the San Fernando Cathedral too.  Your visit to the Alamo is incomplete if you don't visit this church, as the remains of the Alamo defenders are here AND the church played a part in the battle.

I asked the priest to bless some water for me and he said a very sweet blessing.  I can't really explain it, but this church service and interaction with the priest was very special for me.

This was our first trip that we were not able to do a ghost tour with Sisters Grimm, but we still made a quick stop to their shop, which is inside of the Menger Hotel (accessible from the outside of the building).  I have raved about them before and I hope you make sure to do a tour with them on your San Antonio trip.  I really love what they do.

I will be posting some video's over the next few days of one of this great and historically rich city.

 

San Antonio 2017

 AND, here is one last video I posted showing a little more about San Antonio!  This is mostly around the River Walk.

San Antonio River Walk Boat Tour 2017

 And here is another video I posted on youtube....  This is our complete half an hour boatride through the famous River Walk.

San Antonio Bus Tour 2017

 Here is a video from our trip to San Antonio a couple of years ago.  This is mostly from a hop on hop off bus tour.

The History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel by Docia Schultz Williams

As we travel, I have really started to develop an appreciation of historic hotels.  Sure, its fun reading about the history of a state, a town, an event, but there are some really interesting hotels out there!

After our visits to San Antonio Texas over the last few years, I have developed a fondness for several hotels in that area.  The Menger, however, is simply one of the most interesting historic hotels around.

Covering that history is author Docia Schultz Williams' book, "The History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel."  The book came out back in 2000, but it still seems to be the very best book covering the Menger.

Williams talks about the beginnings of the hotel, built on ground where men fell during the famous Battle of the Alamo.  AND, it was built relatively shortly after the battle (less than 3 decades later).

She covers the owners and their families.  Docia talks about the legendary bar in the hotel, and it's connection to Theodore Roosevelt.  There is an interesting section on significant events that occurred at the hotel.

Recipes from the hotel, and a large section on ghosts of the Menger take up some space in the book too.  In fact, these sections could have been converted into books on their own by the author!

I especially enjoyed a short section by Ernesto Malacara who has worked at the hotel for many years.  He gives some interesting stories about dishonest employees, guests cars being lost, etc.

This is simply a fun book to read about a legendary hotel.

Wild West Magazine

Hey, anybody else pick up Wild West Magazine?  I picked up February's issue, because of the Santa Anna cover, and Alamo content.

This is a really nice magazine that I haven't purchased before.

This particular issue had, as mentioned, several articles relating to the Alamo.  There is a short note on actors who have portrayed Santa Anna.  A nice, critical list of books and movies on the Alamo is also here.

I especially enjoyed an article on author Stephen Crane's time in San Antonio.  It was several decades after the famous battle, but the legendary write of The Red Badge of Courage does cross paths with Teddy Roosevelt.

The articles are generally short, but to the point....  And there are a lot of fun facts, photos, etc.

Crockett Tavern- Morristown, Tennessee

We drove by the Crockett Tavern Museum in Morristown Tennessee.  As you know, I have been on a big Davy Crockett kick for some time now, after our two trips to visit the Alamo over the last couple of years.  We visited Mr. Crockett's birth site not far from the Tavern too.

The Crockett Tavern Museum is, unfortunately only open seasonally, so it wasn't open when we stopped by.  That's OK though, I have an excuse to get back to this area again!


This is a cabin built to represent a tavern that Davy's dad established in 1794!

"The Alamo Remembered- Tejano Accounts and Perspectives" by Timothy M. Matovina

Its funny to me how easy (and often enjoyable) it is when you get caught up in researching a historic event.  You visit a site, or read a book about something, and before you know it, you are chasing bits of information "down the rabbit hole".

I feel that way about the Alamo.  After our first (of 2) visits to the shrine in the last year, I found myself reading various books about the place, the battle, and its participants.

Which somehow brought me to Timothy M. Matovina's book, "The Alamo Remembered- Tejano Accounts and Perspectives".  I wanted to pick this one up as it is a great source for material linking pretty much directly to the battle, AND from an interesting perspective, the Tejanos.  As Matovina notes in his conclusion, the Tejano Alamo stories represent a very difficult, middle ground area. 

That conflict affected neighbors, and families.  Mentioned extensively in this book is the Esparza family. Gregorio Esparza fought defending the Alamo, while his brought fought with Santa Anna's army.  Luckily for historians, Gregorio's family survived the battle, and their accounts of the battle are in the book.

Most of the accounts in this book are from people who were at the battle, witnessed it from a distance, or rubbed elbows with people directly involved.  At least one witness mentioned in the book is doubted by others about being inside the Alamo.  Many accounts contradict other accounts (especially relating to the deaths of some of the notable defenders).

One very interesting account is from the diary of a person who spoke to a prominent politician at the time.  The diarist tells how the politician believed that Santa Anna left part of the fort free, hoping the Texans would leave.

Many of the accounts involve specific moments of Santa Anna, the Alamo leaders, and the ways that the dead (on both sides) were dealt with after the fighting.

A huge part of the appeal of this book comes from the fact that there are really few first hand accounts from the battle.  AND, since every defender who fought on March 6th died, those direct accounts of the battle will always be lost..... which makes these accounts even more interesting.  I want to hear from the surviving spouses and children......but the diary account from 1846 where a man talks to a San Antonio resident who wasn't even in town at the time of the battle has value.

"The Alamo Remembered" is a great easy to read volume full of first hand (and close to first hand)accounts.

The Alamo:A Story Bigger Than Texas- Battlefield Tour

Last year, we made our first visit to the Alamo in San Antonio Texas.  There is something very intriguing about the site, and about the famous Battle in 1836.

After our time there, I did pick up a couple of previously mentioned books, and I did a lot of reading on the site and it's history.  This history, the very specific fight that took place there, and the mysteries surrounding some of the facts can really get your attention!

So, on this visit, I wanted to do a little more at the Alamo.  I wanted to do a bit more than just walk through the preserved chapel, and hang out for a few minutes.

This year, we ended up taking a "Battlefield Tour" (formally titled "The Alamo: A Story Bigger Than Texas") which is a one hour tour around the Alamo with a tour guide.  Its $15 a person.

We were lucky enough to have Kolby Latham (I think I read his name badge correctly) who was a very nice fellow/absolute expert on the Alamo as our guide!

The tour goes pretty much around the area in front of the chapel (the main area most people think of when they think of the Alamo).  Kolby pointed out lines showing where walls of the fort previously were located.  He covered the monument to the defenders, and he discussed many other details of the battle, and the structure.

One thing that I find so amazing about the Alamo (and I think something that surprises first time visitors) is that it seems small.... and it is surrounded by touristy businesses.  It takes some time for it to sink in that the actual fort was so much bigger.  Also, blood was spilled all over the area that is now a thriving tourist area covered up by restaurants, hotels, and other shops.

Businesses and busy roads run through where much of the fort and the defenders were.  The chapel... the face of the Alamo still stands (though it has gone through some changes) from the original battle.

I was pleased to hear from Kolby that many of the businesses in the area have been told that they must move over the next few years.... as there are plans to restore some of the Fort!  For more info on that, go here!

Some of the buildings in this area have become historic in their own right, and I am not sure how much of the Fort they hope to recreate, but I am sure impressed by the fact that they are planning to do this.  It reminded me of the work that the Civil War Trust is doing.  I will have to look into this more, because I am excited to hear about this. 

Kolby kept the tour going, and pointed out several areas of interest around town.  Jim Bowie's death site was in a grassy area near the chapel, while it is believed that Crockett died near the front of the chapel (there is a marker).

He also took the time at the end of the tour to point out specific battle damage done to the chapel.  It was the kind of stuff that I wouldn't notice myself, and might just assume had happened through weathering.

This tour was an hour long, but I felt like we got more out of it than longer tours I have been on at other sites.  I also want to mention that there were four people in our party- and this was the one thing we did in town that we ALL rated a perfect 10.  One friend in our group was not a history fan, but they really enjoyed this and marked it as a main event on our trip.  For someone like myself who really enjoys learning about history at this point in my life, and for my friend who doesn't- well, we both enjoyed this tour a lot.  The Alamo: A Story Bigger Than Texas gets my highest possible recommendation.

Teddy Roosevelt at the Menger San Antonio Texas

I have already talked a lot about the Menger Hotel in San Antonio (like here for example).

Anyway, this hotel is nice, old and historic.  Standing right next to the Alamo, it might be the second most historic building in town, maybe even in the state.  OK, I am pushing it.  Top 10 at least.

Teddy Roosevelt recruited guys for his Rough Riders in the bar here, and I think that is pretty cool.  In fact, there are some display cases for of related memorabilia here.

Here are some pictures......