15 April 2024, Trip day 15 by Meagan
Garrett Quote of the Day:
I’m putting bacon on the mesh tray of the air fryer as Garrett saunters over.
Garrett: “Mama I want some bacon!”
Me: “I have to cook it first honey.”
Garrett: “Can I help? Is it meat bacon?”
Laughing, I reply: “Yes, it’s meat bacon, what other kind of bacon is there?”
Garrett: “Bad bacon.”
Exactly Garrett.
Hey, Meagan here. Today we toured the Alamo. The Alamo is the famous fort where in 1836, 187 men led by Davy Crockett, James Bowie and William Garret Travis held off over 1,000 Mexican soldiers before they were killed to the last man. The part of the Alamo that remains today is the restored church and the Long Barracks building. The buildings can be seen from the outside, but reserving a ticket allows you tour the inside of the church, the barracks and the courtyard. The tickets are free so the price was right. There are also have guided tours, but with two wee little ones, we decided that wasn’t the best bet.
Our plan was to pull up next the Alamo plaza and unload, but we found the street blocked off due to construction (Waze failed us again!) so we drove a few streets further before turning back to the plaza. This ended up working out better as we parked in a lot next to the Morgan hotel and across from the Courthouse and Post Office and had only to walk a short way. We read the descriptions on the bronze models on our way to the church. The models depict how the Alamo changed over the course of 300 years. As Alan went to reserve our tickets, we discovered the reason for the road closure: the construction of a new visitor center. The fabric overlay of the new building on the construction site was very detailed and impressive. I guess we’ll get to see it when we bring Garrett and Randal back in ten years!
After getting the tickets, Garrett decided he needed to drive the wagon containing Baby Randal. He made a grab for stroller bar and had a meltdown when I fended him off. He cleverly ran around to the front and grabbed the pull handle, and, accepting this compromise, I headed toward the church. Two Alamo Rangers in their tactical gear and cowboy hats watched with amusement as we crept forward, one teeny toddler step after another.
Walking through the wooden doors, we entered a small building with a vaulted ceiling. Flags, representing the countries or states of the men who had died at the Alamo, lined the walls. The church had air conditioning which felt great after strolling around in the muggy 85 degrees of San Antonio. We strolled around the edge of the room reading the exhibits while Garrett asked me to pick him up about 20 times and I told him no 20 times. My left heel still hurt a lot after all the walking on the disc golf course. As I walked, it grew increasingly painful. (I have an appointment tomorrow at 1:30 to see a podiatrist.)
We read the names of the men who died on bronze plaques in the back of the church. Their last shots were fired from this spot. As Jarek got into a discussion with a volunteer about artillery shells versus cannon shot, I took a few pictures then joined Alan in the line to the Sacristy exhibit.
Sacristy Exhibit projected the changes to the Sacristy over time on a screen placed over the back wall of the room. The projection is accompanied by peaceful chants that give way to the sounds of the battle as the families of the soldiers shelter in the Sacristy during the battle. It was very well done kept Garrett’s attention for the whole five minutes.
We were about an hour into our visit and Arya and Evan were dragging a bit. We left the church and wandered the into the shaded courtyard to the north. I got a nice picture at the well with Arya and Evan, then bribed a fussing Garrett with a lollipop and got him to sit in the stroller with Baby Randal.
Baby Randal rode in his stroller like a champ the entire day. He hadn’t fussed one bit the whole time as he happily snacked on his Gerber baby snacks from Nene Mel. Garrett helpfully shoved a snack into Baby Randal’s mouth and continued to enjoy his lollipop.
We finished our visit with a look at the displays in the Long Barracks and the bronze statues in the garden. A living history volunteer told us about daily life at the Mission, we bought some postcards in the gift shop with grand ambitions to send them in a timely manner, and headed back to the park.
