Hadley thought this tree was picture worthy, while we waited for the tour to start.
The tour guide was informative and well worth it. Hadley even stepped forward to try out the atlatl in front of the group. (I'm always impressed at her eagerness to throw up her hand when they ask for volunteers in group settings, as that is definitely not from me!)
Some of the information was new to me, and it's always interesting to view something you thought you knew through the fresh eyes of your kids and to then gain a deeper understanding of them yourself. For example, San Jose has maintained the fully enclosed rectangle of land that includes the church, natives' apartments along the perimeter wall, and grounds. It was founded in 1720, and about 80% of the church is original with much of the rest being restored in the 1930s.
The church is actually an active parish with a lovely chapel.
The mission was a great place to stretch out our legs after the car trip with some history and education to boot. It was a great start to our San Antonio weekend!
From there, we checked into our hotel on the Riverwalk and walked to dinner in Market Square along the river through downtown. Market Square made us all feel as though we stepped into the movie, Coco. The hanging banners were so fun and festive!
A good time was had by all at La Margarita, which had delicious namesakes and food, as well as traveling mariachi. They were even giving away free beer! Sure, why not? We're on vacation! Don't worry, Owen was just happy about the lemonade!
The next morning we walked a couple of blocks to the Alamo. Owen was super excited to see the real place he'd read about!
I'll spare you a montage of cannon pictures (Owen requested his picture with each authentic cannon that bordered the waiting line). Suffice it to say, here is Cannon #4, which wasn't Owen's favorite because the Mexicans disabled it from being used again, but it was the best picture of him.
No pictures were allowed in the actual Alamo, but doesn't Hadley look cute in this coonskin cap from the gift shop?
We wandered the grounds for a bit and listened to a few of the living historians. I hadn't been there in a long time and had forgotten how small it was. The inside of the Alamo smells dank and moldy and apparently the walls are slowly crumbling away. But what it lacks in atmosphere, it certainly makes up for in its swagger.
The day was still young, so we wandered along the Riverwalk some more, taking in its many sights and sounds, until we nearly walked ourselves to death.
It was just a few days before the Alamo Bowl, and we happened to stumble upon Bevo's hotel lobby during our walk. I guess the team and/or alumni were staying here.
The rest of the day was spent in our hotel room, watching football and eating PBJs while I slept off a terrible cold that had chased me down. Rest was important because the whole next day was reserved for SeaWorld...
The shows were scaled down for the holidays, but we did take in a beluga and orca show.
We also saw sea turtles, sea lions, alligators, penguins, dolphins, sharks, and lots of fish!
Plus, the park had lots of Christmas-y decorations.
I actually had a free photo pass, which gave us access to a few photo booths set up around the park. The boys weren't interested, but Hadley played along with me.
One last thing we wanted to do before we left was to get on a roller coaster. The kids chose the Wave Runner. Check out the smile on Hadley's face! And dad seemed to enjoy it too. (Owen rode it too, but he was in a different car.)
On our last morning, we spent a few hours at the Witte Museum before getting back on the road. It had a beautiful new main building, situated with a few other older buildings along the San Antonio River, and our Museum of the Rockies membership (that we picked up this summer) meant we got in for free!
The museum had a wide array of exhibits, but most were Texas-centered. From fossils to wildlife and native cultures, it was definitely worth checking out. Most of the exhibits had an interactive lab room, which I think they created from a need for field trips.
One of the outlying buildings housed a bunch of activities for kids to track their health using a pass that they scanned at each station. They got to bike, run, meditate, climb, etc., while hopefully learning a little science along the way.
The museum also had an idyllic setting, adjacent to the river and a large city park. They had taken advantage of that by building a treehouse and kid-friendly water wheel, along with an amphitheater and outdoor spaces. A lovely end to a lovely weekend.
