October 18, 2008

Saturday 18~~~
Today we drove to San Antonio, Texas to see the historic "Alamo". The Alamo stands as a reminder that for 13 days in 1836 men gave their lives for the independence of Texas The Alamo is right in the heart of downtown San Antonio, that surprised us. I guess all the pictures I have seen of it was taken before the town had grown so large. I thought it would be like most National Parks and be out on the wide open prairie. The land that surrounded the Alamo years ago is now all kinds of museums, a library, court yards and more, today the grounds and buildings present a serene environment where visitors can enjoy and learn about nearly 300 years of history. Before we went to see the Alamo, we went to the Imax Theatre to see the movie, "The Price of Freedom." It was the story of why the Texans fought the Spanish for the Alamo in 1836. The Texans had less than 200 men and the Spanish greatly out numbered them, the battle lasted for 13 days before it ended with only a dozen survivors who were woman and children. Also killed in the battle were the famed frontiersman Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie who with the rest of the defenders felt the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas and they were ready to give up their lives rather than surrender to General Santa Anna. They requested help several times from Sam Houston who refused to come to their aid. History is indicating Sam Houston was a coward but the state of Texas has named a town in his honor (Houston, Texas) and they feel he stayed away so General Santa Anna's army would be weakened and they would save Texas which they did and this is where the famous saying "Remember The Alamo" saying comes from. While the facts of the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, their is no doubt what the battle has come to symbolize. People will always remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle for freedom, with overwhelming odds. For this reason the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.