Texan History Day

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The Tower of the Americas is the second highest free standing tower in the USA, with the first being the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas and the third is the Space Needle in Seattle, both of which we have visited (see Fun and Games but Hating it Out of Principle and A Bungee-Jump From The Top of The Space Needle respectively). Sorry America, but they are all outdone by the CN Tower in Canada (see The Civilised Way to See The CN Tower).

The tower and a lot of the city centre regeneration, including the Riverwalk, seems to be linked to the 1968 World Fair, which is frequently mentioned. If I am not mistaken, it was a similar World Fair that gave rise to the Space Needle in Seattle. Perhaps we need the 2023 World Fair in our home town so that the whole world can see what Hemel Hempstead has to offer (and I cringe whilst I'm writing this)!?

I had to wait until 11.00am for it to open we I went for yet another walk around the Riverwalk. When the tower opened, it was not busy at all, so there was plenty of room to move around and enjoy the view. There are two areas, inside and outside. Obviously the best views are from the outside, although it was extremely windy. I tried looking for the Riverwalk and I could see some bits of it, although most was hidden amongst the buildings. There was a freight train passing by that was so long that I could not see the far end of it in the distance. Those trains, and their horns, are also a reminder of Seattle, where we frequently had to wait for them to pass (also see A Bungee-Jump From The Top of The Space Needle).

I skipped the 4D cinema at the bottom (maybe later, as the wristband will let me back in as many times as I like through the day and I may go back when it's dark).

There was a big display along the inside wall depicting the history of Texas, but we are going to have more of that later as we had booked an audio tour of The Alamo. After enjoying the view for a while, I went back to the hotel and then we headed for The Alamo at the appointed time and, after the inevitable photo (to not buy later), we immersed ourselves in more Texas history.

The history of Texas is actually quite complicated, so hopefully I have got it right. Texas, along with California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico were originally part of Mexico, which was then a Spanish colony called New Spain. They had their own War of Independence and achieved independence from Spain. Americans and Europeans were encouraged to settle in Texas, with the land being much cheaper to acquire than in the United States.

There was then effectively a Mexican civil war between the two political viewpoints of the Centralists and the Federalists. The Centralists won, much to the disgust of the Texan settlers who then rebelled and sought independence from Mexico. There were two big battles between the settlers and the Centralist forces, both of which the settlers lost, and one of those battles was at The Alamo.

The Alamo was originally a Spanish mission, seeking to convert all the local indigenous tribes to Catholicism. That is evident still in the main church building, although it later became a military barracks. in March 1836,189 settlers were fortified in The Alamo when the Centralists arrived who laid siege for 12 days. As I understand it, it started when the Centralists demanded the return of a canon, to which the Texan settlers responded, "Come and take it!" Now that we are aware if it, we've noticed that that moto is everywhere in Texas, as an act of defiance.

On the 13th day, the Centralists stormed The Alamo and killed everyone inside (although I think some women and children survived).

There was another battle that same year where the settlers overwhelmed the Centralists and drove them out of Texas whilst shouting, "This is for The Alamo". Texas was then an independent country for 10 years until 1845 when there was a vote to join the United States and become the 28th state.

It is said that whoever controls The Alamo controls San Antonio. Whoever controls San Antonio controls Texas. Whoever controls Texas has influence beyond the Texan borders. The Alamo is bigger than Texas.

The current Texas state flag was actually the original flag of the Texas Republic. Oh and "Alamo" is Spanish for Cottonwood, in reference to the trees that are local to here.

Like I say, it's complicated.

We went for a walk around the Riverwalk again for a while, which was starting to heat-up again now. When we have been on holiday with our kid, one of our regular activities in mini-golf. They were not with us on this holiday, but we saw some Aztec-themed indoor mini-golf by the Riverwalk, so we thought we would do it anyway. It was a draw!

Our friendly immigration official (see Keeping up Appearances) had recommended that we should have some brisket whilst we are here and the best place to go for brisket is Rudy's. We had also been recommended it last night, so we decided that tonight was the night to go and try it for ourselves. It meant a drive out and we were getting the tail-end of the rush-hour, but it didn’t take long and the food was definitely worth trying. It's basically sliced beef, although they also do turkey. Rudy's is a counter service, and you eat your meal off a sheet of paper rather than plates. We saw policemen and firemen eating in there, but no immigration officials.

There was a plaque outside with the brief history of Rudy's so we can add that to Texan History Day as well.

Afterwards, we walked back along part of the Riverwalk to the Tower of The Americas, as it would be worth checking out the view at sunset and night, since the wristband was still valid. The sun went down extremely quickly and it wasn't long before it was completely dark. The wind was even stronger than this morning and at one point I was struggling to walk against it whilst my shirt was blowing over my head.

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Photos

Texas State Flag
Red represents bravery, white purity and blue loyalty. The star represents the State of Texas - the "lone star state".

Colourful Riverwalk
One of the many, many places to eat and drink along the Riverwalk.

Star Gazer
A sculpture on the Riverwalk.

The Tower of The Americas
Ready for my daytime visit.

Day-time View
The view from The Tower of The Americas in the morning.

The Alamo
The gardens inside The Alamo.

Come and Take It
A Texas slogan - from when the settlers challenged the Centralist army to recover a canon.

Aztec Mini-Golf
The unusual ambiance for a game of mini-golf.

Rudy's Brisket
We weren't really sure what to expect.

Night-time View
The view from The Tower of The Americas at night.