Not everything in Texas is big

As previously documented, we drove down to San Antonio on March 15.

Then we went to bed.

The next day was pouring rain (bad), but David was feeling better (good). We briefly considered heading to Sea World that day, since the rain might chase away some of the spring break crowds. But David wasn't feeling THAT much better. He was still recovering, and the excitement of Sea World was bound to be too much. We opted for something more mellow...like the Alamo. (I'm sure there are bus loads of kids who would agree that it doesn't get much mellower than the Alamo.) So we climbed in the car and headed downtown to spread David's germs around there.

I learned something very shocking in downtown San Antonio. Not everything in Texas is big! Here are some examples.

#1 The Alamo

Everyone I know who has been to the Alamo says, "It's smaller than I had imagined." Despite the fact that I have heard two million people comment that the Alamo is smaller than they had imagined and was quite prepared for the Alamo to be little, here is what I have to say about the Alamo:

It was smaller than I had imagined.

There wasn't much to see inside--except for a million people on spring break hiding from the rain outside. Also, there wasn't a basement. (Sorry, I couldn't resist--I've been waiting 25 years to say that.)

The grounds were lovely. There was an amazing 140-year-old live oak! (I think it was bigger than the Alamo.)
We wandered the beautiful grounds and then said farewell to the Alamo.

I will now show respect for those who courageously (very!!) gave their lives at the Alamo and refrain from making any rude comments about Texas. As you know, sometimes I can feel kind of grumpy about Texas. But Greg told me I should just trust that it's better with Texas not being a part of Mexico. (Notice the rude comment I am not making right here in these parentheses!)

#2 The San Antonio Children's Museum

We decided to wander over to the Children's Museum, which is just a couple of blocks from the River Walk.

Let's see: All of the locals on spring break, plus the entire rest of the ginormous state of Texas on spring break AND IN SAN ANTONIO, plus rain.....

The museum was not nearly as big as it needed to be!!

(Spring break aside, for a city the size of San Antonio, it still wasn't very big, in my opinion.)

But David and Mary didn't seem to mind the crowds, and I was pleased that we'd been admitted for free with our Boonshoft passes.

Here are my sweeties waiting in line for a turn to drive a bobcat.

It was a very realistic exhibit! Pretty cool.

Upstairs was an airport and airplane. David and Mary operated the control tower.

Mary checked me in for my flight.

And David flew the airplane. (He's there, in the pilot's seat, wearing the appropriate uniform.)

Then I decided to stop taking pictures at the museum, lest I be tempted to fill my blog with them.

But I do want to say that there was a really fun ball exhibit. Most ball exhibits at children's museums drive me insane. This one was great, though. David and Mary played forever in there--and they "had a ball"!

Also, there was a huge play grocery store in the basement. It was great! But by then the crowds were starting to drive us all batty, so we called it quits and went to the mall.

#3 The River Walk

It's not that I imagined that the San Antonio River and its man-made canals would be HUGE. It's that I naturally (wrongly) assumed the San Antonio River would be wider and deeper than its REPLICA inside the Gaylord Texan. Silly me.

We decided to take the boat ride. Unless you are outfitted with baby backpacks, kid harnesses, and some life preservers, the boat is the only way to "do" the River Walk with kids. (A stroller is impossible, the sidewalks narrow, and no railings along the water.) David and Mary enjoyed the excitement of riding on a boat. And Greg and I enjoyed their excitement.

I sometimes hear people complain that the River Walk is getting cheesy and touristy and commercial. But I thought it was really nice. The city makes a big effort to keep it clean and pretty, and I think the result is worth the effort! It's quite lovely. (And if people think the River Walk is overly-commercial...I wonder if they've seen the rest of Texas?)

By the way, I was not complaining about the River Walk not being kid-friendly. Not everything in the world has to be kid-friendly, right? One day I hope to enjoy grown-up things. For now, we visit Children's Museums and ride boats. The advantage, of course, is that I get to hang out with these irresistible cuties:

This concludes my list of evidence proving, contrary to popular belief, that not everything in Texas is BIG.

(And to think: before we went to San Antonio, I thought the only small thing in Texas was the Democratic Party!)