I had a fantastic birthday weekend!
We started off fresh and early the morning of the 28th. While meeting up with the carpool (around 6:30am), my colleagues surprised me with a wonderful card and cake! Ellie made me a maple cake, made from real Canadian maple syrup, decorated like the Canada flag! All the interns also signed a nice card for me, which jokingly had Barak and Michelle Obama on the front. It was pretty funny.
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| Happy Birthday to me! |
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| "Uh, thanks?" |
Hurrah! Then it was on for the car ride. We all agreed that it would be beneficial to stop in some small hick town for gas, in part due to the cost, and in part due to the experience. The gas station we stopped at sold low-quality cowboy hats and Texas-pride baseball caps, such as the camo-patterned cap which is rendered ineffective by having a bright "TEXAS" and cow skull embroidered largely on the front. They also sell individual pickles here, so that's weird.
This stop got me pumped. I was excited to be here, excited to be in Texas, doing Texan things and going to Texan places. I was stoked that we were going to the heart of Texan pride: The Alamo.
I didn't know what to expect from the Alamo. I assumed it would be a small, crummy fort in the middle of nowhere. I was entirely unaware that the city of San Antonio was built around the site. I was also unaware that there would be beautiful, well-kept gardens within the walls.
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The fortress was built in 1744, as a Roman Catholic Mission compound
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| Monument to lives lost at the Alamo |
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| The fortress was passed from Spanish to Mexican possession after the Mexican War of Independence in 1821. |
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| Texans gained control of the Alamo in 1835, during the beginning of the Texan Revolution. During this intervals, Texans had driven out all Mexicans out of what was "Mexican Texas". |
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| Only 189 Texans were stationed at the Alamo when 1,500 Mexicans laid a 13 day siege to the fortress in Feb-Mar 1836. |
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| During an assault lead by President General Antonio López de Santa Anna, all of the Texan defenders were killed. There were approximately 600 Mexican fatalities. |
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| The defeat rallied the Texan army, leading to an surprise attack launched at Santa Anna. The soldiers were heard crying, "Remember the Alamo!" during the Battle of San Jacinto. The battle lasted 18 minutes, with Sam Houston leading the victory, ultimately securing Texan independance. |
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In one of the courtyards, an older gentleman told us the story of the Alamo, and the history of the formation of Texas.
I learned a lot that day.
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I bought a t-shirt at the gift shop since they didn't charge any entry fee. Afterwards, we walked along a canal to find a restaurant for lunch. They have a gorgeous river! It really caught me by surprise.
We ended up at a Mexican restaurant called "Ritas on the River", which specialized in margaritas. Some of the servers had the slogan on their shirts, "Margaritas so good, you won't remember the Alamo!". They had a mariachi band. Ellie had to be a terrible person and tell them it was my birthday.
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"Noooo.... Whhhhyyyyy?"
Photo courtesy to Tim |
We set off to drive again, but instead of heading straight to Austin, we take a detour to McKinney Falls State Park!
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| During the Cretaceous, a lot of the land now known as Texas was submerged under a shallow sea |
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| Limestone precipitated in this time interval, creating the bedrock present in this park. |
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| A nearby volcano ejected debris into the sea, depositing soft volcanics along with the limestone |
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| Because the volcanics were softer than the limestone, they eroded away more quickly allowing for river channels to undercut the limestone banks |
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While I may look pensive, I am really just lamenting my lack of swimsuit.
Photo courtesy to Ellie
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Group shot! From left to right: Steven, Ellie, Zack, Me, Kaitlyn, Tim, Alyssa, Stefan, Molly
Photo courtesy to a kind stranger |
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