We had all slept well and made the most of breakfast in the morning. It wasn't a great breakfast but there was plenty of it and we had enough.

First on the list was a visit to the Alamo. Our hotel wasn't too far from the Riverwalk so we headed that way and walked alongside the river until we got the Alamo. It was very humid but at least there was quite a bit of shade on the Riverwalk.

The Alamo itself was really interesting. It is right in the middle of downtown and isn't very big but played a pivotal role in Texas history. It is a shrine and visitors are requested to remove hats and behave respectfully when inside.



We looked at the list of names of the dead and were surprised to see so many who weren't from Texas, including some who were British. The guide told us that the Mexicans had encouraged settlers in order to help fight back against the Comanche and Apache - but had regretted this once Texas started to fight for its own independence from Mexico.

There was a guide outside who told the history of the battle of the Alamo - there were a couple of hundred Texans fighting against a much larger Mexican army but they still managed to hold their own for some time. In the end, the Alamo fell and all the men were killed by the Mexican army. This defeat led the Texan rebels at Goliad to surrender to the Mexicans, who responded by massacring them all.

Both of these battles led to the Texans, led by Sam Houston, fighting back at San Jacinto. Their battle cry was "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad" and they won this battle and their independence.

The story was movingly told and you could imagine how desperate the defenders must have felt when they realised that no help was coming.

There are monuments outside to the defenders of the Alamo, including Davy Crockett and James Bowie (inventor of the Bowie knife).





Once we had seen the Alamo, and the gift shop, where we resisted getting Davy Crockett hats, we headed back down to the Riverwalk. We made our way to one of the cruise stops and got on the boat, ready for a Riverwalk cruise.



The cruise was good - we got a history of San Antonio and the Riverwalk itself and got to see all the sights. It is a lovely place, right in the middle of a city, and we enjoyed that you could walk or take a boat and that gave it a more laidback feel.



It's also very green and felt quite tropical. After the boat trip, we walked back to the Mall, where we had a moolattes and listened to a truly cringeworthy musician playing popular songs on the panpipes. After the theme song from Titanic, he started on Lionel Richie's "Hello" and we could no longer keep a straight face, so we had to leave!

We walked to the central plaza and had a look at the Cathedral.



Then we went back to the hotel as the humidity was really getting to us. We sat back in the air conditioning and watched some baseball - the Rangers vs the Seahawks. We tuned in at a good time - the Rangers scored 3 home runs in a row!

We had thought about going back to the Riverwalk for an evening meal and while I'm sure it is nice in the evening, it is essentially lots of restaurants, bars and shops and you pay a premium for eating there.

We were also quite taken with the idea of going to Gruene - home of the oldest dance hall in Texas which was only about a 30 minute drive away.

We got as gussied up as we could manage and set off. There was an interesting tour of the I-35 as the driver missed a couple of turns . . . and we did call at Walmart hoping for some San Antonio souvenirs but they didn't have much. Being as we had liked Whataburger so much, we stopped there again for tea. There was an unfortunate incident involving Hannah getting a slight accidental Doctor Pepper shower, courtesy of her brother, but the staff were very kind and mopped it all up. Fortunately it soaked her legs and not her pale coloured shorts. Phew!

Next stop was Gruene (pronounced Green). It's a tiny place, really more of a suburb of New Braunfels, but it has this really old dance hall that features live music pretty much every day. Hannah and me decided our boots needed a trip to a dance hall, so got changed in the car, then strutted on down to the dance hall.

Everyone in country music has played Gruene and Paul was keen to get a t-shirt from the store. With that purchase made, we went inside and settled down to listen to Brady Beal who was playing with his band. We forgave him his man-bun as we liked the music!



It was very hot inside - there is no aircon, just fans and open windows. However, it had a real charm and it would be awesome to go dancing there. We really liked Gruene itself and could easily have had a night there.





The drive back to San Antonio was a bit tricky in the dark - the spaghetti of roads was more confusing but we did get back okay, ready to put our feet up and relax.

I am so enjoying reading your trip report and another great sounding day. The Alamo sounds really interesting and love the fact that your boots got another outing

They are true cowboy boots now - been on a horse and in a dance hall! The Alamo is well worth a visit and we feel like we've learned a lot more about Texas history.

You really had an interesting day and packed a lot in! Love the boots (still ).

Me too! They are fine boots!

Great day again. We loved San Antonio and were really impressed by the Alamo too.

It was a lovely place and so interesting

Love the morning, it all sounds so interesting. i can almost feel you all wilting in the heat so well sone for going out again. not sure a hot dance hall would be on my list but sounds like fun. These places have such fadcinating back stories.

I'd love a trip to Greune right now. I have such great memories of wandering the shops with a friend and going to concerts at night.

Sound like a really interesting day, I’m really looking forward to San Antonio.
Gruene looks good, there’s just too much to fit in!