Several of my recent posts have been leaning to this day. My family and I love educational travel so it’s no surprise that we look for historic elements to include in all of our travels. We arrived in San Antonio after bring stuck under an interstate overpass in Houston for over 4 1/2 hours. We like to do the bulk of our travel overnight since the kids are asleep and roads are open and not overcrowded. Little did we know the rain would create horrible flooding for Houston and Austin.

After our scary journey, we arrived to San Antonio blessed to have made it to San Antonio…safely!

After arriving to San Antonio under stressful pretenses, no one was in the mood for sightseeing! My mother said she would sit in the car, the kids wanted to just just go straight to the hotel, even I was ready to just give up. My 25 year old baby sister turned around and reminded everyone what we just went through to get to San Antonio safely. While they sat in the car sleeping, she and I were scared out of our minds traveling through deep waters with the possibility of flooding our car. They did NOTHING but sit! They can get out of the car and enjoy our trip or they can ruin it for themselves and everyone else.

Well played baby sister!

In the early morning hours of March 6th 1836, the Alamo, in San Antonio Texas, fell. Many lives were lost that day as the small band of of Alamo defenders rallied to protect their beloved Alamo, for 13 days, from General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Today, we remember the lives of the Texans and Mexicans that were lost in the battle while 2.5 million people visit the site, per year, to remember the sacrifice that was made. Among the brave group that stood to defend the Alamo were William B. Travis, Jim Bowie, a renowned knife fighter and David Crockett, the famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee.

The Alamo sits on a 4.2 acre complex in San Antonia, Texas and has been a historical landmark for over 300 years. It has stood as symbol of a heroic struggle against impossible odds. Today, the Alamo is open to the public, free of charge. Funding is done through purchases within the Alamo gift shop as well as through private donations. Although the Alamo welcomes it’s visitors with open arms there are a group of unique rules that they ask that you abide by while within the Shrine of Texas Liberty:

1. Gentleman are asked to remove their hats in reverence while within the shrine. 
2.  No open containers are allowed inside the buildings. 
3. No food or drink are allowed inside the buildings. 
4. No photography is allowed inside the buildings. 
5. No camera or cell phone use is permitted inside the buildings.
6. Please do not touch the walls or display cases inside the shrine. 
7. No pets are allowed on the Alamo grounds (service dogs are allowed.) 
8. No restrooms are in the shrine. Public restrooms are located in the back of the grounds. 
9. No obscene or offensive clothing is permitted. 
10. No bikes or skateboards are allowed on the grounds. 
11. Inside voices, please. 

Tours of the Alamo are available to the public while visiting the Alamo and include an exciting Battlefield Tour that will help visitors relive the 1836 battle. What could possibly be better than to stand where historical figures once stood and see the events that unfolded, through their eyes?

Other noteworthy sights to see while you visit the Alamo are:

• The Alamo Shrine. Considered the iconic heart of the Alamo, the Shrine was intended to be the main Church for the Spanish mission but it was never completed. It was the location of the last stand against the Mexican troops. Inside the Church are the names of those who gave their lives to defend it, flags representing the wealth of nations from which the defenders descended from.
• The Long Barrack Museum. Located in the front of the Alamo complex, the Long Barrack Museum is the oldest building on site and dates back 300 years. It was originally constructed as the convento for the Spanish mission and in 1836 saw some of the most brutal fighting of the battle.
• The Wall of History is a unique collection of 30 years of Alamo history. It’s situated next to the Alamo Gift Shop.
• On your way out, stop by the Alamo Gift Shop and purchase a memento or two to commemorate your visit. The Alamo relies on the proceeds from the Gift Shop, along with the private donations that come in. 

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