Guenther House

Today we went for breakfast at the renowned Guenther House. It is over 150 years old and was originally the family home of the Guenthers - which established a flour mill on the bank of the San Antonio River. Today, even as a museum and historical site, it still mills its own flour and serves up some of the best pancakes and waffles around in a traditional setting.

More of San Antonio

This is our last full day here in San Antonio. We spent most of the day downtown, visiting HemisFair park and the Tower of the Americas. The tower was built for the 1968 World's Fair...entitled HemisFair 1968. At 750 feet, it is the second tallest tower in the US, behind the Stratosphere in Las Vegas at 1150 feet. (By comparison, the CN Tower in Toronto is over 1800 feet tall). Cam says that the Burj Dubai tower in the United Arab Emirates is over 2000 feet high (and still under construction).

SeaWorld

Is the third time a charm? This is the 3rd time we have been to SeaWorld in the past 2 years. (The two other times were in San Diego). When we first visited SeaWorld, it was the highlight of our southern California adventure. The second time, due to knowing what to expect, the experience was a little less exciting. Now this third time, while fun and exciting, just wasn't as great as the first time. The San Antonio site seems a bit smaller...although the kids' water park takes up a great deal of space...and time too! The water park is more than just a perk in the hot Texas sun. The shows were nearly the same as their San Diego counterparts, but there seemed to be more human drama and less animal flare. (ie. more dancing and acting by the actors to distract and consume time). However, in the end it was a great day. We would probably go back again...in fact we thought about going back tomorrow (a second day pass is like an extra $5)...but we have other things we want to see. The kids liked Shamu the best...and of course swimming in the wave pool and waterpark. Shamu soaked Boston so bad that he even had water in his mouth!







More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/harknessk/sets/72157605835929254/

Underground Caverns and Wild Animals

Today we visited Natural Bridge Caverns. The mile-long-channel of stalactites and stalagmites extend something like 180 feet underground. The most amazing aspect of it all is the fact that it takes about 100 years for 1 cubic inch of rock to form within the caverns. These formations would have taken millions of years to form. It took us over an hour to travel through the caverns.


More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/harknessk/sets/72157605835929254/

We also visited Natural Bridge Wild Animal Park. The highlight was a drive-through wild animal range. The animals would come right up to the car to eat food from our hands (we were given food to feed them when we entered the park). As you will see from the video below, the ostriches were very aggressive.

More "feeding the animals" videos at www.youtube.com/harknessk

4th of July at Six Flags

We spent the day at Six Flags. The kids enjoyed the waterpark. The heat of the day was interupted by some rain showers - which was nice. Even cloudy skies makes a huge difference in blocking the direct sunlight. The evening fireworks were spectacular. However, the 2 hour traffic jam in the parking lot at the end of the day was not so spectacular.

More Interesting Things...

More interesting facts about San Antonio.

The Battle of Alamo occured in 1836. Something like 4000 Mexicans defeated less than 200 Texans who were barricaded within the Alamo. A few weeks later, Sam Houston led an army which defeated the Mexicans, ending Mexican control and establishing the Republic of Texas. The battle cry, "remember the Alamo" became legendary as a result. Sam Houston is the only person to be a governor in 2 states (Tennesse and Texas).

Davy Crocket fought in the Battle of the Alamo. Prior to the battle, and after becoming a legendary frontiersman, he was involved in politics in Tennessee. After losing a re-election as congressman in Tennessee, he apparently said, "You can all go to hell, I am going to Texas." This slogan adorns many T-shirts, etc. in Texas.




The chain of Six-Flags amusement parks originated in Texas. The name is derived from the "Six Flags Over Texas" concept. Throughout history, six flags have flown over the state of Texas - Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate US, and the USA.




San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the USA. (Behind New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, and Philadelphia.) Texas actually has 3 of the largest cities in the top 10 - Houston is 4th, Dallas is 9th. San Antonio's downtown area is very easy to navigate. Everything is close - the convention centre is across the street from the main mall, which straddles the Riverwalk. There are signs everywhere indicating locations of attractions and where you are located.




Iced Tea down here is a bit different than what we are used to. They have iced-tea, which is simply regular, unsweetened tea that is cold. They set it up so you can add lemon, lime, and sugar to sweeten it up. I can never get it quite right.

Houston Astros Baseball Game

We spent most of the day at the Astros game in Houston. The kids enjoyed hot dogs, cotton candy, and ice cream.

Minute Maid park is another baseball park on the list of visited parks by the Harkness 5. Other baseball parks over the years have included:

• Toronto (3 games, KH 2 additional)
• Seattle (2 games)
• Denver (2 games)
• Milwaukee (2 games)
• Anaheim (2 games)
• Minneapolis (3 games)
• Atlanta (KH only - 2 games)
• Houston (1 game)
  

...there are many to go.

Riverwalk and Alamo

Wednesday was spent downtown. Highlights included the Riverwalk and the Alamo.

They're Here

Appearing a bit tired, after leaving Wolseley at 4:30 am, and 3 flights later, the rest of the Harkness 5 arrived in San Antonio at 6:30 pm. Nevertheless, they had enough energy to enjoy some fine Mexican dining along the Riverwalk.