Our day-trip to San Antonio made us want Greensboro to have a river running through its center. First of all, did you know that the Alamo is right in the middle of downtown? I didn't, and I found it quite strange to see a 150 year old structure right across the street from a Ripley's Believe It or Not, and a giant orange abstract sculpture. We checked it out and learned about it's history, though inside the actual sanctuary we were merely sardines pushed in a shuffling counter-clockwise direction. It felt very much like when you go to see a famous building in Europe, and everyone is moving in the same direction but hardly paying attention to anything. The history of the Alamo is compelling, though, and we will always remember.
After that, we hiked about a mile and a half to the Tower of the Americas. This tower, built in 1968 for the Worlds Fair, is Texas's "space needle". We rode up the glass elevator to the incredibly windy observation deck. There, we got a view of the entire city and were able to rest for a while. The bottom of the tower also features a "4D" movie called The Skies over Texas. If you are not familiar with 4D, it is a 3D movie and the fourth dimension is when your seats move with it. So you get the feeling of a bull poking you in the back or the spray of a rattlesnake hissing. All good fun.
By then, it was dinner time, so we headed to Casa Rio for Tex Mex on the river. The place was packed and while we were waiting, we met a family from Amarillo. At one point the dad began telling us how at a waterpark earlier in the trip he had seen "those muslims with the towels on their heads." He said he was fuming mad when he saw them and that he didn't understand why people would "want to murder other people." Then, within a minute he was telling us that we should have a pistol with us on the trip and "if anyone did anything funny..." he followed that statement by raising his hand like a gun and pointed it at me, making a shooting sound. We didn't really know what to say to all this, so we just nodded, slightly slackjawed.
The meal was great, and pretty cheap, too. I had an Alamo golden ale, a local brew, since I had not forgotten about what we saw earlier in the day. We finished the night heading back to Shrimpy while dodging "displaced individuals" that wanted to "ask us a question". Got back to Austin safe and sound.
Next post we'll wrap up Austin, which will include an epic swimming hole, a sweet movie theater and a creepy animatronic LBJ.
~Mario
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Hey ya'll! This is Amy Hendee (Marion Elem. and mom's friend!) Been readin' bout your sites and sights! Loved hearing bout the bats in Austin - the bridge they fly out from under is the Congress Avenue bridge and the place where lots of folks begin their dates! You have been to the two places I lived or visited many times - New Orleans is awesome! Something about the armadillo - it is really kind of rubbery feeling and it has spikey hairs that poke up sparsely through its "plates" wicked! Love your blog and pics and can't wait to read more about the places I have never been! Amy
ReplyDeleteSo close by! If you get time you ought to drop by Houston (although it seems you may have passed through already...) Looks like you two are having a great time!
ReplyDeleteDear Mario and Kristen,
ReplyDeleteYour travels in TX sound so awesome. Greensboro is study / work tastic for me (effing MA bar exam is on July 27-28th, boooo). So, not a lot of exciting things are exactly happening for me. However, when you were in TX did you try Lone Star beer? If so, what were your thoughts? I was unable to tell the difference between that and pbr in a direct taste test but you might feel differently.
Anyway hugs and kisses,
Michael