SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

   

My alarm went off at 9:00am Texas time . . . whoopee, another 4 hours of sleep.  Thankfully I felt somewhat refreshed and excited to see the Dahlingers.  At 9:05 sweet Monique texted me and said, “I have coffee and breakfast ready whenever you are ready.  I know you had a rough night.”  So excited to see them, I dragged myself out of bed and went inside their house to be greeted by the most adorable 4 year olds, Paul and Timothy.  The Dahlingers were our neighbors in Santa Rosa for about 3 years and I helped Monique when these boys were born . . . I even went to visit Paul in the hospital after he was born because he was only 4 pounds.  Now they are so grown up, smart, and extremely loveable little boys.   The gift of friendship is so precious and today God gave me this verse to remind me of the joy of knowing this wonderful family:  Proverbs 27:9 “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.”

After spending a few hours visiting and the kids playing with the boys, we all piled into 2 cars for the trek to the Alamo, and San Antonio River Walk.  

The Alamo was the battle in 1836 of the Texans fight for independence from Mexico.  At that time Mexico owned the territory of Texas and they were taxing them, giving them disorganized governmental leaders, and making them become Catholic.  Texans were furious and willing to fight for their freedom.  One of the fearless well known leaders of the battle was Davy Crocket who led the soldiers courageously to fight what they believed in.  We saw the area of the battle field and a replica of the actual fort on the Alamo.  After 13 days of battle, the Texan were victorious and won their freedom from Mexico.

After we visited all the buildings at the Alamo, we strolled down the street to the River Walk, a famous part of San Antonio.  It is the downtown part of San Antonio that is built around the river, with various restaurants, hotels, and shops. 

We boarded the river boat which takes you through the entire touristy area and explains about all the historical buildings, hotels, restaurants, etc.  Our tour guide was historical with a heavy Texan accent, which hindered most of the explanation of everything we were seeing.  It was beautiful though and a joy to be able to see this “famous” River Walk.

After the river boat ride we looked in many of the adorable shops.  Very "Texan" with cowboy hats, boots, belts, etc. . . . you name it, anything cowboy!!

Everything is BIG in Texas!!  BIG jewlery, purses, hats, hair, belts . . . you name it!!

Blue Bell ice cream is the Texan style of ice cream and the kids loved it!!

What a wonderful blessing to be with great friends after three years and enjoying a beautiful area with great history!  It couldn't have been a better day!