A few last things about San Antonio

Stanley had so much fun in San Antonio that he decided to stay for a few extra days! We finally put him in a FedEx envelope today, so he should be arriving back in Countryside early Thursday morning.

There were a few things that I forgot to tell you about San Antonio. You already know that San Antonio (in fact, all of Texas) used to be part of Mexico, but what I didn't tell you was that San Antonio still has very strong ties to Mexico. We are only a three hour drive from Mexico. More than half of the people in San Antonio are Hispanic. Many people hire Mariachi bands to play at birthdays and weddings in San Antonio (and all of south Texas for that matter). Mexican food and Tex-Mex make up most of the restaurants in San Antonio. You want Tacos? We've got tacos! You can't drive more than a few blocks without seeing a Mexican restaurant. In fact, before Stanley got in his envelope this morning, he had a breakfast taco with me.



That's chorizo con juevo which means sausage with egg. Chorizo is a slightly spicy (and very greasy) type of Mexican sausage. We like to cook it up, then mix in some scrambled eggs, and wrap the whole thing up in a tortilla de harina - that's a flour tortilla - con salsa - with hot sauce. It probably doesn't sound very appetizing for breakfast, and I know it looks messy, but trust me, it's really, really good!

Another thing that I forgot to mention was that San Antonio is a very large military town. We have two Air Force bases and one Army base in town. In fact, San Antonio was where the Air Force was born. Seeing and hearing military aircraft over our city is an everyday occurrence. As I sit here writing this, I can hear fighter jets flying over my house. The picture below is of a large cargo jet called the C-5 Galaxy. It is part of the 433rd Airlift Wing at Lackland Air Force Base. It can hold several tanks, jeeps, and trucks in its cargo area and has 28 wheels in its landing gear (go ahead...click on the picture and count them if you don't believe me!) It is a HUGE jet.



We are very proud of our military men and women who serve our country and call San Antonio home. Because of the three military bases in San Antonio (we used to have 5!), we also have some world-class medical facilities, including the Center for the Intrepid which is where soldiers injured during war can come for treatment.

Stanley had a wonderful time in San Antonio. The weather was beautiful, so he didn't have to wear a coat at all while he was here. Most of the days, he wore shorts and a t-shirt! He's coming back to Countryside all decked out in his cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and pressed blue jeans.

I hope you've enjoyed reading a learning about San Antonio and New York. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!

San Antonio - Friday, March 27

Last night, we decided to take Stanley out for a genuine Texas dinner, but first, we had to dress him up right.


What do you think of Stanley's cowboy hat?


We took Stanley to Grady's BBQ, which is genuine, Texas style barbecue. All of the meats are smoked, meaning that they are cooked very slowly over the smoke from a wood burning fire. Some traditional side dishes are pinto beans and potato salad.

By the way, the "Don't mess with Texas" slogan on Stanley's t-shirt is an anti-littering campaign slogan for the state of Texas.


After dinner, we went back downtown to visit the Tower of the Americas.

The Tower of the Americas is the tallest building in San Antonio and the 10th largest building in Texas. It was built for the 1968 World's Fair, which was hosted by San Antonio. That is Stanley's San Antonio sister, Rachel, holding him in front of the Tower (in the picture below).


At the top of the tower is an observation deck, just like the top of the Sears Tower and John Hancock buildings in Chicago. The observation deck on the Tower of the Americas is outside, though, so we didn't go up because it was very windy and we didn't want Stanley to fly away! There is also a restaurant at the top of the Tower, and the entire restaurant turns very slowly (it makes ones complete turn every hour) as you eat so you get to see the entire city!


While we were at the Tower of the America, we called our friend, Officer Segura, and asked if Stanley could meet some of San Antonio's finest. Officer Segura brought along his friends, Officers Connell, Garcia, and Marotta of the San Antonio Police's Bike Patrol and they were nice enough to pose for a picture with Stanley. They gave Stanley his very own San Antonio Police badge, which he will be bringing home with him.


Finally, we headed over for a picture in front of the Alamodome. The Alamodome is an indoor football stadium, but was the home of the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA for several years. The Alamo Bowl is played in the stadium every January between two college football teams, and the New Orleans Saints played three games in the Alamodome after their stadium was damaged in Hurricane Katrina a few years ago.


That's me, Scott, holding Stanley in front of the Tower of the Americas last night. Stanely has had a great time here in San Antonio, but he's looking forward to going home, too. Thanks for letting him come visit us in the great state of Texas!

San Antonio - Wednesday, March 25

Today, Flat Stanley visited Sippel Elementary in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District, where I work. Sippel Elementary is one of the newest schools in our district. It has only been open since the beginning of this school year!


Flat Stanley visited the principal, Mrs. Mosley, who gave him a Character Counts! pencil, which he will be bringing home with him.


He also visited two second grade classes that were in the science lab doing something with yucky water. Can you spot Stanley in the picture?


Thanks to Mrs. Coloura's and Mrs. Dereadt's classes for letting Stanley visit!

San Antonio - Monday, March 23

Today, Stanley and I came across a patch of bluebonnets! The bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas.


Bluebonnets are wild flowers, and they grow even when there hasn't been a lot of rain. Of course, the more rain we have in the spring, the more bluebonnets will come out. We haven't had very much rain for the past couple of years, but we did get some rain a couple of weeks ago. Bluebonnets bloom in the spring, usually during March, and only last for a month or so before going away until next year.


Luckily, Stanley came to San Antonio at exactly the right time to see bluebonnets this year!

San Antonio - Friday March 20

Today, Stanley went into downtown San Antonio. There are two main tourist attractions in downtown San Antonio: The Alamo, which is the most popular tourist destination in Texas, and The Riverwalk.


The Alamo was the location of a very famous battle. In late February and early March of 1836 (that's 171 years ago!) a small group of Texans (about 200) fought off over 2000 Mexican soldiers. This group of Texans was fighting Mexico for independence. Much like the United States fought England for independence, Texas, in the early 1800s, was actually part of Mexico! The group of Texans who fought at the Alamo included such famous people as David Crockett, Jim Bowie (pronounced Boo-ee), and William B. Travis. You will find street names and landmarks in and around San Antonio bearing the names of these brave men.

The Alamo was not built as a fort. It was built as a church (also knows as a Mission - there are four other Missions in San Antonio that are all over 300 years old!), but it is best known as being the fort which the Texans used to defend themselves from the Mexican army.

On March 6, 1836, the Mexican troops overpowered the defenders of the Alamo, and the Texans lost the battle. The Mexican army was eventually defeated 6 weeks later during the Battle of San Jacinto (which is close to Houston), and Texas became an independent country. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state.


Because it used to be an independent country, Texans can fly their state flag at the same height as the American flag, or without the American flag at all. Schoolchildren in Texas also say the Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag and to the Texas flag every morning during school. The Texas pledge is as follows:

Honor the Texas flag
I pledge allegiance to thee
Texas, one state, under God
One and indivisible.

The Riverwalk is another famous landmark in San Antonio. The city of San Antonio was established in the 1700s on the banks of the San Antonio River. The river provided clean drinking water and irrigation for crops grown at the missions. The San Antonio River starts a few miles north of downtown, so it is not a large river. In fact, along the Riverwalk, it is only 3-5 feet deep in most places. The city grew up around the river, so there are many restaurants and shops along the Riverwalk. It is below street level, so people walking along the Riverwalk do not have to worry about cars. Since it is only 2 blocks from the Alamo, the Riverwalk also gets a lot of tourist traffic. There are barges which take visitors around the River while the drivers tell stories about San Antonio. It is a very relaxing place to have lunch or dinner.



Stay tuned for more of Stanley's adventures in San Antonio!