Local group discovers charm of Lone Star state
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Texas has it all, as a group of around 40 Warren countians found out on a recent trip to the Lone Star state as part of an H2U, formerly Senior Friends, sponsored Diamond Tours package.
The trip began as everyone boarded a gleaming blue and white tour bus at River Park to begin the journey. An overnight stay at Texarkana and then it was on to San Antonio, a thriving southwestern city of 1.2 million, eighth largest in the country. After a bus tour of the city, and a visit to some of the beautiful and historic homes in the German settled neighborhood called King William, the group moved on to San Antonio’s famous Riverwalk, where the San Antonio river meanders through the middle of the city lined with world-class restaurants, music and shops galore for all the shop-a-holics in the group. The after-dark riverbarge ride, with the city lights reflecting off the water, was a spectacular end to a wonderful fun-filled day.
“What a great day,” said tour member Dearl Cole. “The Riverwalk was really something.”
Then it was on the Alamo, the site of the famous battle with Santa Ana where an intrepid group of Tennesseans, led by Davy Crockett, died along with a small band of “Texians,” as they were called then, to begin the fight for the future state’s freedom and independence from Mexican rule. Even though the ancient mission is now surrounded by a teeming city and towering hotels and skyscrapers, the sense of history still permeates the area and brings to mind the sacrifice made by those who fell at this historic battle. “Remember the Alamo,” soldiers cried as they continued the battle for freedom, and it’s no different today. The Alamo is indeed hard to forget once you have visited it.
A side trip to Fredericksburg treated travelers to a picturesque Texas town originally settled by German immigrants. An amazing variety of shops and artisans were available along its streets offering everything from jewelry, boots and leatherwork, to delicious handmade chocolates and the incredibly hot pepper sauces for which the region is justly famous.
“It just about burned me up,” said David Moore after sampling one of the mixtures, “and I like hot stuff.”
Another side trip to a working Texas farm, called Enchanted Springs Ranch, treated the group to a true Texas Swing band and some mouth-watering barbecue.
Moving on to Austin, the group visited the Texas State Museum and made the walk up the street to the state capitol building. The museum was a particular favorite with its IMAX theaters featuring huge screens and a thundering sound system. The travelers had a choice of films featuring Texas history, natural disasters, or an amazing movie called “Bugs: 3D” which shocked viewers with images of three-dimensional twenty-foot high insects in all their creepy, and sometimes slimy, glory.
The trip home included a stop at Dealy Plaza in Dallas, the site of one of the most controversial incidents in recent history, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It was sobering to stand on the very ground where horrified Texans witnessed the death of a much-beloved and admired national leader under what many still consider suspicious circumstances.
The famous Texas Book Depository has now been converted to the Sixth Floor Museum which chronicles the assassination and the controversy that surrounds it to this day.
Then it was on to Little Rock, Ark. for a night’s rest before the trip home after a phenomenal week of sightseeing, dining and shopping in the great state of Texas, where the fun really is as big as the Texans say everything else is in the Lone Star state.