Texas

San Antonio

San Antonio is one of Texas’s oldest cities. Long before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited by the Payaya people. The city of San Antonio was founded in 1718 by the Spanish who established five missions, including Mission San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo) and Mission San José, along the San Antonio River. In 1836, San Antonio was the site of the Battle of the Alamo and later that year served an important role in the newly independent Republic of Texas. Following Texas statehood in 1845, San Antonio became a major hub for cattle driving and attracted a diverse population, including German immigrants, which influenced its unique architecture and culture. The 1968 World’s Fair, known as HemisFair ’68, was held in San Antonio drawing over 6.4 million visitors and leaving a lasting impact on the city including the 750-foot Tower of the Americas. The highlight of San Antonio is the River Walk which features riverside paths, lined with beautiful cypress trees as the San Antonio River winds through downtown. Today, San Antonio is ranked as the seventh largest city in the United States and the fourth fastest-growing large city in the country.

The Alamo

Long before it was a fortress, the Alamo was a religious outpost of the Spanish empire named Mission San Antonio de Valero. First located on this site near the river in 1724, it was a place where Spanish soldiers could force control on a territory and friars worked to convert the indigenous people to Christianity. In 1783, the Catholic Church relinquished control of Mission Valero and it became the self-governing community of Pueblo de Valero. By 1803, the Spanish were being challenged by threats from French Louisiana and the United States. For the first time, Valero became a defensive fortress with the occupation by the Spanish Army company known as La Segunda Compania Volante de San Carlos de Alamo de Parras – the Alamo Company for short. Following the French invasion of Spain in 1808, years of unrest spilled into war as Mexico fought to gain its independence from Spain. It was a violent time in San Antonio with shifting alliances and betrayal, but also a time of emerging Texan identity.

Mexico eventually won its independence from Spain in 1821 and forces loyal to Mexico occupied the Alamo in the Mexican state of Tejas or Texas. With independence achieved, Mexico struggled to find its own independent identity, first establishing a monarchy then a constitutional republic. The need to protect the northern frontier prompted the government to establish laws which encouraged colonization of Texas. Many of these colonists, along with the native population, enjoyed a semi-autonomous way of life far from the capital in Mexico City.

In 1833, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was elected President of Mexico and he quickly moved to centralize power in Mexico City. Laws changed curtailing the influx of immigrants as well as the autonomy that Texans had grown to enjoy. Dissent ran high throughout Mexico as a civil war broke out and cries for Texas Independence rained out in the autonomous state. The Texas Revolution began on October 2, 1835 when the Mexican Army marched on the town of Gonzales to seize the town’s cannon. Outnumbered by the men of Gonzales, the Mexican Army retreated to San Antonio without the cannon and the emboldened Texan forces followed in pursuit. By mid-October, the number of Texan volunteers in San Antonio had amassed to over 400 men. Under the command of Stephen F. Austin, the Texans had several decisive victories over the Mexican Army who soon withdrew from San Antonio and the Alamo. Anticipating a counter-attack, the Texan forces began to fortify the Alamo.

General Santa Anna’s army arrived in San Antonio on February 23, 1836 and the Texans took refuge inside the Alamo which was now heavily fortified. The Alamo had 18 serviceable cannons and approximately 150 men at the start of the siege. The Texans, commanded by James Bowie and William B. Travis, were greatly outnumbered by a Mexican force led by General Santa Anna of approximately 1,800 to 2,500 soldiers. At the onset of the siege, a delegation from inside the Alamo met with Mexican officials to discuss terms of a surrender. Santa Anna’s terms were surrender at discretion, meaning he would decide their fate. In response, Travis ordered the firing of the 18-pounder cannon and the siege had begun.

The defenders of the Alamo consisted of not just Texans and Mexicans seeking independence, but also volunteers from 23 different U.S. states and seven countries. Perhaps the most famous volunteer was David “Davy” Crockett who was a famed frontiersman and representative from Tennessee. On February 24, 1836, William B. Travis wrote one of the most famous letters in American history when he addressed “To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World” in a plea for volunteers to come to the aid of the Alamo garrison. He ended the letter “Victory or Death” – the only outcome this battle could have.  On March 1, 1836, 32 men from the town of Gonzales arrived to aid the Alamo. This brought the number of defenders up to almost 200 men. On March 2, 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.  

After thirteen days of siege, Santa Anna held a council of war setting forth this plan for a four-pronged attack on the garrison. His instructions were clear; there were to be no prisoners taken during the battle. At dawn on March 6, 1836, the Mexican Army launched its attack on the garrison at the Alamo. The defenders of the Alamo fought gallantly, but they were no match for the overwhelming superior Mexican forces. Fighting lasted roughly 90 minutes, and by daybreak all the defenders of the Alamo had perished. Following the battle, Santa Anna ordered the defender’s remains burned.  

Following the loss of the Alamo, the Texans suffered another devastating defeat at the Battle of Coleto Creek on March 19-20, 1836 where over 300 Texans were executed. This prompted the people of Texas to begin fleeing towards Louisiana. As they fled, General Sam Houston marched the Texan Army behind them to protect the fleeing civilians. Santa Anna left the Alamo at the end of March in search of the rebellious Texans. On April 21, 1836, the Texan Army under Sam Houston attacked Santa Anna’s army on the banks of the San Jacinto River where cries of “Remember the Alamo” could be heard. The battle lasted only 18 minutes and was a resounding victory for the Texans. The following day, a captured Santa Anna was brought before Sam Houston and an agreement was made whereby the Republic of Texas would be recognized by Mexico.

Today, the Alamo is one of the most visited sites in Texas. Located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, Alamo Plaza is the site of the historic 1836 battle. The centerpiece is the old Alamo Church which is what most people associate as “The Alamo”. Inside the famed church, visitors can read the names of the brave men who died during the battle and see the flags of all the states and countries represented by the volunteers. The Long Barrack is adjacent to the church and is also open to tour. The Collection Center houses some amazing artifacts from the Battle of the Alamo as well as the Texas Revolution. One interesting note on the artifacts is that Phil Collins of the rock band Genesis is one of the major contributors. During my visit to the Alamo in March 2026, there was significant construction going on in Alamo Plaza as a new visitor center, museum, and education center were presently under construction.

Note: At the time of the battle in 1836, the Alamo Church did not have a roof as the Spanish never completed the church. The roof was added to the church around 1850 when the U.S. Army used the structure as a warehouse.

River Walk

The origins of San Antonio’s famed River Walk can be traced back to a natural disaster. In September 1921, a catastrophic flood of the San Antonio River through the heart of the city claimed over fifty lives. Following the flood, plans were made to construct a dam up river and flood channel through the downtown. Public opposition to the paved flood channel ran high and it was soundly defeated. Plans staled until 1929 when San Antonio native and architect Robert Hugman submitted his design for an urban park and special-case pedestrian street situated one level below the automobile street. Along with a pair of flood gates, this pedestrian walkway could protect the city from future flooding. Civic leaders, including former mayor Jack White, got behind Hugman’s design and were instrumental in passage of a bond issue that raised funds to empower the 1938 “San Antonio River Beautification Project”, which began the evolution of the site into the present 2.5-mile-long River Walk.

Today, the San Antonio River Walk is one of the most unique downtown districts in America and is the #1 tourist attraction in Texas. Located just blocks from the famed Alamo, the two parallel sidewalks separated by the San Antonio River wind and loop under bridges while being shaded by large cypress trees. The River Walk is lined with restaurants, shops, museums, and theaters. In preparation for the 1968 World’s Fair, the River Walk was expanded with a spur out to the site of the exposition and saw the introduction of boats to help ferry fair visitors. The river is busy with colorful boats that offer leisurely guided tours for tourists as well as shuttle service between downtown destinations. The San Antonio River Walk is a wonderful urban space and should be on everyone’s bucket list to visit.

South Padre Island

The barrier island of South Padre Island off the southern coast of Texas is known for its 34 miles of pristine white beaches, stunning waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and year-round temps averaging 74 degrees. The island is connected to the mainland via the Queen Isabell Causeway. Its ranking as the #1 beach in Texas has made it a popular resort destination, especially with college spring breakers. The jetties located at Isa Blanca Park are a popular fishing location and a great spot to observe sea turtles and dolphins in the inlet waters. A fantastic place to observe migrating birds is the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center which features an elevated boardwalk over the wetlands. The center also serves as an alligator sanctuary where the highlight is a 12’6”, 900-pound monster appropriately named Big Padre.

All five species of sea turtle found in the Gulf of Mexico can be found swimming around the waters of South Padre Island. The critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is the most common nester on the island. The green sea turtle is the most numerous on South Padre Island as they like to feed on the sea grass which is abundant around the island. Also spotted around the island are the loggerhead, hawksbill, and leatherback turtles. Sea Turtle, Inc. is a nonprofit sea turtle rescue, rehabilitation, and education center on South Padre Island. The center is a popular tourist destination where you can view sea turtles in their hospital and visit some of the resident turtles who are unable to return to the ocean.

April is the typical time when mature female sea turtles haul out of the ocean onto the beach to lay and bury their eggs. Volunteers from Sea Turtle Inc. identify the nest locations and later return to retrieve the eggs. Due to the danger that vehicles on the beach pose to the nests, the eggs are relocated to a secure beach site where they safely hatch in about 45 to 70 days. An interesting note on sea turtles is that incubation temperature (i.e. sand temperature) actually determines the sex of the baby turtle: warmer temperatures produce females, cooler sand yields males. Unfortunately, the survival rate for young sea turtles is extremely low and only about 1% live to adulthood.

To the south of South Padre Island across the inlet is Boca Chica which is an important wildlife preserve that borders Mexico. It is also the location of SpaceX’s Starbase where they have been developing, manufacturing, and testing spacecraft to send humans to Mars. The current spacecraft under testing is Starship which is 30 feet in diameter and stands 404 feet tall when fully stacked. The lower stage, Super Heavy booster, is designed to return and land at the Boca Chica launch site. Looking across the inlet from South Padre Island, you can see the two launch towers which are only about five miles away as well as the large rocket factory at the Starbase facility.

Space Center Houston – Johnson Space Center

As the space race heated up in 1961, NASA Administrator James E. Webb created a search committee to locate a site to move the agency’s manned space operations. While Cape Canaveral in Florida would still conduct launch operations, a new site was needed to handle the ambitious space operations planned by NASA. The site needed to have adequate water transportation, strong communication network, a world-class all-weather airport, and access to a highly educated engineering talent pool. NASA selected Houston, Texas to be the site for its new site named the Manned Spacecraft Center and construction began in 1962. When President Kennedy delivered his famed “We choose to go to the Moon” speech on September 12, 1962, the need for the new Manned Spacecraft Center was even more critical. The center officially opened in 1964 to lead the Gemini and Apollo projects.

The Mission Control Center became fully operational for the Gemini IV mission in 1965, taking over as the primary hub for all U.S. human space missions. Once a rocket cleared the tower at Cape Canaveral, control of the flight would transition to the Mission Control Center in Houston. On July 20, 1969, the center served as the command center for the historic Apollo 11 mission that landed the first humans on the Moon. In 1970, the engineers of the Mission Control Center had their finest hour when they troubleshooted an explosion aboard the command module of Apollo 13 that threatened the lives of the three astronauts. For their heroic efforts in safely returning the Apollo 13 astronauts back to Earth, the staff of the Mission Control Center received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Following the conclusion of the program in 1972, the Apollo era Mission Control Center was shuttered and a new mission control was constructed for the Space Shuttle program which operated from 1981 to 2011. Today, the old shuttle era Mission Control Center has been remodeled and modernized to serve as the Artemis Mission Control Center which will bring Americans back to the Moon. In addition, there is also an International Space Station Mission Control Center located on the Houston campus.

The 1,620-acre campus in Houston was renamed the Johnson Space Center in 1973 in honor of the late President and Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson. In addition to the mission control center, the campus houses all the engineering and research for NASA’s manned space missions. There is a medical complex which not only maintains the health of astronauts, but they also conduct research on the effects of space travel on the human body. The Orion Project Building has been a focal point for many years as Artemis missions have been underway. One of the primary functions of the Johnson Space Center is the training of astronauts for various missions. The Astronaut Training Facility houses full-scale mockups of space hardware like the International Space Station and the Orion spacecraft where astronauts spend countless hours running through training scenarios in the simulators. In order to train for spacewalks, astronauts submerge while wearing spacesuits in a 6.2-million-gallon pool called the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.

In 1992, the visitor center at the Johnson Space Center was replaced by a 250,000 square foot museum called Space Center Houston. The Starship Gallery displays artifacts from projects Mercury to the Space Shuttle including the Mercury 9 capsule Faith 7 that took Gordon Cooper around the Earth a total of 22 times in 1963. The Apollo section of the gallery has the Apollo 17 command module America which took the last astronauts to the lunar surface in 1973. There is also a lunar vault which contains moon rocks and soil on display. A full-scale mockup of the SkyLab is on display for guests to walk through. Outside in Independence Plaza is one of the Boeing 747s that NASA used to transport space shuttles. Atop the plane, is a mockup space shuttle that NASA used for training astronauts and a tower allows guests to explore both the shuttle and plane. Other galleries in Space Center Houston are dedicated to the International Space Station and the current Artemis program. In addition to the galleries, the center offers tram tours of the Johnson Space Center campus as well as tours of the Astronaut Training Facility and the renovated Apollo Mission Control Center.

In order to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, the shuttered Apollo era Mission Control Center was meticulously restored to its 1969 state. Every detail was addressed from the carpet and wallpaper, to the ash trays and coffee cups on the consoles to give it that authentic appearance. In 2019, the Apollo Mission Control Center opened to the public for guided tours. Guests arrive at the Christopher C. Kraft, Jr. Mission Control Center building via a short tram ride. As you enter the building, there are numerous artifacts on displayed like the Apollo 11 launch plotboard and crew photos, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to the Apollo 13 mission control team.

After climbing four flights of stairs, guests enter the viewing gallery of the Apollo Mission Control Center where there are theater seats complete with period ash trays. As you look down into the control center, there are rows of consoles that were once manned by engineers and technicians. The wall at the front of the center is filled with displays that show video, telemetry data, and maps. Once all the guests are seated, they begin a presentation of the Apollo 11 lunar landing as it would have appeared in the Apollo Mission Control Center on July 20, 1969. The presentation is narrated by famed mission control flight director Gene Kranz who describes the events of that historic event including the landing of Eagle on the surface of the moon, first step on the lunar surface by Neil Armstrong, and splashdown in the Pacific. The video and data projected on the video wall help to bring the events of that historic day to life and it is truly an amazing experience for any space enthusiast.  

Austin

The city of Austin was founded in 1839 as the capital of the Republic of Texas. It is named after Stephen F. Austin who is widely considered the “Father of Texas”. Although born in Virginia in 1793, Austin led the successful colonization of Mexican Texas in the 1820s. He was an advocate for Texas independence and led the negotiations with Mexican authorities following the Texan victory at San Jacinto. Today, Austin has grown into the 13^th largest city in the United States and is known for high tech industries, the University of Texas, delicious BBQ, and a vibrant downtown filled with live music.

During my brief stay in Austin, I camped at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) which is a 1,500-acre racing venue set among the rolling hills just south of downtown Austin. The 3.426-milecircuit was purpose built for Formula 1 racing and COTA has hosted the Grand Prix of the United States since 2012. In addition to the Formula 1 race held annually in the fall, COTA hosts other racing series including NASCAR. The venue has expanded over the years to include an outdoor concert venue, go karting, amusement park, and construction of condos was underway during my visit.

Located just 13 miles from the state capitol, McKinney Falls State Park is a popular recreation area in Austin offering hiking, camping, fishing, bouldering, and biking.  The park is set in the Hill Country woods were Onion Creek flows over exposed limestone ledges. The upper falls flow into a large swimming hole lined with Cyprus trees. Further downstream, Onion Creek flows over exposed limestone creating some spectacular rock formations before flowing off the ledge of the lower falls. The historic El Camino Real used from the late 1600s to the early 1800s by Spanish explorers, missionaries, and traders runs right through McKinney Falls State Park.