Stonehenge, and Other South Texas Monuments

This morning we visited the Alamo, "The Shrine of Texas Liberty." We and about four hundred other tourists squeezed into the main building of what is left of the historic mission/fortress before pushing through into the courtyard for a breath of fresh air and a discourse on the history of this place. Our enthusiastic guide, Pierce, related the gripping tale of the Alamo, from its origin as a home for Spanish missionaries and their Indian converts to that fateful battle on March 6, 1836, when such legends as Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett died defending it from the invading Mexican army of General Santa Anna.

It seems that the people of San Antonio must still feel bitter about that renowned defeat, because as hard as we tried, we could not find a Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood. We had to settle for a mediocre Philly cheesesteak and undercooked French fries. Come on, San Antonio! Can't we put the past behind us? Mexican food is good!

Just across the street from the Alamo hangs the "World's Largest Hawaiian Shirt." We're not entirely certain, but perhaps that's meant to represent one of the liberties which those brave Texas heroes fought to defend.

A few blocks away from the shirt (and the Alamo), we stopped to visit the "World's Largest Wooden Nickel" (Don't worry, we didn't take it), and not far from there we found a giant pair of cowboy boots, though we're not sure they're the "World's Largest," since we didn't see a sign.

Later, we were able to relive a moment from our European honeymoon when we visited Stonehenge II in a field near a bunch of goats. This sequel henge was somewhat smaller than the original henge, but still it was quite a henge. What exactly is a henge, anyway?

After a few more hours driving down Interstate 10, including stops at an Art Deco statue of Davy Crockett and a 37-year-old christmas tree made of deer antlers, we arrived at Alley Oop Fantasy Land, a small park dedicated to the "million-year-old caveman" of classic comic strip fame. The park, located in Iraan, Texas, honors the comic strip with an enormous bust of its main character and a statue of his faithful dinosaur pet, "Dinny." A nearby monument explains that what is now Iraan was once the bed of the Permian Sea and was later inhabited by dinosaurs and then cavemen, all of which, apparently, eventually led to the creation of the "Alley Oop" comic strip by Iraan resident V.T. Hamlin. We think the folks in Pensacola would almost certainly approve of Alley Oop's friendship with Dinny.

We are stopped for the night in Fort Stockton, Texas. Tomorrow, we'll continue west to El Paso, where they'd better have some decent Mexican food, or else Kala's making a run for the border... and she's not talking about Taco Bell!