This past week I made the trip from San Antonio to Houston Texas, which is the exact trip made by early Texans in 1836, chased by the Mexican army before a military force, led by Sam Houston, defeated them and won Texas’ independence. The Battle of Gonzales was the first fight by the Republic of Texas for independence. In 1831 the Mexican government demanded a return of a canon they had given to Texans to fight off Natives. Texans now wanted their own republic (and were concerned they’d need it to fight the Mexican army) so they sent the message back, “Come and Take It.” So the first flag of Texas, featured the cannon and the saying. (The flag which read “Come and Take It” was, perhaps ironically, made out of Naomi DeWitt Matthews’ wedding dress.) You still see the phrase “Come and Take It” on shirts and hats all over Texas. The Alamo is an important stop in San Antonio. It’s estimated that about 200 men, 188 identified, died on March 5th and 6th, 1836, trying to defend the mission against Mexican leader Santa Anna and the Mexican army’s onslaught. An additional 600 Mexican soldiers died in the battle. All adult American men were killed, including Davey Crockett, James Bowie, William Travis and John Bonham. Crockett had entertained the troops days earlier by playing fiddle. To his credit, Davey Crockett had left Tennessee after he lost re-election for opposing Andrew Jackson’s push to remove Indians from the colonies. Texans at the Alamo died for their belief in freedom. The loss of the Alamo was followed 3 weeks later by the massacre of 500 Texans held prisoner at Goliad. The executions were ordered by Santa Anna, and reluctantly carried out by Mexican soldiers. The losses left citizens frightened and they fled east. The Mexican army pursued the citizens and a Texan military (led by Sam Houston). Keep in mind this is a 200 mile chase in hot weather made completely on foot and wagons. Sam Houston halted the army by the banks of the San Jacinto River near the city we now call “Houston,” and waited for Santa Anna’s army. When they arrived, the Texans attacked with the shout of “Remember the Alamo,” and “Remember Goliad.” It is said that the 1000 member army defeated a Mexican army of 1400 in a war that lasted 18 minutes on April 21, 1836. Santa Anna was captured, and the republic of Texas was born. This was the event that made, and kept, Texas free, even though the paperwork wouldn’t be completed for 2 more years. We stopped in Shiner, Texas, a town of 2000 people, and ate fried chicken, fried gizzards and fried okra with hot sauce, and then ventured over to Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, which is the oldest independently owned brewery in the U.S. Good old Kosmos Spoetzl started it back in 1909. The Shiner Cream Ale was particularly good. Thank you Kosmos! There just aren’t kids named Kosmos anymore. 805, my favorite California beer, is now available in Texas, so I was able to enjoy an 805 during our visit with Shane and Rachael in Houston and San Antonio. “805” is named after an area code in California that encompasses a diverse population around Ventura county, where low riding cars are popular. A common phrase is “Let’s go to 805 and party.” 805 beer was initially only sold in the brewery tap room, until they discovered large amounts were being sold—much larger than people could be drinking in the tap room. People were coming in and filling growlers and selling the beer in northern and southern California. So the brewer, Firestone Walker, in Paso Robles, California, decided to take control and sell it in bottles and cans themselves. You can’t legally buy it in Minnesota, not even through a distributor. It’s not essential, as there are plenty of fine tap rooms locally. “805” is the dream of the small brewery-- to come up with a beer that competes with the major players in a state. We climbed to the top of Enchanted Rock near Fredericksburg. Enchanted Rock is the largest Granite rock in the U.S. The peak is 425 feet above the surrounding ground, and 1825 feet above sea level. It was an interesting climb. There was no dirt and no trees-- Just one solid crazy huge granite rock. There was a banner across main street in Fredericksburg when we pulled into town which read, “Welcome NRA.” One of the stores was selling a doormat which read, “Hippies, Get Out,” and a t-shirt which read, “USA—Running the world since 1776.” While we were in Texas, two Wing Stop employees ran down an attempted robber (of the fast food chicken wing restaurant) and shot him leaving him wounded for police to pick up. Let’s just say the perspective is a little different. We stopped at Pedernales Brewing Company tasting room and tasted Lobo Negro, Robert Earle Keen Honey Pilsner, and Crispy Creek Ale. Nice little brewery in the Texas country with free fresh popped white cheddar popcorn. We then passed through Luckenbach, Texas, on the way back to San Antonio. “And there ain’t nobody feelin no pain” back in Luckenbach. We ended the evening at San Fernando Cathedral, A Catholic church, where they run an amazing laser show against the building at night. We went 150 feet below the earth into Natural Bridge Caverns in Comal County, Texas. It was 105 degrees outside, but it’s always 72 degrees in the caverns. The tunnels actually go 280 feet below the surface. There are natural tunnels about the twice the width of a body, that people have crawled 100’s of feet into, with the only way out backwards. If that isn’t creepy enough, water is running through parts of this. We then crawled up on an 80 foot high platform and zip lined across the park. Before I was pushed off on the zip line I mentioned to the worker (a college student), “I see most of this zip line runs over the sidewalk that goes through the park. I suppose that makes it easier to clean up when someone falls.” He smiled and said, “Yeah, that’s it.” In San Antonio, we went to the Pearl Brewery district, which is famous for its food and culinary school. We stopped at a restaurant called Cured, which specializes in 30 to 120 day cured meats. We had the 9 selection platter, and went with 9 meats, only realizing later most people include some cheeses in the 9 option platter. It was great! I like to find great ice cream places on vacation, so we visited Lick where we tasted a variety of odd flavors, like lavender lemon, but ultimately I went with the chocolate-chocolate. We drove to Brenham, Texas, where we toured the Blue Bell ice cream plant and did a tasting. San Antonio is the home of “puffy tacos” so we went to Ray’s Drive In, even though it’s in a sketchy area of town, because they were reported to have the best. The tortillas are deep fried, creating a light puffy shell. The tacos were great! Even though it was a predominantly Hispanic place, they did sell Abraham Lincoln and Liberace dolls. (I’m not sure what the connection between these two guys are.) We went to Sunday mass at St. Mary’s Catholic church in San Antonio. There is so much beauty in churches. The alter, the background behind the alter all the way up to the ceiling, and all of the statues, except for one, were marble white. The statue of Mary was white with a light blue cloak around her. This subtle introduction of color among all of the white made Mary radiate warmth. On the flip side, besides seeing a number of Teslas, we visited an area near Houston called Tiki island, where the average income is over $69,000 a year. All of the houses are very nice, and every house borders the gulf. It’s interesting to look at Tiki Island from the Google Earth app.
Of all the meals we ate on our various excursions, the best were the grilled steak dinner and shrimp and sausage boil we had at Shane and Rachael’s. They remain such a loving and heart-warming couple. No matter where I travel, I always find friendly people and beautiful country. Perhaps the miracle we all hope to see is right here… Texas translations: Y’all = You, The plural = All Y’all “Oh hell no” = It’s already too late. Texas quotes: “If it doesn’t move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, use duct tape.” “Don’t ask him where he’s from. If he’s from Texas, he’ll tell you. If he’s not, why embarrass him?” “My alarm tells me when an intruder is in my home. My gun tells me, ‘not for long.’” “Prayer is the best way to meet the Lord. Trespassing is the fastest.” Thanks for listening, Frank
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
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