Saturday March 12…continued - After our leisurely morning cruise, we headed to San Jacinto Battleground State Park to climb the San Jacinto Monument and visit the site where Sam Houston lead his troops against the Mexican army for Texas independence. Actually, we took the elevator up the tower to view miles and miles around the area.
This tower is actually taller than the Washington Monument, 555 feet. Of course, this is Texas, remember! The Monument is a 570-foot tall shaft topped by a 34-foot star. The monument is dedicated to the “Heroes of the Battle of San Jacinto and all others who contributed to the independence of Texas.”
A great view of the ship channel from the top.
This is our next stop…USS Texas.
There is also a very nice museum in the base of the tower.
We also watched a very informative 35 minute movie about the Battle at San Jacinto. It was excellent.
The State Park is located near the mouth of the Houston Ship Channel and one of the tourist attractions also located here is a tour of the USS Texas. Battleship Texas is a New York class battleship and is the last remaining battleship that participated in both World War I and World War II. This is a wonderful self-guided tour. Rick enjoyed it immensely.
Boys at play.
Visitors are free to roam just about any where on the ship. There are lots and lots of steps up and down. Paul did really great with his repaired knee.
Pilot House.
Look what we found still on the shelf in the kitchen.
Latrine.
These don’t look very comfortable.
Guns aren’t only for boys.
Can you tell from this photo who is always cold in our group?
We stumbled upon an extra treat on the battleship tour. A World War II vet was being honored and receiving a flag flown over the USS Texas. The ceremony was very moving, and who doesn't get a little teary-eyed with the playing of taps.
This was also the 102nd birthday of the USS Texas. It was commissioned on March 12, 1914, We were a little surprised that this date wasn't being celebrated at the ship.
If you are in the Houston area, don’t miss the USS Texas. Such a treat.
It is now 4:00 p.m., but Marsha said she wanted Angie and Rick to see just one more thing before we called it a day. We all looked at each other and said…”Okay.” Our last stop of the day was the The Eclectic Menagerie Park. On the edge of the Rubenstein Family’s 108 acre Houston pipe yard, sits an open-aired public museum. There are numerous handmade metal sculptures by local and famous artist. We have stopped here several times and find each time that new sculptures have been added. Four new ones appeared this year.
One of the four new ones.
Absolutely no idea what this is.
One of our favorite old ones.
It was another long day touring. Don't even ask Marsha to show you around town unless your ready for very exhausting and long days. This girl never tires!!!
Since we didn't stop for lunch, we decided dinner was in order. We stopped at the Chinese Buffet in Sugarland, Texas and had an amazing dinner. The Cafe East Chinese Restaurant was loaded with just about any Chinese dish you could imagine. We aren't big buffet eaters, but this was delicious. Rick was hungry for Chinese....ha ha!!
After dinner we stopped back at the RV where Angie treated us with a dessert. We enjoyed a few drinks and talked about our eventful weekend. Rick and Angie are heading home to Mission, TX, in the morning and with jumping ahead into Daylight Saving Time tonight, they headed home early. I'm sure it had nothing to do with our tour guide nearly killing us this weekend.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
