Houston

We saw so many birds as we meandered along the Gulf Coast that we wonder just where did birds “hang out” before there were electric wires. Birds gather in their thousand on the wires at sunset from which they have a wonderful view (bird’s eye view) of the surrounding area - not the same from a tree. There sure are a lot of birds and protected birding areas on the Gulf.

Our visit to Houston after Galveston was a short one. On inquiring about what to do and where to go in the Houston area we were provided a list of things to do and places to go in…Galveston! Researching the area ourselves we discovered that the San Jacinto Battle Monument was close by and we felt compelled to visit. This is where Sam Houston and his Texas army won freedom and independence as a Republic for Texas by defeating President/General Santa Anna who surrendered to Sam Houston after he was recaptured while trying to escape dressed as a foot soldier – his gait due to his wooden leg was what caused him to be recognized; so much for being a foot soldier.

The Monument which is on the battle ground is reputed to be the tallest monumental column in the world; it has a reflection pool out front and a 34ft (10m) star on the top. We took the elevator to the viewing platform on the top and Texas being so flat we could see in all directions for miles and miles. The entire monument structure is constructed with a stone called Cordova - a rock that has so many visible fossils it’s hard to believe it’s not man made (photo to follow). The monument's interior houses a good museum with mementos and histories of the leading Generals, of both sides in the battle, we also saw an excellent a movie of the battle. The Mexican army suffered 630 fatalities, 208 wounded and 730 captured; while the Texans had only 9 killed and 20 wounded.  
After the Alamo we were very surprised that there were so few people visiting, after all this is where Texans won. We met an interesting, friendly couple from Costa Rica with whom we had a lovely chat. The luck of the Irish rubbed once more when we met the curator of the museum we spent about 30 minutes talking with him, and of course, he was a mine of information. Their annual fund raiser was being held the night we were visiting – cost was $1,000 a plate.

The weather remained cold both day and night, it was about 61f (16c) by day and 42f (7c) at night - this is Texas winter. On the next day we finally drove to another State, Louisiana. RamblingRover had been in Texas a long time, since the beginning of September.