The monument

Over the holidays, I have received some requests to diversify my blog topics a bit so as to include a little more than just car stuff. (Aunt Kristine, this one's for you!) So, although this is far from my specialty, haha, I do like to tell stories and BS with friends/family so I figured I would give it a shot.

Those of you who deal with me on a daily basis know that,for several years, I have been trying to get a group of friends or family together to make a day trip to go see the San Jacinto monument, located just outside of Houston. However, as is often the case these days, it is difficult to get everyone's schedules lined up and free up an entire day or two when everyone could be free. Nevertheless, on a recent trip out of state, my parents and I were able to factor in a run by the monument that I had so been wanting to visit! That's right, I finally went!!

Honestly, I don't know what the exact reason was that it had originally interested me or caught my attention years ago but I suppose that it has something to do with being a native Texan, knowing that our independence was won on the site, and also reading that Texas has a monument that is actually taller than the Washington monument! I had lived in Texas for most of my life and never been. For those of you who are fact finders, the monument stands 570 feet tall and is the current world record for the tallest monument column. The Texas star at the top is actually an obelisk and appears the same from any direction it is viewed from. Of course, my first question when I had originally heard about this place was, "Can you go up in it?" The answer is YES! Ok, so I'm a kid at heart but this thing is pretty neat and not something that you see every day. I won't get into any further facts or historical information because you can easily find all of that on the internet, specifically on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website, if you so desire. The day I was there was brutally cold, windy, and extremely cloud covered! In fact, within a couple of hours of my departure, it actually snowed in Houston! However, I still had a great time going to the top and enjoying the experience that I had so long awaited. The ship in the middle of this photo is the Battleship Texas, which is across the street and open for tours as well. It's quite a sight and I look forward to my next visit to the area when I hope to have time to check it out too!

Aside from the trip to the top and view from up there, the most interesting thing at the monument for older folks such as myself and my folks is the history museum at the base. They have an amazing collection of artifacts, clothing, firearms, etc....many from noteable figures such as Sam Houston and Santa Ana. It was neat, to say the least, to see such pieces of history and items owned by those whom I had read about in school as a child. They have a great layout and informative bits on each piece and the museum/monument can be viewed as quickly or as slowly as one has time for. I was probably there for about 2 hours and would go back if I had the chance. I highly recommend the park, monument, and battleship for anyone who has a chance to go. It isn't an all day tour, alhtough if you're really interested in Texas history, you could make it one. However, I think it would be good for kids to see, especially when they're studying Texas history in school...this is something that they can actually see and learn about and I think it will stick with them and mean something more than just reading it in a book. Of course, aside from this historical significance of this place, it's just a cool monument that any kid would want to check out the top of! I sure did!!