San Jacinto Battlefield and Battleship Texas!

Because it was only 96 degrees yesterday and not 101, I thought it would be a good idea to take the kids on a field trip :) Spending a good part of the day walking around in the sun....

My oldest son had one last activity to do to complete a merit badge for scouts (any other Mom's been there??!!) and we needed to visit a National Landmark. Thankfully for us we had one only an hour away!

So we packed lunch and headed down to LaPorte, to the Battleship Texas and San Jacinto battlegrounds.

Because we all need a little history lesson: In 1948, the Battleship Texas became the first battleship memorial museum in the U.S. That same year, on the anniversary of Texas Independence, the Texas was presented to the State of Texas and commissioned as the flagship of the Texas Navy.
For "only" $10 an adult you are allowed to tour the battleship. My children were not satisfied with just walking the deck though and had to climb the death defying skinny little steps all the way to the top of the entire ship!

Maybe it was because I am 2 weeks away from having a baby and am as big as a barn and my balance is off, or that my feet were totally swollen, but I all of a sudden developed a sever case of being afraid of heights!

My 2 and 4 year old did not have that problem, and insisted on following the bigger kids up the little ladders to the VERY top! It was all I could do not to puke, and being very overly emotional at this point, kept envisioning one of my little kids slipping through the steps.

I think I need medication. :)

When that ugly ordeal was over and my 10 year old had to talk me down from the top, we went below to checkout the inside of the ship.

Did you know that you can sleep on the Battleship? Oh, yes you can! It is open for scouts, church groups, and any club for only $150-$200 a night! I smell a family reunion coming up! My kids begged to stay that night. Not going to happen.

Then we headed over to the San Jacinto Monument and Museum.

Yes, those little bitty ants at the bottom are my children! It is the WORLD'S tallest war memorial. At the bottom is the museum. All around the sides are the written history of the battlegrounds. My kids are very familiar with Texas history and the other battles that lead up to this one, esp The Alamo. So, it was quite emotional reading this history to them.
With this one battle, 6 years in the making that lasted only 20 minutes, Texas won it's freedom and the U.S. won almost 1/3 of our country!

Santa Ana had just massacred our troops at the Alamo and was headed this way. This was confirmed to Sam Houston by Mrs Alemron Dickensen, who had been released by the Mexicans after seeing her lieutenant husband killed in the old mission. She was trudging toward Gonzales with her babe in her arms when the Texas army scouts found her.

My kids had to keep asking why I was crying, what so many Mother's had to go through before us is stunning. I needed to quit whining about the heat, I had air conditioning to drive home in!

While yelling, "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad" we surprised and scared the Mexican army so badly and fought so quickly and bravely that it was over almost as soon as it started. In the battle, our loss was two killed and twenty-three wounded, six of them mortally. The enemy's loss was 630 killed….wounded 208 . . . prisoners 730."

We afforded Santa Ana what he did not give William Travis, Davy Crockett and all the other brave officers at the Alamo, and that was not killing him but taking him prisoner.

So there you go, your history lesson for the day! If you live in Houston or are passing through it is worth stopping at! Call us we will meet you there, but not in the summer! :)