"The Alamo"
The Price of Freedom - The Price of Admission
San Antonio, Texas
The
Film
The IMAX presentation of the "Price of Freedom" is shown several
times a day just about 150 meters from the front door of the Alamo.
I recommend that all first time visitors go see this film. It puts
the whole Alamo story into a prospective that is hard to come by in
the urban setting it is in today.
Cost: $9.65 per seat
The
Book
If a picture is worth a thousand words then George Nelson's "The
Alamo, An Illustrated History," is worth many times that.
Through much research Mr. Nelson gives you a bird’s eye view of the
Alamo grounds through the ages with his drawings. Actually I
like his drawings better than the historical drawings and
photographs used in the later part of the book. It’s a great book
just to carry around the Alamo grounds as you try to imagine what it
was really like in past times.
I recently met Mr. Nelson at the Alamo gift shop. He was holding
court, signing books and telling tales of Texas. Filling all the
tourist with the "real" story of the Texas Revolution. He was
sincere, knowledgeable, and seemed to really enjoy interacting with
the crowd.
Cost: $19.25 soft bound $29.95 hard bound
The Ride
No trip to the Alamo City is complete without a ride on the San
Antonio river courtesy of the folks at "Rio San Antonio Cruises".
The cruises, about 1.5 miles and 45 minutes long, takes you around
the horse shoe shape of the natural river bed, through the flood
control channel dug in the 1930's, and along the newer man made
sections put in for the 1968 Hemisfair and the River Center Mall.
There are three places around the river to catch a boat and they all
return you to your starting point. Just like a theme park you
can have your picture taken just before boarding and the prints are
ready upon your return. The price of the pictures depend on
whether you get just the 5 x 7 or get that and the picture on a key
chain. On the narrated ride where the "Captain" points out the
building gargoyles, wedding island and the novelty of a tree growing
through a wall, etc.
Cost: $6.50. (Price updated 12/2004)
The Refreshment
After a hot day in San Antonio competing with the 25,000 other
conventioneers, tourist, and history buffs for space, you will need
some refreshments. It's available from vending machines right
behind the Alamo. What is it? "Agua del Alamo" of course.
Sucked right out of the Edwards Aquifer below and chilled for your
pleasure. Cost: $1.00
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