Monday, April 16, 2007

san antonio

Recently I was at the Texas Library Assoction Conference in San Antonio Teaxas. I don't have many impressions of San Antonio, not because San Antonio isn't interesting, but only because I didn't see too much of it. I was lured by all the book exhibits, so I didn't get to do too many touristy things.
But I did get to see the Alamo!


Sad to say, but this is all I got to see of it. I lost all sense of time in San Antonio, because it is so bright and sunny out. Even at 7 pm it felt like the sun was shining overhead. So, I arrived thinking it was still early, while in reality the Alamo had been closed for over an hour.

But the outside was still interesting. Lots of plaques naming all the people who died and the heroic last words of the fallen. The building itself is a bit smaller than I imagined. The movie makes it seem a lot bigger. I don't remember clowns in the movie either.



Since I was wandering alone, I have no pictures of myself with the Alamo. This is the closest I could come up with, which is my shadow on the Alamo placard. It was very hot in San Antonio, 80 degrees! In my hand is a ice-cold cherry icee that melted within 10 minutes.



And there was also a penny press machine! Probably not very authentic to history, but I have to admit it filled me with excitement. I started a pressed penny collection last year that has, unfortunately, hit a slow patch. Seeing this has inspired me to continue the collection, which I'm cataloguing at my Pacy's Pressed Pennies blog.



It was a good thing that warmed me to the cockles of my heart because the first thing Robert said to me when I returned to Boston was, "We're having a Nor'Easter tomorrow. They think it'll snow."

Ah, I just rubbed my pressed penny and imagined it was the sun shining from San Antonio.

2 comments:

Di said...

Grace,
I started my pressed penny collection in 1997 at the Erie County Fair in Buffalo, NY. I had never seen a penny machine and I thought it was a really great souvenier. I never intended to start a collection, to be honest I never thought I'd see another machne. Then I went on a field trip with my kids at school to Luray Caverns. Imagine my excitement when I saw a penny machine in their gift shop! Now every where I go I look for a machine. I have about 40 pennies now and I get excited everytime I see a penny machine. People have started bringing me pressed pennies from places that they visit too. They are a great conversation piece sitting in a bowl on the table in my family room. Good luck with your collection!

anjum said...

hello, i have some extra pressed pennies that i'd like to swop. just got some from the central park
zoo. got a few extra from coney island, the wonder wheel. have some from montauk point, fire island and atlantic city n.j. please contact me at ranjum78@yahoo.com if you'd like to swop with me. this would truely make me happy.answer soon. bye