http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20080716/NEWS/8312938/1009/SPORTS

Alamo, Riverwalk highlight San Antonio

Published July 16, 2008

SAN ANTONIO

This city is hot, humid and filled with people. As I checked into my hotel there were a few teenagers in the lobby with IYC HOST written on the yellowish-orange T-shirts they were wearing.

They were hosts for the International Youth Conference, awaiting the arrival of teenagers from throughout the world. I asked them to do a little hosting warm-up and show me where the elevators were located in the huge double lobby of the Hyatt-Regency.

This hotel covers the largest area on the ground floor than any of the others on the Riverwalk, but it has only 16 stories. That is because it is right across the street from the front of the Alamo and if it were any higher at certain times of the day it would cast a shadow on that Texas Shrine. And that would be taboo.

The building is sacred and visitors who go inside the Alamo are asked to remove their hats or caps, and to speak softly, if at all.

There are various artifacts on display, including several buttons and coins that were found in the ashes from where the bodies of those killed in the battle were burned.

There are more items that once belonged to Davy Crockett(*) than of any other person killed at the Alamo, including two or three rifles he had once owned, a vest he had worn, some papers he wrote, etc.

In one display case that held some Crockett items was a long rifle that someone had once given to Fess Parker（*）, who once played Crockett in a popular television series. Naturally, it was newer and more polished than the others.

I had wanted to have my picture taken on the spot were Crockett was killed, but most of where the battle actually took place is now covered with concrete. There is a park in front of the Alamo, which sat far back in a corner of the old fort. There are streets and sidewalks where much of the front wall stood.

Someone said there was a marker where Crockett was killed, but I couldn’t find it. So I settled for a photo at a spot Fess Parker once stood during the shooting of “Davy, Davy Crockett; King of the Wild Frontier.” That’s probably better anyway. I don’t remember him ever getting killed in the TV series.

I don’t know if the Riverwalk or the Alamo draws the largest number of people to this city, but I doubt if anyone comes here without seeing both. Just as the kids who came in this week for the International Youth Conference, tourists also come here from all over the world.

Last night it was elbow to elbow all along the walk. One of the guides said about 800 people annually fall into the river, and that usually it happens on a Friday or Saturday night.

“The officials can’t figure out why,” he said, straight faced. But he gave that little tidbit of information just as we were passing one of the many outdoor cafes where people were drinking something from longneck bottles, Western style. Once I almost fell in and I was only drinking iced tea, with an extra packet of sweetener.

Some of the other attractions here include a Sea World, Six Flags, Tower of The Americas, left over from the 1968 World’s Fair, Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, several museums and universities and the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team for whom former Alabama star Robert Horry plays. He says this will be his final year.

During his 15 previous seasons Horry has played with three teams that won championships — the Lakers, Houston and Spurs. He has six champion rings.（*）

I had planned to go to Austin, where the slogan is: “Don’t just see the sites, hear them.” There is supposed to be about as much music in that city as there is in Nashville. With 200 live music venues, more than 1,900 musicians call the “Live Music Capital of the World” home.

What I wanted to see was the Austin City Limits Music Festival, but it isn’t scheduled until September. So I’m turning eastward and heading home; probably making a few stops along the way, especially if I run into anything relating to the Civil War.
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*Davy Crockett（戴维 克罗特克）：美国拓荒传奇英雄及国会议员。

*Fess Parker（费斯 帕克）： 演员，曾饰演克罗特克。

*One of the guides said about 800 people annually fall into the river, and that usually it happens on a Friday or Saturday night.囧。

*Horry的戒指数是七枚不是六枚，打了17个赛季而不是15，文中有误。