Welcome to my new blog! If you're looking for a place all about Texas or Tejas in its Spanish name then you've come to the right place, if not then you can still find a home here and maybe learn something about Texas that you didn't know. Feel free to join my blog as I explore everything Texas. In between that, you'll see a lot of western culture that you might find intriguing.
One of my goals with this blog is to show my readers something that maybe they haven't seen before. I'm trying to make this an engaging travel blog as much as it is a food blog, and with thought provoking posts all mixed in. I want my readers to walk away with a sense that they've seen something about Texas that they can go visit on their next trip and experience for themselves.
After some debate, in order to get some travel content to any interested readers, I thought San Jacinto Monument in La Porte, Texas would be a great place to start on a blog all about Texas as Texas actually did start here. I have feeling that if you didn't grow up in Houston like I did, then you may not know about this magnificent structure which is just 45 short minutes from downtown Houston. To be honest, if I didn't go here as a kid then I probably would not even know about the San Jacinto Monument myself. Thankfully that is not the case and I can share it with all those that don't know about what you're missing! If you're even remotely interested in history then your going to want to visit the San Jacinto Monument because it has more than enough history to go around. Without further debate I present to you the beautiful spot where Texas was born.
Many of you may be surprised to know that the San Jacinto Monument built in 1936 is about 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument which would make it 570 feet. That's the tallest column monument on the planet according to the Guinness Book of World Records! What makes this monument especially worth a visit, is that it has an elevator in it in which you can go to the top....
The reflecting pool as seen in the first picture of this post but looking down from the viewing room at the top of the monument.
Another view from the many windows at the top....looking down at a ship transiting the Houston Ship Channel
At the very bottom of the base looking up, this perspective can make you feel very small
Yes, you must look at the history when you're there and soak it all in which you can do because there is a more than fulfilling museum inside the base of the monument that is chalk full of history and artifacts and it's all very very interesting.
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| It's appropriate that Texas has a statue this big of Sam Houston in between two of it's biggest cities Dallas and Houston |
You can find this breathtaking giant statue not at San Jacinto in La Porte but north of Houston. Sam Houston fought the battle that won Texas at San Jacinto hence why this statue was built in his honor. Moreover, it's why the San Jacinto Monument was erected. The Sam Houston Statue is a must see before you get to Houton and San Jacinto. It sets the stage.
Travel Tips: When you go to the San Jacinto Monument, do yourself a favor and go on a weekday preferably bright and early in the morning when it opens. The reason for this is because you'll have way less crowds to fight than you would on a weekend. In case, you can't tell from the early morning light in the pictures on this post, I went even before they opened at 9am (check the San Jacinto website FAQ because you never know when opening times can change). The other advice I can share is that there is a ton more to see than just the monument itself because after all this is sacred grounds where the battle of San Jacinto was fought.
