boot camp graduations

Close Window

Downtown San Antonio retains an Old World feeling as narrow streets, plazas, and Spanish architecture blend with modern skyscrapers. The city has always been a crossroads and a meeting place. Sounds and flavors of Native America, Old Mexico, Germany, the Wild West, African-America and the Deep South mingle and merge. Close to seven million visitors delight each year in the discovery of San Antonio's charms. San Antonio lies on the edge of the Texas Hill country, considered by many to be the most scenic area in the state. Its rolling terrain is dotted with dark green cedars and oaks gradually giving way to prickly pear and cactus. Clear rivers run beneath limestone cliffs and canyons, and spectacular views span the endless blue of the Texas sky. Much of San Antonio can be explored on foot, although some of its attractions will require transportation. For the Hill Country, a car is a must. You can visit several towns in a day, enjoying some of the landscapes in between as you drive. Are you looking for excellent traditional jazz or a sing-along at an Irish pub or piano bar? What about Hard Rock Cafe or Planet Hollywood on the River Walk, or Sunset Station? San Antonio offers a wide range of entertainment options both during the day and after the sun goes down. When the stars come out over the South Texas plains, it's time to head to the nightclubs and dance halls, two-stepping to a country-western band, getting down to a rocking beat or swaying in a slower Tejano style. San Antonio is a Mecca for history buffs. Native Americans first lived along the San Antonio River, calling the area "Yanaguana," which means "refreshing waters." In 1718, at an Cohuiltecan Indian village in a pleasant wooded area of spring-fed streams at the southern edge of the Texas Hill Country, Spanish Friar Antonio Olivares established Mission San Antonio de Valero (later called the Alamo). A customary accompanying presidio (fort), was added in the same year. This site became permanently etched in the annals of history in 1836 as "The Alamo", where 189 volunteer freedom fighters died after holding the old mission against some 4,000 Mexican troops for 13 days. The cry "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying point of the Texan revolution against Mexico. Located in the heart of downtown, today The Alamo still stands, dwarfed by twentieth century buildings, as a shrine and museum.