A Hero, an Angel, a new and different cocktail hour.

  I am attempting to keep the history lesson rolling right along…Don’t worry, we will only be here 2 more days, and then my Goliad student teaching certificate expires…I would be amiss if I didn’t tell you the story of Cinco de Mayo…

There is another building on the grounds of the Presidio La Bahia.  This is the birthplace of Ignacio Seguin Zaragoza, a Mexican hero.  “He was born on the Presidio grounds to a military family in 1829. After winning their war for Independence against Spain in 1821, Mexico was again at war for their independence in 1862, this time with France. At this time, Zaragoza was a general in the Mexican army.  On May 5, 1862, outside the Mexican city of Puebla, Zaragoza held an outgunned, outnumbered volunteer militia against a superior French army.  He inspired his troops with these words: “Your foes are the first soldiers of the world, but  you are the first sons of Mexico”.  Zaragoza’s army was victorious.  The victory at the Battle of Puebla is celebrated to this day in Mexico, the American Southwest and the whole of the United States as Cinco de Mayo.”

There is a statue out in front of the presidio of General Ignacio Zaragoza….

Shortly after the Battle of Puebla, Zaragoza died of typhoid fever.  In 1862, Mexican President Benito Juarez proclaimed Cinco de Mayo a national holiday. And in 1992, the Texas legislature proclaimed Goliad the official site for Cinco de Mayo…(Holy Margarita, Batman, I would really be channeling  some serious history to be here for THAT celebration!)

Another hero of a different sort is honored at Goliad…She was known as “The Angel of Goliad”, and there is also a statue in her honor…

 

“Francita Alavez (ca.1816 – ca.1906) was known as the "Angel of Goliad," for saving the lives of Texas prisoners of war in the "Goliad Massacre” by interceding on their behalf and persuading the help of Mexican officials.  Francita's definite date and town of birth are not known. Even her real name has been referred to differently at times, such as Panchita, Francisca, Pancheta, or Francita, and her surname as Alevesco, Alvárez, or Alavez.  In La Bahia (Goliad), due to the intervention of this woman and the courageous effort of Colonel Francisco Garay, 20 more men were held and spared as doctors, interpreters, or workers . Francita entered the presidio the night before the massacre, bringing several men out with her and hiding them until after the Goliad Massacre. She also made sure the 80 men from Miller's Natchez group were not executed.  After the defeat of Santa Anna, Francita returned with Captain Alavez to Matamoros. At the prison in Matamoros, she continued to support the Texians imprisoned there. When Captain Alavez left for Mexico City, Francita went with him. But their relationship soon ended. She then left Mexico City and returned to Matamoros. While broke and down on her luck, she was befriended by Texians who knew of her humanitarian acts. The 1936 memoirs of Elena O'Shea, a King Ranch schoolteacher, claim that Francita Alavez traveled back to Texas with her new friends, where she was employed to work on the ranch.”

As you can see, I am a huge fan of this wealth of Goliad history. I am also a fan of a good cocktail, so Dennis and I drove into Goliad Saturday late afternoon to visit a new bar I found online.  The Commercial Street Bar (located on Commercial Street in the Goliad town square..duh) was listed as an “upscale bar in Downtown Goliad with and extensive beer and wine list, ambiance and seasonal specialty drinks. Available for private party rentals. A must see when visiting Goliad” And so we did.

The Goliad square is built around the courthouse, and the area is very quaint..

We had to wait until 4PM, when the Commercial Street Bar opened up….

That middle photo is the very tall menu of beers and wines..and right about now, our 3 kids and spouses are laughing their behinds off just picturing “Mom and Dad” in this lovely and quite “upscale” bar…A far cry from our usual Moose Lodge or local VFW, that’s for sure! Their beer tapper was broken (SAY WHAAAAT?),  so we both ordered a bottle of beer.  MacGyver had his usual Bud Lite, and I (who almost never drink beer) did an “eeny, meeny, miney, mo” and my finger landed on Miller Genuine Draft. Both beers were icy cold and the barkeep did a very cute napkin fold around the bottles to act as a coozy…Don’t get me wrong, this was a very lovely little bar, but not our normal venue for cocktails…We picked up some fried chicken at the Esso Gas Mart and headed back to our “more comfy” venue..a campfire..

We took many of the trails here around the park for our morning walks…There is no shortage of places to go..The trailhead for “The River Trail” is right behind our camper.

 

Left pic is a view of our Hiker from the trail head…Right, if you look very close, you will see a tiny figure walking…That would be MacGyver.  I made a stop at the bird feeding station and he was on a mission to get back to the Hiker…

Well, this Wednesday we change our neighborhood yet again.  This is the beauty of the RV life.  We are heading back to the Texas Hill Country and Canyon Lake, but this time we are going to the other side of the lake .  We will be staying at Crane’s Mill campground, a place we haven’t been before.  It’s always neat to see a new place, and we have a reservation right on the lake..  Oh, one more thing…A few days ago we got “Skyped” by our youngest daughter, Chris, and her family…WOW!! Their Skype camera was now showing their whole front room…Seems that John got a new X-Box 1 for Valentine’s Day, and now our Skype picture is coming in on their 50 inch TV!!

Their video was huge and very clear, and they said that our video was very clear and very LARGE!  (if we are now in HD, I need to cover my pores with make-up before I scare the grandkids!)

This is waaaay beyond my comprehension, but our son-in-law is an I.T. guy and knows lots about all the little gadgets and gismos…kind of like Techo Wizard Rick..Dennis asked what that little gismo would set us back if we got one…a cool $500-600 bucks..probably NOT happening anytime soon..OK, that’s it for now..Is it  just me, or are my blogs getting loooooonger?