Third activity: Sam Houston Statue in Huntsville, TX

Samuel Houston was considered one of the most colorful figures of 19th-century America especially in Texas history. He was born in Lexington, Va, on Mar 2, 1793 but raised by her widowed mother in Tennessee. As a youth, he spent much time with Cherokee Indians and developed close ties with them. Houston joind the army and faught in war of 1812 under Andrew Jackson to fight the British and in the Creek wars of 1813-1814 where he was wounded by a creek's arrow. He served as a private and later rose to a rank of Lieutenant. He later resigned from the military and began his study of Law in 1818. He was elected attorney general for Nashville and appointed adjutant general of Tennessee. He served two terms in Congress (1823-27) and in 1827 was elected governor of Tennessee.


Houston moved to Texas sometime in 1832. He was chosen as the nacogdoches' delegate to the 1833 convention. He was appointed General of the military district east of the Trinity in 1835 and lead the army to gain theTexas independence from Mexico in 1836. He later moved to Huntsville, TX with his wife Margaret where he retired and died in 1863 at his rented home "The Steam Boat". He said he choses Huntsville as his retirement homestead because the hills here reminded him of the place where he grew up in Tennessee. Houston served as a governor of two states, president of the Republic of Texas, U.S. senator, and military hero.




This is the giant statue of General Sam Houston. Standing at 67 ft tall plus 10ft base. The statue is named " A Tribute to Courage". Artist David Adickes started the project in early 1992 and completed in early October and was dedicated on October 22, 1994. This 25-ton steel-and-concrete colossus is comprised of 10-foot sections, each containing five layers of concrete reinforced with steel straps and the outside layer includes a fiberglass mesh.  (Oh that's me on the red shirt. Yea, I look like an ant in front of this giant statue)

 

There is no particular rules posted in this place but the artist supposedly placed this head here so people will not be tempted to climb on the giant statue to take a close up photos with Sam Houston. Scribbling your name behind the head and climbing is allowed here.





That symbol with an upside down V  and a G in the middle is a free mason symbol since Houston is a master mason at one time.



This is a close up of the plaque placed on the statue



This is a portrait of him inside the gift shop




This is supposedly General Sam Houston's original rifle





 






 






 




 




 



 
 




 


 


 


Second acvitiy: The Renaissance Festival!

My daughter and I went to the Renaissance Festival on halloween week-end theme, Oct. 29. I did not dress up because It was not a planned day. My son just got us a free tickets to get in so why not?! :-) It was a gorgeous day to be outdoors anyway. I tried to look for an outfit inside but it is kind of expensive so my daughter and I just mostly walked around and admire people's outfits, watch different shows, and EAT turkey legs with a yard size frozen margarita... wohoo! I had so much fun at the Ren Fair! Lots of food, entertainment, and different characters... Literally!  And I saw Mrs. Q and her cat in her witch outfit with her very fancy english accent! :-) Her cat is adorable but do not pet it roughly or it'll turn into a big, mean lion! :-)


That's me and Mrs Q and her cat, of course :-)



 

We got there just in time for the parade so I was able to take a bunch of pictures of participants with their very fancy outfits and less reveling outfits! :-)



Love these ladies outfits! I heard they cost a fortune, too!



What do you think about this costume? Now you see what I mean by less reveling outfit! :-)

Love their outfits!

check this guy's costume. Very nice.. I bet their heavy too and awkward to walk around too.




I did not know they have popcorn back in the renaissance day? I do know maiz existed but i don't think they can pop it like we can nowadays :-)



This is my son dressing up like a develish spaniard? :-)



I tried to download a video but it won't do it somehow. Hmmm...





Maritime Museum in San Diego



My family and I are in San Diego for my son's graduation from Marine bootcamp on Oct 12. We had a little bit of time to explore the city and the best place to explore, I thought, is the Maritime Museum in Harbor Dr. You can explore 4 or 5 historic ships for the price of 1.. Aboard Steam Ferry Berkely are original paintings and collections of Capt. Cook, Melville, and Gauguin from their exploration around the world. I took a lot of pictures and posed at some of the original exibhits of Cook, Melville, and Gauguin until someone told me I'm not suppose to because the camera flash can supposedly damage the displays?! Oppss! I did not see the sign at first, but I stop, of course. We also explored the Star of India who use to be called Euterpe, name after the Greek muse of music and poetry. The Star of India sail from England to India to carry goods. She did not start her career as a passenger ship until 1879 and did that for 25 years. She carries families of immigrants bound mostly for New Zealand but also made trips to, Chili, Australia, and California. Below are pictures of our adventure in the maritime museum. It was a pretty awesome experience!



Original Naval suit of Capt. Cook.



These are the collections of weapons from Polynesia



This is a painting of HMS resolution



The top photograghs are part of collections exhibited in the museum. The two people are King and Prince of Tahiti

   


My last pose is with a wooden carving of a native tahitian before I got Busted for taking Pics!



  









She became an "American" ship by Act of Congress

 Star of India is the world's oldest active sailing ship. She began her life on the stocks at Ramsey Shipyard in the Isle of Man in 1863. Iron ships were experiments of sorts then, with most vessels still being built of wood. Within five months of laying her keel, the ship was launched into her element. She bore the name Euterpe, afteGreek muse of  music and poetry.

 

We are dressed to look like an immigrant? :-)



 



The life aboard Star of India was especially hard on the emigrants cooped up in thier 'tween deck, fed a diet of hardtack and salt junk, subject to mal-de-mer and a host of other ills. It is astonishing that their death rate was so low. They were a tough lot, however, drawn from the working classes of England, Ireland and Scotland, and most went on to prosper in New Zealand.









That's my daughter Margaret. She thinks the immigrant hat is so cool that she just have to try it on with a style, of course :-)

beside Margaret is one of the entry in Rev. Henry Barnet's diary while aboard Star of India

 



The Girls decided to see how it feels like sleeping where the immigrants use to sleep