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Mid July I found myself stepping out of the cool, albeit stuffy air of an airplane and into the wall of unyielding heat that is San Antonio, Texas in the middle of summer. Being a woman who had made the flight from Grand Rapids, Michigan, the dramatic change in climate was a shock to say the least. I knew it would be much hotter there than my Michigan home but I still found myself unprepared. If I had to sum up San Antonio in one word it would be "hot."

But I am not limited to just one word and for that I am glad; San Antonio, Texas is a historically attentive city which deserves more than a shallow testimony focusing on its astonishing tempuratures alone.

San Antonio is a place rich with history. While I only lived there for a little under a week on a trip I chaperoned with my best friend for my church's youth group, I could tell that its pride lay in its history. The very hotel in which we stayed was a tribute to the cities colorful past, the Crockett Hotel. The building is a historical landmark in and of itself, built on the very place where Davey Crockett defended the Alamo. In fact, the Alamo site itself, old building turned museum, is just across the street. When standing on the Alamo site I was actually able to see the name of the Crockett Hotel rising up over the trees.

During my stay I also had the pleasure of visiting Buckhorn, another museum celebrating the lifestyle of cowboys and roughriders. Every store along the tourist street was filled with cowboy hats and Alamo merchandise. It was refreshing to be in a place that so visibly celebrated its past and took pride in what was accomplished then. Many shops had an old time feel and the horse drawn carriage rides clattering down the streets at night seemed to turn all attention away from the cars and tall modern buildings towering above; one whiff of the horses in your nose along with the accompanying, soothing click-clack of hoofs on brick streets and you were thrown back in time.

The hot weather, most days climbing into the triple digits along with humidity, was not the only thing that I was unaccustomed to. Perhaps the most interesting change of pace for me in San Antonio was the jump from being the majority to becoming the minority. Here in Michigan, as is the case in many other areas further north in the United States as well, Mexicans are less commonly seen than your Caucasian person and would be classified as a minority. In San Antonio, Texas, I, the Caucasian, became the minority. The experience was fascinating to me, a breath of fresh air, and something I will not soon forget.

I would describe living in San Antonio as hot. But the city is much more than hot weather; it is a place that embraces its history and proudly displays evidence of it on nearly every street corner. If you want to expand your knowledge of a historical battle in America's history, find yourself a nice change of pace from the hustle bustle of modern society, or even just soak up some sun, San Antonio, Texas is the place you want to check out.

Learn more about this author, Shayna Swafford.
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