San Jacinto National Monument and Battleship Texas

Our Tuesday started with coffee and exercise.  Every day is a coffee day and most days are exercise days.  The temperatures here are really nice and the terrain is flat.  Both factors make for good running.

After exercise and showers, we decided to go towards Houston and visit the San Jacinto National Monument.

The San Jacinto Monument is located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, near the city of Houston. The monument is topped with a 220-ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. The monument, constructed between 1936 and 1939 and dedicated on April 21, 1939, is the world's tallest masonry column[4] and is part of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. By comparison, the Washington Monument is 554.612 feet (169.046 m) tall, but remains the tallest stone monument in the world. The column is an octagonal shaft topped with a 34-foot (10 m) Lone Star – the symbol of Texas. Visitors can take an elevator to the monument's observation deck for a view of Houston and the Battleship Texas.

WALKING AROUND THE MONUMENT GROUNDS

THE FOSSILIZED CORDOVA CREAM SHELLSTONE MENTIONED ABOVE.  I FOUND THIS TO BE VERY COOL.  THE ENTIRE MONUMENT IS FACED WITH THIS.

VIEW FROM THE TOP

TINY FLOWERS

HUGE OAKS

The Battleship Texas is also kept in this area.  We did not board the ship because dogs are not allowed.

I FIND IT AMAZING THAT THIS BATTLESHIP IS OVER 100 YEARS OLD

USS Texas (BB-35), the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the US state of Texas, is a New York-class battleship. The ship was launched on 18 May 1912 and commissioned on 12 March 1914.

Soon after her commissioning, Texas saw action in Mexican waters following the "Tampico Incident" and made numerous sorties into the North Sea during World War I. When the United States formally entered World War II in 1941, Texas escorted war convoys across the Atlantic, and later shelled Axis-held beaches for the North African campaign and the Normandy Landings before being transferred to the Pacific Theater late in 1944 to provide naval gunfire support during the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Texas was decommissioned in 1948, having earned a total of five battle stars for service in World War II, and is now a museum ship near Houston, Texas.

We left the monument and decided to take a different route home.  We were amazed by the number of refineries.  They are everywhere and the fields are massive. We knew Texas was big in the industry but touring through the middle of it really drives it home.

We got back to Lewis and took a bit of time to chill.  Penny and Annie love coming back from adventures.  They quickly find their spot and settle in for a nap.

Rob and I finished our evening with a visit to T-Bone Tom's Steakhouse.  In 2009, this eatery was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  

  The food and service were very good but I would not eat here regularly because the really good food could be really bad if you eat it all the time.  The menu is full of meat and fried food choices.  If you are passing through the area, it is definitely worth visiting.

We had our fill and headed home.  We finished our evening with a little Big Bang Theory and some reading.

Another Great Day In This Thing We Call Life