TX RoadTrip Coastal Plains
By June P, Varsha G, and Eddie V
TX Roadtrip route
Totals
Total food money- $111.00
Hotel room- $0
Entrance fees- $152.60
Gallons of gas - 34.52 gallons
cost of gas- $131.18
Total miles- 962.9 miles
TOTAL EXPENSE FOR TRIP- $394.78
Day 1 - 9/15/14
We had to wake up at 8:00 AM to prepare our drive from Lewisville to Austin. We bring our Jerry can that has 5 extra gallons of gas. As we drive to Austin, we all see the rivers.We see the "Little" river as we pass by, and a little while later, we spot the Colorado River. When we reached Austin, we went straight to Lady Bird lake. We got our money out and paid the girl. It was 29 dollars for all of us to go kayaking. We rented a kayak for 3 hours using an online deal. We all thought that it was pretty fun. When we were kayaking, we noticed that the water was very pretty, It was a very pretty greenish clear color. After that, we headed out of the lake and returned our kayaks. We drove to Chick-fil-la to have lunch. It was 7 dollars for all of us. The meal there was good. After we finished our scrumptious meal we went hiking on Mt. Bonnell. On Mt. Bonnell, there was a staircase and a hike trail to the top of the mountain! When we reached the top we could see literally everything. We saw the Colorado River, and downtown Austin, which looked really nice. Then, we headed to Varsha’s family friend's house. We spent the night with them. Today we spent 93 dollars in total. Today was a really fun day!
Day 2 - 9/16/14
Day 3- 9/17/14
Day 4- 9/18/14
Day 5- 9/19/14
Travel Journal: American Indians
After our first stop at Lady Bird Lake in Austin, we left for Mt. Bonnell for hiking. We started our hike after eating lunch. We had our lunch at one of the four picnic tables. In the table next to us, there was a group of Native Americans. They looked like nice people, and were having beef! Beef jerky, and beef roast! It smelled really good, so we all were looking at their delicious lunch. On our picnic table, we just had chips and candy. By now, they started noticing what we had. So they offered us some of their food! That was nice of them.
We started talking to them, and they said that they belong to the Tonkawa tribe. Eddie asked them, “ Why are you only eating beef? Why aren’t you eating candy and stuff?” The Tonkawan woman, Aiyana said, “ My tribe- the Tonkawa, were bison hunters. We are mainly known for that. So, since my family only comes to my hometown once a year, why not eat beef for lunch and dinner to honor my ancestors?” “Oh. That’s cool.” Eddie said. After that, Aiyana told us all about her people.
She told us that her tribe was an independent tribe, and at first, they lived on the Edwards Plateau west of present day Austin and San Antonio. Sadly, in the 1600s and 1700s, the Apaches and Comanches moved into the Tonkawas’ lands, so they were forced to live in other Native Americans’ areas. Even though the Tonkawas were really nice people, a lot of tribes fought with them. Tonkawas’ main source was buffalo, and once they got horses, they tried to go to the plains, because there were more buffalo there. The Apaches and Comanches prevented that… Instead the Tonkawas were pushed east, where there were fewer buffalo. We learned a lot about Tonkawa tribe from that brief conversation!
Travel Journal: Europeans
When we were in Galveston, we went to a restaurant, it was a European restaurant. We went to Olympia Grill. It was pretty nice! We ate some seafood there. After we ate, we went back to our hotel. The hotel is called Red Roof Inn. It is actually pretty nice. So after we went there, we went to the beach.
There is a beach that is actually pretty nice. When it got around 7, the sky started to look really nice. Galveston is a really pretty place. The beaches are really nice too! I hope I can see a sky as beautiful as this. Today, here in Galveston, was a wonderful day.
Travel Journal: Historic landmark
Wow, today we learned so much! After we left Austin, we went to San Antonio to see the Alamo. It was a 1 hour 20 minutes drive, so we got there pretty early. The admission was free, but the tours cost $10. We went anyway, because we wanted to learn about the history of Texas. When we got there, our guide, Charlotte, first led us to the Spanish Alamo church, which is also called the Alamo shrine.
This church was meant to be the main church for the Spanish mission, but it was never finished. Then, she told us the story of the Alamo. During the war of independence for Texas, the Mexicans captured the Alamo. The thing was, the Mexicans came in large numbers, with General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna as their leader, and there were only 200 people in the Alamo! When the Mexicans came, they said, “Anyone who crosses this line, will have to fight us!”
And guess what? All 200 Texans in the Alamo crossed the line and decided to fight the Mexicans for their state. Our fellow Texans fought the Mexicans for 13 days, but was sadly defeated, and the Texans died on March 6, 1836. One of the main Texans who fought were Davy Crockett, William B. Travis, and James Bowie. A few weeks later, though, Sam Houston defeated General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at a war in San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, gaining independence for Texas. Texas became an independent republic on December 29, 1845, and also became a state of the USA!
Travel Journal: Rivers
Travel Journal: Natural Landmark
Our first landmark is in Austin Texas in the Lady Bird Lake. Named by the 1960 construction of the longhorn dam. The lake contains many activities such as festivals, kayaking, sightseeing and more. Being able to fish with a license there's a variety of fish of catfish, sea fish, and much more. We went kayaking for the day as we rented 3 of them for almost all day. We enjoyed the beauty and scenery of Lady bird Lake.
Mt Bonnell:
A place to sightsee more than a tourist attraction. Providing more of short trails leading to many places such as the south side of Lake Austin, the top point of Mt Bonnell, it was crowded as we arrived at the tip point. Named after George Bonnell who served as a Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Republic of Texas, he moved to Austin in 1839. We read that the Covert Park was named in honor of the person who provided the land. Natural Sceneries and man made or natural trails made to lead to what may come. we enjoyed the trail up to the peak we say the south side of Lake Austin.
The Alamo
Olympia Grill in Galveston
Beach in Galveston
Aquarium Pyramid
Expense sheet
Bibliography
- "The Official Alamo Website." The Official Alamo Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.
- "The Alamo - EnchantedLearning.com." The Alamo - EnchantedLearning.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2014.
- "Red Roof Inn Galveston - Beachfront/Convention Center in Galveston."Hotels.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2014.
- "Tonkawa Indians, Texas Indians." Tonkawa Indians, Texas Indians. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
- "The Tonkawan Indians of Texas." The Tonkawan Indians of Texas. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014
- Feldman, Barbara. "10 Facts About the Alamo." Surfnetkids. Feldman Publishing. 4 Mar. 2009. Web. 22 Sep. 2014.