History, in fact, does not repeat itself

Last weekend, Garrett and I loaded up the covered wagon and drove to La Porte to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1836 (in about 18 minutes), the Texans defeated the Mexicans to achieve independence (kinda). Despite having lived in Boston for a number of years, hotbed of the American Revolution, neither of us had ever been to a battle reenactment and were eager to see one.

After fighting our own battle (with traffic, high winds, and "county fair" lunch fare), we made our way toward the field where the "Texan soldiers" and "Mexican soldiers" were camped out. We happened to talk to a park volunteer on the way. He told us that the reenactment had been cancelled due to heavy rains the night before. As Santa Anna himself probably said, "D'oh!"

We stayed for a little while to enjoy the very tall monument (the world's tallest memorial column, according to the Guinness Book), people in costume, and livestock (apparently a recurring theme in our Texan lives).

Perhaps the most interesting part of the experience was the area around the monument, an eerie, unsettling, and seemingly endless landscape of chemical plants and oil refineries. Every now and then, however, a magnificent mural would brighten the scenery. I think Sam Houston would be pleased.