San Antonio with lots of pictures

My brother Austin graduated from Air Force basic training this past Friday, so we had to make a family trip down to San Antonio to see him. These men and women spent a demanding and challenging eight weeks getting whipped into shape away from their families and most of life's conveniences. Erik had to stay behind for school, so my dad, grandmother, and Ethan and I drove down. My stepdad Greg was also there. We got into town on Thursday evening and had to get up at the crack of dawn on Friday for a briefing at the base. The graduation parade started at 9:00 am. The day started out a little cold and gloomy, but like most Texas days, it warmed up considerably in the afternoon.

This is Austin's flight walking past us. Even though I snapped this picture I could not tell where he was. They shaved his head and he put on 20 pounds of muscle while he was there, so it wasn't easy to recognize him. He is in the second row from the left, next to the black guy.


There he is! All graduated and smiling! It was seriously a mad rush to get to your Airman once the parade was over. Families had very little contact with the trainees over 8 weeks.


My dad's three kiddos. Look how much taller Austin is than me!


Austin and Greg.


The fam. Austin asked my dad to wear his uniform to the parade, and so everybody kept saluting him. It was a bonus though because we would have gotten bad seats if he hadn't been wearing his Lt. Colonel insignia!


Everyone who graduated got a coin. Plus Austin got another coin for being an Honor graduate-number 63 out of 800!


Austin's bed and living space.


Every material possession the Air Force let him have was kept in this small locker!


Ethan chilling out on Austin's bed.


The Airmen got a town pass from 2 pm til 7:30 pm for good behavior. So, after lunch we headed back to our hotel to change and then see some of the major attractions in San Antonio. Here we are at the Alamo. You could only take pictures from outside, but the atttraction is free. They even had a storyteller who gave a speech on the events at the Alamo. It was really cool. Also, by this point it was 90 degrees outside. Another great thing about San Antonio is it's very military friendly. They get a discount on just about everything. There is an Airmen graduation every Friday and they all hit the town for the first time since arriving at the base.


Interesting fact: the historical society of San Antonio ruled that no building would cast a shadow over the Alamo as a means of respect. So even though sometimes in pictures the Alamo looks like it out in the middle of nowhere, it is actually in the heart of downtown. There was a Fuqua who fought at the Alamo, but it's TBD if Erik's family is related to him.


You can't go to San Antonio without going to the Riverwalk. It was so much fun! We stayed right downtown so everything was in walking distance.


This was actually taken on Saturday before we left. Before this we had been to Ripley's Believe it or Not and the Wax Museum. Both of which freaked Ethan out so he didn't go in.


We took a boatride on the riverwalk on Friday before it got too hot. So much fun!

I have to say the Air Force has really changed my brother for the better. He went in a rowdy boy with all the smarts in the world and no motivation and came out a man with a purpose. I'm so proud of him and what he's accomplished in just eight weeks. He's headed out tonight to Mississippi for technical training and it will be at least another month and a half before I see him again. I can feel a trip to Buloxi in the works!