Reby's Weight Loss and Breast Cancer Journey: Huntsville, Texas and Sam Houston

First, I dropped the pounds and weighed 268.3 this morning. I'm down; I'm up; I'm down....really like to be more down tomorrow. We shall see. I am eating the usual Subway and Denny's again today.

We had a great day yesterday even though it was gray and often raining lightly. We carried our umbrellas when needed and went on about our business.

We started the morning in Huntsville by going to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum Complex on the campus of the Sam Houston State University. This land was owned by the Houston family later in his life. He built their cabin that he called Woodland on the land, and the cabin is still in the same spot. It's a beautiful dog trot style home with four bedrooms. Four of his eight children were born in that house. Also on the grounds is the Steamboat House. That was a house some other man built for his children, but they never lived in it. After Houston returned from the U.S. Senate later in his life, he rented that home. It was a few miles down the road at the time and eventually moved to the same land as the Woodland home. He fell ill with pneumonia in the Steamboat home and died there. His funeral was held in one of the upstairs rooms. We also went through the entire museum and saw a lovely video about his life and the road to Texas independence and eventual statehood.

Despite the fact that he was an alcoholic for much of his life and married three times, he accomplished a lot in his 70 years. He was a teacher, lawyer, store keeper, adopted into the Cherokee nation and made a citizen of the Cherokees, Congressman from Tennessee, the only man to have been Governor of two states (Tennessee and Texas), General in the Texas Revolutionary Army and victor at San Jacinto, signer of the Declaration of Independence from Mexico, a President of an independent nation (twice), a state representative for Texas, and a US Senator from Texas. All 8 of his children grew to adulthood, so he has many descendants. Quite a man!

Following that we drove about 50 miles or so to Washington-on-the-Brazos. Here 59 men braved cold temperatures of only 33 degrees to meet in a building with no windows or doors, just openings, to sign the Declaration of Independence from Mexico. The original building is gone, but on the site is a re-creation of the building. There is also an excellent exhibit in the Visitor Center and a huge museum called The Star of the Republic. We went through everything until they closed at 5 p.m. when we drove another 20 or miles to check in to the Comfort Suites in Brenham.

Today we are going to Goliad where hundreds of Texan prisoners were murdered at Santa Anna's command. Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! These things fired the Texan army under Sam Houston's command to win at San Jacinto. We are doing the big battles backwards on this trip!

Here are some pictures from yesterday.

Key served as Houston's lawyer once. When Houston was a Congressman from Tennessee, he became angry at a Congressman from Ohio for printing derogatory remarks about him in a newspaper. He pistol-whipped the man. Key defended him, although he was found guilty. Due to his status, he was only reprimanded.

This diorama is based on a famous painting. Houston, wounded in the ankle at San Jacinto, is laying on the ground talking to Santa Anna, in white. Santa Anna tried to pass as a private so he wouldn't be shot, but his own men gave him away to Houston by their reactions to seeing him captured. Houston spared his life.

OK, you just don't see this in every museum...Santa Anna's gold chamber pot.

The museum docent telling us about Houston's Stetson hat.

Houston's third wife, Margaret, who bore him 8 children. She was 36 years younger than him. He died of pneumonia at age 70. She died only four years after him of yellow fever. The first wife left him after only a few months, and to this day no one knows why. The second wife was the niece of his adoptive Cherokee father. He lived with the Cherokees and spoke their language fluently. They were married several years, no children. Not sure what happened to that marriage. This third marriage lasted 23 years, until he died. She got him off alcohol, which was a good thing, and had him become a Baptist.

Houston Comic book! How did Mark not have that one?

The Woodland home, a short walk from the big museum.

Four bedrooms, a parlor, and a small dining room.

Looking at the back of the house

Mark is looking into the kitchen

Houston, a lawyer, had a law office right outside his home. Nice commute

Up the hill is the Steamboat House, where he died. It was moved to this location from just a mile or two up the road.

Upstairs room as it was for his funeral

Downstairs parlor where he lay in bed with pneumonia and ultimately died.

The cemetery is just about two miles from the homes on the campus.

Huge marker was added in the early 1900s.

This Welcome Center is also a dog trot style house. I really am coming to like this style.

We came to see this 70 foot statue of Sam Houston, made to be visible from the interstate.And I thought Mark was tall!

Then Washington on the Brazos

The State Parks lady talking to Mark about the exhibits.

I sometimes forget this. It was always Houston's dream to have Texas be in the USA. As the Governor of Texas, he encouraged the citizens to vote against secession during the Civil War and was very saddened when the vote went the other way. He was then asked to leave the Governorship because he would not swear allegiance to the Confederacy and went back to Huntsville. Sadly, he did not live through the war and did not see the USA become one country again.