Monday, April 26, 2010

Stonehenge Texas Style

Today we visited San Antonio...everyone explored on their own. There were those who waited their whole life to see the Alamo, those who took a leisurely stroll along the Riverwalk, and those who took advantage of endless shopping opportunities at the Rivercenter Mall http://www.shoprivercenter.com/ and mostly everyone enjoyed the myriad of shops, galleries, arts and crafts displays and the multitudes of wonderful restaurants that can be found in this unique city.
After their free time we all enjoyed dinner at Mi Tierra, a Mexican restaurant full of colorful decor and delicious food. We were even serenaded by a 3-piece Mariachi band while we dined.
On the long trip back to the YO Ranch Resort Hotel in Kerrville, everyone was tired but very satisfied with the full day they had and the delicious meal they enjoyed so they wondered why we passed right by our hotel until I told them that we had a surprise for them.
In the town of Hunt, Texas there is a 60% scale replica of Ancient Druid Monument, Stonehenge, which is in England, and in fact most if not all of my UK guests have seen the original. So I thought it would be fun for them to see one Texan's version of this Ancient wonder. An area local, Al Shepperd had been given a slab of limestone, 5' tall and 8" wide, that was left over from a patio construction job. He placed it in his field near the road. After a while he began mowing larger and larger circles around it and in time he asked his friend, who had given him the slab, to build the riplica of Stonehenge. The result is a 92' diameter hollow plaster-covered steel replica flanked by 2 Easter Island statues.
Al died in 1994 and his ashes were sprinkeled on the grounds of Stonehenge II.
The group was surprised to see it and enjoyed wandering among the pieces and commented that it is not possible to walk among the pieces of the original Stonehenge so it was fun to get up close and personal!

2 comments:

kathy and honour said...

How cool that you found Stonehenge II in Texas!?!?!?!?!

Glad it is a good group!

kathy said...

Perfect ! What a special treat for the group.. Did anyone make a replica of the Alamo in England ???