Texas Travel Log

   Over the years we have developed a tradition of trying to top the previous year's wedding anniversary get-away. It gets progressively harder as the years add up, but the world is full of unique, interesting, and beautiful places to explore. Going on the recommendations of various friends, this year we decided to check out San Antonio Texas. Neither of us had ever been in the state of Texas before.

   When I was a teenager, I was envious of the 2 aunts who seemed to frequently be jetting around to exotic vacation spots with their men on trips earned through business dealings. Little did I dream that some day I would be the one married to a smart businessman and get to jet off to distant places with him for free, compliments of the credit card points.

   There was a fair amount of drama around this trip. Soon after we booked it, there was the government shutdown that had national parks and other things shut down -for a time we didn't know if this would affect our trip. Then there was my fall down a flight of stairs, resulting in a broken tailbone and inability to sit. There was a flu bug the week before. And there was a lost wallet, including driver's license -required to fly- 2 days before. The decision to purchase travel insurance was worth every penny for the peace of mind!  

    The day before departure was packed full, but the best of all was the Chocolate Walk in the evening. When I purchased the tickets at our school auction I had no idea it was going to be the evening before our Texas trip, but it was well worth it. R. forfeited his ticket for Miss A. What would be more fun than mother & daughter walking the streets of town at night collecting chocolate of all sorts? Here is my stash. Yes, that's chocolate popcorn in the back, and even more delicious than it sounds. The little cups with the Hershey Kiss on top (upper left) is chocolate shampoo from a hair salon.

   We had to get up very early Friday morning to catch our flight to Dallas, then on to San Antonio. Our flights were smooth and on time, but oh my aching tailbone did not care for the 3 hour please-remain-seated-with-your-seatbelt-fastened AA policy!

   We chose not to mess with a rental car/parking fees, so we caught a taxi to our hotel. The driver informed us it had been chilly early in the week but was forecast to be nice & warm over the weekend. (Thank you, God, for getting on that request.) 70* felt wonderful to us compared to snow at home earlier in the week.

   We stayed in a Hyatt, paying extra for a Riverwalk view. This is the view from our 7th floor room. Not quite what I was envisioning, but technically correct.  

Actually the riverwalk flows right through the lobby of this hotel. Cool.

   By this time we were "starved" so we made our way to the closest restaurant -in our hotel. That lunch buffet turned out to be the best meal of our entire trip! Our waiter gave us a little tour of the selections, then we started with soup & salad bar, moved on to the fabulous made-to-order pasta bar (which was a bit confusing to us country hicks until the chef walked us through the process), and wrapped up with a slice of chocolate cake that was to die for! Highly recommend the Q if you ever go to San Antonio.

   After a nap, we hit the Riverwalk to find out what the hype is all about. It is beautiful, but very crowded at night.   

This place would be a photographer's dream of architecture and gardens, but our camera doesn't do well with night photography. You'll have to take my word for it- that's a beautiful waterfall behind us. 

   Saturday we started out with bagel stackers from Einstein Brothers, then took the opportunity to go on the Rio San Antonio Cruise in the morning before the boats were so full. That's us in the boat -not that the boat shows. Gotta love self-portraits!

   Our captain was Doug. His birthday. Our anniversary. He was an interesting tour guide and this was one of the few times we got our money's worth. Definitely recommend this tour if you go to SA. (Hint: if your main interest is ambiance, go for the night cruise; if photo memories are your priority, opt for the day cruise.)  He threw in this group photo op for free. 

    Next we went across the street to the Alamo.  Proof that we were there-

   Mom, you would enjoy this place. It is filled with old documents from the 1700s. And then there was Davy Crockett's gun, and a Bowie knife. But all the cool stuff was in buildings where photography was not allowed. I was fascinated by this live oak though. It was 40 years old when it was moved to the Alamo in 1912, by a man who set out to prove mature trees can be moved.  

   It was forecast to go up to 80* that day but I don't think it got quite that warm because the sun never managed to peek out of the clouds for long. The heater for our hotel's pool was out of commission so to say the pool water was chilly would be an understatement. Still, who can resist soaking up warm weather by a rooftop pool in November? After that we browsed through the shops in La Villita and on the Riverwalk.

 

   We figured we can't go to Texas without going to a steak house, so we ventured down the street to Bohanan's, recommended by friends and advertised as the #2 steakhouse in all of Texas. We were about to get an education! We had intended to make reservations but that slipped through the cracks, so we couldn't get a table till 9pm. (Never mind that we didn't eat much all day in order to be hungry for these legendary steaks.) They invited us to hang out next to their bar for drinks while we wait. We opted for iced tea. When our table was finally ready, the hostess informed us we need to settle our tab before we go upstairs to the restaurant. What?? Ok, this does not sound good. Our waiter came and kindly assured us tea is on the house and we are welcome to take our fresh refill up to the restaurant. We were given 2 menus, one of which was literally a book -pages & pages. All wine. Umm, where's the beef?! Our assistant waiter inquired if we care for sparkling water or just regular mineral water. Just plain ol' mineral water will do nicely, thank you. When our waiter finally showed up with "real" menus, he inquired if we have any time frame he needs to know about. Right there we should've known we're in trouble. Whoa! Check out these prices!! While our stomachs marinated on an itty bitty serving of candied jalapenos over cream cheese with those dried-up-bread-slice-thingys, we were told to "take our time" deciding what we want. Hey, waiter, come back- I already know what I want! I've only been sitting here for 30 minutes. Can anyone tell me why restaurants are always freezing cold? By this time, what I really wanted the waiter to bring me was a coat. And how about telling that party at the table behind us -who are obviously soused- to tone it down. Way down.

   45 minutes later, we were allowed to place our order. R's 16 oz. NY strip was only $50. To our shock, that was only for the piece of meat -no sides included. A baked potato was an additional $9. The weight watcher reality show continued while the potato was grown and the steer was slaughtered. 1.5 hours after we got to our table... Ta-da!

   On gold rimmed plates, no less. To their credit, I must say the food was very good.

 

   While we were savoring every bite and blocking out all thoughts of the starving children in Africa who could eat for a year with what we were spending on this one meal... we listened in while a waiter aka meat connoisseur explained to the men at the table next to us steak options that were not on the menu. He wheeled out one of those carts to display the wares, pointing out the finer features of various cuts ...to the tune of $90 or $120 per serving. Ok, maybe we're not being extravagant after all. Still, we left with little intention of ever repeating the experience. We're just not that classy.

 

   Sunday morning we had ordinary food- chocolate chip bagels. It just cracks me up- they advertised our choice of one "schmear"! I learned -while brushing up on local history for this trip- that Texas was settled by Germans, but schmear?! For the record, I chose cream cheese.

   We were not in a hurry to get out & about on Sunday because the annual Rock & Roll Marathon was in progress. Streets were closed and there were loud bands playing -supposedly to spur the runners on. (Then again, I would run from that kind of beat too.)

   We strolled half a mile downtown to see the O Henry house. He wrote many of his short stories here, my personal favorite being "The Gift of the Magi".  To my disappointment, it was not open weekends.

After that we browsed around souvenir shops some more and chilled by the pool. The forecast was to be in the upper 80s but not quite break the record from 1906, however we heard the next morning it had indeed broke the record.

   We had dinner reservations at Landry's Seafood in the evening. Right across from our hotel room. This recommendation was much more suited to my style. And budget. Our table was right by the river. Beautiful.  

I got the fried seafood platter. Now that's what I call food!

Dad, that's fried oysters on the right. Thought of you when I partook.

   Afterwards, we trotted over to the Alamo and found a Cinderella carriage for hire. I say 'trotted' because -for once- Richard was walking too fast for me. (He fusses about how fast I walk, but I had a formal dress on with a tighter skirt than I usually wear so I could hardly keep up with him. lol) Carriage rides were advertised online as only $25, which seemed reasonable to me. That is $25 per person. Oh! Oh well, still worth it. We were quite impressed with the white horse pulling this carriage. He knew when the lights were going to change and would start going just before the light went from red to green. Smart horse!  

   We flew home Monday morning. We had an enjoyable time. We saw what we went to see and were ready to return home. Our impression of San Antonio is that it's not the kind of place that we'd return to over & over, but it was interesting to see it once. One thing for sure, there are way more good restaurants to try than you can possibly hit on one trip, even for folks like us that don't do Mexican. And that's our Texas Travel Log.     

Roughin' it & Living off the Land

Now that's what you call roughin' it in the great outdoors!

(Needing an extension cord for your technology)

 

We were camping this weekend. We enjoy camping in September because the campgrounds aren't as full and the weather is generally pleasant. It was rather chilly Friday night -perfect for sitting around a campfire, but warmed up to a lovely 80* Saturday so we could go kayaking. What's not to love?

 

The really interesting thing we did Saturday was sample the local cuisine.

Certain members of our party caught a mess of crawdads in the creek running by our campsite.

(Otherwise known as crawfish, freshwater lobsters, or mudbugs – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters)

Thanks to the convenience of Wi-Fi and Google, we got instructions how to prepare them. Most had a sample. Or more. Yours truly can attest they taste comparable to shrimp.   

Our Labor Day Weekend

Our eldest turned 20 last Thursday. Yes, it's true- we now have one beyond the teen years. How did that happen? Was I really just a month away from my wedding day when I was his age?
He ordered burgers & fries for his birthday meal. And this cake topped it off.  Times sure change- when I was his age there was no such thing as a micro SD card to put on one's birthday wish list.

 

After the menfolk were out till 2AM at a truck & tractor pull, we headed to my home state Saturday morning. The occasion was the 90th birthday party of my paternal grandmother. (You can read more about this amazing woman in my mom's book "A Home for Sarah".) We had some good eating- grilled chicken, salad bar, homemade ice cream and much more.

Amazingly enough, on short notice and a holiday weekend, it suited all of grandma's 10 children to attend. My Dad (2nd from R) is the oldest. What a blessed family- to still have Grandma, and all the aunts & uncles.

Also in attendance were 21 of us 26 grandchildren.

There is a lot of history represented in this photo! If you were to divide this group in half by age, I would be the only girl in the older half. I was so thankful when some girl cousins finally came along! Now that we're all roughly the same height, it's my gray hair that dates me in the older set.

Fun times catching up with cousins I haven't seen in awhile. (And missing those who are no longer with us.)

I think there were around 40 great-grandchildren there as well. I'm not the oldest of the cousins but I was first to get married so my firstborn is the eldest great-grandchild. The ages range from 20 all the way down to 'more on-the-way'.  

 

On Sunday we attended my folks' church. To our surprise, they had a guest minister who is married to one of the girls I graduated with. More catching up time.

Sunday evening we had a soft pretzel party at my parents' house to recognize the recent birthdays in the family. 2 brothers on the right, son on the left, nieces & nephew in the middle.  I can never make enough soft pretzels for this crowd.

 

Monday we hit one last "party"- the annual Apple Butter Stir with my mom's family. You haven't had good apple butter until you've had the kind made outside in a big copper kettle like this!

 

Did I mention there was a late summer heat wave in this area while we were there? It was sweltering hot the entire 3 days, but ended when we left. The One who controls the weather surely has a sense of humor. We came home with a mountain of smelly laundry and a new appreciation for our central air.

School Countdown

And they're off! The first day of school seems to come earlier every year. We have 2 scholars this year- a senior and a freshman.

JS is on a countdown to finishing his credits -hopefully by late fall- and graduation in May. R & I are on the countdown to the end of being school patrons- exemption from things like tuition & school cleaning. Only 3 more "first day of school" left!

When Dreams Become Reality

I don't know why my friends with younger children want to slap me when I talk about going out on a date while my children stay home alone- they were making pizza for their supper when we left and cleaning up the kitchen when we came back. :)

Mother's Day Ponderings

If you know me very well at all, you know I am not a "baby person". When they were handing out dreams, I was in a different line- not the one for dreams of being a mother. When I was in grade school I had to write a report about my dreams/plans for my life; I still have it and it's filled with grand schemes. On the tail end -like the after thought it was- is tacked a brief sentence about getting married and having a few children. Oh the irony that the only thing on the list that came to pass is that last sentence.
   When my children were little I muddled through, praying I would still be sane when they reached adulthood. Most of the time I honestly didn't believe I would survive the stress of little people, a disorder and depression. I wanted to be a good mom -I really did, but frankly I didn't thrive in the role. Mother's Day was something of a guilt trip for me- hearing others sing the praises of motherhood & living the dream, which I simply couldn't relate to. Oddball me.

Fast forward to the present.
   My children are all teenagers. They can all dress themselves, feed themselves and go potty. They can cook if need be. They can do homework on their own. They can even drive themselves places. They can do chores around the house and carry groceries in from the van for me. They can carry on adult conversations and discuss ideas. They can make me laugh. AND they can form a conscious thought of buying flowers for Mother's Day, drive themselves to the store and pick out a beautiful bouquet. Not to mention paying for it with their own money.

Granted, they can also spread their wings of independence in ways I don't care for and frustrate me. No, it's not all perfection. But they can "butter me up" with notes of apology that melt my heart. 

   When my children were little, I was advised over & over to enjoy each stage, to not miss the blessings right under my nose by being obsessed with wishing for the next stage. I believe the sentiment fueling the advice was that I would never quite reach a stage I would enjoy. There is merit in that advice -don't get me wrong, but my experience also defies it. For any moms who aren't sure about their mothering, it is possible to find your "sweet spot" eventually.

  

I realized this year -for probably the first time- that Mother's Day is a happy celebration for me now. I love my stage of life. I love seeing my children live out what were some of the most fun years of my life. I realize we only have a few short years left before they start leaving the nest. I intend to make the most of the time I have left.

Our Washington DC Trip

   With only 2 students in school, we put in our name quite some time ago to go along on a High School class trip to Washington D.C. There were 12 in the group this time, including our son, JS.
With the distance we have to travel, our school makes a 5 day trip of it. The students were doing fundraisers all year to raise the money.

I have not been in DC since my senior trip in '89. Wowsers! 24 years.

Day 1-
Get up early. Drive to DC. Park at our hotel and learn how to ride the Metro to get around. Go to the Air & Space Museum and watch the old classic "To Fly" (who hasn't seen it at A&SM?) Walk to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Very cool.

Check into hotel, freshen up, then walk to 'The Vantage Point' restaurant on the 17th floor of a hotel. Awesome view, great food. Walk back to hotel and fall into bed. 

Day 2-

Go to Bureau of Engraving & Printing to watch money being made. [That's a cool million in $10 bills]. Like the sign "How do you think I feel? I just printed my lifetime salary in a couple minutes."



Go to the Capital and meet our Congressman. Take a tour of the Capital building with his intern. 

That's some fascinating architecture in that room right there.

Sit in on a bit of a House session. Marvel that anyone knows what their doing- it sure looks like they're just milling about talking, not voting.

Retrieve bags, umbrellas & food from the Congressman's office.

Find a street vendor and pay DC prices for lunch. Best hot dog I had in a long time. Seriously. 

Sit through a bit of a Senate session. Umm, Mr. Senator, do you know you're presenting arguments to an empty room, save Madam President and the visitors gallery? Sorry, I sure don't get how government works!

Go to the Supreme Court. Is that cool or what? -a life size photo of the building to cover the scaffolding during remodeling. Why didn't we think of that when we remodeled?!

Excellent tour guide there.   

Walk to the National Archives. Stand in a long line to see amazing documents like Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Learn to [politely] push & shove your way to the front since you're too short to see over everyone's shoulder.

 

Stop for group photos at a gazillion places. 

 Metro back to hotel, order in pizza, rest our tired feet.

Set out on the famous/infamous [for our school] night time memorial walk.

It's a 3 mile trek. Well worth the effort though.  

 Finish up at 11pm. Wait ...and wait... and wait for a taxi. Worry about missing the last Metro. Shiver. Make predictions about sleeping outside all night. Learn never to call a certain cab company. Shiver some more. Miss the last Metro. Try to keep in perspective that some day we're gonna have a good laugh about this. Hail a random cab. Worry about sending 4 students off with a complete stranger. Hail another random cab and experience our own first taxi ride (for once fate was on our side and we got a very talkative, interesting cab driver -he was hilarious!) Feel so relieved to be back at the hotel that we tip the driver extra and consider it money well spent. Hey, someone got their wish- a "capsi" ride! [inside joke] Fall into bed at 12:45am.    

Day 3-

   Go to Ford's Theatre. See artifacts connected to Lincoln's assassination and watch a production in the theatre [this is the presidential box where he was shot].  





Cross the street and tour the house where Lincoln died.

Shop for souvenirs.

Walk to the White House. Take obligatory photos. 

[Note: the barricades are back a little farther than usual due to the Boston Marathon bombing.] 

 Tour the White House Museum (which is really just a trailer with a film about the W.H. since the real museum is closed for remodeling). Fight to stay awake during the film.

Walk to the Museum of American History. Take a quick spin through the First Ladies gallery (C) or the GM gallery (R) but soon decide sitting outside would be more pleasant than a crowded museum. Kick your shoes off and wriggle your toes to get the blood flowing in your aching extremities.

Walk to the Holocaust Museum. Spend 2 hours trying to process the horrors.

Metro to Union Station and feast on burgers in the Thunder Grill as the trains thunder in & out of the station below you (yes, the whole building vibrates). Discover after sitting for an hour that your joints are so stiff & sore that you can hardly get moving again.

Metro back toward the hotel and slosh through the pouring rain for 3 blocks. Hallelujah! We did not carry umbrellas around all day for nothing.

Debrief with the students, while drinking honey-cinnamon tea and praying it will work it's magic on your aching joints. Feel embarrassed because everyone jumps up and offers you their seat because you are moving like a little old grandma. (Yes, I knew I should have been "training" for all the walking but I simply didn't have time with my packed schedule the last couple weeks.)  

 

Day 4-

   Wake up feeling less sore, but drink another cup of cinnamon honey tea anyway. Drive to Mt. Vernon. The rain dropped the temp 30* overnight; shiver and feel grateful for your souvenir hoodie.

Browse the museum- taking in such marvels as Washington's dentures & collect Martha Washington's recipes... Tour the house and marvel at George's ingenious inventions and Martha's stamina to host massive amounts of company here.

   Check out other items of interest around the large estate, including the graves of the couple.

Do your part to support the preservation of the estate by purchasing [overpriced] lunch at the food court. Snag the last table in the sun at the outdoor dining area and shiver through your meal. There were plenty of tables inside but we were doing it for the experience. ha.

 

Return to DC and head for Arlington Cemetery.

Thank the Lord for sending the sun to warm the air. 

Take obligatory photos of the cherry blossoms.   

Walk very fast to make it to the Tomb of the Unknown in time to witness the 2:30 Changing of the Guard. Stay for the 3:00 Changing, and a double 'Laying of the Wreath' ceremony.  

Feel impressed with the extreme dedication.

Feel sad that society doesn't exert the same honor & respect for God.

View Kennedy's grave with it's famous eternal flame.

Wait and wait for a Metro. Miss getting into Library of Congress.

Return to Air & Space Museum for another IMAX film, Air Racers 3D.

"Marinate" on the mall for awhile, then mosey down the street until we find a souvenir stand for last minute purchases.

Go to TGI Fridays for supper. Splurge because fundraiser money is paying the bill.

Metro back to the hotel. Another debriefing with a tired bunch.

 

Day 5-

   Sleep in a wee bit, pack up and check out of the hotel. Drive to National Cathedral. Take pictures in the garden; huddle together to keep from freezing. Crack up at the jokes of the guy who offers to take

our group photos.

  

 Tour the cathedral. See where Helen Keller is buried in the cathedral. Be impressed by the acoustics when the choir sings, but hate how the organ echoes so loud you can't figure out where they are in the song to help sing along with the congregational singing. Feel grateful our home church service doesn't involve so much sitting & standing & group recitation that a bulletin is required to keep up. 

Leave DC around noon and drive home. Stop at a Western Sizzling along the way.

Laugh until your sides ache at the guys, who are getting more & more jacked on caffeine/pop the longer your drive. Feel content when they deem this "the best trip ever"!

Fall into bed, exhausted, but with memories to last a lifetime. 

Thanks, T&J and students, for an awesome experience!  

Autism Awareness Day

Instead of writing my usual Autism Awareness April post, I am copying some quotes from others. Sometimes other people put into words what we feel better than we can.

We have found this to be so totally true.

Our life has been trasnformed by acceptance.

 

We are proud of our son. We are proud of our other son & daughter- it's not easy being a sibling to someone on the spectrum. We keep waiting and praying for that amazing plan God has for our family (Jeremiah 29:11) to unfold.