A Visit!

When Ann, a friend from high school messaged me and said she would be in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, I was so excited.  Bonus!  My high school years were important to me because I finally got to stay in one place long enough to make some real friends, and Ann was one of them.  I couldn't wait to see her again.

I know that I talk about my introverted ways often.  I know that I exhibit the social ineptitude of the classic nerd, along with a tendency to say the wrong thing and trip over my own feet.  I'm okay with that. I may have moved around quite a bit, but I did manage to make some friends along the way.  It has been a fortunate side effect of Facebook that I've been able to connect with some of those friends again.  After high school she ended up in Colorado working for NOAA.  She and I both ended up having children later in life; her daughter is a year older than my son.

I drove downtown to meet her after work.  I was a little nervous.  We'd likely changed so much from high school.  What if she didn't look anything like me?  What if she was a vegetarian?  What if she'd become one of those extremely conservative people?  What if she'd found religion, and it was Mormon?  What would I say to her, after all these years?

Thankfully, Ann still looks exactly like she did in high school, or at least enough that I recognized her.  We hugged, and I asked if she'd been able to see the Alamo yet.  

"You mean that big red brick building?" was Ann's reply. 

THIS is the Alamo.  Remember it.  There will be a quiz later.

Since a visit to San Antonio must include at least a drive by of the Alamo, that is the first place we headed.  After all, the Missions of San Antonio(which includes the Alamo) are up for nomination as a World Heritage site!  I gave her the nickel tour of the Birthplace of Texas Liberty, since I've been to the Alamo over fifty times in my life, and I remember most of the story, if not as colorfully as some. Also, in my mind, Davy Crockett looks just like...Johnny Cash.  I have no idea why, but Ann didn't seem to notice.

And the words of conversation came, in spite of all my worries. We talked as we walked along the Riverwalk, enjoying the Christmas lights reflecting off of the water. We sat next to the river to eat dinner, and happily fed random ducks corn chips until the manager asked us to stop, then giggled at being caught.  Just like high school. We talked about our lives since high school, all the ups and downs and curves which drew us to our current locations.  We chatted about people that we remembered from high school,  a little bittersweet.  Memories tend to dull over time,  tarnishing with age, and no matter how hard you try, they will never be shiny again.  

After a few short hours, I dropped Ann off at her hotel, and we hugged and said our goodbyes.  If things work out, maybe I will see her again.  She seemed excited about the San Antonio area, particularly the balmy temperatures.  She may come back again and bring her family.  But if it doesn't work out, I am glad that I got to see her again.

Friendships are treasures, no matter how far away, or how long ago.

The Traveling Stones, Revisited

Remember way back to last month, when I received an interesting package from Australia?    Turns out that I received one of the Traveling Stones from my friend Red over at Amazing Australian Adventures!  I was so excited, and determined to show the stone a rollicking good time.  When I say that the traveling stone I received earned some mileage, I mean it.

I put the items in my purse and was off to explore the wide world, and off we went.  The Kiddie Park was especially fun, except that I got nauseated watching the Merry-Go-Round.  I HATE when that happens!

Kiddie Park, San Antonio, Texas

While at the Kiddie Park, I noticed a few issues.  The stone was continually rolling about in the box.  Also, the little boomerang that Red sent along would not fit into the box, and was often relegated to the bottom of my purse.  I decided that this would not do...and I went into problem solver mode!

I felt that the tiny pearl was likely to fall out of the box and then disappear, which would have been a catastrophe of epic proportions, not to mention embarrassing for my country!   So, I got out my jewelry making tools and prettied things up a bit, adding a decorative bow and a place where someone might put a safety pin.  Perhaps a person might want to safety pin the pearl to their shirt for a night out on the town?

It was necessary to find a box big enough to carry the coin, the boomerang, and the pearl.  It just didn't seem fair to leave the boomerang at home after it had traveled all the way from Australia, so I hunted for a bit for just the right box, and then spent a little time securing everything for safekeeping.

Then I had to find me a helper, since my arms are just not long enough to hold up the box and snap a photo. Luckily, this particular helper was easily bribed persuaded with cookies.

With all that taken care of ,  it was time to head back out, box of travelers in hand. We went to the Riverwalk, San Antonio's most 'romantic' spot, where all the tourists hang out.  We hopped on a boat ride to avoid some of the crowds along the edge. Also, since there's no guard rail along the river, I had visions of my son attempting to walk on water in order to visit one of the ducks that live along the water's edge.

As we floated, I took the opportunity to show the stones a good time.

Some weird statue thing that was a gift from Mexico.  I think it is art.

Riding along the River Walk, Downtown San Antonio

Adina De Zavala was one of the people who wanted to preserve the Alamo, so they gave her a plaque, and named a street after her.

Of course, we could not leave the downtown area without visiting the most sacred shrine in Texas, the icon of our state.  Texas was an actual, honest-to-God independent country prior to joining up with the United States, and we are proud of our independent streak and what we had to do to get there.  The Alamo was originally a mission, and the main part was a church. Of course, that made zero difference to all those guys fighting to the death over it, but today the Alamo is indeed a shrine, which means that a hushed silence pervades the place out of respect.  The other missions in San Antonio don't get nearly the same amount of visitors!

The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas

We didn't just go traipsing all over the downtown area.  We also took the stones to a landmark hamburger joint, Biff Buzby's, for some righteous hamburgers.  We probably should have gone to a place that served more of the local cuisine, known as Tex-Mex, but I was craving a cheeseburger!

Hanging with Biff Buzby, Live Oak, Texas

The travelers and I spent the last day of our spring break at a kid's place, Chuck E Cheese, where the pizza and the beer made up for the fact that I would have to go back to work on Monday. 

These guys won all those tickets. Really.

But our time is at an end, and the stone and her friends must be moving on to their next exciting adventure!  The next blogger who gets to host the stone is Dionne over at Raw Christian. Dionne graciously volunteered to host the stone and her friends at her home in Colorado.  I have never been to the part of Colorado where she lives, but I've heard they have things like forests and bears and Bigfoot, and I'm looking forward to seeing her plans for the stone!  Maybe a picture of Bigfoot wearing the stone? 



Don't forget to check out the stones' blog, too!  http://travelingstones123.blogspot.com