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Slice of Life Day 4 of 31: Journeys (my March theme)

On Monday, February 21, the first full day of my solo travel adventure to Texas, I began the day writing and then ventured into downtown San Antonio via the Riverwalk from Blue Star.  Instinct and experience has taught me to make myself look like part of a group by sticking close to others like I belong in their family, so that’s what I did from the downtown area over to the Alamo.  Tickets into the church part of the Alamo are free, but a timed ticket is required, so I stood in line to get a ticket for the 11:00 tour. 

While I waited for the tour to begin, I read the historical markers and checked out the areas around the Alamo, including a statue of Susannah Dickinson and her young daughter Angelina, who had taken shelter in the sacristy of the Alamo and were freed after the battle where their husband and father died. They spread the word of what had happened there.

I walked over to the Alamo shops across the street to purchase postcards for family and two bottles of ice cold water.  I wasn’t prepared for the brutal heat of San Antonio in February, even though I have lived on islands along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina most of my life.  It was so hot that on the walk over, my eyelids were sweating! I purchased a t-shirt at the Alamo gift shop to change into something cooler.  The Hop On – Hop Off bus tour was air conditioned, so I got a ticket and enjoyed a reprieve from the oppressive heat.  

The first stop on the bus tour after The Alamo was The Pearl District, so I went there to have lunch.  The Pearl is known for its culinary delights (The Culinary Institute of America is there), and I wasn’t disappointed with the stuffed pizza and lemon ricotta cookie – and my favorite Blood Orange San Pellegrino!  

As I ate, I wrote messages on the postcards I’d purchased.  I travel with pre-addressed mailing labels and postcard stamps in a Ziploc bag so that all I have to do is stick on a label and stamp and write a sentence or two before dropping the cards in the mail.  My grandchildren love getting picture postcards, and I send several anytime I travel. Of all the postcards I sent, my favorite was the one with the field of Texas Bluebonnets for my granddaughter. It brought back memories of my childhood ~ I loved to press flowers and greenery in weighted books (I still do)! I made a note to myself: look into flower presses for Saylor for her birthday in June, when the flowers will be blooming beautifully – and I mentioned my plan for us to press flowers in the postcard message to carry my love of nature forward into the next generation.

I ambled through the shops in The Pearl, grateful that I had come with only a carry-on and a personal bag.  That’s one travel strategy that keeps purchases to a bare minimum – if I don’t have room to take it home, I can’t buy it.  Already, I was up by one T-shirt and a pair of Alamo socks for my husband, so I was able to resist the many temptations in the bookstore and the 1000 Villages store with all of the handmade artisan items that seem to call my name. 

Although I wanted to explore more, I resisted the urge to become overheated and overtired and headed back to Blue Star to rest before dinner.  A fancy little burger joint just two tenths of a mile down the Riverwalk from where I was staying, Burgerteca, offered a $12 burger for $5 during Happy Hour. I added some fries and a Sierra Mist and walked back with a my takeout to eat dinner while I wrote.  I rarely eat red meat, but I made a special exception to have beef while in Texas.

Earlier, I had passed a mercantile called Provisions, where I’d purchased a bag of Epsom Salts – – two cups of bath salts in a hot bath with my book did my muscles a favor, and I was able to wind down and rest up for all of the activities ahead on Tuesday, when I planned to visit Texas Hill Country, go to the Xtreme Bull Riding Rodeo, and attend and a Three Doors Down concert – all in the same day!  I thanked the Lord for the safety and the blessings of the day and went to bed.

Joel 1:3

Tell your sons about it,
And let your sons tell their sons,
And their sons the next generation.

Slice of Life Day 3 of 31: Journeys (my theme for March)

My flight was slightly delayed, but my husband dropped me off with two hours to get through security at the world’s busiest airport, where I managed to get out of Atlanta and arrive in San Antonio as a solo female traveler and get an Uber to Blue Star in time to check into the rental at 3:02 p.m. on Sunday, February 20. 

I came in, freshened up, and had no sooner brushed my hair and teeth before I headed downtown to ride one of those colorful bumper-car-looking boats I’d seen in all the pictures online.  Another Uber back downtown and a long line of people later, I had purchased a ticket and was ready to float. I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to ride in a gondola in Venice, so I could never miss the boat ride on the San Antonio Riverwalk! I didn’t wait to let Day 2 be Day 1 for having fun. When it comes to travel, I’m a firm believer that every minute of great weather is an opportunity to make the most of the trip!

I took pictures all during the cruise and learned about Heart Island, the little tiny patch of land in the San Antonio River where a couple gets married on average every day in San Antonio.  I saw the ones that day tying the knot.  I imagined that if my husband had been there, he’d have threatened to yell at the couple, “Run! Run! It’s a trap! Get out while you still can!” and then grabbed me and hugged me for forgiveness in his sort-of-truthful-playfulness.

I also saw the stage from the movie Miss Congeniality, where the swimsuit contest took place.  No swimsuits today, although it was certainly warm enough.  Nothing compares to the voices of tour guides who know the history and stories of a place – even if they are full of corny jokes. The guide also pointed out the statue of St. Anthony, the finder of lost things, which sits along the banks of the river.

I finished the day with dinner along the river at La Villita, watching the boats pass and eating a wedge salad with a vinaigrette dressing that was delicious – and counting my blessings that I could seize the day and find the time to enjoy the boat tour on this pleasant Sunday evening of my life!

And this very morning at 5:37 on a post about seizing the day, I put tomorrow’s SOL teaser for today’s post. Tomorrow will be my Bluebonnet postcard post…..

Ephesians 5: 15-16

¹⁵ So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 

Slice of Life Day 2 of 31: Journeys (my theme for the month)

I put off packing for my flying solo trip to San Antonio, Texas until the evening before the trip and gave it little to no thought – perhaps because I was afraid that if I had, I may have chosen to back out of this non-refundable excursion and take the loss. My fiercely independent spirit was afraid to admit that maybe – just maybe – I had a weaker side that might crack and stay home if I gave it any place to sit down and bend my ear with its persuasive wisdom of safety and caution about women traveling alone. My woman power free-spirit hippie voice was goading me You can do this! You can do this! on one shoulder, and on the opposite, sitting angel-and-devil-Fred-Flintstone-style, my grandmother gently whispered, “You can never be too careful.”

And so I’d put it off as long as I could. The time came to prepare. Five pairs of black underwear (I have a paranoid fear that my luggage will be searched in security and that they will hold up my big underwear for everyone from all over the world in the crowded TSA checkpoint to see, so that is why I always travel with brand new black underwear), a single pair of shoes: non-tie tidewater blue On Clouds, jeans and black slacks, three shirts, a lightweight jacket, the necessary mini umbrella and paper-thin rain parka, and a sealed bag of 2-ounce liquids and basic toiletries. Done. I zipped my suitcase shut. But something was gnawing at me. I felt like I was forgetting something – – not more underwear, but something that was signature black and equally flashy: a camera.

On our trip to Gloucester to watch whales last fall, a single phone charge hadn’t lasted long enough, and even with a power pack it didn’t buy much more video time.  Plus, the pictures just weren’t all that great.  My camera from my digital photography class at the University of West Georgia several years prior was not working any longer, and I missed having spectacular photos with dazzling colors and clean, sharp focus.  

So the evening before I was to leave, I went camera shopping for a new DSLR camera that would be my substitute travel companion to help share my trip and preserve my memories. The first store was wiped out of all cameras except pastel-colored Polaroids that looked like Easter eggs lined up for some five year olds to find, but the second store had a Canon Rebel T-100 that I snapped right up. I put it on the charger overnight and realized the next morning that I would have to make a few sacrifices from my personal bag to avoid checking my luggage – something I avoid at all costs, whether I’m spending two weeks in Europe or five days in Texas. I reluctantly pulled out a couple of books and my extra journal and packed the camera where they had been. There. Done.

The one book I kept packed was 100 Things to Do in San Antonio Before You Die by Denise Richter. I planned to make careful notes in the book and then pass it along to a friend who will be traveling to San Antonio this summer. I was packed and ready – new black underwear neatly tucked into a semi-secret suitcase pocket, new camera fully charged – my eyes and camera lens wide open, my ears ready to listen for lessons awaiting me on this journey.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD is the one who is going ahead of you. He will be with you. He won’t abandon you or leave you. So don’t be afraid or terrified.

Slice of Life Day 1 of 31:  Journeys

A few weeks before our trip to San Antonio, Texas in February 2022, my travel buddy realized she would be unable to make the trip with me.  Having traveled to Rockport, Massachusetts together back in October 2021, we had carefully curated a list of our future trip destinations before we ever got home from that trip, and San Antonio was among the choices for our next getaway. 

We’d spent weeks before our trip sharing packing hacks, like putting our foundation in a contact lens case, and looking at excursions and tours to book in advance based on the weather forecast. Her review of On Clouds as her best walking  shoes for traveling had prompted me to shed my $15 clearance rack non-tie Merrells that had taken me all over Europe in 2019 and purchase a pair of non-tie tidewater blue On Clouds.  

Don’t worry about me, Ginger, I texted, I’m the free spirit who ventured over to Germany all alone back in 2019, I replied after she broke the news.  If anyone should be apologizing, I figured, it should be me – – for keeping the plans and going without her.  The truth is, I might have backed out if the trip had been refundable – but it wasn’t, and I’m always too cheap to purchase the cancellation insurance. – or worse, take the hit and give up the trip. I was really going to miss her, but future trips together depended on her sitting this one out.

And my trip to Germany?  Yes, I had taken a solo journey there and back, but I’d met up with a group of teachers there who were all, like me, in training to take a group of students on a European tour.  So while I’d made the Germany trip alone, I’d had folks waiting at the destination to explore and learn with me.  There’d be no group waiting to go exploring and share meals with me in San Antonio.  

I made a few attempts to offer the extra room in the VRBO, but by that time, my friends had already made other plans for the school break and my husband had to work. Quite honestly, I didn’t figure too many others would want to travel with me.  I keep odd hours.  I rise at 5:00 a.m. to write and blog, and I like to get out to explore early.  LIkewise, I retire early – – I like to begin winding down around 7:00 p.m. so I can be asleep at 9:00 – my firm bedtime.  If I don’t get proper sleep, I’m worse than a cantankerous toddler.  Although I wasn’t sure whether I would be a great candidate for journeying alone, I knew that this would be a better alternative than trapping some poor soul thinking they were going on a vacation into an itinerary that may have had them scrambling for a return flight home the very next day.  

Surely there were more lessons to be learned in addition to purchasing cancellation insurance, wearing non-tie walking shoes with good support, and putting makeup in a contact lens case. And I knew there was far more listening (my 2022 One Little Word) to be done. 

I decided to make the trip alone and consider it an adventure in discovering whether it was possible – and I would blog not only what I experienced along the way, but what I learned on my travels, all the while looking forward to the time that Ginger and I could travel together again in the future. And this will be my Slice of Life blog theme for each day of March 2022:  journeys. 

Isaiah 41:10 

Don’t be afraid, because I’m with you; don’t be anxious, because I am your God. I keep on strengthening you; I’m truly helping you. I’m surely upholding you with my victorious right hand.

Today, I celebrate and reflect on one solid year of daily writing,

consider the coming year.  

I’ll go for two and do it again – 

with more intentional themes this year.  

I’ll begin two books.  

There.  I’ve written it, shared it in print.  

A blog post each day

and 

two books. 

I won’t take a sabbatical from work.  

Who writes two books at once? 

My people and I do.  

Because there are stories to be told 

that must be told now.  

While every voice is ready to tell them.

One is a father/daughter book. 

I’ll write parts and pass the baton.

Back and forth we’ll write stories we must tell.

Then I’ll rest a moment,

pick up the other baton.

The second is a book of many voices of hope ~

Hope that is needed now more than ever

reassurance that 

God is still in the miracle-working business.  

I’ll be a collector of miracles, 

Of inward journeys to 

the depths of souls,

Where God changes the

trajectory, 

Where He restores brokenness,

where He performs

Life-saving miracles the world needs to know.

I listen to these stories. 

I pick up the pen.  

This is why I write.  

This is my why. 

Acts 4:29-30
²⁹ Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow your servants to speak your word boldly ³⁰ as you stretch out your hand to heal and to perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

1 year, 1 goal, 1 step at a time ~

Yes, I did it – and so can you!

Every single day for one solid year, write and post.

A writer’s ultra marathon and tomorrow, I will

Reach it and keep going.  One solid year of daily writing.  I did it!

Now – how shall I celebrate?

Mad black bucking bull

-not a friendly Ferdinand-

returns to the ring

I fly home today 

back to where I’m known and loved 

~there’s no place like home! 

our hearts full of smiles

on the Johnson Funny Farm’s

thick pine tree forest 

uncurtained windows 

so we can see our wildlife ~

deer, squirrels, and birds 

travel is focused 

-heightened awareness of place 

of people, of food

of plans to have fun 

to learn, to experience 

culture, history 

to pack the mindset

take it home in my suitcase 

-adventure each day

I fly home today 

back to where I’m known and loved 

~there’s no place like home! 

Thank you to sharingourstoriesmagic.com #sosmagic for giving writers space, voice, and inspiration

Temperatures dipped

Here in San Antonio

Ninety to forty

From eyelids sweating

To stuffing ears with Kleenex

Texas is extreme!

Today I am writing through the Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com, where our host encouraged us to write Picture Book Poems.

My favorite picture book as a child was Tibor Gergely’s Great Big Book of Bedtime Stories, but the one story I loved more than any other was A Day in the Jungle by Janette Lowrey. My mother read it to me over and over, and I think back on this story about the fear that rises in a group and how so many of our fears mount unnecessarily. You can read it here: https://youtu.be/J5jrBfsHGA0

No Fear

There was no monster
howling and shrieking with rage
~just a friendly owl.