Mom's Musings: 2nd Edition

For those of you requesting more musings from Mom, I come to you from the Amtrak station in San Antonio. It’s almost 10:30, and the rest of my family fails to appreciate the wealth of humanity that inhabits train stations late at night. For me, I’d still rather spend midnight waiting for a train rather than bouncing amongst the clouds in a tuna can contraption. Flying is all about getting there, while train travel is about the journey. (It is here that Jessica and David will retch slightly =)

Much has happened to us since we crossed the Rockies into the West. I prefer to think of it as a life of “incident.” This trip has afforded us laughter, learning, and loads of fun. Each of our days has ended with a “sharing time” of favorites for the last 24 hours. For me, it’s hard to say only one thing because there have been so many large and small. I was surprised at how much I loved California, especially Napa Valley and Sausilito. The landscape was almost magical and I even enjoyed our jaunt through Muir Woods, walking along shaded pathways enjoying the towering Redwoods. Those of you who know me understand that any activity remotely described as “a hike” is not my idea of relaxation or enjoyment. I tend to appreciate the interactions with people and places more than the landscapes. Sitting down to enjoy a shrimp sandwich while watching sailboats on the San Francisco Bay was just about perfect. Yet, the next morning’s journey into Alcatraz made history seem to breathe. San Francisco is one of those destinations that I could visit again because there are so many places near the piers and on the winding streets that intrigued me as we passed by.

After leaving San Francisco, our evening with the Dias family reminded me how much we miss them in the Valley. The conversation over enchiladas never lulled, and I fear our laughter together may have disturbed the neighborhood. I am certainly glad for their proximity to their family, but colleagues with whom we share our passion for teaching and commitment to students are all too rare. It was as if in the middle of our adventure, we were treated to an evening at home. Stephen suggested something about hiking Half Dome in Yosemite, and needless to say, I’m glad there wasn’t time for that venture in our day there. Just looking at it from Glacier Point made me wheeze. I appreciated the cool sprays of the waterfalls, where we were even treated to rainbows in the mist.
Another surprise for me was our time spent in Seattle. The day there at the Space Needle and on the wharf sped by, and I could have spent hours watching the “fishmongers” toss the halibut from man to man. The Puget Sound appears to be so calm and peaceful, a place to linger or catch the ferry. We were blessed with sunshine which I understand is a rarity in Seattle, but the streets seemed so clean and easy to navigate. What could be bad about the town that gave us Starbucks?
Landing in Vegas, I felt assaulted by the heat and the masses. People poured into the airport, casinos and onto the street. While watching the shows at the different hotels is entertaining (no time to catch Donny and Marie), I felt a tremendous sadness at the waste of resources. The town is gorgeous, flashy and fun, but it seems such a guilty pleasure with so much suffering in the world. How are there economic problems when so many people are flushing money into machines? Business is booming in Vegas, but it is certainly the most artificial of the places we have visited. I’m not a gambler, so my return to the Strip would have to be to catch The Lion King or Celine Dion. The gaming tables and the “painted people” just don’t appeal to me as entertainment.

As you can imagine, I was glad to be on the ground in Texas. Again, I was shocked to like Austin and San Antonio so much. In Austin, our gospel brunch was a perfect beginning to our Texas Tour. My “A Team Partner, “ Josh, organized our day. For a history lover, I appreciated the animated tour guide and we even spent two hours in the evening waiting for bats to fly out from under a bridge. Call us crazy, but we can find the hotspots in the town. Josh and I passed the time by sharing “bat puns.” Back in San Antonio, we remembered the Alamo and spent the afternoon and evening on the River Walk. As my colleague and Texan, Dan Horton assured me, we loved it all from the Tex Mex to the boat ride. Contrary to previously shared opinions, I really liked the Alamo and didn’t find it disappointing.
In the final leg of our journey, we will return closer to home. Our short stop in New Orleans and then on to Tennessee. I have to doubt that we’ll find more surprises in each. Even living out of a suitcase for three weeks, I don’t really want the adventure to end. I’m ready to become a historic interpreter somewhere, take up life as a Vegas showgirl (insert laugh here) or become a train conductor. I leave you from somewhere in Louisiana as the train whistle blows to herald our way. Love to you all. Wish you were with us. Next time, we should hire a whole train car for those who are not faint of heart.