Day 29 - My vehicle...
This Cruiser my dream vehicle. It has over 260,000 miles on it and keeps plugging along perfectly (knock on wood). It is my daily driver in the city...and when asked, it takes us across and out of the humongous state of Texas, into the mountains, and onto Forest Service roads that travel through the rugged back country. Outfitting her for trips has been a project that I've really been enjoying working on with The Man. Plus, I'm not gonna lie, she's badass to look at....
Day 1 - Wanderlust
Wanderlust...defined by Merriam-Webster as "strong longing for or impulse toward wandering." I have it...and I have it bad. I'm embracing the spirit of adventure that's welling up inside of me and acknowledging that it's about damn time she decided to reappear. It feels good to feel excited about what might lie ahead. I need to run away from the suburbs for just a quick trip. I'll come back I promise. I just require some mountains, or the desert, or snow, or a temperate rainforest...something. Now I simply have to figure out where we're going and how we're gonna get there. Suggestions? Bonus points if I can drive my 4WD there. Did I mention that I might be having a mid-life crisis? While I'm not sure I've found my gratitude around that bundle of mess, I can at least be grateful that it's stirring up some changes around the joint.
For our 16th wedding anniversary, we ran back to Western North Carolina for an extended weekend. We haven't been back to visit together, with just the two of us (sans kids) since shortly after we were married. It took loads of people, both family and co-workers to help us get out of town...and I just could not be more grateful for all of that help. We drove, towing The Man's Miata behind us, in order to deliver it to his brother for some custom modifications. The first thing we did when we rolled into town was to deliver said car, so that we could drop the trailer off and be free of it for the rest of the trip.
Day two, I left The Man at the shop with his brother and wound my way through the gorge to check out our old stomping grounds. My first stop was River's End Cafe. I'm not gonna lie, I stopped there for purely nostalgic reasons. One morning, before we were dating, The Man and I sat at a corner table talking and sharing a pot of coffee. I don't even remember how it ended up that we were at that table alone. Maybe we were there with friends and they left one by one to get back to work? Maybe one of us sat down there because the other was drinking coffee alone? I just remember that it started as 'one quick cup' and passing conversation...and hours later we were still sitting there talking about music, and baseball, and relationships. I remember leaving the cafe that day feeling like I had been catching up with a dear old friend, when in fact we'd only just recently become acquainted. That feeling never went away, and we were married five months later. Roll your eyes if you want...but even after all these years...even when the world is hectic and crazy around us...when we are able to make the space, we fall back into easy conversation or enjoy the comfort of shared silence. There is nothing like an 18 hour drive out to North Carolina...and an 18 hour drive back to allow plenty of space for both.
We had such a relaxing, replenishing place to stay. Even though it was a little chilly compared to our mild Texas winters, it felt really good to be in the mountains if only for a couple of days. We spent a lot of time standing around the engine bay of the Miata, or sitting on the porch, drinking coffee and watching the weather blow in. It was such a welcome change of pace from the neverending hustle and bustle of our urban life.
Even after the 18 hour trip home, I arrived back at my desk on Tuesday morning feeling refreshed and reconnected. Unlike many vacations that have left me feeling like I'm sitting on empty once I get home, my cup has been filled, and I'm reveling in my daydreamy memories of falling snow and hanging with my man.
We usually stay near the home base for our wedding anniversary, but given that it was our 15th and that The Man was also celebrating a birthday that marked a certain milestone that ends with a zero, we wanted to venture a little farther away from home. Due in large part to the kindness of our families, we were able to go down to San Antonio and stay at the Hotel Havana. First opened in 1914, the hotel is trimmed from top to bottom in deep, rich wood accents. Like the Hotel San Jose in Austin, Hotel Havana is decorated with a simple design aesthetic that I find to be all at once relaxing and pampering. Nothing is overstated, or excessive. I love the creaking of the wood floors and the smell of the furniture wax in the lobby. Anything you need might need is there for you, either in the extensive minibar or within walking distance. The service is friendly and there's not a stuffy person or thing to be found in the place. To get to the bar, you take the dark, padded elevator down to the candlelit basement. It's so dark that you can barely see your hand in front of your face, but it's filled with inviting nooks with comfortable seating and the mojitos were really freaking good. The Riverwalk is just a few blocks away, and we spent the majority of Saturday taking a long walk along the water's edge, stopping for lunch and coffee along the way. Sunday morning was a lazy one, filled with the NYT crossword puzzle and too many cups of Cuban coffee. I return to my desk, with the normal Monday driven knot in my stomach...but it was so nice to run away for the weekend and enjoy our milestones without being interrupted by contractors or anything work related whatsoever. Of course I took the camera, and if you like pictures of chairs in hallways, red carnations and old light fixtures they can be found here...if not, I'll understand. :)
If someone had told me that not only would my daughter's favorite playthings be her dolls, but that this 'phase' would last for years, I would have thought them nutso. I've mentioned before how curious her love of dolls is to me. So when The Girl told me that all she wanted for her birthday was to go to the American Girl Store in Dallas and have lunch with her dolls, I was perplexed. Was I really going to take her all the way to Dallas? To have lunch with her dolls? She wasn't going for my usual conversational tools of redirection and compromise. In other words, she wanted nothing to do with my idea to have a special dinner with her dolls at our house or at a restaurant here in the ATX. She wanted to go where EVERYone was having lunch with their favorite dolls...where it isn't odd...as a matter of fact it's expected. Working on the theory that she won't want to play with dolls forever, we decided to make a quick family trip of it. Using an online hotel booking site, I scored an unbelievably sweet rate at a fancy schmancy hotel across from the AG store and we were on our way.
Luckily, it was all she had imagined and more. She had perma-grin for a solid two three hours...even through the sub-par food at lunch and the comings and goings of tons of girls that were there for a book signing with the author of the Rebecca book series. There was no dampening her spirits. After lunch, I basically just followed her around the store as she told me stories and showed me all of her favorite things.
We headed home directly after we left the store. The drive home took us about 4 hours, which gave me plenty of time to ponder if it was all worth it. Once we arrived home, she carried her dolls upstairs, grabbed her others from her room and promptly set up a classroom on my bed, where she played with them for hours until she finally curled up and fell asleep. So, I'm going to say yes, it was worth it. Memories made, and all that...
* The Boy deserves special credit for coming along on this little adventure without any complaints or demands of his own. Score one for maturing teenagers.
** There's not much sweeter than looking over at your man as he has lunch his daughter and her dolls. Score one for the Papas too.
*** I realize doll pictures are a little creepy, but there's really no getting around it when the subject matter is about dolls.
The man and I ran away for an incredible weekend thanks to the kindness of generosity of our families. There is a fine line between being blessed and being spoiled and after this weekend, I'm not quite sure which side we fall on. We stayed at our favorite place here in Austin. It's smack dab in the middle of town and is within walking distance of some of the best coffee, dining and shopping in the ATX. When we arrived at our room, it had been decked out by Nana and the kids and it was apparent that my Mama had stopped by as well. Every corner had some bit of celebration or gifty in it. We felt so pampered...the relaxation began immediately. Full size pictures are here.
We got up pretty early Saturday morning and headed out of town. Taking a very leisurely drive through the HIll Country we made our round about way out to Fredericksburg. Full size pictures of the drive out are here.
First stop in Fredericksburg was to go to Dooley's, one of my favorite places in Central Texas. It's an old school dime store. It opened in the early 20's and still has the original wood floors. The first thing you notice when you walk through the door is the smell of the wax that they still use to protect the floors. They carry everything under the sun, including Blue Waltz a cheap perfume that is only sold in a few stores nationwide. I read an article years ago about how women travel to Dooley's from far and wide to stock up on their Blue Waltz. Those of you who grew up in the southwest will probably remember Winn's Five & Dime. Dooley's reminds me a lot of those stores. Piles and piles of absolutely anything you might need, including both fabric and shelf lining by the yard. Full size pictures are here.
Next we spent time in the Memorial Courtyard at the Admiral Nimitz Museum. It is incredibly moving to walk through this courtyard and read the pavers and plaques dedicated to the many service men and women that lost their lives or were injured in the Pacific War. We paused and took a moment to observe the plaque of Frederick George Crawford. He was the namesake and uncle of our Fred...husband to Nana. It was our first opportunity to see the plaque since it was dedicated and it was a privilege to take a moment and reflect. We spent some time walking in the Garden of Peace and then we made our way back out to Main Street. Full size pictures are here.
Fredericksburg has loads of touristy charm...and along with that comes copious amounts of crap for sale...but there are a few select antique shops that I love to roam and daydream. I think I deserve some type of prize for not buying one durn thing in these stores. They are so full of color and texture and ephemera...and you always feel like if you don't snag what you love the opportunity will never come again. :) Full size pictures are here.
The last place we hit before we left town was the Fredericksburg Brewing Company. It was our first time in, and it was an easy place to feel at home. We sat in the back room, watched a little college basketball, and relaxed a bit before hopping in the car and driving back to Austin. Full size pictures are here.
We got back into Austin in time to get gussied up and go to Vespaio for dinner. Words can't even express how yummy our dinner was. Nothing really tasted good for days afterwards...my taste buds compared everything to those memories of yumminess. Sorry I don't have any pictures of our meal, I spared the Man the camera at the table for our evening out...I'm afraid I couldn't do it justice anyway. We wrapped up the weekend with a nice sleep-in and a bento box breakfast in the room. Spoiled, I'm telling you. Whew! What a weekend. It's always so lovely to have one-on-one time with the Man...to put the work away for a while and pretend that we don't talk to each other all day long about one work thing or another...to let the daily stressors just melt away and allow us to really see each other again.
