The Blog Has Been Dark...

But I’ve been enjoying the sunshine in San Antonio!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. In between Mulan and our getaway, I was hard-pressed to get everything in order to be gone for five days, including getting ready for Showcase--the final week of theater classes--tomorrow night, less than 48 hours after our return! But ready or not, I left last Wednesday to meet Papa Rooster, who was already there and up to his ears in conference meetings.

I took a bus to O'Hare with a friend whose husband works with Papa Rooster (we were friends from church before they were work colleagues) and then we separated to fly on the airlines we had the most frequent flyer miles with (the consolation prize for wives whose husbands have to travel a lot!). Our husbands picked us up and took us back to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency, right on the Riverwalk, where we had a bite to eat--Mexican food, of course! Fabulous salsa there at Casa Rio.

The next morning the wives slept in, had lunch and then walked all over downtown San Antonio, wishing we had worn shorts and admiring the beautiful architecture of some of the oldest homes in town. That night, PR’s employer sent the whole group of us out to a ranch for a Texas barbeque dinner, country music, line dancing, and an honest-to-goodness rodeo.

On Friday, the wives relaxed on the sunny roof of the Hyatt Regency until the conference finished up at noon and our husbands were free for the weekend. We had more Mexican food outdoors on the River Walk, and then spent an educational and moving afternoon at the Alamo before checking into our B&B for the weekend--which ended up being very unique, unusual and delightful! That night we headed back to the River Walk for French cuisine in a beautiful outdoor setting at The Fig Tree, which ended up being the most amazing meal of the weekend.

On Saturday, our innkeeper provided us with a wonderful breakfast and directions to the San Antonio Botanical Garden, where we spent several hours enjoying the sunshine and huge diversity of God's creation. Then we drove the rental car to the historic town of Greune, where we visited shops and had a late lunch outdoors on the terraced riverside at The Grist Mill restaurant. Wonderful food, beautiful setting, great conversation with our friends.

That evening we attempted to find parking and a restaurant on the Riverwalk that had a wait of less than an 1.5 hours, but since we weren't that hungry after our large and late lunch, we gave up and walked to Hemisfair Park for a festival of the arts called Luminaria. It was crowded and getting late, though, so we didn't stay long. After our day of walking, we all slept soundly!

The next morning, Father Rooster led us in an outdoor Eucharist before another wonderful breakfast with our hostess, and then our friends had to leave for the airport. Papa Rooster and I had a little more time, so we walked for awhile on another river walk, near the San Antonio Museum of Art. It was such a beautiful day, we didn't want to leave, but at last we had to return the rental car and board an airplane to chilly Chicago.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Papa Rooster’s parents were covering meals, chauffeuring duties and general supervision of the Hen House. We are so grateful to them! It was hard to come back, but wonderful to see our kids and hear how things went while we were gone. We showed them pictures, but it may be awhile before we get any posted here--PR has yet another trip coming up, and I am back up to my ears in have-to must-do's. And this morning my Prius, that just got new front brakes and tires and its $75,000 mile check up, wouldn't start.

Yup, after living like a queen for the weekend, it's just a little bit hard to be back!