We got home from San Antonio at about 7 pm last night. I was
tired but restless so I watched TV until 11 pm (just junk, the worse the better
for my exhausted mental state at the time). Then I slept until 9:30 am. I don’t
remember the last time I did that.
We had a great trip. The flights both ways were fine, on time
and delivery of service as promised. Still not my favorite way to travel. In
coach, I mean. In First, yeah, that’s my favorite way to travel. But, our air
fare was $230 each RT PHX to SAT in American’s “Basic Economy.” With this fare there are additional fees so we paid $30 each way for one (large) checked bag
and $30 each each way to select our seats (otherwise, with Basic Economy, you likely wind
up in center seats in different rows.) Plus parking in Phoenix was $72 and our
UBER from the San Antonio Airport to Derek’s was $18 and I passed out a total
of $30 in baggage, porter, and driver tips. So the air portion really cost a
total of $758 for both of us. American isn’t as bad as some of the other
airlines when you buy the cheap seats. United even charges to use the
overhead bin and you have to pay for peanuts and soft drinks. “Fly the Friendly
Skies of United,” indeed. American includes those in the cost. Still, a
two-hour flight each way means more time with friends and family and less time
in transit than driving. Plus it would have cost that much or more to drive by the time we
paid for fuel, hotel, and meals—even if we did it on the cheap, which I’m too
old and worked too many hard years to do—I need a good bed, lots of hot water,
and a decent evening meal. I admit to being spoiled. I will proceed to submit
evidence of said spoiling, below.
We stayed at Derek and Jill’s. They gave us their room with
a wonderful bed which was incredibly kind of them. I think maybe they’re trying to
make us feel bad for moving. Our UBER driver from the Airport was a recent
“escapee” from the socialist paradise that is Venezuela and he spoke no
English. Fun. Thank God for Glenda’s Spanish proficiency. Derek loaned us his
car for the stay, and I managed to put a few hundred miles on it. Jill fixed
Thanksgiving dinner with ham, stuffing, and sweet potatoes which gave us leftovers
for snacking most of the weekend. We did eat out quite a bit, as there are
“go-to” cafes in the San Antonio area that we really, really missed.
Friday we had eggs Benedict for breakfast in Schertz at
Able’s Diner. (https://abelsdiner.com/) Later, we
drove by our old Hull Street house (looks fine) and we got to visit with Jack
and MarJo Jones, Schertz neighbors that we have missed since we moved at the
end of 2009. That evening (Friday) we
went with Derek and Jill to Johnson City 62 miles north of San Antonio to see
the holiday lights display sponsored by Pedernales Electric Cooperative. 3.2 *million*
lights in the display. We got a hay ride behind a vintage Farmall tractor and
ate Texas-style BBQ at a booth in the fair. There were over 100 vendor booths set up in
Courthouse Square as part of the event. I even bought Glenda a sterling chain
and medallion with an agate setting that she likes. The vendor was from Nepal.
Marvelous time and very Christmassy, if green grass and sweater weather under
the Texas stars fits your idea of Christmas. (https://www.pec.coop/our-community/pec-holiday-lights/)
Saturday Derek, Jill, and Ian accompanied us to meet with
Amy and family. She brought Lauren, Sarah, Connor, and her eldest son James
along with his wife Dulce and their daughter Charlotte (Charlie). We met at an
IHOP near Amy’s home and had a great brunch – enough food to have fed Venezuela
for a day. There was great discussion and fun around a huge table assembled for
us from several by the IHOP crew. We then went to Amy’s for a visit in
her home. We got news of Jamie and Daniel though they couldn’t join us. Jamie
is engaged to Jackie Acosta (he’s been dating her for several years, so it’s
about time) and Daniel is in the Army currently at Fort Hood in central Texas
but leaving there soon for an assignment in Alaska. Before we left Amy’s I
handed out some small gifts that I had brought for all the children, to include
Ian. I didn’t know that Charlie would be joining us, but Amy had a spare new, big stuffed toy of Olaf from Frozen 2 which was a perfect gift for 2-year-old
Charlie—Amy saved the day! Hugs and tears of love preceded our departure.
Saturday afternoon I got a 90-minute massage from Phaedra at
Moon Goddess Massage – she was our massage therapist for nearly 10 years before
we left SA, and I’ve not had a massage since we moved until Saturday. (https://www.facebook.com/MoonGoddesssMassage/)
She is a marvelous therapist, and as usual, I was weak jelly afterwards and had
to be poured into a recliner when I got back to Derek’s. We may have watched a
movie at Derek’s in their theater room, but I really don’t remember. I did
sleep well that night. Glenda didn’t get her massage from Phaedra until Monday
afternoon, but she did get a mani-pedi from Tulip at Nail Talk (her former and
still favorite nail tech) at the same time I was being transported to another
plane of existence on Phaedra’s table. That evening we got our Tex-Mex fix at
Taco Cabana. (https://www.tacocabana.com/)
Sunday morning we attended church in our previous Ward in
SA—Eden Ward in San Antonio East Stake. Great Sunday Sacrament Fast and Testimony Meeting and Glenda bore a succinct and strong testimony. We saw and
greeted many, many of our old friends, as we had hoped to do. While the ward
has a new bishop (Named Chandler who moved to SA from the Val Vista and Broadway area of Mesa about a year ago!?!) the bishop who
had been “ours,” Jonathan Abercrombie, was there and we got to greet him. After
church we met my dear friend Nancy Hanna and her husband Edwin Matos at
Starbucks inside Barnes and Nobel and had a nice two-hour chat. I’m very glad
we got to see them. Sunday evening, Derek, Jill, Ian, and we met with Jennifer
who is in town for some training from USAA for dinner. We had a great family
meal and dinner at Nicha’s Mexican Comida. (https://www.nichas.com/) Lesson learned: Don't order a salt-rimmed drink when you have chapped lips. We got home late, but slept well.
Monday morning I went to Jim’s Coffee Shop, a San Antonio
tradition since 1959, for a light breakfast. (http://jimscoffeeshop.com/lincolnpark/)
While there I noted the restaurant was busy with people of many colors,
ethnicities, backgrounds, politics, and beliefs. Wait staff moved around the
restaurant chatting easily with everyone. Greetings and remarks flowed from
table to table in a spirit of good will to all and laughter seemed the language
of the day. This cosmopolitan feeling is common in San Antonio. I miss that, because
you just don’t find that everywhere. Then I got Derek’s car washed and detailed
and filled it with fuel. I can still hear my father telling me: “When you must
borrow something, ensure that you return it when promised and in better
condition than you got it.” His teachings have served me well for nearly 70
years. I also helped Derek with a couple of simple repairs in their home – took
only a few moments for each and I was able to share some of the knowledge I’ve gained
over the years.
Monday afternoon Derek, Jill, Ian, and we took a small spray of
white carnations to Vincent’s grave at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
(https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftsamhouston.asp)
Today, December 4th,
is the one year anniversary of his passing. While we were there, Jillian was
able to find her maternal grandparents graves—she had never visited them
before. We also signed up to have Vincent’s grave included in the Wreaths
Across America program ((https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/)
This was a sobering but wonderful experience—alone, this would have been worth
the trip to San Antonio.
That evening we visited with Alex and Amanda Cabrera in
their home. That used to be our home on Overton Road. They’ve done it proud and
I think it looks better than it ever did when we lived there. The home has a
presence – a spirit, if you will. We felt it when we first saw the home in
2009, the Cabrera’s say they felt it on first entry in 2018, and I profess it
is still alive. The Cabreras are the fourth owners of this Morton-Southwest
1972-built home. The first owners were the Holloway family. Mr. Holloway was
the lead engineer and builder for Morton-Southwest in San Antonio. We think
that he may have had the construction crews work a little extra hard on his own
home. The son, Mike, is now a respected custom home builder in San Antonio. (http://www.mikehollaway.com/) The second owner was
the Catholic Church and housed five lay ministers (not ordained) of the
Focolare Movement (https://www.focolare.org/usa/). In
order to buy the home, we had to wait for a signature from Rome. We were the
third owners and the Cabreras own it now. We were joined by Martha Beard, next
door neighbor, and we all went for a wonderful evening dinner at La Marginal
Puerto Rican restaurant on Nacogdoches just north of Loop I-410. The restaurant
has set the standard for Caribbean Hispanic food and immaculate service since
1999 in the same location. Can’t argue with 20 years of success! (http://www.lamarginalrestaurant.com/) I have, in the past, asked the owners what the name meant, as there doesn't seem to be a direct Spanish-English translation and the restaurant is certainly not 'marginal.' I was told it was intended to indicate the location in the suburbs near the edge of the city. The location hasn't been near the edge of SA for many years. A great meal and wonderful conversation was enjoyed by all. I was surprised
when Alex asked me to say grace over the meal. Protestant, Catholic, and LDS
joined in mutual compassion, respect, and gratitude.
Tuesday morning was time to pack. Of course, we couldn’t
leave SA on a Tuesday without first enjoying a lunch of BBQ Frito Pie from Smokin’
Joe’s family-run restaurant. (http://smokinjoesoftexas.com/) This is Jillian’s
favorite place in the world to eat and is only about 1 mile from their home. A
delight. (Side note: The ham we had eaten for Thanksgiving had been smoked by Joe for Jillian. They have a family-like relationship with Joe and his family.)
After lunch, we bid our farewells with hugs from Jillian and Ian. Derek dropped
us with a big hug at the entry to Terminal B at the San Antonio airport and we
were on our way home. Dak had been well cared for at our home by our friend
Chandra Buchanan, but he seemed to be as glad to see us as we were to see him.
Puppy kisses were shared by all.
It is good to be home. It was good to be in San Antonio with
friends and family. It is good.
