This husband and I…

Are now members of the mile high club…

It’s not what you think…we ventured to…Hemisfair Park…beautiful fountains…lovely landscape…and the Tower of America…which has an elevator…that takes you up up up…to what felt like a mile…high…to the top…

The view was spectacular…360 degrees of SA…as far as the eye could see…with that Alamo…plopped right down in the middle…McDonald’s to the left of it….the Mall to the right…

Coming down to earth…one of us was drawn to the gift shop…where what to the wondering eye should appear...

A friend like Muffin…and…if truth be told…Muffin was the best birthday gift ever…the perfect prop pillow…holds the IPad…props a book…and molds in the crook of the geriatric aching back…

No doubt this old gal is exactly the influencer TY pictured…to promote their Squish-a-Boos…an old coot grandma…singing the praises of the perfect prop pillow…

But seriously folks…this old gal highly recommends the Squish-a-Boo….book holder…iPad prop…back support…and a BFF…who is always there…with a smile…
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And this husband of mine…agrees….

This husband and I…

Took our third annual pilgrimage…to the Alamo...

Has this old gal mentioned….that she LOVES the Alamo…loves loves loves it…spell bound by it…every time…

Not a history buff…past dates…momentous events…cause brain fog...most possibly betrayed by those tacky high school over head projector outlines…and the monotonous lectures…

Or maybe history facts…and this old gal's directional aptitude skills…are running around lost together in the same part of the brain…

The Alamo should be massive…daunting…out in the vast desert...
 
But no…toodling along…McDonald’s to the left of me…a mall to the right…there it is…stuck in the middle…with SA…bustling all around…like it was just dropped there…in the center of the boisterous city…tiny…beautiful…serene…

Just like the Cathedral of San Fernando…

Both calling to us…embrace our beauty…hear our story…celebrate history…
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And so this husband of mine…and I…did just that…

This old gal…

Put on her big girl pants...and drove into the city…can’t be this close…and not visit the River Walk..and all our favorite San Antonio digs…

Miss GPS took us the back way…got us there in one piece…and kept us on the right path…put some foot miles on…the River Walk…green for St. Patty’s Day…the colorful Marketplace…Hemisfair Park…the Alamo…

This old gal…loves…the Alamo…don’t know why….she just does….the old heart pitter pats…it’s just so cool…

Old people tired…ordered pizza at the hotel….somehow clicked the mini cinnamon rolls…when finalizing the online order…

Headed out…Miss GPS guiding the way…driver me actually knowing the roads we were taking…until…
detour…some big accident…a traffic cop pointing us a different way…

So Direction MisFits R Us…toodling through the burbs of SA…trusting Miss is taking us in the right direction…weaving in and out…blind driving…could have ended up in Corpus as far as one could tell…

But..lo and behold…lost me…sees something familiar…I recognize this...she says...

Onward Ho…and kudos to Miss GPS….just driving until this old gal sees something…familiar…
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And this husband of mine…agrees.

This husband of mine…

Suggested we go on a picnic…awwww….a picnic…at Guadalupe River Park…

When this old gal pictures a picnic…it’s Andy and Helen…by the lake…on a blanket..picnic basket…checkered napkins…eating Aunt Bee’s fried chicken…

A leisurely walk through the woods…Andy serenading his girl while she sits riveted…peace and tranquility…enjoying each other’s company...

Reality hits…it’s a river…a dusty metal table…a plastic bag full of randomly purchased foods from HEB…and forgotten napkins…

A hike down the river path…where we get lost…again…of course…

A creative dance…trying to record armadillos digging…while his lady…stands….riveted…on her cell phone…

But the food was delicious…the scenery stunning…and the wonderful company…irreplaceable…
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And this husband of mine…agrees…

​This old gal…

Doesn’t remember spring break…

It’s not one of those over partying...black out things…we just didn’t have one…or it wasn’t called that…in the olden days…

In college…spring break...was more pizza making hours…to earn money…to pay tuition…no getaways with friends…to sunny beaches…and airbnbs…

But lately…this place is a buzz…with spring break fever…and young at heart me is tempted…so tempted to join in the fun…

Like…why not…nothing’s stopping this old bird…except the fear of being seen in a bathing suit…

My Mr…not keen on the water…joins in…by cheering his bathing beauty on..and following the shoreline…snapping photos…pointing out fish…turtles…possible snakes…

And being on the alert…need he leap in…and save his bride from drowning…in the shallow water…

Always...this old gal's...hero...
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And this husband of mine…agrees...

​These daughters of mine…

Knew the Easter Bunny would always find them…no matter where we were…

When we lived in the tiny home…before they were cool and trendy…Mr. Bunny…was amazingly creative…in finding places to hide eggs…and invent a scavenger hunt…to help in the search of those fun-filled baskets...

These are the things…a mama misses…when her chicks fly the coop…not the middle of the night Easter Bunny help…or the getting up before dawn with excited little ones…but the smiles…the laughter…the magic of the moment…as they search…and find…and discover…

So this old gal was taken back…to those days…when coming home from church only to discover the Easter Bunny…had come for HER…again…after 45 years…a path of bunny footprints…leading from the garage to upstairs…

To a sweet surprise…ending in a rousing round of Slinging Chicken Game…where the girls…were out-chickened…by the Mr. in the house…

The joy of creating that magic…when this old gal's chicks…were chicks…comes full circle…as it's now being paid forward…

To their students…or friends…or someone they just met…or in a case like today…

A Mama and her Mr…

And this husband of mine...agrees...

This husband and I…

Took a drive up River Road...it’s a long road…that follows…the river...

Speed limit..20 mph...so this Sunday-driver-every-day-of-the-week only had to pull over twice…to let pesky trucks pass…

Lovely scenery…lots of road…lots of river…but sadly…river access was limited to just one camp area…a ranger greeted us…gave us directions to the free river access…and told us to sign the clipboard on the picnic table…

Do you know…how many picnic tables…are in a campground…we drove…and walked…looking for the elusive clipboard…thinking it must be near…the entrance to the river…

But no…that clipboard…and that picnic table…was tucked up beside the convenience shop…that was closed for the season…just behind….where the ranger had been standing…

It’s times like these…when one statement…made way back in the 90s...by that pizza making brother of mine…kind of haunts this old gal…

You may be book smart…he said…wagging his pizza poking fork while he talked…but you ain’t got no common sense…

Touche’…

Forty years later…his baby sister may have to admit...that sometimes…big brothers…really do…know a thing or two…
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And this husband of mine…agrees...

​This old gal…

Was a theater band geek…back in the day…not cool…or popular…but had great friends…and lots of fun…

And now…High School triggers…new place…new community…nerdy me…where does new me fit…where is my group…

Pretty obvious new me is not Cool Cat material…no matter how hard she tries…stay away from those Squirrels..advises my Mr…they can’t be trusted to make good choices…The Ducks…nice enough…but aloof…and not overly welcoming…

The Fox and Weasel…loners and maybe a little shady…

But alas…new me has found dear friends…welcomed into the herd…invited out to play…checked on periodically…

The fear of being excluded…left out…lonely…easily erased by a smile…a wave…the sharing of carrots…a peek in the window…

Saying I like you…just the way you are…let’s be BFFs….forever…
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And this husband of mine…agrees...

This husband and I…

Did not know…that 120 million years ago…our own little Jurassic Park existed…just up the road…Dinosaur Science 101…taught by JoAnne…left us knowing more about dinosaur footprints…than our 5 dollar admission…should have allowed…

Footprints can tell…a carnivore from a herbivore…running from sauntering…if they were with their friends…or venturing alone…we oohed and aahed…equally as amazed…as the little whipper snappers in our group…both proudly wearing…their dinosaur shirts…and cool Dino socks…

Walking the trails…after the tour…this old gal was suddenly joined…by one of the tykes…who’d bolted as fast as his 3 year old feet would carry him…away from his family…

We looked in awe…at the coolest of all the prints…him jumping up and down in excitement…we chatted…while waiting for mom to catch up…do you have a favorite dinosaur…Yep!…do you like dinosaur movies…Yep!…do you watch Jurassic Park?…Yep!…

And then…as mom rounded the corner…he stops moving…looks me in the eye…and says…it was nice talking to you…all grown-up-like…

This old gal watched…as he ran to mom…us standing there…looking at the past…me standing there…looking at the future…

It was nice talking to you…indeed…my little friend…
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And this husband of mine…agrees...