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| Texas |
Zeb's mother, Laurie and I went down to Texas, on April 17th, to visit Lydia while she had a week off of schooling in between courses. We had a blast! On the trip down, we flew from Baltimore to Houston, Houston to San Antonio; well that was how it was supposed to go. That's not how it went. We left Houston and ended up circling above San Antonio for about a half hour and then flew on to Corpus Christi to refuel. We couldn't land in San Antonio because they were having a bad rainstorm. We sat in the airplane at Corpus Christi for about an hour till we were granted permission to fly back to San Antonio. We werent allowed to get off the plane. So finally we landed where we wanted to be and Lydia picked us up and we went to Panera Bread for lunch. Then we went back to her apartment and just hung out. We ordered pizza and stayed in that first night, watched a movie and ate Snickers ice cream with added chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, chopped snickers bars, and reese cups.
On the 18th we went shopping, walked along the riverwalk, and walked around parts of San Antonio. We visited the Alamo, spent about 10 min in front of fun mirrors that distorts our image, and went shopping for groceries; that was a big shopping list! The next day was Sunday. Church wasn't until 11:00 so we went to the Botanical Gardens. It was very pretty and fun to see all sorts of different kinds of plants. From there we went to church and then drove up to Austin to see that capitol building. The building was very ornate and all the different designs in marble on the floor was absolutely gorgeous. We learned a few things by talking to one of the guards/cops (whoever they were). #1. We are not allowed to go past the 5th floor even though there are no signs. #2. We are not allowed to climb the awesome spiral staircase, even though it is up there for all to see, tempting and taunting us; unless we have permission by the state representative. #3. Ignorance is no excuse in the state of Texas. #4. It is illegal to rollerblade in the capitol building or on its grounds. That night we went to the Magic Time Machine restaurant, where the waiters and waitresses dress up like movie characters. Our waiter was Zorro. I also saw Minnie Mouse, Lara Croft from Tumbraider, and Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean (with whom I got my picture taken).
Monday morning, after an incredibly early morning exercise, we drove 2 hours down to Corpus Christi to see the USS Lexington. When this ship was docked permanently after its nautical life, it was used in the movie Pearl Harbor, and is now a tourist attraction. This ship has 19 floors and lots of stairs. It has everything from beds and sleeping areas, cafeteria, to sick bay, to barber shop and dental clinic. Sailors need to be able to live on ships for a year or more, so they have to have everything. I really enjoyed touring this ship. After a few hours on the ship we drove to the beach and spent the afternoon there. It was fun, we walked the beach, took a nap, built a sandcastle, and played in the water with the boogie board.
Tuesday we visited some military sites around San Antonio, including the Quadrangle where they held Geronimo captive, the old BAMC (Brooke Army Medical Center) where Laurie's dad used to work, and the Army Medical Museum. From there we rode a small train, which I really liked, and visited the Japanese Tea Garden. The Garden was beautiful! Lots of stone work, plants, water and fish. For dinner we were invited to the house of some friends of mine from Papua New Guinea who were home on furlough. It was nice to catch up with them. Wednesday morning was spent at the apartment relaxing, and doing laundry, and getting ready to leave the next morning. The afternoon was more shopping, and staying at the riverwalk until dark to see the lights. Our flights home were non-eventful. I think we had plenty of adventures that we didn't need one on the way home.
