Category: Road Trips

Travel by car

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Photography, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Driving Down Memory Lane

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: MAKING MEMORIES OF MEMORIES

The Pismo Pier

After leaving our old house and taking a drive through it’s neighborhood, we headed to Downtown Pismo Beach. Some things don’t change and trying to park in Pismo is one of them. Weekday in January and parking was at a premium. We made our way down to the waterfront where many improvements had taken place. We took pictures, walked to then of the pier and took more pictures. It’s not the most beautiful beach in the world, but it’s a familiar one.

Over our two day stay we snapped photos wherever we were. Eating at the Shore Cliff (which they now call the Ventana Grill), hanging at Pismo Lighthouse Suites (which was a marvelous place to stay), visiting our friends or just driving between their houses. I combined all these photos to create Pismo Beach pages I’ve added below for you to see.

On to Estero Bay & Cayucos

Though Pismo Beach is where we built our home and lived later in California, we first lived in Los Osos. Los Osos was part of a estuary shared with Morro Bay. Then down the road a little bit is Cayucos. These were our haunts.

We finished many a day in Los Osos by visiting the beautiful Montana de Oro State Park which was moments away from our rental house. Or we’d just walk around our neighborhood, Cabrillo Estates with it’s jaw dropping views. Bill also enjoyed playing golf at Sea Pines Resort.

Los Osos was a great place to live, but it didn’t have much in the way of restaurants, so eating out usually meant going over to Morro Bay which was more of a touristy town. If if we wanted Tex-Mex, we’d go to the only place on the Central Coast which actually knew what that was, Taco Temple in Cayucos. They were more famous for their California Fusion fish tacos, but we always ordered the nachos.

We also loved going up to Cambria with beautiful Moonstone Beach, but we didn’t make it this trip. Don’t worry, we’ll make a point of going next time we visit the area – and we will visit the area again.

So, on this nostalgic tour, we drove up to the top of Cabrillo Estates and stood in wonder of the majesty of God’s creation. We hit our two favorite spots in Montana de Oro, Spooner’s Cove and the Bluff Trail. Sea Pines was next and the Baywood neighborhood nearby. On we drove on around the estuary and through Morro Bay State Park.

We hadn’t left Pismo until around 3 PM, so the day was getting away from us. We merely drove through most of Morro Bay, but we did get out at Morro Rock. From the rock we drove on Highway 1 beside Morro Bay Strand to spend a few minutes on the Cayucos Pier, before going to Taco Temple for a plate of their nachos.

If you’re wondering what all that looked like, then you’ll enjoy these pages.

DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Back in the Hood

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: OLD FRIENDS AND FAVORITE PLACES ON THE CENTRAL COAST

Leading with the Human Connections

On the way to town we’d connected with one friend and had dinner with others as soon as we arrived. Now we’d be stopping by for “coffee” with even more people we’d enjoyed when we lived there. I put quotes around coffee, because I don’t drink it, but it’s easier to make coffee appointments and explain my odd negation of the beverage for later. If we were going to be in the area for an extended period, I would have reached out to quite a few more favorite faces, but our time was limited.

First up was Sally, a sister in the Lord. We met at South Bay Women’s Network, which was a group I loved all the time I was there. Sally and I have stayed in touch, mostly thanks to the magic of Facebook and her very sweet spirit. Since we’d last seen each other in person, she’d gotten married and moved from Los Osos to Avila Beach. It was great to catch up, meet her guy and see her very lovely home.

Too soon, because we could have continued the visit for hours, it was time to head to Arroyo Grande to visit Melissa, a sister in real estate. I did real estate while I was there and besides being one of the nicest people in the world, Melissa was also one of the very best real estate agents I ever met. I tried to emulate her in everything thing I did and gave her my client list when I left. She was still married to the same guy, but had given up a big rambling house on a large lot to downsize in the city. We shared all the real estate gossip and I caught up on her family. Then she showed us around her remarkable estate. In the front it looks like just another lovely home in the Five Cities, but the backyard seems more like a resort than a residential space and then there were all the garages – one with her beloved RV. Her daughters carried on her real estate business for her and Melissa is busy being a grandmother and RV traveler.

We Built That

Having fulfilled our coffee appointments, we made our way to our old neighborhood, not to see someone, but some place. Our home at 37 La Gaviota had been Bill’s labor of love and he wanted to spend some time there. Even though he’d done my real estate photography on the Central Coast, he didn’t learn to fly a drone until we opened Spot On Images in Texas. Bill had brought his drone along so he could get some shots of the old home place. At the time, it was the pinnacle of his home building experiences. Now we live in what he considers his masterpiece.

I’ll leave you with the pages I made in Artisan from his photo shoot of our old home.

DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The Long & Winding Road of Friendship

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: BETWEEN A ROCK & A HARD PLACE IN PISMO BEACH

Deja Vu All Over Again

Though we hated to leave our glamorous digs in Huntington Beach, it was time to head up the road to see other good friends in the Pismo Beach area. The day was uneventful until we decided to get off Highway 1 and take a scenic backroad. Then it was deja vu all over again.

My plan was to meet Deni in an Orcutt coffee shop called Plenty on Bell and then drive on to Pismo for dinner with, let’s call them, A & B. Dinner is something you have around 7:30, right? Well, A & B had decided, since we’d seen them last, that it’s at 5. Things were about to get tight and that’s where the deja vu came in.

The last time we’d been to Pismo, we stayed with A. We also had plans with another friend we’ll call C, but as we drove into town, A called us with the news they’d gotten us tickets to some gala and we had no time to see C. We were between a rock and a hard place with no place to win. We went to the gala (which was not a gala at all, more of a drunken brawl) and missed the time with C. A went on to monopolize the rest of our time, so I never got out to C. My friendship with C cooled to an acquaintance sort of relationship after that (and who can blame her). That was a great loss for me.

I thought I’d learned the lesson I needed to learn. So I booked our hotel before we even told A we were coming. We love her to death, but after living out there for six years, she’s not the only person we love in the area. We thought staying in a hotel would keep her from monopolizing all of our time, but the struggle was not over.

Back to the Present

So, here we were on the backroad to Orcutt. The GPS had been very wrong at estimating our arrival at Orcutt, so our time with Deni was already shrinking and A is on the phone demanding we get our butts to Pismo posthaste. Lesson learned, I wasn’t going to let A’s demands cost me another friend. So I pushed back and made room for Deni. It wasn’t enough time, but my friendship with Deni is longer and deeper, so she got both the rock and the hard place. We chatted for a while, shared a couple of hugs and I got back on the road to Pismo with that friendship intact.

Our dinner with A & B was lovely. We laughed so hard we cried. At the end of the meal, A started trying to organize the next day around their schedule, not ours. It was hard, but I pointed out the brief nature of our visit and the long list of people we needed to see.

Despite my many protestations, I was to call her as soon as I was free the next day. Not to worry by lunchtime she called us and demanded to know when we’d be there. As I had told her at dinner, we weren’t.

The lesson I learned this time was to let A know we are visiting Pismo after we’ve already seen the rest of our friends. I hate that it has to be like that, but it’s that or not have any other friends in the area and I plan on keeping them all.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

True Friends Really Are Friends Forever!

Jane Sadek

Lucky She Love Us

My friendship with Lizbet started at work many years ago. I was in a bind with a customer and she fixed it, when everyone else in the company shrugged their shoulders at me. I was in sales back in those days, which I hated, and when I moved to admin, one of the best things about it was being in the same building as Lizbet. What started as a transactional solution, led to being lunch buddies and on to her being one of my favorite people on the face of the earth. There’s a lot of water under that bridge.

No one can make me laugh the way she can. We love talking about odd, esoteric things that few others care about. And she gets Bill. There’s more, but that’s enough!

Tour Guide Extraordinaire

Because she gets me and she gets Bill, she knew we’d love the things she loves about the area. Such as the ferry to Balboa Island, which was her first treat of the day. It’s a tiny ferry that only holds one or two cars. These days there’s a bridge that takes you there without waiting for the nostalgic reminder of yesteryear, but we loved the experience. She also took us up a winding Laguna Beach road which leads through gorgeous residential areas to an overlook that’s known as Top of the World. Bill’s favorite thing was Crescent Bay Point Park, which was a lovely park high above a beautiful bay.

For lunch she chose a very unique Corona del Mar establishment, Roger’s Garden which is part restaurant, part garden center, part event venue and part home décor store. The closest Dallas might have to this experience would be Jackson’s Home & Garden, but you wouldn’t have your wedding there and there’s no restaurant. As to the rest of the day, Dallas has nothing to compare. That part of California is unparalleled.

But the best part of the day, by far, was spending time with such a good friend. Neither one of us is particularly good about staying in touch, but the occasional holiday greeting and texted update keeps the friendship alive, until we spend another wonderful day together. From a day like that, there should be hundreds and hundreds of photos, but there’s not! Here’s some that we did take.

Accommodations, ART, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

I Love the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort

Jane Sadek

MAKING MEMORIES: MY NEW FAVORITE HOTEL

Hello Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort

I’ve stayed in some luxury hotels in some pretty fabulous places: Mena House next to the pyramids, Cairo Marriott along the Nile, Hotel Prince De Galles in Paris, The National in OKC – just to name a few. However, that’s not the norm. I’m usually looking for the bargain, so I can stay longer and eat in outrageous places. We just go crash lobbies and bars in swanky hotels, before going back to my bargain. Suits me just fine.

However, in recent years, Bill has demanded I be a little more discriminating in my bargains, because I have landed him in some dumps. Even so, luxury resorts are not our go-to choice. As I researched Huntington Beach, however, pretty much everything was expensive and the Hyatt Regency deal I found was only a small stretch. I was so glad when I sold it to Bill and made the reservation.

The Parking & Checking-In Thing

Bill may prefer I upgrade our accommodations these days, but he draws the line at exorbitant valet parking. Take our almost disaster in Detroit, for instance. As we drove around the exterior of the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach I knew we were in for another adventure in parking. I left Bill to it and went in to claim our room.

I admit I’m chatty and often find myself in a little trouble with Mr. Bill for my gift of gab, but this time my chattiness paid off in a big way. The hotel clerk was clicking away on her computer. She felt they’d booked my room a little too far from the lobby. Perhaps she thought an ancient senior citizen like me was too feeble to walk very far. I told her I was more interested in view than proximity to the lobby and about that time Bill comes in gawking around said lobby like a rube on his first visit to the big city. I said, “You’ll have to excuse him, this is a bit of a splurge for us.” She replied, “Then how about a full ocean view!”

What a Room!

Convinced I was hearty enough to make my way around the hotel grounds, this wonderful lady put us into what has to be one of the greatest hotel rooms in the world. This was the view as we opened the door to our room!

Once I got over that and looked around, I was even more astounded. This room was huge and gorgeous and well appointed. I wanted to move in forever!

There was an entry area with furnishings to accommodate all those little things you like to leave by the door. The bathroom would have pleased any ancient Roman. There was an area with a desk and bed raised on a dais like a throne room on the other side of some columns was a lovely sitting area next to the balcony.

I never wanted to leave, but we still had economy parking to deal with. It turned out to be not big deal at all. Apparently, we’re not the first people to think $65 a day is a little steep. There’s a public parking area right across the street from the hotel for like $10 a day – a far cry from $65. The hotel gives you a permit to stay there overnight. They even have a very elaborate pedestrian bridge to get you safely back to the hotel. We parked near the bridge and enjoyed the stroll back to our room, because the resort is beautiful.

For dinner, we found a place called Baja Sharkey’s at a nearby shopping center where we had margaritas and nachos. Then time for bed, because we were going on a tour the next day.

Here’s my photo book pages of the resort, made in Artisan, of course. Bill would want you to tell me that the fuzzy image on the left is the result of me trying to create a heavenly effect on the page, not his photography.

Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Hermosa Beach, Surf City USA?

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: ON THE ROAD TO HUNTINGTON BEACH

We Weren’t in a Hurry

I confess, on some travel days, I get a little stressed. On this one, I’d just been to LACMA for a long anticipated visit and the only thing left on the day’s itinerary was to get to our hotel in Huntington Beach. So, we stopped along the way to run personal errands, like stocking up on fruit for Bill and beverages for me and generally took our time.

Before leaving the Nephew, we’d asked them about their favorite beach along our route and they recommended Hermosa. So when a sign pointed the way to it, we decided to take a look.

Parking is a real challenge in Hermosa Beach. It’s not cheap and you’re lucky to find a space, but it is worth a stop. We were there towards the end of the day on a Tuesday, so there was the occasional open space, but of course, Bill had to satisfy himself he was getting the best deal.

Surfer’s Walk of Fame

Did you know there was a Surfer’s Walk of Fame? Would you have gone looking for it in Hermosa Beach? I had no idea! Remember, I had depended on my nephew’s skills as a tour guide in LA and we were headed to Huntington Beach, where my primary focus was visiting one of my very best friends, Lizbet. Hermosa Beach hadn’t been on my radar.

There’s a wonderful, serendipitous feel to wandering around without an agenda. I get why people do it and on occasion I enjoy it, too. However, during these spontaneous moments you sometime find yourself meditating over a dandelion in the sidewalk, a block over from one the coolest things in the world. So, FOMO keeps me carefully researching most of our trips.

We strolled along a paved walkway toward a pier, taking photos along the way. For us, taking photos is part of seeing. Our eyes graze our surroundings, looking for vignettes to capture. We lift our cameras to snap a photo and move on. Later we enjoy the images and for me at least, sharing them is part of the fun.

At the entry to the pier stands a very cool statue of a surfer dude catching a wave. As you stroll out to the of the pier you really begin to see why it’s called Hermosa (Beautiful) Beach. Then a plaque on the pier caught my eye. Surfer’s Walk of Fame? What was that?

Looking more closely along the pier, I realized there were many plaques, spaced evenly along either side. Bill continued to snap photos of the scenery and I started reading the plaques. It was a love story, written for surfer dudes and all the dudes loved the same mistress. I now had a new affection for Hermosa Beach.

I wouldn’t recommend making a special trip to California just to see the Surfer’s Walk of Fame, but if you’re driving along Highway 5, it’s worth the parking fee. I hope you’ll drop by on Wednesday and Friday for Memory Keeping and Memory Sharing, but for now I’ll leave you with my Hermosa Beach pages, made in Artisan 6.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Memory Keeping, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

LACMA

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

Finally, But Not Quite

I lived in California for six years and made a few visits to LA every year. We moved back to Texas and have been back to LA several times. I had LACMA on my list every time, but never got there. There were always other things at the top of the list and I loved seeing those wonderful sights, but LACMA was not one of them. This trip it was at the top of the list and my poor husband was reminded of it frequently.

After our scheduled days with family, we waved goodbye and headed off to LACMA. That’s the finally part. The not quite part was the massive construction project they had going on. I had the opportunity to see mere snippets of the many works of the LACMA and I am so happy I went. However, there’s a lot more to see than was available for viewing, so LACMA went right back to the top of my LA list.

The Modern Part of Our Visit

So the red and glass building at the top of this post is BCAM, “the centerpiece” of LACMA (according to LACMA). We weren’t enchanted, but then we aren’t big fans of Contemporary Art. We listen to the lectures and look at the art, trying to appreciate it, but give us European Renaissance any day, or Impressionists, or Decorative Arts, or well, you understand. We killed most of an hour over there and at least 15 minutes of that was spent on a “is that all there is” re-tour of the facility.

The Other Part of the Museum

Then we stepped next door at the Resnick Pavilion which contained a “Highlights” collection and there we were perfectly happy for a whole lot longer. There was one gallery with a sort of one-of-each approach to the collection. One painting, one sculpture, one vase, one gemstone etc. etc. etc. I could have stayed there all day.

There was also a mural being painted in real time and an exhibition about it. This was California, so they had some lame-woke-liberal (IMHO) excuse for the mural which made me roll my eyes, but I did love watching the artists paint.

Then we wandered into the Arabic art section. Adored it. They had a room set up in which I could imagining several turban-headed men lounging on the sofas, smoking hookahs and watching belly dancers. The belly dancers are probably more imagination than I should have applied, but it was great. We spent a lot of time in that gallery, too. Fascinating stuff. One might wonder why Arabic art got a whole gallery, while the highlights were so parsimonious, but it is their museum, not mine.

It was time to hit the road and head towards Huntington Beach. As we left, I looked longingly at the David Geffen Galleries, under construction across the plaza, and promised myself I’d be back.

There were giant animal head sculptures along the plaza. I imagined them starting to talk, as if I were on a strange planet with Captain Kirk. Then I remembered Gobekli Tepe. One of my favorite ruminations is imagining future archeologist digging up some of our monuments and surmising who we had been. Would they recognize this as a museum or would they think the collection of animal heads were a tribute to our gods.

Anyway, I hope you’ll visit on Wednesday and Friday for Memory Keeping and Memory Sharing. In the meantime, here are the pages I created in Artisan to sum up our visit.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Duke’s on Malibu

Jane Sadek

MEMORY KEEPING: DAY TWO OF LA SIGHTSEEING

Family Business Before Monkey Business

Being a tourist and visiting family are two different things. I get that, so I cooled my jets, played with my new grandnephew and did the family things. However, when it was decided we were heading to Malibu, I was very happy to put on my tourist cap and jump in the car.

We took the route through Topanga Canyon and Nephew drove us to a favorite pier for some sightseeing. It was lovely. We enjoyed strolling along and taking in the beauty all around us. We took lots of photos. Here are a few.

Then nephew drove us by several of their favorite restaurants and though I can’t remember the reasoning behind the choice, if there was any reasoning behind the choice, we ended up at Duke’s.

Duke’s Malibu

Having been told by my husband that Nephew had our sightseeing all mapped out, I’d optimistically neglected my usual research. I knew nothing about beach bars on Malibu. When Duke’s got a strong recommendation from Nephew and Niece, we went with it.

I did not realize at the time Duke’s Malibu was an offshoot of Duke’s Waikiki. I wanted a true Malibu experience and Duke’s was more like the Pipeline meets Hollywood – very kitschy in a schizophrenic sort of way. There’s a storyline that justifies a Duke’s in Malibu. After making surfing popular with the tourists in Waikiki Duke did come to Hollywood. That doesn’t explain why there is a Duke’s Canton in East Texas that has nothing to do with surfing, but maybe I’ll go one day and see if I can figure it out.

Anyway, in true Egyptian fashion, we’d shown up in the middle of the afternoon during that lull between lunch and dinner. It’s a constant dissonance I feel when I’m around my beloved Egyptians. I love them to death, but after 31 years of marriage, I still don’t understand their eating habits. Their meals rarely coincide with my appetite. Usually, because I have given up and snacked heartily out of desperation right before they decide to eat.

Duke’s was open, but it wasn’t really ready for us. They recommended we have a Lava Flow while the staff got ready for the dinner hour. We complied and enjoyed the view. I do not recommend the Lava Flow. For me, it was like drinking medicine, but Niece and Nephew swear by it – so it’s up to you.

We had a variety of appetizers and then a meal – all of which they loved. None of which thrilled me or Bill for that matter, but then we are picky.

So, beach & pier – marvelous. Duke’s, not so much. Next week I’ll tell you about LACMOA! Enjoy Memory Preservation and Memory Sharing for the rest of the week.

The famous Hollywood sign
DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

And We’re Off to Cali!

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: CALIFORNIA 2024, THE FRIENDS & FAMILY TOUR

The Lure of California

I’ll confess, when I lived in California I couldn’t wait to get back to my beloved Texas. My mom told us before we left, “California is someplace you go on vacation, not someplace to live.” Well, for us she was right, and six years later we boomeranged right back to Big D, but a funny thing had happened. We left a part of our hearts behind. Yes, California is beautiful, but believe me, we’re happy enough just making visits. But there were friends and family who moved out there while we were there and friends we’d made while we were there who hold pieces of our hearts hostage in the Golden State. Them we miss. The land of fruits and nuts, not so much!

Our vacations usually result from a seed planted at an earlier time, but this time someone else planted the seed. We had a new grand nephew. He’d been born in late September of 2023, so come January 2024, it was time to go meet him. I’d love to show him to you, because he’s cute as a button, but his mom and dad have requested no social media images, so you’ll just have to believe me.

And since we were going to be in California to meet our grand nephew, we made plans to spend time with other dear friends. Come see how much fun we had.

The Rough Start

My alarm went off at 3:30 AM as I planned, but the music I’d chosen was so gentle, I snoozed on for 10 minutes. When I finally woke, Bill and I we both were in a panic. Bill, who’d planned to wake up about 3:40, set his alarm for PM instead of AM (Freudian Slip?) so it was by the grace of God we woke up at all.

It was Keystone Cops Revisited as we raced around to get out the door, but we didn’t make our 4 AM deadline. We were only 10 minutes late getting away and got to Love Field in plenty of time, but that was by the grace of God, too. Westbound I-30 was smooth sailing, but something had happened on the Eastbound and it was bumper-to-bumper, wall-to-wall semis as far as the eye could see. We said hallelujahs all the way to the airport.

We hadn’t needed to be so panicked. The Delta desk wasn’t even open when we got there. Everything else about the trip was routine. Even the Chik-filet biscuit I had for breakfast. Little did I know that it was going to be one of my last. (I was about to go gluten free, unwillingly, but necessarily). The other end of the flight was routine, too. We picked up the rental car and hit Mickey D’s.

At Our Nephew’s

For the next few days we were at our nephew’s home in Canoga Park. We loved getting to know the grand nephew and mostly we just hung out. We were on Egyptian time, which is always difficult for me, but it’s great for Bill to speak Arabic and return to his natural flow.

The first evening they grilled steaks for us and on the next they took us sightseeing. I appreciated it very much, but it did have it’s challenges. Nephew has a cute Mercedes and for the tour, Bill and Nephew sat up front.

I was in the backseat with Niece and Baby. First, there’s the issue of motion sickness. I have it if I ride in the backseat and there was the baby, too. I never babysat as a child and never had children myself, so as cute as a baby might be, I’m done after about 10 minutes and riding for hours around LA right next to one was an exercise in prayer.

I also couldn’t see out of the backseat. Nephew and Bill were having a grand old time, going through neighborhood after neighborhood discussing real estate, architecture and potential business plans, while about all I could see was the retaining wall in front of all the homes.

Nephew made every effort to please me and there was no way I was going to complain, but it was a tough few hours. Specifically for me, we visited the Hollywood sign and Rodeo Drive. It was late on a Sunday afternoon, so Rodeo Drive was not exactly humming, but it was very chilly for LA.

Below are some of the shots we took at Rodeo Drive. Next week we’ll head to Malibu. Don’t miss that and remember to check by for Memory Preservation and Memory Sharing on Wednesday and Friday.

DESTINATIONS, Photo Organization, Photo Organization Coach, Photography, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, Scrapbooking, Shopping, TRAVEL, United States

A Few Snippets Before Heading Home

Jane Sadek

MEMORY MAKING: HANGING WITH THE GIRLS

Yes, We Were There for The Love Life Conference

Before abandoning the conference completely, I will share a couple of incidents. One was good and one was bad. Let’s start with the good. On Friday morning we were running a little late and as we struggled to find a seat, someone approached Deb and asked her if we wanted to sit up front. Are you kidding? Would we rather be front and center or up there in the nosebleed section. Of course we wanted to move up front.

I’m guessing some group wasn’t making it to the session and they wanted it to be filled up for the people watching online and the videos which I am sure they sell. We certainly weren’t invited back up front for the rest of the conference, but it was exciting to be so close you didn’t even need to look at the monitors. It’s the only time in my life I’ve been glad I was running late!

The second incident of note was not as pleasant, but it was the same day. When we left that night we were ragged. Stomping all over San Antonio in the heat, eating big meals and drinking margaritas had taken their toll. It didn’t exactly energize us to sit for hours in the dark, listening to the various speakers.

We made our way across the parking lot and the car was in sight. I was going to drive, so I wanted to put my stuff in the trunk. I squeezed between two cars parked nose to nose and suddenly I was down. It was one of those bone jarring falls that leaves you stunned and my leg was really hurting. What’s more I was concerned about all my stuff. Where were my glasses which had been on my head? Was the traveling tiara in my tote bag? Billfold? And so forth and so on.

The fall had been bad enough to draw the attention of others who were wanting to call 9-1-1. I didn’t want that to happen, but I wondered what was the matter with my leg. I had on a pair of jeans which had not torn, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt something had scrapped up my leg and knee. Then I started looking for the reason I fell. Lord knows I can be clumsy, but even though I didn’t know WHAT it was, I knew I’d been kneecapped.

While everyone else discussed my need for a hospital, I looked for the culprit. On the front bumper of the car I squeezed past was some sort of implement. I have no idea what it was used for but it was sharp and it was at least four inches long – just enough to trip me up!

Being the brave soul that I am, I drove back to Shana’s just as I had said I would do, even thought Deb was wishing I would drive to some hospital. When I got to Shana’s and looked at my leg, things were worse than I thought. I had scrapes and bruises from falling and whatever the implement on the front of the car had been, it was sharp enough to actually cut my leg. By the time we got there, things were swelling. Nurses Deb & Shana got to work on me. In the morning I was much better, but it had been quite a fall.

A Return to Palmer’s

Back in 2016, my friend Shana was thinking of starting a coaching/retreat business. She now runs a very successful concierge business with three Texas locations, but back in 2016 she was in transition. Deb and I went to the retreat and had a great time. It’s when we discovered the wonders of the San Marcos Outlet Mall and we ate at Palmer’s.

Shana, Deborah and I had set aside Saturday night for ourselves. Shana had a local watering hole she wanted to take us to, but for dinner we wanted Palmer’s. Deb and I adore anything al fresco and Shana had warm memories of it from her college days, so that’s what we planned on doing.

On this particular visit, the service was a little off and the food was not the best, but their patio is so amazing, I’d go back tomorrow. The picture you see at the top of this post is one I snapped. Totally awful pic of me, but sharing for the other two.

A Return to Brahmin

Then Sunday morning it was time to return to the Metroplex. We said farewell to Shana and our first stop was the Brahmin store at the San Marcos Outlet Stores. We got there a few minutes before the store opened, so we waited. As soon as they opened, Deb swooped in, grabbed her clearance bag and we were on the road back home.

And that’s the end of this tale. Next week we’ll move on to Cali 2024, the Friends and Family Tour. Don’t miss Memory Keeping on Wednesday and Memory Sharing on Thursday!