Vacation Phase II: Texas

I discovered last March how much I enjoy road trips, so this summer when I had an opportunity to take a road trip through Texas I couldn't wait.  I am the only member of my immediate family that hasn't lived in Texas for some portion of my life.  My parents both lived there during childhood, in Amarillo and Irving.  My dad was born in Amarillo.  My sister lived in Dallas for a few years while working for Dillards.  My brother, Ryan went to college in Abilene.  My youngest brother, Justin was born in Fort Worth and lived there for the first month or so of his life.  I, on the other hand, have never lived there.  Like Arkansas, I have a lot of family in Texas, so I've been to and through the state visiting them, but not using the lens of a tourist.  I decided to be a tourist on this trip.

Dallas
I started my trip in Dallas, well Aubrey to be exact.  One of my mom's sisters and her family live in Aubrey which is a small town outside of Denton.  I made it to town last Monday in time to see my fifteen year old twin cousins play basketball.  They were so much fun to watch!  They are very talented!  On Tuesday they went with me to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  We had so much fun.  There was a lot to see and the facility is state of the art.  It definitely sets a new standard for additional presidential libraries to be built.  When I visited the Eisenhower library last year I bought a passport to presidential libraries (yes I know I'm a nerd).  I was able to get it stamped during our visit.

After the library we had lunch in downtown Dallas before going to the 6th Floor Museum.  The 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository building is where Lee Harvey Oswald was standing when he shot President Kennedy.  The museum is full of artifacts and videos dedicated to that moment in history.  After touring the museum we went to Dealey Plaza which is just outside the building.  The grounds are beautifully kept and offer a peaceful setting in the midst of a bustling downtown.

Austin:

When I originally was planning my time in Texas, I had thought that I would spend a majority of my time in Austin.  What I discovered however, was that many of the things advertised as "top attractions" in Austin are not things I wanted to do alone.  Austin is known for nightlife and the music scene.  I would love to experience those parts of Austin, but didn't want to go it alone.  I decided instead that I would lengthen my time in Dallas and shorten my time in Austin to just the LBJ Presidential Library.

The LBJ Library was my fifth presidential library to visit, and yes, I got a stamp.  There were three floors of exhibits at this library.  I always learn so much by visiting these places.  Going to the LBJ Library just after going through the 6th Floor Museum made for a seamless look at an important part of our history.  I really enjoyed it!

Houston:

The purpose for my trek through Texas was to ultimately get to the Houston area for my cousin Whitney's wedding.  My aunt and uncle actually live in Magnolia which is about 35 miles north of downtown Houston.  I don't have any wedding pictures, my mom and sister have those, so I'll have to share them later.  Thursday evening we enjoyed a rehearsal dinner of Texas barbecue.  Friday my parents and I drove into Houston to pick Kayla up from the airport.  We came back to Magnolia where we met my Mamaw and my aunt Pam for lunch.  We had time that afternoon before we needed to leave for the wedding, so mom, Kayla and I went swimming.  Well....that's actually probably not fair.  We didn't go swimming, we got in the water.  It was SUPER cold!!  It took forever to get used to, so we just water walked and chatted.  My aunt Pam came and joined us too.  We had a good visit.

The wedding Friday night was beautiful.  It was held at an outdoor venue that was simply gorgeous.  The only rough part was the heat, it was 102 when the ceremony started.  The area was pretty shaded though and the ceremony only lasted about 30 minutes.  The whole thing was fantastic.  We then went inside for a reception that was tons of fun.  I'll have to post pics when I have them.

Saturday we didn't have any major plans so mom, dad, Kayla and I went to a Houston Astros game.  Since one of my goals is to visit every major league ballpark, this game got me one park closer!  The Astros play at Minute Maid Ballpark which is a building with a retractable roof.  I had never been in a dome before, nor had I ever sat behind home plate.  Granted we were way up high, but we were directly behind home plate.  It was a completely different game experience!  I had so much fun spending the afternoon with my family.

We finished our time together with an evening of visiting at my aunt and uncle's house.  They were both so tired from all of the wedding festivities, but they graciously invited us over for the evening to eat and chat.  It was so nice to visit with them.  We just don't get to see them enough!

Home Again:

Today I drove home.  I made four very brief stops, but otherwise just kept moving.  I made it home in exactly eight hours.  I'm tired tonight, but I'm not so exhausted I can't function.  I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow.  I needed the break that I took and I'm looking forward to the start of my next school year, which really kind of starts tomorrow!

It was a great vacation -- now back to reality!

36 Hours

By the time I got home Saturday night, I had about 36 hours to prepare to leave again.  I am leaving Monday morning for a trip through Texas.  I had roughly 36 hours to do my laundry, clean out my car and re-pack.

My cousin Whitney is getting married at the end of the week in Magnolia, TX a suburb of Houston.  I need to be there on Thursday, but I have a couple of days before then to do some sight seeing.  Besides all of the visiting major league ballparks I also want to visit all of the Presidential Libraries.  There are currently thirteen libraries in the US.  I've been to three so far, Kennedy, Clinton and Eisenhower.  This week on my trek through Texas I am planning (hoping) to visit three more, George W. Bush in Dallas, Lyndon B. Johnson in Austin and George Bush in College Station.

I haven't totally mapped out my time through Texas yet, but I am planning to leave tomorrow after taking care of a couple of errands around town.  I've managed to finish most of my laundry, but my suitcase is currently empty.  Lots to do and I'm down to 18 hours!

Leavin' on a jet plane

My flight out of Philly left at 11:56 a.m. on Friday.  The last time I flew out of a northeast airport I flew out of La Guardia in New York City.  I arrived at that airport two and a half hours early and I still had to run to my gate.  I do everything I can to avoid running through airports, so when it came time to determine when I would leave for the Philadelphia airport I took my experience at LaGuardia into account.  I left my hotel in time that I would arrive at the airport close to three hours early.  As it turns out, that much time was not needed to get through security in Philadelphia and I made it to my gate at 9:45 which gave me plenty of time to read and relax in the gate area.

I love to fly.  I'm even one of those weirdos that enjoys airports.  It doesn't bother me one bit to sit in the airport and read for a few hours.

If I learned anything about myself last week it's that I need to work harder to take breaks.  Breaks from work, breaks from technology, just more breaks.  I love to read for pleasure and there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do that at home.  It shouldn't take traveling to allow me to pick up a book for pleasure.  This last week I read four novels for pleasure, it was wonderful to lose myself in the pages of a book.  I need to make it a goal to do that more often.  I got some excellent recommendations from friends of books that I should read and I picked up a selection of books from the Salvation Army last weekend that I'm looking forward to reading them very soon.  After last week I now want to look for books on the American Revolution, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson or any other title that will let me learn more about our nation's history.  So much to learn...so little time!

Both flights were uneventful which is a good thing.  I landed in Tulsa earlier than expected and spent the evening eating my mom's lasagna and watching movies with my brother.  Saturday was my dad's birthday, so I stuck around to celebrate with lunch and cake.  I enjoyed spending time with my family.  I've been blessed to see all of my immediate family in the last week despite our busy schedules and the many directions life takes us.  I am blessed.

Walk This Way

I did more walking on Thursday than the other two days I was in Philly, at least that's the way it felt.  I should have taken a pedometer with me!  Kayla stayed over Wednesday night and we had time Thursday morning to have a nice breakfast at a sidewalk cafe and walk the short distance from my hotel to Independence Mall.  Kayla was able to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's grave and the outside of Betsy Ross's house.  It was a nice morning.

Washington Square
After Kayla left to go back to NYC I went to Washington Square.  Similar to Franklin Square, this is a park with a large fountain in the center.  There is also a George Washington statue and a tomb for the unknown soldiers of the Revolutionary War.  I sat in the park for a while I read a book.  It was another nice weather day.

Library Hall

After leaving Washington Square I went to Library Hall which was the first public library.  There were meetings going on throughout the building, so I could only tour the lobby, but it was interesting nonetheless.  There was s draft of the Declaration of Independence and the journals of Lewis and Clark.  Every stop during this trip made me want to read more about that period of history.  There are so many things to read and learn and so little time to do it in!!

Independence Seaport Museum

The Independence Seaport Museum was my major stop for the day.  The museum itself was interesting, but the highlight of the visit was being able to tour the Olympia and the Becuna.  This self-guided tour started in the submarine Becuna.  If you are at all claustrophobic I don't recommend touring a submarine.  I don't consider myself claustrophobic and I had a few moments of panic myself.  It was so interesting to see the set up and living areas of the sub's occupants.  After the submarine I was able to tour the ship Olympia which was used in the Spanish American War.  Not as close of quarters there as in the submarine, but not terribly spacious.  Both tours were so much fun!!  I enjoyed both tremendously.  In the picture below the Olympia ship is on the left and the Becuna submarine is on the right.

I was super tired when I got back to my hotel Thursday night.  I considered catching up on pictures and blog posts at that time, but I just wanted to read.  

I hope you've enjoyed seeing all of my stops on my trip and hopefully you haven't been annoyed with all of my facebook posts.  I enjoy being able to share my travels and journeys.  Thanks for traveling with me.  

The City of Brotherly Love (and Sisterly Affection)

You're probably familiar with the nickname for Philadelphia as being "The City of Brotherly Love," you may not be aware that the nickname was revised to include "and sisterly affection" in the last few years to ensure a welcoming spirit for all visitors.  I found Philly to be very kind and accommodating.  Wednesday of my trip was a beautiful day and a very full day.  Here's a recap of my day...

Ben Franklin Post Office
I started my day by mailing post cards from the B. Free Franklin Post Office.  This is the post office that Ben Franklin first established and that was attached to his print shop.  It was the first post office ever to be in operation in the United States and it is still a working post office today.  It's not a full service post office.  Mail is not delivered there and you can't mail anything larger than 13 ounces.  It's perfect for post cards though because they have a special post mark that they use for any outgoing mail.  I always mail post cards to my parents and grandparents when I travel.  I try to get them on the first day of my trip and mail them the next day so that they beat me back, but that doesn't always work out.  I didn't beat them back this time.  I thought it was neat that my recipients would have a small piece of history through something as simply as a post card.

Reading Terminal Market
When I left the post office I walked to Reading Terminal Market.  This is a farmer's market a few blocks from Independence Mall.  It was beautiful!  The produce was artistically displayed.  The fish and meats were beautifully cut.  The bakery items smelled fantastic and the handmade jewelry was creatively shown in glass cases.  I spent an hour just walking the aisles and looking at everything.  I love farmer's markets anyway, and this one certainly tops that list!  It's right up there with the Pike Place Market in Seattle for me.

Franklin Square
Franklin Square is a park, again not far from Independence Mall.  The high on Wednesday only got up to 78 so I had very comfortable weather for being outside.  Some people sit and read at the beach, I sat and read in the park.  I spent about an hour, just reading on a park bench.  The park was full of teens playing football, nannies walking their charges, preschoolers playing on the playground and families out enjoying the day.  Franklin Square includes a mini-golf course and a carousel.  As Kayla has mentioned to me before, parks like this one are very central to the cities they are in because they are essentially the back yards of the citizens there.  So many people in large northeastern cities live in apartments, that these parks become a common place to play and enjoy the outdoors the way many of us do in our backyards.

US Mint
When I left Franklin Square I went to the US Mint.  It is free to tour and was very interesting!  I learned a lot about the history of US coinage and got to see the factory where the coins are made.  I saw belts with lots of pennies and what I think were nickels, although I was a long way away so it could have been dimes or quarters.  There are six mints in the US, the ones offering tours are in Philadelphia and Denver.  You can also  do a virtual tour online.

Betsy Ross House
I also toured the Betsy Ross house on Wednesday.  While she is best known for making the first American flag, there is actually no written document that confirms she did that.  More likely she was part of a group of women that made the first flag.  She is credited with creating a five point star for the flag as opposed to the six point star initially proposed by George Washington.  It's so fascinating to me to see where and how people from other times lived.  The very tiny home that she shared with the widow she rented from and her seven children while her husbands (she had three throughout her lifetime) were off to war was very simple.  It was literally walking back in time.

Elfreth's Alley
Elfreth's Alley is the oldest residential street in the US.  It is currently still home to private residents.  The row houses are well preserved and the cobblestone pathway make you feel as though you've gone to another time.  I just walked through the alley on the way back to my hotel, you can tour one of the houses owned by a historic society if you wish.

Phillies
My sister took a train over from NYC to go to a Philadelphia Phillies game with me on Wednesday night.  One of my goals is to visit every major league baseball park, this game allowed me to add another one to the list of those visited.  We had a dinner or hot dogs and fries...is there any more appropriate dinner for a major league game?  We watched the game and visited, enjoying the night air.  We had someone take our picture together because it's kind of become our thing.  We have a picture of us at Fenway, CitiField, Rangers Ballpark and now Citizens Bank Park.  I'm sure we'll continue to add more!

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I've mentioned before that I experienced several reactions to my willingness to travel alone.  Most who have expressed concern about me traveling alone have expressed concern for my safety.  I decided about a year and a half ago that I didn't want to live in fear.  I allowed fear to stop me from doing things and I didn't want to do that anymore.  If I waited around for someone who would travel, go to the movies, see a play and such, with me I would still be waiting.  I'm still learning to overcome some of my social anxieties, but I'm much better than I used to be.  Traveling alone is part of me embracing my independence.  It's about me making things happen in life rather than waiting on life to happen to me.  It can be risky to travel alone, that just means you have to be smart about it.  Here are some of the things I do to be smart about my safety.

• I research my destination thoroughly before booking any flights or hotel accommodations.  This includes studying maps, finding eating establishments and looking at ground transportation.  I rarely rent a car, so I want to make sure I know what the public transportation options are.
• I book a hotel that is close to the sights I'll be visiting.  This often means that I pay more, but hotel accommodations are not something to be cheap about.
• I send my flight itinerary and hotel reservation information to my parents before I leave.
• I carry a small cross body purse when I'm out around town, rather than a larger bag or a handbag that I have to carry.  This is as much for convenience as for safety.  I don't want to carry lots of stuff if I'm going to be walking around a lot.
• I don't walk around after dark.  If I'm going to be too far away from my hotel after dark to get back on foot, I catch a cab.

I don't want to be fearful about life, but I do want to be smart about it.  I would encourage others to do the same.  Going to museums and exhibits alone is the easy part, most people don't notice you if you're alone.  In several places I've done the audio tour to go along with my self tour which helps me blend in even more.

Let Freedom Ring

I chose Philadelphia as a vacation location because I'd never been here before and didn't know much about it. After my day today I realize just how much I don't know! It may come as a surprise to you but I'm a planner. In the weeks just prior to this trip I created an itinerary for myself. I did that in part because I needed to prioritize what I wanted to see because there are more sights than I have time. My other reason for doing it was because many tickets could be purchased ahead of time which allowed me to spread out the cost of the trip. Today's plan went exactly as it was supposed to...other than the rain of course. Here's a re-cap of my day.... (I tried to insert pictures, but I'm on my iPad since I didn't bring my computer and it doesn't seem to want to play nicely.)

Independence Visitors' Center
I left my hotel around 8:30 to head to the Independence Visitors' Center. I picked up my ticket for touring Independence Hall later in the day and looked at some of the exhibits there. There are a handful of exhibits in at the Visitors' Center that begin telling the story of Philadelphia and it's role in the creation of our nation.

Constitutional Walking Tour
I have found that all encompassing tours, such as the one I went on today, are very worth the money. You see several sights in a short amount of time and sometimes even see things you wouldn't have found on your own. That in addition to the stories and tips that you get from a good guide make the expense worth it. On today's walking tour I saw Ben Franklin's burial place, the current Quaker meeting house, Betsy Ross's house, Christ Church, First Bank, Carpenter's Hall and the Presidents' House Site,  as well as other buildings and parks along the way. My group only had four people in it, so we had some flexibility about what we could stay around and look at as opposed to just walking  by. We also had a very good guide which was nice. I decided as we were walking around this morning that Philadelphia seems to be a cross between New York City and Boston, with a little bit of DC thrown in too.

National Constitution Center
After the walking tour, I went back to the National Constitution Center. It was very interesting! It began with a live performance of the story of the creation of the Constitution then was followed by several exhibits. There were several exhibits that were interactive. They were designed with children in mind, but the teacher in me couldn't resist. One of my favorite exhibits was the one that demonstrates the voting process. You go into a voting booth, curtain and all, and press start on the monitor. The computer randomly selects two past (or the current) president to go on your "ballot." Then the computer begins showing quotes of the presidents on major issues like crime, energy or foreign policy.  You select the statement that you most agree with and at the end the computer tells you which president goes with those statements. The idea is that you evaluate issues independent of the candidate and their political party. It was a very cool exercise I thought!

When I got ready to leave the Constitution Center it was raining. I decided to have a bite of lunch while I was waiting on the rain to clear.

Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell was my next stop today. Like several of the places I went, I discovered that I actually know very little about the Liberty Bell. There were several things to read and look at before you get to the bell itself. It was a very neat stop during my day.

Independence Hall
Independence Hall is where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. It was humbling to stand in the room where some of the greatest minds in our nation, Ben Franklin, Tomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington (to name a few) worked on documents that would create our nation and our government. Like my other tours today, I had an excellent tour guide for the Independence Hall tour.

Bourse
My last stop of the day was the Bourse Food Court and Shops. Initially designed to be a center for commerce and business, the Bourse building has several souvenir shops. It was here that I bought....wait for it....a book! I'm sure you're all shocked. I will say that after hearing during the walking tour that books used to cost between $3,000-5,000 I didn't feel badly for spending $10 on mine.

I have my plan ready for tomorrow. It's much more flexible than today's schedule because those tickets have not been purchased yet, although Kayla and I will be going to a Phillies game tomorrow night. The rain has let up and tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful. I'm looking forward to day two!

You like yourself, that's good!

I travel alone quite a bit. Typically I meet people at my destination that I know, either colleagues at a conference or friends or family on vacation. This trip is a little different. My sister is coming over on Wednesday evening to go to a baseball game with me, but other than that I am vacationing on my own this week. The reactions I've gotten from people when they find out I am traveling alone vary greatly. I've had some feel sorry for me. I've had some tell me that they admire my courage. I have had some tell me they're afraid for me. I've had some tell me they wish they could travel alone too. I think the reaction I got from a fellow passenger today was by far the most unique, but it was also the most profound. The gentleman sitting next to me on my first flight, when I told him I was vacationing alone said "You like yourself, that's good." 

I hadn't ever thought about it like that. When I tell people about my the road trip that I took last spring that quite frankly changed my life, I always tell people that you have to be willing to get to know yourself when you spend that much time alone. That trip involved many hours in the car and therefore many hours to think. I never really considered though, that traveling alone meant that I liked myself. In fact there are many times that statement isn't true. I don't always like myself, so I thought it interesting that the gentleman today equated my solo travel with my feelings about myself as a person. I'll have to give that one more thought this week.

I'm very bad at boundaries. I don't set many. I've made setting boundaries a priority for this two weeks. I leave my phone on silent. I've set my work e-mail to send an automated, out-of-office reply. I did not bring my laptop or my jump drives.  I am participating very limitedly in the facebook group for my team. I told my dad tonight I don't realize how badly I need a break until I finally take one. I finally took one and I needed it badly. My goal for the week, other than spending time in a city that I've never seen before, is to check out. This week is for me. This week is my chance to re-charge. 

I have a plan and some of those things are set in stone because the tickets are already purchased, but I have a lot of wiggle room as well. My hotel is across from the Delaware River. I've already spent an hour or so staring out at the water, watching the boats float by and I'm sure I will spend more time there. I need the peaceful, healing powers of water this week. I'm exactly where I should be and I like it.