Adventure

All that packing and preparing to pack and preparing to leave that I told you all about last week? Yeah, I over-packed and took way too much “stuff” and found things in my suitcase that I really didn’t need. But, that’s OK, because I had a wonderful time.

The Posey County Council on Aging sponsors two or three long-distance bus trips each year, as well as a few day trips. All are a lot of fun, and some are entertaining, and some are educational. And some are a great mix of all three. This trip we took to San Antonio, Texas was just such a delightful blend of the best a vacation can be.

This was one of the longer trips: nine days and eight days away from home, and worth every moment. The city is the seventh-largest in the country with a population of about 1.5 million (that’s a lot of people),

We saw the sights that you expect to see in San Antonio. We visited two missions that were built in the 1700s. We learned why the missions were first built and how the first peoples lived. We saw the beautiful statues and frescoes that grace the missions.

We visited the Alamo, viewing a movie prior to visiting the Alamo that explained the historical significance of the battle.

We cruised the River Walk for which San Antonio is famous. The cruise took us by buildings of historic interest and heard some of the history of the river and its impact on the city.

And we drove through the land of the cowboys: Dallas, Ft. Worth, Abilene, Laredo, Austin, Fredericksburg, and Waco. And one unexpected stop: Leukenbach, Texas. There really is such a place, with a population of (get ready for it) – three - with live music every day. Sadly, we didn’t get a glimpse of Waylon, Willie, or the boys. . .

We toured the LBJ ranch. We visited the Bill Clinton library. We shopped (The Dominion in San Antonio, the Magnolia Silos in Waco, The River Center Mall in San Antonio). We ate. We rode. We ate some more. We laughed. We got wet (it rained all of one day). We sweated (it was Texas hot one day). And we relaxed and enjoyed the sights.

I’m just sharing the major stopping points of the trip, because it was more about the people who were on the bus. We generally enjoyed the bus ride with someone else doing all the driving. We spent a lot of time on the bus, visiting with friends and relatives who met up for the trip, and making new friends with the many other folks from around the area who simply wanted to visit, or re-visit, somewhere for a few days without the hassle of making all those plans. The tour company took care of just about every aspect of our travels, allowing us, the travelers, the chance to just be tourists.

If you get the chance to travel – day trips, weekends, a week or longer – do it, just to get out of your routine and experience something new and different. Enjoy the luxury of pampering yourself in a different location by eating at a restaurant that’s not part of a chain, staying in a hotel where someone else empties the trash and changes the sheets, and just being a tourist. Such fun. See the world around you with new eyes. You’ll feel better. And that’s all that matters.