4th day in San Antonio and homeward bound

[billeyler]

otterpop58 must have come in VERY late, because I didn't hear him last night (this morning?).

In spite of that, we woke up about the same time, and after mutually having breakfast off-synch, we did finally manage to spend the morning together, touring the Riverwalk and the Alamo before the heat and humidity got too oppressive. It's always nice to talk to him 1:1...always has been, but we do it so rarely. So many friends and acquaintances in common over the nearly 20 years.

After a refreshing Grande Strawberry & Cream Frappacino at that megalochain shop that I boycott in Albuquerque, we headed back to La Quinta and finished up our packing, checked out and sat sociably in the lobby as various people we knew were coming and going, mostly going.

Jerry J scooped Andy up and off they went to the airport. Just after he left, Clark Baker came back by, and we got in a healthy discussion about his one Plus tip he called last night...not a treat for the dancers according to both him and Andy. Then Ken Burke came by with his wife and mother-in-law, along with a huge trolley of luggage and a bicycle. Ken, I believe, is a long-distance biker, so the thought of his riding a bike in that heat just for "fun" doesn't really surprise me. Whether he rented it for the weekend, or literally shipped it out to ride, I didn't ask. Ah, well. All three of us got into a spirited discussion of Hexagons at that point, until I realized my shuttle had just pulled up and off I went with a quick goodbye.

The hotel was really top notch and I'd happily stay there again.

At the airport, I ran into a woman dancer that I knew from Albuquerque, and we yakked most of the time away until the flight boarded. The flight back on the 47 passenger plane was mostly uneventful, except for the shrill child screaming several rows behind me for the last 30 minutes of the flight. Gawd.

Leaving the terminal, I was so glad to get into cooler air with little humidity...I felt so glad to be HOME! Danny picked me up, and after catching up a bit, we made a quick dinner. While that was going on, a thunderstorm was moving into the area. Again just a few sprinkles here, but the air cooled down from the mid 80s to 70ish in just a short period of time. Loved it!

I headed over to the square dance center at 6:40 to maybe dance to Craig Abernathy, a "touring" caller who had booked the hall for a dance...he'd done it for a couple of years in the past. I met Craig at Nationals, and chatted with him for about 15 minutes, buying his new record on Rawhide "How High the Moon." A pretty piece with nice instrumentals that'll work will for Valentine's Day type dances.

Good thing I took my keys to the square dance center. No one was there to open up the hall for him...he was waiting in his car (after driving 13 hours to get here) when I pulled in. But that wasn't so much a worry as that by 7:10 (the dance was to have started at 7), not a SINGLE dancer showed. Nor the contracts person for the hall. I know it had been publicized, both by email, and ...but not a single person??? I apologized to him. It was just coincidence that I met him at Nationals or I'd have not likely stopped by the dance center...he left to go back to his motel and rest. Last time he tries to book ABQ on a tour, I'm sure.

So, back home in the cool night air, Danny and I pleasantly watched a couple of recorded programs of "My Name Is Earl" and called it a night.

Now back to reality of work, and prepping for Anaheim for Friday.