Wind Therapy

Jumpmaster, Bugsy, L.F. and Big Bird at Hanger Hotel and Diner

I've been working too much lately.  There, I said it!  The last several weeks have been the heaviest workload for me this semester.  It's the end of the semester for our students and all their projects and writing assignments have been coming due that require lots of feedback and grading.  I really enjoy teaching, so I'm not complaining, but it sure is time consuming and mentally exhausting.  So after 24-hour staff duty Friday night, I decided that the remainder of my weekend would consist of sleeping and riding; that's it!

Inside the Hanger Hotel Diner

When I finally got up this morning, I rallied up with a few friends for some much needed wind therapy and lunch.  I love that I can send a text that just says I need lunch and a ride, and I am provided a rally point and showtime!  No thinking required on my part...perfect :-)

The day started off a bit hazy, so the sun wasn't blazing down on us which made for a very enjoyable ride.  Not that I would be able to retrace the route anyway because I'm so directionally-challenged, but I absolutely let my mind zone out for the ride to clear my mind.  Don't worry, I'm paying attention to the road and my riding.  To be honest, that's all my mind was focused on, which is why many of us consider riding to be a kind of therapy.  I've never been able to calm my mind enough to "meditate", but I suspect this is what it would be like.  To be in the moment (or the ride), so intensely that every other thought is crowded out.

Ice cream in downtown Fredericksburg

We rode out to Fredericksburg and had lunch at the airport at the Hanger Hotel and Diner.  Click on the link to find out more about it, but it's right on the runway of the regional airport and was built to resemble  a 1940's style aircraft hanger.  All the polished fixtures and hard wood finishes exude an air of a bygone era of classy travel.  The place really did feel like a step back in time, or an old Hollywood movie.  We sat out on the porch and watched a couple of planes take off and told  aviation stories from our past travels.  Although the sound and smell of turning engines always make my stomach knot up just a bit as memories of aircrew or skydiving/parachuting experiences come flooding back, it truly was a relaxing scene.  We followed that up with a roll and stroll through downtown Fredericksburg culminating into the hot fudge sundae you see me enjoying here :-)

All in all, a great day of riding and camaraderie...just what I needed to remind me that it's OK to work hard as long as I remember to take a little time for myself too!

Granada, Spain

I swear, it's feast or famine with me.  Until  my deployment to Afghanistan a couple of years ago, I hadn't been out of the country in 4 years.  There were times in my life (employed by US Olympic Committee and the US Navy) where I was routinely out of the country more than I was in it! Even though my international travel has slowed quite a bit in recent years, I've somehow managed to make it to Europe twice in the last few months.   A few days after all the promotion party shenanigans, I hastily rummaged through my pockets for left over Euros from my trip in May, packed a bag and then flew out to Spain.

I was asked to fill in and do some work with a sports team during a competition in Spain, so I cleared my schedule for a week for the opportunity to stay current in my chosen field.  Since this is a travel blog and not a work blog, I won't go into detail about my work  there, but I will share with you the little sightseeing excursion that I did manage to sneak into my schedule.

I was stationed in Rota, Spain in the mid-nineties, so I'm no stranger to the southern region of the country known as Andalusia.  The region spans from the Atlantic ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.  During my three years there with the Navy, I experienced so many quintessentially Spanish events. I ran with the bulls in Vejer on Easter Sunday.  Well, truth be told, I jumped up and hung from the bars on the windows of the establishment  in which I was standing in front while enjoying  a cerveza and let the bull run beneath me.  I rock climbed in Tarifa on a cliff so high that  I could see Morocco from it.  I went camping in Malaga and saw bullfights in Puerto de Santa Maria.  I drank sherry  and attempted to Flaminco dance at a feria in Jerez.  But one of the most memorable experiences was tapa-hopping and visiting the Alhambra in Granada with my mom when she came out on a vacation.

So, when I found myself with a couple of free hours on my last day in Granada  a couple of weeks ago, I caught a cab and went to re-explore the Alhambra.  It was still the majestic piece of architecture I remembered from over a decade ago.

According to its website, the Alhambra was so called because of its reddish walls (Arabic meaning "red castle").  The fortress, dating back to the 9th century, sits strategically atop a hill overlooking the whole city and meadow below it.  The Arabic influence on the current buildings built by the Moors in the 11th through 14th centuries is evident in the exorbitant stonework and tile throughout the palace.  The intricate carvings cover so much area that it's almost dizzying.  The gardens and pools are still immaculately manicured and overlook the picturesque countryside and town.  Though my time was limited, it was worth rushing to spend a couple of hours there after the tourists had thinned.

 Now that I'm back in San Antonio, my time has been consumed with teaching and trying to catch up from all the events of the last few months.  The weather has been great though, so I'm sure there are some adventures waiting to happen :-)