San Antonio - Day 1783 (Year 5, Day 314)

Zephyrhills, FL

I returned from San Antonio on Sunday, 4 days ago.  It was a fun and very productive and inspiring conference, in which I made a lot of new friends & colleagues, came back with a great plan to further grow my business, learned a few great tips & tricks, and had one really awesome day of sightseeing before the conference.  This post will focus mostly on the tour day.

I arrived in SA on Monday, May 6th at approx. 5:30pm.  Thankfully it was an uneventful flight and only a 10 minute ride to the hotel in the downtown area.

It is a very historic hotel (the Menger), which is not only the oldest running hotel in the US, but where Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders.  Many, many other famous people stayed there and there were also many galas held in the grand ballroom for the rich & famous. There is both the original building which claims to be haunted (at least 2 of my colleagues stayed in that section and had "experiences" to tell about!) and the modern section. 

Here are some photos of the main entrance and ceiling:

    

And my room.  The bathroom was larger than my living room!

      


After I settled into the room, I needed to have dinner.  My roommate already had other plans and I didn't know anyone else who had arrived early, so I went to the Riverwalk Shops which is a mall adjacent to the hotel and bought a sandwich in the food court.  One interesting thing I noted -- I'm not sure if I find this sweet & romantic or extremely touristy and tacky (probably the latter) -- is that lining the street on 2 sides of the hotel are horse drawn carriages of various shapes (Cinderella's pumpkin, a heart, etc) and which are adorned with colorful lights at night.  Here are a few examples:

          


My impression of the city:  the downtown is very diverse architecturally, with a mixture of very old, Spanish buildings and modern buildings. Murals abound (more of that later).  Like most downtown areas, it's very congested and difficult to find parking.  With our truck, it would be virtually impossible.  Interestingly, every street has electric scooters and bikes for anyone to take for free to get around (although there's been a lot of resistance as people have been getting hurt due to reckless "driving").  Nice place to visit, but I'm not in a rush to return.

The tour was led by a tour company on a luxury bus (I was expecting something like a trolley).  The tour was 50% riding with the guide telling us about what we were seeing out the window, and 50% getting off the bus to walk around a specific site.  In my previous post, I mentioned a mobility scooter I would be renting, and I can tell you what a godsend it was!  I never would have been able to keep up with the walking, and it was so easy for the driver to load it into the cargo bay after I pressed the button to fold it.

We got on the bus at 9:00 am and finished the tour at 4:30 pm.  Guide made it clear that we was not getting on the highway and was taking a lot of back roads (some were truly tiny, narrow streets in residential areas - kudos to the bus driver!!!) so that we could see the "real meat and potatoes" and not all the touristy hype, although we did visit a number of tourist sites.

San Antonio has a huge art renovation project and so you see lots and lots of incredible murals all over the place.  Here are some photos, from buildings as well as on every pillar at an underpass.  There were hundreds more but I only took a few photos: (the last one is on the side of Children's Hospital)

  

Our first stop off the bus was the San Antonio Library, which I think is on par with the NY Public Library - ginormous (although this one is very modern).  There was a particular piece of artwork that the guide wanted to show us in the library, honoring the history of the city.  Here is a photo of the entrance, the hallway to leading to the mural and the mural itself:

     


Next up on the tour was the San Fernando Cathedral: the oldest cathedral in the city with a very interesting history.  You can read more about it here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_San_Fernando, particularly about Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appears in many, many pieces of art around the city (as well as Saint Anthony whom the city is named after).  Some photos: the last one is a plaque on the floor which marks the exact center of San Antonio.

    

Next up on the tour was the outdoor studio of a famous San Antonio "faux bois" artist, Carlos Cortes (it's not part of the regularly scheduled tour, but our guide is a personal friend of his and since he was around, wanted to him to show off his work, which can be found all around the city, and probably the world).  Faux Bois is the artistic imitation of wood or wood grain; Carlos works in concrete.  Here are some photos of his work and you can find more at his website: http://studiocortes.com/index.htm

     

Next up, we got a history lesson about the various Missions in San Antonio (and South Texas in general).  We started at the Mission San Jose Visitor's Center which housed a small museum and showed a film.  The history is really quite sad, particularly with regard to how the Native American tribes were killed or forced into slavery to build the missions.  Here are a few photos of the main sanctuary and the living quarters behind it.

     

The Alamo is also a mission, but has historical significance as it was used as a fort during the Texas Revolution. Here is the front of the building (which was around the corner from the hotel):  Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to take the tour.



After the missions tour, it was time for lunch.  The bus brought us to the Pearl district, which started as just the largest brewing company, but expanded into a little privately owned "neighborhood" of shops, restaurants and even the CIA (Culinary Institute of America).  Everyone got off the bus and immediately ran in their own directions (it was self paced and we had about an hour 15 minutes).  I heard about this awesome totally vegetarian restaurant called Green, where I headed for lunch.  I wish, wish, wish they had nationwide locations!  Here are a few photos I took of the murals inside the restaurant:

  

After lunch, we rode around a bit more, looking at more murals.  Then, time for another 45 minute break at a Mexican marketplace.

   


There's this really awesome bakery.  Photo of the display case is only a tiny fraction of the entire display (click on the photo to enlarge and really view the goodies).  Entering the bakery is quite an experience as well.  Too bad I didn't have time to figure out what to buy, as I had planned to meet up with 2 friends for margaritas.

  



That was pretty much the end of the tour.  It ended at the front of the hotel and the tour guide walked with everyone around the corner to the Alamo, where folks could do their own tour (unfortunately, I had a family emergency, which, thank G-d, worked out for the best, so I didn't do the tour).

The only item I left out about the area is the famous RiverWalk, which is basically a lot of stores, restaurants, bars and entertainment along the San Antonio river (not sure why they call it a river; it looks more like a canal). A group of us went for dinner there.  I ordered sesame crusted tuna which I didn't realize would be sushi-grade.

   

And now, just a few odds & ends tidbits:

Met 3 other fellow Jews (one isn't in the photo).  There was an "after party" when the conference was over on Friday night, and we all lit Shabbat candles together and did kiddush over the wine:



The party was held in the room of our organization's President -- the Teddy Roosevelt room, where Teddy Roosevelt actually stayed.  It was a HUGE suite which easily fit all 50 of us:

  

Each day of the conference, there was a buffet breakfast and lunch.  This was one of the cute decorations on the table:



A group photo:



Lastly, on Saturday, I learned that my cousin Bobby, whom I haven't seen for about 10 years, lived in San Antonio.  I was fortunate that he was around and didn't have plans that day, so he met me at the hotel.  We spent some time in the lobby looking at family photos that he brought on his laptop, and then had lunch at the food court.



Oh, and a really awesome aquarium in the Tampa airport at the Southwest terminal:



I'm really revved about taking the next steps to grow my business.  The only complaint I have upon my return is that I returned with a sore throat, runny nose and coughing as well as very bad knees.  Not sure why I'm having so much trouble with the latter but if it doesn't get better by next week, I may need to see a doctor.  Maybe I twisted something when I had to contortion my way into the bed (as I didn't have a much needed step stool to get into it!!).

A few notes - Day 1769 (Year 5, Day 300)

Zephyrhills, FL

Nothing yet on the job front for Mitch.  Starting to get very frustrated and a little scared as we're watching our savings quickly dwindle.  If something doesn't break by the end of the month, he will need to find a retail job just for the cash while he continues to job hunt.

On a more positive note, here is a photo of the tops of the sweet onion/scallions that I mentioned in my last post (from our neighbor's garden).  The tops are about 3 feet high and completely edible (and delicious!)



And speaking of things that grow, on Saturday we were sitting outside and I kept getting a whiff of a wonderful fragrance - kind of light citrusy and flowery.  It turns out that on the other side of our rig is a gardenia bush (it only started flowering last week):



And lastly, on Monday (May 6th) I will be leaving for San Antonio, TX (there's a San Antonio, FL about 10 miles from where we are now!).  I belong to IVAA -- International Virtual Assistants Association and finally have a chance to attend their Live Summit; a 3 day program of workshops with 1 day beforehand for touring and fun.  I'm greatly looking forward to meeting folks I've been in contact with virtually, learning a lot, getting inspired and visiting the area which has been on my bucket list.

I was very concerned about how I would get around, especially since my hip arthritis has gotten very bad where I can't walk more than a few feet at a time without having to stop, and I can't go fast at all.  On tour day, there will be a bus tour but also a lot of walking (especially at the Alamo).  I was thinking of renting a mobility scooter, but they can't take it on the bus, so I was trying to figure out logistics as to whether there'd be a place on route to leave it.  As luck would have it, I found a place that rents a "transformer scooter."  With the touch of a button on a key fob, it folds up to a suitcase size and can be wheeled, and fits in a car trunk (and therefore will fit in the storage compartment of the bus).  I'm really excited about that, as it truly solves all my walking problems there.

Hopefully I'll post while I'm in TX.  If not, watch for the details when I return.

What we're up to (not much!) - Day 1760(Year 5, Day 291)

Zephyrhills, FL

Mitch still looking for a job.  Still getting lots of return calls but the process is long.  Sigh.

We (ok, Mitch) discovered a leak in the basement and determined it was coming from the pipe between the shower and the gray tank.  So today he spent trouble shooting the exact location (found it), removed the faulty pipe, went to Lowes to buy a replacement and is still currently installing it.  Kudos to Mitch.  He's turning out to be quite the RV handyman!

A few times previously I mentioned how our next door neighbors were growing a garden (more like a farm) with tons of awesome veggies.  (They also raise chickens and often give us fresh eggs.) They give us what they have when it's available.  Today, they brought over some gold potatoes, onions, and green beans (although they ask nothing in exchange, I baked them fresh challah and today, since it's still Passover, gave them some homemade "schmurah" matzah).  I have to confess about the onions...  they were "normal" sized onions on the bottom, and ginormous scallion-like tops.  I learned that that's how onions generally grow and for whatever reason, they don't commercially sell them like that.  The scallions you buy have teeny, tiny ends which really don't resemble onions at all, and the onions you buy don't have scallion stems.  What an outrage!  Kind of like when we were given broccoli greens which you can only get if you grow them yourself.  I'd love to live here very long term just for the fact of our neighbors!

Passover prep - Day 1755 (Year 5, Day 286)

Zephyrhills, FL

As always, not a lot of anything exciting happening here in our lives.  Same old, same old.  Mitch continues to have a number of phone interviews, so the seeds are starting to sprout.  Unfortunately, there is such a large screening process that it can take several months before they make a final decision.  First is the application process, where the recruiter or HR dept. gets hundreds (or thousands) of resumes which they need to weed thru.  They narrow it down to the top 10-20, then to the top 5.  Then they send those 5 to the next level hiring manager to weed it down even further, to perhaps the best 2 candidates, before sending it on to the person who he would actually be working for.  And since everyone has a busy schedule, it could take a week or 2 between getting an appointment for an interview.  So while he's in the running for at least 3 jobs right now, it's still anyone's guess what the final result will be.  We're still in a state of limbo.

Anyway, Passover starts tomorrow and we're getting the "house" ready, as always.  It takes an entire day, but it used to take 2-3 days in the sticks & bricks house, so can't complain.  I think the most time consuming part is covering all the counters with foil and plastic.  Here's Mitch doing that:



In addition, all the appliances need to be scrubbed down and koshered (either by boiling or heating), everyday dishes put away and Passover items (dishes, pots, pans, utensils, etc) taken out, and non kosher for Passover food locked away.  Once everything is all cleaned and koshered, we can't have any "regular" food and this must all be finished by tonight.  So the plan is when we're done, we will go out for dinner; first time in a long time.  Not sure where yet, though.

As for the seder, we will attend a community seder at our shul (Chabad at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, 18 miles away).  We were invited to the Rabbi's home for the 2nd seder, but being that it's almost 40 miles round trip, and we'll be going Friday night, Saturday and Sunday for services, we didn't want to do it again on Saturday night.  I'll make a nice meal in advance and maybe we'll do our own seder together.

Update on plans - Day 1745 (Year 5, Day 276)

Zephyrhills, FL

We learned that the rig could be taken in as early as next Monday, April 15th.  So we were excited that we would leave here on Sunday, drive the 200 miles, and boondock on the street in front of the dealer (Dick Gore's) on Sunday night.  Then, either stay in a hotel for a day or 2 or move onto a local campground until the job dust settled.

Unfortunately, we had to rethink those plans because I couldn't find anywhere in Jacksonville to stay for the short term.  We have a great place to stay for the long term, if Mitch lands a job there, but they only have 6 or 12 month leases -- no short term stays.  I checked with ALL of the campgrounds within a 40 mile radius of Jacksonville and there weren't any places that had weekly availability.

So... the plan now is to just stay put here in Zephyrhills until Mitch gets a definitive job offer.  Then, hopefully, if it's not in Jacksonville, we'll be able to allot the extra few days to stop in Jacksonville for the RV work if in NC, or move there if the job is there.

Bottom line:  still in a state of limbo.

Things starting to gel - Day 1744 (Year 5, Day 275)

Zephryhills, FL

To use a planting metaphor, all the seeds Mitch has planted over the past few months are starting to sprout and with G-d's help, we can harvest something in the very near future. 

He had quite a few interviews over the last 2 weeks, and at the moment, he is being seriously considered for at least 4 positions (possibly a 4th but they haven't been very communicative, so we don't know).  Two of those positions are in Jacksonville, FL, 1 is as a traveler around the country, the last is in Morrisville, NC (near Cary and Raleigh -- an IDEAL location for us!!!).

We're not sure which, if any, of those positions will be offered to him, but Mitch also discovered that there are numerous IT positions open in the Jacksonville area.  So the plan is.... (and bear in mind the old saying that "Man plans and G-d laughs" or as we like to say, our plans are always made in jello.  That being said....

We need some repair work on our roof.  There is a place in Jacksonville that replaced our roof several years ago and we're hoping they guarantee their work (and that the repairs needed have something to do with their work).  In any event, it needs to be done before it gets to the point of causing major damage, no matter who is responsible and who has to pay.  Whether Mitch gets a job in Jacksonville or NC, it seems to make the most sense to go to Jacksonville to get the work on the rig done and use that location as a jumping of point -- either a place to settle for a few years, or as 200 miles closer to NC than we are now.

Next step is to see when we can get a service appointment and base our travels around that.  Passover is also coming close (2 weeks) and we need to do our Passover shopping as well as have a place to attend a seder.  Jacksonville has a large Jewish community and there will be numerous options, as opposed to here where the closest places to shop are in Tampa -- 1.5 hours away with traffic.

So the plan is, based on when we can get an appointment, to move up to Jacksonville, get the rig worked on, and then either settle down long term or travel up to NC.  My hope is that they'll have something available next week and we can leave here next Sunday.

We're still in a state of total limbo, but at least the plans are starting to gel a little.  Will keep ya'all posted (guess I've been in the South too long!)

Fruit of the vine - Day 1739 (Year 5, Day 270)

Zephyrhills, FL

Well, not really of the vine - more like a tree.  About 2 months ago (I don't remember if I wrote about this previously), we found a fruit tree near the laundry room.  We thought they were little round pears, but when we brought it home, discovered they were small red grapefruits.  They were really sweet and wonderful, if you like red grapefruit.

Today, we learned of a clump of 3 other trees near the office - loquats.  I didn't discover the tree myself -- our next door neighbor who has the "farm" and chickens and bring us fresh eggs every now & then, brought us a few of these tiny fruits and told us about the trees.  They are really, really delicious!!!  Kind of tastes like a mixure of peach, citrus and mango.



On Mitch's job front, still nothing yet but the seeds are starting to sprout.  He's been getting a few calls and had 2 interviews so far (in fact, he's on the phone with another recruiter right now).  He also learned about a company that was doing what he did before for the gas company.  Several folks from his old company are working there now.  He's pretty sure he can get work with them, and it may be a good plan while he still explores his Plan B of getting back into IT.

Will keep ya'all posted.