July 18, 2003
Cajuns - Vacation Day 1
I'm sitting here in the relative comfort of my study, drinking a cup of tea and reflecting on the first half of my summer vacation. It was a week of fun and relaxation all courtesy of a total lack of planning on my part.
I guess the entire extended family was very busy this year -- I know that I was. By the time that I looked up from my work, it was the beginning of June and it was impossible to book any rooms on the coast at a reasonable rate. Ah, but things always work out as they should...
I still can't get over just how much time off from work I was given this year, especially since I started in the second quarter. Of course I have to fit vacation around a work schedule that's aggressive, to say the least. This week was the only one that fit into my daughter's, my wife's and my schedule. I decided to schedule two and attempt to catch up on some web design work at church on the second week off.
So, if things had gone as I wanted them to, we'd have spent a week on the coast getting pounded by Hurricane Claudette. What I got was a leisurely tour of the Texas Hill Country.
We left late Monday morning for the drive down to San Antonio. No fixed plans, we just decided to show up and see what accommodations we could secure. Bailey wanted to go to Sea World, so that was the only major attraction planned for the entire trip.
As luck would have it, we hit Austin right about rush hour. Smooth sailing through Georgetown and Round Rock. I was just beginning to think that we were early enough. But traffic started to slow slightly as more cars surrounded us, then we were stopped, briefly – at the Parmer Lane exit. Damn… Cajun country… The pause in the traffic flow was enough to allow me a glance to the west, to smile, to remember and to remind myself that there weren’t any Cajuns around here anymore. I’m not likely to see this one again in this life – but I guess that I'll always look.
Finally, after all of the trips that I’ve made through Austin I remembered to stay on the right side of Interstate 35 when approaching the Capital. The University of Texas and the Capital were just as I remembered them. Hell, 35 was just as I remembered it – under construction. Next trip, I’ll plan on hitting Austin around three in the morning…
It was smooth sailing from south Austin until we hit the loop in San Antonio, but we endured it and got checked into our hotel. We had a quick dinner and headed back to the room to relax and get ready for bed. Well, that’s what I had planned anyway.
Bailey immediately turned on the television, and started watching The Waterboy. A truly insipid comedy, but one that ‘Lil Bit became engrossed in immediately. Sigh… I’d spent part of the afternoon thinking about one Cajun, and now I was confronted with another on the screen. What did it all mean? Are we all destined for something better on this side of the turf, or is life a zero sum gain? Is it right to leave important questions unasked? Is the designated hitter rule the reason for baseball’s decline? Too many things for my pea sized dinosaur brain to contemplate all at once. It was time for bed…
