In early April, I made a quick trip down to San Antonio, Texas for work. The trip there was an eventful one as I flew alone for the first time since 2000 from Charlotte to Fort Worth/Dallas then flew the rest of the way to San Antonio.
While in Fort Worth/Dallas, I witnessed a man being arrested at my gate just moments prior to boarding my plane (not sure why) and as I tried to sit in my seat, a couple had already claimed my spot and the window seat next to it. I knew without a doubt that my seat was 9 A since that was the seat I had selected for all four planes when I bought my tickets back in early January. The couple apologized for taking my seat as they had mistakenly misread their tickets of 29 A and 29 B.
After getting settled in my seat, I watched as others boarded the plane. It filled up pretty quickly but when I saw a priest sit in the seat across the aisle and up one row from me, I tried to squash my anxiety. Yes, I'm a nervous flier, especially when I travel alone, but earlier that day, I had seen this posting on Facebook:
All I could think of when I saw the priest take the seat near me was.....if this plane is going down, I'm grabbing onto that poor man's arm and taking him with me. ;) No, in all seriousness, this was on the Wednesday right after Easter Sunday and I had recalled reading somewhere that we should thank our priests especially on Good Friday for the work they do, which I hadn't had the opportunity to do. So I seized the moment and scribbled a quick note of thanks to Father and also asked him to pray for my Mom (since it was her birthday) and to pray for a special intention. I passed the note junior high school style to my seat mate who then gave it to Father. He read the note then gave me an ever so slight nod in my direction.
Less than a minute later, a woman quickly boarded the plane and buckled herself into the window seat to my right. Our flight would be about an hour and strangely enough, for being a night flight, the lights remained on the whole time. This allowed for ease in conversing and it was absolutely delightful getting to know Mary Denise. It turns out she was also Catholic and had experience with parenting a child with special needs. How ironic as the reason I was flying to San Antonio was to present twice at conference related to teaching children with special needs!! I also hope she is able to channel her expertise and knowledge through becoming a parent liaison of sorts within the field of special education. This flight to San Antonio was the quickest one yet and ended with the two of us exchanging hugs as we departed from the airport.
A few days prior to flying to San Antonio, I had accidentally discovered that the Menger Hotel where I was staying alone the first night before colleagues joined me on the second night has been ranked as the most haunted hotel in San Antonio. Eek! Yes, I like going on ghost tours (more for the historical aspect) and have been to a haunted house a time or two but to stay in a haunted hotel.....alone...?! I purposely didn't read any more information regarding the hotel figuring that ignorance is bliss and that I didn't want to know the stories until after I completed my stay! However, check out this first picture I took, less than 5 minutes after my 1am arrival!! Do you glimpse an orb?!
After inadvertently trying to get in the wrong hotel room due to a mixup at the front desk, I finally found my room. I happily went to bed since I had to be up and out of the room by 7am, just 6 hours later....yikes!
Pretty courtyard of the Menger Hotel
This is the sort of event I would have loved to have enjoyed but alas, no time on a work trip to play!
The hotel lobby was very elegant.
Here are some stories I learned after my stay at the Menger Hotel that help explain why it has been deemed the most haunted hotel in San Antonio:
The Menger Hotel was built in 1859, 23 years after the battle of the Alamo, and located right next door to it.
The 3rd floor is "very active"....eek! My room was on the 3rd floor!
From the Menger's website---One night after an argument with her husband, Sallie White, a chambermaid, stayed at the hotel presumably with
another man. The next day her husband threatened to kill her. On March
28, 1876, Sallie was attacked by her husband and died two days later.
The hotel paid for the funeral cost of $32, as recorded in the hotel
ledger. Legend has it that Sallie White still roams the halls of the
Victorian wing of the hotel. A few years ago, a guest wanted extra
towels. He opened the door of his room and called out to a maid who
ignored him. The guest called the front desk to inquire why the maid was
so rude. He described the maid and her uniform -- one that was worn in
the late 1800s, about the time of Sallie's employment at the hotel.
Another popular story
is about another famous Texan, Captain Richard King, founder of famous
King's Ranch. King was a man of great wealth who had a suite at the
Menger. It is said that when King received news of his impending death
following an illness, he spent the last months of his life in the suite.
It was at the hotel that he wrote his last will and said his farewells
to friends. King's funeral was held in the parlor of the Menger. Now it
said that Captain King appears occasionally and is seen entering his
room, The King Suite. Many guests and employees claim to have seen him.
As the story goes, when he enters the suite, he does not use the door.
Instead he walks right through the wall in a location where the door was
once located.
Another popular story
is about an American President. President Teddy Roosevelt recruited
cowboys for the Rough Riders at the Menger Bar on more than one
occasion. Over the years people have reported seeing him sipping on a
drink at the bar.
There are a TON of Youtube videos featuring the so-called ghosts of this hotel and I'm so glad I didn't view them before this trip...even if the videos might not be authentic!
After a super duper late night, I was up bright and early to head on over to the conference and co-present a session in the morning and another in the afternoon. Here, my colleagues and I are posing with Dr. John Luckner, one of our research rock stars. ;)
Another successful presentation in the books for the Professions in Deafness doctoral cohort!
Now that work was over as of 4pm, time to go explore! Dr. Compton and I stumbled upon a map in the concrete so being the Pennsylvania gal I am, I just had to have a photo taken with my home state!
St. Joseph Catholic Church
I love how an unexpected bonus to my work trips is that I can go explore different Catholic churches across the country!
The River Walk was absolutely gorgeous!
We returned here later in the night for our yummy dinner with my cousin!
I didn't know it at the time but the River Walk is only about 3 feet deep!
What a beautiful sight to see as we rounded a corner while shopping for souvenirs in a quaint shopping plaza.
Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us!
We weren't allowed to take photos in this beautiful store. The weaving and other gorgeous items were something else!
We had such a gorgeous evening to explore the River Walk and downtown San Antonio area!
This was just around the corner from the Menger Hotel
Another view of St. Joseph's from across the street
This photo reminds me of the conversation I had with Mary Denise on the way to San Antonio. We discussed following God's Will and trying to let go of control and trusting. I had asked her if she was familiar with the song, "God is a River" by Peter Mayer. I had learned about this song at a Young Adults Retreat in 2011 and just love it and how it can relate to so many of us no matter our circumstances. See below for the lyrics and video of this peaceful song:
In the ever-shifting water of the river of this life
I was swimming, seeking comfort; I was wrestling waves to find
A boulder I could cling to, a stone to hold me fast
Where I might let the fretful water of this river 'round me pass
And so I found an anchor, a blessed resting place
A trusty rock I called my savior, for there I would be safe
From the river and its dangers, and I proclaimed my rock divine
And I prayed to it "protect me" and the rock replied
God is a river, not just a stone
God is a wild, raging rapids
And a slow, meandering flow
God is a deep and narrow passage
And a peaceful, sandy shoal
God is the river, swimmer
So let go
Still I clung to my rock tightly with conviction in my arms
Never looking at the stream to keep my mind from thoughts of harm
But the river kept on coming, kept on tugging at my legs
Till at last my fingers faltered, and I was swept away
So I'm going with the flow now, these relentless twists and bends
Acclimating to the motion, and a sense of being led
And this river's like my body now, it carries me along
Through the ever-changing scenes and by the rocks that sing this song
God is a river, not just a stone
God is a wild, raging rapids
And a slow, meandering flow
God is a deep and narrow passage
And a peaceful, sandy shoal
God is the river, swimmer
So let go
God is the river, swimmer
So let go
What a neat depiction of St. Anthony of Padua, the patron saint of San Antonio!
My cousin, who is in San Antonio for the Air Force, joined us for dinner! I had NO idea he was living there until after I arrived for the conference so am so beyond happy he was able to join us!
Night time view of Menger Hotel
Part of The Alamo
The Alamo right next to the hotel
My super funny, generous, & cute cousin, Ethan!
Yes, San Antonio was AWESOME!! It was very hard leaving this pretty city at 5am on that Friday.
During the first leg of my trip, my seat mate and I struck up a conversation. It turned out he was originally from Pennsylvania but has been living in TX for the last 15 years due to being in the military. He is also a die hard Nascar fan and he taught me about the world of die cast model cars. Who knew?! He described his wall of mounted cars worth at over $20,000 and my only wish was that I wish I could have had a picture to show my brother, another ultimate Nascar fan. The gentleman also shared his wife's and his love story and how he proposed to her after 3 months of dating (she was from NC, he was from PA, they married, and were then stationed in Germany for several years). They also just celebrated their 25th anniversary the week prior to our trip. How sweet!
Upon boarding my second plane enroute to Charlotte, and a few minutes after sitting in my seat, a mother with a very young
and loudly crying toddler tried to make her way to their seats at the rear of the plane. A few
minutes ticked by as the mother struggled with her carry-on, her rolling
luggage, and a tired (and at this point, a screaming) child. Finally, I
got up and offered to take her luggage from her if she wanted to lift
the now tantruming child and carry him to their seats. As I returned to my seat, I noticed a woman had taken the one next to mine. It turns out she has her doctorate! The remainder of our flight was spent with her imparting wisdom from when she submitted her proposal and defended her dissertation some thirty years ago. It was neat hearing how different it was during her journey "back in the day" pre the computers era but also refreshing to hear that some things remained the same in terms of committees, revisions, etc. She also shared with me a delicious snack that for the life of me I can't recall what it was. I remember she bought it from the market in Austin, where she was from...which was funny since my very first conference I attended as a doctoral student was in Austin, TX in November 2011. ; )
As this blog posting on San Antonio comes to a close, I'm feeling a sense of peace. The last few days have been filled with worry, doubt, and anxiety over the unknown. I've been meaning to blog about San Antonio for a while but just haven't had the time. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I had time tonight and so needed to blog/meditate on my thoughts since doing so made me listen to a song I desperately needed to hear in this moment. Thanks goes to Bill Donaghy, the Young Adults Retreat Master from 2011, for introducing me to this song! The lyrics that particularly struck me tonight were: "So I'm going with the flow now, these relentless twists and bends. Acclimating to the motion, and a sense of being led." So for now, the job search for next year will wait...the checking of my school email every five minutes to see if my committee has granted me permission to move forward with data collection will cease...in this moment right now, I'm thankful to have my little puppy curled up next to me, I look forward to attending mass at my old parish in York tomorrow afternoon, and I will put off doing today what I can do tomorrow (since it's already 1am)..ha!
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