Tourist in My Own Town

Scene: It's still dark outside, a little too early to be getting up for school. And yet my mom is waking me up.

"Get up! We're going to Aspen today."

Although born in San Antonio, I grew up in Colorado. We explored much of the beautiful state in the sixteen years that we lived there - Central City, Glenwood Springs, the Garden of the Gods - and many more.

We were not a family of skiiers. My lone experience consisted of a push down a baby hill by a friend determined to make me love the sport.

We visited ski resorts in the late spring when tourism was dead, prices were cheap, and the weather was sunny. I couldn't tell you a thing about Breckenridge and Winterpark when they're covered in snow, but I could tell you about how they are as quaint towns in the off-season.

So, I knew a morning wake-up call to make the six-hour trek to Aspen was not because we were going to hit the slopes.

Instead, we were going to drive to the new Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my dad took a day off from work and we played hookie from school to eat a hamburger at a music memorabilia restaurant.

Leaving our obligations like that was not a frequent occurance. If it were, this particular day might not stand out in my mind the way it does. However, it illustrates my family's zest for life. I have inherited a passion for the experiences that life has to offer.

When, in my junior year, my dad got a new job in Pennsylvania, I was very upset about leaving. I had a boyfriend, active theater life, and was very involved in my high school. My parents knew that the only language they could speak to me was travel. I am the girl who will pour over an atlas for hours at a time and imagine the possibilities. They enticed me with promises of weekend trips to Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia. I was skeptical, but had no choice.

They followed through on their word, though. In no time at all, I think we visited half of the East Coast. I ate chocolate in Hershey. I fulfilled a childhood dream of seeing where Betsy Ross sewed the flag. I visited the Oval Office. I took in a bunch of shows on Broadway. I ate alligator in Baltimore. I reflected in Gettysburg.

This is what I crave in life - exploring, experiencing, savoring.

After living later in Northern Virginia and the San Francisco Bay Area, I now live with my husband and three daughters in my birth-town of San Antonio. I have brought my love for being a perpetual tourist, a constant traveler, a continual learner, to the Alamo City.

I hope you will check in with this blog frequently, and adventure with me.