The Events of Monday, February 14, 2011

                Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! And what a wonderful Valentine’s Day it was too. I awoke in a deliciously comfortable bed, in an exquisitely decorated room with privacy! I took my first bath in I don’t know how many months and enjoyed every moment of my morning. Leaving a note for our hosts, we went over to our friend Camille’s home to have breakfast with the kids. When we arrived, they were showered and dressed, eating breakfast and eagerly conversing with Camille.

                Abby, due to the importance of the day, was dressed in her church clothes with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, and looking very professional. One of Abby’s recent passions is learning sign language. It is something she wants to work into a career somehow, someday. Camille is a free lance sign language interpreter and had made arrangements for Abby to join her on a job today. Due to confidentiality agreements, no more can be said. After making arrangements about where and when to meet to pick up Abby after the job, Camille and Abby drove off. The rest of us worked on the computer, on laundry, finishing up quiet times and showers and preparing for the day. We were to visit Baylor University, the oldest continually operating institution of higher learning in Texas and the largest Baptist university in the world.

                Driving and parking the RV on any college campus has proven very tricky and Baylor University was no exception. Camille had done some prep work for us and found that we could park Harvey out by the basketball arena, but it would involve taking a shuttle or hoofing it back to the center of campus. So we thought we would explore other options. We tried the visitor center, but there was no space for an RV. We were running out of time, so Jim dropped us off at the Student Union, where we were to meet Camille and pick up Abby, and drove off toward the Ferrell Center. Minutes later, he called to say he had found parking, at a Subway near campus. Having a few minutes, the kids and I explored the Student Union and the Baylor Bear Habitat. Expecting to see a Tresidder Union (like Stanford University) type of student union, I was very surprised to see a very posh, well decorated, stately second floor. Later, when we returned with Camille, she showed us the Beckham room, dedicated and named in honor of her grandmother. Camille’s grandparents, their four children, (including her dad) and Camille’s mom and sister and many of her aunts, uncles and cousins all attended Baylor. Camille, however, attended Stanford with us, thus earning herself the label of “Red Sheep” of the family.     

                Right on the dot of eleven, Camille showed up with Abby and introduced us to the Sign Language Coordinator for Baylor University. Abby, still confidentially mum, was able to share, with a wide grin on her face, that she enjoyed herself tremendously. She learned that sign language interpreters, like typists, can suffer repetitive stress injuries in their hands, so Miss Camille and Mrs. Gerhart took turns signing. Abby was most taken by how expressive their facial expressions were, but that was all she shared. After saying good-bye to Camille, and taking a swing on one of the many bench-style tree swings on campus, her siblings took Abby to check out the Baylor Bear Habitat. As Baylor’s mascot is the bear, Baylor houses two live bears on campus. Signs posted around the habitat explained the history and shared that the live bears have been a part of Baylor life since 1917, but that they no longer drink Dr. Pepper, another Baylor mainstay. After visiting the bears, we found Jim and the RV in the Subway parking lot and had lunch. Then we made our way over to the Wiethorn Visitors Center for the campus tour.

                The kids counted and figured that we have visited about twelve colleges on our trip. While we have not taken official tours or sat through the admissions talk at all of them, the kids are becoming pretty astute at what (in their opinion) makes a good tour. Baylor won points for providing a shuttle to see the campus and for providing free T-shirts at the conclusion of the tour. For Jim and me, it was interesting to note that this was the first school we’ve visited that didn’t talk about how the university could assist with financial aid. Instead, there was a strong push to get as much scholarship money lined up as possible, and take as many community college classes as possible. This way, purported the Admissions counselor, you could still “get the Baylor degree, without the Baylor fee”.  For Lindsey, Baylor University was the “best college she has seen so far” and she is putting it in her list of top three schools. While all were very interested in what Baylor has to offer, Stanford remains on the top of the kids’ lists.  And we haven’t even ever gone on an Admissions tour there! But that is something we hope to remedy upon our eventual return to California.  

                After the tour, we mailed off some important tax documents and headed back to Harvey. Stopping at Walmart we shopped for supper and, as we were exiting the parking lot, received a call from Camille. She had a stopped-up toilet and wondered if we could pick her up a plunger. Jim headed back into Walmart. Soon we were at Camille’s and the craziness began. Ben and Caitlin put together the macaroni-and-cheese casserole. Abby and Lindsey made brownies. Ben assembled some furniture for Camille. Laundry continued to be washed and dried. After ascertaining that dinner would actually make it to the table and after procuring some newly clean and dry undergarments, Jim and I left the busy hub for our Valentine date.

                Having greatly enjoyed our dinner the night before, we returned to Elite Circle Grill. Last night they had run out of the specialty, Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs and I had to order something else. So tonight we ordered their fabulous Shiner Bock onion rings and decided to share the Highwaymen Special – a combo plate of sirloin steak, Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs, grilled shrimp and Texas Quail. Sides of Ceasar salad and coleslaw along with delicious hot buttery rolls completed our meal. We figured if we shared everything, we would have room for dessert. Dinner was delicious, although somewhat heavy on the garlic. Heavy enough, that Jim commented that he didn’t know what the chef was thinking, going so heavy on the garlic on Valentine’s Day! Well, we did it. We saved room for dessert and, after asking for a bit of a breather from our waitress, ordered the Towering Chocolate Cake, one pound of rich moist chocolate cake in four layers drizzled with chocolate sauce, reported to serve two or more. It was out of this world delicious. All the chocolate this chocoholic needed to make her Valentine’s Day complete.

                Sufficiently fed and content we headed off to the next stage of our Valentine’s Day celebration – a night ALONE in a romantic bed and breakfast. Jim had kept the name and location a secret, so as we climbed into Harvey he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and entered an address into the GPS. A few minutes later, I began to get a little worried, as we were not in a nice area of town. This was confirmed by a sign, “Waco Redevelopment Area, Your Tax Dollars at Work”. Finally, Jim pulled over at our destination, and my heart sank. We were surrounded by boarded-up buildings, vacant lots and urban decay. Parking, Jim turned on the computer to check the address. It was what he had entered on Google Maps, but then he went to the B&B’s website. There was the mistake. He had taken us to 910 Austin Avenue, NOT 1910 Austin Avenue. So we drove on and what a difference ten blocks made!  

                The Cotton Palace Bed and Breakfast “lavishes its guests with fine furnishings in comfortable and spacious guest areas” (www.thecottonpalace.com). Entering this quaint home, we found the key to our room waiting us by the guest book. After signing ourselves in, we made our way upstairs, to the Hillary Room, our abode for the night. On the second floor landing, we found a variety of beverages and homemade cookies, only we were too stuffed from dinner to give them a second glance. Our room was exquisitely decorated and the bathroom even more luxurious, complete with a Jacuzzi tub! The wallpaper in the bathroom was covered with flowers and vines and upon closer inspection; it looked like it also featured three dimensional ladybugs. How interesting. Intrigued, I touched a ladybug and was surprised to see it moving. It was alive. In fact, our bathroom was home to about half dozen or so ladybugs. About four had expired in the light fixture, but the others roamed the walls and alighted on the sink and bath. I guess if there are to be bugs in the bathroom; ladybugs are the best to have. Jim told me that after a restful night's sleep, we would enjoy a delicious gourmet breakfast around a unique antique dining room table. What a way to end our wonderful romantic Valentine’s Day.