Our Spring Escape, a Love Inspired Tour

My dh and I (photo of us in front of the Alamo) did something that we haven't done for a long time or maybe ever. On March 18 we set out from our northern WI house to drive to Dallas for a Book Expo there. But really we set out on a journey to revive us from winter and from doing the same routine day after day.

It was still very early for us to see much in the way of the signs of spring--green grass, flowers, new tender leaves and buds. Yet about an hour south in central WI, we left snow behind us and then we began to relax. We spent a day with friends on their farm in Central IL that we hadn't seen in 8 years. Then we zipped down to Dallas and stayed in one of the old grand hotels in downtown--think LUXURIOUS--lots of marble and dark woods glowing with age. And delicious food. We had a special meal at one of the hotel restaurants and savored the triple layer chocolate cake and the moment.
By now we were feeling good.

We drove south to San Antonio. I had just finished writing a trilogy of books, Texas Star of Destiny series, set in Texas 1821 -1847.


And I wanted to visit many of the settings that I had written about--the Alamo, the Spanish governor's palace, the San Fernando Cathedral. After we spent two days in San Antonio, we drove through east Texas decorated with wild crepe myrtle in bloom passing by the site of the Massacre at Goliad and then up to Galveston Island which was still rebuilding after the hurricane last fall. Oh, to wear shorts again and walk on the white sand beach and listen to the seagulls screech. Amazing.



Then we drove NE to LA and spent a night with a Craftie Lady, Lenora Worth. I got to see her WORLD famous shoe collection and ate Cajun food and laughed and talked with her and her dh. In the morning, we drove through the LOVELY Ozarks in Arkansas and had delicious and fun Chinese dinner yet another Craftie Lady, Val Hansen and her dh. The next day, we headed north through Missouri where we stopped to see the grave of Daniel Boone and his children and drove through Hannibal where Mark Twain had grown up and set his Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn books.

Nearly home, we stayed with another Love Inspired author Roxanne Rustand in Iowa where our son still lives. I also got to see Cynthia Rutledge which many of you know wrote many great books for Love Inspired not so long ago. And on March 31st when we crossed the Mississippi River to drive the last leg for home, we stopped to visit Patt Marr (and her dh), the final LI writing friend on our Love Inspired tour.

So that's what we did on our spring getaway from winter trip. We did hit snow once again an hour south of home, but it didn't matter. We had breathed in spring and knew it wouldn't be long till the trilliums would be blooming white and low in the forest of home. And we truly felt blessed and renewed.

We're already talking about doing something about the same time next year! Have you ever just followed your nose and took a leisurely no rush trip?