This past January, Mike left Utopia for a week to do a training gig in Savannah. His return flight corresponded with Harrison’s 17th birthday weekend. Since we already had to drive in to San Antonio to pick up Mike from an evening flight, and wanted to celebrate Harrison’s birthday, we booked a house (using airbnb) in the city for the weekend.
Mike’s Saturday 7pm arrival flight was a little late—we retrieved him at 12:30am on Sunday morning. We all slept late Sunday morning, so Harrison’s actual birth-day felt short. Mike and I decided to extend our stay for a third night (returning to the farm on Tuesday rather than Monday) so we could celebrate AND rest up.
Harrison had a few presents from family (Grandparents) and surprise presents from his friend Joel (of dareyou2move.com) that he opened in the morning.
Late afternoon we were joined by the Shanks (Herd of Turtles) who were also visiting San Antonio. They helped us celebrate Harrison’s birthday with pizza (Harrison’s requested meal) and organic popsicles.
In addition to eating, the kids played many games and the adults yakked. The night was over way too fast.
Monday ended up being Miranda’s special day. Miranda attends an online biology course where she has made a few friends. One of those friends, Royce, was heading into San Antonio with his family for a vacation of their own.
We were able to make arrangements with Royce’s parents to meet and have dinner together on the Riverwalk. It was a very enjoyable evening and our two families seemed very compatible.
Tuesday morning we packed up our things, made a stop at the grocery store to resupply, and headed back to Utopia. After unpacking, the kids completed some waiting farm chores—cleaning paddocks, brushing the dog, and watering the small garden—and Mike and I enjoyed the quiet of the farm (no loud trains or fireworks).
It was a great mini-vacation.