Our Trip to Corpus and the TAMU-CC Summer 2009 Graduation

For several months, we've been planning to go to Corpus Christi to see one of Andy's high school friends, George Mayfield, graduate. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to head back down to my alma matter. I haven't been down in a handful of years. I drove us down through the middle of the night while Andy slept. This allowed us to pick up a frame for my diploma, me to give Andy a mini tour of campus, and us to see some of my friends who now work for the school. I had hoped that we might make it down early enough that we would watch the sun rise on the beach, but we were on 37 just outside of San Antonio for that. So, we headed straight to campus. It was amazing how stagnant the air was when we got out of the car; it was supper hot! For our mini tour, I tried to keep us going from one air conditioned building to another. We didn't see all of the new buildings, but it was amazing how many there were and how they changed the landscape and feel of the campus. In one building, the CI, I even got to help a woman find the building she needed to be in; it did my heart good to jump into Island Ambassador mode all of these years later.

We stopped off at the Round Building and saw several of my IA buddies. We talked for quite a while, but made plans to try to see each other sometime after graduation the next day. I found out while there that one of my friends, Bryan Davis, was receiving his Master's Degree.

Then we headed over the bridge to Bob Hall Pier in Port A. I needed to sleep! We had to figure out a way to set me up so that I wouldn't be too hot. Here is the Walker Beachmobile that we came up with.

We had the car angled so that the breeze blew right through the back seat where I laid out. Unfortunately, I still couldn't get cool enough. So, we called up George and Lauren, who we stayed with. They set up their air mattress, we pulled in to their apartment complex, the guys picked up some pizza from B&J's (I love their pizza; they were one of my spots when I was working on my degree in Corpus.), and then we took a well deserved nap. That evening we headed to Snoopy's (a good seafood place in Port A) for dinner. I was really surprised how long the line was; they told us the wait would be an hour. I don't think it was that long though. The food was good, and it was great to sit out on the porch looking over the water as the sun went down. We hung out with the George, Lauren, and their daughters Samantha (3) and Evelyn (2) for the rest of the evening. When I was falling asleep, Andy decided we needed to head to bed again.

Saturday morning was relaxed. We got ready and headed off to graduation. It didn't start until 1:30, but George had to be there at 12. We knew that we would need to be there early for good seating anyway so we went all together. The girls were both raring to go and were not thrilled that they were being asked to sit! So, I suggested that Andy take Samantha for a walk. After 30 minutes or so, I called him requesting that he switch girls. Evelyn then got her chance to run around. Andy was great about helping the girls use up their excess energy!! The girls were then able to survive the 2 hour long graduation ceremony.

I was thrilled to find out that I knew several people who were graduating! The woman in charge of the Equestrian Team & Club, Catherine Swift, received her Doctorate in Education. As I said earlier, my friend Bryan received his Master's in English. George got his Bachelor's in Business. In the craziness after graduation was over, I ran into someone else who knew me. We talked, but I couldn't for the life of me recognize her. I felt so bad! She even remembered my name, and I couldn't even recognize her face! It wasn't until several days later that I could figure out who she was. Lisa was one of the other flute players in the school band. She was receiving her Master's in Counseling.

We headed back to George and Lauren's apartment for the party that they threw. Several of George's fraternity brother's came to congratulate him. It was lots of fun meeting and talking with these guys.

We packed up our stuff, loaded the car, and met several of my friends for dinner. I got to see Brenda, Bryan, Leigh Ann, Sara (Huerta), and Chris. I didn't get to talk that much with some of them, but maybe we'll see them again in the future. I had a fabulous time seeing everyone!!

We drove that night to San Antonio where we stayed with Cici & Logan. Unfortunately, we got there so late that we didn't actually get to spend time with them. We'll catch up over the Labor Day weekend.

Sunday morning, we met my father for breakfast. He showed us the house that he and his fiance, Margaret, just bought. It's a 1917 house that has some beautiful architectural details. They are cleaning the place up and working to bring the house up to the place they want. As with any old home, there are plenty of things on the honey do lists. They will have a wonderful time showing off the place at any stage though. Then we went over to Stacey (my college roommate) and Einar Phillips's house. We hadn't talked with them in quite a while so it was wonderful to hear all of their news. They have an adorable little puppy who would sit and wag his tail causing him to slide all over the wood floors; it was hilarious! Then, we were off to Austin to stop by Amy & Ricardo's to meet their new baby, Ricardo IV. He's so cute! After a very short stop with them (we stayed long enough for little Richy to fall asleep in my arms), we headed home.

What a whirlwind trip it was!! It was great to see all of these old friends!