Mr. Brown is a wonder.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Mr. Brown makes thunder!
He makes lightning
SPLATT SPLATT SPLATT
And it's very, very hard
To make a noise like that!
As I happily chanted Dr. Seuss's "Book of Wonderful Noises" to Ruby late yesterday afternoon, I had no idea how pertinent my reading would be to our nighttime display of theatrics. Last night, around midnight, it rained. Or rather, the sky beat down buckets of water against our hotel in a passionate rage. Lightning flashed. And thunder roared - so loudly that I woke Ken more than once to clarify that those sounds were in fact coming from nature, rather than from my other hypothesis at the time: planes exploding in the air or bombs going off. The weather was intense, and awe-inspiring. At one point, I slid out of bed to peer out our window at the scene unfolding. Storms can be beautiful, and enchanting, and also scare me to the point of trembling.
This one in particular was a combination of all three.
Thankfully, baby Ruby slept considerably well given the circumstances. Perhaps that had a lot to do with Ken downloading a "white-noise machine" app on my iPhone shortly before we tucked Ruby into bed. Ken set the app to play all night, and it sure helped. I'm constantly impressed by Ken's ingenuity, especially since we had mistakenly left Ruby's actual white noise machine at our previous hotel in Spokane shortly before heading on a flight to San Antonio. The lovely city with its temperamental weather, where we now find ourselves settling in for the week.
Tagalongs. More than just the name for a delicious Girl Scout Cookie, this word describes baby girl and I here in the big ole' state of Texas. We tagged along on Ken's business trip to the area. So, while he spends the day programming power relay systems at a nearby facility, Ruby and I are making the best of our plush hotel-meets-apartment style room. We read books together, play with the squeezable plastic farm animal bath toys that are scattered about, eat lots of pees, blueberries, raspberries, bread, and cheese, and explore the outdoor space at our hotel. There's also a nearby mall and a heated outdoor pool, which I'm tempted to try out with Ruby later today. While our transportation is limited to my two feet during the day, baby Ruby and I are still enjoying lots to do and see.
Last night, prior to all that inclement weather I mentioned earlier, we drove with Ken to the San Antonio Riverwalk for dinner. What a charming place! It reminded me of being back in Venice, Italy, perusing the local shops along the water. Thick Ivy hangs along the red brick buildings, and towering trees line the riverfront. A little, pay-to-ride boat ferries guests up and down the canal, and various restaurants, from Mexican to American to Italian, hug the riverfront. Our family of three dined on an assortment of fresh, warm baguettes and rosemary butter, roasted veggies seasoned with lemon and garlic, giant shrimps with horseradish cocktail sauce, coconut crusted prawns (best I've ever had) and seafood enchiladas. The food was fantastic, and I only wish that I could eat prawns like that on a more regular basis. Ruby, on the other hand, probably mentioned at one point (in her native tongue) that while everything looked incredible, she would've been just as happy with only the bread. She loves bread.
On that note, it's almost lunchtime here and I'm needing to assemble some turkey sandwiches before Ken gets back for his break. Should another opportunity arise (think: Ruby napping contentedly on her own) where I can put down in writing more of our Texas adventures, I will try my best.
Texas will now get crossed off my bucket list.
