We’re back in San Antonio. As I wrote about previously, my husband and I drove our daughter’s car out to Washington, D.C. over the Thanksgiving holiday. She’s happy to have her car, and we’re happy that we were able to see her >>> although too briefly!
We took our time driving out, which we find is a lot of fun now that we don’t have two young children in the back seat asking about the estimated time of arrival, or the estimated time of our next food break, or worse yet, the estimated time of our next restroom break.
Since we took our time driving out, we visited places along the way that look interesting to us. I’ll mention one of these places, for those of you who may have a chance to visit Durham, North Carolina. If you live in Durham, no doubt you already not only know of, but have visited the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The gardens are 55 acres of natural beauty. This is a place that should not be missed!
Since our daughter only got Thanksgiving day off, my husband and I were able to take it easy (which we like).
The only downside to the trip was that just after I got back I caught a pretty bad cold (probably from all the people who were coughing on the plane). Sure does make flying seem not so attractive.
Even though we just got home, I’m planning on going back out in late March for the Cherry Blossoms and am already looking forward to that trip!
Karen says
sorry you picked up a bug use airrborne a couple of days before flying really does help
glad you’re back and Merry Christmas
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Karen, another thing that might have helped would have been if the woman directly behind me would have brought cough drops with her on the flight. I realize all the people on the plane use the same air, but, >>> really?! She coughed all the way home. (I carry cough drops in my purse all of the time, and felt like offering them to her, but my husband nixed that idea. He, by the way, also has a cold but it isn’t as bad, so he’s been tending to me.) Thanks for the Airborne tip.
MJ says
Sometimes when I get a cold, I get a cough that’s a ‘hanger-oner’ (new word), oftentimes lasting for months. I know I’m no longer contagious, but it doesn’t ‘sound’ good. This happened a time or two while I was in church. One time, a very kind lady sitting in front of me, offered me a cough drop. I gratefully accepted it because I knew it would soothe my throat and stop the cough. Thus, I disagree with your husband (nice guy that I’m sure he is). If the lady didn’t want the cough drop, she could turn it down. On the other hand, she might’ve been grateful, like I was.
Glad to hear you had a nice visit. You should coordinate your spring visit with the ‘Malice Domestic Convention’ so you can visit/meet/greet with the many authors we all talk about. I’ve been to DC in April when the cherry blossoms were at their best. Absolutely beautiful!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, I have to admit that if a stranger on a plane offered me a cough drop from a shabby-looking ziploc baggy, I probably would decline it. However, if I were in church and someone I recognized offered me a cough drop, I’d welcome it!
(I hope I have your luck with the Cherry Blossoms being at their best!)
Linda C says
Danna, Some years ago during Mass a lady had a bad coughing spell. I had Halls cough drops in my pocket. I stood up, genuflected (because I had to cross the isle) gave her a handful of the drops and sat back down. It wasn’t long before the lady stopped coughing. She was very thankful to me. It’s never wrong to help someone out like that.
Lovely hubby you seem to have though. Seems like a forever keeper!!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Linda C, you’re right about my husband being a keeper! I’m so lucky to have found him!
Sharon says
Sorry about your bug. I have picked up one of two on previous flights. Not much to do about that, but I always take Airborne before going anywhere in winter.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon, picking up colds/bugs on flights is only one of the reasons I hate to fly. (The “sardine can” syndrome comes to mind as one of the others, as well as the taking-off-of-shoes/3 oz limit being another…)
Ingrid says
The cherry blossoms are a wonderful sight to see, especially around the tidal basin, but be ready for crowds. We’ll be looking forward to hearing about that trip. I hope the weather is great for you.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ingrid, we took our children to see the Cherry Blossoms when they were quite young, so I’m pretty sure my daughter doesn’t remember them. It’s sort of a hit or miss gamble since I had to lock into my flight dates…
Joyce Ann Brown says
I can empathize with the virus situation on flights. I almost always come back from a plane trip with a bad cold, either caught on the way there or on the way back. I’m going to take that Airborne tip, too. Fortunately, we went to Arizona for Thanksgiving without catching any bugs. Hooray. The weather wasn’t as warm as we Kansas City folks were hoping for, but it’s always fun visiting kids and grandkids.
I read the new Darling Dahlias mystery (The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush by Susan Wittig Albert) on the trip. It was so much fun and also enlightening. I didn’t know towns issued scrip for money during the Great Depression.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Joyce Ann, I would have thought Arizona would have had beautiful weather during Thanksgiving, although our son told us they got a lot of rain in San Antonio. Other than the weather out there, it sounds like you had fun visiting your family AND were lucky not to catch a bad cold on your flights.
Margaret M. says
Ugh! I hope you feel better soon.
Cherry Blossom season in D.C. is my FAVORITE, you will love it.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Margaret M, I can’t wait to see those blooming trees! (Oh, and my daughter! 😉 )
Susan* says
Here’s hoping that both you and your OH are feeling better and rid of your colds very soon!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, each day we continue to improve. I currently have a bronchial cough, so I sound a lot worse than I feel. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and I feel like I’m going to be the person in the room with whom everyone else is upset to be sharing the waiting room with…
Sarah says
The Sarah P. Duke Gardens are truly beautiful! We lived in Durham several years, and the gardens are definitely a place to see any season of the year.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sarah, my husband and I thought exactly that! For the gardens to be as beautiful as they are at the end of November, we wondered just how amazing they would be during the spring and summer months.
Tammy says
Sorry about the bug. I seem to pick up some sort of health glitch every time I visit my 5 month old granddaughter — but she’s so worth it! 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tammy, I’ll bet she is!
Margaret StashEmpress says
Sorry to hear you’re under the weather! That sort of thing does happen anyplace you’re in close quarters with a lot of people. I remember when my mother passed, all the people who came to visit, and particularly one cousin saying, “I was soooo sick with the flu [cough cough] I couldn’t make it to the funeral [cough cough] but I *couldn’t* not come to the shiva [cough cough cough]!!!!!”
Of course the next week my siblings and I (and a number of our kids) were all down with the flu… sigh…. the gift that keeps on giving…!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Margaret, we were certainly in close quarters everywhere we went in D.C.
By the way, how are your house problems going? I have thought about you and your family often, and hope you were able to find a place (and get moved) before your deadline.
Rob says
Dear Danna et all: Sorry about the bug but the lady with the Airborne tip is right on! Also a few hits of Emergen C liquid may help boost those immuno bug fighters! My doctor swears by it and he is always disgustingly healthy all year. He also gets a flu shot with one for each kid and his wife.
Yes, Cherry BLossoms are lovely out that way-I saw D.C. as a teen ager but I also remember the San Antonio River Walk at this time of year and that was lovely too. I couldn’t eat at too many Mexican restaurants-the only thing I can’t do is Jalapeno peppers.
I can recommend Shelley Freydon’t series in Celebration Bay and her “Silent Knife” is season appropriate! I loved it. Recommend all her work. And I also want to bring attention to Laura Bradford’s
new release in 2016 of “Churn for the Worse”. Excellent series.
All my best to you ladies and Danna, hope you and “hubby” get over your bugs soon. For the rest of you ladies, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Rob
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rob, the Riverwalk in San Antonio is beautiful at this time of year >>> oh, and it’s very, very crowded as well! When our children were young we were able to get down there to stroll around and enjoy the lights before Christmas. It is now so crowded we now go after Christmas. (Or sometimes on Christmas Eve.) I was so glad when they decided to go back to decorating with colored light bulbs. The white ones just didn’t look as River Walk-y! And, Merry Christmas to you!
Tressa says
Hi Danna
I’m writing to wish you a Merry Christmas and to thank you for another year of this wonderful website. I think I enjoy perusing it as much as reading the mysteries! I too have a grown daughter that lives in DC and we’re in CA!
I hope you get over your cold quick, hit the cherry festival at just the right time and have a blessed 2016.
Warm Regards, Tressa
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tressa, thank you for the Christmas greetings! We had hoped that our daughter would end up in Houston or Dallas, but the opportunities out in D.C. are so much greater for her line that we are over the moon about this job! I’m guessing the flights for you all are twice as long as our flights. >>> Yikes, twice the time to catch a bug!
Marja says
Danna, glad you enjoyed lovely DC, and Durham NC. There’s also lovely countryside around Skyline Drive and Monticello / Charlottesville. Monticello is a lovely day trip from DC (which you may have done).
Sorry to hear about your cold virus. A friend tells me Zicam works (and doesn’t taste as nasty as it used to). Other great suggestions above (Airborne and Vit C), and I generally do Echinacea (mixed with water, the tonic tastes sorta like so-so whiskey), and probiotics to support my immune system thru the fight.
Nevertheless I’ve had that “hanger-on cough” if the cold moves into my chest. I’ll sleep in my recliner so I’m not flat and can better cough up … well, you know.
As my nurse friend tells me, “force fluids” — chicken soup really is good for this, hot tea, hot “lemonade” (lemon and honey), and MUCINEX really really works. I take it a few days in to prevent my un-favorite, bronchitis, followed by pneumonia. That’s happened to me more than once so now I have a whole defense system lined up 😉
Gesundheit (good health to you) and enjoy some of your reading list while you take it easy!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marja, the last time we visited our daughter out in D.C. (she interned out there during two summers) we visited Monticello. Absolutely beautiful. This time we went to Mount Vernon.
It sounds like you are covered for colds! Thanks for all of the cold tips!
glen says
I’m sorry but allergies will do the same thing…I’ve been on busses where someone got on, sat near me, and I would cough until one of us got off. Too much perfume, cigarette smoke, (or other smoke smells) and maybe other things that will activate my allergies. I don'[t like it, and I know others think I have a cold, or something equally catching, but it’s just allergies!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Glen, this woman definitely didn’t have allergies. Both my son and husband had allergies, and neither of them had bronchial coughing bouts. (I guess she could have had allergies on top of a bad bacteria thing going on.) Of course, I could have caught it from any number of escalators, elevators, menus, ETC. I always have a small bottle of Purell hand sanitizer with me that I use to try to ward off bacterias/viruses >>> but sometimes I forget…