Take Me Back to the Titanic

 

I'm back!

April has been full of some fun things - we attended our 5th grader's first musical concert. 

She's been learning how to play the ukulele after school because her wonderful music teacher wanted to have a ukulele group to play for school functions. She only invited a handful of her students, ones she thought would really work hard and C was one of them. She LOVES it and we're so proud.

I found someone on Etsy to make a tiny replica of my wedding dress for my Sally doll and I freaking love it. I know it's silly but these little things make me happy.

Our cat, Tigger, had a perfect and beautiful little kitten which we've named Snowball. She actually had 3 kittens but 2 of them were gone in just a few hours but Snowball, the last one to be born, is a fat little guy (girl? who knows?) and seems to be very healthy so fingers crossed. He moves around a lot, already has his eyes opening and I think he'll be running the whole house before he's even 4 weeks old.

We're all already in love with him, even Charlie is fascinated and doesn't seem to mind (too much) that he's taken over her bed.

But, by far, the best thing that happened in April was that I got to attend a Titanic speakers conference. I have been a Titanic enthusiast ever since they first discovered the wreck in 1985. Of course I'd been aware of the disaster from 1912 but this was the first time I realized how beautiful the ship had been, how opulent the furnishings and clothes were in 1912 and I think that's when I officially fell in love with historic fashion.

The movie in 1997 was fun to see on the big screen and there was something magical about feeling like I was actually walking the decks. I could have cared less about the fiction story taking place and when I re-watch the movie these days I actually stop when they hit the iceberg because I only watch it to catch a glimpse of life aboard the ship for those 4 days.

When the 100th anniversary rolled around (2012) I desperately wished I could have taken part in one of the many events that were taking place all over the world but we weren't in a place to travel anywhere so we settled for watching the movie in a theater again since they re-released it for the anniversary.

Last year the Titanic exhibit in Orlando announced their first ever Speakers Conference and I signed up to go but then had to cancel almost immediately so when they announced they were doing it again this year, I jumped on it so hard and vowed that nothing and no one was going to keep me from it.

I kept that vow - I attended the event and it was amazing and inspirational and even more than I'd hoped it would be!

The Titanic exhibit has been in Orlando for years and Taz and I visited it a few times, even dragging my brother in law along one time. It's down the street from my job but I have not stopped by in the last 5 years so it was great to be back and see all the exhibits and artifacts again.

The speakers were all the top names in Titanic history since 1985 including several people who have been on numerous drives. My favorite speaker talked about life in 1912 and she was great but I couldn't help but think how I might do a presentation like that differently which has inspired me to put together my own presentation to give to local schools and libraries. I have a collection of Titanic books here in Florida with me (and I try not to think about all the ones that got left behind in California) so I'm going to start researching again.

I really want to put an emphasis on afternoon tea on the Titanic because that's the epitome of luxury and it allows me to talk about the differences in the services for 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class.

The conference lasted for 2 days so I spent more time in Orlando that week than I ever do which meant a lot of time on the road (it's a 2 hour drive each way if the traffic is bad) but it was totally worth it. Unfortunately my little car didn't agree and overheated on the way home the first day so it's out of commission right now until we can save some money for the repairs. Luckily we have a family car which I am now using so it didn't keep me from the 2nd day of the conference.

There was something deeply satisfying about attending the conference and indulging in something I love. I haven't had a truly *me* moment in awhile and it was long overdue. The whole experience reminded me of how much I love research. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the things that bring us joy, things that can easily be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the day to day. I'm going to find ways to build research time into my life from now on.

April has been a fun month, fairly low key which is good because May is going to be totally different since we'll be winding down the school year along with C's graduation from 5th grade which seems to be a way bigger deal than when I graduated 5th grade. There will be parties and open houses and a ceremony. We'll be shopping for a new outfit and Chris will even be taking her to get her hair done before the graduation. 

And then school will be out and summer vacation will begin which means having the kids home with me all day while I'm also trying to work...but that's still a month in the future.

Hacienda Hotel

 Sorry for the delay between posts, I had to get a new phone recently and was having trouble with the software that stores the pictures from the phone but I've got it all figured out now...I think.

Since my last post about the first Fancy Flea of the year, we have now been to another Fancy Flea, a much smaller one, in a town just 10 minutes from us. We took the kids and they loved it, especially Cadence who says that vintage markets are now her thing.

We've also attended a couple of the local flea markets which both kids love because they can always find a toy or two that they NEED and the vendors frequently give them small things for free.

But this past weekend it was just Chris and me - my favorite kind of weekend.

On Friday Chris said he wanted to do something fun this weekend, just the two of us and, at first, my mind went blank on something I wanted to do. When I couldn't come up with anything Chris suggested going downtown and playing pool at the pool hall.

While I'm not opposed to playing pool (I'm just not any good at it) it wasn't really my idea of what we could do on our special adults only weekend so I got busy and came up with an idea.

I have a thing for pink hotels. Back in 2021/2022 when we were planning our honeymoon we had decided to go to Hawaii and stay at the Royal Hawaiian which is pink and was built in 1927 - two of my favorite things. But then I went broke so that never happened but there was this other 1927 pink hotel just an hour from where we live that was being renovated and brought back to its former glory.

I had even thought about getting married there (and it would have been lovely) but they didn't know exactly when they were going to open and couldn't guarantee it would be before our wedding so I never went to see it and I kind of forgot about it until I started thinking about what I would really like to do this weekend.

Also, I've been searching for a charming little downtown where Chris and I can escape to easily for daytrips. Somewhere that has charm and makes us feel like we've gone away on vacation even if it's only for a few hours.

Taz and I had those types of places, a couple of little towns we loved but they are a little further away from where I live now and I really want to find a new place where we can make our own memories.

The Hacienda Hotel was everything I wanted it to be - luxuriously pink, that Spanish-Moorish style that was so popular in the 1920s, cozy and old fashioned inside with welcoming white rocking chairs on the back patio. 

There's even a big park in its backyard with a river running through it. I was enchanted.

The town, however, wasn't quite as charming and I don't see it as a place we'll come back to time and time again. It wasn't bad, it just didn't give me all the feels so I will have to keep searching.

After leaving the downtown area, we decided to play a round of mini-golf. I do enjoy miniature golf and I don't suck at it the way I do at most other sports but it was beastly hot and the sun was beating down on me mercilessly and I wasn't exactly dressed for mini-golf so I wasn't sad when the 18 holes came to an end and we I could escape to the air-conditioned paradise of our car.

It was a lovely day and I really enjoyed exploring a new place; it's one of my favorite things to do. I know that Chris had projects back at the house he would have rather been doing so I appreciate the gesture of giving most of the day over to me.

Once back home I changed into less clothes (the dress and hat I'd worn for the day made me feel so cute and was perfect in the town which had breezes blowing off the river but definitely not the smartest choice for mini-golf) and took Chris to Lowes to buy electrical crap for his latest project (putting electrical outlets in the shed that he's turning into an office for his company) while I went to Walmart for toilet paper. Not the most romantic way to end a fun outing but necessary, I guess.

And now I'm back at work and we have the kids starting tonight through next weekend. I have been busy researching other towns to try and one that's closer to us has a night market this Friday so I see that outing in our future, this time with kids. I'll report back and let you know if I've finally found the charming town of my dreams. I'm sure the kids will love the face painting and the scavenger hunt. I'm looking forward to the food trucks and maybe some fun shopping.