QuiltCon 2015: Travel

I am so happy to be home. QuiltCon was a lot of things: amazing, exciting, fun, and honestly a bit overwhelming. Nothing beats my own bed, my two boys (my husband and cat), and I am really looking forward to getting back to my sewing machine. I am going to break down my thoughts and posts about QuiltCon a bit, and I thought I would start off today with my travel experiences.

One of the best parts about QuiltCon being hosted in Austin, Texas, this year was that I got to fly there. And because I was flying alone, I got to have a window seat. When traveling with my husband, I am happy to sit in the middle (he has a love of flying and being “way high up”, and the aerial photography he has captured out of airline windows is stunning). But if given the chance, I like to look out a window, too. I think there is nothing more breathtaking than looking down on our world and seeing the beautiful patterns that can’t be noticed on the ground.

One interesting adventure I had was waking up on Friday morning to find that my hotel room did not have running water. It is really disappointing to turn on the shower to only have a small trickle of water come out. After 30 minutes with maintenance help, all was well. I learned that a water valve had been replaced the day before on the roof, the air was not bled out of the line sufficiently, and the valve needed to be opened (!! haha – oops!!). My morning schedule was thrown for a loop, but thankfully I was able to still make it to the morning yoga session and I had some free time that morning to go back to my room and shower later. And nothing beats being thankful for things like running water and indoor plumbing (more about that in a later post, too). I once saw a bumper sticker that said, “If Indoor Plumbing Doesn’t Make You Happy, Nothing Will!”

Yay for Running Water – Appreciating the Small Things 🙂

I used to live in downtown Austin (2003-2004). My husband and I got married in a small church in South Austin, and we loved the apartment we lived in downtown on West 3rd street. I went for a walk on Friday afternoon and went to see how the neighborhood has changed in the past 11 years. The building looks the same, but it is now surrounded by large high rise buildings on all four sides. Our 4 story apartment building used to be the tall building in the area; not any more! There was current construction going on just to the south of the apartment while I was walking by.

Home Sweet (Old) Home

Lots of New Construction!

I am not much for urban photography and late night clubs, so I don’t have much more to share for around Austin itself. However, I did love the glass that was beautifully hung and displayed in the Rotunda at the Austin Convention Center. I would walk by and admire the glass each morning on my way to yoga. 🙂

Glass Display in Rotunda at Austin Convention Center

And as I prepared to leave, I was thankful that fabric packs so well. I don’t think I went totally crazy with my purchases, but I did get more than just the bundle of Carolyn Friedlander orange fabric I discussed yesterday in my Sunday Stash post! 😉

Packed for Home

The weather in Austin was beautiful for QuiltCon. The temperatures were in the upper 60s or low 70s (°F), and the forecast for rain did not come true until I got to the airport on Sunday morning. My first flight of the day was a short hop from Austin to Dallas. I thought the rainy weather was actually quite beautiful (we are in a serious drought my part of California right now), and I loved how the colors of the Southwest plane and trucks popped against the moody sky.

Bye Bye, Texas

And to my utter delight, it was raining in California when I landed, too. We drove in the rain all the way home, and I am so thankful for the moisture we received. As I am putting this post together I can see some snow flakes lazily drifting down, too. Since it is 41°F outside, there is no chance of the snow sticking, but I am so thankful we are getting a bit of rain and snow here at home.

And while not directly related to QuiltCon and travel, I have to brag on my husband a bit, too. When I walked in the door at home, my first goal was to snuggle with my cat. As I walked into the house, something seemed a bit different… my husband surprised me by renovating my computer nook for me while I was away. Money has been tight since I left my full time job last April, and some home renovation projects have been on indefinite hold. He told me that he didn’t know when else I would be able to have 3 days without computer access, so he went ahead and fixed up my computer nook while I was away. What a sweetheart!

Computer Nook Renovation Process

So I am enjoying my new desk space today and super thankful for so much. I have so many more thoughts about QuiltCon that I want to share, and please bear with me as I don’t necessarily post about quilts and projects as I recap my experiences and thoughts this week. If you were not able to attend, do you have any questions about QuiltCon that I can try to answer via email or in upcoming posts?

And as a fun final bonus, here is a quick video of the engine starting up on my flight home from Dallas. 🙂