"Oooooohhh, aaaahhhh"

Just back from San Antonio where Richard and I enjoyed the first vacation we've taken alone since a short stint in Chicago five years ago.  Feeling refreshed.  

Today we'll celebrate excellence.

We'll celebrate Luis, the guide who drove our tour boat through San Antonio's canals.  

Luis understands the fact that when a tourist purchases a ticket for the River Boat Tour it's about so much more than learning of historic markers.  Face it, if all we really hoped for was to learn the history of the Alamo; the story behind Hugman, the man who envisioned the walk in the early 1920s; or architectural insights into the 20+ bridges along the canal then we could have Googled it while sitting under the shade of a restaurant umbrella, sipping margaritas.  

No.  Taking a River Boat Tour is as much about having an experience and making a memory as it it is learning facts about a place we may or may not revisit.

Luis got that.  Within the first 30 seconds of us boarding the boat, he immediately broke the ice by having us sit knee to knee with a perfect stranger and then sharing our home towns.  By three minutes into the tour, Luis dutifully described the unique architecture of a hospital along the river and then implored us to make him look good to those on the sidewalk by waiting for his cue then exclaiming, "ooohhhh, aaahhhhh." 

It worked.   Not only did all 50 of us turn a lot of heads by exclaiming, in unison, "ooohhh" and "aaahhhh," but almost instantaneously and inexplicably his request turned strangers into warm acquaintances.  Five minutes into the tour and we felt like old friends at a reunion.  The burst of positivity that came from feeling part of something warm - something bigger - made the $8.25 per ticket seem more than worth it.

The rest of Luis's tour followed suit.  He masterfully continued with his perfect combination of facts and interactive fun.  I appreciated learning more about Texas history, but what I'll really remember is laughing with our new friends from Cleveland and, for thirty-five minutes, the unexpected gift of feeling completely and totally in community.

It got me thinking.  I want to make sure we're doing the same for you.  

Step right up and get your ticket to our Highlowaha Boat Tour.  You might think you're on board for fun facts you might learn along the way, but if Heather, Katie, Cheryl, and I are as good as Luis, then your blog ride will be more about sitting knee to knee and joyfully exclaiming "ooohhhh" and "aaaahhhh" then it will be about learning to write a message in code or to pipe and flood a cookie.

Join me.  Let's gauge.  I'll give a cue and then all of you chime in.  Your cue won't be a word or a series of words.  It'll be a time.  At precisely 1:00 p.m. CST, meet me in the comment section to post "ooooohhhh" and "aaaahhhhh."  We'll see if we can't also turn a few heads.

Get your own Digital Clock

Signing off until tomorrow...