A few days ago my dad sent some shots of the family of armadillos that have taken up residence in our backyard in Texas (obviously Texas. ‘Dillos don’t frequent Cincinnati or Rochester, as far as I’m aware). I miss those suckers.
This, of course, sent me spiraling down the rabbit hole of other Texas things I’ve been missing lately: Bluebonnet season, the smell of BBQ smoking out of the back of hill country BBQ joints, enchiladas and margaritas from tiny authentic Mexican cantinas, spring in downtown San Antonio (The Alamo, Luminaria, Fiesta, the Riverwalk, NIOSA – Night in ‘Ol San Antone), casual Mexican dresses with fiesta wreaths of flowers and streamers worn atop the head, cowboy boots, tubing the Guadalupe river, Blue Bell ice cream, Tower Tuesdays with the Magik Theatre crowd, cactus and sunsets, sunny days, the shaved ice stand with lime cream snowcones, mariachi music, country music, Sancho…it’s time for visit.
But the missing didn’t stop there. It went right on through Lansing, MI (picnics and frisbee golf at Fitzgerald Park, Boarshead Theatre, Williamston and Grand Ledge, Golden Harvest, The Outpost, road trips, MSU, the bunnies out back of our old apartment, Horracks, fireflies, pizza and our super cheap first-run movie theatre, theatre friends, late nights, show calls and lazy Mondays) to Cincinnati (the Drive-In theatre in Amelia, walking across the street to United Dairy Farmers for ice cream cones on summer nights, Dewey’s Pizza and Graeter’s, girls nights with my friend Allyson for sushi or shows or to sunbathe in the park, blueberry picking, the Cincinnati-Columbus biking trail, summer 5ks, carnivals, and festivals, historical tours around Cincy and Newport, all the amazing theatre and dance shows we got to attend for free, Rhythm and Motion at Cincinnati Ballet, Findlay Market and Pho Lang, parks and fireworks, and those hills!).
I struggle to leave behind the places I love; I’ve learned this about myself. Fortunately, I’ve also loved every new city we move to. I love Rochester now for many reasons. I already have a whole list of things I’d miss about Rochester too, if we were to move again in the future.
The nostalgia is still bittersweet, but this is why we have vacations.
I sense the need for a trip or two, soon.
Are there any cities you miss?
