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My bride, Lisa, and I were married two days before Thanksgiving last year. Although we’ve taken a couple of family trips to Florida since then and we’ve had quick long weekend trips to St. Louis and Chicago, we haven’t taken an official honeymoon.
That’s going to change this week. After I help put this week’s issue of the Lovely County Citizen to bed on Tuesday, Lisa and I are headed to Grapevine, Texas. We’ll spend the night there, then fly out of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on Wednesday, headed to the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s annual convention in San Francisco.
I’m receiving a first-place award in the foundation’s annual newspaper contest. I’m admittedly pretty excited about that, but it’s also very humbling to be honored in such a way. I’m looking forward to attending the awards ceremony and some other events associated with the convention, but I’m also looking forward to spending some quality time with Lisa and seeing San Francisco. We’re calling this our honeymoon, and we intend to enjoy it to the fullest extent.
I’ve been to California three times — all three trips to San Diego. The first was a business trip more than 20 years ago when I was working as the managing editor for a national newspaper geared toward the for-hire trucking industry. I went back in 2011 and 2015 to see my two sons graduate from basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
On my last trip, I changed planes in the San Francisco airport on the way to San Diego and again in the Los Angeles airport on the way back to Dallas, but that’s the extent of my California experience outside of San Diego. Lisa has been to California once, driving to LA with some friends when she was 18. She still talks about that trip.
Lisa, by the way, is an old pro at flying cross-country. Before the pandemic hit in 2020, she traveled a lot for work. She knows the ins and outs of navigating an airport, dealing with baggage, even how to watch the in-flight movie. I, on the other hand, have flown four times in the past 20 years. I used to get on a plane, it seemed like, twice a month, but that was a long time ago. I fly so rarely now that the whole process always feels brand-new to me. I’m glad I’ll have Lisa to help guide me along this time around.
We haven’t made a lot of specific plans for the four days we’ll be in San Francisco, but we’re looking forward to driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, eating seafood on Pier 39, maybe checking out the giant redwoods. I’m sure there will be plenty of things that catch our eye. The weather is supposed to be absolutely beautiful, with high temperatures in the low to mid-70s and plenty of sunshine.
We both work pretty hard and we both have somewhat stressful jobs. We’ll both have our laptops with us, but I’m hoping we don’t have to open them. I’m looking forward to being able to relax and enjoy myself, for just a little while.
It will be fun to celebrate some personal happiness and some professional success. And we’re just getting started.
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Scott Loftis is managing editor for Carroll County Newspapers. His email address is SLoftis@cherryroad.com.
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