June 28 - July 5 I spent some time at Alma de Mujer, Center for Social Change. It was a remarkable experience that I can't hope to recount here. Alma is 22 acres of a retreat center in Austin. People use the space for various reasons, including reconnecting with each other, the Earth, and the grandmothers. 

We used the space for our retreat, Teachers for Social Justice: Deaf Learners (TSJDL). 

A transcript of the above video can be found at the TSJDL website here. 

It was a remarkable experience. I know Social Justice (and Social Justice Warriors) can have a negative connotation, but it wasn't anything like the Twitter or Tumblr battles that come to mind when the term "social justice" is mentioned. I'm still processing everything from the Retreat, but I suppose my basic takeaway is something along the lines that identities are complex. We all have biases and privileges, as do our friends, our families, our bosses, and the people that write history books. Figure out what they are, why they are, and what we can do to enhance the equality. 

"Physician, heal thyself!" 
“Teachers cannot transform schools until they transform themselves.” – James Banks

So, if you've been following my baseball travels, which unless you happen to join them occasionally you do not, you'd know that I'm more than halfway through my goal of visiting all active MLB Ballparks. 

To date: 

1. Citifield - NY Mets
2. Fenway - Boston 
3. Rodgers Center- Toronto
4. PNC - Pittsburgh
5. Citizens Bank - Philly
6. Comerica - Detroit
7. Great American - Cincinnati
8. Progressive Field - Cleveland
9. Turner Field- Atlanta
10. Nationals Ballpark- Washington, DC
11. Rangers Stadium- Dallas
12. Camden Yards - Baltimore
13. US Cellular Field - Chicago White Sox
14. Wrigley Field - Chicago Cubs
15. Miller Park - Milwaukee
16. Busch Stadium - St. Louis
17. Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City

I've visited the Astrodome, but since they have a new one I have to go back. 

This year, we hit St. Louis and Kansas City. 

St. Louis is an amazing city and I must go back! One could easily spend two days or more exploring Forest Park; we only gave it a day. You can enter most (every?) place free and there is a $2 trolley that will take you all over the park. I recommend the trolley. We ended up walking from the Metro Station to the Science Museum, a scant 2 miles or so, but it was bloody hot and the trolley would have afforded us more time. We didn't even touch the history museum. 

Aside: did you know that if Barbie were an astronaut, her suit would be hot pink? You know, cause she's a girl. 

Joe Buck's Restaurant near the stadium had delicious food and tasty, cold beverages. I was impressed. The views from the Gateway Arch were fairly awesome. It was a lot of hurry up and wait to get to the top, but I'm glad we went. St. Louis staple Ted Drewes Frozen Custard was placed on the agenda by a friend and did not disappoint. 

As for the game, the Mets outlasted the Cardinals on Sunday in an eighteen inning affair! Extra baseball and  a win? Yes, please! 

A return trip is definitely in order. The drive to Kansas City, however, I could do without that. Long, flat, and boring. 

Our hotel was across the street from "the K." The full of energy desk clerk recommended a few BBQ spots (went with Big T's). Kauffman Stadium is one of the most unique I've seen and I've seen a couple. The water fountains put it over the top. 

Driving back twelve hours sucked. Podcasts, books on CD, and chatting on the phone helped the time go by, but next time I think I'm flying. 

Been a very long time since I've updated this here travelog ... yep. Long time. 

I could make different entries for my various excursions this summer, but that seems like more work than I really want to do, so I'll give a brief rundown here, maybe include a picture or two at some point, and hopefully will be better about updating in the future. 

Random quirks: 1) while our resort was nice, it had a much different vibe than the place next door: Temptation. I won't go into too many details other than to say it was adults only, topless-optional. Next vacation is booked! I kid, I kid! 2) the Cancun airport doesn't open until about 5am. If you are booking a flight that early from Cancun, you are doing it wrong, but there you go. 3) Deaf World is small! If you are Deaf or work with Deaf, you already know this; for you hearing people not in the know - find a Deaf person. Then find another Deaf person across the country with seemingly nothing in common. Wait five minutes and you'll be surprised how many mutual acquaintances will shake loose. One of the employees of the resort was Deaf and we communicated with gestures, fingerspelling, and a smattering of ASL and LSM. Before the week was out, we'd met a Deaf couple. One half was from Rochester, my home town, and the other was from Atlanta, where I live now. And of course we knew many of the same people.