Journeying in the steps of a Hogg-Ima Hogg that is.
Jul 102015Twelve years ago my first book about Ima Hogg of Texas was published after years of research and submissions to publishers. After researching the indomitable Texas heroine who was the daughter of the governor I became intrigued with her Texas mettle and adventurous spirit of travel in a time when single Victorian women rarely escaped the confines of their homes, much less boarded trains, planes and steamers to travel around the world to exotic locales.
Thus began my personal travel odyssey to retrace her ambitious steps around the world. And this is where American Airlines came in.
In March of 2007 a wonderful flight on American took me to Paris, France to visit the famous Versailles gardens and stroll in the 100 year old steps of Miss Ima. Her gardens in Texas, now a part of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, were modeled after Versailles. Then in 2013 American helped me trace Ima's footsteps to Hawaii where the thirteen year old Texan meet Queen Liliuokalani and witnessed the annexation to the U.S. In April of this year I flew from Frankfurt to Amsterdam and on to Germany where Ima Hogg studied music and later founded the Houston Symphony.
My final Hogg bucket list will be to Egypt where Miss Ima rode a camel around the pyramids and thoroughly enjoyed herself. Ima excited to plan this next trip and know that American airlines will be a big part of it.