Sherri's (Never A Dull Moment) World

Savannah's Firsts

We did something fun yesterday -- we decided to go on a picnic and a dog walk to let Savannah experience some brand new things.

First, we went to Subway to get some sandwiches. This was Savannah's second car ride but the FIRST time she had to wait:

It was a beautiful day! This was our destination:

This was Savannah's FIRST time on a leash:

We went down to a grassy knoll and ate our lunch:

This was Savannah's FIRST time having a doggie sack lunch (puppy chow & water):

This was also Savannah's FIRST time meeting strange dogs:

She did great! She was greeted and smelled by 3 dogs; she was submissive & polite while her puppy tail wagged a mile a minute.

Then it was time to head down a trail to the beach. This was her FIRST time going down stairs:

It was glorious! This is a small bay surrounded by rocky outcrops, so the water was calm:

This was Savannah's FIRST time tasting saltwater and smelling sand, rocks & seaweed:

It was our intention to let her get a little wet:

So she followed me into the shallow water:

And was okay until the water reached her puppy chest:

She was not quite ready for her (first) swim:

After several attempts, we turned around:

And she gave it a puppy shake:

We took a break for some pictures and to soak up some much-needed sun:

And then we headed back:

Savannah was greeted by all kinds of adoring strangers and was sniffed by the other two dogs.

All of those FIRST things made her very tired on the ride home:

What a great day!

The Sweetest Thing...

To wrap up our adventure from last weekend...

We stayed at our favorite place, The Olympic Suites, in Forks, Washington.

Forks is famous as the setting in the "Twilight" book series by Stephenie Meyer. Forks used to be a small logging town that only fishermen and beachcombers would visit on a seasonal basis. Now they have revamped (no pun intended) their image to be a novelty destination for "Twi-Hards"-- teenagers and adults who are in love with the book & movie franchise. You can pick up a map at Fork's Chamber of Commerce and go on a small tour of the town to photograph key places that Bella (the teenage girl character), the Cullens (the vampire family) and the Native American werewolves "frequent" on a regular basis-- including Forks High School, the home of the Spartans.

Technically, Bill and I "did" the Twilight tour on our last visit to the coast (2 years ago). It was corny but fun. However, we noticed a few new signs around Forks that were worth a laugh, like this one:

But seriously, this time we were there to explore the beaches! So here are a few glimpses at one of our very favorites, Rialto Beach:

This beach often has BIG waves and always has a TON of surf logs strewn on the upper edges of the beach...

We had both cameras in action again:

What we love about this beach is that it has a secret ending...

You have to plan for this one and consult the tide tables. Just before a low tide, you should pack a backpack with water & snacks for a 1+ mile hike down the beach. You need to wear boots because you have to slosh through a freshwater creek along the way. You'll pass a sea stack or two before you get to the end where there is a rock wall separating Rialto Beach from the next one. Here is the "secret"-- there is an opening in the rock wall called the "Hole in the Wall" which you can walk through only during low tide! It is a real treasure because there are some wonderful tidepools on the other side that are fun to look in. BUT you have to pay attention to the tide and get back before you are trapped on the smaller next beach (which does not have a trail out).  We have made this trek many times when the kids were little during summer camping trips. During one excursion (through the Hole in the Wall) we were distracted and ended up CARRYING kids, backpacks and our dog out through the incoming tide!

During this trip, the tide was high and it was approaching dusk so we paid our respects and called it a night.

We ate breakfast at "The IN Place" and they served me a mean (=yummy) hot chocolate:

We ate dinner at "Pacific Pizza" and Bill LOVED his grinder:

The last beach on our list was Ruby Beach, which was lovely two years ago. It has a short trail and only a few logs to step over at the beach entrance. The sun was out, it was windy and the waves were crashing:

At low tide, you can access these cool sea stacks up close-- but the water was too high to get to them this time:

We watched a couple of sea kayakers attempt to stay upright in between wave sets:

We looked longingly at a couple of dogs (accompanied by their owners), like this one who seemed to be smiling:

We went for a walk along the beach, and as usual, I chose to splash along at the water's edge. Bill laughed at me when a couple of "sneaker" waves rushed around me and sloshed into my knee-high boots:

 

Satisfied, we waived good-bye to Ruby Beach and headed out:

We packed up Sunday morning and got back on the road.

We drove around the scenic Crescent Lake (which is the deepest lake in Washington):

We crossed over Hood Canal:

And we caught an afternoon ferry to get closer to home:

It was a GREAT road trip and I loved our beach adventures.

However, the sweetest thing from our weekend away had to be THIS:

I love him.  {heart} S & B

Third Beach Near La Push

We decided to adventure onto Third Beach the next morning.

This required a 1.4 mile trek through the rainforest to access this beach. We packed a backpack this time with water, a snack, and a phone... just in case.

 
Yes, there was snow on the ground which had fallen a couple of days before.

 
The air was crisp and the sun was out. We had the rainforest to ourselves and it was PERFECT.

 
We walked and talked. We stopped to take pictures along the way. There was no rush, no hurry to be anywhere at a specific time. We had all the time in the world to get where we wanted to be at the end of the trail...

All of a sudden the forest was brighter, we could hear the rush of water and we were greeted by blue skies ahead:

 
Once again, we had to traverse a jumble of surf logs for our feet to touch the sandy beach:

The sunshine was almost intoxicating after a long, gray winter...

 

We could see a waterfall and the shapes of sea stacks in the distance:

Bill took some pictures while I sat on a log and soaked up some sunshine. The late morning light was bright and the tide was high-- these factors made both photography and beachcombing difficult. We decided to just sit and enjoy the moment. We watched seagulls preen their feathers on the beach. I played in the surfline and laughed when the foamy water surrounded my rubber boots. It was a luxury to be suddenly stress-free in a natural environment.

Eventually, we decided we should head back (which meant another pep talk for the second 1.4 mile hike through the rainforest). You might think that we have run out of things to talk about after ~30 years together. Instead, there is always SO MUCH to talk about. We analyzed the presence/absence of Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest (comparing Big Foot facts vs. fiction) and what the odds were of us running into one in the rainforest. I impressed Bill with my knowledge of rainforest ecology (ex. nurse logs, the role of shelf fungi, how ferns disperse spores, how successional events change the forest) while he patiently listened. We entertained ourselves by making up fake SNL skits.  I told Bill about the latest "Gray's Anatomy" episode and when he finished scoffing about all of the character drama, it led to a discussion of today's medical advances and how technology is always changing.  We made plans of where things are going to go in our new house addition. We shared our favorite memories of our last two dogs and what we are looking forward to with the next puppy. We talked about our kids and dreamed of their futures.  We speculated on the rising cost of oil.

All of a sudden, we walked out of the forest after what felt like only five minutes on the trail. That is what it feels like to be with Bill-- we tend to get lost in our moments together. And I can't imagine feeling that way with anyone else. :)

Second Beach Near La Push

We left the Indian reservation and pulled off the main road to visit Second Beach. It has a trail marker which takes you on a .7 mile hike through the rainforest in order to access the beach.

The rainforest was wet (it had started to rain) which made it exactly what it should be-- AMAZING with color and texture:

 
We practically had the trail to ourselves, which made it a fun experience while we were walking and talking:

 
Some trees had fallen due to winter storms -- others were unique in their shapes and branch patterns:

As we neared the end of the trail, the forest lit up and we could hear the roar of crashing waves...

We had to scramble over another pile-up of surf logs that were shoved to the very edge of the woods:

 
At last! Here was Second Beach and it was GLORIOUS! To the right of the crescent-shaped beach was a rock wall that had a key-hole opening. It was still raining and the wind was blowing-- which meant rolling waves would occasionally crash all along the outer rocks and spray through the rock "window": 

 
 
I am always entranced by the power of water:

 
Bill and I walked along the high tide line of the beach, snapping pictures of basic elements-- like rock and water:

 

 
Just then, the clouds broke and a weak winter sun peeked through... Even though my camera was still on automatic, I thought the contrast was stunning:

 

(the light circles in the middle of the photo are actually raindrops on my camera lens)

and

and

 

The clouds returned and the waves were still churning:

 

and

 

I was having soooo much FUN that I did a little side-kick in the air:

Which, of course, Bill caught me doing...

We decided we should say "good-bye" to Second Beach and head back into the rainforest before dark...

 
We cautiously worked through the heap of surf logs to get back on the trail  (I slipped twice). I cracked a couple of jokes (about how I should just "walk it off") so we could get motivated for the uphill climb:

 
Eventually the trail leveled out and we went back to enjoying the rainforest:

 
A moist environment is a great place to find some cool fungi:

So we walked and talked our way back .7 of a mile.... I paused to take a picture of me on the edge of a creek bridge:

 
Ta Daaa! We made it!

 

All of that fresh air made us happy and hungry, so we returned to Forks to find a restaurant for dinner.

Second Beach = scenic and very beautiful.

Time with my best friend = PRICELESS,

First Beach at La Push

Bill & I went away last weekend....

Destination:  the outer Washington coast. We love the beaches this time of year-- it may be cold and stormy, but fewer people and bigger waves! It makes my inner marine biologist very, very happy.

We stayed in Forks and visited five different beaches in two days.

We thought we would start with a few that we have not seen for many years. So we left Forks and drove to La Push. Unintentionally, we chose First Beach first:

 
This beach was easy to get to. You park your car and take a short trail onto the beach. (That is, once you scramble over all of the drift logs that are pushed up onto the beach from winter storms.) The skies were gray and it was windy-- not a problem since we were all bundled up.

 
My camera is Bill's old Nikon D70. (He upgraded to a Nikon D300.) He has given me numerous photography lessons, but it still intimidates me. I usually have my settings on automatic (which drives him crazy). While he takes his photography technique seriously-- I use my photography artistically. I am not looking at F-stops or shutter speeds, instead I am simply looking through the lens and capturing what I like.

 
Bill is fascinated by beach debris, in the form of huge strees with even bigger root masses that are stranded on the beach:

 
What I stop to look at is the lovely patterns of algae growing on another tree trunk:

 
I love the sea stacks (= eroded rock islands) that are offshore and the waves crashing on shore:

 
The tide was high and there wasn't a lot of beach exposed for walking, so we decided to move on:

Our next stop: Second Beach. (Seriously, that is what it is called!)

The Sunshine Cafe

About last weekend...

We left Thursday night to catch a ferry to the Olympic Peninsula:

 
We stayed our first night in Sequim:

We thought we would fuel up with a nice breakfast before our long drive to the coast.
We passed by this restaurant in the middle of town, called the "Sunshine Cafe":

 
It had such a cute name, we thought we would give it a try.

We were greeted by a friendly waitress named Gigi (she is wearing a pink shirt & gray fleece vest);

 
She offered to bring us something to drink, so Bill ordered a coffee and I ordered my usual hot chocolate. Wow! This is what she brought me, complete with red sugar sprinkles and a doily powdered with cocoa:

 
We studied the menu:

 
Gigi informed us that they had a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls that just came out of the oven-- would we like one or two? I said to bring one over:

 
It was DIVINE. 

We ordered breakfast and Gigi was slinging sassy remarks as she was coming & going. When Bill's breakfast arrived, I said "Oh, that looks great!" She said over her shoulder, "Good luck! I doubt that he'll be sharing that with you..."

I think I was giggling over Gigi's sass the whole time I was eating my breakfast (I ordered Dani's breakfast sandwich and it was delicious!).  As she continued to check on us, she stopped at our table and nodded her head at me. She said to Bill, "I bet she is a lot of fun to be with-- that girl is laughing ALL THE TIME." Without missing a beat, Bill replied, "Oh, she is fun all right! But when she is laughing in bed it makes me wonder..." Gigi put her hand over her mouth and said, "Pullleeeaase-- this is a FAMILY CAFE."  But then she and the other waitress (who instantly appeared) stepped closer to Bill and said, "Tell us ALL ABOUT IT!" 

Conversations like that = HILARIOUS.

Cost of our breakfast at Sequim's Sunshine Cafe = $35.77 (I tipped big)

Would we return? ABSOLUTELY.

Only In October...

Only in the month of October would you see someone driving around with this in their trunk:

 
Don't worry-- I not only followed this car most of my way home today, but I got a REAL good look at it while I was waiting at a red light. They are plastic (hand & foot). Ah ha ha ha ha!

The Bellagio At Night

My "things to do" list for Las Vegas also included visiting The Bellagio at night...

The Bellagio has a water fountain show that is breath-taking to watch...

The 8.5 acre man-made lake contains 1,200+ water-emitting devices that are strategically-placed. These fountains are professionally choreographed to music, ranging from classical numbers to Broadway show tunes.  Some of the musical crescendos are matched with rushing water that soars as high as 460 feet in the air! This Bellagio attraction is the most ambitious water feature ever created by WET Design and has been featured in countless films, TV shows and articles on Las Vegas. We watched it during the daytime on our last visit to Vegas and I could not wait to see it again at night...

The Bellagio Fountains play a new musical number every 15 minutes after dark. We found a great spot for viewing the free show near one of the outposts...

The lights twinkle as the water dances in different arrangements...

As the music peaks, so does the water!

When the music hits particular notes, the water shoots into the air and pounds the surface on its way down... it is choreographed water thunder!

We took a break to take some pics and changed location for the next fountain show...

This time is was Frank Sinatra and "Luck Be A Lady"...

The water frolicked in circles and overlapping lines...

 

And as Frank's voice crooned, the water roared into the sky...

 And a heavy sheet of mist rained all over us:

We were surprised.... and refreshed! (Although it was evening, it was still really hot!)

It was great fun and I am so glad we went to see the Fountains of Bellagio... again. :)

The Bellagio - Daytime

While we were in sunny Las Vegas, it was on my list to see Dale Chihuly's work at The Bellagio Hotel & Casino. The Bellagio is a magnificent hotel known for elaborate art sculptures and a spectacular water fountain show, featured in many movies like "Oceans Eleven".

Who is Dale Chihuly? He is a Seattle artist famous for his blown glass. He has created glass masterpieces for exhibits and locations around the world. He was commissioned to design and create a blown glass arrangement to fill the ceiling above The Bellagio lobby: 

According to Chihuly, they built the entire 70' x 30' ceiling, full-scale, at his Seattle studio. When the final product, named "Fiori Di Como", was installed-- it contained over two thousand hand-blown glass "flowers". WOW!

Next to the lobby was a lovely atrium that is redecorated each season of the year. While we were there, it featured a garden-theme with hot air balloons floating above...

Everything was colorful and larger than life. It was amazing!

Flowers were mixed in with garden insects, garden tools and even a garden snail:

 
Floral bumblebees hovered above your head as they prepared to land on gigantic glass flowers:

Bill and I were snapping photos like crazy...

It was a visual treat...

We eventually made it back inside to gaze at that lovely blown glass ceiling one more time:

It was oh so beautiful....

I adore blown glass. (sigh!)

Cirque Du Soleil "Ka"!

While we were in Vegas, we treated ourselves to a Cirque Du Soleil show:

 
 We didn't know anything about it except that it had a martial arts theme. Rebecca, Angela & I settled into our seats ready to experience some Cirque Du Soleil magic...

The theater was amazing! The set wrapped around the sides and made you feel as if you were immersed into the story...

 
As the production unfolded, warriors would sneak into the aisles, fly overhead suspended from wires, or climb different levels of the side scaffolds to bring the battles to life!

The story revolved around a young prince and princess (brother & sister) who were abducted from their parents, survived encounters with other cultures, and fought to be together again as young adults.

 
They developed liasons with friendly tribes and fought others in magnificent battles, taking place on a vertical stage:

 
How could THIS be Cirque Du Soleil? Oh, believe me, it was! There were amazing acrobatics involved in each of the scenes, no matter if the characters were in peace or at war...

 
There was an underlying story of good vs. evil, and the discovery of gunpowder. The circular set above represented slaves used to mine/process the minerals in order to make the warring culture more powerful.

In the end, good prevailed over evil. (whew!)

The show was FANTASTIC! There was thunderous applause when the entire cast came onto the stage to give their final bows.  Angela & I were soooo excited about the show that we ran to the nearby ticket counter to buy tickets for Bill & Jeremiah to see the next show! Tickets in hand, we browsed the "KA!" gift shop for souvenirs...

I was hoping I could buy the crab costume worn in this beach scene:

 

Nope! Instead we bought programs and laughed at some of the tribal masks:

 We went back to our hotel room, took over babysitting duty, and sent the guys to the show. I am so glad we did that because they loved it as much as we did!
 

 
 

It's Vegas, Baby!

 
We went to Las Vegas last month with the other Rodgers! Elijah asked if he could tell the story from his (baby) point of view:

"My mommy and daddy woke me up early one morning and said we were all going on a trip. I was cranky -- did they not know that I need a full night's sleep??? But they put me in the car seat and when I woke up again, Honey & Papa were there and my Lola, too!"   {Note: Lola is Angela's mom.}

 
"We had a ride to the airport and we all sat down on an airplane. Is this my first plane trip, you ask? No way! I am an international traveler-- I flew on an airplane to Germany and from Spain to wherever we live now.  Mommy let me look out of the funny window...

 
Then we got to the new place. I told them I could help with one of the suitcases but they just ignored me and carried me around instead.

 

Daddy said we were staying at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. I am not sure what that means, but they did.

 
 We were all soooo hungry so we ate breakfast in this gigantic room called a "buffet". Mommy and Lola kept bringing back good food and gave me lots of bites.  I don't know how my hand got stuck in Lola's shirt...

 
Then we all hit "The Strip". I don't know what a strip is but we stopped at this cool store with these cute candy people. Mommy said it was the M & M Candy Factory Store.

 
We were all looking around. I thought we should buy one of these...

 
but Mommy bought a yellow baby onesie for me. Ugh, clothes! But I did like looking at all of the bright colors and those funny candy people everywhere... Bye Bye, M & Ms!

 

Later on, we drove in these cars called "taxis" to this place called Fremont Street. We found another giant room that had piles of food everywhere to eat dinner. (Oh yeah, a "buffet".)  Papa, Lola and my Mommy were having a contest to see how many crab legs they could eat. My Daddy tried to pinch me with his crab legs and I didn't like it ONE BIT!

 
Afterwards, we went outside and walked up and down this street with a ga-zillion bright lights everywhere! It was FASCINATING!! Honey kept telling me, "Look! Look at that!"

 
Then there was loud music and even MORE bright lights dancing around above our heads... It was called a "light show".

 

We went back to our new house and went to bed. The next day we went outside to see even more things on "The Strip" (whatever that is). We walked and walked. We stopped in this fancy hotel called The Bellagio and that is where I met these two beautiful Italian girls! I could have stayed and talked  with them all day long (I think they REALLY liked me)... sigh!

 
But we left. I asked if we could go back there but everybody kept on walking like we had other places to go. Oh well.

We went to this place called "The Secret Garden of Sigfried and Roy". Who is  this Sigfried  dude and who is Roy?? I didn't see them anywhere. But there was a cool tiger and I got to ride it...

 

Oh no. More places to go! It was soooooo hot outside. Daddy stopped by this fan to cool me off... (while Mommy fixed my hair)

 

Daddy kept showing me things, but I was so overwhelmed.

 

I was getting tired. And a little cranky.

 
 So we went back to our new house and we changed into swimming clothes. Papa, Honey, Daddy & I went down to this new place outside our new house called the "Lazy River".  Daddy put me into a baby intertube with a nice cover and I just fell asleep while we floated around that lazy river.

 
We visited that Lazy River three times during our trip and they all said I fell asleep each and every time. That darn Lazy River! I heard Papa and Daddy talking on the way home about building a lazy river at our house...

On our last night, we went to a fancy gigantic room with piles of food everywhere (oh yeah, a 'buffet") and ate dinner together again. I tried everything! I had clam chowder. I had fruit. I had pudding. I had mashed potatoes. There were so many delicious bites that I lost track of what I was tasting! At some point, I was full. And my family was still eating. So I decided to tell some stories, make everyone laugh, and then I started to sing! Daddy says I sound like Mariah Carey. (Who is Mariah Carey???) Honey was laughing and taking pictures of me. Other people around us were pointing at me, I know they thought I was REALLY GOOD.
an 
Mommy and Daddy both said I was delirious and that it was time for bed. We all got up early again the next morning (why? I ask. Why???) as it was time to leave the new house.

 
We went back to the airport and it was time to sit in another airplane. Mommy let me have the window seat again (I love her!)...

 
And then we went back home to our regular house. I think I want to go back again! Maybe when I am 1 or 2..... "

Beach Day

During our N.C. vacation, we headed to the coast for a beach day. First, we stopped at the local "Waffle House" for breakfast:

Then we drove ~ 2 hours to arrive at Carolina Beach.

Hooray! My first N. Carolina boardwalk...

Even this seemed iconic of the E. Coast:

 We parked some beach chairs and headed out to the surf:

We jumped waves for awhile...

And the waves got bigger...

I am short, so sometimes they knocked me over...[I tend to laugh while I am drowning]

 
After sucking down a LOT of saltwater, I eventually retreated...

 
 
 And laughed when they bit it too:

We eventually got out of the water, soaked up a little sun, and then hit the boardwalk.

Some of the buildings had cool textures:

 I am not really an ice cream girl, but I loved this sign:

And, of course, I LOVED this mural:

We drove to Wilmington for dinner at this FANTASTIC restaurant:

And then we called it a day.

I absolutely adore these guys.
 
 
 
 

 

North Carolina Getaway

We headed to North Carolina last week for a few days of R&R:

 

Why North Carolina??? THIS is why:

 

Nick Rodgers. Nick is currently stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C. which is the home for the 82nd Airborne Ranger Division. Yes, he is an airborne ranger AND an officer. He invited us to visit him as he has just been promoted to Captain in the U.S. Army.

So we stayed at Nick's house-- he bought this house 2 years ago and it is part of a private resort community with a golf course, lake, parks and clubhouse with a swimming pool. In one word.... NICE!

We were spoiled-- we slept in and went swimming every day, we ate good food and explored the local area with Nick's Jeep.

We grilled outdoors our first night there, next to the lake. It was wonderful...

 Bill & Nick tossed a football around first.

And then we switched to a frisbee and I played...

I know, I look like a dork. Remember... I am a nerd, not an athlete.

But wait! Nick makes it look so easy...

It is always FUN when Nick is around.... :)
 

And Here I Go...

My overnight bag is packed and I am ready to go.

It is Mom's Weekend at WSU and I am headed over to Pullman to "chillax" with Natasha.  It will be great fun!  I have done this many times, between Nick & Natasha at WSU. There will be good food, some shopping, checking out the arts & crafts fair, movies, and giggles in between. 

And there will be pictures.... LOTS of pictures taken over the course of 2.5 days! I will have lots to talk about when I return.

It was CRAZY all week long, trying to get things done in order to disappear for the weekend! Not only was I creating PowerPoint lectures until midnight (Sunday night, Tuesday night)-- but I needed to buy a birthday present for my Mom, as I will stop to visit her along the way. I got caught up on laundry, chicken duty, and babysat Elijah twice-- because he is absolutely on my list of favorite things to do. :) Bill needed some new shirts and we shopped for a juicer machine tonight on the way home. My gas tank is filled up and my students are doing a computer assignment tomorrow while I sneak out of town. WHEW!

Why all the madness??? Because that is how we roll.

Stay tuned!

Same Time, Last Year

My mom is retired and has the itch to travel. She has always wanted to visit Hawaii but her husband has no desire to go. So, she asked me last year if I would take her to Hawaii on her dime. I only had a week vacation left-- but I put together a vacation itinerary that would give her a total experience. I wanted her to have the time of her life...

She arrived at my house the day before our departure. I treated her to a pedicure (her very first!), dinner & a stayover in Seattle.  She has flown before, but this was very exciting to her...

We arrived in Maui & picked up our rental car (I became her chauffeur for the next 6 days). I made reservations for us to stay at the lovely Kaanapali Beach Club Resort-- this was the view of the pool below us.

 

Each day we went for a walk on the beach, we ate wonderful food, we did a little shopping. I also had a major activity planned for each day of our stay. [Yes, I was in charge of the photography.] One day we visited the Maui Ocean Center...

 

I made my mom touch a seastar in one of the touch pools-- she had never done that before!

 

We ate lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (she had not eaten there before)...

 

We went to a luau at the Royal Lahaina Hotel (she had never been to a luau before)...

She was drinking pineapple juice, while I was drinking mai tais...

 

 

The next day, we had a helicopter tour of the island-- I had a wonderful time, but she had a hard time letting go of the handle on the wall.

 

We played miniature golf at our hotel...

It was a hoot to watch her "golf" as some of her balls went flying!  [Don't tell her, but I let her win...]

 

One night, we had reservations for the Warren & Annabelle Show (it came highly recommended)...

 

It involved comedy, magic, cards and a ghost named Annabelle.  I wasn't sure if my mom would 'get it', but I caught her doing this....

We went swimming in that gorgeous pool, she left her mark on the beach...

And then, the lovely vacation came to an end. What was my favorite moment during that week? I would have to say it was THIS-- I had packed my snorkel, mini wetsuit & fins so I could go snorkeling everyday. My mom was leary of the ocean, was worried we would be late for the daily planned activity or just didn't want to visit all of those beaches. So I negotiated one half hour in the water-- in front of our hotel-- with her on a loungechair in the shade-- watching me so I wouldn't drown...

 

ahhhhh.... blessed silence.