The cure for any ill is salt water~

What a long winter that was! Whew. As a matter of fact, the entire last year has been a long slog for me. After all that, I really had a yearning to see the Gulf of Mexico one more time. It was one of the bright spots of my childhood back in 1982 and it seemed like the perfect place to get away from it all one more time.

Of course, it was totally different from what I remembered, but it was still a wonderful time. When you're young, you notice different things than when you're older. And a lot has changed in St. Petersburg, Florida, I'm sure. But the important things are still there, the white sand, the shells, and the beautiful water. The wildlife is everywhere, which is a relief after the Gulf oil spill. It's hard to describe the thrill of seeing wild dolphins and pelicans fishing for their breakfast.

I don't know why the ocean seems to call to me sometimes, but I can't go too many years before I need to visit there again. I'll get back to the ocean before too long. Until then, I'll visit in my books~

My Hawaiian Getaway~

Once again, the importance of getting out of one's comfort zone was made clear to me this Spring Break. This time I was lucky enough to go to Hawaii! For this desert dweller, it was like going to a whole 'nother world.

I resolved this year to do something I'd never done before, so I signed up for whale watching and snorkeling. This guy with the ukulele was playing the theme to Gilligan's Island as we boarded the boat...it was indeed a three hour tour! wise guy ;)

 

 

We saw a humpback whale surface a few times, but it was pretty far away. It was still a thrill to know that they're out there. The humpbacks spend the winter in Hawaii before they migrate north for the summer. Pretty smart critters.

 

 

Then we snorkeled off the back of the boat here~

 

 

 

I know that weather looks a bit ominous, but we were on the drier south side of the island of Oahu and it didn't rain while we were there. Turns out, the weather hits the north side of the island first and drops most of it's rain there before it reaches the south side. The result is a continual flow of clouds and sun all day. The trade winds kept the 80 degree temps from ever being too hot. I never even saw a mosquito!  In fact, this was the day I got a little sunburned on my back and shoulders, probably during the snorkeling.

 





I really hoped to attend a yoga class on the beach at the resort, but it just didn't work out as it wasn't offered every day. However, I did manage swim and luau plenty. I also did a treasure hunt with Ryan on the grounds of our resort with a special tablet to give us clues to the secret locations. It sent some kind of a wireless signal to make the "treasures" appear - lighting tiki torches, erupting the volcano, surfacing a turtle in the koi pond. The funniest part was secretly making water squirt the swimmers in the various pools :)  hehe!

 

I hope you enjoyed your spring break too peeps! Now back to the work of writing, renewed and refreshed. :) Peace~

New Year’s Resolution Update

Remember when I said I was going to do something this year I’ve never done before? But I didn’t know what it was yet? Well, I figured it out. I’m going to go somewhere I’ve never been – one of my favorite things to do! Of course, the family wants to go too. Where are we off to? Hawaii !!

 I can’t think of a better place to escape the northern hemisphere for Spring Break. And I mean Break! I need one. But I’m still a planner. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be getting lots of water/sun play time, dolphin sighting, luau smorgasborging, and I just might get to do yoga on the beach.

 The blog might be a bit quiet while we’re away, but never fear! Come April, I’ll be posting regularly again. In the meantime, go follow me on Instagram. I’ll try to post some Hawaii pics there!