Vacation Aaaahs



One month ago, we left on vacation, flying to Florida for a nine day stay, visiting old friends, our favorite island and our younger son.  After a cold winter of record snow in many parts of our great Northeast, we were oh so happy to escape to the sun, sand and aquamarine sea of Anna Maria Island.

The two photos below, side by side, are of the Anna Maria Pier at different times of the day.  The first is early dawn, a fisherman in silhouette, heading to the end of the pier to throw a line.  The right photo is dusk when lights go on and day is done.  It's the loveliest little pier.

 

 



The next two photos were taken at a gorgeous dinner arranged for us by the kids at the Turtle Club on Vanderbilt Beach, Naples.  My son and his GF spent time with us on AMI before returning to their apt on Vanderbilt Island.  She works at the Turtle Club which is lovely, right on the beach, awesome food and very chic.  We dressed up beach style and had a blast, evidenced by the happy faces. 



Sunset from our ringside table looks like this...

  



Just a snap but I love the look on my son's face here.

Now for a typical day at the beach.  The water is Caribbean blue; clear, clean, gorgeous.   

 


Beach equipment.  Where's the umbrella?



My favorite beach



 

Shark Watch





Yes, a baby hammerhead, swimming along the shore line.  Yikes!




    



 

  

 

A friend of mine is on his way down to AMI today.  He has ten days of this.  It is so awesome.  I cannnot ask for more.  

 

Goin' On Vaca

Headed back to our new favorite spot, Anna Maria Island.  Will definitely write about it and publish new photos the spousal unit takes.  Can't wait to see my younger son.  He's been down there since September. 

Love you guys!

Road Trip Pics Part Deux

I've taken much too long to post more pics from the great road trip.  So here goes a few more:

Back in the Everglades with Bryan enroute to see his brother Fletcher.  I like this photo because he wasn't posing and my husband created it in sepia tones.  You can compare it to the photo in the first post.   

Below is a sunset photo off the balcony of Fletcher's new apartment.  My husband calls the building "a tear down with a million dollar view".

All I can say is "I'M impressed!"

 Fletcher and his girlfriend out on the beach in front of the apartment.  Tough life huh?



After my husband left southern Florida, he headed up the coast to the Panhandle.  This was taken on Route 300 showing the old and new roads to St. George Island.  He was enroute to Apalachicola and I'll have to check my spelling of that. 

Road Trip Pics

My husband and our first born, Bryan, went on a road trip to visit our second born now living in Florida.  Enroute, they made some wonderful stops. 

Bryan in front of our Richmond, VA home where both boys were born.  It's a 1906 Edwardian brick town home in an historic district known as The Fan.  My husband completely renovated it top to bottom.  We lived there ten years.  He was happy to see the place in beautiful condition just as we left it.

In the Everglades.  My husband took the Alligator Alley route from east to west to show Bryan where his great uncle once lived, built and rented air boats back in the 60's & 70's.  My husband's uncle was once the Florida state pistol champion.  He was a character out of a movie:  hard drinkin', loud, into doing "man"ly things like moonshining, hunting, shooting, etc.  I met him once.  He really was a character.

Son #2, Fletcher, snapped by his girlfriend and taken from Facebook.  He's moved into what my husband calls "a tear down with a million dollar view".  He lives in a little apartment on the water in Naples.  He is fifty feet from the beach and has a second floor balcony view to die for.  The building may be hurricane damaged or similar but he's happy as hell.  

The men in my life, happy, bonding, sharing the love. 

Anniversary

I have been married 36 years today if I don't count the divorce, the 3 year hiatus and 1 year of living together before we re-married.  Now, that is quite a story.

Lake Okeechobee Sunset  by Cole Scott

The lake is surrounded by a man made dike, Hoover Dike,  begun in 1929 completed 1971. 

It protects the surrounding communities from floods during hurricane season.   The

dike takes up the lower part of the shoot which explains the perfectly straight horizon.  

My husband is in Florida right now, exploring the Everglades and the Panhandle.  He left New Year's Day  on a road trip with our oldest son.  They drove to Naples where our second son lives.  They spent a week in the warm sun, helping #2 move into a new apt not fifty feet from the beach.  He had quality time with both boys who, when it came time to say goodbye, were very emotional.  #1 flew back to Salt Lake City for his last semester at the U and my husband left Naples the following day. 

Thirty six years of marriage is certainly no small feat.  It has taken every bit of will power we have to make it work.  Ours is not the idyllic chirping of soul mates.  It is the rocky road of ups, downs, angry moments, leave takings and time spent apart held together ultimately by two children we cherish more than life.  We made the decision long ago to make it work and we have. 

Romantic?  Sometimes very.  Our happiest moments together are on vacation, just the two of us, on the road, exploring.  Our greatest accomplishments are those two boys with whom we are "well pleased." 

Why am I not with my husband right now?  He needed to get away and I needed him to be away.  He needed to bond with his sons, spend memorable time together before the inevitable changes in all our lives become permanent. 

At leave taking, our younger son told his father "I don't think I'll be moving home again, Dad." 

That's a powerful statement and, no matter you know it's coming, it shakes you.  It is one of those moments.

As my husband wends his way towards Apalachicola, I  have to admit, it's a pretty good marriage.  When you get to the point where you can give your partner the freedom to explore, enjoy and discover things with or without you,  no strings attached, that's love with an open hand.   

Happy Anniversary honey!

Theme Thursday: Sand

My earliest memories of sand are from Laguna Beach, Ca.  It is there my family spent each summer for twenty three summers of my life.  It is there I built sand castles with my father who took great delight in teaching us the easiest way to create water & sand designs by letting the sand drip from the index and thumb into a lovely magical shape, helping us move on to more sophisticated creations when we could wield a bucket, shovel and other paraphanalia.


 

Above & right:

Holmes Beach, Anna Maria Island 2009 

Sand was part of my life as a child.  Summers were spent going to the beach with our folks or our friends, on church outings or school field trips.  Sand would get in our clothes, our socks, our shoes, our hair, under our nails.  We tracked it everywhere:  the car, the house, the beach house we'd rent.  Our parents fruitlessly tried to eliminate as much sand from our bodies as possible before allowing us in the house.  Outside showers, hoses, towel wipe downs, stamping of feet were typical presumptive sand terminators.  It never worked well because if we'd been swimming in the sea, our bathing suits were invariably full to the brim with sand and it was always in the crotch.  I remember getting in the shower and taking off  my bathing suit and tons of sand would come pouring out of the crotch.  This may have been caused by the excessive amounts of sand in the Pacific Ocean or from rafting the waves, later body surfing and/or sitting in the sand to make castles, dig a hole, bury someone, etc.  I have never really found out.

The greatest feeling in the world is that first step onto a beach, when you remove your shoes and let your toes wiggle in the sand or let the water wash over your feet, leaving sand in its stead.  Ahhhhh.

Sand is a great exfoliator, is a forgiving jogging surface, and cleans the feet up as it downsizes callouses. 

Sand is one of my favorite, most looked forward to substances.  It always means the beach.  I am not a desert person!  

Theme Thursday Summer

Summer, for my family, is all about being on or in the water. We celebrate summer weekends on deep New England lakes. We tow the boat to the ramp, back it down and gently pull the boat off the trailer into the water. The boys and my husband water ski and wake board. I drive. We pack a lunch and picnic on the water. We doze in the sun, floating on a raft or the swim deck of the boat. We take lazy spins around the lake to admire the beautiful summer homes. We wonder if, some day, we will live on a lake. We imagine the house and the dock we'll enjoy.

We also celebrate summer each year at a beach. This year it was Anna Maria Island. We swim, body surf, play Frisbee. We pitch an umbrella to shade us from the hot sun, slathering SPF 30+ on for additional protection. Our hearts are light and our minds are free. We take sunrise or sunset walks, ride bicycles, play tennis, scout out delectable restaurants or grill at home.

Summer is all about heightened senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. Our sight is enhanced by the unparalled summer light whether it's broad daylight, long twilight, rosy dawns, the Northern Lights. Summer sounds include everything from lawn mowers to boat motors, recurring tides, splashing water, the laughter of children at play; the murmur of adults talking on a warm summer night. Touch the sand between your toes, the beating of the sun on your skin, the refreshing feel of the water. Taste the grilled food, the cold beer, the exquisite pleasure of a meal after a long day at play. Smell the sea, the barbecue, the newly cut grass, the scent of sunscreen, the way your child smells after a day outside, bathing suits hung out to dry in the fresh air. This is what we wait for. This is what we love: Summer in all its glory.

Relaxing on the boat

Walking on Water

Up from the Sea

Greased Up and Ready to Go!

"Where do you want the umbrella?"

Beach Motel 60's Style

"Ahh, I have it all to myself..."

For one more great summer scene I've already posted and didn't wanna repeat, go here.

Vacation Time

"What's In The Net" by colescottphotos.com

I've been on vacation since 5/08 and it has done me a world of good. I left burned out and fried to a crisp. I had circles under my eyes and bags on my bags and was cranky beyond belief. I needed a rest. My husband and I found we were due for a nice tax return (surprise!) and we booked a trip to Florida and left 3 weeks later and returned yesterday and we are now tanned and rested and happy. We walked on the beach, rode bikes every day, ate excellent meals at our condo rental (which was exceptional I must say) swam in the ocean, swam in the pool, slept whenever we felt like it. Our sons met us and had an equally wonderful time. At 20 & 21 they no longer need to be entertained. They could venture out unchaperoned, stay out late, look for girls, bars, etc., go bike riding wherever they wanted, play tennis, go shopping, wrestle, hit the beach, hit the waves and leave Mom & Dad to themselves. The most interesting aspect of this was how much they did choose to be with us, enjoying family time. It was my desire to make this a family vacation away from the distractions of friends, relatives and obligations. We achieved it and everyone is the better for it. We feel this is the best vacation we have ever had and that is saying a lot!