Fun in the sun! (Vacation recap)

Phew!!! This has been one of the most enjoyable vacations ever, in part because it has been so loooooooong (I've had the flanking weekends on my 2 weeks), but also because of the variety of activities, amount of good ol' relaxation, and the opportunity to catch up with old friends.

Trip #1: Salt Lake City

The Friday that vacation started, I headed to SLC to visit with Molly and do some skiing. It was a wonderful time. Although there were about 17 people (as well as her two dogs) staying at her 2 bedroom house due to the highly sought-after location (we call it "Chalet Gross"!), we had a fun (+cozy) time together, skiing and eating. While I still count myself a mediocre intermediate skiier (I still vow that "I will never go on a black diamond!"), I was able to kind of keep my own on the blues at the two ski resorts we visited, Alta (per Shomir, some of the best skiing in the world!), and Brighton. My goal is still, always, to just not fall, but I do think I'm getting a bit better. The snow, and the weather, were wonderful. Salt Lake City, which I visited with my Dad en route to CA the summer before last, is also beautiful in the wintertime, reinforcing that I must settle down near mountains!

Mountains I saw as I drove into SLC around sunrise

Alta Ski Resort

Parking lot shot w/ Lisa

Annabelle, Christina, Molly, and Lisa

Lisa, who kept me company on the greens and blues while Molly, Jason, and Co. did crazy back-country stuff and blacks....

Mols and myself, waiting for a table at the Porcupine pub

Trip #2: South Florida

Shomir and I flew into Ft. Lauderdale before our cruise and were able to stay with Wendi's parents at their home in Coconut Creek (thank you, Mr. and Mrs. H!!!). Our main adventure there included going out on a fishing boat off Pompano Beach, which included some violent vomiting on both of our parts (his expected, mine not so much so), but also several catches. Mine was only noted when we were instructed to "reel in" our lines to change locations, as I noticed that I had a bit more resistance than usual.... duh. There was a fish on the line. Don't ask me what kind of fish these were, but we took some home to cook for dinner! Nevertheless, I think that was both my first and last time on a fishing boat...

Pelicans waiting for the opportunity to grab some fish

Our catches: Yellowfin? Trigger fish?

We also took a trip to Tampa to see Gabe and Emily, some of Shomir's friends from medical school, and, on the way, swung by an Everglades Park where we got to take an Airboat Ride (very South Florida, per Wendi) and see some critters.

Yes! Sunshine!!! (Sac-town has been very rainy for the past 3 months!)

Shomir matches the gator skin

Gator in the water

Gator wrestling man

Trip #3: THE CRUISE!!
We left from Miami for a 5 night (4 day) Caribbean Cruise on the Celebrity Century. This was WONDERFUL. Not only did I get to read like all day long, but we definitely caught up on much-needed sleep (the boat rocking really is soothing), ate like kings, and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and weather. Shomir and I have both cruised, although he not in many years, and I only with my family on smaller boats with more of a sightseeing- and less of a cruising- focus (does that make sense??). Although it was a bit of a struggle for me as, unlike Shomir, I am not a late-night person, we did make it to a few of the evening shows, which featured singers/dancers and an amazing juggler, Charles Peachock. We also checked out the casino but didn't win anything.

Our ship

Our photo taken in our mirror as we prepared for the lifeboat drill

Aaaaaah

Our formal night

We always took advantage of the sit-down dinner and got to meet some nice people!

Towel creation from our room-attendant, Tony (using my sunglasses I had left lying around!!)

Playing the penny slots

Our fabulous waiter, Tammy, with the Baked Alaska

Didn't want to neglect these desserts, either (I think I had 2 servings of ice cream w/ every meal!)

Our ports of call were to include Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and Georgetown, Grand Cayman (new countries!!). Unfortunately, high winds/inclement weather prevented us from visiting the Grand Cayman ( :(), but we did stop at Key West instead.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica (the Caribbean water is gorgeous!)

I felt a bit hustled in Jamaica (i.e. people trying to swindle us with transportation deals), but we did get to ride some zip lines over a canopy and also enjoy the famous Dunn River Falls.

The lift to get to the zip platforms (reminiscent of my skiing part of the vacation!)

View of the harbor from the lift

Info on Jamaican bobsledders and other athletes...

Ziplining

(Shomir) hiking up the Dunn River Falls

I hiked alongside the falls, but didn't want to get my shoes waterlogged for the brief walk. Fine, call me lame. I am pretty sure I could have done it w/o problem.

Key West (my first time)

Start of coastal Hwy 1



Interesting sculpture

Parasailing! (1st time for both Shom and me - a ton of fun!)
Up...

...up....



...and away!!!

Also in Key West, we visited Hemingway's house and tried not to get smothered with the cats wandering the grounds...

We finished our cruise yesterday morning and drove the 10 or so hours up to northern Fla. to visit with John, Wendi, Isaac (10 mo) and their newest addition, Elijah (5 weeks). It's been great so far, just catching up and relaxing!

Today, I went for a run around base and then we had lunch at a nice restaurant, Bud and Alley's, in the town of Seaside. Unfortunately, I haven't taken the best array of photos, but here are some of JB, Wen, and Isaac (Elijah was tucked in his carseat carrier most of the time) enjoying the sunshine...

Cutie

Isaac likes to eat his stroller, among other things

Busy crawler checking out the grass...

Wen and Isaac

John, coaxing a few steps. We think Isaac will be walking soon!

This evening, Shomir went to Pensacola, about an hour away, to visit his friend Charlie but should return tomorrow. Tomorrow, I think we'll hang out a bit at the dog park with Jodi, and probably enjoy some more of JB's wonderful cooking (which is possibly better even than the cruise food, although that was excellent, too! :)). We head back to CA Sunday and start work again (ugh) on Monday. Oh, how I wish vacation could be permanent...