Summer Rewind

This summer we headed home to enjoy time with family and friends. We were so fortunate to see so many people...but of course, there were so many others we wish we could've seen. One month is never long enough to catch up on a year's worth of visiting! Here are a few pics from our time at home (note that not all pics are posted b/c my mom hasn't shared her pics yet- hint, hint Mom).

We went to visit the Duncans in St. Louis. They took us to the Arch on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

While in Atlanta we decided to do a few "touristy" things. Jason and Beau were both eager to visit the Georgia Aquarium.

The trip to the aquarium wasn't so nice on Beau's arm. Beware of albino alligators!

And you can't consider yourself a true "Atlantan" if you don't visit the Varsity at least once. We managed a few visits, right before Braves games.

Every time we were in town and the Braves were in town....we headed to cheer them on. This is Braves Country!

The best Braves game we attended was the one to honor Tom Glavin and retire his number. The rain didn't stop us!

Acting like tourists...while the Braves were on the road, we took a tour of Turner Stadium, where we got to go onto the field and into the Braves duggout.

Put me in coach...I'm ready to play today!

Dinner out with some ZTA friends

Amy, Ashley, Kat, Amy Mac

One of my fav Atlanta traditions is visiting Sweet Water Brewing Company, founded in Atlanta. Kat and I go each year. So, it was a must to take Jason there this year.

One of several dinners out with Kat and Chris. They know the best restaurants!

We also headed down to Savannah to visit family. We almost had the whole gang together...but we didn't manage to get pics of the whole gang. How is that?

Part of the fam on River Street

As always, we had some nice times at home with Uncle Kenny and Tom.

I managed to see a few "old friends" this summer too.

Stacy and I shut Starbucks down trying to catch up on the last 10+ years.

Dana and I met up at Starbucks too...just a few hundred miles away in St. Louis.

It was a fantastic visit home. It really makes us long for the day we get to move back home and do this stuff all year long!

Blue Skies Are Finally Smiling At Me

We've been in another blog-lull. Honestly, it's because us adventure seeking travelers have been, well... sitting on our derriers while it has rained cats and dogs. It seems like it's been raining for forever. (We even considered building an arc for a while.) But FINALLY the "rainy season" is over and blue skies have headed our way. Much needed and much over-due I might add!

Since I'm out of school and Jason is off fly-boying around the world, I headed to a local thermal bath and pool to enjoy the blue skies.
I picked the perfect day to go because it was nice and low-key.

Then you end the visit with some flesh eating fish. No, they aren't piranhas. But they do enjoy nibbling away dead skin. Supposedly Cleopatra used these "doctor fish" to keep her skin looking young and vibrant.

I wasn't too sure if I'd enjoy this part of the experience. But as you can see by the smile, it I did like it afterall. I can see why Cleopatra kept these guys around.

Whale Watching

A few weekends ago, Jason and I ventured out into the Pacific in search of the humpback whale. From February to March every year, the humpback whales travel across the Pacific from Alaska to Okinawa. They spend two months here in the warm waters off Okinawa while bringing the next humpback generation into the world.

We're all set! Bring on the show!

Actually, the rules in Japan are quite strict (as they should be), not allowing boats to get too close to the whales. Not to worry! There was no need to chase these beautiful creatures down. They glided by right in front of our boat as if we had made an appointment with them!

Our captain was determined to find just the right spot for us.

As you can see by the picture above, we were just ONE of many boats out that day.

And like magic, they appeared.

We watched intently to see them spray from their blowhole. That was there way of letting us know they were coming up. By the way, notice how clear the water is. Before the whale has even surfaced all the way, you can see it.
I was determined to get a good tail shot...and low and behold, I did! National Geographic here I come.

This guy was amazingly huge! A gentle giant for sure!

And one last wave before we had to head back to shore.

Jason had to hang on for dear life on the way back...not as relaxed as this picture shows. Our captain gave us plenty of time with the whales. But that meant we had to go 90 to nothing to make it back to our bus on time.

Here's a short video clip I took on the camera. Be forewarned, you might get sea sick watching it (we were bobbing up and down on the waves after all). But, it does give you a pretty good glance of one whale gliding through the water and another surfacing.

We've heard horror stories about others going out on whale watching tours. But our trip couldn't have been better. Perfect weather, perfect sea conditions, perfectly beautiful whales!

Chinese New Year Parade

The big event for Chinese New Year was the PARADE. Notice the crowd of people all making their way to the parade route. The parade is noted as being international, having floats and performances from around the world.

Since this is truly a once in a lifetime experience, we signed up for a tour (and I use the word tour lightly) that would ensure we had a spot along the parade route. It ended up being well worth it b/c we had seats in the stands (and it didn't break the bank either!).
Here we are gearing up for the big event.


Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the video to upload. I'll keep trying. Check back just in case it eventually works. The video is quite entertaining...Michael Jackson, Santa Claus, and a stop at the YMCA!