Autumn is here in my home town, the leaves are vibrant and the weather has cooled.
So freaking what!! I have ten days and a wake up till we are off on another journey to the Caribbean. Getting excited! Will have the chance to renew friendships, start new ones and of course rekindle or own.
Lots happening in Rob’s household. Youngest and family are in process of moving out. Not sure I understand how when they moved in everything was there the same day but when moving out it is a staging process. Oh well they are now living on their own and I hope doing well for themselves. They are missed but the freedom at home is nice too.
I also have a business trip scheduled for next week to Las Vegas. I am even bailing on the conference’s last night of fun that will be Thursday night. I am sorry that I will miss it but it seems that if I wish to get everything I need done before we leave for the Caribbean that it necessitates me passing on the after party to catch the last flight of the day back home. Gets me in bed by about 1 AM on Friday but that is fine as I will run errands Friday to prepare for our journey.
I already have my camera equipment packed and just need to drop my laptop into my bag and all technical equipment I need will be ready to go. Dive equipment is out and ready to be packed but not too sure if will take it or not…We may dive and may not…guess not much time to make up our minds now. Will be a 12 day trip that will cover ST Maarten, Anguilla and ST Barts. Diving may jut not be on the relax plan this time..we shall see.
Stopped by the techno geek store at lunchtoday and picked up some burnable DVDs and new headphones. Came back to work and fired up my best buddy Jimmy Buffett for some escape this afternoon while editing a bunch of presentations that will be given next week.
Not yet too geeked about the trip but know it is coming. There is just so much to do and so little time to do it in. Feel as if we have been planning for so long that I truly feel over prepared.
We will also see so many friends that this trip will be different from any we have previously taken. I will however commit my early mornings and evenings to photography. I wont hesitate to stop while driving around the island to snap off a few pix no matter what time of day. Time is coming fast….and it will go by even faster once we are there. Right now it is 10 days and a wake up till my toes will be in the sand with the most beautiful woman in the world at my side…..can hardly wait!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Reach out and touch someone…
I am sitting and pondering some odd things today. I have 19 days until our vacation…we are seriously all but packed. We have never been this prepared for a trip this early. What has me shrugging my shoulders and scratching my head today is….cell phones…have em at home, use em all the time. Seems I cant get away from them. We have traveled to the Caribbean many times and we take one with us but the phones only have US service so they stay tucked away in our travel bags for the lion’s share of the trip. I have always liked that we are pretty much left to no communications for the week or so we are traveling…kinda nice just my wife and I.
This year we are renting a phone and will have a number while in the islands….why? What the hell? Am I crazy? (responses…dunno, not hell but will be warm, response #3 Yes, you know you are crazy) Oh, wait maybe I shouldn’t be answering rhetorical questions.
We will for the first time know several couples on island at differing times while we are there so have found that having a phone may make our lives easier…wait, did I just say having a phone makes life easier…again here I go with the am I crazy thing. There is something to be said about not worrying about a ringing phone, escaping day to day life and its electronic “enhancements”.
Ok still stuck on the cell phone thing. Since we will have a multitude of friends there interlacing in and out of the set days we will be on our little island get away, we thought it wise to be immediately reachable by the relaxation shattering screech of a cell phone to break the romantic and relaxing mood of lying on a beach on an exotic island with the beautiful woman at my side…(yes honey I mean you), rather than the tried and true we will meet ya at Peg Leg Pub at 7:30 or see ya at the port tomorrow morning at 7 to head to Anguilla, we can now call and coordinate.
Hmm have we made our vacation complicated life by making it easier??
Me thinks so!! Therefore we will be like many others and be able to reach out and touch someone even when we don’t wanna or they don’t want to be touched all for the convenience of coordination. It seems instead of a man’s word being his bond it is now a quick little buzz to confirm that yes you intend to keep the pre-arranged date and meet us when you said you would.
We all know no one ignores a ringing cell phone, us included.
This year we are renting a phone and will have a number while in the islands….why? What the hell? Am I crazy? (responses…dunno, not hell but will be warm, response #3 Yes, you know you are crazy) Oh, wait maybe I shouldn’t be answering rhetorical questions.
We will for the first time know several couples on island at differing times while we are there so have found that having a phone may make our lives easier…wait, did I just say having a phone makes life easier…again here I go with the am I crazy thing. There is something to be said about not worrying about a ringing phone, escaping day to day life and its electronic “enhancements”.
Ok still stuck on the cell phone thing. Since we will have a multitude of friends there interlacing in and out of the set days we will be on our little island get away, we thought it wise to be immediately reachable by the relaxation shattering screech of a cell phone to break the romantic and relaxing mood of lying on a beach on an exotic island with the beautiful woman at my side…(yes honey I mean you), rather than the tried and true we will meet ya at Peg Leg Pub at 7:30 or see ya at the port tomorrow morning at 7 to head to Anguilla, we can now call and coordinate.
Hmm have we made our vacation complicated life by making it easier??
Me thinks so!! Therefore we will be like many others and be able to reach out and touch someone even when we don’t wanna or they don’t want to be touched all for the convenience of coordination. It seems instead of a man’s word being his bond it is now a quick little buzz to confirm that yes you intend to keep the pre-arranged date and meet us when you said you would.
We all know no one ignores a ringing cell phone, us included.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Rob plays the bonus round and WINS!!!
Wow, I just noticed that I have been absent from posting for quite some time...if there are readers out there sorry....
Met with a friend for coffee Saturday morning to cuss and discuss life in general as well as a bit more specific trips to the islands. We became friends several years ago and found that we both have a terminal case of DIF. What is DIF? Dreaded Island fever and the kind we both have is quite terminal. It possesses our very thoughts. We are both budding entrepeneurs and yes both businesses are based arount the Caribbean.
During our discussion he brought up our impending trip. Easy conversation fro Rob for sure but he threw a giant monkey wrench into the works….he said something like Hey, did you see that Jimmy Buffett is giving a free concert to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Le Select in Gustavia, ST Bartholomew French West Indies. My response was no but my interest certainly was piqued. Rob is a closet Parrot Head….that would be Jimmy Buffett fan to any non parrot head. I load up on island music about 30 days before my trip and honestly JB is, wait…have to get out my Ipod, ok he is playing now….the most prolific musician that plays ESCAPE music and I love it!!! Ok, tangent complete for now so back to the conversation.
Buddy asked if I was going, I said would love to but not so sure my wife would be into it.
He said if he and his wife were going to be on island they would move heaven and earth to go. I went home and asked what she thought and her response surprised me, she was in!!! Didn’t really do much about it. Looked into travel from ST Maarten to ST Barts but frankly didn’t see this happening so kind of left the idea beached like a smugglers boat after a storm.
Monday on my way to work I got a text message…same buddy…Hey we booked to be on island, still wanna see the JB concert? There is a one word reply….DUDE!!!!
We talked a bit and next thing I know I am calling the couple that has been planning on traveling with us the entire time and they want in as well. JB boat to Bart’s for 6!!
Before lunch on Tuesday we have acquired passage for 6 from SXM to Barts….look out Jimmy here we come. For many this seems an awful lot to do to see this guy. JB will as I said above be playing in Gustavia….to celebrate La Select’s birthday. Significance is this is the little restaurant that was the catalyst for the song Cheeseburger in Paradise. So for a parrot head…we will be in what equals out to be the escapist’s Mecca. I never in my life thought I would have an opportunity like this.
Our diversion to ST Barts is truly an opportunity that someone like me doesn’t pass up when presented to you all wrapped up in a pretty little package. My wife asked about the cost….response was concert is free, trip over and back is $95 each plus…she then chimed in…your souvenir. To which I answered emphatically Yes Ma’am!!!
Now you may see why Rob sees this little piece of incredibly convenient timing as playing and winning the bonus round. We were to be in ST Maarten anyway and now I get to see the master of escape music perform in the place that may have provided the inspiration for the song that gave him his big break………Look out Gustavia you will be inundated with a flock of parrot heads that will bring a voracious appetite for beer, rum and that infamous Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Met with a friend for coffee Saturday morning to cuss and discuss life in general as well as a bit more specific trips to the islands. We became friends several years ago and found that we both have a terminal case of DIF. What is DIF? Dreaded Island fever and the kind we both have is quite terminal. It possesses our very thoughts. We are both budding entrepeneurs and yes both businesses are based arount the Caribbean.
During our discussion he brought up our impending trip. Easy conversation fro Rob for sure but he threw a giant monkey wrench into the works….he said something like Hey, did you see that Jimmy Buffett is giving a free concert to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Le Select in Gustavia, ST Bartholomew French West Indies. My response was no but my interest certainly was piqued. Rob is a closet Parrot Head….that would be Jimmy Buffett fan to any non parrot head. I load up on island music about 30 days before my trip and honestly JB is, wait…have to get out my Ipod, ok he is playing now….the most prolific musician that plays ESCAPE music and I love it!!! Ok, tangent complete for now so back to the conversation.
Buddy asked if I was going, I said would love to but not so sure my wife would be into it.
He said if he and his wife were going to be on island they would move heaven and earth to go. I went home and asked what she thought and her response surprised me, she was in!!! Didn’t really do much about it. Looked into travel from ST Maarten to ST Barts but frankly didn’t see this happening so kind of left the idea beached like a smugglers boat after a storm.
Monday on my way to work I got a text message…same buddy…Hey we booked to be on island, still wanna see the JB concert? There is a one word reply….DUDE!!!!
We talked a bit and next thing I know I am calling the couple that has been planning on traveling with us the entire time and they want in as well. JB boat to Bart’s for 6!!
Before lunch on Tuesday we have acquired passage for 6 from SXM to Barts….look out Jimmy here we come. For many this seems an awful lot to do to see this guy. JB will as I said above be playing in Gustavia….to celebrate La Select’s birthday. Significance is this is the little restaurant that was the catalyst for the song Cheeseburger in Paradise. So for a parrot head…we will be in what equals out to be the escapist’s Mecca. I never in my life thought I would have an opportunity like this.
Our diversion to ST Barts is truly an opportunity that someone like me doesn’t pass up when presented to you all wrapped up in a pretty little package. My wife asked about the cost….response was concert is free, trip over and back is $95 each plus…she then chimed in…your souvenir. To which I answered emphatically Yes Ma’am!!!
Now you may see why Rob sees this little piece of incredibly convenient timing as playing and winning the bonus round. We were to be in ST Maarten anyway and now I get to see the master of escape music perform in the place that may have provided the inspiration for the song that gave him his big break………Look out Gustavia you will be inundated with a flock of parrot heads that will bring a voracious appetite for beer, rum and that infamous Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Oops I goofed.
Rob prides himself on doing the travel stuff right and getting it done early.
He made a little faux-paux earlier in the month. Forgot to deposit the remaining points from a cancellation made in July..yes July. I recognized my error on Sept 1 and bet you cant guess what the last day to save timeshare points was? Insert Jeopardy music here….ok times up…yup you guessed it. The answer is, What is August 31, Alex! Rob is officially a bonehead…now sitting with a bunch of points he cant deposit, it is the beginning of the 9th month of the year and our big trip is still ahead of us. Nice part is, there is always visiting the folks in Branson in December. ( no, not a bad thing, is actually a great time to visit Branson )
Soooo now have to find out what I am to do with these points. That didn’t take too long to figure but made me no happier to use however the bright side is it put money back in my pocket…the error ends up being a $100 loss error when it comes down to it but frankly will save me somewhere around $700. We decided that we would cancel our three nights on Anguilla and the single night stay on ST Maarten and book those four nights on ST Maarten at our timeshare.
Upside…entire time will be at one facility, downside….will have to change rooms part way thru our stay. ( from one bedroom to a studio )
Upside….save quite a bit of money by not staying on Anguilla, downside…..we love Anguilla
Upside….not wasting any of our points, downside…..if would have deposited when I should have could have taken friends again next year….wait that one could be two upsides or an upside and downside not too sure there.
Back to making lists;
I am a travel list maker but our list is down to three things…
1. Fake Bake, get the base tan
2. Pack
3. Go to bank for some cash…..
As Porky Pig said….ba de ba de ba de, That’s all folks!!
Planning is going well and actually other than a purchase of tanning....COMPLETE!!
All this with 52 days left till touch down in ST Maarten…look out island we will be there for Halloween!!!!
He made a little faux-paux earlier in the month. Forgot to deposit the remaining points from a cancellation made in July..yes July. I recognized my error on Sept 1 and bet you cant guess what the last day to save timeshare points was? Insert Jeopardy music here….ok times up…yup you guessed it. The answer is, What is August 31, Alex! Rob is officially a bonehead…now sitting with a bunch of points he cant deposit, it is the beginning of the 9th month of the year and our big trip is still ahead of us. Nice part is, there is always visiting the folks in Branson in December. ( no, not a bad thing, is actually a great time to visit Branson )
Soooo now have to find out what I am to do with these points. That didn’t take too long to figure but made me no happier to use however the bright side is it put money back in my pocket…the error ends up being a $100 loss error when it comes down to it but frankly will save me somewhere around $700. We decided that we would cancel our three nights on Anguilla and the single night stay on ST Maarten and book those four nights on ST Maarten at our timeshare.
Upside…entire time will be at one facility, downside….will have to change rooms part way thru our stay. ( from one bedroom to a studio )
Upside….save quite a bit of money by not staying on Anguilla, downside…..we love Anguilla
Upside….not wasting any of our points, downside…..if would have deposited when I should have could have taken friends again next year….wait that one could be two upsides or an upside and downside not too sure there.
Back to making lists;
I am a travel list maker but our list is down to three things…
1. Fake Bake, get the base tan
2. Pack
3. Go to bank for some cash…..
As Porky Pig said….ba de ba de ba de, That’s all folks!!
Planning is going well and actually other than a purchase of tanning....COMPLETE!!
All this with 52 days left till touch down in ST Maarten…look out island we will be there for Halloween!!!!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Trippin....
Have just over 60 days till we head for Anguilla and ST Maarten.
That will be my third trip away from home in the next 60 days..
Trip one is to Dallas to meet a friend and discuss some business.
Trip two will be to a conference in Las Vegas the week before we go to the island.
Yes, the week before. Will leave for Vegas on a Monday and return home on that Friday only to get on board that big silver bird and fly waaay southeast the next day to SXM!!!
Last year I was on vacation the week before our yearly conference in Vegas. This year I didn’t plan our trip in the spring like we usually do but rather for the first of November and low and behold…we moved the Vegas trip. Nice part is I will be sick of travel by the time I get back from the islands.
Part of the reason to visit the islands is for photo ops. I have daily shoots planned. Will have to see how things work out but I am hoping to spend hours a day shooting and moving about the island. If I can do what I plan we will still have the bulk of the day to relax on the beach and soak up lots of rays and rum. We might even get to spend a couple of hours getting wet one morning with a dive shop out of Grand Case.
I cant even begin to express my level of excitement about this trip. We will have a life long friend and his wife coming along with us this time too. It looks as if there will be a few other couples we know that will be on island at the same time and I am hoping we will find a way to rendezvous with them for at least a quick drink and how do you do.
That will be my third trip away from home in the next 60 days..
Trip one is to Dallas to meet a friend and discuss some business.
Trip two will be to a conference in Las Vegas the week before we go to the island.
Yes, the week before. Will leave for Vegas on a Monday and return home on that Friday only to get on board that big silver bird and fly waaay southeast the next day to SXM!!!
Last year I was on vacation the week before our yearly conference in Vegas. This year I didn’t plan our trip in the spring like we usually do but rather for the first of November and low and behold…we moved the Vegas trip. Nice part is I will be sick of travel by the time I get back from the islands.
Part of the reason to visit the islands is for photo ops. I have daily shoots planned. Will have to see how things work out but I am hoping to spend hours a day shooting and moving about the island. If I can do what I plan we will still have the bulk of the day to relax on the beach and soak up lots of rays and rum. We might even get to spend a couple of hours getting wet one morning with a dive shop out of Grand Case.
I cant even begin to express my level of excitement about this trip. We will have a life long friend and his wife coming along with us this time too. It looks as if there will be a few other couples we know that will be on island at the same time and I am hoping we will find a way to rendezvous with them for at least a quick drink and how do you do.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Manscaping….its a dangerous thing!
Ok, I never thought I would blog about something like this but eh its almost 2010.
Yesterday I decided that the Austin Powers look was out for me….um, didn’t know how far out I was thiking!!! LOL
If you are following along and not getting what I mean I will explain it in 1980’s terms.
Chest hair on men seems to be a bit passé. I grow a mean crop of chest and belly hair so in my infinite wisdom I thought I would trim it a bit and see if less was more. Ummmm, well!! Lets just say I got a bit less than I wanted.
First I used the trimmer that is for my beard. One pass and it was clogged and frankly couldn’t even tell that I had trimmed anything…I think it takes like every 10th hair or something. Rob goes and gets out the big gun! The shears that his wife cuts his hair with. Hey I am a generally bright guy so I recognize that there are guards for each length of hair. I go with the shortest one. Fire up the weedwhacker 2009 and watch the dials on meter on the side of the house spin like they just got caught in a tornado. Lights flicker and then return to full brightness…. Rob starts at the waistline of gym shorts and takes one swipe straight up the belly and stops at pecks.... Looking at the tumbleweed that has formed at my feet I realize that the ole # 1 may have been a bit too short.
Not much I can do now but complete the sheering of this dark haired sheep that is standing before me in the mirror and then hope and pray that it will all grow back to a decent length over the next 60 days.
What the hell have I done to myself? What would have ever possessed me?? I did however find the great pumpkin that Charlie Brown has been waiting in the pumpkin patch for all of these years. It is below my chest and above my waistline but he isn’t orange…no he is a very stark white….run, run for your lives!!!!
The one positive in this miss adventure is the motivation that the over exposure of skin has caused. I started doing sit ups again last night…Holy cow only 74 more days till people will see me with no shirt on. If I don’t get the great pumpkin carved down a bit I may have to stay away from the beach as I don’t want to be mistaken for a beached marine mammal.
Tonight, second ab workout. I already know this will lead to sore muscles but I gotta do it just in case the camouflage for the great pumplin doesn’t grow back before we head to the islands…
So guys, if you are thinking about any kind of manscaping….pay a pro or look like your chest has mange..your choice but choose wisely!!!
Yes I am laughing at my foolish self here……
Yesterday I decided that the Austin Powers look was out for me….um, didn’t know how far out I was thiking!!! LOL
If you are following along and not getting what I mean I will explain it in 1980’s terms.
Chest hair on men seems to be a bit passé. I grow a mean crop of chest and belly hair so in my infinite wisdom I thought I would trim it a bit and see if less was more. Ummmm, well!! Lets just say I got a bit less than I wanted.
First I used the trimmer that is for my beard. One pass and it was clogged and frankly couldn’t even tell that I had trimmed anything…I think it takes like every 10th hair or something. Rob goes and gets out the big gun! The shears that his wife cuts his hair with. Hey I am a generally bright guy so I recognize that there are guards for each length of hair. I go with the shortest one. Fire up the weedwhacker 2009 and watch the dials on meter on the side of the house spin like they just got caught in a tornado. Lights flicker and then return to full brightness…. Rob starts at the waistline of gym shorts and takes one swipe straight up the belly and stops at pecks.... Looking at the tumbleweed that has formed at my feet I realize that the ole # 1 may have been a bit too short.
Not much I can do now but complete the sheering of this dark haired sheep that is standing before me in the mirror and then hope and pray that it will all grow back to a decent length over the next 60 days.
What the hell have I done to myself? What would have ever possessed me?? I did however find the great pumpkin that Charlie Brown has been waiting in the pumpkin patch for all of these years. It is below my chest and above my waistline but he isn’t orange…no he is a very stark white….run, run for your lives!!!!
The one positive in this miss adventure is the motivation that the over exposure of skin has caused. I started doing sit ups again last night…Holy cow only 74 more days till people will see me with no shirt on. If I don’t get the great pumpkin carved down a bit I may have to stay away from the beach as I don’t want to be mistaken for a beached marine mammal.
Tonight, second ab workout. I already know this will lead to sore muscles but I gotta do it just in case the camouflage for the great pumplin doesn’t grow back before we head to the islands…
So guys, if you are thinking about any kind of manscaping….pay a pro or look like your chest has mange..your choice but choose wisely!!!
Yes I am laughing at my foolish self here……
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Island fever – catch it!!
Things are clearing up here…have heard about my job and am safe until the next round of layoffs, when ever that will be. Have all room reservations made and double checked.
Have rental car booked for the ST Maarten part of the trip at least. Have a general itinerary of activities….ok a list of places on island I would like to visit. Have everything ready for passport renewal….just need to write the check and drop in the mail.
In quick review…I’s dotted and T’s crossed. We are 10 times more prepared for this trip than any one we have previously made. Now for the hardest part of the game….sit and wait. We have 86 days to sit and ponder on what more we can pack in and what we may want to take out.
This year for the first time we are getting a bunch of stuff to pre-pack. I know it sounds ridiculous but items that we know we will want or use and may not find or don’t feel like hunting down while there. A new small collapsible cooler, a small noise making machine for the room, several grocery bags as they no longer use plastic on island for groceries. A couple of book for the travel portion of our trip (there are book exchanges all over the island), our over the counter regiment of meds like allergy meds and benedryl. The benedryl saved me a trip to the hospital last time we were on island. We have collected a few other things too but I will spare you from enduring the entire list of what we already have gathered.
I got the fever….is going to be a long illness…. the remedy will only be applied by the first breath of air that fills my lungs upon arrival to the island.
Have rental car booked for the ST Maarten part of the trip at least. Have a general itinerary of activities….ok a list of places on island I would like to visit. Have everything ready for passport renewal….just need to write the check and drop in the mail.
In quick review…I’s dotted and T’s crossed. We are 10 times more prepared for this trip than any one we have previously made. Now for the hardest part of the game….sit and wait. We have 86 days to sit and ponder on what more we can pack in and what we may want to take out.
This year for the first time we are getting a bunch of stuff to pre-pack. I know it sounds ridiculous but items that we know we will want or use and may not find or don’t feel like hunting down while there. A new small collapsible cooler, a small noise making machine for the room, several grocery bags as they no longer use plastic on island for groceries. A couple of book for the travel portion of our trip (there are book exchanges all over the island), our over the counter regiment of meds like allergy meds and benedryl. The benedryl saved me a trip to the hospital last time we were on island. We have collected a few other things too but I will spare you from enduring the entire list of what we already have gathered.
I got the fever….is going to be a long illness…. the remedy will only be applied by the first breath of air that fills my lungs upon arrival to the island.
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