Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Island Adventures

Okay, so we look like a couple of tourists. This was just one of the many pictures that we took or had taken. The location is Sandals Halcyon in St. Lucia. It is the smallest of the three locations on the island, but we loved it. There wasn't the hustle and bustle of the larger resorts. It was so laid back, we struggled to stay awake. The beach area was small, but it suited us just fine. The employees were outstanding and went out of there way to make the stay a wonderful experience.

The trip to St. Lucia started with a limo trip from our home to the Philly airport. It was nice to be pampered for a while. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare for this travel savvy couple--right up until the time I read the wrong gate number! We walked all the way across the airport from terminal A to terminal E. We sat there until it was suppose to be boarding time. That's when Cheryl looked at the boarding pass again and discovered that we were suppose to be at terminal A where we started. Have you ever run a mile to catch a plane when you had arrived two hours early? When we arrived at the real gate, red faced and sweating profusely, we were the last to board just before they shut the door! Did I mention that we had upgraded to first class so that we could board first! Needless to say Cheryl was not a happy camper!

After that ordeal the remainder of the trip was fairly calm, that is, until the "bus ride" to the resort. Turns out the resort is 1 1/2 hours from the airport. The "bus" turned out to be a 10 passenger van that seats 8 comfortably, unfortunately, there were ten of us plus luggage! St. Lucia used to be a British island I think, but at any rate, they drive on the wrong side of the road (if you are from the U.S.). Actually they spent as much time on the right side of the road. It seems that you can pass anywhere at any time as long as the other car decides to slow down for you.

I said all that just to say this: we found out that for a small price (comparably) you can take a helicopter that only takes 20 minutes and leaves your nerves intact! It was an awesome flight over the middle of the island.

The trip home was uneventful. Our limo was waiting for us, and we got home at about 2 AM. Needless to say, our beagle was extremely happy to see us! For more pictures of our trip, go to the link that says "Our Photo Site" in the right column of this blog.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Time for Frodo

As I write this, my dog, Frodo, is laying on the floor snoring while twitching his cute little paws. I don't know what he's dreaming about, but I hope he's somewhere like a green grassy meadow beside a babbling brook with lots of colorful butterflies to chase (or perhaps in his case, a rabbit or two).

Frodo's favorite spot is the back of the chair in our living room where he can look out the window when he wakes from periodic napping. I gave him a pillow for this picture - he's not spoiled.

He and Don took a walk today around the wooded area off our street. He came back with his tongue hanging out and looking for water (I'm talking about Frodo, not Don, but they do look and act alike sometimes - family resemblances).

In a couple of weeks, Frodo will go on a diet and exercise program with both of us. I'd like to get a mountain bike, but I'm not sure if I can take him with me while I'm riding through the woods. Also, Don and I want to start going to the gym again. It's going to be hard to do the kind of exercise Don and I want to do while getting exercise in for Frodo too. We'll have to figure that out.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Snow Day

Don got to stay home from work today. We've got about ten inches or so of white powdery snow on the ground. Frodo has the back yard to play in and do his business, but it looked like he really wanted out in the front yard. Somehow, the snow appeared to be deeper there. Don put him on his long leash, and Frodo commenced frolicking and hopping since the snow measured past his legs and part-way up his belly. Now there are snow trails through the yard, but Frodo had lots of fun, and we had fun watching him. Wish we would have captured it on camera.

Don removed the icicles from the house too. Especially the ones above the doggy door. Those could really hurt somebody, and we wouldn't want anything like that to happen to our happy-go-lucky doggy either.

Don took the car to the store this morning. The driveway wasn't visible for all the snow. We think he may have taken out some of our lights that line the driveway. I guess we won't be able to tell until the snow is melted. Oh, I told on him, didn't I? Oh well, delivery people can't seem to stay away from them either even when they are quite visible. We have to replace them a lot.

The snow is enjoyable today. I heard on the news that snow dumped upon many places even in the southern states. March - in like a lion and, hopefully, out like a lamb.