Learning to Exhale: Marco Island

Thursday, July 10, 2014

A Shore Thing - Marco Island Memories

Our first sunset of our stay

Zach arrives back in the States...and I can't stop smiling!

First stop...ice cream at Great Licks on Pine Island.

A beautiful sunset near Isle of Capri

Ladies and gentlemen,

let's give it up for our

2014 Bocce Ball Champion!!!

The champion cools off in the ocean...ahhhhhhh!

Stop! You're killin' me!

My youngest refuses to look at the camera

Waiting for our table at dinner...

Who has the biggest bicep?

"The Fire Guy" at Quinn's on The Beach

The Marriott

The sun's bathing glow over nature

Our crew waiting for the fireworks to begin...

Amateur at work

Boats begin arriving near the shore at sunset
to get up close & personal for the fireworks

Crimson farewell to the day

And It's Showtime!

Happy Birthday, USA!

Hey, Dude...Nice shoes!

I wonder how many miles we've walked?

Feathered friends...watching and waiting

Father and son catch up on lost time...

hard to believe he was a mere four months old

his first trip on the island

We need to work on your posture...

May I recommend Callanetics?

Friday, June 20, 2014

Authenticity

Fridays. They so rock.

And they REALLY rock when I get Fridays off. Today is a state holiday, and so as a government employee of this state, I get to enjoy that great little perk.

I got those transcripts out on time. Sort of a bummer having to work on a day off, but it's extra money I could use on vacation. I won't complain.

And now I'm sitting on my back porch, sipping Spanish wine, a storm brewing, the breeze blowing the ficus tree branches, the candle's flame flickering...I am loving this.

I've begun packing a little. I'm taking a bubble wand. The kid in me refuses to grow up. I love bubbles. Always have. And so I bought two of those huge bubble wands to play with at sunset on the beach. I'm taking my tripod for my camera too in hopes of getting some great shots playing with the settings on my camera. I've been checking the weather for Marco Island on my weather app, and it's not been the best this past week. Hoping we'll get decent weather while we're there, at least two or three nice sunsets. But even if we don't, I plan to be out there on the stormy overcast days -- which make for the best photos anyway. I'm hoping to be able to capture my gigantic bubbles on a stormy overcast day. How cool would THAT be?

I can already smell it ... the ocean, the surf...I can hear the birds...I can feel the breeze...I'm there in my mind already. Want to join me? Please?

It is a no-worries paradise. A place that makes it very hard to leave...

I could so be a beach bum. I envision myself living in a little shack somewhere, bare necessities ... the staples of which would include music, paints, wine and flip-flops.

Thinking today on what to pack, I'm planning on a tiny cotton sundress, a few pairs of shorts, tank tops, 2 bathing suits, two workout gear sets, tennis shoes, and flip-flops -- yes, I work out on vacation. Do fish swim? Do birds fly? Does T work out on vacation?

And flip-flops? Most women collect shoes, rows and rows, boxes and boxes of shoes. I've lost count on my flip-flop collection. Classy, ja?

Okay. I'm sufficiently jacked...I CANNOT WAIT.

Snapshots of the past couple of weeks in the life of T... a few artsy projects, a token gift that I took to a BBQ at our neighbor's last weekend, and nature. Things that placate me to the purest sense of gratitude.