Thursday, February 11, 2010

Back Home


                             Needled Mom and Midlife Mom

Back again from the sunny south.  It was about 20* and a hefty northeast wind when we got off the plane on Monday evening.  After sitting for six hours in the Philly airport because of delays from the storm the day before I didn't care if it was -20* as I was so glad to be home!  Nothing like sleeping in your own bed.

We had a great time for most of it but I got hit with something that just about knocked my socks off on day three and spent most of the night laying on the bathroom floor in between bouts of hurling.  TMI you may say and you would be right.   Thankfully Needled Mom and I had spent some time together before this all came about as we usually spend the last evening chatting up a storm in the lobby and that was out of the question.  We got to sit together the first evening with our guys and chatted away until finally the guys were more then ready to head back to our respective rooms.

We went reef fishing the next day.  It was really rough on the water and I was glad we hadn't chosen deep sea fishing!  I didn't have very good sea legs but managed to stay on my feet and catch about 10 fish.  Nothing really big, only kept one and had it for lunch the rest were either too small or the wrong species.  One was a Grunt fish which was interesting as when our guide held him up to my ear I could hear him making a growling noise! 

 The Hubs always has his Blackberry going.............


Looking for a hand out.


My first catch of the day.  It wasn't big enough to keep so back he went into the ocean.



I caught more then the Hubs!  But of course you don't catch much when you are working on your Blackberry......refer to picture #1.  :o)



It was fun but I was glad to get my feet back on solid ground that wasn't swaying from side to side.  Some of the others caught some fairly big fish and kept them to have for lunch.  The guides did a good job keeping our hooks baited and driving off the sea gulls that would dive right in and steal the bait right off the hooks!  How they didn't swallow the hook is beyond me.

Each morning the men were in a class so the spouses went to breakfast together.  It was nice being waited on and the fruit there is always delicious.  There were several other functions to attend plus the big superbowl party the last evening.  I couldn't go to that but the Pats weren't in it so I didn't really care.  We had to be up at 3:30 the next morning so I got everything packed except for what we needed.  3:30 came really fast and we were on the road to the airport at 4:30.  Our plane left at 7:30. 

I read a wonderful book while on this trip.  It is Blind Courage by Bill Irwin.  He is the blind man that hiked the whole Appalachian Trail about 15 years ago with his guide dog Orient.  What a fabulous book, I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a true heartwarming story.  It tells of his struggles and also of his relationship with God which grew stronger as the trip went along.  I must admit I had tears running down my face as I read parts of it especially when he had to retire his dog and get another one.  The bond between a blind person and their guide dog is just amazing, true trust and admiration on both parts.  I  heard Mr. Irwin speak and met his guide dog Cody recently and came away truly blessed from it.



So here we are back to the real world with the land of palm trees and beaches many miles away.  Nick had to have a shot in his hock yesterday which is just part of the after care.  He's doing really well and can be ridden in ten days.  The other boys are well and nice and fuzzy.

Guess that's it for today.  Will try to get around to visit and get caught up with you all!

15 comments:

nancygrayce said...

Where were you in Florida? So sorry you got that virus, I had it earlier this year and it was horrible! Thankfully, mine only lasted about 14 hours of the really bad stuff, then had about 3 days of just feeling yucky!

Mrs. Mom said...

WELCOME HOME MM!!! We missed you!! Sorry you got so sick while you were gone- NOT the way to spend a trip.

Also glad you did not get caught in the snowmageddon going in the center of the east coast!!

Needled Mom said...

Your pictures are wonderful! It is always such a fun trip.

I am glad that you are feeling better after your "bug" too. It was such a shame to get sick while you were there, but I know it was better than getting it the day you had to leave.

What's with the Blackberry????? Doesn't he know it was a "fun" trip? I think I am glad that E is technologically challenged. ;)

Didn't it feel good to crawl back into the old jeans and tennis shoes once you got home? I'm glad that you were spared all of the heavy snow despite the long trip home.

Stay well! Hugs.

Sharon said...

So glad to hear that you are home safely.
Sorry to hear that your trip was interrupted by a virus. Hope you are all better now.

Dawn said...

Glad you're home safe and sound, and healthy. What a pity that you missed your best gab times! There's absolutely nothing worse than laying on the bathroom floor waiting for the next round. YUCK!!

The book sounds good - I'll definitely check it out.

I think it would be so much fun to get together with you and NM!

Julie Harward said...

Sounds like a good book and a great trip! Being out on that boat would make me hurl all my goodies up quick! Glad you're back...have a good valentines day and come say hi :D

Hootin Anni said...

LOL on the Blackberry...this looks so familiar [only in my case, it's my son who continually uses it.]

Looks like you had a terrific trip. And that fish, if I say so myself, is 'adorable'...not too big. I probably could have handled that, reeling it in. LOL

Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog and introducing yourself! I love visitors!!

sue said...

looks like that was a fun trip, despite the getting sick part.. but I always appreciate a "change of scenery" this time of year. I am going to have to get a copy of that book, espcially since we are raising this service puppy. To answer your questions, I am raising him for NEADS.. after he reaches a certain age, they take him back and will do the actual service dog training part, so I don't know "what type of a career" he will end up doing. It's great fun though and I am enjoying it very much.... well, not to be mean, but I hope that snow stays south.. I like seeing all the bare spots around....

Val said...

Welcome home. I hate that you were sick. I hope you feel better.

Alice Grace said...

I have missed you! I pictured you down there having all that fun with Needled Mom! Sorry you got sick at the last of the trip.
I am so glad to hear that Nick is doing well.

Margaret Cloud said...

Glad to her you were not sick too long, so not to ruin your trip. I enjoyed all your pictures, I see what you mean about hubby, some people really get hooked. Sounds like you had fun and Happy Valentines day to you also. Thanks for coming by and leaving such a kind comment about Dusty, enjoy the weekend.

hippo chick said...

Oh, so sorry about the "bug" you picked up. Glad you had some fun before it got you. Also happy to know you arrived home safely.

We are in AZ tonight. We have had some rocky weather and some really nice too. I'll have some fun stories to post when we arrive in Nevada.

~hippo hugs~

palmtreefanatic said...

Welcome back to no more palm trees and beaches;( sad...
I would hate to leave them but do love my own bed;)

How wonderful to visit with Needled mom! What a wonderful trip you had!
So happy you are feeling better and sorry you had the bug to begin with!

Pretty interesting how you had your eyes on the fish and Hubby didn't, lol! You go girl! sounds like you had fun!

Carole Burant said...

I just love that picture of you and Needled Mom, two of my favourite people:-) Oh dear, what a shame that you were ill while there. It's bad enough being ill but always seems worse when you're not in the comfort of your own home. No doubt you felt bad to not have been able to spend more time with Needled Mom but sometimes these things can't be helped.

A fish that growls...did you growl back at it???? hehe I haven't gone fishing in so long. Growing up, I use to love going fishing with my dad and I remember getting excited catching a sunfish. I know, it didn't take much to get me excited back then! lol

It figures it was cooler than usual in Florida, they've really been having a cold winter so far! It's been frigid here but no new snow...it's all in the southern States! lol Hey, we Canadians love to share:-)

Take care of YOU, dear friend. Love you to bits xoxoxox

Kerri said...

I'm glad you had such a wonderful time and happy that you didn't find out about the lake house until after this trip!
It's good to see you and Needled Mom together. That's a lovely photol
Sorry you caught a bug though. That's not much fun.