A Vacation from our Vacation

After seeing all the snow, we were ready for a vacation from our vacation. Luckily, we had been invited to the Bahamas with Linda, Michael and Amanda. We had been before and we excited to go back. After having been to the Great Barrier Reef, we realized just how spectacular the snorkelling is in Cat Cay. Because this time we were going in December, we bought some 3mm wet suits. I will spare you photos of me in the shop trying on the wet suit - I spent about 15 minutes squeezing into one and then the clerk told me that the suit was way too big. Elliott had the least luck with a wet suit because he has grown so tall. He's too long for the kid suits, but too skinny for an adult suit. We settled for a top and shorts set for him, but it wasn't nearly so warm for him.

To get the Cat Cay, we took a little 7 seater plane from Fort Lauderdale. Everyone has to say how much they weigh and then the pilot tells you were to sit. As we were waiting at the terminal, I repeated my mantra..."anywhere but the front seat, anywhere but the front seat..." so of course, I got the front seat. It was fabulous after all, beautiful clear sky and a smooth run.

The whole week was fantastic. It was so fun to spend time with a big group as both Linda and Michael had extended family staying on the island at the same time. There was snorkelling, tubing, golf, and tennis. Adults vs. the kids in keep away at the pool. Puzzles, Dvds, and many board games. And we can't forget the Cat Cay Olympics - with the cocunut toss and champaign relay. I only played a few holes of golf with Linda, but I did enjoy it enough to sign up for a few lessons starting in February. (I'm sure it be cause for much hilarity if not the cause of a slipped disc.)

The last few days turned cooler and windy. It made for a white knuckle trip back in the plane. As it was a different pilot, we had new seat assignments. Tim got the front seat this time. He was loving it! He was talking and laughing with the pilot as the wind gusted to 25 mph. Meanwhile, I was in the second seat gripping on for dear life. I was wearing my travel sickness bands, sucking on ginger tablets and clutching on to the open sick bag. But of course, as I am writing this blog, we lived to tell the tale.

We have now been back in Brisbane for almost 2 weeks. It has been raining every day since we returned. The dams are filling up a bit - I think we are about up to 25%. Still no relief in terms of the water restrictions, but things are slightly better. Elliott and I have been playing on the computer way too much. The Australian Open Tennis is going on - so that's been fun to watch. It's the only Grand Slam Event that we can see without getting up at 3 am to watch. Few more weeks till school starts. It will be nice to have my little routine again - I am missing my tennis.

One last note - with our new camera Tim was able to take underwater pictures and video. He had a great time trying out all the new features. The upshot of this is...we have about 3 days worth of video of a jewel fish, but sadly no good ones of our friends. Must do better! Also of interest, Tim took a picture of a shark. We had seen nurse sharks previously, but this shark was a bit bigger and swimming around. At first glance in the picture, we couldn't see a thing. But with the digital technology, we could keep zooming in the image. I guess that doesn't sound very technical - zooming in. But, anyway, the point is - you can see it quite clearly at closer inspection. There may be hope for a Loch Ness Monster sighting yet.