Bonarie Babes!

Bonaire was the destination for the twelve Lady Go Divers this year and we took the island by storm!  Arriving at the Divi Flamingo, settling in, and getting our dive briefing....before boarding the boat for our first dive. As usual diving in Bonaire was nothing short of spectacular.......great viz, no current, warm water, and lots of marine life.

Cecilia, my roommate made her 600th dive and we celebrated with a classic funny photo to commemorate her accomplishment.
We were up early each morning, grabbed breakfast and were on the dive boat by 8:15 am for two great dives.  The afternoons were spent relaxing around the pool, floating in the ocean, walking into  town, or maybe just taking a nap. Cecilia and I also perfected our Mojito recipe and enjoyed a drink before dinner with other dive friends. Every night we visited a different restaurant for a lovely dinner.

During the week we spotted seahorses, frog fish, lots of turtles, squid, thousands of Christmas Tree Worms, and numerous other creatures. We made a wreck dive on the Hilma Hooker and did the famous Salt Pier dive of Bonaire......both were fantastic.  Our last two dives of the week were on Klein Bonaire and we think our guides saved the best for last.....both dives teeming with marine life.
Our last day we rented a car and cruised the island....checking out the flamingos, the Salt Pier, slave huts, and the donkey sanctuary with over 700 donkeys.  It was a great way  to spend our last day and we had lots of laughs at being attacked by donkeys looking for carrots.

We officially welcomed two new members into our group.....Joann and Micki....both assets to the group.  Hope to see them on the next trip!
Our trip ended with us flying home and back to our day to day lives....but with lots of great memories and laughs to treasure for eternity!

5 Jammed Packed Days in Aruba!

Lexi and I were off to Aruba for five days trying to pack as much fun and sun in as possible!  Think we accomplished our mission.  Day One was a flight from Houston to Orlando, then Orlando to Aruba landing in the early afternoon.  Getting our rental car, "Little Huyndai" as Lexi called it, we stopped at Super Foods for some groceries....then on to Sunset Beach Studios in Malmok.  Dinner that night was at Smokey Joe's, some yummy ribs.  With a full tummy we crashed early that night!

Day Two started off with some snorkeling and looking for turtles, then snorkeling the reef finding an eel and lots of marine life. A tour guide from SeaBob let Lexi try out a machine for about an hour and of course she loved it.  After a quick bite on the porch we were off to tour the island.....California Lighthouse, Alta Vista Chapel, several blow holes, and lots of beach combing for sea glass. After a quick dip in the pool, a soak in the hot tub, we were off for dinner at Barney's .....some yummy seafood! Day Three was our excursion on SeaBob, very much like riding a torpedo on and below the water.  We geared up in wet suits and took off for some fun.  Eagle eye Lexi was great at spotting turtles..think she found 5-6 in the area.....plus she found a stingray.

 She loved going flying underwater to swim with them. After lunch at Moomba Beach we were off for some retail therapy in town with a stop on the other end of the island to visit Baby Beach.  Photo stops at the big anchor and a stop to pet some wild donkeys filled our afternoon.  Lexi was able to find little gifts for everyone on her list....mission completed!  Dinner that night was on our porch with a walk on the beach to watch a beautiful sunset. Sailing on The Octopus was in store for Day Four in Aruba.  We boarded the ship with only one other couple and were soon off across the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.  First stop was the Antilla, then it was on to a reef.  We had a light breakfast on the boat and lunch was served after we finished snorkeling.  A great day out on the water!  A brief and nap and then our last chance to snorkel and enjoy the beach.  Lexi had fun with a can of Cheese Whiz....being attacked by all the fish.  She also worked on her tan.....trying to get darker than Gigi!  For our final night in Aruba we got all dressed up and had a lovely dinner at Pincho's, a restaurant out over the water. Dinner was delicious, the sunset breathtaking, and the drive around the detour interesting...but we made it safe and sound!



A perfect end to our trip. Day Five we finished packing, turned into the rental car, and checked into the airport for our nonstop flight to Houston.  Dale picked us up and first stop was at Whataburger......Lexi's favorite! 

Surfing with the Disabled!

Lexi and I decided to volunteer at the Texas Surf Camp for the disabled in Port Aransas.  We drove down and had a seafood lunch at Finns on the marina before meeting the group at the beach.  The weather was perfect, the water warm and the waves weren't to wild....great for the disabled kids from Oklahoma.

Dividing into teams we grabbed a board and headed to the water. The kids had a great time....some much more daring that others, but we saw lots of smiles, high fives, and fist pumps! After surfing we all enjoyed ice cold water and cookies!

Life Rolls On!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to volunteer with an event in Port Aransas, Texas called Life Goes On.  This non profit organization was founded by Jesse Billauer, a surfer that was paralyzed after a surfing accident. He created Life Rolls On because everyone living with paralysis deserves the feeling of freedom that surfing brings! Jesse said he was told he would have no quality of life after becoming a quadriplegic...boy did he prove them wrong.

I had my doubts when I arrived about 5:45 am and was the only person there.  But, soon other folks arrived and some of the organizers arrived.  Just after sunrise trucks rolled in with equipment and things began to take shape.  Volunteers began to set up, others began registration, while the four water teams had a safety meeting, and the hospitality team started icing down lots of water and ordering pizza for lunch. I had volunteered to take photos....so I grabbed my camera and headed to the water once the surfing began.

The volunteers which included a large group of PT students from Word in San Antonio made sure everyone was safe and had a blast! One young girl rode each wave in with a grin from ear to ear. We even had a therapy surfing dog riding the board with some of the surfers.  A mom rode with her young son enjoying this time on the water.....what a special moment for both of them!
About noon volunteers rolled in with a bunch of pizza boxes with yummy hot pizza for all.  So we all sat around and munched on pizza.

I felt privileged to have been part of this event and loved taking photos....or trying to in the surf.  Volunteering with Life Rolls On gave me far more than I was able to give them! A great group of folks!

Fishing the Flats!

Fishing on a nippy, late May morning at POC! A light jacket with a long sleeved shirt and a hot cup of coffee needed today! A nice 23 inch red in the ice chest about 5 minutes after we stopped...a good sign! Another nice red on the next drift! Then we found a pocket of small fish....both reds and trout.....illegal to keep! Pitched them back to grow! The rest of the day was slow...with lots of boats on the water! Lunch was cold fried chicken, slaw, and potato salad with ice tea...don't get no better! A small ice cream cone at DQ on the road home was our dessert!  Home...boat washed!

Gypsy Sisters at Port Aransas 2017

Back from Cayman a day, I left for Port Aransas to join a group of women called Sister's on the Fly.  I had rented a spot in a beach house with ten women that I had never met....how bad could it be?   I figured it would be fun!!! A few of the women were there when I arrived and I decided to room with a gal from Austin. That night we went to StingRays for dinner and then sat around the beach house and talked.....very interesting. The next morning we took the golf cart and went to the beach....the wind was blowing like crazy....it was like getting sandblasted!   That night we had a Pub Crawl scheduled and it was okay......I'm not much into dark, stinky, beach bars....but I had an okay time!

The next day my roommate and I headed to Rockport to look around and then enjoyed lunch at Paradise Key.  The theme that night was a Mermaid Crowning and we all met at a bar called Salty Dogs....most in their full Mermaid glory!  I had found a pair of mermaid leggings and wore that with a black tunic top....I thought that was wild enough for me! There were mermaids of all shapes, sizes, and ages!  I went back to the beach house early! Not my thing!  Chatting over and over......"We aren't Chicken of the Sea.....we are mermaids brave and free" .....like little kids!  The next day we shopped in Port Aransas and hung out at our pool........before heading to The Gaff for a Pirates and Pizza get together.  Not to many came in costume and the pizza was good as we sat around picnic tables out back and listened to music.
The next day the weather was still funky and I decided to head home.....even though the big Gypsy event was that night on the beach.  I packed my stuff, including my gypsy costume, and told the gals goodbye. I was ready to get back home to Dale......a really interesting experience in the books!

X Dive Time!

Cayman bound again to spend some time with my friends, Tamara and Dennis for some diving.  We all arrived, checked in, unpacked, and had a nice dinner with John and Cecilia at Tukka....they have the condo upstairs.  The next day we hit the grocery store and fruit market....plus we chilled out in the pool.
 
We had a great week of diving, good weather, and calm seas!  The highlight of the week was the X Dive where the guys in gray suits showed up.  We also signed up for the early morning Sting Ray City trip.....we hadn't done that in a long time, and thought we would try it again.  Up early with a drive over to catch the boat at Kaibo was well worth the trip.  Being the first boat out there has it advantages....you have the stingrays all to yourself.
After Stingray City we stopped over at Starfish Beach were we snorkeled with lots of beautiful starfish....all shapes and sizes! Great place to take photos!


Dennis cooked almost all the meals except for the night I fixed them some Texas Chili and we made Frito Pies.  As usual the meals were great,  and the drinks were always delivered to the pool at the stroke of five o clock. We did enjoy a nice dinner at the Italian Kitchen and of course had to have fish tacos and conch fritters at Eagle Rays.
Dennis and Tamara drove me back to the airport on Monday as they were staying a few more days....another great trip, with great friends!