Vacation – All I Ever Wanted!

Back in November, I snuck out of the lab for a whole 10 days on vacation. In a long and complicated story, Husband and I decided to go on a family vacation (yes, I know… I see my mother in law at least once a month, sometimes multiple weekends in a row, and I still thought it would be enjoyable to travel with her). Because of limitations of his mother, we decided a cruise would be the best option at satisfying all involved… but then, at the last minute, she wasn’t able to attend. So, off we went with my own parents, who love to travel as well.

We specifically picked the cruise because it left out of Baltimore, meaning an easy drive and no flights necessary. Husband came down from Philly, I came up from D.C., and my parents came southeast from Harrisburg, and we were on our way! (Click on links of city names for more pictures from each location!)

After two days at sea consisting of lots of relaxing, reading, games of UNO and Scrabble, and a somewhat ridiculous amount of alcohol, we arrived in the first port: San Juan, Puerto Rico. We spent our time in San Juan exploring Old San Juan and Fort San Cristóbal… and of course, stopped for an afternoon drink. (Alcohol consumption is an absolutely essential part of vacationing according to my parents.)

Our next port of call was St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. St. Thomas is one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean (after Aruba, where I used to spend time every January before graduate school sucked all the fun out of life, and Grand Cayman, because of the scuba diving). We spent the morning at our favorite beach, Magen’s Bay. The day was mostly overcast and the waves were gigantic compared to previous visits, due to the tropical storm brewing further north. I had been hoping to go scuba diving over on St. John that day, but all the beaches and water were closed due to the waves! After a morning on the beach, we went to my favorite little synagogue ever, St. Thomas Synagogue (insert witty joke from my father regarding naming synagogues after saints). It is a tiny little building atop a big hill (aptly named Synagogue Hill) and comes complete with a sand floor. Perfect!

Next up, we visited Samana, Dominican Republic. It was the first time for all of us going to the DR, but instead of exploring, we were all ready for a nice, relaxing beach day. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and we spent it swimming, snorkeling (the off-the-beach snorkeling had a better reef than some of my deep scuba dives!), and my father and I took out an ocean kayak and paddled our way up and down the coast for a few hours.

Last but not least, we found ourselves in Labadee, Haiti. The day was absolutely beautiful, but the sand was covered with coral and broken shells, which made it a bit tricky getting in and out of the water!

On the way back to Baltimore, our vacation was extended by a day, courtesy of Tropical Storm Ida. The Coast Guard closed the Chesapeake Bay, so we were unable to enter until it was reopened a day later. There are certainly worse things in life than getting an extra unexpected day of vacation… though Husband may disagree, as the rough waters made him rather seasick!

Hmm… I’m ready for another vacation! Where to next, Husband?!

WANT

I don’t typically discuss purchases (or things I would like to purchase), but I cannot stop lusting over these brand new, just released camera bags by Kelly Moore.  I have been looking for what seems like ages for a camera bag that meets my particular set of requirements: styleish – aka, doesn’t scream “I’M A CAMERA BAG!”, something which actually holds my camera body unlike the Shootsac, something with the option to wear across my body messenger-style for when I am actually taking pictures, and extra room so that it can be my only bag and not require a purse as well.  I have considered the Built NY bag, but well… it looks like a giant lunchbox.   I’ve been eyeing up the Jill-E line, but I never loved the look or the straps (I find that if I wear a bag just over the shoulder, it tends to slip down if I am trying to move around).  And I know I am not the only one who has had problems finding a functional, yet stylish, camera bag (so maybe this will help some of you, too!).  Considering the amount of time which I travel since we are in a long-distance marriage, a camera bag has been moving further and further up on my list of serious wants, since I typically wind up literally throwing my camera into my suitcase, and only traveling with my cheapest lens, lest something happen with my very unsecure packing method.

And then, this weekend, Kelly Moore opened up her bag shop and it’s like she could read my mind!  It fits both the camera and multiple lenses, plus other random accessories (both photography related and personal), has outside pockets for easy access, is water resistant, and can be worn either over-the-shoulder or messenger style.  And it doesn’t look like a camera bag!  (I, personally, am lusting after the grey color – goes with everything so I can take it anywhere).

Since it was literally just released, I cannot vouch for it personally, but for those of us looking for a stylish “non-camera bag” camera bag, it seems like the ideal choice!  Unfortunately for me, I do not expect that I will be picking one up any time soon, given my limited graduate student income and Husband’s massive medical school loans.  We just received very generous Hanukkah checks from my parents, who instructed us to use on something fun and enjoyable and not for paying off loans, but Husband has already decided that all the money will go straight into savings because he is boring and practical and otherwise known as Dr. Debt from his medical school endeavors. :(  (Had I known about this bag before this weekend, I would have just asked my parents for it directly rather than the check, thus bypassing our savings account altogether!)

I do, however, think it will make a delightful gift-to-self whenever I finally get a first author paper, no?  Teehee.

Mourning

I intended to (finally) write about my recent vacation (escape from the lab! woo!) this evening, but instead managed to find a secret streaming internet station showing the Steelers game.

The game in which the Steelers kissed their season goodbye.  Bye bye, defending Superbowl champions.

Clearly, I am now too depressed and mopey to think about things like vacation pictures.  Instead, I am going to look at the pictures my parents took of the six Lombardi trophies they saw on display when they were at Heinz Field for the Pitt homecoming game and try to make myself feel better.

As for the vacation pictures?  Maybe I’ll be feeling it tomorrow.  Or maybe I’ll still be mourning the fact that three days before my mega-Chrismukkah party, with all the food preparation to do, my no-longer-produced size built-in microwave started sparking and filled with smoke.  Perfect timing.  Or the fact that my foot, which had been healing well, suddenly started bleeding all over this evening.  I think I may have accidentally ripped out one of the deeper stitches.

FML.

I think this calls for sleeping in tomorrow.  Don’t tell my PI.

Holiday Cards

Since I am stuck on the couch, foot up, following surgery*, I figured I may as well use the time to get some work done on my holiday cards… especially considering that Hanukkah is just a week a way (I know, I can’t believe it either). 

Every year, I hand make my holiday cards.  I used to do intricate, hand-cut cards, but once Husband and I became engaged, and our holiday card list for our combined family and friends stretched to over 60, I just didn’t have the time anymore.  Instead, I now screen print my holiday cards using my Gocco. 

Husband and I are Jewish, but we have many friends and some family who are not, so I always go for a generic holiday/Chrismukkah/non-denominational themed cards so as not to offend anyone.

  
2007 Holiday Cards

2008 Holiday Cards

What’s in store for this year?  Well, I’m not entirely sure yet, but Husband suggested a theme which highlights each of our respective cities.  I’m not sure if it’s a fun highlight, or depressing to send everyone a card saying “hey! look! we live in different cities!”, but it’s the first time he’s ever expressed an opinion one way or another about cards, so I think I’m going to go with it.

Since I seem to have so much more contact with many of my blog friends than my real life friends, it only seemed fair to include you on my holiday card list.  So, if you would like to be added to my holiday card list, send me an email (see that “Contact” link up there on the menu bar?  Click away!) with your address, and a card you will receive.

*Outpatient foot surgery, but I have direct orders to keep my foot up and stay off my feet, lest I rip out my deep stitches.  Details to follow.