Day 2 on St Lucia

Tropical paradise in the truest sense of the word. It can be a shock for those who are used to urban tourist areas or visiting a Sandal's resort, but it is truly the tropics.

We are in a villa across on the north side of Marigot Bay on the west coast and the only way to get to the side where civilization and taxis are is a water ferry.

The bay and the water are the reasons that people come here. Here I am on the water taxi with my big purchase of the day--fruit. I was a bit of a sucker.


The bay and the water are definitely worth it.




Everyone seems so nice even though we essentially have no internet connection and only sporadic service with the rest of the world--who cares?

Are we having fun and relaxing? You bet.

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Location:Oasis Marigot, Marigot Bay, St Lucia

Lunch at Marigot Bay

St Lucia

We arrived. It is awesome. We are having wifi issues which precludes sending pictures or even writing more than short snippets.

The flights all worked out even with the delays and the over an hour drive to our villa from the airport was at the same time breath taking an terrifying. The island is still recovering from hurricane Thomas which blew through during October.

The warm breeze this morning blowing across the room is fabulous.

Lay back, relax, and maybe some snorkeling this afternoon.

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In the Air, It Begins - Day 1

This post was not made until after the trip although I wrote it as we were flying the first leg of our journey. Sometimes, things just get overlooked, I guess.

Well, we made it out of Dulles on time. Yay. So the vacation is truly underway I am writing this as we are winging our way over the US enroute to Charlotte for our connecting flight to St Lucia.


It has already been an adventure and we expect the adventure to continue for the rest of the day.

We had some fun with TSA again. Chris forgot a small can of hairspray in her purse--while it was of legal size, because she failed to pull it out separately she was subjected to additional searches which are never fun and always take more time. Im glad that I am not the only one who has fun with TSA when we travel.

It was fun to watch the airport wake up, although I wish it had been BWI.

The flying weather is so far beautiful and smooth.

I confess, I am looking forward to sitting around the private pool at our villa tonight enjoying the sultry Caribbean evening watching the sun set with traveling behind me and visions of decompressing and chilling ahead of me for the next two weeks. I am hopeful that the most stressful thing I have to do is decide which reef to snorkel or dive.

More updates to follow, I hope.


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Made it to Charlotte

We completed the first leg of the journey successfully. We are sitting on the plane ready to button up and take off for St Lucia.

So far so good although we have been advised that my sister I not as lucky and her flight is delayed.

Sadly. There is no wifi on the flight.

So it may be a while before another update.

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And So it Begins

Our huge vacation is already off to a strange start. Thankfully, I had a bit of insomnia this morning and got up at 2AM and checked my email to find that our flight from Baltimore to Charlotte had been cancelled. Ugh!

So now, at 5:12 AM, Chris and I are sitting in Dulles airport outside of DC waiting for another flight.

Yes--the car is here too and we are not too worried about retrieving it at this time since in we will be returning to Baltimore.

But we are here, our bags are checked and we are sucking coffee in the local Starbucks the airport.

St Lucia is still in sight at this point--but traveling these days is truly a traveler beware proposition.

There is still a lot of travel and day ahead--but, at least we are still in the game.

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Location:Rainbow Dr,Elkridge,United States

The Enemy of Good is Better

A friend of mine has written a book of poetry titles: "The Enemy of Good is Better."

I haven't bought it yet, although I have meant to for many months.

As I have been planning the upcoming vacation and completing projects at work, I have come to see how sage this statement really is, in terms of wasted effort.

Good is, by definition good--meaning passing and acceptable.

But I have this desire not to be just good, but excellent. Better than good and so I spend extra time exceeding the standard. I took a course a month ago and I wanted to get a 100 on the final exam even though passing was 80 percent. The final grade was recorded as a pass or a fail. No extra benefit for exceeding the minimum. Good should have been good enough--but I desired perfection. And although I attained my perfect but still passing score--really, was it worth the effort?  I still received a "P" for a grade and I received credit for the course.

Think of the wasted time trying to be better than good causes.

Sometimes it is worth it--I definitely want a surgeon who is better than good, or an auto repair person who is better than good.  But, in my life sometime it becomes wasteful to try to be better than good.  And good is no longer "good enough."

Ego.

I felt it this past weekend working at my parents house putting down quarter-round on their wood floors. My worst corner was only good--but it was also the one that shows the most. My best corner--almost perfection is in a place that no one will ever see.  And I was unhappy with good.

So, I will but the book--as I have been meaning to. I want a hard copy to have and hold.

But the title intrigues me because I know his poetry is not only good, but it is better.

Dog Days Arrive Quietly

We are in the Dog Days, which according to the Farmer's Almanac run from July 3 - August 11. The hottest and most oppressive 40 days of the summer.

Humidity runs high, rain (except this year) is often scarce, and tempers flare at the mere perception of dissonance.

Tuesday evening, the game time temperature was 104 degrees when the Orioles took the field against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas. 

I noticed also that the mosquitoes are beginning to swarm in search of their favorite food--my legs.

Drivers on the road are less forgiving and more ready to be confrontational--which is really scary at the speeds that some of those crazies drive.

Breathe deep and enjoy the scents of summer in the air. I was able to experience a wide range of smells during my drive to and from Ithaca last weekend. I took Cat as the vehicle of choice and for all but about 90 minutes of the 12 hours of driving, the top was down and I was part of the landscape.

Some of the smells are bad--exhaust and decaying animals along the road--but many of the others are sweet, like new mowed hay and the breeze down in some of the deep ravines.

I relish the Dog Days. They are, after all the best days of summer. When the days are still long and the nights warm and close.

Pool days. Hot days. Days that makes the sweat run off your back. Days that make you slow down, and stop and take a breath.

Days that say: notice me now, for too soon I'll be gone and be nothing but a memory.

Trials, Verdicts, and Casey Anthony

The biggest trial and verdict since the OJ Simpson trial.

A failure? Yes and no.

Strangely, our system of innocent until proven guilty continues to work. In a trial such as this the standard that the evidence must be presented to gain a conviction is to "beyond. Reasonable doubt."

This is important. The job of the prosecutor, representing the people, is to ensure the evidence meets this standard.

Clearly, in the minds of the jurors the prosecutor failed. Therefore, despite however we all may feel the system worked and Casey Anthony was found not guilty.

We should all be happy that our system still works despite the media coverage which had already tried, convicted, and essentially executed Casey Anthony.

I felt, although only based upon what I had seen and heard in the media, that the prosecution failed to prove that Caylee had been murdered by her mother. Accidental draining in a pool is significantly different than premeditated murder. And even if I accept the prosecution's argument that it was a murder, then I felt the evidence regarding who and how was circumstantial at best.

So the system worked.

AND it failed.

It failed little Caylee who is dead and for whom no murderer or killer has been convicted. The system failed to protect little Caylee before she died and failed to uncover the truth about her death.

The failure is on the part of the State and the prosecutor. If Casey murdered Caylee, then the State needed to prove it. If Casey is truly getting away with murder, the system failed. That Caylee is dead and the who and the how are unknown is also a failure.

Despite how I personally feel, recognizing that my view of the case is shaped by the media coverage, given the evidence that was presented, justice was served. I would not want an Amanda Knox-like circus for a justice system.

There is a higher court that Caylee's murderer will be answering to, and I leave it to that court, which already knows all of the facts, to dispense justice and mercy.

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End of the Independence Weekend

And the radio blared out patriotic music as the fireworks made their way into the sky and the family cheered to its own backyard display.


The overcast day did not dampen the spirits of those gathered for the celebration and the pool saw quite a bit of use as the weather was humid and warm--or as I sometimes call it, close. Note that the soccer ball is being kicked in the air, backwards, before fully landing in the pool. A tribute to the guys with the ball and the camera operator, Chris.

Lucas was in control of both of his parents, both grandparents and one set of aunt and uncle. Not bad for an 18 month old.



It was really kind of neat the the 1812 Overture came on the Pandora radio station we were playing right as we were enjoying our fireworks.



While we are but backyard amateurs, it was fun to have our own 4th of July fun in the backyard. And especially since the fire threat was very low due to the rain which fell the night before and the light rain that was falling as we were lighting the darkness with our own version of the replay of the War of 1812 and the bombardment which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words that became our National Anthem.

It is sad that the long weekend is over and that it is back to the grind. But let,s be serious--in five days I'll be on a plane for a Caribbean vacation singing along with Alan Jackson about it being Five O'clock somewhere. Of course I always ask, why wait for five? It is three o'clock somewhere, too.

I hope you had a happy 4th. And I want to thank everyone in my family, extended family, too; who made this a holiday to remember.

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Location:Rainbow Dr,Elkridge,United States