Vacation in Paradise

As most of you know, I primarily travel for author-related things, like conferences, or to see family (usually combined with some kind of work thing). Last week, I took an actual vacation, to visit my friend Terry, who currently lives in Stuart, Florida. Stuart is about 40 minutes north of West Palm Beach, right on the St. Lucie river (an estuary). The ocean is 20 minutes from Terry's house.

I went there last September for the first time and we had an absolutely fabulous time together. This visit didn't go quite as smoothly...I came down with a horrible cold (including a fever, which I rarely run) and the airlines messed up my flight home on Monday, so I didn't make it back until Tuesday.

But Terry and I are troopers, and we have been friends for thirty years (gulp), so we just made the best of it. And while I didn't feel great for most of the trip, we managed to have a good time anyway. Here are a few pictures to give you a glimpse of my sort-of vacation.

One of my favorite places to visit, this beach is nicknamed "Bathtub Beach"

 There was one mom and her small child there when we got there on Saturday morning early. Otherwise we had the place to ourselves, and wandered up and down the shoreline with our feet in the water until the 90 degree heat drove us away around 10:30.

Its real name.

 I took a picture of Terry taking a picture of the cool coral formations. Yes, that's coral.

The two of us. My sunhat got a little crushed in my suitcase, but I was really glad I had it.

 As always, we ate REALLY well.

Pina colada toast

 On Sunday, we went to the Fort Pierce pier, and saw these cool pelicans fishing.

 The sky at the pier is always amazing.

Then went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants right on the St. Lucie River. I got one of my favorites, Oysters Rockefeller, which I can't get at home. Yum.

Even better than the food was the fabulous view.

This is Lily. She and her pal Murphy kept me from missing my own cats quite so much.

That's Murphy, on the couch. She is into everything!

 But probably the most memorable moments of the trip came on our two-hour sunset cruise down the St. Lucie River on Friday night. (The fever hit half an hour in, which wasn't fun, but it was still amazing.) Because it is an estuary, we even caught a brief glimpse of a few dolphins--too quick to get a picture of--which made my night.

Of course, the captain's cute young assistant (Australian accent and all), helped a bit too. I'm pretty sure this picture alone means I can take this trip as a romance book research expense.

 Terry and I were pretty happy to be sharing the adventure together. Old friends are the best.

The ship was a 3-masted sailboat, and the captain shared all sorts of cool facts with us, which made the two information geeks very happy. LOL.

We got a kick out of the fact that the boat was named "The Lily"

On the way back, we saw the sunset. This amazing sky was on the other side of the boat.

And this was the sunset itself.

 Pretty spectacular, isn't it? Out on the water, it was even better.

So even though my vacation shopping mostly looked like this:

I still had a pretty good time. It wasn't the relaxing and rejuvenating vacation I'd hoped for (and I gave poor Terry my cold before I left, which seemed like a poor return for her hospitality), it was still a great break from my regular life. And all that ocean made me very happy.

What I did On My Summer Vacation

I just got back from spending five days in San Diego. My parents live there, as does my younger sister, and I went out to visit them (and the ocean, which is my happy place). As a bonus, my daughter Jenn and her guy Ian (who I adore) came in from San Jose for a couple of days too. Ian's parents Maureen and Sean live in San Diego as well, and I met them when I was out there last September and we really hit it off. So seeing them was on the schedule too.

Unlike most of my trips, which are to conventions and conferences, and therefore mostly work, this one was just about spending time with the people I love and communing with Mama Ocean. I was really excited that Jenn and I would be together for the summer solstice, since she used to be a part of Blue Moon Circle when she lived here in Oneonta.

The flights were all long but uneventful, and my sister Becky very kindly picked me up at the airport when I arrived on Monday, and took a detour to bring me (briefly) to the beach on the way to my parents' house. So in the end, I actually made it to the ocean every day of my trip, which was great. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

I don't usually do "selfies," but I posted a picture every day of me with the sea behind me, just to prove I was really there!

Happy beach face

 Of course, I couldn't go to the beach without a good book...

Beach read!

 The day that Jenn, Ian, Maureen, Sean and I spent together happened to be both the Summer Solstice and Maureen's birthday, so we celebrated at my favorite restaurant, The Poseidon, which is right at my favorite beach in Del Mar. We shared lots of good food and all of it was delish!

Seafood feast!

 Then the guys snuck off and had the waiter bring out a giant piece of mud pie with a candle for Maureen (the glass was a trick to keep the ocean breeze from blowing the candle out before she could).

Birthday girl!

 Later, Maureen, Jenn, and I danced on the beach with cool colored flags Jenn brought, to celebrate the solstice. It was one of those rare perfect moments.

Solstice beach blessings!

 Three happy goddesses :-)

Jenn, me, and Maureen

 Here's Jenn and Ian at my parents' house. I'm probably prejudiced, but I think they're an adorable couple.

 This one is a terrible picture, but it captures how much fun we have together, so I'm putting it up here anyway. I think my sister said something to make us laugh just as she took the picture.

My parents took us out to Chili's one night. I'd never been to one, and there was way too much yummy food. Ribs. I love me some ribs. And onion rings...

Another one of the "happy at the beach" shots...

Ocean!

 On the last day, my dad and I went and hung out at the beach together, and like any good dad, he bought me an ice cream cone. It was just perfect. (Coffee, in case you were wondering.) Thanks, dad!

Beach + ice cream = happy

 You probably can't tell, but I really, really love the ocean. It's my happy place. And it has been a rough year so far, so I really needed it!

 There are no pictures of my parents or sister because they hate having their pictures taken. (I got a few, but only by PROMISING I wouldn't put them online.) But take my word for it, they are all glorious.

I was sorry to say goodbye, but happy to be heading back to my goofy cats and my own bed and my writing. Alicia, my fabulous cat sitter, went above and beyond by coming to fetch me at the Albany Airport (about an hour and a half from my house), and then it was back to reality. Hopefully the peace and joy of the ocean and spending time with family will linger a little longer than the jet lag...