A True Fat Moment

Have you ever felt fat? Maybe it's because you, like Kait and me, ate strawberry shortcake with whipping cream rich scones; fresh, mashed strawberries, and whipped cream both before and after dinner. If that is the case, I have no sympathy for you, for misery loves company. But can you imagine the shock and horrified surprise of that poor female sea turtle who, after enjoying the practically weightless sensation of floating through oceans, leaves the water and must haul her heavy shell and body over the sand to dig her nest and lay her eggs.

We were in Cancun during the week these sea turtles came on shore and laid their eggs, and we were able to watch a couple of the turtles on the beach right in front of the resort - although none of them seemed to be suffering from a feeling-fat crisis. They sure were slow, though, but we gave them a break since all they had were flippers and they had to dig a deep hole. With a flick of their flippers, they would shoot the sand way up behind them. Every couple of flicks, they would stop, raise their head, look around, look back down, and in a minute or so, start flicking again. The employees at the resort watched for the turtles and would collect the eggs and rebury them in a fenced of area where they would be protected until they hatched. After those hours of slow work, the turtle would turn back toward the surf and slowly make her way back to weightlessness. As for me and Kait, we have a slightly longer road to getting rid of our strawberry shortcake pounds.

Some Beach Pictures

Not only did the beach have water that was unreal shades of blue outlined by the white sand, but that very same beach was right outside our patio. We could sit and read to the repetitive crash of the waves and pull of the surf, watch sea turtles crawl on shore to dig a nest and bury their eggs, and watch the sun as it changed the color and depth of the sea from the morning's sunrise to the night's moonlight. It was breathtaking throughout the whole day, and I don't know that I had a favorite time of day. Maybe by looking at the pictures, you will find your favorite. The two dark pictures are of the moonlight reflecting on the water.

Mayan Adventures

“This is our Mayan massage,” our van driver yelled back to us as he turned the van onto a bumpy dirt road that cut into the jungle. Every bump and pothole threw us toward the van roof or careened us toward the windows. The friction of bouncing up and down on the seat added seat warmers to our luxury experience. “And this is a good road,” he added. We were thankful to stumble out of the stopped van five minutes later. Following him to a stick hut, we struggled into repelling harnesses and made our way to the sink hole.

That was only the beginning of our adventures that day. Repelling down into a sink hole and swimming in the underground pool was followed by hiking through the jungle, zip-lining across a lake, kayaking, biking around Mayan ruins, and climbing to the top of the ziggurat, Coba. I included this picture because it shows Annette about 15 steps further up the ziggurat than Kait and I (a moment greatly cherished after her sand dune experience in Wadi Rum). After climbing all those steep stairs; recovering at the top; and then scooting down, clinging to the rope to keep from pitching headlong down the stairs, I have no doubt that if I ever had to be a priest in the Mayan religion, you would have to just sacrifice me now. Climbing up and down those steep steps while wearing robes and headdresses in the humid jungle weather and having to look regal while doing it has got to be an impossible task. At 138 ft and 122 steps, Coba is the tallest ziggurat in Mexico, and the view from the top was incredible. The flat terrain and the level trees allows you to see for miles. All of these pictures were taken from the top of Coba - do they capture how hot and sweaty we felt? :)

Hope and Change Comes to Oregon

It's been a few weeks, now, but Obama's visit to Oregon brought change to more than one woman's day.

When Annette (a.k.a. Annie) arrived at TCBY to open the store on Sunday morning, she found the side street taped off, firetrucks and ambulances crowding the gas station across the street, and police with their police tape swarming around the store. "We've been broken into again," shot through her mind as she pulled into the parking lot across the street and crossed the crosswalk to talk to the police. After she explained that she managed the TCBY store and was there to open, they assured her that the store hadn't been broken into but that all the activity was security for Obama's speaking engagement at a center down the side street. They allowed her to bring the groceries into the store but only after they searched both her and her car.

Not only did Obama bring change to Annette's morning but also to the morning of a woman coming to TCBY to get her morning smoothie. Either unaware of the police/rescue activity around her or mesmorized by it, she drove right through the police tape on her way to TCBY's drive through. It surprised her as much as the police officer who reacted, realizing that the police tape just got between a woman and her smoothie - no serious threat.