Christmas vacation 2012.

Every year we try to take a vacation the week after Christmas. Our favorite place is San Diego. We like to stay at a condo there and spend a lot of time on the beach. The kids like to spend time in the water....I don't. It is too cold.

There is always a little winter weather while we are there. It makes for a beautiful ocean!
 Our grandson is 8 on this trip, so we decided to go to Legoland. We had never been there. Our adult children had gone there some years ago. It was fun, but oh so crowded!!!

 

                                                Our grandson with his Lego friends!

 

                                                               Under the sea!!       

Making our own Lego creations. 

       

Lego city.

Family with Lego lion! He sure loves his Dad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tablet time, back at the condo!

Our annual "how tall am I ?" pic!

Autographing the sand.

Storm!

Annual Christmas on the pier pic!

Ride 'em!

Boogie boards! We don't care if the water is cold!!!

There is a certain comfort in going to a familiar place to do familiar activities with family. We are already  booked for next year and hope more of the family will come!

       

I am in a mood!

I'm in a mood. It is not necessarily a bad mood, just a mood. I have been feeling a little anti social. My husband says it is "a hunker down and survive"  mood. I haven't named it yet. 
 The mood started last September and it is changing, but not going away. 
Is this just moving deeper into the 60's? I have had attitude changes in every decade of my life, so I have to assume that the 60's will be no exception. 
 In September, I had two major changes in my life. The pharmaceutical company that made my wonderful estrogen blend tablet stopped making it. I had to hustle around and find a replacement or go without. I tried both. I am never going to go without again unless I am given absolutely no options! I hate hot flashes!!! Changing a major hormone definitely makes you moody.
 The second change was that my life at the gym changed. My trainer and friend moved into another cycle of her life. I no longer had a "written in stone" reason to be there, so I let work and life interfere. I have never stopped exercising, but I no longer lift heavy weights. Oh my, I miss that!
 We have traveled a lot in the last year and that has been a mixed blessing. I have enjoyed all my travels, but I feel stressed when I am home to get it all done.
 Life cycles, things change. A long term friendship has gone away, a friend did not support me at a major event, and my hairdresser got pregnant. 
 I am dealing with the loss of the friendship, although it has tortured me. I am dealing with the loss of support from my friend and trying to understand why. I found a new hairdresser. ( And I got a lovely God daughter!)
 I have friends. I have a support circle. I have an attitude.
 I always have been, by nature, a fixer, a nurse, a nurturing person, a get it done sort. I have a lot of fire.
 Now, I don't want to hear it. If you have an issue, fix it or stop whining. If you can't get it done alone, ask for help or live  gracefully and quietly with the consequences. 
 Waa waa waa. I do not want to be a whiner. 
 I do want to do something different everyday. I want to learn. I want to experience. I want to find God.  I want to change. I want to travel. I want to work. I want to move my body. I want to be.
 I am working on understanding and acceptance. 
I am in a mood.

Cozumel, Mexico

The last stop on our cruise was the island of Cozumel, Mexico. The island is 8 miles wide and 30 miles long. It is a stop for many cruise ships, sometimes have 7 ships there at once!

I hired a guide, Adiel, that I read about online. I emailed him for a very long time before the trip. It was a very good experience. He showed us the island, and took us to a local neighborhood restaurant for lunch! The people here are poor and the main industry is tourism. The island is safe, because no one wants to mess with the tourism and the cruise ships will leave if there is ever a problem!

Tourist beach. $15.00  for a day's use. Complete with wireless!

 Beach toys included!

 Nice pool with a bar in the center.

 Out houses!

 Beautiful beaches. The rocks are limestone!

There were some deep holes in the limestone!

Beach bar!

 The last Mayan ruins we went to. These are the newest and the least excavated. They were built 1000-1200 A.D.

 How many iguanas can you see? There were a lot of them in these ruins!

 More igauanas! There are at least 2 in this picture!

                                                               Cool jungle tree!

                                                   The local food was excellent!

Scooters are the primary transportation on the island. You can put as many people, adults and children, on one as long as helmets are worn!

Grocery store and fruit stand.

Wall with broken glass imbedded into it. Security is still an issue! I enjoyed this island, and I will be back in Jan. on another cruise. I think we have seen the island and will not feel obligated to be off of the ship much.
The Caribbean is nice, but I still prefer Alaska! Maybe the Jan cruise will change my mind!!!

Roatan, Honduras

Auto service shop.

 We asked him what he was carrying. He said that this is sugar cane used to make rum!

Fruit stand.

 Roatan was a beautiful island.  We loved the beauty of it and we swam with dolphins, there. We also saw a lot of poverty. It fit my mental image if what a tropical island is.

                                                          Houses in the jungle!

Ripe Coconuts

Our new friend, Mr. French!

Where is the sanitizer?????

The dolphin encounter was great fun!!!

 
And the water was really clear!!!