Returning

Oh, I'm sorry. Did I promise you that you'd get surfing photos? Way back in 2010? And did I say I'd post them right away and then proceed to fall off the face of the earth for over a week?

Oops.

My bad.

But it happens, you know. Especially when you can't tear your gaze away from the sunny California coast.


Or the equally sunny Gulf coast.


Or when you're on vacation for 10 blissful days sans computer.

You try finding the motivation to cull 240 surfing photos down into one blog post when there's sand and sun and surf waiting for you. Then let me know how it goes.

Probably about as well as it went for me, eh?

Alas, I'm landlocked once again. I'm armed with my computer once again. I'm (slowly ... reluctantly ... ) throwing off the fog of a lazy vacation filled with food and fun and family.

So I'll return to you soon. I'll post more surfing photos soon. (And a few food photos, if you're really nice to me.) Promise.

But I'm not going to promise it will be tomorrow, because we all know how well that worked out last time ...

Dreaming of Warmth

It's downright frigid in central Illinois (and across all of the Midwest) these days.

That's why, because I was there less than a week ago, I'm spending my morning dreaming of Florida.

I'm picturing myself back on warm sandy beaches. Lounging with a good book.


Walking on the beach spotting dolphins playing in the surf. Contemplating getting in the ocean and then changing my mind because the water is too darn cold.


Or I'm imagining hanging out by the lovely little pool at the condo where we stayed, just blocks from the beach. Doesn't it remind you of a shape from Tetris?


But then I hear that frost is threatening crops in some parts of Florida this week too, so maybe it's not the time to lounge on the beach there anyway.

I guess I'll settle for a big sweater, a mug of hot chocolate, and gazing out at the lovely snow-covered front yard. Brrr.

A Clearwater Beach Wedding

Hello there. Yes, I know. It has been a few days since we last chatted.

That’s because I spent a long weekend in sunny Clearwater Beach, Florida, for a wedding. The weather was nice and sunny (although a bit breezy). So besides squeezing in a bit of work and homework, I stayed away from the computer. Instead, I enjoyed this.

This is the morning view from our balcony.


And this is the early evening view from our balcony.


When I wasn’t taking photos from the balcony, I was down by the pool soaking up the sun. Or walking on that incredibly long beach you see just past the pool.

And then, of course, there were the wedding festivities. You know, rehearsal dinner cruises on the bay.


The actual wedding ceremony. The reception. All that good stuff ...

… capped off by a 4:50 a.m. wakeup call yesterday morning. Alright, so that ended the fun part of the mini-vacation—that and the weather when we arrived home in L-Town.

But that’s another story for another day. Let me bask in the sunny glow from Florida for a few more minutes, even if now it’s only in my mind.