Journey & Adventure

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything since October.  Wow!  I don't know where the time went.  There are the usual excuses - work, family and the many, many craft/jewelry shows that I participated in.  There are times when the time passes so slowly and then there are other moments when the time just screams on by.  Apparently, October through December contained a lot of those latter moments. Well, rest-assured I'm still here and all have been good.  I've been lurking, I just haven't had the time or energy to put anything to "paper". J and I were fortunate to spend two glorious weeks on Bonaire at the beginning of December, with plenty of diving, sunshine and relaxation.  You may recall to Bonaire is one of the "finalists" in the places we wish to retire to in a few years, so it was good to spend time looking at the island from that perspective.  We toured many neighborhoods - discovered those that held potential and ruled ou...

The early retirement plan is chugging along.  I wish I could say it was ahead of schedule, but such is not the case.   If anything, it’s lagging behind slightly. We have made a conscience decision that J would not go back to work.  He would instead spend his time working on the projects around the house, maintaining the yard and really just getting us in a better position to get the maximum return on the house when it’s time to sell.    Well, who knew we had so much unfinished business around our place.  He’s been off work a year now and the to-do list is still a mile long.  Believe me, it’s not for lack of working on things.  In fact it’s far from it - we finish one project and two more come to mind.  There are things we could probably leave and let the next home owner deal with – like new closet organizers, but since we don’t want to leave a dollar on the table, we are working to make things perfect.  Although we re...

This is a great video about the little island J and I are considering as our early retirement destination.  I absolutely love the wild, rugged beauty of it.  I hope you enjoy it too...

As a follow up to my Bonaire - 2012 Photo Montage (and as requested by my other favorite redhead, Crazy Cris ), here is a photo montage of some of the wonderful critters that live in the lushious reefs surrounding the island of Bonaire.  Of course, these shots are all courtesy of J. Spotted Moray Eel  French Angel - Close Up Hawksbill Turtle (we counted 8 on one dive alone) French Angel at the Salt Pier Another French Angel at the Salt Pier Queen Angel Brown Spotted Trigger (I Think)

By the time our early retirement plan comes to fruition, you will be either too dizzy or too confused to follow this blog. Remember how I said, Ecuador would most likely be our retirement destination of choice and then we had a change of heart and thought perhaps Bonaire could work for us and then we were back to Ecuador and then I think when I last left you we were back in Bonaire mindset. Well, after doing some pre-retirement homework while we were on island in Bonaire, reality has again kicked us in the pants. Guess what? We apparently are not made of money and once we quit our jobs, we will no longer have a bi-weekly income in which to support the lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to. So while we could financially make Bonaire work short term, we aren’t convinced it could be sustainable long term. Housing is more than what we want to spend, groceries are on average 5-10% higher than they are here in Canada and the daily housing costs (hydro, propane, water) are significant...

Artistic Photo by J Gumby Enjoying the Sunset - Day 1 Love the Boat Name:  "Free at Last" Lac Bay, Bonaire - Heaven on Earth Gumby Enjoying the Salt Pier - Best Dive Site on Island 1,000 Steps Dive Site - Only 60+ Steps to the Bottom,  Feels Like 1,000 with Dive Gear On Gumby Enjoying A Couple of Cold Ones After a Hard Day of Diving -  Polar, A Nice Import From Venezuela

Our vacation was fantastic. We had great weather, great scuba adventures and of course great company - overall it was a huge success. The downside however, was the lack of rest. We went with our usual group of scuba friends and needless to say, there was no shortage of laughs, beer or knocks at our condo door at all hours of the day and night. I truly enjoy the camaraderie of the group, but also long to be left the hell alone after a long day of diving, sunshine and fresh air. I now recall why on previous visits to the island, J and I chose to stay away from the group at other accommodations on the opposite side of the island. Are we anti-social? Perhaps we are, but I’m not apologizing for liking my privacy. I find that after working for months on end – day in and day out in a “social” work environment with meetings, phone, calls and various interactions with co-workers, I need a time-out while on vacation. Don’t get me wrong, I love these scuba friends and am blesse...

Yes, it’s ALMOST that time of year again. Time for me rejuvenate and store up on some sunshine and vitamin D before the long winter ahead. It’s time for me to pack my bags and scuba gear and head off to a place where memories are made, good times are had and the ocean is explored. For some, Disney is the happiest place on earth, but for me it’s Bonaire. You may recall this is one of my contenders for places to retire, so J and I plan on using this opportunity to do some more research into the actual cost of living, average cost of vehicles, neighborhoods, etc. Five years is still a long way off, but at least we’ll be getting an idea of how expensive things actually are. I can hardly wait to get there and park myself at the beach bar for a beverage or two - for a live webcam view of it, take a look here .  Maybe you'll see me there (in a week and a bit)... Here are a few photos of the island from vacations past… By the way - all of the above photos are cour...

The 5 year plan is still chugging along and time is passing much slower than I would like. I’m actually quite ashamed that that I’m eagerly wishing the next five years of my life away, but when you finally have an “end goal” in sight, it’s difficult not to become consumed by it. As mentioned previously J and I were sure Ecuador would become our future country of residence and although it wasn’t our first choice, it had everything we were looking for – warm climate, affordable day-to-day cost of living and cheap real estate. We’ve been recently re-evaluating our future needs, wants, must-haves and nice-to-haves. Where does that bring us? Well, we’ve decided that maybe we shouldn’t give up on our first choice just yet – at least not until we’ve done a little more research and financial number crunching. Our first choice is a place we’ve been close to 10 times over the past 14 years and from the first time we arrived on the island, we were in love. Yes, love. It’s a magical ...

So, I feel sort of ashamed of myself and I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve just booked another vacation. I know, I know, I haven’t even left for the one in March, so what business do I have in booking another one? Well, I don’t have any business going anywhere after my complaining about how much the March one is costing me. Well on the topic of cost…cheap airfare is the reason I do EVERYTHING!!! I live for cheap airfare and literally receive daily updates from all of the major airlines and booking sites. I’ve been watching flight prices since last October for my favorite place on Earth (Bonaire by the way) and airfare has been averaging $1,000 pp. Well, $1,000 airfare is just too much to pay for something in the Caribbean when I also have to consider accommodations, vehicle rental and scuba diving. This morning, there is an e-mail in my inbox saying my watched flight to Bonaire has gone down by $250. Hmmm, that’s still a lot of money but I decide to take a peek at the f...

Photo Courtesy of J - Bonaire, 2009

CrazyCris @ Here and There and Everywhere has tagged me with a photo meme.  As everyone knows, I’m not the photographer in my family.  That honor is reserved for J.  Don’t get me wrong – I love photography, but in all honesty, I don’t have any interest in the work involved with it (i.e. saving the photos, organizing the photos, cataloging the photos, backing up with photos, etc.).  I suppose, that would be called lazy… So with that being said, I don’t take as many photos as I should, but I do have a few photos of my own.  Yes, there are a few times that I get energetic enough to carry around the camera for myself.  J still has to look after transferring them from the camera for me.  I haven’t gotten there yet (nor do I plan too)... TA DA…for all those skeptics (*wink*) out there.  Here is your proof that I know how to work a camera… This photo was taken last year on our trip t...

As you may know, I'm not typically the photographer in our family. I usually leave the photo taking to J; however on our trip to Bonaire in November, I decided to pick up his spare camera and give it a try, which at first he wasn't willing to share. I was able to persuade him to change his mind - eventually. It might of had something to do with my non-stop whining, but whatever... Here are a couple of my shots... Kite Surfer Coral Beach I'm pretty happy with how these turned out, so you never know - I might just make it a hobby. Although I still need to rely on J to get them from the camera to the computer. Yeah, I'm challenged that way, but honestly I prefer to call it disinterested...

Hello Everyone! J and I arrived on the redeye this morning and landed safely in Bonaire around 5:00 a.m. It took a grand total of 15 minutes to clear customs and get our luggage and then another 2 hours to get our rental car. As you might not realize the pace in Bonaire runs a little slower than glacial, but it's all good - I'll adjust. Welcome to the islands! After a quick breakfast, we headed to our dive briefing and soon after, our first dive. We had been given a tip and somewhat of a shady guarantee that "just offshore, you can find 3 seahorses". Imagine my excitement, I was so sure that we would easily find at least one of them. Wrong! Apparently directions like swim straight out for 70 meters and in about 7 meters of water, you will find a large fan coral and somewhere around that fan coral, you will find a yellow and a red seahorse. Turns out, even though I'm Canadian, I don't know shit about the effin metric system - I don't actually know ...

I started to pack for our holidays on the weekend, which if you are keeping track, is only 19 more sleeps. I know it may seem too soon, but believe me when you are a scuba diver; you have a lot of crap to round up and sort out, so timing is important to success of the mission. Don’t ask me how it happened, but for some reason this year and many, many previous years, I have been in charge of packing not only for myself, but J too. For the most part, the arrangement works out well – he hauls everything up from the basement and piles it into the spare room. I just have to sort it all out and make sure we have all the essentials. The challenging part is getting everything into as few suitcases as possible, while keeping it under the weight restrictions imposed by the airlines. Not an easy task, but it can be done. The key is to take only the essentials and nothing more… Here are the some of the essentials… The Suitcase. I prefer the Heys 4WD model – it’s lightweight to begin with, d...

I’ve shared on numerous occasions my love for a tiny little island in the Caribbean called Bonaire and as I’ve mentioned before, Bonaire is similar to a crack addiction (so I’m told) – once you’ve had it, it’s hard to give up and it leaves you craving for more. In one week, Bonaire can provide you with more sun, more shine, more warmth, more fun and more scuba diving than is possibly legal anywhere (including Amsterdam). As they’ve done so for the past three years, Bonaire has opened its arms to welcome a group of heroes – The Wounded Warriors. This year, six wounded members from various branches of the U.S. Military and their significant others have traveled to Bonaire to train and complete their open water dive certifications. Thanks to the many sponsors both on island and abroad, the trips were “all expenses paid” (including dive training, accommodations, meals and sightseeing). You can click here if you are interested in seeing photos from their week , which wraps up on Octo...

After my "crazy friends" post of yesterday, I need to refocus of things that make me happy and thought I would share one of my passions with today's post - scuba diving. I t’s only 71 more days until I’m headed to Bonaire for another installment of Travel and Dive Girl's excellent scuba adventures. This upcoming trip to Bonaire will be trip #7 for me since 2000 and just when I think I’ve experienced everything Bonaire has to offer, I am pleasantly surprised with its awesomeness. I have accumulated over 90 dives on Bonaire , the majority of which have been made from shore. There is no need to get up early and run to the dock to catch your boat and then make chit chat with annoying tourists that inevitably crowd your personal space and eventually end up seasick - hurling over the side of the boat beside your head. No, I don't consider myself a tourist, especially after 7 visits. The beauty of shore diving - peace and quiet and no irritating ...

Just a photo today ... This photo was taken of a friendly pelican on Bonaire in November, 2008. Bonaire just happens to be where I'll be headed again in a mere 2 months, 30 days and 5 hours, 20 minutes (not that I'm keeping track or anything) with 28 of my closest friends... As with all my photos, this one is courtesy of J.

How does anyone expect me to work on my blog, if they keep giving me work to do? I have a blog to manage people, can you please come back and give me work later? Work is hectic today, so today's post is limited to a photo (o.k, it's my husband's photo) from one of our travels...

I have been presented with the Keepsake Blog Award by Renee . Albeit, I’m not sure I’m worthy of such an award; however I’m taking it. The rules are… 1. Post a funny or sweet keepsake that tells something about you. O.K., this is a tough one for me since I’m not an overly sentimental person and I can’t quite explain why – I was loved as a child. In fact I was an only child, so perhaps not having to share anything with anyone is the reason for my not being sentimental or overly attached to one particular item or perhaps it’s the fact that both my mother and grandmother had enough items of sentimental “value” to bring the country out of recession on their own. Perhaps having to dust around so many of their “sentiments” while growing up has made be bitter? Could I be shallow? No, I’ve just never found the need to be attached to one item in particular. On the other hand, there are “places” that hold sentimental value to me. I am extremely fond of vaca...