We Kin Get Thin!

We returned to chilly Massachusetts late last night. I have plenty more pictures to share with you! (get comfy!)



We decided that Thursday would be my pretend birthday (today, Sunday, is my actual birthday). So I got to choose any restaurant I wanted. I chose IM Tapas. We got the whole place to ourselves. The food was phenomenal. We got to meet the chefs and it was sooo nice.

Returning to the house, Joel lit candles on some cupcakes from a cupcake shop. The owner of the shop is from my home town! coincidence!



Joel then gave me my gifts! He got me amethyst earrings and matching necklace. He is slowly getting me a matching collection of all my favorite stones ;-) I have garnet, citrine, emerald, aquamarine, and now amethyst! I think he thinks it's the easy way out, but I truly love them!

 

 

The next morning, Friday, we headed out for a Dolphin Expedition! It's a scientific research boat, and they take 6-8 passengers per expedition. You ride out and spot dolphins and identify them. Half way, we stopped at an island and given a bag to hunt for exotic seashells. Beautiful!

I didn't get many good shots of the dolphins because... well.. I'm a little slow on the trigger. ;-) So, if you squint a little, you can catch some fins here...

 

 

Here's the beach. Gorgeous!

 

  






Pelican!



I was disappointed that we did not see any Manatees, despite the advertising ;-)

The expedition took 4 hours. We then headed back to the house to get ready for a dinner reservation we had at Tommy Bahama's restaurant. I stopped at store first to get a new outfit for dinner (oh, I am such a woman!)





Cute, no?

At Tommy Bahamas, we sat under this lit up tree which I just loved.




And I had an appetizer (as my meal) called Loki Loki Tuna Poke.
(pardon the flash)




Layers of avocado, cilantro, lime, and sashimi tuna. Omg, it was good.

We walked around the downtown, took a swim in the pool and then went to bed.

The next morning, our last day :-( , we decided to walk down the 3 mile trail that takes us to the beach. Don't tell Joel, but I wanted to walk it (and not take the tram like we did before) because I heard there was an alligator on the way!

First, we run into this guy :


I know the picture isn't great, but he was about 8 inches long. Biggest spider I have ever seen! We ended up seeing multiple of them, but none as behemoth as this dude.
I looked him up this morning, and he is a Banana Spider. Non-poisonous, and pretty chill :-)




Next, right at the mouth of the walkway I spotted this little fella :



Ok, he's a gator. But not what I was looking for. He is so tiny and far away!

Then I see the funniest bird.




Sunning himself. So cute !



And we're walking some more...

Turtles! UGLY ONES!























And more birds!

And crazy big bugs! This guy was about 6 inches long.



And then... JACKPOT. Here she is! maybe 2 feet away from us... Big momma!
And her little stripy babies!!









What a beaut!

After our walk, we had one last lunch out, so we chose wisely. A place called Randy's Seafood.
Where I had rock crab claws, which they JUST pulled out of the ocean an hour before, right outside the restaurant :-)
Wow, they were good.




Then, we had the sadness of packing up and heading to the airport.
The flight was fine and uneventful, and it was sooo cold coming back here!

But, I got a warm welcome!



And there you have it! My first real vacation!
I l-o-v-e-d it. The weather was perfection. Not humid, not too hot (save for one day that was sweltering!), no rain. The food and restaurants were to die for. The house and car were luxurious and everything felt so grand!

It couldn't have been any better. Wait, except for missing our flight and losing a whole day ;-).... other than that, it could not have been any better!

I weighed myself all week and seemed pretty stable, but I admit I have a key lime pie problem.
I worked out as much as I could. Lots of swimming and rehab exercises, walking, etc. But I do feel a bit blorpy (like a manateeeee) today, so I am REALLY looking forward to getting back to the gym on Tuesday!

I hope you all made it through this entry :-)

And... Oh Ya... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!