Summer Summation

Well, as summers go, this one was one of the hottest, least busy, and least traveled I can remember.  BOO-O-O-O  to all of those things.  Perhaps the fall will be better.

To sum it up:  the girls and I went to Colorado for a few days and crammed in as many things as we possibly could without missing a meal or any sleep.

The Whee stayed in Colorado and went to cop camp. This looked like SO much fun. I want to pose as an 8th grader next summer and go with her. I think I can pull it off.

Daughter #1 went to Curacao- a place I still cannot pronounce, and can barely spell. She went scuba diving and met new people. I'm all for meeting new folks, but I prefer to do my diving in a submarine with a cute captain who speaks with a British accent. This is how D#1 and I did it in Cayman two years ago and it worked just dandy.

Take the spiffy little ferry out to the submarine. Get on the submarine. Sit on comfy seats with your own porthole for viewing.

Watch tarpon go by at unreal speeds and try to capture a decent photo. Wish you were fishing for tarpon. Give up on the decent photos of supersonic tarpon and just talk to the other passengers about how fast those fish are.

The last hurrah summer adventure before school starts was my recent solo foray into the Ozarks for camping, hiking and zip-lining. I promise there will be pictures. I'm waiting on photos to arrive. There was a little problem with my camera- like that it weighs 65 pounds flung over your back when you're going 20 miles an hour down a cable and it will take your head off when you stop. That, and the fact there was no way I was prying my hands off the safety line to take a picture. Unh-uh. No way. Nope, not happening.

So some kind gentleman took pictures of my terrified face in lockjaw position, grimacing but not screaming-this is important-I repeat, not screaming. When I get those I will share. Maybe.

Till then, it's scramble for school time, for both the students and instructors in this abode. It's hard to tell who's more excited.

And look forward to fall break so we can ADVENTURATE!!!

Scuba dooby do

My older daughter is a self-professed NON-outdoor person. But, because my motto is "there's an outdoor activity for everyone, and everyone should get outdoors", she agreed that she's not a TOTAL outdoor-phobe, and agreed to share with you some photos of the outdoor activity she loves. It's one of two, and they both involve water.

Scuba.  She loves to scuba dive.

I think she looks pretty cool in the gear, and I love the colors underwater. She dives in local lakes and quarries, but she prefers more exotic locals, with pretty fish, instead of bass and catfish. Colorful fish.

LOTS of them.  No noodling going on here.  What's noodling, you ask?  If you have to ask, you're not a redneck and you really don't want to know.

She has dived so far in Maui (her favorite) and Cayman Islands, and is off to the Caribbean for some clear blue diving this fall. She likes underwater caves.  I like caves, but I prefer the water to not be over my head.

As someone who sinks when they are in more than two inches of water, I can't say I share her infatuation with deep water sports. Our common outdoor activity that involves water is her other outdoor activity-kayaking. Above the water.  Out of the water. Flotation devices. I can do that. But I have to admit, I've never seen anything like this in the rivers and lakes of Kansas and Oklahoma. I'll enjoy her pictures...

                 
                    Happy Trails, even if that's a trail of bubbles!!