I am Happy to Report...

The Plane did not crash...

Peanut did not die due to complications of asthma inhaler usage...

There were no accidents (that I witnessed) on the way to and from the airport...

The house did NOT catch on fire...

No tornadoes, hurricanes or other natural disasters interuppted the vacation...

I did not get stung, bitten, swallowed or otherwise dismembered by any oceanic animals...

I DID however, get a nasty burn on my backside due to a pathetic snorkeling attempt on my part (but that story comes in a few more paragraphs...stay tuned)

Basically, all is well...we made it there...we had an INCREDIBLE time...and we came home to the loving arms our 3 little girls who missed us so much that they cried like crazy when Grandma and Papa left begging them to not go and "couldn't you and daddy just go away again for alittle while so they can stay?"...hmmm...

Anyway...our trip was amazing...

I've never been to Grand Cayman, so it was a new experience for me...and with all new experiences comes a level of anticipation and worry...all the regular fears  bombard my mind before we leave...PLUS, I wasn't going to have access to a cell phone or computer for the entire 4 days that I was gone...How would I survive???

I'll tell you how...

keep an open tab at the pool bar as you lay in the sun, slathered in SPF 30, take a dip in the ocean every once in awhile, read about 4 novels, eat as much food as you can possibly cram into a 24 hour period, take long walks and watch the sun set, sit in the hot tub with your spouse, and just soak it all in...

IS's company treated us like royalty during our long weekend getaway to the remote island...it was just a little bit of paradise...

The water was crystal clear...so much so that when the fish swam through, I could see them coming...which gave me plenty of time to jump onto my raft and scream my head off until someone could pull me back to shore..."someone" usually being my darling husband whom I sure was more red in the face due to ME rather than the sun beating down on him....

Which brings me to one of my many "adventure stories" from the trip...

Story #1:  It was a beautiful afternoon, as was every afternoon, on the 7 mile beaches of Grand Cayman...the sun was high in the sky, the water was sparkling and the sand glistened.  Each footprint being swept away with the tide rolling in as we strolled down the beach with our snorkling gear in tow.  We were headed for a reef about 200 yards from the shore.  My husband had his mask, snorkel and fins.  I, on the other hand, brought along a little something extra...I like to call it my body armor...my protection from all things non-human...my HUGE floating device or "raft", if you will.  It made a long lined track in the sand as I dragged it to our point of departure where we finally stopped and I "suited" up...this meaning that I just put on my mask, my snorkel, my fins, my life vest and jumped onto my raft, held out my hand as my husband dragged me the 2 football fields in the water to the "snorkeling location"...

My plan was simple...I wanted to see the fish, but I didn't want to touch, brush up against or be frightened by the fish and therefore, I would just lay on the raft and stick my head in the water.  In this way, my entire body was above water (getting a nice shade of pink...turn fire engine red in a matter of minutes) and I was "safe"...

My husband was at trooper, even as I tried not to hyperventilate while breathing through the tube, and as I squealed anytime something came close...I tried not to squeeze all the blood out of his hand as he fed fish small peanuts and they came mighty close to my head...but, all was going well...he swam, I floated, we saw fish...good times...

UNTIL...

there's always that "but"..."and then"..."unexpectedly"...basically all of the above...

I got cocky...I can float here, no problem...this is a breeze...these fish are "cute", I would point under the water..."look at that one sweetheart, it's blue"...uh huh...what I didn't expect was for those darn fish to JUMP...

Yes...I said JUMP...those stupid things JUMPED ONTO MY RAFT dagnabit...Italian Stallion will testify that a fish did jump onto my raft and started flappin around my legs as I screamed bloody murder and begged with all that was in me, for him to GET IT OFF!!! 

Now, HE will say it was just a little fish...but friends, it was A FISH...I don't care how big or small it was...they belong IN the water, which is why I was ON the raft...

Needless to say, after the "episode", I was finished with my snorkeling adventure and ready to head back to beach...being completely worn out from the excitement, I just allowed my hubby to haul me back in, while I recooperated from the experience. 

I'm not sure if he's going to be willing to take me snorkeling ever again...and I'm thinking it's a safe bet to say that I am in agreement with that decision...next time, I think we may try the underwater sub...or as the snorkeling store guys said when I told them of my fears, "Um, why don't you just go to an aquarium miss?" 

Point taken boys!!