March 7, 2009

Missed last week due to our travel on Saturday and being busy with laundry and packing on Sunday. We had a great time on our vacation to the Keys. Got in a lot of sun and relaxation while getting to experience the southern Florida lifestyle. We finished up in Key West and then headed up to Key Largo stopping at several spots on the way to do some sightseeing and hiking. Once in Key Largo we took advantage of being close to the Everglades with a bit of kayaking in a mangrove forest (check out the picture) and spent a day enjoying several hikes through the different areas of the everglades. Saw an amazing number of alligators and birds. At one stop you were able to see that alligators up close and personal - less than 3 feet away with nothing between you and the gator. Personally, I would have enjoyed a bit more space, but since alligators seem to spend the overwhelming majority of the day just laying there it seemed fairly safe. The rest of the time was spent enjoying the hotel's beach and bar service. Joann and I both managed to finish several books - all pleasure reading! - during the trip and as that was a measure for how much we relaxed we had achieved our goals there.

Came back on Saturday and spent last weekend getting all the chores and house back up and running. As we both had travel this last week - Jo to New York and myself to Sandwich, England - we had to get our clothes cleaned and then repack. Naturally to welcome us back to New England winter weather, we had a major snow storm move through the area on Sunday night into Monday - we landed up with 8 inches (it was a wet snow that didn't snowblow well, so no real snowblowing enjoyment points). As a result, Joann headed to New York a day early on Sunday to miss the storm - successfully I might add. I on the other hand landed up having my flight cancelled out of Boston for Monday morning and instead went out Monday night after the worst of the storm had passed. It wasn't very difficult getting to Boston in the afternoon and my flight left after de-icing of the plane. The only downside for this itinerary change was I now had to go directly from landing in London to the start of my week long meeting - no shower or nap. Wasn't too bad, but it did mean I was dragging a bit during the week. Jo's meeting went fine, it involved beginning to prepare for the Wyeth merger, and she arrived home on Wednesday. She spent the rest of the week in her office, which is rare for her lately, and finding out she might be traveling to India and the Philippines. She is such the jet setter.

We have a pretty quiet weekend planned to recuperate from our work week, although we taking a boat tour this afternoon to see the seals that migrate to the Long Island Sound in the winter from up north - water is warmer down here, so see there is always somewhere colder.

Our tans have completed faded and we are back to our pasty, New England look but it was nice having the week in the sun making Vitamin D. Have a great week and remember to spring forward tonight (interesting fact from the news last night - heart attacks increase by 5% in the two weeks following the time change so be careful).