tropical escape and the return to reality
there you have it, in a tiny nutshell. amazingly blue water, tall palm trees, wandering chickens and horses, a comfy home base, and laughing friends. let me tell you, this vacation stuff is really hard to handle.
the week in vieques was a much-needed, hard-earned escape, well worth the wait of the past couple of months. in all honesty, i was so stressed and frazzled by the myriad doctors' appointments, tests, scans, and travel of the prior weeks it took me a couple of days to completely unwind. i left a couple of unfinished tasks behind at home, and as i saw them falling into place i was happy i had sworn myself to uninterrupted time off. no work, no medicine. as the week progressed i found myself almost unable to even read - my mind wanted a complete break from comprehension and activity. so mostly, i gave it that. my body soaked up the sun from under 70 spf sunscreen and loved the salt water. each morning i woke shortly after the sun, if not before, and each evening i fought the desire for bed at 9pm. i finally got my wish the last night and fell into a deep sleep, once whatever was setting off my allergies was manhandled by my dose of kids' benedryl.
vieques itself is a fantastic little island off the coast of puerto rico. everything happens on island time, of course, and under island rules. for instance, we arrived late due to mechanical troubles on the ferry (it seemed to have lost much of its capacity for steering). the car rental company left the gates open for us, and the note on the jeep told us to leave the gate open for the other person if there was a car parked next to ours (there was) and to come back the next day to take care of the rental agreement. the keys were in it. we stayed in the town of esperanza (fittingly, "hope") and from our perch at the top of the hill we had a prime view of town, the caribbean, and our backyard salt water pool. kids will be kids and there were lots of games of horse and splashing in the pool. there were some beers consumed. we had two kitchens to choose from, or we could walk downtown to numerous little restaurants or bars. again, i really must say, life was tough.
highlights of the week include an evening session at the biolumenescent bay. there are only eleven in the world and nine are in puerto rico. three are on vieques. dinoflagelletes in the water cause it to light up like a glow stick when you disrupt it with anything - your hand, a kayak paddle, a boat - at night. it was amazing to paddle (well, rotten and samara paddled me around, thanks guys!) through the water and then swim in the warm bay as it lit up beneath and around us. i could go on and on about the mismanagement of this natural resource and many of the spots on the island in general, but i'll bite my tounge here and just say you should go see it while you can.
another highlight was snorkeling near the cay in the harbor of esperanza. we saw lots of fish and some plants and coral. i have limited snorkeling experience so i have little to compare it to, but i was excited to see the new underwater world and also to play with my underwater camera case. after a couple of hours of floating around we were all ready to get out of the sun, but it was a great afternoon.
navio beach was my favorite - the waves were fun to dive around in but not too rough, and there was a cave to check out. we camped out under shade trees at the edge of the beach for the day and in between sessions in the water on the beautiful, sunny day, we would read or nap or make fun of one another in the cool cover of the almond trees.
i've decided i really enjoy tropical vacations. it is such a dramatic change from the mid atlantic and most places in the us in general. i could stare at the different shade of blue in the water for hours on end. we were lucky to have the trade winds blowing to keep us cool most of our stay. more than anything, it was wonderful to be warm and - my favorite - sleep with the windows open and the breeze blowing in .
on another front, i turned 30 while on vieques and it was a perfect day, except for the departure of rotten and also the fact w and r had already taken off as well. i drove to a few beaches of the wildlife refuge as the sun rose and saw the different views they offered. i bought an assortment of fresh pastries for breakfast, and sat on the balcony and listened to the world wake up a bit. there was some swimming in the pool, a nice lunch time nap, and an afternoon trip to blue beach. while we were at the beach the weather changed and big rain clouds rolled in. the first drops fell as we left for home and by the time we got home it had progressed to a steady downpour that didn't really abate for a couple of hours. after it grew dark and the rain stopped, the frogs serenaded us and we got to hear a different side of vieques' nightlife as they sang like crazy. it was one of my favorite parts of the day.
i've been looking forward to turning 30 for some time now - i had none of the remorse or trepidation sometimes associated with big birthdays. i knew it would be a big deal to hit the milestone, and for the past three and a half years or so i've often wondered whether i'd get here. it is amazing to think that me, a tiny little preemie baby of just three pounds, would grow up lucky enough to have seen so many incredible places surrounded by friends i would never trade for the world. add to that a family that just seems to get better with age, and i feel lucky to close my eyes at night, content to have another day to make some memories.
today, though, i'll leave out of the memory banks if i can. back to the hospital routine, and six needles for three procedues. the break did nothing to help my veins. i cried a bit during the mri and even now, i worry about what these tests will tell us about my cancer. i am feeling the rising tide of hope, however, as i look to the end of the week and another trip to boston. hopefully i'll have the new drug in my hand and take it for the first time, finally doing something about the monster that i've been walking around with for the past weeks.
this weekend, i hope i can once again quiet my mind a bit. it tends to ramble on and on during these stressful times and already the peace of vacation seems a good distance away. when's the next one?
the week in vieques was a much-needed, hard-earned escape, well worth the wait of the past couple of months. in all honesty, i was so stressed and frazzled by the myriad doctors' appointments, tests, scans, and travel of the prior weeks it took me a couple of days to completely unwind. i left a couple of unfinished tasks behind at home, and as i saw them falling into place i was happy i had sworn myself to uninterrupted time off. no work, no medicine. as the week progressed i found myself almost unable to even read - my mind wanted a complete break from comprehension and activity. so mostly, i gave it that. my body soaked up the sun from under 70 spf sunscreen and loved the salt water. each morning i woke shortly after the sun, if not before, and each evening i fought the desire for bed at 9pm. i finally got my wish the last night and fell into a deep sleep, once whatever was setting off my allergies was manhandled by my dose of kids' benedryl.
vieques itself is a fantastic little island off the coast of puerto rico. everything happens on island time, of course, and under island rules. for instance, we arrived late due to mechanical troubles on the ferry (it seemed to have lost much of its capacity for steering). the car rental company left the gates open for us, and the note on the jeep told us to leave the gate open for the other person if there was a car parked next to ours (there was) and to come back the next day to take care of the rental agreement. the keys were in it. we stayed in the town of esperanza (fittingly, "hope") and from our perch at the top of the hill we had a prime view of town, the caribbean, and our backyard salt water pool. kids will be kids and there were lots of games of horse and splashing in the pool. there were some beers consumed. we had two kitchens to choose from, or we could walk downtown to numerous little restaurants or bars. again, i really must say, life was tough.
highlights of the week include an evening session at the biolumenescent bay. there are only eleven in the world and nine are in puerto rico. three are on vieques. dinoflagelletes in the water cause it to light up like a glow stick when you disrupt it with anything - your hand, a kayak paddle, a boat - at night. it was amazing to paddle (well, rotten and samara paddled me around, thanks guys!) through the water and then swim in the warm bay as it lit up beneath and around us. i could go on and on about the mismanagement of this natural resource and many of the spots on the island in general, but i'll bite my tounge here and just say you should go see it while you can.
another highlight was snorkeling near the cay in the harbor of esperanza. we saw lots of fish and some plants and coral. i have limited snorkeling experience so i have little to compare it to, but i was excited to see the new underwater world and also to play with my underwater camera case. after a couple of hours of floating around we were all ready to get out of the sun, but it was a great afternoon.
navio beach was my favorite - the waves were fun to dive around in but not too rough, and there was a cave to check out. we camped out under shade trees at the edge of the beach for the day and in between sessions in the water on the beautiful, sunny day, we would read or nap or make fun of one another in the cool cover of the almond trees.
i've decided i really enjoy tropical vacations. it is such a dramatic change from the mid atlantic and most places in the us in general. i could stare at the different shade of blue in the water for hours on end. we were lucky to have the trade winds blowing to keep us cool most of our stay. more than anything, it was wonderful to be warm and - my favorite - sleep with the windows open and the breeze blowing in .
on another front, i turned 30 while on vieques and it was a perfect day, except for the departure of rotten and also the fact w and r had already taken off as well. i drove to a few beaches of the wildlife refuge as the sun rose and saw the different views they offered. i bought an assortment of fresh pastries for breakfast, and sat on the balcony and listened to the world wake up a bit. there was some swimming in the pool, a nice lunch time nap, and an afternoon trip to blue beach. while we were at the beach the weather changed and big rain clouds rolled in. the first drops fell as we left for home and by the time we got home it had progressed to a steady downpour that didn't really abate for a couple of hours. after it grew dark and the rain stopped, the frogs serenaded us and we got to hear a different side of vieques' nightlife as they sang like crazy. it was one of my favorite parts of the day.
i've been looking forward to turning 30 for some time now - i had none of the remorse or trepidation sometimes associated with big birthdays. i knew it would be a big deal to hit the milestone, and for the past three and a half years or so i've often wondered whether i'd get here. it is amazing to think that me, a tiny little preemie baby of just three pounds, would grow up lucky enough to have seen so many incredible places surrounded by friends i would never trade for the world. add to that a family that just seems to get better with age, and i feel lucky to close my eyes at night, content to have another day to make some memories.
today, though, i'll leave out of the memory banks if i can. back to the hospital routine, and six needles for three procedues. the break did nothing to help my veins. i cried a bit during the mri and even now, i worry about what these tests will tell us about my cancer. i am feeling the rising tide of hope, however, as i look to the end of the week and another trip to boston. hopefully i'll have the new drug in my hand and take it for the first time, finally doing something about the monster that i've been walking around with for the past weeks.
this weekend, i hope i can once again quiet my mind a bit. it tends to ramble on and on during these stressful times and already the peace of vacation seems a good distance away. when's the next one?
Comments
I really, really really hope there are no obstacles to the clinical trial. This sounds very promising. Got my fingers crossed and the like. Have a safe weekend.