Every year our family travels during the holiday season, mostly for the benefit of the girls so they don't get trapped at home and tear my roof during winter break, and this year we do the same. We just finished phase one of our vacation to the heavenly Bahamas on a cruise ship, which will be followed by a few days of skiing in Vermont.
For the obvious reason, the headache is not only whatever I packed for the 1st trip won't work for the 2nd one (except PJs and stuff), but the biggest challenge was to leave Caitey behind for a whole week for the 1st time. A family of our friends offered to take Caitey while we were heading south and they did a wonderful job taking care of her, especially considering the fact that they never had a dog before.
Maybe due to the timing of our trip, it felt like half of the people on the cruise ship were seniors and the other half Chinese. That probably explains why when The 2nd City performed at the night show, the audience did not laugh till the next morning!
I am sure you know that when you miss someone, the trip feels longer than it actually is -- that is what happened to us this time too, especially during the last "sea" days on our way back. We did have great fun going kayaking in the Atlantic ocean near Port Canaveral FL and snorkeling at the Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, both were first for the girls. The most memorable moment though, was interacting with the dolphins at the Dolphin Cay in Atlantis.
We had 3 female dolphins that day to play with us: a young female Dolphin X as our major performer, a dominant Sherry, and a sweet good-humoured Tracey. It was very heartwarming to see 3 of them doing all kinds of tricks from jumping up high and twisting in mid air in perfect in synchronization as a group, to flapping water like joyful kids sort of doing "yeahhhh", to pretending dead in the water to fool the sharks. I was greatly amazed by their perfect patience when they came and stayed still right in front of us for us to pat, kiss and feed them. The way they acted so happily that we liked their show kind of reminded me of my Caitey, who loves to be praised, patted and given treats.
Did you know that it is dolphin's nature to protect people, and if they see a shark attack a human in the sea they will form a circle so the shark can't get thru? They are adorable smart animals and I can't help falling in love with them. When it was my turn to kiss Dolphin X, the trainer yelled "Hey no French Kissing!" :-). I wish I could have their smooth skin which is said to shed every 2 hours, maybe the big pharmas can figure out how we get to have their ageless wrinkle-free skin one day.
When we left the Dolphin Cay around noon time on Dec 16th, a young black trainer brought a bucket of fish to start training half a dozen dolphins right in front of the the Royal Tower, the landmark of the Atlantis. I couldn't help but envy him -- the boy must have the most stress-free job in the world, playing with the dolphins all day long in crystal clear water and 80+ degree tropical weather under the sun with Christmas Carols playing thru the speakers as background music for their entertainment.
For the obvious reason, the headache is not only whatever I packed for the 1st trip won't work for the 2nd one (except PJs and stuff), but the biggest challenge was to leave Caitey behind for a whole week for the 1st time. A family of our friends offered to take Caitey while we were heading south and they did a wonderful job taking care of her, especially considering the fact that they never had a dog before.
Maybe due to the timing of our trip, it felt like half of the people on the cruise ship were seniors and the other half Chinese. That probably explains why when The 2nd City performed at the night show, the audience did not laugh till the next morning!
I am sure you know that when you miss someone, the trip feels longer than it actually is -- that is what happened to us this time too, especially during the last "sea" days on our way back. We did have great fun going kayaking in the Atlantic ocean near Port Canaveral FL and snorkeling at the Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, both were first for the girls. The most memorable moment though, was interacting with the dolphins at the Dolphin Cay in Atlantis.
We had 3 female dolphins that day to play with us: a young female Dolphin X as our major performer, a dominant Sherry, and a sweet good-humoured Tracey. It was very heartwarming to see 3 of them doing all kinds of tricks from jumping up high and twisting in mid air in perfect in synchronization as a group, to flapping water like joyful kids sort of doing "yeahhhh", to pretending dead in the water to fool the sharks. I was greatly amazed by their perfect patience when they came and stayed still right in front of us for us to pat, kiss and feed them. The way they acted so happily that we liked their show kind of reminded me of my Caitey, who loves to be praised, patted and given treats.
Did you know that it is dolphin's nature to protect people, and if they see a shark attack a human in the sea they will form a circle so the shark can't get thru? They are adorable smart animals and I can't help falling in love with them. When it was my turn to kiss Dolphin X, the trainer yelled "Hey no French Kissing!" :-). I wish I could have their smooth skin which is said to shed every 2 hours, maybe the big pharmas can figure out how we get to have their ageless wrinkle-free skin one day.
When we left the Dolphin Cay around noon time on Dec 16th, a young black trainer brought a bucket of fish to start training half a dozen dolphins right in front of the the Royal Tower, the landmark of the Atlantis. I couldn't help but envy him -- the boy must have the most stress-free job in the world, playing with the dolphins all day long in crystal clear water and 80+ degree tropical weather under the sun with Christmas Carols playing thru the speakers as background music for their entertainment.
