Gustav

This past weekend we evacuated for yet another hurricane. It's a very normal thing this time of year in SE Texas. The mandatory evacuation was Sunday morning and we left Saturday evening before the traffic got bad. We are so thankful that we didn't take a direct hit from Gustav. We were headed from the lake to our next stop in NE Texas, and decided Monday morning that since our home wasn't taking a hit and the weather would be bad where we were staying, we came home early yesterday. It's so good to be home! I didn't put the boxes of pictures away yet, because there are 3 other systems/storms out there. I hope and pray they stay away, too!

Arkansas

Last weekend we went to Arkansas to visit family. Robert's younger brother, David died on Friday. He had been suffering for a few months with cancer and he was given a short time to live. Robert's last conversation with his brother was very nice and we are trusting that he is in a much happier place where there is no cancer. It was very nice going back to Arkansas. Robert was born and raised in a little town of Magazine where there is the tallest mountain in Arkansas. Unfortanatley is rained from the time we got there until we got back over the TX border, so I didn't get to see much of the beauty I love. It was great meeting relatives for the first time and getting to learn more about the West's. I love being a West and I'm proud of my husbands family. Arkansas gets a bad wrap, because of the "back woods" people. There are those kind of people everywhere, even Texas! I love Arkansas!

Nassau, Bahamas

A lot has been going on lately that I will share later, but I need to finish the vacation post. Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas and a very beatiful island. We didn't get to see much of the island, basically out of being safe. We went on an excursion to snorkle on a reef that was beautiful. It unfortanately took all morning, so there wasn't much time to shop the market shops. We did and got a few goodies. On the way back from the snorkel trip, we were shown celebrity vacation homes such as Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Elvis, and some I can't remember. Below is a snorkle pic, and Oprah's 2 houses (must be nice). The resort you see in the middle is the famous Atlantis that I would love to visit. Maybe one day...

Vacation- Coco Cay, Bahamas

We're home and glad to be. We did have an amazing vacation in the Bahamas and wish to return one day. This was our 2nd cruise and very different from the first, 3 years ago. It was much better! The first cruise was 7 days, too long for us, because you spend half the time just traveling. This cruise was just 3 days and we spent 2 whole days in the Bahamas. I could have done a few more days if there would have been stops. Getting on and off the ship was so much nicer and more organized this time. There were the needed security checks that are annoying, but I don't mind, because I knew that we would be safe for the most part. There was even a drug sniffing dog going around everyone on the way off the ship. I thought that was really cool! I wonder if he smelled my Reese's Cups I snuck on the ship and off! Saturday, we stopped at Coco Cay, an island owned by Royal Caribbean and we went on an amazing wave runner guide. It was an adventurous hour ride, full throttle, that made it very fast! The water was breathtaking and went from dark blue, to turquoise, and to clear. I got to kiss a starfish taken right from the ocean floor for good luck. I actually jumped off to swim in this area, but we were told to quickly get back on because sharks were near! Yikes! I didn't bring my camera out and wish I had. We were somewhere out in the Bermuda Triangle and I am happy to say we survived! I snorkeled off the island after we got back and took many pictures under water that I need to get developed so I can show. Here are a few pictures of Coco Cay! I'll blog about Nassau and the ship in the next few post.

Bon Voyage to us!