What a summer!

School is back in session and is seems the summer blew by. I determined that between trips and shuttling people around, I was at the airport 13 times this summer. That has to be a new record. Only four of those airport visits were for my own traveling however and one of those was business, flying to Dallas to do a couple days of physics workshops for teachers.

The other three were all fun! First to Jamaica to stay at a new (to us) all-inclusive resort. I found a very colorful driver in Lindsay McFarland who shuttled us on a tour around the island and then to the Cool Blue Hole, that turned out to be the highlight of the week. We bypassed the Dunn's River Urine Falls trip on Lindsay's suggestion and climbed the uncrowded cascades of the CBH instead. We jumped off cliffs, swung on ropes, and swam under a waterfall and then climbed up a cave and out THROUGH the waterfall itself. Quite a treat!

Next was a mission trip back to Belize to work at The King's Children's Home again. I took my girlfriend's daughter along and she did an amazing job helping with the children and around the home. One day we made 400 tortillas and then 150 blueberry muffins another day. It was just inconceivable that the children had not tasted blueberry muffins so they were a must make. We ended the trip with a water taxi trip to the uber-quiet fishing village of Caye Caulker and spent the night in a little cabin right on the water.

The final trip of the summer was a long weekend in Key West. I took the kids there years ago and always since had wanted to go back as an all-adult trip. Key West did not disappoint. To spice things up, we slept on a 44-foot sailboat and spent the middle 24 hours of the three-day trip sailing at sea. Another great adventure in the books.

Now back to school on a "modified calendar" that allows for a two-week break in October and plans are already set for that time off. We will be landing in Venice, Italy on my birthday for a few days before heading to Florence and Rome and then ending up with four days along the Amalfi Coast. I think we'll be able to take a pizza cooking class in Sorento. Another adventure!

I didn't play much poker, but sometimes fun gets in the way of fun :-)