¿Como estan, beaches?

One week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico was simply not enough. We've been back in reality for two weeks now, and we're ready for vacation again. I've never been treated like such royalty before. The meals were works of art, the view was breathtaking, and the resort was amazing beyond what I expected, even for "all-inclusive".

*NOTE: if the slideshows start going blank, just pause for a second. High-res photos take a while to load*

Pictures of The Royal, Playa del Carmen - (20 pictures)

Jason and I spent the first day on the beach, recovering from the wedding and drinking mangoes tangos. Yummy!

On the beach - (12 pictures)

We met up with Gary and Shari for dinner and a walk down Fifth Avenue. There are a ton of great shops on Fifth. We even found a Converse store with handpainted designs on their shoes. Of course we thought of McKenzie and Carmen. But what did I do? Injure myself. Jason has always said I'm a bit of a klutz and I always deny it, but I'm starting to wonder... The metal star of the Converse logo was starting to peel up from the floor. None of us saw it. As I was walking, it went right between my foot and my sandal and sliced open the bottom of my foot. So there was a nice puddle of blood on the floor. I wasn't as worried about the bleeding as I was about the rare and deadly Mexican disease I was sure I had caught. All I could think of was how many people had walked on that floor before me and what germs they had left behind. Even now, I shudder thinking about it. There was no doctor to be had at 10pm at night, so I had to wait until the next day for my tetanus shot. That actually hurt worse than being stabbed by the star.

The next day, we went (I hobbled) to Tulum--one of the old Mayan cities--with Gary and Shari. It was so interesting! Funny though, to discover that the same civilization known for its invention of the "zero", the calendar, and even stucco, didn't have enough sense not to drink water with diseased dead people in it. No wonder they all contracted smallpox and died! Sheesh.

Tulum - (10 pictures)

We had another delicious dinner, and I decided something: the only good way to eat is outside, under palm branches and with a mariachi band.

The Dining Experience - (3 pictures)

Wednesday, Jason and I spent the whole day shopping on Fifth Avenue. We found a drug and deli store and picked up something to help our G.I. problems. That's all I'll say about that. We did consider stocking up on amoxycilin, zyrtec, viagra and the several other medicines available over the counter for a fraction of the cost as in the States. We decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Adventures on Fifth Avenue - (22 pictures)

Thursday was the most amazing day of the entire trip. We spent the day at Xcaret which is a marine and ecological park. There are numerous animal exhibits, scuba diving, snorkeling in the underground river, great food, live performances, and many other things we didn't get around to. We started off with the sea trek. We were given rubber shoes and these very heavy, astronaut-looking helmets. They literally shoved us down into the water off the coast, and we walked on the bottom of the ocean 20-30 feet below sea level. I can't even describe how cool that was. The underwater case I bought for my new camera paid for itself within the first two minutes. The fish swam right up in our faces!

Elsewhere in the park, we saw everything from bats and butterflies to sea turtles and monkeys. We had an enormous buffet lunch and then went for a swim/snorkel in the underground river. The river is about a mile long and winds through caves and jungles. It was my first time snorkeling, but it wasn't difficult. I had a blast!

To round out the evening, we took a stroll through the Mexican cemetery and watched a musical performance of the history of the Yucatan.

Xcaret - (64 pictures) I know.. a lot, but totally worth your time!!

Friday was our last full day, and we spent it in the spa and on the beach, relaxing from our adventurous day at Xcaret. I got a massage and Jason got a men's facial.

Lawn art and the spa - (9 pictures)

Waking up on our last day was bittersweet. Why can't I have sunrise views like these every day??

Sunrises - (4 pictures)

I'm not sure where my travels will take me next, or when. There's two of us now, and that requires twice as much $$. I'm really pushing for a return trip to Ireland on our 1st anniversary. Jason's never been and I'd love to show him around my "home"land.

Until next time, que dios te bendiga!

2-year Adventure Withdrawal

It's been almost two years since I've posted anything there. Gosh. That means I've gone two years without leaving the country. For an international business major that is extremely sad. Wait, but I'm a graphic designer... Oh well. Whoever works in their degree field these days??

I am looking forward to a trip soon though. And not just metaphorically. My marriage to Jason will begin on April 26th, and that will be some journey, but not one I will write about here. For our honeymoon we'll be visiting Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and I'm stoked. I've never been any further across the border than Juarez. Let me tell you how disappointing that was. I don't remember the year, but I was young. Juarez was the dirtiest place I had ever seen, although I was a kid, so what did I know? And it was before the mad rush of illegals into our country. Fortunately, I won't get to see what it looks like now. We're flying straight from Memphis to Cancun.

After we surface from our oceanfront suite at the resort, we'll take in some Mayan ruins, some scuba diving, and whatever kind of trouble we can get in to.

The Rewards of Waiting

It's been a while hasn't it?
I haven't had any exciting adventures to tell about. Just school. It's all-consuming at the moment but will be over in less than a month now.

Recently, I've been faced with the big question "Where to now?" After graduation, my degree could (and ideally would) take me anywhere in the world I wanted to go. And while I've barely made a dent in my list of places to see, sometimes where you need to be is right where you are.

Isaiah 40:28-31

"Let's get moving!" How many times have we thought this as we stand in line, wait for appointments, or sit in traffic? The truth is, most of us dislike having our plans delayed. Perhaps that is why we struggle to wait on the Lord - we do not want to hear, "Stay where you are until you receive additional orders. Do not make a change without the Spirit's approval. Continue as you are and keep waiting." Yet there are great rewards for not moving ahead of God.

Blessing #1 - We will discover God's will and purpose. Our impatience can cause us to miss out on the best that God has planned and to take detours into situations we would have liked to avoid. The goodness of the Lord will be poured out upon those who choose to be still before Him (Lamentations 3:25).

Blessing #2 - We will acquire supernatural strength for the work. Frequently, the Lord asks us to serve in capacities beyond our natural abilities. Through His Holy Spirit, He will provide the empowerment needed for the task that He has assigned.

Blessing #3 - We will receive answers to prayer. By remaining where we are, we will be rewarded with a response from our God as well as His direction and help (Psalm 40:1-3).

Blessing #4 - We will see God at work. The sovereign Lord - Creator of heaven and earth, giver and sustainer of life - will turn His efforts toward us for our gain and also for the benefit of others (Isaiah 64:4).

Holding still requires effort. God, develop in me a character that is willing to wait.

Beginnings

I spent over six months completing an internship and studying international business in Derry (Londonderry) Northern Ireland. It was the most amazing time of my life to date. I learned a lot, not only about culture and crazy British people, but about myself, my friends, my religion, and my future. I'm not sure that my travelogue truly captures the depth of changes that took place, but at the very least, I have some good stories.

I kept a good record of my travels in the UK, so I'll start off by back-posting all of those.

Enjoy.

Last post 'til the next trip

Just wanted to let you all know I'm back in the States, safe and sound. The past few days have been quite interesting. Brian and I got to spend our last weekend touring the Mourne Mountains in southeast Northern Ireland. They were beautiful as always! Monday we frantically finished cramming all of our belongings into suitcases and caught the bus to Belfast. Our flight on Tuesday morning was delayed about an hour, but we made it to Newark with just enough time to pick up our luggage, go through customs (what a mess), re-check luggage and clear security again. Mary Ann took off to Atlanta (hope you didn't miss your flight!) and Brian & I found our gate for Memphis. That flight was delayed about an hour and a half, but we finally made it home!!

There are a few last pictures: Pictures 412-417. Thanks for keeping in touch during my six-month adventure.

If you're in Ireland, thanks for making me feel so welcome. Keep in touch! I'll most definitely be back to visit soon. I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

If you're here in the States, I'll probably see you soon. Have a wonderful Christmas and be prepared for big hugs when I see you next. :-)

A Last Message from Ireland

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and emails over the past six months. Our time here is finally drawing to a close. We'll be leaving Derry on Monday and spending the night in a hotel in Belfast to catch our early morning flight back home on Tuesday. Of course, I will let you all know when I get home safely.

We've been really busy since Thanksgiving. Tons of papers and projects to get done before school ends. We were able to finish everything and keep a smidgin of our sanity... somehow.

I got the chance to take one last trip a few weeks ago. I took off to Scotland for three days and rented a car for a tour of the Highlands. During other trips, I had gotten a chance to try out my stick shift driving skills, which honestly, left something to be desired. But still, I could manage if I had to. In Scotland, I didn't have a choice. If I couldn't learn to drive a manual, then there'd be no siteseeing. So, I was determined.

After driving around Aberdeen lost for two hours, I finally found my hostel. It was cold and dark outside, and I was really fed up with the traffic. I averaged at least one stall-out at every roundabout, but I was slowly learning a few tricks to keep myself going. I left the car and walked downtown to see the city. I found myself some beef stew and mash for dinner, picked up a road atlas, and got a much-needed night's sleep.

The next day, I left Aberdeen and headed for Inverness. Along the way, I stopped in the coastal city of Nairn to eat my picnic lunch at the beach. I've never seen a beach covered in frost like this one. It was -2 degrees Celcius outside (about 25 degrees to us), but I wasn't about to let that stop me. Once I got to Inverness, I spent some time walking around the river and the Victorian Market. It's a great little city, and it was all done up for Christmas. I bought myself a pair of those thick, knitted socks you would wear with a kilt to keep my legs warm the next day. Little did I know, I wouldn't need them anymore.

The next day was quite warm, relatively. 10 degrees C (50-ish). So much for my super cool kilt socks... I headed south from Inverness and drove around Loch Ness. Sadly, there was no sign of the monster. I decided to take the backroads over to Aviemore and the mountains where I would be staying for my last night. That was an interesting drive. Strictly one lane, very curvy, roads uphill & downhill through the mountains and little villages. It was very beautiful and I finally got to enjoy driving a manual. I'm not afraid anymore!

Aviemore is a little ski resort town, but sadly it was too warm for snow, so the view wasn't as pretty as I had hoped. Still beautiful though. I ate dinner at a bistro and had my first taste of haggis. I'm still not sure what it is, but it's good!

The next day I had to head out quite early to make sure I got back to Aberdeen in time for my flight back to Belfast. I enjoyed a few last views of the Highland mountains, and headed back home. I didn't have a wreck and I didn't kill the car. So I would say the trip was successful. :-)

Monday we went out with our Irish classmates for a few pints (Red Bull for me) and a round of bowling. I've never seen a bowling alley quite like this one. It had a restaurant inside that could rival the interior of the Peabody. Well, maybe not quite that nice. But really close. Anyway, it was not your typical American bowling alley interior. Mary Ann whipped us all in bowling. After, we all went over to Cafe Roc for some "good craic" as they say.

Wednesday, Brian, Quinn & I took a day trip over to the Slieve League in Donegal. What an interesting ride (and climb) that was! The pictures speak for themselves. Turns out, we were on the wrong road, but we didn't know it, so we pressed on. Driving our wee little Micra on a washed out sheep path up the mountain. When we couldn't go any farther, for fear of sliding off the road, we parked and walked. It was continually misting, so the path was really wet and muddy. We climbed for about an hour until the wind was almost knocking us over and we were drenched. The fog was so thick, we couldn't see much anyway, so we turned around and headed back to the car. Climbing up was hard enough, but going down was worse. Not as strenuous, but it was very easy to slip in the mud and have your feet go flying from underneath you, landing you on your backside in the mud. Good idea, Kell.. wearing your white coat.

We made it back to the car and back down the mountain. On a whim, we turned down a different road to see another site and found the road we were originally supposed to be on. It took us over to the cliffs, but by then it was getting dark, so we couldn't see a whole lot. Those pictures didn't turn out well at all, but you get the general idea.

This weekend, we're off to Newcastle to spend a day, and I'll be going by to see the MacFarlands in Gilford one last time. I probably won't get to send another email from here or post any more pictures. Our internet is in the process of being shut off. But, I ask for your thoughts and prayers on Tuesday as Brian, Mary Ann and I head back to the States.

Pictures 368-411

London Town & Happy Thanksgiving!

Just got in from London, and I had a blast!!
Tuesday night, immediately after marketing was over, Mary Ann was nice enough to drive me to the airport in the rental car. Saved me £15!! Of course, she did have an ulterior motive. Jack Niklas, the golfer, was in town checking out a site for a golf course in Donegal, and he was flying out of Derry Airport about the same time I was. We never got to see him though. Silly famous people and their private jets. Psshhh.

I got to my hostel in London around midnight, made my bed in the dark and CRASHED. I spent the next day walking around Piccadilly Circus, Westmister Abbey, and Big Ben. It was FREEZING in London! Thankfully I brought my big coat, scarf, and gloves. That night I had tickets to see the Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. It was an excellent seat, that I paid dearly for, but it's my favorite show, so it was worth it.

The next morning I got up early to catch my train to Grantham. For those of you who don't know the significance of that city, it's home to Harlaxton College (the sister campus of my undergrad University of Evansville). I could have studied there as an undergrad, but never did for various reasons. It's a castle, and absolutely beautiful. Tiffany, a freshman I met during my senior year is studying there this semester, so I stayed with her for a night. Tiffany was an excellent host and Grantham & Harlaxton guide. We had a tasty lunch at a restaurant in town and she took me to stand in awe of the ASDA store--the closest thing to a Walmart that I've been in since I left home. It was wonderful. :-)

Once at beautiful, amazing Harlaxton, I got the tour of the grounds. We walked most of the mile drive that many students run naked and drunk at night. They call it the Naked Mile. Original, huh? Though there's not much else to do around the manor. Being in Derry is nicer if for the simple fact that there's a city within easy walking distance. I also like having my own kitchen, even if it is dirty ;-) Oh yeah, and I don't feel quite so old. Here, I'm the baby of the IMBA group. At Harlaxton, when asked when I graduated from UE, I get funny looks that say "that's the year I graduated from high school!" Gah. Where's my wheelchair?

Dinner at the manor was.. mmmm.. interesting. The stories about the food there, yeah they're all true. It's best just not to ask. My visit to Harlaxton ended all too soon. It was wonderful. You MUST see the pictures. The manor is amazing. I had a great time reminiscing about UE.

The next day I caught the train back to London to meet up with Samiyah and do the whole London Bridge/Tower of London/Westminster Abbey/Buckingham Palace tour thingy. Unfortunately, she had some problems with the Derry Airport and didn't get to come in until late that night. So to kill some time, I walked around 'Cheapside', ironically enough, an area of London known for it's expensive brand shops and the London Stock Exchange. Back in the day, it must have been the trade area of town. Streets are still named things like Milk Street, Bread Street, Lace Lane, etc. I happened upon Leadenhall Market which I didn't find out til later has something to do with Harry Potter. I'm not sure what, but you HP fans might know what I'm talking about. Either way, it was a neat little market with open air vendors for flowers, cheese, sausage, fish, and fruit.

Samiyah and I met up the next morning and decided just to walk around the city instead of taking the expensive bus tour. First stop was the London Bridge which turned out not to be much of anything. It's the Tower Bridge that's the cool one. Wonder why they wrote a song about the boring bridge... guess they felt sorry for it. Walking along the Thames we saw Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and almost fell on the patches of ice. We weren't really expecting ice... It's a lot colder in London than it has been in Derry. Once at the Tower of London, we caught a bus over to Trafalgar Square and walked down to Buckingham Palace just in time to watch the changing of the guard. We walked around in St. James' Park and over towards Big Ben. By that time we were just about frozen so we stopped for tea before I had to head back to Piccadilly Circus for "Guys and Dolls".

This time my seats weren't the greatest, so I paid my little 50p to rent a pair of binoculars. The show was great, and I was really impressed with the singing and the Chicago accents. They did a great job. I met up with Samiyah again and we enjoyed a budget dinner at the Spar convenience store before hiking up along one of the famous shopping streets to Madame Tussaud's, which ended up being closed. Blast! But we got to come back the next day and mingle with the likes of Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, Oprah, Elvis, President Bush, Tony Blair, and the Queen! I think that was the most fun part of the whole trip!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Wembley the Indian/Pakistani part of town wandering around in the market and sampling some excellent Pakistani food. Mmmm! I had to race back to London to pick up my suitcase and get to Stansted Airport and back to Derry. Overall, it was a very nice weekend away from the stresses of the end of the semester. We've got 3 papers to get written and 3 presentations to give all in the next few weeks. Less than a month now till we all come home!

There are big dinner plans at the flat today, being Thanksgiving. Thankfully Christmas dinner stuff is already out in the grocery stores here, so there's no shortage of turkeys or stuffing mixes. Silly Irish people don't know what cornmeal is, so we can't have real cornbread dressing, but we'll have stuffing and thanks to Mom, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and cherry crunch.

I wish you and your family, wherever you are, a very Happy Thanksgiving. There's a lot to be thankful for this year. In all our travels, anything could have happened, but we're all safe and warm (mostly) and well-fed, so we have little to complain about. I'm thankful for the friends that I've made here and for my family and friends back home who pray for me every day.

Pictures 329-367