so, this week has been uber-productive.  falling back into old habits of time management and self-discipline for compulsive studying have put me on track to being done with the first half of my coursework within the next three weeks.  woo!  i even managed to do my laundry on my self-imposed laundry day, and i’ve actually posted here twice in one week, which is ridiculously impressive, given my track-record for the last few months.  i miss getting around on here and talking about all sorts of nonsense, but as i’ve just taken another test (and aced it!) i decided that i should get a few minutes to babble meaninglessly if i so choose.  and i choose!

lex and i are doing a mini-cookout today, which is awesome and exciting, because it’s going to be vegan and delicious.  he actually is providing the majority of the meal, so i need to see what on earth i can offer!  hopefully i’ll be able to snag some good pictures.  ryan’s coming down, so i’m super, super thrilled and in probably the best mood i’ve been in for a few weeks now.  even though there are things around me that aren’t so great (spot on mom’s last scan–not so good; ninja’s terrible acid reflux issues–also not so good) there are bright spots to my days that keep my chin up.

like the fall weather that’s teasing us–this whole week, the morning weather has been cheerfully sunny and a bit breezier than normal.  and today, it was in the fifties when i woke up.  i don’t want to get my hopes up entirely about breaking the beast of summer, but i adore fall!  actually, honestly, it’s not even fall that’s my thing.  it’s the seasonal transition that i love.  same with winter-to-spring.  i think i just like transformations, haha.  plus, have you ever noticed how everything gets just a little quieter when seasons change?  it’s like all of nature and some of the world slows down just a bit, holding a collective breath and squinting at the surroundings, waiting to see if it will really happen.  i love that.

anyway, honestly, i don’t have a whole heap of news, so i suppose i’m basically just putting in an appearance.  if i get pictures of the cookout, i’ll post some shots of delicious vegan noms and whatnot–then i’ll have plenty to discuss, haha.

you guys have a great one!

so, i’m pretty much crap at updating lately.  i know.  i’m just busy.  and it makes me tired.  and then i don’t bother to get up extra-early just to let my fingers trip and babble across my keyboard.  which is kind of a shame–i was getting pretty impressed with the happy way i’ve worn most of the letters off the keys, lol.

being on the computer so much for class (coupled with the fact that i’m getting a much-needed upgrade in just a few months) has kept me away from general web socializing.  plus, since i get email and all that fancy junk on my phone, i hardly have to sit down to check daily stuff anymore.  but, mostly, it’s the pathetic wheezing and grumbling this old beast produces that scares me into submission.  lex told me i can clean some of that up, and i’m definitely going to give it a try.  i feel rather guilty not giving this compy a quality run straight through to the end.

which brings me back to being here, typing, at last.  as previously mentioned, things have been busy.  i’ve got this vast class schedule that i’m trying my best to adhere to, in the hopes of (being, ever, the over-achiever) finishing my classwork in less than half the time prescribed.  so far, so good.  and with a solid, unscathed perfect grade to boot. 

interesting facet of being back in class?  i’ve completely re-hatched old tendencies of neurotic organization and a constant race for perfection.  God help me, i do love a good routine.  it’s funny how, especially within the last week or so, i’ve begun to string together this set of very specific *ways for getting things done*.  essentially, it all boils down to this:  work until my eyes feel ready to pop out, my fingers are ready to fall off, and my neck becomes incapable of holding my head up any longer.  it seems to be working.  i’ve done twice as much work already this week as i’d accomplished in weeks previously.  i just don’t want to become so totally driven that i push everything else completely to the side.

because there’s a lot of other stuff going on.  mom went back for a check-up on the cancer stuff and reports came back…well, totally inconclusive, really.  the cancer in the abdomen?  yeah, that’s taken care of.  that potentially brand-new spot on her lung?  new cause for concern.

and my g.mother lapsed into uncontrolled issues with her GERD (plainly:  acid reflux) that left her entirely ill and confined to the recliner in her living room.  now she’s going in for an ultrasound on friday–just to make sure there’s nothing more serious in play. 

so it’s been fairly complex in the ways of Dealing with Daily Life around the old neighborhood for the past week or two.  it’s always rough, because i’m kinda the buffer for everyone.  i listen to how each is feeling, what each feels about what the others are feeling, and try my best to do it without heaving too obvious a sigh.  the drama, it seems, never ends

and speaking of great dramas, how about this?  a raging, mostly-internal fury over repugnant comments made by an ultra-conservative (however read: also ultra-ignorant) person of small acquaintance on facebook.  lex posted a few things about the whole glenn beck rally mess and made some mention of the mosque in nyc, and i made a comment back on one of the items (a glenn beck item, since the female contingent [minus me] of my family is utterly convinced that he has All the Answers) and got a snotty comment thrown my way by this guy.

allow me to say a few things.  first:  i have been very good.  i didn’t go out and post a snarky, obnoxious comment back (the number of snarky, obnoxious things i uttered to lex about this idiot?  that’s another story )  second:  the guy is a known jerk.  with horrible spelling.  and bad grammar.  who happens to be an administrator at a school.  wonderful. 

in other words, any inch of space i have given him to be a bland and unsurprising moron has been a huge sacrifice on my part.  i’m aware that people like him aren’t open to hearing other opinions.  and, therefore, no matter what i say–no matter how eloquently put, perfectly researched, or kindly stated–would make a dent in his unsupported theories and wildly parroted beliefs.

but when someone–when a Christian–says something to the effect of, "bring on the mosques.  when Jesus returns, it’ll be that many more Muslims who fall," all i can think is, "WOW."

i desperately want to say to him, for the sake of christian believers everywhere, "that’s a problem!"  you can’t go around saying such self-righteous, repulsive things and expect other people to take them well.  if one of the biggest overall goals of the christian faith is to bring others to God’s light, then why–WHY–would anyone want to show such vile hate towards any group of people–regardless of their race/age/gender/faith/identity/clothes/whatever else people are so vehemently against these days.

all i’m saying is, if i were walking on the edge of belief v. disbelief, i’d veer straight into the lane of disbelief–if it appeared to me, as this does, that belief means you have to proclaim death to those around you.  and, besides, that whole "death to infidels" thing is sorta the stereotypical "muslim tag-line" christians (perhaps–more accurately–the media) have come to fear, right?  silly parrot.  learn some new tricks.

anyway, blah blah blah, i know.  i never post, then i show up and gripe for a whole post.  sorry   maybe tomorrow i’ll manage to get up early and i’ll have something super-cheerful to say.

maybe.

this week has left me feeling super, super productive.  i like that

so, this weekend was awesome.  when we last spoke, i’d made it through a late nite with improv on friday and a long day with rehearsal on saturday.  sunday made up for the week of weird scheduling and random whatnot.

i woke up early and got into some more class work, which is always good!  then i got a text from lex around 8:30 asking me on a movie date, so i jumped on that!  we planned to meet up a couple of hours later (but still in time for the cheap tickets, because that’s our thing), and lex gave me a choice.  however, after a week of brain-numbing thinking, lol, i begged off from that and asked him to make the call.  he chose scott pilgrim vs. the world, and it was the perfect choice! 

let me preface anything i say here with this:  edgar wright can do no wrong in my book.  if you’re not a fan of him…or graphic novel cinemazation (so not a word)…and if you’re incapable of the willing suspension of disbelief, the movie probably won’t be for you.  and that’s sad   but for me?  oh yeah.  nerd fest.

awesome.  go see it.  if you don’t like it, don’t bother to talk to me about it.  it was the best (movie)theater-going experience i’ve had in a long, long time.  it even tops the crazy woman yelling at the screen when we went to see my bloody valentine 3d.  because that was definitely an experience. 

i walked out of the movie feeling thrilled that, finally, something novel had been accomplished in recent cinema history.  and wright already has two more films on the way.  it completely revived me after a week of wandering confusion.  life had, once again, come into balance.

after the movie, lex and i went to eat at (where else?!) delhi palace.  it was delicious, as always.  and the mandatory goodwill run turned out a couple of fun items, so that was another plus!

then it was back home to grab naps before berries practice.  which actually went really well, in my opinion.  these days, it seems like there are a lot more moments when we actually sound like a band.  which is a good thing, since we are a band.  i’m actually really pumped for our welcome back concert.  time to start thinking about wardrobe, since we’ll be on a real stage again…

today was a good–made with lots of school work and got a brief nap and watched this week’s episode of true blood.  awesome!  the last ten minutes were pretty much laughter.  that show is gleefully outlandish, which means that it’s 178 million percent up my alley.

and now?  well, now, i’m awake.  and here.  and soon, i’ll be hitting the books (again) and taking another test.  just another day in the life.

oh–and i only had three or four spammer issues to deal with this time–rather than the two-hours worth that preceded my last posts.  spammers are sad, sad people

see you guys later!

thursday

an excellent ending

so, for our last evening in the keys, lex and i decided to go uber-casual.  we placed a call-in order for vegan snacks from the cafe, then dressed for a final night-time stroll.  we headed back over to mallory square, where i snagged a gift for erica and a super-cool trinket for myself (handmade wire piggy with wings.  he sang to me).  lex and i also took the opportunity to pose with some of the locals, haha!  

lex, looking all surly and swashbuckle-y

me, looking…shocked?  terrified?  and you know we went to get slurpees, because my mouth is red, red, red!

we went and picked up our food and enjoyed wandering duval–it was nice that no two nights were the same on that street.  since we’re both good walkers, stretching our legs was a huge part of our trip, and i liked that we never saw exactly the same things twice!  when we made it back to the hyatt, we met up with a really sweet irish couple who were on their (real, haha) honeymoon, and we talked with them and swapped off picture-taking duties for a few minutes.  i sneaked into the main lobby to see if i could find out how much they would charge me if we took our robes home–funny story, but here’s the moral:  they strongly discourage it.  after that small bummer of a finding, i rejoined lex and we headed upstairs with our dinner.

local wildlife–those turtles actually live and play at the hyatt

lex and me, in the outdoor deck at the hyatt 

this is where i get to brag on what a cool, cool man lex is.  our movie, silly as it may seem, is stepbrothers.  it was the first movie that we watched on the first road trip we took, back when we weren’t even really super-close friends.  we both know entirely too many of the words.  and it suits us, as individuals and as a couple.  i’ve always been really proud of it, haha.  well, after we’d hopped into pjs and robes, and created a buffet on the bed, lex grinned and produced the stepbrothers dvd from his suitcase.  it was so awesome of him to bring it–and to secretly stash it until just the right moment!  he got the movie going on my computer, and we snacked and giggled and had a good time.

it couldn’t have been a more perfect evening for our last day in an amazing place.

so, i’ve absolutely got to get back around here. and, as much as i love keeping up with the journaling aspect of having a blog, it’s not even about sharing all the warm and fuzzies with you guys. it’s 178 million percent about the fact that, apparently, if you leave your blog alone for a week, it will be infiltrated by those most loathed internet outcasts: spammers.

today, when i logged in, i realized that i had something like 28 new subscribers and a whole scheisse-ton of comments on ancient photos and entries.  ultimately, it took me longer to get rid of (what i hope is) all of those stupid things than it ever has to write a post.  no, i don’t want viagra.  also, i’m not interested in coach handbags or various foreign-made watches.  and i’ll be honest:  i don’t even know what horny goat weed is–but if it is anything like what it is called, count me out on it as well.  jerks.  

so, my only choice is to be present and vigilant again.  which is a good and bad thing.  because i’ve been in such a mood lately to be brutally honest.  don’t get me wrong–when i’m honest, i’m also usually wicked amusing.  but i sometimes feel that i overstep the fine line between being a nice person and being completely evil.  its like my buffer is just plain gone.  no filter, no time-delay.  just open my mouth and crap comes falling out.  which is lame.  because there are all sorts of people around me who care about me, and i frequently crap all over them with my inability to take one quick breath and think before i speak.  but i’m working on it.  thank goodness that people around me seem to have decent patience.  i’d be lost without that characteristic in them.

anyway, on to actual things that are relevant and worth discussing!

this week was particularly odd for me.  between helping out with rehearsals at the college for an awesome undertaking, i was cramming in study sessions, helping my folks, fighting my constantly silly stomach, and organizing friday night festivities.  i’d actually started to get a good rhythm going with classes, and bang!  i was thrown off-course and flying by the seat of my pants (or skirt, depending on the day).  i’ll be happy to get back on track this week and get a few more chapters out of the way.

i got the chance, this week, to reconnect with some friends i’d lost touch with.  that was definitely the highlight of my week.  isn’t it wild how quickly you can go from not talking to a person at all to hanging out with them for three evenings in a row?  i’m really, really glad that things seem to be looking up in that respect.

friday night, i introduced my brother and erica to indian food–they liked it!!–and improv–they liked it, too!!  the evening was a grand success, with the minor exception of having swapped purses.  because i accidentally left my headache meds in the purse that i ditched at home.  and, of course, i had a migraine.  migraine + weird lighting + noisy laughing/yelling/clapping = rough night.  i put the meds in my new purse as soon as i got home.  next crisis averted.

yesterday, i got up early, early to jump into class.  i managed to get a fair amount done before heading up to the campus to watch a run-through of noises off (the show i’m helping with…more on that later, i suppose).  while i was in rehearsal, i got a message from red announcing that he’d found a job!!!  congrats, buddy!!!  so, he and d were throwing a little shindig at their place to celebrate.  after getting a little more classwork, and an attempted nap, in, lex and i headed over to see what was going on.  since i had neglected to manage to snag food by this point, my energy was essentially non-existent, so lex and i made a run to the store–i bought some stuff for a new recipe (i’ll let you know how it goes!) and the stuff to finish off the vegan hot dogs we had left from our visit to the martins’ campsite the other evening.  after a hot dog and playing catch up on america’s got talent, lex and i headed back over to d and red’s to see a few other friends.  it was really good to see everyone, but i was still lagging so much that i felt really bad about my social capabilities.  i’ve formed the annoying new habit of getting grumpy when i’m tired, rather than summoning energy from unknown sources to push me through in excitement.  ugh.  working on that, now, too.

we talked of travel and job fun and improv and cats and all sorts of other random things, and it was an all-around excellent evening.  i really, really enjoyed myself–no matter how out of it i felt or appeared.

with the minor hiccup of some potentially unfortunate news, which has me just a little bit jumpy, it was a good–if different–sort of week.

and, believe me, i’ve learned my lesson.  i’ll be back soon.  i promise 

thursday
i’m on a boat

so, thursday we woke up to a gorgeous sunrise and got ready quickly for our day-long excursion on the great big sea.  this charter was the only thing we’d booked in advance, and we’d been looking forward to it like crazy!  after we checked in, we boarded the sailboat and settled in with an awesome crew and excellently diverse crowd of fellow passengers. 

sitting in the harbor

lex helped raise one of the sails, and he was wicked good at it!

he also looked wicked good on the deck of the ship

we sailed for about two hours, and then we got into kayaks right off the side of the ship and headed on a kayak tour through the mangrove forests.  lex and i were in a kayak together, of course, and we’re pretty awesome at it.  whenever we got a chance to maneuver around on our own, we really flew in an amazing groove. 

we spotted lots of wildlife while we were on the tour, and lex managed to snag a shot of this osprey.

anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that i soak up every ounce of knowledge you can throw my way.  any chance i get to learn something, i’ll take it.  that’s a way in which the crew completely excelled.  in fact, everything we did in the keys was drenched in history and local lore–it was perfect for my hungry brain!  but these guys?  they were constantly doling out the trivia and tidbits.  naming animals, telling about different islands, anecdotes galore!  i love people who seem to have done their research

after we finished up the kayak tour (and were well on our way to being turned into lobsters by the big ol’ sun) we got a chance to free swim in the clear waters while the crew prepped some lunch.  speaking of which, one of the best parts of this particular charter was how completely accommodating the company was.  snacks, freezing drinks, and lunch were all provided–and awesome vegan options were made available!  homemade hummus from a local business, all sorts of fresh, fresh fruits, and pb and j, woo!

me, enjoying a cool cup of water in the midday sun

while we all ate and chatted, the captain directed the ship towards the next leg of our adventure–snorkeling.  now, i’d never snorkled before, and i was really excited–if a bit apprehensive.  i’m a good swimmer, but i was concerned about that whole mask/tube/fin thing.  after several minutes of mild panic, and a short trip back to the boat to snag a noodle (because, while i can swim and breathe, i apparently can’t do both at once, haha!) it turned out to be loads and loads of fun!  i got super into it–and lex and i saw some really awesome things.  tons of fish, of course, but also giant lobsters and crabs hiding out under rocks and a lion fish chilling in a hole.  it was ridiculous.  and awesome!

i adore this one–lex took it of the sail he raised against the perfect blue sky

after snorkeling, they brought out more snacks and drinks for us to enjoy while we headed back towards to docks.  that was some of the best snacking and drinking i have ever done.  i don’t know if i’m the only person who experiences that *stomach gnawing the spine* kind of hunger after being in the water, but man–it always gets me!  so i was glad to have a handful of tortilla chips and some scoops of that hummus.  yum!!

by the time we got back to dry land, we’d had an amazing, wild, excellent, awesome day.  i will go ahead and put it out there:  if you’re heading for the keys and looking for something to do, please, please, please check out danger charters.  the crew was fantastic, the trip was amazing, and we couldn’t have booked a better excursion for our last full day in the keys!

so, i know i haven’t been around at all lately, but my days have been wicked crazy, and i’m just trying to get everything done!  i still have to finish up telling all about the keys trip and regale you with tales of my random exploits, sweet boyfriend, and silly cats

back soon.  i promise.

wednesday
trying new things

after lex and i got done at the ocean eco-museum, we headed for our final resting place in key west, the hyatt key west.  essentially as low as you can go on the gulf-side of the key, we’d saved this hotel for last because it was a decided upgrade from our previous days’ accommodations.  not that there was anything in the least bit wrong with the amazing camping at bahia honda or the laid-back perfection of the eden house!  no, what we were both really looking forward to was the robes.  yes, readers, the hyatt website touted its luxurious white waffle-knit plushy robes, and we had to see for ourselves just how those robes stacked up!

lex, in the lobby of the hyatt

now, here’s the thing.  lex has this enviably casual trait of happily doing pretty much anything to get the most out of an experience, and this experience was no exception.  when he’d booked our room, there’d been a section to check various special occasions, to alert the staff to those extra touches that people in celebratory moods so generally appreciate.  the only thing close to fitting us was “honeymoon package”.  so he checked that box with a shrug, saying, “who knows?  maybe we’ll get something cool!”

awesome robes waiting for us

when we got to the desk to check in, the gal behind the counter said, “i see it’s your honeymoon!”  we both grinned and nodded (“uh huh, of course it is.  sure.  yep that’s us.”) but, in all honesty, we were hoping she’d ask questions.  because we’d worked on a back story.  it would’ve been an epic tale.  however, no such luck on that end.  on the other end:  a free room upgrade of massive proportions.  instead of our room (which had been the nicest room available on the website) we got a petite apartment of a room–one that you can’t book without knowing the number.  one of only four like it in the whole hotel.  sweet!

the room was too vast to get in one shot…here’s my favorite view–although i liked it even more with all the curtains thrown open and the sunlight pouring in!

lex, taking a picture of the shower ; lex, relaxing in the sitting area

even the roofs at the hyatt were pretty

the bellman packed our luggage on a cart and took us to the room–as soon as we entered, we tried to keep our cool and act like we’d expected nothing less.  but…woah.  as soon as jean had gotten his tip and gone on his merry way, we had the sneakiest freak out ever.  lots of laughing and looking around and saying, “wow.  just…wow.”  none of the pictures do it the right kind of justice–though you know i have to post them anyway.

i loved the super-mod bathroom; the desk actually had a blotter on it!; woven bamboo on the walls

lex, already looking right at home

after we were settled in and somewhat situated, we decided to head down to the rental experts to see what we might be able to book for the afternoon.  now, anyone who knows me knows that i’m hesitant to try completely new things…especially when those things require any amount of physical coordination.  but i’d promised myself that i wasn’t going to let any experience pass me by for being afraid of it (a promise i kept almost entirely).  so when the gal at the counter mentioned jet ski rentals, lex and i began to mull that over.  i was afraid to operate one on my own, but lex was interested in giving solo riding a shot.  so, i dug deep, found some courage, and we booked ourselves on a jet ski tour–for individual craft.  that was my brightest move of the day!

we headed down to the jet ski dock when it was time for our tour, and it turned out that we were the only people scheduled on the last tour of the day.  they gave us brief instructions on operating the jet skis, and then we were off.  it took me a few minutes to get the hang out of, but once i had the basic concept, i had a total blast!  the speed, the wind, the water, all of it was amazing.  who, knowing me, would ever have thought, “jet skis are right up jane’s alley.”??  pffft.  turns out, lex and i are completely awesome at them.  our guide was a newbie, and he was great.  we went all the way around key west, plus up two keys, stopping here and there for mini history or science lessons (had no clue we’d get that, too.  mega-plus!)  he’d check with us after each stint, asking if we wanted more speed, less speed, more waves, etc.  ultimately, we ended up pacing him through the gulf, and we had a bit of extra time at the end of our tour, so he just let us play around in the swells.  it was amazing!

lex and me, in the gulf of mexico.  we’re pretty awesome at jet skis.

don’t get me wrong–i did my fair share of delighted and terrified shrieking, plus a bit of cursing (haha!) throughout the trip.  i wish we could’ve known how much air we were actually catching, because even the guide said that the waters (again, thanks to hurricane alex) were a lot choppier than he was used to.  there were times when i was high enough up to be frightened of the impact i’d taken if i went careening off of the craft.  but you know what?  i never fell off.  not even once.  take that, lax coordination!

lex and me, ready for an evening out in key west

after our tour, we took ourselves back up to the room to clean up and figure out dinner.  when we walked in, lex spotted something on the little round table and went to investigate.  while we’d been out, we’d gotten a special delivery:

woo hoo!

we stowed the goodies in the fridge as a treat for later, and lex wrote a thank-you note to the staffers who brought the goods up. 

then, we headed out to see what we could see at mallory square.  now, if you’re never heard of the sunset celebrations they have there, it’s something you need to look into.  i’d only learned of them as i was doing research about the keys prior to our trip.  (yes, i am that sort of travel nerd.)  but, as soon as i’d read about them, i’d told lex that i didn’t want to miss them.  i didn’t know that they’d also have local artisans there, which was so entirely my thing!  we wandered around looking at the art and handmade goods, and we watched an amazing tumbling act and an escape act that was wicked cool.  if i can figure out how to load the videos of those things (and if the videos i got are any good) i’ll put them up for perusal

     
shots from a toy store we wandered into while we were walking around the town

we headed for dinner at the other vegan option we’d read about at eden house:  the cafe.  totally different in atmosphere and fare than help yourself, the cafe was a good compliment to the upward progress our week was taking in terms of elegance.  and the food?  ooooooh, the food.  we got an order of bbq tofu as an appetizer.  lex got the vegan pepper steak sandwich, and me?  well, i just about died when i saw that they had falafel on the menu.

**side note**
falafel is one of my favorite foods in the universe, but it basically doesn’t exist in s.c., unless you buy a mix from a veggie-smart store or you make your own.

of course, i had the falafel sandwich.  and we even snagged vegan dessert–chocolate orange pudding.  to.  die.  for.

after dinner, we did the duval crawl with our leftovers in hand, wandering into stores and observing the extravagant keys nightlife.  even just walking the streets and being a part of the crowd is part of that excellent experience.  the atmosphere is indescribable!

plus, we got a shirtless man in a jester hat to tell us dirty jokes for a buck.  what more can you ask for?

when we were all done for the day, we retired back to the hyatt, ready for the comfort of our robes.  a brief scan of the wide-screen showed that whose line was on, so we giggled at improv antics until sleep overwhelmed us both.

it had been an amazing day!

wednesday
a last look at eden house

wednesday morning we woke up at our leisure and wandered the grounds of eden house taking pictures and enjoying the bliss of or surroundings.  we crept around quietly on the top floor verandas–some of where belonged to guests in the larger rooms.  once lex had gotten all the video he wanted to shoot, and i’d followed along snapping pictures like crazy, we packed our bags up to head out.

views around the pool

morning light on one of the upstairs veranda

looking through the lobby to the front porch    

i was sad to kiss the eden house good-bye, but happy to have had the opportunity to experience it.  that’s one of my favorite parts about being with lex–the experiences we share!  we headed back to help yourself for breakfast–i got the homemade granola bowl and lex got the french toast (both vegan, of course!)  neither dish disappointed.  that’s always a fear of mine when i find a place that actually offers menu options–that i’ll end up only liking one thing on the menu, haha!  thankfully, the granola was perfect.  hearty oats and nuts, fresh grapes and peaches and a little bit of cinnamon in fresh coconut milk.  yum!  and lex’s french toast?  the homemade bread had apricots in it!  we were totally spoiled!

the door to our room; the front porch; row of rental bikes, and lex pulling the mini in to pick me up

we took some time after breakfast to go check out the ocean eco-museum near fort zachary.  i’m glad that lex gets into learning experiences, too.  i know, i know, it was a vacation!  but i’ve always adored learning, and i’m a sucker for exhibits of any sort.

after we left the museum, lex aimed the mini in the direction of the hyatt, and off we went!