Time Out

After several attempts at starting to write, and then stopping abruptly because of outside influences, I figure I should just cut to the chase and get this going.  As I mentioned in my last post, you know that things have been a little shaken up around these parts, so after a few less than relaxing days this weekend was exactly what the doctor ordered.


Thanks to some wonderful friends who just bought a new boat, Jay and I were lucky enough, and extremely grateful to spend a large part of Saturday cruising the James River.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to be on the water.  Starting from just below the City of Richmond we got to take in a lot of sites, including the estate of Jimmy Dean (as in the country music star and more importantly the king of sausage - not the rebel without a cause), and the recreations of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, on the way to our Jamestown destination to have some lunch then head back to Richmond.  

The late, great Jimmy Dean's estate.  

View down the James.

Jay couldn't wait to break out the brownie bites - his favorite.

The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry.

Look close (or enlarge the shot) and you'll see replicas of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

All smiles.

I can't think of a more fabulous way to kick off the summer and forget about all of the daily noise for a second.  Thank goodness for friends who are there to help us take a 'time-out' in life when we most need it ... especially the ones with boats!  ;)  

Holidays in Cambodia

"It's a holiday in Cambodia

It's tough kid, but it's a life

It's a holiday in Cambodia

Don't forget to pack a wife"
-The Dead Kennedys-

Thanks to a pretty severe mess upheaval catastrophe snafu of monstrous proportions change in my work environment paired with the busiest season of the year, you might have noticed that I've been pretty absent on here for the past few weeks or so.  While I won't bore you with the details now, I don't see this work thing clearing up any time soon so I might actually explode become institutionalized literally break into tiny pieces find myself in some situations which could provide for a pretty good read if things keep up.  


While I might feel a bit like I'm having a figurative holiday in Cambodia in the worst sense, one of my cousins, Aliesje, is once again off on a world adventure to the real Cambodia, and has decided to share her experiences in a new blog.  Some of you may remember hearing about her trek through the wilds of Africa in Malawi, where she scared little children with her pallid complexion yet unending need to help (thus scaring them more).  Now she is off again to strike further fear in the hearts of unsuspecting bystanders (apparently from this first post through her softball sized feet and unfortunate dry shampooed hair).  Though she refers to it as helping with women's law, juvenile justice, and assisting victims of the Khmer Rouge, I know she's really just secretly trying to take over the world.  So, if you're looking for some interesting summer reading about traveling to exotic places while you yourself are sitting in your back yard with your feet in a wading pool and your hand around a beer can with a cocktail umbrella and soggy piece of fruit perched on the edge; or if you're stuck in a crap shoot like me and just need some serious perspective then maybe you can consider giving her a visit here, at: Le Cambodge Summer!  I guarantee your slums won't have quite as much soul.  :)