I'm baaaack!

I can't believe I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving! But now, I'm back and and happy to be able to share some photos with you and also find out what you've been up to!

We spent Thanksgiving with my dad and good friends - it's my favorite American holiday and I loved cooking all day and making a delicious meal...even the day before we left on our vacation!

You have no idea how hard it was to only choose a few photos out of about 600 to share with you of our cruise. But I didn't want to overwhelm you. There may be a few more that will show up in later posts...

We really had a great time on our extra day in Ybor City (Tampa) - such an interesting place. My dad loved watching cigars being rolled and then enjoyed smoking one of them!

Before we knew it, it was time to board our ship and embark on our cruise.

Leaving Tampa, we loved all the views, even of the industrial harbor.

Our first stop was in Cozumel, where the water was of a brilliant turquoise color! Daniel went snorkeling, and my dad and I spent a lazy day on board of the ship, reading and loving the ocean view!

After Cozumel, we continued on to Belize City, which was so fascinating. The water was a bit rougher on that part of the journey, but it was sunny and we enjoyed a tour of the town and learning about the country and the culture. I am fascinated by a country where none of our fast food restaurants have been able to establish themselves because fresh food is preferred!

The Guatemala coast where we docked was simply stunning! I would have been happy to stay on the ship and take in the view all day...

...but we decided to visit the Quirigua Maya ruins, which were spectacular!

My dad and I trying to get back down the temple steps without getting dizzy.

The vegetation seemed enormous everywhere we visited in Guatemala - it was so green, which also lets you suspect the huge amount of rainfall!

Daniel was trying to figure out the proper procedure for working with the worry dolls we received as a gift from our tour guide.

Leaving Guatemala that evening we were enjoying a view that was beyond beautiful and left us wanting to come back!

Our next stop was Costa Maya (Mahajual), Mexico, a small fishing village that had been all but obliterated by hurricane Dean a few years ago. We spent some time at a beach and then in the small village.

Our last day on the ship, on our way back to Tampa, we enjoyed some high winds, lively seas and simply relaxed on the ship. This is me reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol in one day - having the time to do that was such an incredible luxury for me!

And here I'm trying not to be blown off the ship - the wind was something else and the closer we got to Tampa, the colder it became!

And a spectacular sunset on our last evening - a perfect trip!!

Now my dad is back in Germany and we are settling back in to our routine here. I am looking forward to showing you some new art in the next few days and also to visiting your blogs! It's been such a long time! I've missed you!!

I hope you are all doing well and that my friends here in the US haven't been affected too badly by this huge storm sweeping across the country! Here, it's been unusually warm and humid today and we are getting ready for some good storms before we will get much colder temperatures tomorrow! Stay warm, everyone!!