Island Hopping

While Leah and I were island hopping in the Caribbean,

we managed to SOAK UP a variety of first-class adventures.

Here's an island native: Boa Constrictor Nebulosus.

Very friendly.

Gives a good strong HUG.

This local guide (a Rastafarian) took very good care of us

as we tubed down a river on the island of Grenada.

It was quite a ROCKY river.

Leah was deeply concerned about my (twelve) spinal fusions,

because the ride was far more WILD than we had anticipated.

But I made downstream with my hardware intact. Hooray!

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We discovered that island people like to give sage advice.

This woman counseled Leah on her Parent Planning. It was done with a caring heart.

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Our most unique adventure was riding underwater scooters

near the shores of St. Thomas.

The highlight was seeing BABY SEA TURTLES crawling along on the ocean floor.

(Hats off to my dear niece Sarah who is diligently working to protect these creatures through her NGO Paso Pacifico.)

Shot taken before descending:

These scooters are a cool way to travel under the sea.

The photo BELOW gives you an idea of how they look and operate.


(That's NOT us, but you get the idea.)

We also got in some snorkeling on St. Thomas, Bonaire and Aruba.

I brought my gear and really used it.

BTW, Bonaire was our fave.

Here's Leah, ready to plunge!

Hiking on the island of Dominica was the bomb.

My pain levels were down and I could fully enjoy it

. . . and keep up with with my extremely FIT daughter.

Well, I MOSTLY kept up with her.

She scrambled around the slippery rocks at the base of a waterfall

. . . while I prudently applauded her from the trailhead.

Dominica is still being formed by geothermal volcanic activity
which bubbles to the surface, here and there.

This translates into heavenly natural hot springs.

We could have stayed in the thermal water ALL DAY! So relaxing.

My parting shot highlights an island bathroom, covered with tropical greenery.

Leah, my dearest travel companion, found the convenient window hole to be quite

an innovative feature not available in the northern climes.

See her chuckling from the window after her Potty Break?

While Daddy Cody cared for the three little gals at home,
using up his 'vacation days',

my Leah Robin entertained me with her over-the-top sense of humor
which kept me in stitches and added a delightful dimension to our adventures.

So great to have that gal ALL to myself !