we survived our 18+ hour road trip, many hours of which were foggy and rainy.  but thanks to my dad's trusty GPS and skillful driving, we made it without incident.  thankfully, we flew home and didn't have to hop back in the car.  i dig road trips, but almost 1,000 miles in a day is pushing my limit.  my all time record was vermont-st. louis SOLO and STRAIGHT.  20 hours, i think it took me?

anyway, we're home and ready to serve!

we had a lovely time.

the reason for our visit...to see grandma dodo.

flashback...a couple of hours into our drive, we passed through metropolis, illinois, home of superman.  who's more super, i might ask?

somewhere around chattanooga, tennessee...

on pine island- my first "beach" fix.  i use the term beach loosely because it was kind of mucky, sticky goo on which i didn't really want to walk shoeless, but it was nice to be near the water nonetheless.  if you know me, you know i'm pretty low maintenance, but this was just kind of icky. 

and this is my dad, the reason i became a photographer.  i love that adam shot this because it represents my entire life to date.  my favorite dad-videotaping-experience was moving into the dorms freshman year at university of dayton.  fun stuff.

adam shot this, too, at pine island.  LOVE the composition.

i flew through this book, banker to the poor, by muhammad yunus.  it is the most inspiring thing i have read in a long while.  the nobel peace prize winner started grameen bank in the late '70s.  if you're not familiar with the idea of micro-credit, this is a fabulous introduction.

the screened-in pool of the house we rented...

yesterday, we ventured down to clearwater beach.  not our cup of tea.  after driving around for at least a half hour trying to find a parking space, we ditched the area and ended up at a fabulous little restaurant in dunedin called sea sea riders.  it was a delightfully happy accident.  our waiter then sent us to honeymoon island state park, which was gorgeous.  adam shot this there.  i love this photo because my back becomes part of the horizon.  totally sam abell.