THIS TIME....BELIZE

Well, we're off again, this time heading to Belize.  Cathie said she wanted to go somewhere where she could just lay on the beach.  We looked at several possibilities and ruled them out for one reason or another.  Fiji, too far away. Tahiti, too far away and way too expensive. Costa Rica, lots of jungle but just a few good beaches.  Maui, been there done that.  We wanted to get away so we ruled out Coronado, it being February and all.  So after lots of Internet searches and talking to others we finally settled on Belize.

We really didn't want to stay in a hotel, hoping for something a little bigger.  We also didn't care to stay in a resort.  We had such good luck last year with VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) that I started searching their web site for a place.  After much perusing, looking at pictures and reading reviews, someone on Fodors.com suggested The Maine Stay.  It looked pretty good and after contacting Drew, the owner, we were sold.  It is located in the village of Seine Bright on the Placencia Peninsula, where we are told, are the best beaches in Belize. The property has it's own private beach with a pier, one other rental unit and the price was right.  Since the "suite" consisted of two cabanas connected by a covered deck, there was room for another couple, so friends and sometime traveling companions Gary and Diane decided to tag along.

So here's the plan.  We leave early Tuesday morning, fly to Houston where we change planes.  Then it's on to Belize City arriving in the late afternoon.  After picking up a rental car, the first night will be spent at D'Nest Inn, a bed and breakfast outside of the city.  The next morning we drive the 150 miles to our beach front cabanas where we will stay for a week and a day.  Then if we can pull ourselves away, we head back to Belize City for the return flight home.

Time permitting, I might get in an update on the blog while we're there.  If not the detail will be shared upon our return.

I'M SORRY

I got this off of Facebook.  I couldn't have said it better.  This young lady speaks for a lot of us.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRAVEL

I have a friend, Nick who lives in Texas and works for a local police department.  He used to work at the Sheriff and DA's office with me, so I've known him for sometime.  He retired shortly after I did, but due to some defect in his thinking he went back to work in Texas.  He too has a blog, Rocks in my Sandals, which he says I inspired him to write.  Anyway he recently wrote an entry in his blog about a trip to Washington DC that he took on the government's dime, something he believes I know a lot about.  Here's what he wrote:

One of the requirements was for the project team to attend two to three meetings with the grant management group, CNA in Washington, D.C. Now, many of you of my Law Enforcement friends know we refer to this as a “road trip”. My “road trip” mentor (and reader of this humble blog) is Dana Gassaway. Dana was, like me, a former Deputy Sheriff and retired District Attorney Investigator. Dana was (and is today) a legend in our County for his ability to ferret out a road trip to anywhere on the planet on any given case. Whether it was to do the interview on the bartender in Nome, Alaska or the extradition of the most dangerous felon in his caseload from Miami Beach, Dana utilized the travel departments of both agencies like his personal travel consultants. I and many of my contemporaries often sought out Dana for his travel advice for our trips. He was on a first-name basis with the Finance Department too.

Knowing this not to be entirely true I responded:

I have never been to Nome, Alaska, but I did manage to spend 4 days in Ketchikan at a training conference at which I was paid for speaking. Also the Miami Beach extradition never occurred. Perhaps you confused it with the extradition to Maui. Not wanting to waste the free airfare for my ticket, I actually paid for my wife’s ticket and we spent a week on the beach using some vacation time. A little R&R was well deserved for my investigative skills in knowing to wait until the crook was in the State of Hawaii before notifying the local authorities.

Yes, there were lots of road trips, but not all to garden spots. How about Yuma, AZ Williston, ND, Lovelock, NV not to mention scores of trips up the coast LA. That’s not to say other trips weren’t to some pretty nice places, but hey, someone had to do it."

Nick responds:

Ok....Let me see if I've got this right. You commented on my blog to verify you have been to all kinds of cool places on the company dime and that you're a legend. And that you've also invited your wife along on your "work related" trips. Oh yeah, you've never been to Nome. I stand corrected....I think.

Thanks for the correction. Message received. I think the statute of limitations may be up on these too.

Nick also posted this photograph of my son and grandson on the top of whale Peak, with the caption "Dana standing on another rock".  Well I am standing on a rock, I'm just not in the picture.

In case some of you readers of this and Nick's blog think this exchange harsh, you have to understand that it's all in fun.  Right Nick?

Be sure to read Nick's blog. It's really good!