"No shoes, no shirt, no problems" - Kenny Chesney

After our first charter we had a couple weeks off! Thats right two whole weeks of free time! I was ready to take advantage of it. Jay had found out his dad was having some health issues so this was also going to be his last week on the boat! So we went out in style. Jay had a friend, Jordan come out for the week and was he fun. Charlie was also still there, so once again a boat of boys... and me. We had a blast all week doing nothing and drinking cold beer. We sailed out Sunday to the Exumas for the first of many trips I will take. We stopped in Highborne for the night, then sailed farther south to Hawksville. From Hawksville we headed straight for Compass Cay before hitting Normans Cay on the way back to Nassau.

Highlights included riding in houseboat marks truck to church with 4 of us and 40 jugs of water in the bed. Pulling up to Hawksville and seeing two sea planes take off. One of the pilots even let us see the inside of his before he took off right in front of the beach and flew over us! It was very cool. We snorkeled in a couple of cool caves and saw tons of beautiful fish and coral. We spent two nights anchored at Compass Cay and had an adventure! Compass cay is where I went and fell in love with the Bahamas three years ago. It is a private island owned by the very friendly Tucker and where all the nurse sharks are. The dock was full of yachts and we spent the two days swimming, eating tucker burgers, and had a pot luck dinner with all the yacht people (their boats worth more than I will ever make). Of course there was the day in Compass where I was floating in the water with an ice cold beer and it was only 7:30. After Compass we snorkeled in a sunken sea plane off normans cay (the once cocaine capital of the world) and had a corona on the corona island (from the commercials). We had AMAZINGLY delicious burgers at MacDuffs, the bar and restaurant on the island that is inhabited by 7 people. I have learned the trick to getting free drinks- be the only girl in the bar! I am ready for some girls to be on this boat I will tell you, but found it entertaining to be the only girl in a full bar. Bruce made friends with the crazy greek guy that put down 2k at the end of the night... Crazy. It was a fun night and I was sad when we made it back to Nassau and I had to say goodbye to Jay, Charlie, and Jordan.

"Laying Low Down in Abaco"-Barefoot Man

I am in the bahamas!!!! I had a surreal moment sitting in the crystal clear water with 70 degree weather and feeling the first licks of the sun on my very pale skin. I took the first chance I could to jump in and swim. The water felt phenomenal and I already loved the Abacos. (This northern most group of islands) I felt bad for Doug who had to make an emergency run to Coopers town hospital because his esophagus had closed around a piece of food and he hadn't been able to swallow anything since the night before (everyone blamed the biscuits). After taking Doug over and learning he had to fly to Nassau for the night we headed over to Manjack Cay where Capt. Bruce had friends who lived on the island. Leslie and Bill were great. They had this really amazing house on the island (only 8 or so houses) and they had a great garden and grew most of what they ate, used solar energy and caught all there water from the roof. They were so warm and welcoming and we spent the night anchored off their island enjoying Corn beef since it was St. Patty's day.

The next day we went down to Green Turtle Cay to go through customs and have our first bahamian beers at the very fun Blue Bee restaurant and I experienced my first Goombay smash – rum punch with pineapple, coconut, orange juice, and flavored rums, basically an extremely tasty and dangerous drink. The rest of the day was spent trying conch and wandering around Green Turtle. Wayne talked Jay, Charlie, Don, and I into the small little museum about the island. The old woman who showed us around was too cute and the history very interesting. I also learned that the name Albury is HUGE in the bahamas and it sounds almost identical to Aubrey so a lot of bahamians hear my name as Albury Anne and I have decided my great uncle must have been named after a bahamian so it must be in my blood. That night we watched a beautiful sunset at sundowners and had some drinks before taking the very long walk to Pineapple. Pineapple was a very cool bar on the water on the other side of Green Turtle.

They had a one man band and I spent the night dancing with Wayne, Don and the Petes. Don kept calling me baby girl so I gave him the new name big papa. Although I feel like all those guys are my uncles. The next day we picked up Doug after some confusion from Coopers and then headed back to Manjack for the full moon party.

The full moon party was fantastic. Some of the guys built the fire on the beach while Bruce taught me the wonders of making his own punch (very toxic) and deep frying a turkey. We hiked the mile across the island to the beach for an amazing night meeting people who lived on the island or were anchored out and ate delicious food and drank punch and watched the sunset and the moon rise over the water while we stayed warm by the huge bonfire. Richard and a lady from France (I think) played harmonicas and it was the greatest evening.

We stayed another day in Manjack swimming and all the uncles tried to help me learn the dingy... I am getting better guys. I didn't hit anything so thats good. That afternoon was spent helping Bill and Leslie put new fronds on their little cabana on the beach. After a night enjoying lobster (another new favorite) speared by Ron, Jay and Charlie we headed to Marsh Harbor but the weather was not happy with us. After fighting the wind we had to sail out to open sea through “Whales Cut” and the waves were doing everything to stop us. Bruce is at the hull and I come up from the galley because while I don't think I am seasick, 6 foot seas while reading in the galley is just asking for it. So we all sat around behind Bruce as he battled the waves and made it look easy. I found it thrilling riding the waves and watching our bow shoot up into the sky and then crash down in the waves and disappearing as the water rains down on us. After we get pass the breakers Bruce yells pull up the main sail, I hesitate long enough to say “NOW?” and am on my feet with Jay and we pull that sucker up in record time. I loved it. We made it to Marsh Harbor safe and sound and I was secretly wishing it was farther away. I really should type these up sooner because I can't remember what we did that day.

The next day we sailed over to Man-O-War for the morning and walked around. It was a very cool place and Doug, Wayne and I wandered around and saw the famous Albury Brothers boatyard. They are the famous boat makers down in the Bahamas. We walked along a beautiful beach and saw all the beautiful houses. We had lunch at the restaurant by the docks and it was delicious. I had chicken in a bag, apparently its a common Bahamian thing. It is a brown bag and inside is fried chicken and french fries covered in ketchup and hot sauce. I am a fan. Then we headed on to Spanish Wells that is right at the top of Eluthera (another main island). We made a stop at Dolphin beach for the afternoon and it quickly became one of my favorite beaches. It is on the top of Eluthera on the open sea side and it is completely undeveloped. We anchored and swam in and wandered around the beach. Bruce told us there was a rope you could climb and then jump off the cliff and of course I had to do it. I convinced Doug (though it wasn't hard) to join me. After a failed attempt to find the path we picked our sand spurs and walked in the waist deep water and then swam around to the rope. After the embarrassingly difficult rope climb I made it to the top and jumped off. Don't worry mom it was like 6 feet deep and I cleared the coral. Doug jumped next and we decided we had to do it one more time. Then we swam into the little cave and climbed around. After making it back to the boat we had delicious hamburgers and milkshakes at Spanish Wells and then headed to Current Cut.

Current cut is an island with a small passage from the inside to the open ocean side where the current goes 7 knots (really fast, our boat is happy to go 6) during the tides. We anchored there for a night and I got a well needed joy shower. A joy shower is actually not joyful or a shower at all. You jump in the water off the back of the boat (or the bow if you're feeling adventurous) and climb onto the dive platform, cover yourself in Lemon Joy and jump back in. It is actually very rejuvenating to say the least and my only form of cleaning myself all week until I get back to Nassau. However it doesn't bother me one bit (shocker I know). We watched the sunset while Bruce blew his conch like a good sailor (something I now expect every night when I see the sun go down) and I tried to learn. The sail back to Nassau the next day was great and I started getting sad thinking about saying goodbye to all my uncles. A few of us went and had the best and spiciest conch salad that has ever existed when we got in. McKinley's under the bridge, go there it will change your life. Thursday night was spent enjoying Bruce's conch chowder and exploring Atlantis. We wandered all the aquariums and saw a couple manarays -always awesome- and went to sleep early. The next morning Doug, Jerry, and Don left to go home. The afternoon was spent being lazy around Nassau. On the Run, aka my home away from home, is the gas station right by the marina and has internet and not to shabby food too. I spent the afternoon emailing and working on my blog. That night nobody felt like going out so we hung out on the boat and enjoyed our last evening together. The next morning the rest of my uncles left and Jay, Charlie and I got busy cleaning the boat. The next group was getting in that afternoon and we had lots to do!

"Harbour Island"- still dont know who sings it...

I have decided that since I am a horrible writer, lets face it you all have noticed, my blogs will just be mostly photos. I have been informed that this is all y'all really care about, which is a relief because I really don't enjoy typing up everything I do. So here goes me trying to revise my blogs, (though I have been informed by 3 different people down here that I talk to much) and make them only the important details.

Our first charter was amazing! I loved our group. It was only 7 men (yep all men again) but they were all so friendly. They were all friends that do vacations together every year and have been on the Bahama Star for years (coming every other). The group is as follows:

Andy- who headed the group, an ex-drama teacher. I knew I would get along with him when he busts out the “We've got Trouble” monologue/song the first night. It was awesome and he was really fun and interesting. He actually is a financial advisor so everyone told me he would give me advice and he did at the end of the week. He also has written a couple self-help books. I found “The Graduate's Book of Practical Wisdom” on my bed. I laughed because I have never been given a self help book before, especially from the writer. I didn't know if it was like a “You NEED this” gift but I am actually reading it and enjoying it! I appreciated the gesture.

Rob- The BFG, really and truly I cant think of a better description. (for you non Ronald Dahl readers thats the Big Friendly Giant and you should be ashamed for not knowing that)

Dean- Oh lawd... Deano the Greeko was a character. He is Charlie's boss and one of the most entertaining and kind people I have met. We spent evenings talking and laughing and he is so much fun.

Mike- ha ha Mike was a character as well. He was the witty and sarcastic one that just always had you either laughing or scratching your head. Always doing his fist pump supermans with Rob or going on a tale about something or another (think Gilmore girls)

Hugh T- an ex-principle who loved sailing and was always sitting right by the hull asking questions and always wanting to hop in and help. He was a cool guy to talk to and really loves the water and wants to sail his small sailboat down!

Dan- Robs brother and the newest of the group. He was given a hard time all week because he was always sleeping! Real fun, even if he struggled at cards...

John- So much fun. John was the athletic one who was training for the boston marathon in like 4 weeks. He almost didn't come because of it (yes I gave him crap for this) He was also very adventurous so we went snorkeling together at the reef like half a mile from the beach in harbor island (didn't realize it was that far). So we swam out and he has done ironman like three times (I know I felt very out of shape) and I am semi dying and he is just swimming far ahead and then stopping and checking to make sure I am still afloat and then swims more. But the reef was cool, I even swam through a hole in the coral!

I have done a great job keeping this short I know. So if you cant tell I really enjoyed the group! If all the charters are as interesting as these guys I may never come home! We went up to Eluthera for the week and Spanish wells. As well as harbor island which was a very beautiful island. The beach's sand had a pink hue to it because of the coral, it was very cool. The highlights were first off, Eukher (SP?) my new favorite card game. I learned it the first night (apparently its a “midwestern thing”) and John and I rocked it all week. Every night john, mike, rob and I would play (you have partners, its kinda like hearts) and john and I were FANTASTIC. I would go on about how great we were but y'all don't really care (I hope mike and rob don't read this). Anyway other highlights were one night when we were anchored out we had live music. Mike and Andy are both great singers and we spent a while just sitting under the stars giving them songs to sing. Deano even sang “Old Man river” and it was the highlight. We also spent a day at harbour island and took advantage of the pool too! We played water volley ball and some of the guys were actually the “net” deano felt like he should be taller (standing next to rob causes that) so he was a jumping net. We won, just saying. We also spent an evening in Spanish wells having a FEAST. I'm serious, Jared, bruces friend who lives there, and his wife and sister cooked up a the meanest food ever. I am talking we had conch salad, crab legs, tuna, grouper, chicken, some other fish, and I ate it all! I even liked the tuna. It was soooo much fun. I learned how to play Bahamian dominos (horrible at it) and we just had so much fun. All in all it was a great week and I really do miss those guys.

I should tell you that about 3 days before we went to harbour island bruce started singing this song. It got in my head and we would find ourselves singing it all the time. But unfortunatly i have yet to hear the real song and bruce only knows two lines, so i just sing these two lines constantly. I now fight ever using the word harbour or island (yes its hard) because bruce will start singing it and then it is stuck in my head all day! It is a horrible cycle, enjoy!

"Come Sail Away" - Styx

After Nevada time flew by. I was packing and getting everything ready for my sailing adventure. It is hard to pack everything you may need for 6 months. I was busy visiting family, coxing in Charleston (like I had never left) and catching up with friends. And of course mandatory visits to Skins and Grouchos. The time flew by and soon it was time to head back to Charleston for the haul out. I met Sheila, Capt. Bruce's wife, and Jay, the other deck hand, and we got to work. We pulled the boat out of the water, sanded and painted the hull and sides. We cleaned the inside packed and organized all our supplies and got everything ready. Too soon I was meeting all the guys for the sail down and saying goodbye to my family.

The sail down the coast was fantastic on the beautiful Bahama Star. I have never seen so many of the places we went and I have never sailed down a coast especially when its 4 am and there is not a soul to see or land or boats of any kind. The stars, as you can imagine, were the most brilliant and beautiful things I have ever seen the wind a brittle cold even wearing everything in my swollen suitcase. The group we sailed down with were great. There was a group of 8 guys that Bruce is close to and they all try and do the sail down and back up every year. All the guys know Bruce somehow or another. There was Don who is a pirate at heart. He would arrr and wear a johnny rogers on everything and had his hair braided with sculls. He even had a business card that said “cargo redistribution and rum disposal specialist” (apparently the politically correct description of a pirate). Then there was Richard who wants to be on Survivor and that is the best way to describe him. He is the active older guy who seems to know and has done everything.

Wayne who was the techno guy who brought his own gps and would constantly update us on every movement and degree turn. Pennsylvania Pete who had the long if not graying hair and was always a character to talk to and very entertaining. Naked Pete, who thankfully did not live up to his name, Ron, who was tanner than everybody yet felt the need to sit up at the bow and soak up the sun in his speedo no matter how cold it still was, and Jerry who would tell great stories about his mishaps in the navy. There was Doug who I got along with really well. He loved to travel and him and his wife have done so many crazy things I always enjoyed talking to him. Crazy thing was when Cody met him before we left it turns out they knew each other. Cody went with Doug on some boy scouts canoeing trip years ago! Small world. Then there was Charlie who is around my age and actually staying on for a month as extra crew, and Jay who has been great to work with. We are sharing the tiniest cabin and getting close (by force) very quickly. I should take the time to try to describe Captain Bruce. He is an out going crazy and fun guy who has more stories than anyone I have met, exaggerates the perfect amount to make any story goose laugh worthy. He has a strong love for dancing and is just the most joyful person I know. There is also probably no other captain who knows the Bahamas better since he has been sailing them for 30+ years and makes everything look easy.

So we set sail saturday morning and two dolphins swam with our bow as we left the Charleston harbor! Supposably a very good sign. We were off towards Florida and a long night of sailing. We took turns doing 2 hour watches in groups of 2 (which works out well since there are 12 of us). After the first night out at sea with strong winds right against us I decided at dinner if I don't throw up tonight I am defiantly not going to get sea sick all season. I haven't been that worried about it because I have never gotten sea sick before but I also haven't been that far out to sea before and my sister and mom are both very prone to motion sickness so it was a possibility. After 4 hours in bed falling asleep and then waking up because the bow of the boat was lifted so high in the air it lifted me out of bed and then slammed me back waking me up with a jolt. Instead of feeling sick I just loved it. We landed the next evening in St. Augustine. Jays parents and a group of Bruce's friends where there to meet us with food and beer and we spent the evening eating BBQ Bill's amazing ribs and pork chili and me struggling with sea legs. Other than getting kicked out of a bar because Bruce stood on a chair when the band saluted our soldiers it was an uneventful night. The next day we set sail for St. Lucia and it was another rocky but fun trip. The guys were easy to get along with and there was so much for me to learn. We didn't make it to St. Lucy after another all-nighter of sailing because we had the wind directly at our bow so we stopped in Ft. Pierce where we had a great dinner at the marina and I learned more about how to throw lines and swab a deck.

Soon we were sailing down the inter-coastal towards St. Lucy to make our cut across the Gulf Stream towards the Bahamas. The cut across was extremely calm (so I was told, I've never done it before). We had this delicious beef stroganoff that the wonderful Pete cooked and Doug and I had an appetizer of raw biscuit dough because the can had burst open. I was very excited there was someone else in the world who loved raw dough too. That night Bruce and I had the 4-6 watch... not ideal but it turned out to be great. It was a near full moon and I watched it set over the water. It turned orange and pink and disappeared on the stern as Venus, the morning star, rose out of the water at our bow. I steered in the very dark night while Bruce magically told me where the islands and rocks were as we were coming into the Bahamas. It was beautiful. I could see the milky way and the big dipper and the stars were all just brighter than I have ever seen them. Then we watched the sunrise over the islands. I have never felt luckier.

"The Circle of Life" - Elton John

Nevada! Yep I headed out to Nevada which was a whole new experience for me! My good friend Erin is working at Safe Haven Rescue Zoo, a large animal rehabilitation zoo in Imlay, Nevada (Population 237) and I went to visit her. She picked me up in Reno and we drove 2 hours back to her place. She lives on the zoo property with another girl, Lindsey, and her bosses, the couple who own Sweet Haven, and of course the 3 tigers, 2 lions, 2 foxes, 2 bob cats, 2 cougars, and 1 crazy coyote. I loved it.

There was not much to do when you live in a valley with only two other “neighbors” as far as the eye can see and 45 minutes from a restaurant, but I managed to find things to do. Erinworked some days and I would come out and run alongside the tigers cages, watch them tackle boxes for the raw turkeys inside, or sneak up and scare the lions. It was very entertaining, however I did learn that cougars are TERRIFYING. I think it is by far the greatest mascot to have, they always had that don't even think about messing with me look. The tigers loved to play and I fell in love with Layla and Choi Hu. Kovu, the lion, had a thing for me and would chase me for hours. I miss those cats...

Lindsey was also great. We all went into town for mexican one night and stuffed crust pizza another, watched Calender Girls and the Office and I decided she fit in easily.

Erin and I stayed busy. We went driving around one day and

I got some homemadedelicious beef (or deer or something) jerky which Erin hated me for (it smelled up her car). We saw some concrete thing some guy made out of trash, not really sure how to explain it... One day we took the 4-wheeler up into the mountains and had lunch at the top of a mountain I forced Erin to climb. In my defense, I had no idea it was 80 degrees uphill... but the view was amazing and we had fun. I was a little worried the whole time because apparently there are cougars up there and I had already decided that cougars are the one animal (now more than pumas) that I don't ever want to cross.

Erin and I headed into Reno the day before I flew out because my flight was so early, and we had to try some gambling. We found a bar with free drinks, had dinner at a brewery in our hotel (grilled cheese burger mmmmm) and hit the casinos. I won 20 bucks at the slots but then somehow after Roulette and more slots I was negative 25 by the end of the night.... It was really fun though. It was hard to say good-bye to Erin since neither of us know what we will be doing next. I really loved Nevada. I see the appeal of heading out west. I couldn't get over the space and driving for miles before you see anything other than mountains and of course all those black cows.

"I just can't wait to get on the road again" - Willie Nelson

So before I go off telling about my sailing adventures I should take some time to fill in that time between Europe and the Bahamas...

I got home exhausted on December 13^th. I had a blast in Europe but was ready for a real and clean shower, my own bed in my own room and to sleep in as late as I want and then get clothes out of my closet instead of a backpack.... and of course see my family.

December flew by with family and friends. Last minute christmas presents, unpacking, wrapping, laundry all kept me busy. The whole family came down for christmas and the extended family made it the day after christmas and we had a blast! New Years was spent out with friends and too soon it was January. As much as I love Anderson, I couldn't stay there until March so I went on a road trip!

My first week was spent driving the good ol' chevy truck (yes the bug is gone) up to West Virginia to spend time with the cousins. Nights spent reading and drinking hot tea with Aunt Karen, days spent fighting the snow and honey bears yaps to build legos with Frankie and Colin. A couple days at Jamie and Fathoms laying on the couch with the 24 hour bug while “babysitting” Raleigh and Will. More like them watching me but I got better and got to enjoy some time with them in the end. After a night with Frank and Carol, and a quick repair on the radiator.... I was off to Roanoke.

I spent a week with the always beautiful Katie Perdue. She and I spent the first

year and a half at CofC together on crew before she left me for bigger and better things at UVA. She is marrying the always fun Josh this summer and I unfortunately am missing the wedding. So I decided to spend a week at their very beautiful new home and spend some time catching up. It was my first time in Roanoke and I loved it. We saw the star, had pizza, went sightseeing and I “helped” with some wedding planning. Had my first Red Robin experience and learned all about all you can eat fries...

From Roanoke I took a flight down to Flordia to visit Aunt Valerie and Uncle Brian. Aunt Karen was there as well and we spent our time reading and eating out and meeting up with Val and Brian's friends. Karen and I went to the Clearwater aquarium and rescue center and saw tons of sea turtles and dolphins, including Winter who has a movie about her coming to a theatre near you! Valerie also took off work on monday and we went swimming with the manatees!!!! It was so fun. Karen came along, though wasn't up for the cold water. We saw tons of them. They would swim up to us and we got to pet them. A couple even rolled over so we could rub their bellies (they even had bellybuttons). My dad flew in the day before I left so I got to see him for a bit (my parents swore I was being elusive). After my week in Florida it was hard to go back to the cold and snowy Roanoke but I survived. I spent one more night with Josh and Katie before heading home.

The driving was fun, specifically because I was listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on tape. Getting ready for the last movie! Yes there is a movie theatre in Nassau I already checked. But after a month of traveling, my visits were not over yet....

"Like a drifter I was born to walk alone" - Whitesnake

One, this is a great song. Alright a while ago (over a month... October 4-8) I was in the beautiful Prague, Czech Republic. Eilis and I had decided to split up while she went to visit her family in Denmark, I headed to Prague for a few days of solitude before meeting up with Ginny in Budapest, but you have to wait for my next blog for that one...

My lovely sister, Meg, had a friend from college who actually moved to Prague and opened a hostel with another friend. I soon got to meet Daniel and David and they showed me the most wonderful hospitality as well as all the staff at the wonderful Mosaic House. My bus unfortunately got in at 5 am, and after going to the metro only to realize I had the wrong currency, back to the atm where I realized I had no idea what the exchange rate was I was just thankful to make it to the hostel. Thankfully they let me check into my room early and after brushing my teeth in the beautiful bathroom I pulled back my curtain to my bed (feeling like I was in a Hogwards dorm with dark red curtains) and slept till noon. I went for a run that afternoon, purely because I took my laundry to the laundrymat and all the clean clothes left that I was wearing were my running clothes. It was a grey day but I headed out for a park less than a km away. Well the run was beautiful and I quickly learned that I loved Prague. I ran past the theatre, churches, over one of the many bridges, and started making my way up a mountain which was the park (the guy at the desk failed to mention this). The views at the top were spectacular and I was glad I did it. On my run home well lets just say my 30 minute run home turned into an hour... But it finished with a sense of accomplishment.

At the hostel I made friends with a girl from australia and we had dinner at the hotel restaurant which was amazing! Nachos and non other than a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger! Needless to say I was happy at the end of the day. The delicious Pilsner Prague is famous for washed it all down perfectly.

The next day was spent doing the free walking tour, having a bagel, yes Bagel in europe! I really enjoyed hearing the history of Prague, though a sad one. The most interesting part was my guide had lived in Prague for 25 years after marrying a man from there. Her mother-in-law had passed away two years before but while alive had lived SEVEN countries but never moved! The country changed that many times from its time with Slovakia, under the communist rule, etc. We also saw the Jewish district which is one of the largest in Europe because Hitler decided Prague should be the city to keep documentation of a distinct race. After the tour I was off to wander the streets. That night I went out with my Australian friend and her two other friends she had just met up with. I had traditional Czech goulash, which was delicious (Mom you would be proud of all I have eaten this trip).

Day three was spent sleeping in, meeting with Daniel and David to pick their brains on how they came to Prague and opened a restaurant. I wandered around that day as well seeing the Castle, crossing the famed Charles Bridge full of people rubbing the statue of the Saint who was thrown from the bridge for good luck. My favorite part of the day was when I found the amazing Lennon Wall full of quotes and graffiti of love and peace, all good things! That night was spent at dinner with David, his wife Brooke, and her parents. They treated me to a delicious dinner and great conversation. I was overwhelmed by their hospitality including David putting me in a private room for the night! It was great! I had my own bathroom and even a computer to skype Erin and wish her a Happy Birthday!

My last full day at Prague was uneventful. I decided to sleep in, traveling, though amazing, is exhausting. After seeing a few sights I headed to the hostel and meet two girls from New Zealand and another girl, Liz, from Australia. We spent the evening together, had dinner and great conversation. Before an early night for my early train ride to Budapest to see Ginny!

Traveling alone was great. It was suppose to give me time for solitude and to contemplate what I wanted to do with the rest of my time in Europe and when I returned. Unfortunately all that really happened was I decided I had to come back to Prague and send anyone I met there as well! Really it was a great break and I was extremely lucky to meet Daniel and David and see Prague and just immerse in its history and raw beauty.

Unfortunately, I have just learned I can not put my photos up on here once they are on shutterfly... that will be interesting when I get home, but here is the link! Prague photos!!!