I'm running around, packing... clothes, shoes, sunscreen, bug-spray...

toothpaste, brush, comb, shampoo, soap, towel, oh, what am I forgetting ??

we're going away for the weekend, our FIRST break in a long time.

and that trip a year and a half ago doesn't really COUNT, because hubby got sick, so instead of basking on a Caribbean beach, he was holed up at our cabana, while I tracked down medicine...

last week we got an invite to visit friends on the lovely island of Ambergris Caye.

we're going to San Pedro, on La Isla Bonita

maybe you remember the Madonna song ??

Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song
Young girl with eyes like the desert
It all seems like yesterday, not far away

Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La Isla Bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby

since its a housewarming party, we're also packing goodies for the hostess, like dried fruits from our land, organic eggs, fresh salad greens,and stuff.

we're writing out lists of all our chores, which animals eat what, and when, and how much........

there's over 200 critters to feed, so it's a LONG list !!

but, we GOTTA take this vacation now, because both of our goat ladies (Leeloo and Lilah) are pregnant, and due in two weeks, so this is our last chance for a break... as they'll both need twice-daily milking, and we won't be able to leave the farm for many many moons after the kids are born.

it's so hard to leave, yet so exciting at the same time...

bright lights, good restaurants, music, clubs, and PEOPLE...

we've been in a small rural village (a couple hundred people) for 3 and a half years, at the back-end of beyond, in the tropical rainforest...

and the island we're headed to has, like, 15,000 people, and is a major tourist hub.

we rise at 4 am tomorrow, for the 5 am chicken bus (picture the bus in Colombia, in Romancing the Stone...)

the bus ride to the coast will take us three hours...

then, we have to take a "water taxi" to get to the island... about another hour, I think.

(goes to add cane and AFOs to pile, lol!)

this will be a BIG honking deal for us, so exciting !!!