POD "Abuela Maria"

The photo of the day is is a picture of my beautiful spanish partner, Rocio and her kind Abuela (grandmother) Maria.

Rocio and I often see Abuela out and about, carefully making her way down the narrow busy streets, or enjoying some conversation with family and friends outside the bar across the street from her casa. Today is a pretty warm day (mid nineties) and as Rocio and I rounded the corner onto Charco, (Rota's most famous street and the home of Abuela Maria) we saw Abuela taking a break in the shade leaning against one of the buildings. She was carrying a couple bags of groceries and such, so Rocio quickly told her in Spanish that we were going to carry them and help her back to her home. (Only another block or so down, but we knew she'd appreciate the help!) Abuela only put up a small fight, but then handed Rocio the groceries and latched onto my arm. :) I told Ro that it is MUCH too hot in spain for her grandmother to be walking around in the sun in full black. Rocio says that she's never known her grandmother to wear anything but black. Thirty years ago when her husband died, she started wearing black and she's worn it ever since. That to me, is incredible.

As was the last time I visited Abuela, she told Rocio (in spanish of course) to show me around her house. It amazes me how different she lives than many in the US live, so I was more than happy to look again! Just a side note, because I still can't get over how cute she is. The last time I saw Abuela Maria, we were standing in the street just outside the adorable entryway to her home, when a couple (clearly tourists) walked past us and into her patio! "ROCIO, ROCIO, tell your grandmother that someone just went into her house."
"My grandmother says: That's okay, they think my home is pretty. They want to take pictures." :)

Well, today I asked if I could take a photo. Abuela said I could take as many as I wanted of her home, but none of her because she was too "ugly" for pictures. Abuela... you couldn't be cuter! Needless to say, she caved, and I got a picture of Grandma & Rocio in the "living room/patio" of her beautiful old, Rota home.

POD "Don't Worry, I Have a Map"

In planning for our upcoming trip this long holiday weekend to Portugal, I decided it would be smart to pick up a Portugal road map. Although Garmina has proved to be relatively accurate, she isn't perfect and a back up map is good to have. I was pleased to see that the NEX here on base had a Portugal/Spain map combo. Fabulous!

So I brought my $11.95 map home. Today, while plugging in a few coordinates into Garmina it occured to me how well prepared and travel-savvy of me it would be to also highlight a few places on my newly purchased map. JUST in case, right! So, this is the part where imagine me pulling out my crisp new Hammond map.

"Alright, let's open this girl up. Oh, I guess it opens again. Hmmm I think I have to open it some more. Wait... it OPENS again???!!!


This is the part where you try to imagine me even ATTEMPTING to use this DAMNED map in the passenger seat of a car. Really Hammond? Really? No wonder you were the last map on the shelf. And here I was thinking I got lucky. Nice work Hammond.

POD "Crazy Spanish Beaches" (Take One: Cadiz)

Spain is the Florida of Europe, which means it's known for it's long beautiful beaches. This summer I'll be sharing various pics and ratings of the beaches we sample along the Costa del Sol: our beautiful, sunny southern coast. Yesterday, Matt and I decided to take a short Ferry ride to one of the oldest cities in Europe, Cadiz. The beach is small, but we've been told it's a great one.

It was a long walk since I was navigating and headed us in the complete opposite direction. :) But we finally found it. We could NOT believe how packed it was when we rounded the corner and spotted it!!! Wall to wall sombrillas (beach umbrellas). Believe it or not, we did find a spot and managed to get a couple hours of sun before catching the ferry back home.

How would I rate the Cadiz beach? 2.0 out of 5 stars. It's conveniently located right on the edge of the walkable city and the views are good, but it's the ONLY beach in the city. So, everyone in the city crams it packed on a hot day! You're lucky if you find a spot, and the bay water (lacking waves) feels strangely stagnant and non refreshing. If you're a social person who likes to party, and watch/meet people... this is your beach. If you're looking for quiet crashing waves and not getting covered in the sand of children running by (in the one foot space between your blanket and the next) ... opt for another beach!

POD "Sinbad Wasn't Bad"

Last night Matt had some mandatory volunteer work ;) at a function on base. The bad news was... well, it's Friday night mandatory volunteer work. The good news was that he was working with the other Seabees at the free Sinbad standup comedy performance. Earlier in the day, I wasn't sure if I was going to attend. Besides, Matt would be working and I may end up sitting by myself. I found out a few other people I knew were attending, so I decided... what the heck, right?
So, I had to arrive early because Matt had to be there an hour and a half before the show started (such is the life of owning one car). BUT I was VERY pleasantly surprised to see all of the work they've done on Champions! I was even MORE pleased to see that the BAR was open for the show! YAHOO! I may have to sit by myself for an hour, but atleast I can 1. grab one of the best seats in the house and 2. have a cocktail while waiting! Nice work Champions. So, the true photo of the day is my sweet spot I scoped out and saved in the front row while the rest of the place slowly filled to standing room only.
I must say, I went into Sinbad's performance with very low expectations. I just hoped he'd do well. I always feel bad for the comics who don't. I could not believe how great he did! Not only did he interact with the audience well, he also geared most of his act around the Military, living in Spain, and all sorts of other funny things we could all relate to! He even stayed to sign autographs. Anyway, here are a few photos I snagged of him. Even without the MC Hammer pants... he's still got it. :)

My Absolute Favorites

Matt may have been taking most of his photos just for me. But he still snagged some shots that were absolutely amazing. I LOVED his animal shots, but some of the best shots were random! Here are MY favorite pictures from his trip. Don't forget you can Click them to enlarge!!!

Africa Critter Pics

Matt got to see some sweet critters in his travels. Some were members of the welcoming committee at various lodging locations, others were just living it up in Africa. There were LOTS of Critter pics to choose from, but here's just a few of my favorite shots.

Matt's Vaca: He gets around

Well he's BACK!!! YAHOO!!!! Just last night I got through looking at all 748 pictures he took. He's SO good! He admits that about 3/4 the pictures he took JUST for me. I may have to do a blog titled "The photos matt CLEARLY took for me!" Good BOY!

Anyway, I had a blast going through the pics and asking a zillion questions about each one. "What's that? Did you know that person? Where are you now? What did you drink there? What is this building called? What did you eat? What is he eating?" Hehehe. Matt was exhausted by the time we were finished. I wore him RIGHT out and he was passed out on the couch within 30 minutes!

Anyway, I will have to do a couple blog posts to cover some of the pics. If you want to see ALL of them, check out all the albums on Matt's facebook page!

These first few pics are of Matt... just being Matt in England, South Africa, Swaziland, Kruger National Forest, Lesotho, and of course at the WORLD CUP 2010. :)