The Passport is Back in Action

I know it's been ages and I don't really have a good excuse, but with the long Easter weekend I thought I'd catch up a bit. Now that the passport is back, I actually got to leave the country again. In January, I went to California and New York - just to make sure I crossed as many time zones as possible. 

Although I went to visit in January, Rachel was sweet enough to save Christmas for me. Here Winnie is helping me to unwrap my stocking.

Since it was the first time I'd been on vacation in over 6 months, and the weather was good, I had to bring my cycling kit. A self portrait in the sun. Yes, that's right. It's the sun!

I also got to meet my new newphew on this trip. You can see the expanding Hart family is hard at work. Once again, Winnie is there to supervise.

 Did I mention the hard work? You can just make out Ken, Rachel and Winnie in this picture.

 When Ken and Rachel weren't around - Winnie went into stealth mode.

 I took advantage of the sunshine by spending some time reading in the sun (yep, I'm using that word a lot!). Once again, Winnie is on hand to act as supervisor. .... I know, not much going on in these pictures. It wasn't exactly like my trips to India, France or Africa. BUT, it was a great break and wonderful to spend with family. In the sun.

After California, it was off to NYC. I need to grab some better photos from friends for another blog. Here are a few that I took with my camera. Holly's dog Shakti is tired out from helping us shop at Lululemon.

I had to share the photos of my hotel bathroom. It was completely black. Black toilet, black tile, black shower, black sink. It made trying to shave your legs in the shower quite dangerous. I was trying to figure out if that is all the rage, or just a throw back so it's easier for people to see their drugs on the counter top? Hmmmm....

The black shower. The flash has illuminated it quite differently so I'm afraid you cannot get the full effect. As for the next picture, WARNING: contains adult material. :o)

The other interesting thing about the hotel room, is aside from the black bathroom, the mini bar (counter) was also stocked with Babelube and playing cards. Whereas I tend not to spend much time in the hotel room when I'm on vacation, I think this hotel is encouraging that behaviour........