Green & Lush Mauritius

I can't postpone it any longer- I need to finish up with our Africa trip photos & show you all the fun things we did on Mauritius. After our whirlwind, packed trip to Dubai, Cape Town & Lion Sands, we were ready for a little relaxing time on a tropical island.



I was so excited to get there & loved our view from the plane as we landed on this island. I'm sure most people haven't heard of Mauritius- I hadn't until I started planning our trip. It's a small (less than 800 sq. mi. ) island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, just east of Madagascar & South of Seychelles.



We had several choices to go to a tropical, beach place after South Africa, but I was immediately drawn to Mauritius as I love the mountains formed by volcanic activity.



As you will see with the rest of my blog posts, the island revolves around sugar and sugar cane products. Mauritius was influenced by Dutch settlers and was colonized by the French, which left a lasting legacy & a language before it was controlled by the British.



But, due to it's maritime ties, a large population on the island is of Indian descent, with a few native Africans who ended up here as part of the slave trade. The island is really a fascinating mix of cultures, religion and people.



As we drove the island, I was really convinced that this is very much what Hawaii looks like- we saw fruits and plants growing everywhere!



Unfortunately, we rented a standard car at the airport & also neglected to take into account that they drive on the left. So the steering wheel is on the left, the shift in the manual transmission is on the left, and the blinker is on the left. It really made of one of the worst rides in my life.



I was trying to snap pictures as I could out the window while navigating the very confusing roads and roundabouts. I didn't even realize I'd captured this Texas billboard until I was editing my photos. Most visitors are French & we were the first Americans that many people on the island had met.



It was quite the mix of under-developed world. Many people walking in the streets, many people on motorcycles, some people riding bicycles, tons of buses for transportation. It all made for a huge nightmare when trying to safely navigate the streets.



As we made our way across the island, we were thankful we didn't kill ourselves in traffic & vowed to return our rental car & use a private hire car the rest of the trip. As the rain let up, we were treated to a spectacular sunset.



This is my husband in his near death experience & I think he almost killed me for taking this photo.



Sugar, sugar everywhere.



The beautiful mountain was shrouded by the early evening clouds.



This little wispy things atop the sugar cane mean it's ready to be harvested.



Just getting to Mauritius and across the island to our hotel was quite the adventure, but once we ditched the car- we had a blast!


GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I'll be posting intermittent Mia & Zoe photos with my Mauritius blog posts- got to get caught up on my photos!

Week 1 with Mia

These are all pictures from last week, and most of them are from Sunday & Monday with Ms Mia. After our big ordeal of spending the night in the hotel, flying home & meeting Zoe, she was exhausted on Sunday and falling asleep all the time.



She loved this new bed I'd bought. It was still very round & poofy, which would make her roll right off it when she'd try to jump up on it.



~you are getting sleepy....very very sleepy~



Gone!



Still out like a light.



She loves this little toy & it's actually lasted 2 weeks around the house without being de-stuffed or suffering any other major damage. She does manage to pull out its tail fur.



We also have lots of fun with this ball. It's easy for her to grab and lots of fun to pounce on it.



Who me?



This is a little sleeping bag type thing for the dogs. Zoe can barely fit in it, but it might be more popular when winter comes around.



Mia has the most soulful eyes...especially when she's sad or tired.



This is the bed next to my desk & she spends quite a bit of time there rolling around on her back as she plays with toys or a chewie, but you can see she was quickly asleep.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Uploaded all my Mauritius pictures to blogger- 13 posts worth, starting tomorrow!

Islands

I *think* this is Santa Catalina Island, just off the coast of Los Angeles. I took these photos a few months back & I miss California! We've had such a stifling, hot summer here in Houston & a few days in Cali was awesome.



My favorite thing in the world is mountains & ocean mixed together.



A little hazy, but I think that is the small seaside town of Avalon. I don't think I could deal with the inconvenience of living on an island, but I'd sure love the fun of having a vacation home on one.



I thought this little bitty tiny strip of land connecting the North & South parts of the island was very cool.



Within just a few minutes, clouds surrounded the island and all I could see were the tops of the mountain.


GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: My mom is having major neck surgery today to fuse some of her vertebrae together, and hopefully she will be much better after she recovers.

Grand Summer

One more brother & sister post since I haven't written much about them lately & some of these photos are priceless and need to be immortalized. They've had a very busy summer, including spending lots of time a church and at the pool.



This is actually from my brother's end of school year wrestling banquet, but he's friends with all the cute girls.



Finally one of him smiling & being a total goof-ball.



Yea, my sister is playing old-school Nintendo, from about 20 years ago.



They also spent a week at Galveston again this summer, but I didn't make it down with Mia.



Did a little fishing.....



...and even some catching!



Both of the kids had fun skim-boarding.



All this, plus wrestling camp, volleyball camp, church camp, weekend trips and much more! They are back in school, and volleyball & wrestling will be starting up again soon.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Mia's sister, Sophie, now has her own blog.

Vacay in Mexico

Don't worry- not ANOTHER trip for me!
Last month the brother & sister went on vacation with my parents to Playa del Carmen.



I totally snatched all these pictures off Facebook & they will appreciate me saving them when they are in their 50's!



They stayed at an all-inclusive resort & lived it up. Volleyball & ping pong, all the food & drinks you could want.



They also did a ton of excursions too. I think this is when they went cliff diving & I just love this photo of my brother.



Hunter still refuses to smile for the camera.



I've never been para sailing, but now the kids have!



Yea, I don't know why this guy was dressed up or why they kids thought it would be cool to take a picture with him.



They also did a dolphin swim....I've got a few more photos of my brother since he was the one to do the facebook uploading.



Nothing like a good old-fashioned, out of a glass bottled Coca Cola.



And one parting shot of the whole family!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Zoe & Mia *finally* played together a bit last night, AND I captured it in pictures & a video!