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Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Since we are nearing the end of our home improvements, we have started unpacking and putting up some of our memorabilia. Our guest bedroom has been packed with boxes and we are close to getting it empty, so that we can buy a bed and actually have a guest room. In the process we are going through photo albums and today was almost a perfect day.

After the feria, we came back home and put away our vegetables and cheese. Then we set to work unpacking more boxes. By 9 in the evening, we had gone as far as we could and I set out to cook a little dinner for us. While I was cooking Denise read out of her diving log book. We had learned how to scuba dive in Hawaii in 1977, and she read over the 35 dives we had made. Not many, by professional standards, but some very memorable dives.

We dived in Hawaii, Guam, San Diego, Catalina Island, Jamaica and Seattle, Washington. The deepest dive we made was 210 feet, and several over 150 feet deep. We did night dives and spearfished and took photos. While it was not a long career in diving, it was very memorable and it was enjoyable reliving the experiences. I had almost forgotten that we were ever scuba divers. I think if the opportunity presents itself, we would love to dive here, but I don't think there is much of a dive industry.

Then we started thinking about some of the places we have enjoyed together: Hollywood, Hawaii, Guam,Germany, France, England, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Spain, New York, Japan and finally Uruguay. One evening was hardly enough to even do more than just touch the places we have been and seen, but it was enough to realize that we have really enjoyed some wonderful times, and it is not over. We tend to think that it is "over" for us since we retired to Uruguay, but really, this is just another adventure. While it seems very comfortable and homey to us, Uruguay, after all, is another hemisphere and another country. So our adventures are not over, just entering another phase.

That led to a nice candle lit dinner, with the windows overlooking the water and the stars were out all the way to the horizon. I can't think of a more perfect evening. The weather during the day was nice and warm and this evening was cool with refreshing breezes. Afterwards we snuggled up on the couch, with the dogs and cat warming our feet and we listened to music until about 1 in the morning.

It was about the most perfect evening we have enjoyed, thus far, in Uruguay. I think we are finally home.

ps- I noticed that I used "perfect" too many times in this post. Sorry- can't help it. I won't change a word.

3 comments:

ximeoli said...

Wally, what a nice post! There's no way your adventures need to be over just because you are down here. Now your house is almost ready you could do some travelling around L.A. There is some great diving and no lack of diving schools/ renting gear places in and around Florianópolis, in Brazil. There are also lovely beaches and lots of tourist attractions along the coast all the way up to there. Do you think the bug is up to it? :)

Wally said...

Xi- I am kind of fearful of driving to Brazil. I have heard that the south of Brazil is not a peaceful place. The bug should be OK, but I don't know about us. But, yes- we need to get to Brazil and thanks for the tip about Florianópolis.

Anonymous said...

I don't have that many dives, but learned in the Maldives and did some on the Great Barrier Reef - some fun stories.

I spent the day painting the PdP house - which sounds irrelevant but actually brought me something of a 'settled' feeling that this post reminds me of...a day of limited 'to-ing and fro-ing.'

~doc