The down under wonder

It was wonderful seeing all the Thanksgiving posts and families coming together for the Holiday. Thanksgiving has become one of our favorite family get-togethers, so we were a bit melancholy not to share the holiday this year.  Being in Amsterdam now, there was no turkey and stuffing for us. We did have some Irish stew!  But still not turkey and mashed potatoes and oyster stuffing and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies .... oh my, I have to stop!

With all our wonderful travels, I know I have nothing to complain about.  We are very fortunate and thankful to have the opportunity to travel around the world and experience other people and cultures.  But in all these adventures The Professor and I have had over the last three months, none of it equates to being surrounded by loved ones during the chaotic, noisy, football tossing, puzzle solving, belly-filling time of Thanksgiving.

But here I am, in Amsterdam, still with many photos to share of our last several months of travel. I'm only up to the end of September when we were in Port Douglas (Australia).

The Professor made arrangements for us to spend a day out on the Great Barrier Reef, the 'down under wonder'.  A 'must do' when in Australia!  It was about an hour ride out to the reefs and we were scheduled to visit three sites.

We are pretty comfortable snorkeling, diving not so much.  There were some divers on the boat but actually with the reef within arms' length, snorkeling was just as awesome.  Can you find The Professor in the above image?  I'm already in the water .... waiting.  (That's how it usually is with us ... warm activities, I'm always waiting on him.  Winter activities ... he's always waiting on me!)

The water is remarkably clean and blue 

and the reef so vibrant and alive.  

I didn't capture a lot of incredible fish images.  I wish I could claim the one below, but it was from a disk of underwater life provided to us from the boat company.  

My images were more like of this guy below.  

Do you know how hard it is to hold a camera steady underwater!!!

Needless to say, many of my images were less than sharp.

One thing I was determined to capture, though, was the image of releasing some of my mother's ashes in the Great Barrier Reef.  I had chosen this location with the thought that what better place for her to travel the world than on the ocean's great highways.  So with her ashes secretly tucked in my swimsuit, The Professor and I swam a distance from the boat and others, I opened the plastic container and spread the contents in the water.  The effect was the image below.

It was magical.

Even more magical was to be in the midst of her.

Both of us floating.

To destinations yet held in mystery.

Love you mom.

~ ~ ~