Travel

My boys and Nurse Sharks!

July 10, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

When Randy and I built our home in Mexico, our children were 10 and 13. We came every summer for one month, and of course the kids wanted a friend to visit, so that basically turned into A LOT of friends visiting! Wes had 3 he always invited, and they were always ready to come, Alec, Cooper and Charlie. The boys have known each other since preschool, and elementary school. They are more family than friends. Through the years we have taken them to every tourist spot on the island, and some on the mainland. We taught them to snorkel, then to dive.

Alec, sadly, could not come this year, so the “Fab 4” is not intact, instead we have the “3 Muskateers”. We are just so happy they still want to come and dive! Randy isn’t diving this summer due to a health condition, but the 3 are here and diving with me! We’ve done several dives, including a night dive.

Two of them just graduated college, my son, Wes, and Charlie, and Cooper is managing a restaurant (or two or three). Real life hovers on the horizon, so I know these times are precious. Soon, they will be working and leading their

Haven't changed much! — Haven’t changed much!

adult lives, and it will probably be difficult to get everyone here at the same time. Of course, we talk about how they can bring their girlfriends, wives, partners, and eventually (omg!) their children. We have incredible memories here with them. Two years ago we had the boys and a group of girls, and they told me, “we like it better when you plan everything out for us.” LOL.

We didn’t dive today…and it is absolutely POURING outside! It has rained a lot during July, more than I can remember. Today we are also having thunderstorms. I usually like the rain, but I am ready for a real sunny day in the Caribbean.

If you noticed on my Facebook page, Travels with Tam, I posted questions regarding nurse sharks that seemed enclosed between four fence walls at Chankanaab Park. There appear to be a couple of bulges, so those must be areas they can get in and out of. I have been assured they can come and go, there is a hole in the fence. I’ll have to keep going over to see if I can ever see them out of the fenced area, would love to get photos of them freely moving around! There are tons of silversides, and a few groupers as well. Will keep you posted!

Life Journeys

June 27, 2013 By Tam Warner 16 Comments

Not all journeys are fun, but there are many one cannot avoid. Especially at midlife. Saturday, June 22nd I lost my mother, she passed peacefully from this life. The last months have been filled with the fear and worry about her health, and making decisions, painful decisions. My mother had emphysema, and she had become very frail in the last year or so. We tried to make her wear oxygen 24 hours a day, but met with absolute resistance. The doctor suggested assisted living, and that request met with an adamant no. We brought in Home Health, and boy, did that piss her off! No, none of this journey was easy.

Not wanting to force her into Assisted Living, we hired Home Health, and popped in on her unexpectedly to see if she was wearing her oxygen. She finally did start to understand that oxygen made her feel better, but she would not wear it out of her apartment. Bingo and Poker Games were the highlight of her social life, and she refused to go to those events with oxygen. So stubborn!

The last two weeks of her life were tough…mom had pneumonia and was in the hospital. Of course, she wanted me to take her outside for a cigarette, and she told the cardiologist she did NOT want to quit smoking, thank you. At first we believed she might get better, but that hope soon gave out. Knowing, or sensing, that the end was near, I asked her sister to fly in, and my son as well. She was surrounded by family and those who loved her to the very end. She was almost 86 years old, and lived a full, eventful life. It is a good feeling to know that nothing was left unsaid, that everything was in good order. For anyone who knows my mother, they will appreciate this: 30 hours before she died I had her sitting up and playing Blackjack with my aunt and I!

When one does not have enough oxygen to the brain, one becomes forgetful, and personality can change. While trying to get her to wear her oxygen 3 weeks ago, I was informed by my mother that I was not right about everything, and when she died she would come back and haunt me. I have to smile at that, she could be a feisty little woman, and you know what? I hope she does come back to see me. Haunt away, mom! I’d love to see you again. Rest happily with Daddy and all your loved ones who have passed. But feel free to haunt me a little.

32 Years Married!

June 17, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

You have to admit, 32 years of marriage is definitely an adventure! Yes, 32 years have gone by since Randy and I were married at Grace United Methodist Church, in Dayton, Ohio. I cannot believe I am even old enough to be married, but it seems that I am 32 years older as well as 32 years married. I’m not sure where the time went. I used to hear my parents say that phrase, and I would think how could they think time was going quickly? Time feels slower when one is young…one feels invincible, with an entire lifetime ahead. Time speeds up a bit if you have children…time begins to be marked by the growth of your kids. On the other hand, time can also slow to a crawl when one has children….especially if they have colic (Alexandra) and you haven’t slept for days. But that is another story.

We began traveling right after our marriage…even though we were young and poor (relatively). Our first trip was to Puerta Vallarta for our honeymoon. I had never been out of the US before. I then introduced Randy to the wonders of the ocean and ocean vacations; he had grown up camping and fishing on Canadian and US Great Lakes, and skiing in the mountains. Two years after we were married I started working as a travel agent, and that job handed us the keys to the world. Being a travel agent used to have all kinds of awesome benefits: free tickets, 4 weeks of vacation, “fam” trips (meaning free or super cheap trips to get “familiar” with a destination), deep hotel and car discounts….it was a job with terrific benefits. So we began to travel….

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, London, Paris, the Caribbean….I was introduced to scuba on a trip to Cozumel with a fellow travel agent (still a close friend today). The first trip I took to San Francisco was an American Express Travel Putting People First seminar. We took the children to the Caymans often when they were young, and they developed a desire to dive by waving bye bye to mommy and daddy as they took off on the dive boat! Diving as a family has been a wonderful experience, and we love doing it. We traveled with the kids all over the world…but we aren’t finished yet by a long shot!

So, as far as I am concerned, my whole life has been an adventure. Up, down, right, left, good, bad, sad or happy, it has been a hell of a roller coaster ride! Every aspect of our lives is an adventure, a journey into the unknown. Marriage, having children, careers, traveling….the unexpected is always waiting for you. Randy and I have had magical times, hard times, good times, bad times, romantic times, tough times. Such is life’s journey. So let the adventures continue! Randy and I are off to Cozumel for the month of July, and I will be keeping you up to date.

Sadly, due to a burst ear drum and some other issues, Randy cannot dive for the time being. We’ll be snorkeling though, and I will dive as much as I always do, which is never enough! In the fall, we are doing Highway 1 with another couple, and we really look forward to that!

So stay tuned!

Flying From the Big “D” to Africa (via London)!

May 27, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Big D, Africa, London — Ally, Randy, Tam and Wes

A celebratory graduation trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana! Cast of characters, Tam (me!), Randy (spouse and father), Alexandra, 22, college graduate, and Wes, 18, high school graduate. We left for DFW airport on Friday June 12^th 2009 and had a most exciting trip to the airport. There was an accident on I 635 and the traffic was at a complete stop to the I 35 junction. We needed to get to the airport, so Randy decided to drive in the emergency lane to make up some time (NOT something I would do). Most people did not appreciate this move….many people pulled out to block those who were in the emergency lane, a couple even opened their doors to keep people from passing! One guy in a red truck became particularly incensed when Ran pulled around his block move….then, when we were closer to the accident and almost through, Mr Red Truck joined us in the emergency lane. When we finally cleared the accident and could drive, Mr Red Truck pulled in front of us and cut us off at every opportunity until finally he exited on 114 or 121, whichever it is, I am happy Mr Red Truck left us….he was so irate you could see him screaming and gesturing from quite a distance. I’m just glad he didn’t have a gun! I feel sure Randy would have been in his sights.

Wes had flown with me in Business Class once to London to visit Ally when she lived there for a semester, but Ally had only flown Coach. When we boarded our British Airways flight she saw our Club World “pods” and I do not think she ever quit smiling. BA’s Club World has full recline, individual tv screens complete with movies, tv shows, news, etc; drawers for your items, and first rate service. Wes said he was actually excited to fly for the first time since he was a little boy. The four of us had fun playing with the automatic windows in our pods, but finally, we all slept. Our flight was comfy and uneventful, I always enjoy flying British Airways. Club World is their Business Class, but it is as good as First Class to me, the only real difference is you don’t get pajamas in Business Class (yes, in First they give you jammies!)

On our arrival to Heathrow we made our way to our “car hire” (AVIS) and rented an Audi to make our way to Kent where we were going to tour Hever Castle and look at Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s old home! I must say you have to hand it to Ran, he is one talented guy: he not only can drive on the left, but he can sit in the driver’s seat on the right and shift gears with his left hand! I really am amazed that he can do it. We pulled out of the airport and just as we were headed toward Kent (a county), the car started to pour smoke from under the hood. Obviously, we had to get back to the airport and switch cars. Thankfully we had also rented a TomTom, even so, it took forever to get back to Avis. Finally, a new vehicle and off we went again, quite late on our schedule.

Kent and Surrey are green and blooming in June. Wisteria tumbles over old stone walls, arches and doorways; the effect is quaint and charming and so completely British. We stopped at a pub in Hever called The Crown Inn, had a bite, then made our way to Hever Castle, the home of the family of Queen Anne Boleyn. As one of my favorite historical figures, I always wanted to see Anne’s home where Henry reputedly fell in love with her in the garden. The grounds are breathtaking, the castle is full of history, it was a place of absolute serenity. However, Anne does haunt Hever, on Christmas Eve. “Her somber specter is seen drifting silently over the picturesque bridge that spans the River Eden, in the grounds of the home where she knew much happiness, and from which she embarked upon a journey that would change the course of English history.” This ghost story was taken from the book “Haunted Castles of Britain and Ireland” by Richard Jones. Alas, I did not see Anne since I was there in June.

We drove by Chartwell, the home of Sir Winston Churchill, our car adventures cut into our time to go into the home. Then…back to Heathrow for our 11 and a half hour flight to Johannesburg. The British Airways Club World Lounge has showers, drinks and food so we showered, ate and drank, got on the plane, and promptly fell asleep on the way to Africa.

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