back from belize

It's easy to get dragged down by how dark and cold it is this time of year, so when time and money allows, I try to get the hell out for a few days. Last week? I met my family down in Belize, just east of Guatemala, where they were snorkeling and roasting pool-side. I'll give it to you straight—that shit was awesome. Sweet soft air. Blue, blue water. Steamy tropical storms. Mojitos like a mouth full of sunshine. But what was the most amazing was just getting out of town, a break from the routine, a journey, a taste of the big wide world. Love it.

The barrier reef welcoming party: a nurse shark and a bunch of grouper.

Me and my big sister.

The mini nephew. He wore my sunglasses and ate peanut butter and jelly for every meal. I started reading to him from Zorro and he was transfixed by the swashbuckling adventure. I edited out the part where Bernardo's mom gets gang raped and murdered.

Look at me! Such a vacationer. I don't fuck around when it comes this stuff.

What happened here? Fresh watermelon juice in the mornings (heaven!), fried abalone and Belikin beer in the sultry afternoon, when tropical rain made a curtain around our palm frond shelter.

Melissa and her little man.

Nice life.

Bon voyage!