Mary, Mary quite contrary. . .

How does your garden grow? I was excited to get home after two weeks being away to check out what had grown and I discovered my garden is now overtaken with weeds. The lettuce is definitely yummy and abundant. I started three groups of lettuce 10 days apart, but nothing grew until it all grew. And the broccoli is great too!

Since this is a garden blog, I figured I needed to mention something about the garden. However, I've been away on a surprise trip to Florida with a short cruise to Nassau, Bahamas. We traveled through Chicago so we stayed a few days to visit family. We had a wonderful time wandering around the city visiting sights like the Bean, the art museum, the ivy (and the Cubs won!) and Navy Pier. The food is wonderful too. The tour of Chicago included Portillo's hot dog and Italian Beef, Uno's pizza, White Castle, Panera Bread, and Lawry's prime rib (yes, the original restaurant that made Lawry's seasoned salt.)

We were then off to the beach, humidity, and animal adventures. I'm excited to get on to the good parts, so I will just say that I doubt I will go to Ft. Lauderdale again, nor do I see myself getting on a cruise ship again. This trip did get me wondering why I forgot about marine biology when I was picking a major. The highlights of my trip all have to do with animal encounters. In Ft. Lauderdale we took an air boat tour of the Everglades where we saw blue herons and alligators. Pay $5 to hold a baby alligator? Yes, please!

If you're ever in Nassau and want to go snorkeling, I highly recommend Stuart's Cove. The customer service was great, especially when we were racing back to board our ship on time. We were wondering the whole day if a cruise ship holds departure for tardy people. I don't know if they would hold the ship, but I do know for sure that you have at least a 10 minute window from the time they tell you to get back on the boat. It was truly God's power that got us back on the ship in time. That wasn't the only time we witnessed God that day. We snorkeled at 3 different spots. The first spot was full of yellow fish and two types of blue fish. I got back on the boat early to rest my jaw and got to feed and pet a parrot fish! The next stop was the same type of fish in choppier water, but Kyle did spot a 2 foot lobster.

Before we left, our pastor talked about spending prayer time honoring and standing in awe of God. Floating in the ocean, face down in the deep blue with the sound of the waves, I could feel nothing but awe staring into the face of a Caribbean reef shark. I don't know if I was overcome by the strength and power of God's creation or if it was simply being undeniably surrounded by His spirit in a way I've never before experienced, but even just the memory provokes in me a sense of wonder I don't have the vocabulary to describe.

After swimming with half a dozen of these creatures, I was getting back on the boat and got stung by a jelly fish. After the captain of the little boat didn't know how to "tell a lady" the best thing to take the sting away (yes, think Friends), he informed me that vinegar works, too. The sting was gone a couple days later.

To top it off, while eating dinner, I looked out the window and there in the middle of the ocean was a brilliant full rainbow.

The adventures didn't stop there. While at Sea World and Busch Gardens, we were able to pet a dolphin, manta rays, and flamingos -- once one had picked/cleaned my hair. Add to all of the above 10 minute waits for the roller coasters and it really was a wonderful break.

**A special thanks to Jillian and Diane for keeping an eye on the garden, to Christy for the wonderful night tour of the city, and to Aunt Fran and Uncle John for being such gracious hosts.