New Years Day

Hi friends! I hope 2014 is treating you well so far :)

We ended up going out for an epic family dinner on New Year's Eve to bring in the new year. 

Gotta love it when there is an open fire pit in the middle of the restaurant ;)

We walked along the boardwalk after dinner to people watch - everyone was out and about. 

Every restaurant was also decked out and blasting the beats. It was like a huge street party, so much fun! 

Since we had a huge day of scuba diving, half of our peeps started crashing pretty early, so I went out for sheesha with my little sister, her friend and one of our scuba instructors. 

At the stroke of midnight, there were fireworks that went off over the water, way too close for comfort but we survived, and then everyone started making makeshift flamethrowers and sparklers by lighting clothes soaked in kerosene and whipping them around. 

Pretty wild. 

It was probably one of the more low-key New Years that I have had for a while, but it was great to be able to spend it surrounded by my fam :) 

New Years Day

We were all pretty worn-out after forcing ourselves to stay up past midnight, so we had a chill day lounging by the water and soaking up some rays. 

There's a bit of a wind by the water, and it's a bit chilly by Egypt standards since it's their winter time, but 25C is fine by me ;) 

Hope you all had a wonderful New Years celebrations surrounded by the people that are near and dear to your heart, and I wish you a year full of happiness, prosperity and lots of fun and new adventures!! 

Boat Diving in Dahab, Egypt

Hi friends! 

I can't believe it is almost 2014 - I was just starting to get used to saying 2013! Hehe. But in all honesty (and yes, I realize it is a major faux-pas to begin a sentence with 'but') it has been a year full of big changes, both exciting and difficult ones, yet I am excited to continue my vagabond journey into the new year, and can't wait to see what is in store for me :)

Boat Diving in Dahab, Egypt

Since we are all certified divers now, we decided to go out for a day-long boat diving excursion today to make the most of the last day of 2013! 

We headed out bright and early so that we could get three dives in during the daylight. 

I was expecting a tiny motorboat type of thing, but it was a huge boat that kind of made me feel like I was on set for the movie Blue Crush ;)

Once the boat was loaded up with all of our gear, we chilled and drank some Bedouin tea for a bit and then started prepping our gear. 

We obvi had to recreate our power rangers pic ;)

It was so cool to be able to go out all together. 

My 'buddy' was my little sister Emily for the first two dives and then Katie. 

Emily, as my moms friend Brian puts it, is like a little puppy underwater - she just wants to go check everything out. It's so cute, but makes for a tiresome buddy to keep track of ;)

I'm hovering on water. 

All-in-all, it was a great day full of beautiful dives. We saw a ton of fish, gorgeous coral, alligator fish, blue speckled rays, an octopus and a lot of puffer fish. 

The boat ride back was super wavy - the wind really picked up! Made for a bit of a chilly transition from our wet suits into 'real' clothes. 

We are all having some re-coop time now, and then reconvening for a big family dinner and then heading out to a club to bring in the new year Dahab-style ;) 

Hope you all have a fabulously fun New Year's Eve, and talk to you all in 2014!!!