On Thursday a tropical storm passed over the island bringing showers all day and downpours at times.  So it was a great day to return to Philipsburg to shop with all the tourists from the 3 cruise ships that were in port for the day.  Afterwards it was time to read and rest followed by a delightful dinner at the Peg Leg Pub.  Interestingly it was called that due to the fact that Peter Styvestaunt was governor here when he lost his leg during a fight with the Spanish. 

 Friday is sunny and delightful.  Two of our couples headed to Friar’s Bay for some more snorkeling where we sighted a starfish, octopus peeking out of a shelter and dozens of other varieties of fish!  The other couple remained at the resort to sit by the beach and play tennis.  It is nearing the end of our vacation and we have had a wonderful time enjoying the area and visiting with good friends!!

On a bright and sunny Tuesday morning we headed to Pinel Island where we snorkeled among a school of yellow and black striped fish.  We saw many varieties and none were larger than 12 inches in length.  I had a disposable underwater camera and hopefully when the pictures are developed you will have an excellent view of the beauty of swimming with the fish.  Then it was on to a nature area where we put on our water shoes and walked to a volcanic island in waist deep water.  We walked among black sea urchins and saw sand dollars.  At the end of the day we headed back to our resort for dinner and an evening swim in the pool.  We are struck by the difference in daylight down here.  The sun will rise at 5:15 AM and set by 6:50 PM. 

Wed we headed out to the Marigot fish market by 6:00AM where we purchased freshly caught mahi mahi steaks and some veggies.  Then headed to a patisserie for breakfast.  The rest of the day was spent touring 2 forts, a Butterfly farm and then heading back to the pool and a wonderful dinner together.  A few more days are left to enjoy the island before we head back to reality

We all arrived safely on Sunday and enjoyed a seafood dinner at the Boathouse Restaurant.

 Today we started out first thing this morning for snorkeling in the rain.  It was a lovely beach and the 6 of us were the only occupants.  The water was warm and we all enjoyed viewing the many brightly colored fish. 

After a brief stop for groceries we ate a late breakfast and then headed out to explore and shop in Phillipsburg where we found many souvenirs and a delightful french cafe for dinner.

 We spent our evening relaxing and chatting in the pool and making plans for our snorkeling adventure for tomorrow.

Just returned from a 2 day immersion into learning about and using all the tech 2.0 tools.  I had to return home and add another message on my first blog. 

Come back next week and visit this blog if you would like to hear about my vacation activities in St. Maarten.  I can’t think of a better way to practice my new tech skills and also keep family informed!!

There are 5 days left till we head out very early in the morning to the airport and board a plane for our first trip to the Antilles Island of St. Maarten!

Sun tan lotion, beach hats, and snorkeling equipment have been purchased! Now we need to learn how to snorkel before we depart and gather our belongings to pack and make an agenda for the kids that we are leaving behind. Do we have enough time to get it all done?

We don’t have a choice so I guess it will all be done by 7:56AM on Sunday!

It is now 2 hours into our Tech 2.0 workshop and I have successfully created an account to write a blog!

Now I have a forum to write about all our activities and have family and friends check my blog to:

follow Amy’s All-Star tournaments or our vacation activities in St.Maarten etc.

I will be posting an update later about the progress of this class.

YALSA releases social networking guide for teens

In honor of National Internet Safety Month, the Young Adult
Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing
division of the American Library Association (ALA),
announces the publication of “Social Networking: A Guide
for Teens.”

YALSA created the brochure with teen audiences in mind to
assist librarians in educating teens about safe use of
online social networking software, including sites like
Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, and LiveJournal. The
guide is available as a PDF on YALSA’s Web site at
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/profdev/socialnetworking.htm.
Librarians can download the color brochure to distribute to
their teen users.

Get the details at
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/june2007/YALSAsocialguideforteens.htm