Hi all. I'm back! I put the exclamation mark at the end of that sentence to project happiness, although it's always hard to return to real life after a vacation.

I fished successfully for the first time in my life. I caught about seven croakers and one spot, and let me tell you, they were delicious. I also went crabbing, but kept attracting teeny tiny ones and we were only allowed to take huge ones. So I didn't get to eat any crabs. I also went digging for clams and found a few that are now chowder. We also got some mussels and oysters, but I don't eat those, so I left that to Vince, my seafood companion. We took the boat out on the bay and motored over to a pretty beach on Assateague Island. I was looking for the wild ponies -- another story altogether -- but instead I stepped on an enormous stingray. I thought of poor Steve Irwin. The thing chased me around in the shallow water. It was mad at me.

I got too much sun, but happily endured the pain while I watched Animal Planet in our pretty little cottage, which we rented for the week. I didn't eat too much sugar -- just a couple of ice cream cones. The people next door had a pet bunny and a brown dalmatian. We cooked our food in the cottage kitchen almost every night, so it wasn't too expensive. Really, I find being a hunter-gatherer quite delicious and cost-effective. We went to the carnival too. I felt happy and not depressed.

Getting away is good when I don't get depressed or dissociative. You never know for sure if it'll happen, but it's usually worth the risk. Thanks to Alli for letting me go on vacation without worry. She was great.