Adventures in Tonga

I've been away with no access to internet (decent internet) for 2 weeks while away on the Pacific island of Tonga. I can't lie having no TV or internet for 2 weeks was blissful. Life in the pacific is sloooow paced. Least stressed people on earth. Have to be somewhere? Don't worry, they are in no hurry. Tonga was a fantastic trip and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed myself. It is nice to be back where I'm not sweating all the time though. Being smelly 24-7 is not exactly ideal. But I learned some great things about the people, the culture, and how much I love being with my husband. We spent our 2 year anniversary there and it was fabulous. Some pics from our trip...

We found some incredible shells and coral while swimming/snorkeling through finding nemo worthy waters. The people in our group probably thought I was strange for swooning over the different types of broken coral, but they had such great texture! No one else seemed to appreciate them as much as I do. My husband also picked up 14 WHOLE beautiful sand dollars just hangnin out on the ocean floor. Each had to be washed and bleached cause they STUNK. I intend to draw/paint all of them and maybe have my advanced art students draw their beautiful twists and turns next year too.

I painted this artichoke before leaving for tonga. I admit the purple swirls around it were probably a mistake...I will fix them. But I loved painting it. I was inspired by Kal Barteski.