"You Caught Me Kissing"

For those of you that think Scuba adds romance to your life, you're not alone! I just found a sweet review of a book I'd love to get my hands on and settle down for a good read. Doesn't this look like the perfect beach read?

Click on the link to read the simple, but touching, review about this book. To give you the highlights:

For more than fifty years, Dorothy Bridges wrote a love poem to television's SEA HUNT star Lloyd Bridges every Valentine's Day. For this Valentine's Day 2005, she published the book "You Caught Me Kissing: A Love Story" (© Copyright 2005, ibooks, distributed by Simon & Schuster).

The book is the story of the romantic saga of this legendary Scuba Diving Hollywood couple told through vignettes written by Beau, Cindy, and Jeff Bridges. Loaded with family photos and Dorothy's poems, the book is a tribute to their life-long romance.

If you see this book in a store, or any other great beach/plane read, let us know!

Hugs and fishes,
Kari

April Fav Blogs

April was a blast! Here are the five most popular posts from April (as measured in comments). We had fun, hope you did too :)

First of all, you guys loved Jenny's Mo's first official underwater post:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/down-line_12.html

Also, "Feeding Frenzy" was a hit with the web crowd:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/feeding-frenzy.html

"Feeding Frenzy" was not to be outdone by "TwoTone Tan Lines"
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/twotone-scuba-tan-lines.html

Both with four comments. Moving into the three comments category, we had the very, very sad event of a shark attack in San Diego. Thanks to the community for helping us honor this gentleman in his untimely death:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/suspected-great-white-shart-attack-san.html

We had some fun advice from Jenny Mo and web friends about proper mask clearing. I've not been diving in the ocean yet, so I can only "picture" what you guys are talking about. However, it seems like you all did an amazing job describing what I should do once I get certified! If you missed it, check it out here:
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/loosen-up.html

We also have one more post that was the most "fun" for us... we love making connections online and we really found some great scuba friends in the midst of my ode to Traci's love of mermaids!
http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/traci-who-loves-you.html

As you can tell, we are all nearing the end of finals, but we are still pretty school focused so the blogging has been hit or miss. Soon after finals, Z and I will be getting certified so that will be fun and funny all at the same time :) We have our fingers crossed that we will be taking an all girls dive trip before the summer is out, but we will keep you posted! Any ideas? We need to go somewhere that is a long weekend away from the US.

If you have a favorite friend on TwoTank you can get the posts by author as follows:

Jenny Mo: http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Jenny%20Mo
Traci: http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Traci
Z (who has been studying A LOT): http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Z
Me (Kari): http://twotank.blogspot.com/search/label/Kari

Hugs and Fishes,
Kari

Three Down - One to Go!

I just finished a final that was so confusing and hard that I cannot describe it other than as my worst school nightmare for three hours in slow-mo. Yeah, honey, THREE hours of nothing but essay - corporate law no less. So, that was the end of my third final. I have one more next week.

After that I will be a free woman! I might paint my face blue :) As a celebration, I am taking the rest of the night off from thinking and going to dinner with some old friends from home. I think there are few things on the planet as wonderful as old friends that know you so well, it's almost hard to keep the conversation going because you already know EVERTHING about each other. I love that. So, hats off to old friends and being (almost) done with finals!

Hugs and fishes,
Kari

P.S. Once I'm done with finals I get to start my SCUBA certification... so excited! I've even started calling / e-mailing local shops for price quotes. Don't worry, I blog all the action :)

Looking Fish-y

Jenny Mo and I attended a fun dinner together recently. We tried our best to look like we were underwater in the photo... yeah, we just ended up looking silly, but hey, anything for the love of scuba, right?

Kiwi Dreams

New Zealand might be the prettiest place on the planet... it definitely has the most charming people, aka Kiwis that you will EVER meet. I visited Wellington, Martinborough, Featherston, (generally the Wairarapa) and the world famous Wharekauhau Country Estate. You have to see Wharekauhau to believe it... http://www.wharekauhau.co.nz/

So, now I need to know, when I head back to that part of the world in the fall... where should I dive? Should I stick to the North Island or should I venture to the South Island? Please help SCUBA pros :)

In the meantime, if you are dreaming about going to New Zealand, do not pass go, do not collect $200, get on a plane right now. New Zealand will change you forever! Here are some of my photos from the trip!

Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel

I've been blessed to visit some beautiful places on this planet and stay in some hotels with great character. This major travel / adventure bug has lead to my desire to become scuba certified. What better place to explore than underwater? That's the last great frontier, right? I've visited all of the majorly inhabited continents (read I'm not counting Antarctica) other than South America. I hope to visit the magical land of South America soon and very soon. In the meantime, I am just going to share with you places I've been that when I REVISIT will be amazing places to dive (example: my post about my visit to Australia http://twotank.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-time-in-land-down-under.html). If you are lucky enough to already be certified, you may want to check these places out, ASAP.

A place near and dear to my heart is the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/LagunaNiguel/Default.htm The pictures tell it all! Notice how much my pictures look like the pictures on the hotel website? This means that the property is SO beautiful that a horrible shot like me can get a fantastic pic :) This hotel is wonderfully appointed, but very laid back. I love that combo. Don't get me wrong, I love nice stuff, but nothing ruins my vacation like pretentious and snotty. Can I get an amen? The beach was amazing, the multiple pools were awesome, and they had the most unbelievable work-out space I've ever seen. I think it was a three-story glass front to the workout / yoga space that basically had you hovering over the water while you were sweating it out on the treadmill. But, if you just want the most relaxing breakfast of your life, this is the place to go. The Ritz has several breakfast rooms overlooking the ocean. It is just pure bliss. So, to send a little bliss and relaxation into your day, I am including a couple shots from my stay at this amazing property. Has anyone done any diving in the OC? Where should I stay when I come back to visit SoCal?

Hugs and fishes,

Kari

My time in a "Land Down Under"

I spent some time in Australia this past Christmas season and I totally fell in LOVE. Sydney is for lovers, forget Paris :) I am so excited that I am getting my certification this summer because, if all goes as planned, I am spending two weeks in Australia this fall. I cannot even imagine the bliss that will be diving off the Australian shore! Our travel plans are pretty flexible so I'd love some suggestions on where to dive and which dive shops to use. Can't wait until I'm "leaving on a jet plane" and headed back to the land down under :) Here are a few random pics from my last visit... I look forward to your suggestions / tips / fun stories!

Hugs and fishes,

Kari

I'd Rather Be in Hawaii

I should be studying for finals right now, but I can't stop thinking about Hawaii! Here's why, I can't get away from the all the billboards and bus signs saying how much some guy hates Sarah Marshall.

Have you seen all those signs and commercials about "I hate Sarah Marshall"? The movie attached to this ad campaing, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, opens any day now, at least in the big cities http://www.forgettingsarahmarshall.com/. Why does this movie make me think about my own trip to Hawaii? When I was in Hawaii last summer, I stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort (http://www.turtlebayresort.com) and that's where they filmed the movie. I was there while they were actually filming Forgetting Sarah Marshall. We had a blast watching the huge camera crew, actors, and set design technicans rush around and reshoot sceens. I even got to meet Edward Norton in the elevator!

I cannot wait to go see the movie and relive my amazing time at Turtle Bay. If you ever want to get away from it all, but still stay in a hotel, you should stay at Turtle Bay!!!

Hugs and fishes,
Kari