Here I Am...

Oi! The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Travel has picked right up and I've been leaving the city nearly every week this month. After my trip to San Antonio for the city's Fiesta celebration, I visited Gulf Shores in Alabama to learn more about the nature scene in the area and eat way too much seafood (I think I ate enough shrimp, crabs, and deep fried whatever to last me a lifetime). A few highlights:

- Taking a golf cart tour through 12 miles of the Hugh Branyon Back Country Trail. It was such a relaxing early morning trek through sunshine and shade that I wanted a nap right after.

- Feeding a Bengal tiger with a baby bottle before playing with White Bengal tiger cubs Yeti and Kolkata at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. I took tons of photos, but my favorite are the ones freelance writer Cheré Dastugue Coen took of me when one of the cubs finally shed his shyness and ran right up to play with me and my camera. They were like big kittens and left all of us wanting to take one home.

- As if playing with adorable baby tigers weren't enough, during a nature cruise our group witnessed quite a few dolphins including an expected a maternity pod with a newborn.

Fun Facts: Fires can actually be beneficial and rangers will produce controlled fires every couple of years to promote growth. Also, new dolphin moms get an instant nanny once their baby is born and this "aunty" is able to lactate along with her.

Must Eat: If you ever do find yourself in Gulf Shores, you must try the Royal Red shrimp at King Neptune's Seafood Restaurant. It is unbelievable and hands down the best shrimp I've ever tasted (and the Amaretto Orange Blossom Daiquiri tasted like a yummy kimalito cocktail). And Al and Diane are real down-to-earth owners.

This weekend, I took a last-minute trip to Miami to catch the six teams (but mainly Abu Dhabi) in the Volvo Ocean Race during their North American stop-over. It would've been a fairly laid-back trip, but numerous speedboat thrills and a terrifying two-hour experience chasing racing sailboats through choppy waters on a small dingy while holding on for dear life brought us home with plenty of stories to tell.

Fun Fact: Abu Dhabi means "father of the gazelle" after one led tribe hunters to a spring and the island's discovery. In Greek, Dorcas means "doe, gazelle."

Must Eat: If you're ever hungry and waiting for your flight in Miami International Airport, you have to try the delicious Cuban food at Ku-Va Restaurant and Bar in North Terminal D19.

And still the traveling is not over as I have a road trip with the girls to Virginia Beach in the coming days immediately followed by a trip to Los Angeles with A. to visit the family. No joke, I've been living out of my suitcase for weeks, unpacking, washing clothes, and packing them right back in. I feel so displaced! So follow my tweets to keep up with currently hectic life and to catch pics and notes about my travels.