La Via da Qui

The bride is a girl I've known most of my life. She used to hide behind her mother's skirt and it frustrated me because I wanted to play with her. Over the years, she grew into probably the loveliest girl I know; sweetly nervous but deservedly happy, the most gorgeous blue eyes and an ever present smile. They've been together for 8 years, but I haven't met the groom many times. I've been busy living my city life and they live on the farm where my father was raised. I have met him enough times to feel that I know him and to be pleased that the happiness of such a good friend is safe in his hands, and that the house which holds so many treasured memories of my grandparents is safe on his farm. He speaks openly and he laughs often. The day dawned darkly, clouds and spits of rain threatened from the skies, but lacked the will to stay for long and eventually retreated to make way for yellow light and fresh wind. We skuttled around in the bathroom, complaining about our m...

People travel from all around the world to Monkey Mia, sitting high on Australia's west coast, where they get out of bed early in the morning to stand in a huge group of people and watch a bunch of dolphins swim around. It's nice enough but in the scheme of things, it really isn't a very special experience. Special experiences are something you don't have to go far to find in WA, certainly not all the way to Monkey Mia. On Friday morning I woke to the sun streaming in through my bedroom window and the breeze floating softly across my cheek, the wooden blinds that shade my window clicking softly against each other. I rolled out of bed, pulled on a bikini and grabbed my bag with sunscreen, hat and towel in it, then drove fifteen minutes north to The Beach Shack. A boat greeted me in the front yard, then a dog and finally his owner, my host. His sister followed soon afterwards, and throwing our stuff into the boat, we hooked it up and headed down the road to the boat launc...