As I write this Steve and I are blissfully sailing through the Panama Canal. Though I had heard this journey was unbelievable it is hard to convey the magnitude of this project.

We took a tour of Panama City and our very knowledgeable tour guide – Anna – gave us the lowdown on Panamanian history. We learned about the origins of the building of the Panama Canal – one of the seven wonders of the modern world – a project that was started by the French in the 1880s (and abandoned by them in 1888); however, in 1902 the U.S. stepped in, completing the project in 1914. The purpose of the Canal was to greatly reduce the amount of time it took to navigate from one ocean to another; in our case, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Before the Canal, it would take additional weeks to months to circumnavigate the route by rounding the southern tip of South America.

As we make our way to the Atlantic Ocean, it’s awe-inspiring to think about the man-hours spent – and number of men sacrificed – to complete this ambitious project. I am so grateful to be able to make this trip – and to those at the CV Weekly that have made this escape possible.

And speaking of my friends back home … I cannot believe that, as I bake in the sunshine, the southland is being blasted by freezing rain and even snow! My friend who is watching the dogs and the house said the water in the dogs’ outside  bowl was frozen solid. Unbelievable! I asked her to take photos of the snow that we learned via social media was falling in our neighborhood. Apparently a lull in storms provided a brief respite before the area was to be hit again. I shudder to think how my convertible is holding up to the barrage of rain.

Ah, well. I’ll just get another piña colada and think about something else.