Hi Lis! I can't help with suggestions of where to go since I'm a west coaster. But I can completely and wholeheartedly agree with Laura and Gin. Take lots of xanax, valium or something similar. If you don't want to take it, slip it into the kids' juice. And start planning a quiet, private, child-free trip NOW for you and Carlos for after your family vacation. Trust me, you will need one. I'm speaking from experience here..................... We took a 14 year old and two 19 year olds to Maui last year. They weren't nearly as annoying as younger kids and I still ran out of xanax before the trip was over. Luckily for me, a lady that worked at one of the galleries I visited several times while we were there felt my pain. She very kindly dipped into her personal valium stash (she needed them to deal with all those pesky tourists) and shared with me. She was my personal savior from that point on. I personally believe that vacations with children aren't vacations at all. They are some sort of cosmic penance for past transgressions.

Scotland is so right... you need to start asking every question, and investigating every facility within reasonable distance to you. Just because someone is old, and has either mental or physical weaknesses, does NOT mean that the next step is a nursing home. I wish that we, as a culture, could start appreciating the whole picture. Life is a progression and needs to be seen as such. I think this sounds like a very good introduction for your parents to an independant/assisted living facility. You do need to talk to as many people as possible. Ask what happens if type of questions. Imagine that your Mother has a bad fall, or Dad has increasingly bad cognitive problems. WHat happens then? How would this facility help if either had major surgery and was dismissed to go back home, i.e. not into a rehab or nursing facility? The staff should be good at helping you gather info, and don't be afraid to wander the halways and start a firendly chat with people you meet. I found that a simple walk down that hall at Mother's place would take me far longer than I expected because if I met anyone, they wanted to talk usually. Try to talk to the children of the residents if possible. Talk talk talk. You'll learn a lot. I think it's great that they are actively considering this move. Grab onto that, encourage it, and yes, ask quesions. of everyone. No one goes straight into a nursing home without traumatic health problems or seriously bad AD or other mental frailties. Life is a progression. If by moving them into an apartment in this place means that you can encourage them to de-clutter their home, to gift some items, to pare down a little... that's another good aspect. I had to clear out Mother's apartment after she passed away, and I was so relieved to know that she had cleaned out so much after several moves. This is an opportunity for your parents to get their estate in order, too. It may or may not be a great large estate, but it still needs to be evaluated by their attorney, wills and trusts and advanced directives all re-examined. Keep going along this road---this is very very positive. Now that Mother is gone, a part of my mourning is missing all the people who were her neighbors. So tomorrow, I'm taking one of Mother's old friends out to lunch and a movie. (Her choice of movie---Brokeback Mountain, and she's a retired nun! This should lead to interesting discussions. But she's one of the most with-it people I've ever known, so it should be good.)

Your pics are absolutely beautiful! I would love to do a hiking vacation. It must be wonderful at night to b e way out there, eating fish you just caught and sleeping under the stars. You will probably really bond with your guy friends and I hope you have lots of pics to show us when you get back. Tale care of those "old" guys. LOL

It's about time, right? Now let's pray no more Arctic blasts...I think I've tired of those(( Is that a Kaffir lime? Laura, I must say that one of the best things I LOVE about being able to keep them outside is what they look like after rain. The leaves glisten and they just grow like weeds.