Outta here

People seem to be vacating our part of the world at a rapid pace, much like the exodus to Maine in the summer. My parents are heading to Florida as they do each winter for a well-deserved month in the sun. Various other locals are on vacation in Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, and another is taking a training course in Houston.
And my photographer friend Paul, who usually hangs out in Iceland, Norway and Alaska, managed to score a timely assignment in the Caribbean and has been sending back ravishing photos of minimally clad people frolicing on the beaches of the Dominican Republic and St. Maarten:

"I'm on the last day in the Caribbean, notably unimpressed with Aruba's charms. Bonaire was my favorite by far. Didn't have enough time in Curacao to know for sure. Lovely beaches and great architecture in the old town, plus huge Venezuelan refinery belching smoke and flames. Really, it's a win-win."