Today: Put this in your pocket. This, too.

[tweetmeme source=”elizabethev” only_single=false] That James Taylor, man.  He knows what’s up.

Oh, Mexico
It sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low
Moon’s so bright like to light up the night
Make everything all right

Our second and third ports of call aboard the Oasis of the Seas were in Mexico.  We first stopped in Costa Maya, a small tourist area (think the Epcot version of Mexico) on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, near the villages of Mahahual and Xcalak.  From Costa Maya, Nick, Tim, Stacey and I left the tourist area and took a bus through the jungle to a pristine, white sand beach for the afternoon.

This is where my soon-to-be-trademarked (you know, like, if I ever get around to it) Cool Stuff Explorations were born.  The concept is not new, but the name, at least, is hot and fresh.  When I was younger (like, 27 or so), I’d walk up and down Pleasant Road Beach or along Red River with my dad and collect cool stuff– mostly scallop shells and those shells that look like Cape Cod Potato Chips.  When the volume of cool stuff exceeded the space in my hands, I’d ask my dad to start loading up his pockets (women’s bathing suits just don’t have ’em).  By the time we’d get back to the beach blanket, I would have single-handedly disrupted and entire ecosystem and possibly given my dad scoliosis.

Anyway.  The Cool Stuff Explorations in Mahahual were incredible.  Uvero Beach is located on the second largest coral reef on the planet (if you want to know where the actual largest reef is, just ask my sister and her koala friends).  That means all kinds of amazing stuff decorated the shoreline.  And since no one stopped me, I started collecting and never looked back (until it was time to go, obvi.).

Basically, the rules of Cool Stuff Explorations are as follows:

1. Don’t take anything living.  Cool as that thing might be, it could bite you and you also might get arrested.
2. Only take what you (or your pocket-equipped companion) can carry.
3. Be judicious in your selection– it’s only a Cool Stuff Exploration if the stuff you explore for is… well… cool.
4. Have a end in mind, like, say, making coral Christmas ornaments for everyone you know (consider that surprise ruined!).
5. Wonder and awe are perfectly acceptable ends.  Repeatedly declaring how amazed you are by Mother Nature is encouraged.
6. Rule number 6 of Cool Stuff Explorations is that you can totally tell other people about Cool Stuff Explorations.  Fight Club, this is not.

For now, my cool stuff is populating a glass bowl on our coffee table.

I like to sift through the pieces of dried coral and match it to the living coral in Nick’s tank.  They’re nestled in between the perfect white shells I nabbed from the sandbar in Haiti.  If Clark had his way, he’d toss a stick or two in there.  It’s like my very own treasure chest, but better because it’s wide open (and not on the floor of the ocean).  Stay tuned (but not so tuned that you don’t get anything done) for photos and tales from our visit to the Mayan ruins at Tulum and (you better believe it!) more Cool Stuff Explorations.

Also On Tap for Today:

• Work on our condo begins today! Woot!
• Putting away the vacation summer clothes (again)
• Are you Cyber Mondaying?

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found?