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[lifeofpriya]

Romance in The Hamptons - Alexis Lafrenière imagine

[gif credit goes to @alexislafreniere]

author's note: this is my submission for @wyattjohnston's summer 2k24 fic exchange, and i had the amazing pleasure of writing for @wildrangers! a quick shoutout to @2manytabsopen for helping me with Laf's characterization -- love you, bestie 🫶🏼. but yeah, i hope y'all enjoy the fic!

summary: summertime in The Hamptons leads to a budding romance...

wc: 3,028 words

"I still can't believe you managed to find us such a swanky rental," you giggled at your friend, Jamie, as you stepped into the luxury house that was nestled away in The Hamptons. The walls were painted in a cool, beachy white, and the smell of freshly cut grass and lemon cleaner filled the space. The floorboards groaned slightly underfoot, echoing the promise of lazy days and wild nights ahead.

Jamie shot you a knowing smile. "What can I say? Sometimes, being a travel agent has its perks." The house was indeed a steal for the season, boasting an expansive backyard that led directly to the beach, a hot tub that was already bubbling invitingly, and a fully stocked kitchen that made you want to throw a dinner party every night.

You set down your bags and took a moment to appreciate the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room. The sun was setting over the ocean, casting a warm, golden glow across the waves. The horizon looked like a canvas painted with a watercolor wash of pinks and oranges. You felt a gentle breeze waft in, carrying the salty scent of the sea. It was the perfect escape from the stifling city heat.

"Let's grab some drinks and hit the beach," Jamie suggested, tossing you a beach towel. You nodded eagerly, feeling the excitement of the vacation bubble up inside you. The two of you walked out the back door and down the short wooden staircase to the sand. The grains felt warm and soft underfoot as you laid your towel on the sand and pulled out a novel you'd been dying to read. The waves rolled in, a rhythmic soundtrack to the quiet evening that was quickly filling with the distant laughter of other vacationers.

As you settled in, you could hear the faint sounds of laughter and a beach ball bouncing in the distance. You glanced over to see a group of people playing beach volleyball, their shadows stretching long across the sand.

Shrugging your shoulders, you diverted your attention back to your novel, eager to dive into the story between the pages. Well, all was going well until you heard someone yell out, "Heads up!"

You looked up just in time to see a beach ball flying towards you. Instinctively, you reached out and caught it, feeling the rough texture and coolness against your palms.

You turned to see who had thrown it, and that's when you saw him: Alexis Lafreniere. He was jogging over, a sheepish grin on his face, with a group of friends in tow. "Sorry about that," he said, his French-Canadian accent making your heart skip a beat. "Are you okay?”

You felt your cheeks flush as you nodded, holding onto the beach ball. "Yeah, I'm fine," you replied, trying to sound calmer than you felt.

Alexis looked relieved and chuckled. "Good catch," he said, closing the distance between you. His eyes were a warm brown, and his brown hair was a wild mess from the wind. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Alexis.”

You took his hand, feeling the firm grip and the warmth that radiated from his skin. "Nice to meet you," you said, your voice a tad shakier than you'd have liked. "I'm…" But before you could say your name, one of his friends called out, "Laf, come on! We need you back!”

With an apologetic look, Alexis took the beach ball from you. "I'd love to chat more, but we're in the middle of a game. Maybe I'll catch you around?" He didn't wait for your response before he turned and sprinted back to the volleyball match.

You watched him go, his athletic build moving with ease across the sand. As the game resumed, you couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he didn't ask for your name. You shrugged it off, telling yourself it was probably for the best.

The days in the Hamptons passed in a blur of sunscreen, salt water, and late-night bonfires. You and Jamie had made a pact to enjoy every moment, and you both stuck to it. The group playing beach volleyball every evening grew familiar, their laughter a comforting background to your own adventures. But Alexis remained elusive, always disappearing before you had the chance to approach him again.

\\\

One sun-kissed afternoon, you found yourself at the local ice cream shop, the bell jingling as you stepped inside. The walls were adorned with vintage posters of surfers and sailboats, and the smell of fresh waffle cones filled the air. You scanned the flavors, feeling the anticipation of choosing the perfect one to cool off with. That's when you heard it again - that accent. You turned around to see Alexis standing behind you, a sheepish look on his face as he realized you'd caught him.

"Hey," he said, running a hand through his hair. "It's you. From the beach. With the good catch." His smile was as warm as the day outside, and you felt your heart do a little flip. "I've been hoping to run into you again.”

You couldn't help but return the smile. "Well, you found me," you said, trying to play it cool. "What brings you here?”

Alexis shrugged. "Just needed a break from the heat. You know, the usual." His eyes searched yours, looking for something unspoken. "I've seen you around the beach, but I never got the chance to talk. I've been wanting to apologize for that. I'm usually not so… abrupt.”

You laughed it off, feeling a flutter in your chest. "It's fine. I've been pretty busy enjoying the sun and the waves." You paused, then took a risk. "So, are you staying in the area for long?"

Alexis nodded. "Yeah, l've got a place here for the summer. I try to get out of the city as much as I can." His eyes searched yours for a moment, and you felt a spark of curiosity. He was famous, but here, he was just a guy trying to escape the heat with an ice cream cone.

"What about you?" he asked, breaking the silence. "What brings you to the Hamptons?" You leaned against the counter, feeling the coolness of the marble seep through your shirt.

"Just a summer vacation with my bestie," you replied, gesturing towards Jamie, who was chatting with the cashier. "We wanted to get out of the city and enjoy some beach time.”

Alexis nodded, his gaze lingering on you before looking away. "It's a great place for that," he said, his eyes scanning the ice cream flavors. "So, what's your go-to?”

You pointed to the mint chocolate chip. "Can't go wrong with that," you said with a grin.

Alexis nodded thoughtfully. "Good choice. I'l have the same," he told the cashier, then turned back to you. "Would you like to sit outside?" He gestured to the small patio with a few tables scattered under an umbrella.

You felt a rush of excitement. "Sure," you said, trying to keep your cool. As you stepped outside, the warm sun kissed your skin, and you found yourself hoping it wasn't about to turn into a sweaty mess. Alexis pulled out a chair for you, and you sat down, watching as he did the same.

You both licked at your mint chocolate chip cones, the sweetness a stark contrast to the salty ocean air.

"So, are you guys here for the whole summer?" Alexis asked, breaking the ice between you.

You took a bite of your ice cream, the mint and chocolate a delightful blend on your tongue.

"We're here for a couple of weeks," you replied, hoping you didn't sound too eager. "It's our annual escape from reality.”

Alexis laughed, a deep, rich sound that made you want to lean closer. "I get that," he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "It's nice to just… be, you know?”

You nodded, feeling the beginnings of a connection. "Yeah, I do," you said, your voice a little softer than you intended.

Alexis's eyes searched yours, and for a moment, it was as if the rest of the world had disappeared. "You guys should come to our beach party tonight," he said, his voice low and inviting. "It's nothing crazy, just some friends and a bonfire.”

Your heart raced, and you felt a jolt of excitement. "That sounds amazing," you replied, trying to keep the eagerness from your voice. "What time?”

Alexis leaned back in his chair, his eyes still locked on yours. "It starts around eight. Just follow the sound of the music and the smell of the bonfire. It's not hard to miss." He took a bite of his ice cream, the chocolate chips glinting in the sun.

You couldn't believe your luck. "We'll definitely be there," you said, trying to keep the excitement from spilling over.

Alexis nodded, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Great," he said. "I'l make sure to save you a spot by the fire.”

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of excitement and preparation. You and Jamie spent hours picking out the perfect outfits and getting ready for the night ahead. The anticipation was palpable, a mix of nerves and excitement that had you checking the time on your phone every few minutes.

\\\

Finally, the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting the sky in a tapestry of oranges and purples. You and Jamie made your way down to the beach, the sound of the waves and distant laughter growing louder with each step. As you approached the bonfire, you could see the flickering flames and the silhouettes of people dancing around it. The smell of roasting marshmallows and woodsmoke filled the air, making your stomach rumble.

Alexis spotted you before you saw him, waving from the edge of the light. He was dressed casually in board shorts and a white t-shirt, his feet buried in the sand. You felt a flutter in your chest as he made his way over, his smile growing wider as he approached. "You came," he said, his eyes lighting up.

You nodded, feeling the heat from the bonfire warming your face. "We couldn't miss it," you replied, trying to sound casual.

Alexis took your hand, leading you through the crowd to a spot he'd reserved. "I'm so happy you're here," he said, his voice sincere. The warmth of his hand sent a thrill down your spine, and you couldn't help but squeeze his fingers gently in return.

The party was in full swing, with music playing from a portable speaker and people of all ages mingling around the fire. You recognized some of the faces from the beach volleyball games, but there were plenty of new faces too. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, the kind of gathering that made you feel like you'd been coming here for years.

Alexis introduced you to his friends, who were all welcoming and curious about the newcomer. You chatted and laughed, sharing stories of past summers and the thrill of escaping the city. The fire crackled and popped, casting a warm glow over everyone's faces. As the night grew darker, the stars began to appear, twinkling like diamonds scattered across a velvet sky.

You watched as Alexis interacted with his friends, his ease and charm evident in every gesture and word. When he turned to you, his eyes held a warmth that made you feel seen and appreciated. You found yourself sharing stories of your childhood and hopes for the future more than you usually would with a stranger. His questions were thoughtful, and his laugh was genuine.

The party began to wind down as the night grew later, and the group around the bonfire grew smaller. The stars grew brighter, and the crackling fire painted shadows on the sand. Alexis leaned closer, the heat from his body a comforting warmth against the cooling night air. "Would you like to take a walk?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper that sent a shiver down your spine.

You nodded, unable to hide the smile that had been playing on your lips all evening.

\\\

Hand in hand, you strolled along the beach, the waves whispering secrets as they kissed the shore. The moon was a silver crescent, casting a soft glow that danced on the water's surface. The sound of the party grew faint behind you, replaced by the rhythmic pulse of the ocean.

"This is incredible," you murmured, feeling the cool sand between your toes.

Alexis nodded in agreement, his eyes never leaving yours. "It's one of my favorite things about being out here. The quiet moments when you can just listen to the ocean.”

You let the sound of the waves wash over you, the saltwater breeze playing with your hair. The stars above twinkled with a clarity that was impossible to find in the city, and the darkness of the night wrapped around you like a comforting blanket. The tension between you was palpable, a delicate dance of attraction that neither of you wanted to acknowledge outright.

As you strolled further down the beach, the moonlight reflected off the waves, creating a path of shimmering light that led you to a secluded cove. Alexis stopped, turning to face you, his hand still holding yours. "It's beautiful here," he said, his eyes searching yours.

You nodded, feeling the butterflies in your stomach. "It really is," you replied, your voice barely audible over the whispers of the tide.

Alexis took a step closer, and you could feel the warmth of his breath against your cheek. The air was thick with unspoken words, and the scent of the bonfire lingered on his skin. His eyes searched yours, and for a moment, you thought he might lean in for a kiss. Instead, he tugged on your hand, leading you closer to the water's edge.

The waves lapped gently at your feet, the cool water a stark contrast to the warm sand. You watched as the moon's reflection danced in the ripples, creating a dazzling pattern that stretched out to the horizon. The silence between you was comfortable, filled with the steady rhythm of the ocean and the occasional call of a night bird. You felt a sense of peace that was rare in the bustling city life you were used to.

Alexis released your hand and took a seat on a piece of driftwood, patting the spot next to him. You sat down, feeling the wood's smoothness against your legs, the salt and sea-worn edges digging in slightly. The warmth of his body was a comforting presence beside you, and you couldn't help but lean in slightly, feeling the electricity in the air.

For a moment, you both just sat there, watching the waves play in the moonlight. The silence stretched out, filled with the sound of the ocean's whispers and the distant laughter from the party. It was as if the universe had paused just for you two, the rest of the world fading away into the background.

Alexis turned to you, his eyes searching yours. "You know," he began, his voice low and earnest, "I've been thinking about you a lot since that first day on the beach.”

You felt your heart skip a beat, unsure of how to respond. "I've… I've thought about you too," you admitted, the words tumbling out before you could stop them.

Alexis's smile grew, reaching his eyes. "I'm really glad to hear that," he said, his voice warm and sincere. He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, his touch sending a shiver down your neck. "You know, I don't usually do this sort of thing," he began, his gaze dropping to your lips.

You felt your breath hitch, the anticipation building in your chest. "What sort of thing?" you asked, your voice barely a whisper.

Alexis leaned in, his gaze never leaving yours. "This," he murmured, before his lips met yours in a soft, gentle kiss. The taste of mint chocolate lingered on his mouth, mingling with the salty tang of the sea air. Your heart raced as you melted into the moment, the feel of his hands on your arms anchoring you to the present. It was a kiss filled with promise and hope, a whisper of what could be.

When you pulled back, the world felt different somehow. The stars seemed closer, the ocean's whispers more intimate. You searched his eyes for reassurance and a sign that this was real. Alexis's gaze was steady, his smile warm and inviting. "I've wanted to do that since the first time I saw you," he admitted, his thumb brushing against your cheek.

You felt a blush creep up your neck, your heart racing in your chest. "I've wanted it too," you murmured, your voice barely above the sound of the waves. The air was charged with a tension that was both thrilling and terrifying. You didn't know where this was going but didn't want it to end.

Alexis leaned in again, his lips brushing against yours in a soft, tender kiss that made your toes curl. His hands moved to the small of your back, pulling you closer, and you melted into him, feeling the heat of his body against yours. It was as if the universe had conspired to bring you to this moment, under the stars with the sound of the ocean as your soundtrack.

When the kiss ended, you both sat there for a moment, the only sound the gentle whoosh of the waves. Alexis's hand remained on the small of your back, his thumb tracing small circles that sent delightful shivers down your spine. You took a deep breath, filling your lungs with the scent of the sea and the faint hint of his cologne.

"Thank you for walking with me," he whispered, his eyes never leaving yours.

You nodded, unable to find the words to express the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside you. You felt a strange mix of excitement and fear, knowing that this could be the start of something beautiful or just a fleeting summer fling.

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[wheresmynaya]

Lost in the Lights Ch.18|Brittana

A/N - Just a little something that yall might find some comfort in today so I’ve written a short epilogue. I’m not usually one for fluff, but I figured we might need it. I’ve always considered writing as something I can do to uphold Naya’s legacy because Santana is apart of that legacy and here, she’s always living her best life.

Thinking of you all today 💙

Available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) & under the cut!

Once again, Brittany finds herself standing alone in her bedroom surrounded by boxes. It’s a little weird seeing her room looking so bare, but this move doesn’t drudge up the same kind of mournful feelings the last one did. This time there’s excitement, there’s anticipation, there’s –

“Hey B,” Santana gives a little tap at Brittany’s bedroom door. “Need a hand?”

Brittany turns to find Santana giving her that same soft grin she has come to adore. She’s leaned against the door frame, clad in her jean cut-offs and a plain t-shirt, and Brittany’s never been so enamored.

“What?” Santana’s grin widens.

Brittany smirks, “Can’t I check out my hot girlfriend?”

Santana rolls her eyes although her cheeks flush, “Smooth as ever.”

“You know it,” Brittany winks before she goes to zip her suitcase. “You’ll be happy to know that I’ve finally finished packing my room. It’s been a super productive afternoon.”

Santana sputters out a laugh as she glances around Brittany’s bedroom. The walls are bare aside from a couple framed pictures Brittany couldn’t find it in herself to take down. The desk by the window is neat and tidy for once too, but what makes Santana stop are the two gold crowns hanging off of one of Brittany’s football trophies.

“Not taking these?”

Brittany turns to find Santana pulling one off and putting it on. She looks just as regal as she did on Prom night and it makes Brittany’s heart feel so full. She can’t help but reminisce at how beautiful Santana looked all done up – she really took her breath away that night.

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” Brittany teases, ��Too bad Quinn will be at Yale. I’m sure she’s going to miss the constant reminder that we won instead of her and Mike.”

“I can still text her,” Santana quips as she takes off the crown and sets it down where she found it. She goes back to looking around the room again, “It doesn’t look like you in here anymore.”

“Yeah,” Brittany sighs as she looks around too. Her eyes settle on Santana and she begins to grin, “But it’ll be so much fun decorating our own place together. It’ll look like the both of us.”

“True,” Santana grins, “I can’t wait.”

“Me neither!”

“I can’t believe how fast the year went by,” Santana mentions, “It feels like just yesterday that I was jumping off swings with you.”

“You mean head-butting me?” Brittany jokes.

“That too,” Santana laughs, “And now we’re off to college…together.”

“Not just yet,” Brittany reminds her with a pat to her suitcase.

“That’s right,” Santana nods to it, “That everything?

Brittany looks down and smiles, “Yup!”

Santana eyes the lone bag warily, “You’re only bringing one?”

“We’re only going for two weeks,” Brittany replies with a giggle, “You’d be surprised how much I fit in here. Bikinis don’t take up that much space which is a plus.”

She looks to Santana again hoping to see a smile but instead she finds her worrying her bottom lip. It makes Brittany chuckle as she closes the distance between them. Once she’s close enough, her hands land on Santana’s hips.

“Don’t stress,” She tells her sweetly, “That defeats the purpose of a vacation.”

“I’m not stressed,” Santana shrugs, “I’m just wondering…if I packed a little too much now?”

Brittany only giggles before pressing a kiss to Santana’s lips.

“You’re cute,” She says.

Santana only sighs through her smile, “Can you tell I’m a little nervous?”

“A little?”

Santana pouts, “This is my first big road trip. I didn’t want to forget anything.”

Brittany wraps her arms around Santana, holding her close, “I’m sure you’ve got everything and if not we can always buy stuff. You know Florida does have a mall, right?”

Santana was a little hesitant about joining the Pierce Family on their vacation back down to Florida for Summer break because she didn’t want to intrude on their family time, she’s so considerate like that. Brittany couldn’t imagine spending two whole weeks without her though, even Pete and Whitney begged for Santana to go.

Plus, it was the perfect opportunity to show her around Brittany’s old stomping grounds and most importantly, take her to one of her favorite places. With all of that taken into consideration, Santana couldn’t find it in her to deny Brittany this. She also didn’t mind getting out of Lima for the Summer, beats tanning by the pool alone.  

“Babe, this is going to be great,” Brittany says earnestly, “It’s going to be relaxing and we’ll get to spend so much time together doing all kinds of fun things. It’ll be exactly what we need before we have to leave for Columbus, because you know once we get there it’ll be all work. I’ll have to start football training again and you’ll have cheer conditioning.”

“You’re right. Ohio State doesn’t mess around,” Santana nods as she begins smiling again, “This’ll be great. I’ve never been on vacation like this before.”

“Neither,” Brittany grins before grabbing her suitcase again. “Let’s go. We’ve got a lot of road to cover.”

\\

Brittany and Santana decide to drive Santana’s car down to Florida ahead of Whitney and Pete who are catching a flight a couple days later. They take several pit stops along the way, making sure to snap silly photos by all of the state line signs so Santana can text them to Maribel and Hector to keep them updated on their adventure so far.

It probably takes them twice as long to make the trip, but it’s well worth it when Brittany gets to watch Santana’s eyes brighten as they finally cross the Florida state line.

“It’s so much different than Lima,” Santana says as she stares out the window at all the passing palm trees, their fronds waving hello in the warm breeze as they drive by.

Brittany only glances over with this cheek-bunching grin before she’s back to concentrating on the road ahead.

\\

A while later, they pull up to the rental Whitney organized and this time Brittany’s the one who’s in awe.

“No way!” She exclaims as she triple checks the address her mom gave.

“What is it?” Santana questions.

“I used to point this house out all the time when we lived here,” Brittany tells her, “Pete and I called it the Unicorn House because of the pink shutters and the baby blue door. We always thought it was so cool, the most colorful house on the beach. I had no idea it was a rental!”

Santana smiles, “Well let’s go check it out.”

Relieved to stretch their legs and really start their vacation in the sun, Santana and Brittany make quick work of unloading the car and moving everything inside. Just like Brittany figured, the inside of the house was just as cool as the outside. All modern fixtures, colorful artwork decorating the walls, but the real attention-grabber was the view.

“Wow,” They said in unison as they approached the back sliding doors that led out onto the terrace. It was nothing but white sand and clear blue water.

“Let’s open it,” Brittany says and goes to pull open the glass door. There’s a light breeze and the scent of saltwater. Brittany smiles into it; she can’t believe how much she’s missed this.

Lima’s been great to her, it’s the place she met the most perfect girl ever, but this place will always hold a special spot in her heart too. As she glances to her side at her girlfriend, her smile grows because now she gets to share it with her too.

“What do you say we make a quick run to the shops so we can have breakfast out there?” Brittany suggest with a grin, “We can unpack and stuff later.”

“Sounds awesome,” Santana replies, “When’s your mom and Pete flying in again?”

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Brittany says as she gives a little tug at Santana’s shirt, “We’ve got the whole place to ourselves until then.”

Santana’s grin widens, “Even better.”

\\

They decide to load up on fresh fruit, because after so many hours of fast food and gas station snacks they are dying for something healthy. Together they walk the aisles hand in hand, stopping every so often to add something to the basket Brittany carries.

It’s not their first trip to the store together, but it feels different this time knowing that it’s just them. Everyone they know is back in Lima, so doing something like grocery shopping together in Florida makes them feel so grown up and independent.

For a second, Brittany wonders if this is what it’ll feel like once they move away together for college. She’s sure the novelty of it all is bound to wear off the more they do it, but for now she leans into the excitement of it. The thought makes her feel giddy inside because she can’t picture herself doing such a routine thing with anyone other than Santana.

“Should we get anything else?” Santana wonders after adding a punnet of blueberries to the basket.

Brittany looks at their haul so far and shakes her head, “Nah. We can just order take out later if we want?”

Santana nods and they make their way to the check out lane.

\\

Back at the rental, Santana’s in the kitchen getting all of their fruits washed and cut up when Brittany reappears clad in her bright pink bikini.

“Okay! Your turn,” She calls out as she makes her way into the kitchen.

Santana does a quick glance up to reply then does a double take when she sees what Brittany has on. Her jaw drops at the sight and she nearly cuts off a finger!

“Woah,” Santana says in time as her eyes rake up Brittany’s tone figure, “I was not prepared.”

“Should I put on a shirt?” Brittany jokes.

“No, no,” Santana’s quick to respond, “No shirts. You can stay just like that.”

Brittany blushes as Santana continues checking her out. It makes her feel warm all over and a little confident too because usually Santana’s the one getting her worked up. It’s a nice change when the tables are turned.

“So, you want to go change and I’ll finish here?” Brittany asks.

Santana’s still staring as Brittany comes closer. She doesn’t even blink until Brittany’s tapping at the bottom of her chin with this smug grin on her face.

“Hmm?” She hums, “What?”

“Do you want to go change now?”

Santana smirks as she pulls Brittany in and pins her against the counter, “It’s not really the first thing on my mind right now.”

“Oh?” Brittany’s grin turns devilish.

Santana bites her bottom lip as she plays with the knot at Brittany’s hip. “The extra football training you’ve been doing is really paying off. Like I’ve always thought you were the hottest girl to ever walk the surface of the Earth, but damn.”

“Go change,” Brittany tells her with a giggle. “We’ll never get to the beach at this rate.”

“Fine by me,” Santana teases as she wraps her arms around Brittany’s waist and starts littering her neck with soft kisses. “Like so fine by me.”

Brittany struggles because having Santana’s lips on her is always kind of like kryptonite, but her desire to experience Santana’s first trip to the beach outweighs spending the rest of the morning wrapped up in bedsheets. Call her crazy, but they’ve got all day to mess around meanwhile the sun’s only out for so long.  

“Baby, as good as this feels,” Brittany sighs as she pulls away. She stares down at Santana lovingly, “I really want to take you to the beach first. Just you and me.”

Santana cutely pouts and it has Brittany giggling.

“Come on,” She says with a little pinch at Santana’s side, “I think it’ll be worth it.”

“I think it opens up lots of opportunities to be a tease,” Santana complains jokingly.

“Good thing we won’t be far from here then,” Brittany winks in return.

\\

Once Santana finally got changed, she met Brittany back in the kitchen where the blonde had packed a bag with their breakfast and a couple bottles of water along with their beach towels. Brittany had her sunglasses sitting atop her head, her long blonde hair free from its messy bun from earlier.

“Ready?” She asked excitedly.

Santana only grinned as she reached for Brittany’s hand to hold and together they made their way down the wooden terrace steps until their bare feet met warm sand. Brittany was already headed for the coastline, but Santana stopping held her back. She turned, wondering if Santana forgot something, when she realized it wasn’t that at all.

Santana never felt the feeling of sand between her toes before.

A smile formed on Brittany’s face as she watched Santana wiggle her toes. It was only for a moment, a little excited squeak of a giggle escaping the brunette before she looked up again – ready to go. Brittany only wrapped her arm around Santana’s shoulders, kissing the top of her head as they started to walk again.

Picking the perfect spot was always something Brittany took pretty seriously, but on this section of the beach – any spot was perfect. They were just far enough away from the popular areas so it wasn’t too crowded where they were.

“I’ve never seen water so blue,” Santana admires as she stares at the crashing waves. “Beats the lake in Lima.”

“Definitely,” Brittany chuckles.

They end up laying out their blanket a few yards away from the water so they don’t have to walk very far to get in. While Santana smooths out the blanket, Brittany sets down their bag and starts to pull out their towels and breakfast.

Together, they sit side by side and share from one bowl Santana found in the kitchen. It’s a mix of all the fruit they picked up earlier and with their feet in the sand and the sound of the waves and seagulls in the distance they’ve never felt so at peace.

“Is it true that you have to wait thirty minutes after eating before you can swim?” Brittany wonders aloud. She’s resting back on her elbows, her legs outstretched but she’s still too far away to touch the water.

Santana shrugs, “I have no idea. Probably should though just to be safe.”

“True,” Brittany grins as Santana lies back too.

She’s already starting to tan and Brittany can’t take her eyes off of her. It’s almost like this is too good to be true and she finds herself reaching out to touch just to make sure.

\\

Once their thirty minutes are up, Brittany’s on her feet trying to coax Santana into the water but who knew she’d put up such a fight?

“We didn’t come all this way to just sit in the sand,” Brittany teases as she tugs on Santana’s hand, “Come on.”

“That water is about to be cold as hell. No thank you!”

“Hell isn’t cold, Santana.”

“You know what I mean,” Santana then gets up when she finally breaks out of Brittany’s hold, “Now way I’m getting in.”

“But it’s not even cold,” Brittany replies although she’s not really sure since she hasn’t tested it for herself. “Why are you picking right now to play hard to get?”

“You haven’t seen nothing yet!” Santana jokes before taking off.  

Brittany laughs the whole time as Santana ducks and dodges her advances until Brittany’s speed finally does her in. Soon she’s got Santana cradled in her arms bridal-style, carrying her towards the water like she weighs nothing.

“Britt! Brittany! Don’t you dare!” Santana chastises between laughs, “I don’t want to get my hair wet!”

Brittany only stomps her way through the water, “Who goes to the beach and doesn’t want to get their hair wet? That’s silly, San!”

“Me, that’s who!” Santana giggles but she stops putting up a fight and just wraps her arms around Brittany’s shoulders.

Their faces are so close with the way Brittany holds her that their noses brush when the blonde suddenly looks to her. Really, she’s checking if Santana’s actually being serious because if so then she’ll happily take her back to shore but if not it’s fair game. Instead though, she gets sidetracked by the brilliant smile she wears and how beautiful she looks with her hair down.

“I won’t get you wet if that’s really what you want,” Brittany says innocently but there’s a mischievous glint in her eye too.

She’s standing still waist-deep in the water and Santana’s butt is barely touching the surface. Brittany does her best to hop so that the incoming waves don’t splash her which is pretty nice of her with all things considered. She could totally be that person and drop her without a second thought.

“Well, when you say it like that…” Santana starts to smirk.

Brittany lets out a laugh before she leans in for a kiss.

It was meant to be a distraction, but it ended up way steamier than she intended as she slowly  sank to her knee so that they both dipped below the surface. She could feel Santana’s teeth sink into her bottom lip from the initial shock of the water temperature but then it was soothed by her tongue gliding over the nip.

“See?” Brittany teases, “Not that cold.”

Santana only rolls her eyes as Brittany adjusts her hold. She goes from cradling Santana to having her straddle her lap instead. It’s a much riskier position than before, but neither of them complain.  

As they get acclimated to the water, they slowly move from kissing to playfully splashing at each other as they wade around. They go back and forth like that for awhile until they move back to the shore to get their tan on.

“I’m having slight regrets that we’ll be going to school in Ohio,” Santana mentions awhile later as they lie on their stomachs, “Must be nice living close to a beach.”

Brittany grins, “So you’re liking your first trip then?”

“Baby, I love it,” Santana replies happily and leans over to kiss her cheek, “And I love you.”

“I love you too,” Brittany coos before she gets to thinking, “If you love it that much we can always transfer down here? I’m pretty sure there’s a few schools here that would love to poach me. You too.”

“So tempting,” Santana chuckles.

\\

They lie like that for awhile longer before the sun gets to be a little much and they head back to the rental.

It’s one of Brittany’s favorite feelings, that tiredness after spending the day at the beach, and she coaxes Santana into the shower with her to get rid of all the sand and saltwater. Despite finally getting each other this close without any barriers between them, they’re both too tired to actually make any moves.

Instead, they take turns standing underneath the cool water and washing off any residual sand.

Afterwards, they slip into something loose and tumble into bed with a yawn. They don’t even bother getting under the sheets first, their sun-kissed skin still warm from the shower. The just cuddle up to one another and doze off within minutes.  

\\

Hours later, Brittany awakes to Santana tracing her finger along the bridge of her nose. She blinks away the last bit of sleepiness and looks around the room, surprised to see it drenched in hues of orange and gold from the setting sun.

“I think you might’ve gotten sunburnt,” Santana mentions softly, “Your cheeks are a little pink.”

Brittany touches them bashfully, “Yeah. They do that after I’m out too long. Doesn’t hurt though, I put on sunscreen before.”

“Okay,” Santana smiles as her hand moves to rest on Brittany’s hip.

The blonde looks to the window, “What time is it?”

“Almost eight.”

“Shit,” Brittany curses, “I didn’t meant to sleep for that long.”

“It’s okay. You were tired,” Santana replies as she starts circling Brittany’s hipbone, “Hungry?”

There’s a familiar rasp in Santana’s voice and it has Brittany leaning in ever so slightly. She knows that tone, she’s been quite familiar with it since the night she won a championship title with the Titans. It’s come to be a favorite of hers.

“Starving,” Brittany smirks.

Santana bites her lip, “Good.”

“We can order a pizza,” Brittany husks as she slips her thigh between Santana’s, “I know just the place. They’re notorious for taking way too long but the pizza manages to always be hot still.”

“Perfect,” Santana smirks before she’s closing the distance.

\\

The next day, they have a bit of a sleep in due to their…activities carrying on pretty late into the night. Free house to themselves? Of course they couldn’t pass up the opportunity, but they’re well-rested and get up to do a tidy of the house before going to pick up Pete and Whitney from the airport.

Again, Brittany feels that same feeling from the day before when she and Santana were out shopping for breakfast. She can’t help but notice how easy it is for them to fall into such a domestic routine. It makes her feel so grown up, like it was just a couple weeks ago that she was graduating and sure she’s always been pretty independent but it’s different with Santana by her side.

When they get to the airport, they’re only waiting for a little while before Pete’s excitedly waving at them with Whitney trailing behind him. There’s hugs all around when they finally meet before they make their way to baggage claim.

“Did you have fun on the plane ride over?” Santana asks Pete.

“It was okay,” Pete shrugs, “Kind of bumpy but mom let me play games on her phone.”

“Nice,” Santana grins.

“Yup! Did you have fun driving here? Wait, did you guys go to the beach already?” Pete asks as he looks to his sister, “Britt’s cheeks are pink.”

Brittany’s eyes widen, “Uh…”

“We might’ve gone for a little bit,” Santana admits and watches Pete start to frown. He was pretty adamant about them waiting for him but Santana’s quick to recover, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t go again today! You’ll have to check with your mom first.”

Pete’s face fills with a mega-watt smile, so similar to Brittany’s it’s crazy.

“She’ll totally say yes,” He tells Santana, “Mom loves the beach too!”

“Sweet,” Santana grins.

“Alright, we just need to pick up the rental car and we’re out of here,” Whitney says as Brittany follows behind with Pete’s little suitcase.

“You didn’t have to rent a car,” Santana tells her, “I told you I was okay with sharing mine.”

“You’re too kind, honey,” Whitney smiles, “But I’m sure you girls will want to explore the area too.”

Santana just nods as Brittany comes up beside her, their fingers twining so casually.

“Speaking of rentals,” Brittany mentions, “I can’t believe you got the Unicorn House! It’s so cool.”

“We’re staying at the Unicorn House?” Pete asks eagerly. Brittany nods to him and he just about combusts, “No way! That’s the coolest house on the beach!”

“Totally,” Brittany winks, “It’s even cooler inside. Just you wait and see.”

\\

They all head to the rental house and it takes everyone no time at all before they’re making their way out to the beach. Everyone except Whitney who runs to the store for snacks and something to eat for dinner because apparently they can’t have pizza two nights in a row despite Brittany and Pete’s protesting.

Again, it’s nice to just lounge in the sun and cool off in the water whenever they want. Pete’s here too while Whitney’s at the store and Santana watches adoringly as he and Brittany toss their favorite football back and forth.

“Babe! Come play with us,” Brittany calls out to her as she tosses the football to Pete in a perfect spiral.

“Yeah! Come play, Santana!” Pete chimes in.

“I’m fine getting my tan on from here,” Santana answers then starts to smirk at Brittany. The way her muscles tense whenever she throws the ball or how her arms flex, it leaves Santana’s mouth dry, “The view’s not so bad either.”

Brittany lets out a laugh as she readies for Pete to throw the ball back. She’d have to agree about the view though, hers isn’t so bad too with Santana laid out in her maroon bikini on their beach blanket, skin glistening with sweat. She swallows dryly as her thoughts start to wander to the night before.

“Britt!” Pete shouts, “Look out!”

Brittany looks up and catches the football just in time before she’s thumped in the head with it. Good thing her reflexes are as sharp as ever!

“Careful baby,” Santana smirks before she’s rolling onto her stomach to even out her tan.

Brittany only narrows her eyes playfully before she’s throwing another perfect spiral in Pete’s direction.

\\

Once Whitney joins them, Pete goes from playing with Brittany to splashing in the shallow water with their mom. Brittany sits alongside Santana where they both share a bag of chips and watch Pete’s splashes get bigger and bigger.

“You’re so cute with him,” Santana mentions.

Brittany raises her brow, “Speak for yourself.”

Santana lets out a disbelieving laugh, “Right.”

“You are,” Brittany urges with a bump to Santana’s shoulder, “He loves spending time with you. Not as much as I do, of course.”

“Of course.”

“You ever wish you had a younger sibling?” Brittany wonders.

“God, no. Never,” Santana jokes before softening, “But seeing you two kind of makes me second guess it. Then again, Pete’s cool so you’re lucky.”

“True,” Brittany giggles. There’s another pause before Brittany speaks up again in a softer tone, “Thanks for coming out on this trip with us. I know you were a little iffy at first, but it wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” Santana replies with this smitten little grin on her face. “We should totally make this an annual thing.”

“Coming back here?”

“Yeah,” Santana nods, “It’s like our reset button. No matter how busy or crazy it gets wherever we are, we can always come back here and just – reset. It would be nice.”

Brittany starts to smile. Santana mentioning doing something every year means she anticipates them being together for a really long time which duh but making plans like that in advance makes it all feel a little more real. She always thought her strong feelings might’ve been a little exaggerated since they’re young and love always feels so all-encompassing, but then Santana goes and says something like that.

This love, it’s bigger than she thought. Maybe it’s even one of those forever kinds of love and that kind of thinking makes Brittany happier than ever.

“We can totally do that,” Brittany agrees before she leans in for a chaste kiss. She can feel Santana smiling too against her lips and she’s never felt more complete.

Whatever this upcoming year plans to throw their way, whether it be on the field or in the classroom or even at home, Brittany’s totally ready for it.

Because together, well…anything is still possible.

[bookworlders]

the wedding date

part 2 of the percabeth fake dating!au. enjoy!

chapter 1 | ao3 | ffnet 

~

chapter 2

Annabeth had fully intended on being the one to drive from the train station to the wedding venue, but their rental car had ended up being a vintage stick shift convertible, which she did not know how to drive. Percy, ever the gentlemen, took the wheel as Annabeth guided him through the twists and turns of the Montauk backroads.  

 By the time they had gathered their luggage and figured out the car situation, the sun had long set. Annabeth was quite enjoying the way the cool night air whipped through her curls as Percy drove. June weather was much more bearable outside of the city.

 “It’s that turn up ahead, at the hill with that big pine tree.” Annabeth guided Percy as he switched his headlights to bright.

 Percy turned onto a gravel road, the headlights illuminating a worn wooden sign.

 Camp Half-Blood.

 “So this is where the wedding is going to be? A summer camp?”

 Annabeth nodded, gazing up at the pine tree. “Yeah, we all used to go here. Every summer since I was seven. It’s where Jason and Piper met, it just seemed right.” Her voice softened, “And all of our friends are coming back like a big reunion. That’s why we’re here a couple days early, a couple pre-wedding festivities at our favorite place.” 

 Annabeth breathed in the sweet air (from the strawberry fields at the back) that reminded her so much of her childhood and happiness and home. It was perfect that her best friend was going to get married to her other best friend at their favorite place in the whole world. Annabeth smiled. She almost didn’t mind she had hired a stranger to fake date and that she had brought him to her said happy place.

 “You can park there,” Annabeth said, leaning forward in her seat and pointing ahead. She was getting so excited. Lights from windows shone up ahead out of large, blue house with white trim and a wraparound porch. “It’s called the Big House.”

 Annabeth was already unbuckled and out of the door before Percy even put the car into park. He watched as she up bounded up  the front porch steps.

 “Annabeth, my dear! How are you?”

 In the darkness of the evening, Percy hadn’t noticed a man in a wheelchair sitting on the porch. Annabeth threw her arms around him, “Chiron!”

 “Was your train delayed? We expected you ages ago.”

Percy walked up the steps to the pair as Annabeth recounted their journey. Annabeth turned to face him. He couldn’t help but notice the smile that had broken across her face as soon as Annabeth had seen the man. Percy also noticed the smile flicker when her eyes rested upon him. “Chiron, this is my, er, boyfriend, Percy. Percy, Chiron is our old camp director.”

Percy shook his hand, “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“You as well, great to meet you, Percy. Is that short for Perseus?” Chiron had a kind face and crinkles by his eyes. It was the face of someone wise.

“It is, sir. My mom picked it. She liked his story.”

 “It’s the name of a hero. Perfect fit for someone for our Annabeth.”

 Annabeth scoffed, “Chiron, stop.” But Percy heard nothing but affection for the man in her voice. “Where is everyone?” She asked, following Chiron into the Big House as he wheeled inside. Percy followed.

“I’m afraid everyone retired right after dinner. A long, tiring day of traveling for most of them. Not to worry though, you’ll see everyone at brunch. The Romans arrive tomorrow morning.”

 “The Romans are what Chiron calls the campers from our sister camp, Camp Jupiter,” Annabeth explained as Chiron lead them into what Percy assumed was the camp office. The walls of the office were covered in photographs, some yellowed with age and some clearly taken on smart ohone cameras, of kids dressed in orange T-shirts—images of bonfires, archery, games in the woods, swimming in the lake. Percy studied them as Chiron rummaged around a drawer of what sounded like keys.

 “So I’m in Cabin 6 I assume, Chiron?” Annabeth leaned on the desk, “And Percy in one of the guest rooms here? Or in Cabin 11? ” She turned to him. “Sorry, Percy,” Annabeth said, lightly, “camp rules. No significant others in the same cabin.”

 “Actually, Annabeth,” Chiron said, “Since the regular campers are off this week on their field trip in the city, we were able to make some special arrangements for the wedding. You’re all adults now, after all. He held out his hand with a bronze key on a ring with a ‘3’ painted on a seashell keychain. “I had the staff set up Cabin 3 as a guest room for you.”

 “Oh,” Annabeth said, “Um.” She stared at Chiron’s open palm for a moment before taking it from him, “Great. Thank you.” She made brief eye contact with Percy. “Let’s go then.”

“Goodnight, Annabeth. Nice to meet you, Percy. Get some rest tonight, full day tomorrow!”

Percy walked back over to the car to unload their luggage. He lifted his duffle bag onto his shoulder. Annabeth reached for her suitcase, but Percy hoisted it up as well, “I got it, just lead the way.”

Camp Half-Blood was a beautiful space, and it was a beautiful, perfect summer night. As they walked to the edge of the hill that the Big House sat on, Percy could see the moon sparkling off the waves of the Long Island Sound. Below the hill, in the valley, Percy saw a U-shape of twelve cabins of all different shapes and sizes, and, at the tips of the U, a couple smaller cabins.

“The first twelve are the original ones from when we attended here. The minor ones on the end are new. For all the new campers.” Annabeth pointed to the first cabin on the left arm of the U, “That’s the one we’re staying at.” She led Percy down the path into the valley

“Cabin 3,” Percy read aloud the sign on top of the cabin as Annabeth unlocked the door. Contrary to the two-story cabins next to it, Cabin 3 was a long and solid and looked like it belonged at the edge of a beach. The outer walls were a rough gray texture with seashells embedded in the exterior. Annabeth pushed the door open and Percy followed her inside with their luggage.

“Wow.” They both said at once. 

The inside was dark and cool, the walls made out of an abalone looking material that almost seemed to glow. There was a fountain of a fish that bubbled in the corner, various dressers and nightstands, and a single queen bed with the headboard against the wall. 

Annabeth eyed the bed. “No one really ever stayed in this cabin when we went here. This is actually the first time I’ve been inside. I thought every cabin had bunk beds.”

Percy had tossed his duffle bag onto the ground, already beginning to unpack his clothes into a dresser while Annabeth surveyed the room. “It’s nice. Do you mind if I use the bathroom first?”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you a morning showerer or a night showerer?” 

“Um, night.”

“Perfect! I’m a morning showerer.”

Annabeth was slightly annoyed at how chill Percy was when almost every word they exchanged had her flushing.

When Percy came back out of the bathroom, teeth brushed and in pajamas, Annabeth was almost done constructing her Great Wall of Pillows down the center of their bed. He stared at it. 

“I just thought that, there’s only one bed—” Annabeth started.

“No, no,” Percy said, “This is fine, whatever you’re comfortable with.” 

He shoved his dirty clothes into one of the empty drawers before sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Also,” Annabeth said, “Before I forget.” She walked over to his side of the bed and handed him a thick envelope, “Two thousand dollars. It’s all there.”

Now it was Percy who was blushing. “Thanks.” He took the envelope from her and shoved it into his bag.

“Aren’t you going to count it?”

“I trust you.”

“Oh, well, okay.” Annabeth stood in front of him for a moment. “I’m just gonna shower then.” 

This was definitely one of the top five longest showers Annabeth ever took. The bathroom in their cabin only had a single shower, toilet, and sink—unlike Cabin 6 from her childhood that had a communal bathroom with many stalls and showers and a line of sinks to accommodate all of her bunkmates. 

She let the steam and hot water wash over her, desperately trying to wash away the nerves and guilt and overall queasiness from this whole situation. Percy was a great guy, and she felt so far that she could rely on him this weekend. But just the thought of seeing Luke at all even with her fake boyfriend as a shield…

When the water started to run cold, she stepped out to dry off. Her lemon scented shampoo made the bathroom smell pleasant and familiar. 

After she completed her hair routine and hung up her outfit for the morning, Annabeth stepped back into the main cabin. The fountain still bubbled in the corner. 

Percy was passed out on his side of the bed, already gently snoring. His arm was draped over the pillow barrier and spilling over onto her side. He looked so peaceful, his face completely relaxed and innocent in his slumber. Annabeth wanted to reach over and brush his dark curls away from his face. She suppressed the urge as she gently peeled back the covers and slipped into bed, softly nudging his hand back over to his side. 

Percy mumbled, tossing over onto his side. Annabeth gulped. He slept shirtless.

This was going to be an interesting weekend.  

[in78weeks-blog]

November 23-29: Aruba, Beyond the Beaches

For the most part, all of my trips are meant to help me learn more about people of all backgrounds to better understand my place in this world, and to find out how to use my privilege to share the beauty of cultures with the world. When I go to explore a new place, sometimes I have a good idea of what I’m getting myself into but I try not to have an expectation of what my trip is going to look like.

But when my family and I decided to go to Aruba for our thanksgiving vacation, I was just excited to be escaping the Colorado cold, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I didn’t do too much research about Aruba and figured we would take it one day at a time. It’s a small island anyway, how much could there possibly be to do? Hint: There is surprisingly a lot.

After travelling for over 12 hours, we finally landed in Oranjestad, Aruba and were too exhausted to do anything too adventurous. We picked up our rental car, went to our first hotel, and took a moment to rest. While my mom took a quick nap, my dad and I walked to the beach that was a couple minutes from the hotel.

While adjusting to the sights and warmth of the island, our commentary didn’t stray far from “Wow, I can’t believe we’re actually here.” We wandered back to the hotel, met up with my mom, and ventured toward the southern end of what I would later discover as the “Resort Town”, grabbed an incredibly overpriced meal for dinner, and called it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a great day.

Most people that go to Aruba tend to stay within the 5 mile stretch of beaches and resorts and choose not to venture away from the comforts of their resort. I understand that not everyone likes to be active on vacation and I understand that there is value in relaxation, but I believe that “resort vacations” create more limitations than opportunities for travelers. Though Aruba is a small island, there is so much to do and see, and staying in the confines of a hotel limits that experience.

We began driving down to the south end of the island, and watched the resorts slipped away into the distance, and the buildings began to resemble the homes of the locals, and I was glad to see that the local culture was still alive on this tourism-heavy island. Bright-colored, run-down houses lined the pothole-covered dirt roads, and stray dogs wandered these roads in the midday heat. Parked in front of the houses were cars, trucks and vans with rust damage from the salt water. Our tiny kia picanto, while its crooked license plate, manual locks, and hand crank windows may have been a gesture of humility, stood out with its giant “payless car rental” sticker plastered in the back window.

Our first stop was the Red Anchor that was built in memory of a fallen seaman. After stopping to snap a couple of photos, we continued our drive toward the lighthouse at the southern tip of the island. While I was mindlessly looking out the window and enjoying the Caribbean music on the radio, I realized we were driving by a cemetery. Hundreds of crosses, rock piles, and makeshift plaques filled the grassy field, and after giving the crosses and plaques a closer look, I realized that it was a cemetery for pets.

Our drive up to the Sero Colorado Lighthouse was slow and careful, but I didn’t mind because the landscape was so unique. Never before have I seen cacti and palm trees growing alongside each other along the beach.

We began our journey back into town to grab some lunch. San Nicolas isn’t a popular destination for tourists so yelp and google weren’t very informative about the restaurant options in the area. Because the southern part of the island isn’t well visited, I was hopeful that the restaurants would be more authentic, and more reasonably priced compared to the restaurants in the resort town. Luckily, I was able to find a Caribbean restaurant in downtown San Nicolas so we decided to go there.

While looking over the menu, and having a hard time deciding what to order, a group of locals sat at the table next to us. One of them ordered a seafood curry so I decided to trust the judgement of the locals and order the same. I was not disappointed.

Before heading to our next destination, we decided to walk around downtown to admire the murals that we saw on our drive in. Every street-facing wall was adorned with bright colored murals of all different styles, and the trees and streetlights were covered with holiday decorations, which felt oddly out of place.

While looking to see if there was any bouldering locations on the island, I discovered that there were two “boulder fields” or rock formations on the island, one was called Casibari Rock Formations and the other was called Ayo Rock Formations. There were no formal routes at each of these locations, but it appeared there were decent boulders that would make for some fun challenges.

We decided to head to the Casibari Rock Formations first. I was expecting lots of visitors to such a unique destination, but was surprised when we were the only ones there. As we walked around the boulder field, we found a steep, stone staircase that led up to the top of a hill. It wasn’t until I reached the top of the steps that I realized that this boulder field was located near the center of the island. We were treated with a 360-degree view of the island with a epic view of Sero Hooiberg, or Mount Hooiberg - the lone mountain standing in the middle of the island. I was also surprised at how big the island looked from this viewpoint. I was able to see the beach far off in the distance to the west, but lost the coastline as I moved my eyes toward the north and the south, and I could only see mountains to the east.

I took some time to enjoy the view from the top of the Casibari Rocks. Since arriving here and realizing that tourism was quickly dominating the economy and culture of Aruba, my heart has been unsettled. I love travel because it grants me the opportunity to appreciate God’s creativity through experiencing unique cultures. At the same time, I wrestle with the thought that as a traveler, I am indirectly supporting the tourism industry that has a tendency of disrupting the lifestyle of the local people. I struggle with understanding the balance between celebrating a culture for its uniqueness and filtering my experience through financially focused entities.

I carried these thoughts with me to the top of this hill, and as I looked around, I saw in the distance the seemingly small patch of land dedicated to the resorts. As I turned around and saw the vast land around me that looked untouched by foreign hands, my heart felt more at ease. I walked back down the steps at Casibari with a stronger sense of responsibility for presenting travel destinations and the people of those cultures as honestly as I can, and to reduce my cultural impact as much as I can when I travel to foreign places.

There weren’t any boulders at Casibari Rock that I wanted to climb, so we headed toward our next destination - the Ayo Boulders. Walking along the path through the unique Ayo rock formations, I found a boulder that I recognized from the climbing resources I read online, so I strapped on my climbing shoes and began scouring my way up the side of the rock.

It had been awhile since I had climbed and fear definitely kicked in as I climbed with no protection, but trusting my skill, strength and technique, I was able to send a humble boulder. Climbing back down on the backside of the boulder, we continued to walk among the boulders of the park.

Walking through the boulders, I felt like a kid on a playground. The path led us through dark tunnels, narrow walkways and sketchy steps. We ventured off the path to get a better view of the park and my goofy mom played around on the rocks like a kid. Adopting a new set of scrapes from squeezing through small spaces, we began to wander back to the car.

We wrapped up our night by walking around the resorts, stopping into shops to see if there were any knick-knacks we wanted to bring home. After enjoying an overpriced meal and an overpriced drink, we made our way back to our resort and called it a night. I went to bed excited about the full day of adventure planned for tomorrow at Arikok National Park.

When I was researching things to see in Arikok National Park, the two most popular destinations were Quadrikiri cave and the Conchi Natural Pool. I was determined to go to both of these locations, even if that meant spending the entire day in the park. Since I had put in the most time and effort in researching the national park, my parents gave me the go ahead to plan the day.

After we received our bright orange wristbands, we entered the park and began our very slow drive to the eastern edge of the park. Our low-clearance kia picanto struggled over the 50 storm water runoffs on our way to our first destination, but we eventually made it in one piece. We stopped our car at Boca Prins - a beach with that was sandwiched between two 50-foot cliffs. Watching the waves crash against the cliffs and erupt into a splash of water as the forces of nature collided was awe-inspiring.

We stopped in at the restaurant parking lot where we saw the horrific image of a young man sitting in in the passenger seat of a UTV with a serious chest injury. His white t-shirt was covered in blood and he clenched the left side of his chest, and his facial expressions made it clear he was holding back tears and probably a colorful set of words.

We heard sirens off in the distance so knowing that help was on the way, we continued on to the highly anticipated destination - Quadrikiri Cave.

I saw photos of this cave online while looking into the places to go in the national park and I’ve been excited at an opportunity to take a cool photo here. From the outside, it didn’t look like much, a set of stairs that led up to the entrance of the cave and a sign that depicted a mythological story about the cave’s foundation. We carefully walked up the steep steps to the entrance of the cave, ducked our heads and stepped into the darkness. About 50 feet in front of us was a spotlight from above, but it was just far enough away to keep us from being able to see the ground below our feet. As we approached the light ahead, we walked into a dome like space with a natural skylight that powerfully lit up the room.

We continued deeper into the earth through a dark narrow tunnel into another open space with another pair of skylights that shined down into the middle of the room like a spotlight. We were the only ones in the cave for awhile and the eerie silence was broken only by my mom’s continual reminder that she was afraid of the dark and wanted to leave. We visited one more cave, Fontein cave, which housed some petroglyphs of the native islanders.

Most of the day so far had been in the comfort of our car so we decided to go on a hike. We drove to the north entrance of the park and began our hike to the Conchi Natural Pool. The Conchi Natural Pool is essentially an arc of rocks along the rocky coast that form a convenient pool of water that is somewhat shielded from the rough waters of sea. There are many paths to get to the pool, but due to the aggressively rocky terrain, the only way to reach the pool is by UTV or by foot.

The hike was three miles round trip so with our cameras, and swimsuits in hand, we began to walk. Groups of UTVs drove past us and I could have been jealous of how much faster they would get to the natural pool, but I was happy to be in the sun and stretching my legs.

The Conchi Natural Pool was full of people splashing around and having a good time. At this point in the day, the tide was coming in so the waves were splashing against the rock arc and creating a heavy current in the pool. My mom, who carries a very real fear of swimming, chose against swimming in the rough waters and found a more quiet secluded place to swim instead.

The place we found was on the north side of the beach and had plenty of small shallower pools to splash around in. My dad was experimenting with his new 4K underwater camera while my mom and I splashed and played in the water as if we were kids. After thoroughly enjoying time at the pool, we were ready to take cover from the harsh sunlight. We grabbed our bags and began the 1.5 mile hike back to the car.

People sped by us in their Jeeps as we walked through the hot sun, and I took a moment to ask myself if I felt like I was missing out on a unique experience by not spending the money to rent a Jeep and drive around the trails on the island. After giving it some thought, I didn’t feel like joining a Jeep tour would change the experience I had in visiting Aruba.

When I travel, my goal is to learn about cultures, interact with people, and better understand the human condition and the way God uniquely created human beings. I love outdoor adventures and rugged expeditions, but in this situation, taking a Jeep out to the natural landmarks of the island versus walking to them didn’t make a difference on how much I appreciated them.

My family and I have always been budget travelers with the occasional spendy purchase. We tend to avoid tours and vacation packages and prefer to have the freedom to travel on our own agenda, but we also try not to let our frugality keep us from missing out on special opportunities. Through years of traveling together, we’ve learned to recognize our tendencies of being frugal have become better at gauging which experiences are worth spending money on.

We were sun-kissed, sweaty, and sore so we returned to our hotel, enjoyed a beer, and relaxed by the pool for the rest of the evening.

After several days of active exploration, my parents an I were ready to take some time to relax on the beach. Since we were staying at a resort in the Resort Town, we were minutes away from the beach.

We were walking along the beach to find a place to relax for the morning, and I noticed a section of the beach was blocked off for construction. I unfortunately didn’t realize that the fence was being held up by a concrete block that was hidden under the sand, and slammed my pinky toe into the concrete block.

Breaking my toe wasn’t even the worst part. My mom broke her sandals while we were at the Conchi Natural Pool and was thinking about buying a new pair. As a proud owner of the Chacos Women’s Z1 Sandals, I tried convincing her to that Chacos was the way to go. My dad is a proud owner of Keens and tried convincing her to that Keens were far superior to Chacos. Having broken my toe walking around on the beach in my Chacos, my mom was convinced that Chacos would not be the next sandal she invested in. I was in pain and defeated.

I didn’t read any raving reviews about the Aruba Aloe Factory and Museum so at first, I didn’t think to make the effort to visit it, but since we had the time to do some exploring, we decided to check it out and I am so glad we did.

The tour guide began with an explanation of the benefits of Aloe Vera, its uses cosmetically and medically, and a demonstration of how to harvest the plant. I was impressed with how swiftly the tour guide was able to pull apart the gel from the leaf of the plant and was surprised to hear that at this factory, the harvesting process was done entirely by hand. Our tour guide continued the tour by telling us the history of the Aloe Vera plant on the island of Aruba. The Aloe Vera plant is not native to the island, but after realizing it grew well in the dry and warm climate, Aloe Vera farms and factories began to pop up all around Aruba, becoming the second leading industry on the island after the oil refinery industry.

Since the arrival of the American and European tourism corporations in the 1940s, Aloe Vera farms were driven out of business as hundreds of farms across the island fell to the rapidly growing real estate prices. There are only a handful of Aloe Vera farms remaining in the island, and Aruba Aloe was the largest of them.

The tour guide took us through a incandescent catwalk that looked down into the factory, while explaining the process of harvesting, refining, creating, and bottling up the Aloe Vera cosmetic products. At the conclusion of the tour, we had the opportunity to buy some of the products in their store.

There are 23 houses of worship on the island of Aruba, and majority of them are of the Christian faith. Of those Christian churches, most of them are of the Catholic denomination. Next on our agenda was a visit to the Alta Vista Chapel, one of the Catholic chapels on the island. When I saw a quick review of it online, I wasn’t sure what made this chapel special, but reading up on the history of the church upon our arrival made me realize what made this chapel important among the other churches.

The quaint yellow chapel stood tall at the top of a hill in the middle of a desert landscape with a distant view of the ocean. This chapel was originally built in the 1750s by Venezuelan missionaries, and was recently rebuilt in 1952. This was the chapel where many Aruban natives converted to Christianity, so this place is held close to the hearts of the native peoples.

We saw some hiking trails that lead to the coast, but we had already had a long day of walking and we were afraid that we would run out of sunlight so we decided to move on to the next destination. My mom was curious about a place called “Phillip’s Animal Farm”, so we decided to head in that direction. I wasn’t sure if it was a farm or a zoo, but apparently they had animals there. And I like animals.

We were given a wax bag with treats and carrots, and were told that we could feed any animal EXCEPT the monkeys. Noting that, we walked through the gate and into this mysterious animal farm. As we visited each caged animal, my heart began to break more and more. It was evident that these animals were not happy, and it made me angry that anyone would be able to cage them up like this. We saw all sorts of animals, including ostriches, donkeys, camels, kangaroos, parrots, emus, and ocelots.

We finally reached the monkeys and immediately I could tell that these creatures were not happy to be caged. One of them ran up to cage where I stood, and grabbed the cage bars, looked me in the eye with the saddest expression I had ever seen. I snapped a couple of photos, told the little guy how sorry I was that he had to be caged up and began walking away. As I turned around to start walking away, the little guy began throwing a fit by screaming and waving his arms around like a human child, and when I turned around to face him, he threw a rock directly at my face.

I was in shock. A monkey just him me in the face with a rock.

It took me a moment to process what had just happened, but after a minute or two, the confusion subsided and my heart broke into a million pieces. This poor little punk of a monkey has probably known nothing beyond those four cage walls and is desperate to get out and be free, as he was meant to be.

After a moment, I went back and visited my favorite donkey. I liked him because even if I didn’t have food to give him, he hung out by the fence and let me pet him.

Frustrated at the concept of businesses making money off the suffering of these poor animals, we washed our hands and began to leave the “farm”. Luckily, my dad sparked up a conversation with an employee about what the farm was all about. The employee told us that the farm was owned by a man that deeply cares about animals and took in all of these animals when a zoo closed down on Aruba. Instead of the consequences that would have otherwise fallen on these animals, the owner decided to nurture them back to health and prepare them to be transported either back into their natural habitat or to other zoos if they were too domesticated to be let back into the wild.

Mike was the kind employee that explained all of this to us. We returned to our car and while we were pulling out our GPS to figure out how to get back to the hotel, we heard a knock on our window. Mike had rushed over and asked us if we would be willing to give him a ride to the main street as his car had broken down. My parents were kind enough to let him jump in.

He humbly asked that we drop him off just down the street at the main road, but my parents insisted us take him to his home. While we drove to his home, he asked us where we were from and shared with us a little bit about his background and family. He grew up on the island of Aruba but he doesn’t have too much family here anymore.

He told that most of his family has moved away from the island, his cousins were in the Dominican Republic, and a couple family members moved to the states. He was excitedly telling us that they were going to have a big family reunion sometime in December in the Dominican Republic, but that it’s been difficult being in Aruba without too many of his family members around.

He was so appreciative of us for taking him to his home, and explained that he’s been quite busy lately and hadn’t gotten around to getting his car fixed. He was working full time at the farm, taking night classes, and working a second job on the weekends.

After driving for a solid 10 minutes, we finally got him to where he needed to be. Oh how blessed I am for the life I’ve been granted.

This was our last full day on the island and we only had a couple things left to do. The lighthouse on the south end of the island wasn’t very impressive, but the California lighthouse located on the northern tip of the island was magnificent so we decided to go take a look.

There were big crowds of people coming in and out on tour buses. Most people chose to snap a couple of photos from a distance and hang out around the snacks and souvenir booth. When we approached the door at the base of the lighthouse, we were instructed that we could climb up to the top of the lighthouse for the price of $5. My dad and I excitedly pulled out our wallets, handed the gate keeper our five-dollar bills and opened the door to begin our climb. The inner diameter of the lighthouse was no more than 7 feet and the staircase wound around a concrete post with no handrails. Each step was a little over a foot tall, and on each of the steps there was just enough surface area for the ball of my foot.

The very sketchy climb to the top of the lighthouse was rewarded with a 360-degree view of the northern end of the island. We could see the resort town and golf course to the south west, the mountains of the national park to the south east and the expanse of the ocean to the north.

I found a beach on the map that we hadn’t been to in the southern part of the island near the town of San Nicolas. Though that was a bit of a drive from where we were at, I wanted to find a beach that was less crowded to hang out at so we decided to give it a shot.

It was slightly overcast so the beach was completely empty, so we had the whole beach to ourselves. I was the first to jump into the warm water, but stayed relatively close to shore because there were some sharp rocks further out from shore. My mom decided to join a short while later, and together we floated around and had a good time.

About half an hour after we arrived, another man arrived and joined us in the water. He came and introduced himself - Ferdinand. But his friends call him Ferdi.

He lives a couple blocks away in the town of San Nicolas. He’s retired now, but he used to work in the tourism industry. He’s lived in Aruba for 23 years, and before that, French Guiana, and before that, Suriname. He’s a kind man, and tries to make an effort to reach out to the tourists he sees at this beach. He’s goofy, and tells my mom that he knows a little Japanese. “Ai shiteimasu“, he says. I love you. He laughs, saying he learned how to say "I love you” in many different languages. He lists off those languages. It’s a list too long to remember. My mom jokes back - “you must have many girlfriends around the world“. He laughs.

He has a garden. my parents have a long, drawn out conversation with him about farming and the native plants of the island. My parents are curious about the gardening conditions, what plants grow native here, and why there aren’t any papaya trees in people’s front yards!

I ask Ferdi about the grocery stores. I noticed that all of the grocery stores in Aruba have Chinese names, yet I haven’t seen too many Asian people on this island. Ferdi tells me that the grocery stores have been run by Chinese owners for many years. He’s not sure why, but that’s just how it is.

Ferdi is very knowledgeable about this small part of the world. He loves this island with his whole heart and doesn’t ever see himself living anywhere else. Parts of his life have been challenging and he’s been thrown in a wild loop , but he’s found a home here.

Ferdi had to head back to work on his car, so after giving ourselves some time to dry off in the sun, we drove toward a seafood restaurant in the town of San Nicolas to enjoy a late lunch.

We walked up to a counter with a simple menu - fish of the day, shrimp, corn bead, plantains, tartar sauce. Confused at how we were supposed to order, the young guy at the register explained to us that we pay for the fish by the piece and the shrimp by the weight. Still confused, he showed us how big a piece of fish was, explained that the seafood was battered, seasoned and fried. We ordered two pieces of fish, six shrimps, two plantains, one piece of cornbread and tartar sauce. The total came out to be twenty dollars.

The restaurant was located right on the beach and a dock led out onto the water. At the end of the dock were three tables with umbrellas, so we sit out at one of these tables and eat while enjoying the view of the coastline. While we waited for our food to be prepared, we watched as the chefs skinned, gutted, and de-boned the fish we would soon be eating. The guts and bones went directly overboard into the water and we watched as the seagulls swept into collect their meals and the fish swarmed to get their portion. Even while we were eating our meal, all of our bones and scraps went off the dock and into the beaks if the seagulls or to the hungry fish below our feet.

Right as we left the restaurant, the rain began to pour, but by the time we reached our hotel, the rain had already subsided. Again, we decided to take the evening to rest, and enjoyed our last sunset on the beach. Tropical musical played in the background while the palm trees and waves swayed at a much slower beat. The smell of salt filled my nose as I sat back and watched older couples walking along the beach, hand-in-hand, parents chase down their young ones, and young lovers teasing each other and splashing around the water to finding any excuse to hold each other close.

We had to be at the airport by noon, so we packed up our suitcases and spent our last couple hours lounging on the beach. I put on my swim suit, sunglasses and headphones, and focused on the joyful feeling of having the warmth of the sun against my skin. I would return to the cold climate of Colorado with tan skin, and a rejuvenated spirit.

[boydteam]

http://dlvr.it/RP69qr Welcome to "Array of Sunshine"! A charming beach cottage located on the channel in the ever popular Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach. This is not your typical channel home; fully transformed with multiple upgrades and renovations in 2017. The home comes as a turnkey property, fully furnished and includes all decor, electronics and appliances. While this is a channel home, it is NOT subject to the Cherry Grove dredging assessment. A classic floor plan features 4 bedrooms and two jack and jill baths. Large spacious living area that opens to a dining and bar space. All drywall was replaced and new electrical outlet boxes and switches installed. Walls have been freshly painted in decor colors. Lighting was changed to LED throughout along with new ceiling fans and light fixtures. Both bathrooms have an upgraded spa feel and were completely renovated with new tile, plumbing fixtures, toilets and vanities. The kitchen has a bright look with new tile flooring, white cabinetry and new stainless appliances. Large bar space perfect for large gatherings. Array of Sunshine has an upscale, designer feel and all decor was personally selected by the owner. Furnishings and decor were purchased new in 2017 and the home is set up to accommodate larger groups; perfect for a vacation rental property or a large family. Secondary bedrooms are spacious; each with one queen and one full bed. They also include a built in vanity and dresser space to maximize space. Other upgrades include new HVAC, hot water heater and entry doors. The outside space of this home is meant for maximizing the coastal lifestyle! Large front and rear deck space; the rear deck has new vinyl railings. Open breezeway under the home and a great channel and marsh view. Large two stall outdoor shower and changing room space. There's a fixed deck over the water with new decking and walkway from the backyard. Enjoy a low maintenance exterior with vinyl siding, new shutters and gutters. The roof is metal and is worry free! Landscaping has been newly installed with large Pindo palms and decorative rock. There's even space for a pool and estimates for install are available. Array of Sunshine is ready for you to enjoy and start the beach life today! #homesweethome #beachlife #myrtlebeach #realestate #homesforsale #wesellthebeach #liveonvacation #lovewhereyoulive #results #boydteam #eddieboyd #julieboyd #www.boydteam.com #8432228566

[sharonchteh]

~10th January 2019~

Crossing border to Argentina was relatively simple, much simpler than the many other border crossings I’ve done over the last few months in Latin America. Our next stop was Bariloche, a ski resort in the winter and thankfully many things to do in the summer. The Seven Lakes route along the way provided the beautiful view of the lakes and mountains at every corner, made it one of the most picturesque drive day thus far.

We arrived at Periko’s, hostel we stayed in, early enough to figure out what we want to do for the next two full day. There was a lot of information available so it was easy to figure out what to do for the next two days. Looking at the map of the town and the different viewpoints available, a circuit around the nearby Parque Llao Llao seemed reasonable for day one with walking, cycling and kayaking or paddle boarding on the itinerary.

~11th January 2019~

A few people decided to pop along, so we have a group to set off together making use of one bus pass. An early start with Cerro Campanario viewpoint as the first stop. Known for its 360 degrees view of the beautiful surrounding, recognised by UNESCO, the hike up and the downhill run was fun and perfect as a warm up for the day.

I can get used to this, view of mountains and lakes, and doing something different every day because there are so much to do and explore. I found that since the Salkantay trek, my heart and spirit just switches over to reflect, reinvigorate and remember the blessings that nature brings and the grace I have in my life. I felt the need at times to pinch myself to make sure all of this are real and that I’m not dreaming.

We headed over to the bike rental store about a kilometre down the road to do the Circuit Chico, a 27km circuit with up and downhill run on the road through the park. Morgane and I decided to get the deal for bike and kayak, Annie joined later when we completed the circuit earlier that we expected. It took us two hours to complete it, which is half the time the rental store estimated. The look on the face of the guys there were of shock when we told them.

Annie and I were cycling together so we decided to cycle down to the lake since it’s still early. One hour of interesting kayaking cos we decided to kayak across from the first to the second viewpoint instead of staying close to the shore, paddling against the wind and waves. Morgane came later when we were finishing and we cycled back to return the bike, planned to meet up later to head back to town.

We found a quaint little cafe for a quick late lunch, because we were starving, before heading to the bus station. Table with a view and a delicious cheese and ham toast, what could be better. The busses that came by were jam packed when it got to the bus stop where we were. So, we waited, walked, tried hitch hiking and finally a taxi to take us back to town. We later found out that the busses are busy because it was peak period for boats coming back from their trip and the busses start their route near or at the port. It wasn’t cheap to get back even though it was spread between the three of us. In my head I was thinking, ‘none of these nonsense tomorrow and just use my legs’.

~12th January 2019~

Bryan mentioned his walk to Cerro Otto and it sounds like something nice and relaxing to do with no hassle of public transport. On the second day, I set off with Dee and Annie for a walk to the foot of Cerro Otto to take the teleferico up to the top then walk down to the chocolate museum for a treat. We stopped to have lunch after the downhill walk at a secluded quiet beach area spotted by Annie. The splashing of the waves muted the noise of the traffic just a few meters away from us.

When we finally got to the museum, we saw Emma, Lisa and Morgane. The hot chocolate at the cafe reminds me of the hot chocolate in Italy, thick like melted chocolate. The museum changed its English guided tour time so we decided to skip the museum and go next door to Cerro Vieja ski lift to ride the tobogān downhill instead. It was just as fun as I remembered it the last time I did this with Alex.

So far so good for the first destination in Argentina and the only thing about the country is it’s annoying ATM that charges extortionate fee with tiny limit of the money for each withdrawal but the US dollar exchange rate is good so note to self, bring USD for Argentina.

~13th January 2019~

A long drive day ahead of us coupled with the first camping night for those of us who joined the trip in Santiago. It was kind of a bush camp, just in a farmland owned by two doctors with a caretaker looking after the farm. I have a super camping partner, Dee, a seasoned camper from Scotland. Here we learnt how setup our tents, what to do for dining and cleaning to make sure that we leave no waste or trace. It was nice valley, peaceful and quiet.

~14th January 2019~

An early start with quite a full on day with quite a few kilometres to cover including a visit to Cueva de los Manos. It was breakfast, then learn how to take the tent down, pack up and go.

Cave of the Hands (I think), Cueva de los Manos is an archeological mystery. The researchers are still trying to figure out what the significant or reasons for the local indigenous people back then to make a negative hand prints on the wall of the caves. The paint was spitted and blown from the mouth towards the hand that was placed on the wall instead of just paint on hand and place on the wall. With the negative handprint, the features on the palm are non existence and made it even more harder to figure out whether the prints are from the same person or different people.

We camped at a municipal campsite in Gabernador Gregores, a small lovely little campsite with all the facilities we need. It was time for my cook group to make dinner with a mega task to feed 23 people with sausage stew and rice, taking into consideration we have two vegetarians and one gluten free (who was on our group, hence the rice). The stew was a hit with the cold evening then it was shower and bed as the long drive day started to take a toll on all of us.

~15th January 2019~

Early start with preparing breakfast for the day, scramble eggs and the usual toast with hot drinks. Eat, clean and then pack up for another day of driving to El Calafate. It’s a shorter drive and it’ll be hostel, Del Glaciar Pioneros, for the next two nights.

We arrived relatively early, enough time for us to settle in and get ready for a group night activities, ice bar and empanadas lesson plus dinner. The ice bar was insane with its crazy rules, 25mins with unlimited drinks and one bartender. So, imagine the chaos with around 30-35 people at the bar trying to make the best out of the 25mins.

It was interesting trying to head back to the hostel restaurant for the empanadas making lesson and dinner after the short drink fest. I was surprisingly sober after four different drinks in me when usually I’ll be feeling the alcohol effect after one drink.

A few days ago, we started a murder mystery game on the truck where all of us pick a location, weapon and person from hats to match killer to victim. Just before the empanadas making lesson, Lewis killed me with a sleeping bag in the hostel restaurant. The first one to die! I could have killed my victim if I’ve known that the person doesn’t need to take hold of the weapon but hey, at least I don’t have to scheme anymore.

After having our fill of empanadas and pizzas with plenty of drinks to go around, it was time for bed for an early start to Perito Moreno Glacier, a included tour on the trip.

~16th January 2016~

Perito Moreno glacier is was one glaciers that is stabile and with no receding signs, apparently. It was an amazing sight to behold with the roar of ice falling into the water. The tour started with a short drive from the hostel with a stop at an estancia with creepy stuffed animals, simply because it wasn’t made well, and a beautiful landscape before we head over to the Los Glacieros National Park. We had clear sky for view of the mountains and where the source of the glacier is.

A short walk through the protected forest, we arrived at the port where we buy the ticket for the boat trip to get closer to the glacier. For me, there was just too many people on the boat to really enjoy the view with some just pushing and shoving to get ahead.

The last stop of the day led us to the main centre in Perito Moreno, with facilities and options for walks with view points for the other side of the glacier. I decided to take some time to just stop and watch nature at work instead of speeding through the different walking circuits available. No matter what the guide said about the glacier not receding, the question that played over and over in my head was what is happening in the crevasses and underneath the glacier. Do we really know?

Dee and I decided to head back to town, ATM and window shopping before stopping at the bakery round the corner from the hostel to enjoy a coffee and a few treats. The evenings are usually the same when we’re leaving the next day, dinner then pack and this time for bush camp tomorrow night. Fun!?

Argentina: Bariloche-El Calafate ~10th January 2019~ Crossing border to Argentina was relatively simple, much simpler than the many other border crossings I've done over the last few months in Latin America.

[juditmiltz]

National Cheat Sheet: Multifamily building boosts US housing starts, mortgage rates hit highest level since 2014 … & more

Clockwise from top left: JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, a rendering of the Schuylkill Yards project in Philadelphia, WeWork founder Adam Neumann, and the planned Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans.

Multifamily building leads US housing starts higher in January From TRD NYC: A 19.7 percent increase in residential rental and condominium starts lead to a 9.7 percent nationwide increase in housing starts from December to January, according to the Department of Commerce. Single-family home construction rose by 3.7 percent. January’s increase to 1.33 million starts followed December’s sharp drop of 8.2 percent. Home prices remain strong due to a supply shortage, with the Standard and Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home sale price index finding a 6.2 percent rise between November 2016 and November 2017. [TRD]

Mortgage rates hit highest level since 2014 Mortgage rates have risen for seven consecutive weeks, pushing 30-year mortgages to their highest rate since April 2014, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey found. The rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages ended the week at 4.4 percent, which is up from 4.38 percent from the week before and 4.16 percent at the same time last year, HousingWire reported. “Mortgage rates have followed U.S. Treasury’s higher in anticipation of higher rates of inflation and further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve,” said Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist. [HousingWire]

Taking on Airbnb, hotelier joins investors in short-term rental company San Francisco-based AJJK Inc., which works with developers who set aside blocks of apartments for short-term rentals, got a $15.5 million in funding from an investment group that includes hotelier Barry Sternlicht, Fifth Wall Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company, which will be renamed Lyric, is attempting to compete with Airbnb’s “Friendly Buildings Program” by offering an amenity-filled luxury option. Airbnb has 13,000 units listed in its program, while Lyric is aiming to have 1,000 units by the end of the year. [TRD]

Bixby Land Company and AXA Investment Managers putting $400M into the US industrial market A joint venture between Bixby Land Company and AXA Investment Managers will acquire up to $400 million in industrial properties across five states in the next three years. Led by Bixby’s Mike Severson, the group will look for properties in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington that range from $10 million to $40 million in value. [TRD]

Rapidly expanding WeWork predicts more than $2.3B in revenue As it has grown to 20 countries and has some 200,000 members, coworking giant WeWork expects to earn more than $2.3 billion in revenues this year, the New York Times reported. After a $4.4 billion investment from SoftBank, WeWork is expanding beyond workspace rentals to co-living buildings and services like gyms and a kindergarten school. [TRD]

MAJOR MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

JPMorgan Chase plans to build massive tower for New York HQ JPMorgan Chase will keep its headquarters in the same New York City location but will tear down the current 52-floor building and build a new 70-story tower in its place. The new Park Avenue building will give the bank an additional 1 million square feet of office space, the New York Times reported. Built in 1961, the existing tower has been renovated several times. JPMorgan has tried to move out before, trying unsuccessfully to build a new home on Manhattan’s Far West Side in 2014 but abandoning the plans when $1 billion in city subsidies did not come through. [TRD]

A $3.5B redevelopment in Philadelphia begins with a public park A 20-year project to revitalize 14 acres of underused land near the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia is launching with the construction of a public park. Eventually the Schuylkill Yards project will be a science and technology center, boasting some 2.8 million square feet of office space and one million square feet of lab space. The plans also call for 1.6 million square feet of residential and more than 100,000 square feet of retail. The city hopes proximity to the transit hub, as well as Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania, will attract as much as $4.5 billion in additional private investment. [NYT]

Florida Realtors see a surging Miami-area residential market in 2018 The new year kicked off with a flurry of home sales activity in South Florida’s three counties at the start of 2018, with volume and prices trending upward. Miami-Dade County saw a 5.3 percent year-over-year increase in sales volume with 1,820 closings in January and 6.5 percent rise in home prices. In Broward County, the number of residential sales rose 3.67 percent over last year and the median price for a single family home increased 10.8 percent. In Palm Beach County residential sales rose only 1 percent as single-family home sales dropped by 3.8 percent but condo and townhome sales jumped by 7.6 percent. [TRD]

Hard Rock International plans to build hotel and residences in New Orleans There could soon be a new place to party in New Orleans as Hard Rock International is proposing an hotel and residential tower near the famed French Quarter in the city’s Central Business District. The 18-story tower will have 350 hotel rooms and 62 residential units, as well as 12,000 square feet of event space and a rooftop bar. The hotel is scheduled to open in spring 2019, and the residences could be listed as early as spring this year. [Curbed]

As many as 7K apartments are in the pipeline for downtown Chicago Downtown Chicago is expecting to have 3,000 new apartments come online in 2018, which will be a relatively down year compared to the 4,350 units added in 2017 and the 4,200 units projected for 2019, according to executives at Integra Realty Resources. Even amid concern about an oversupply, a 31 percent increase in absorption from 2016 to 2017 shows there is still an appetite for downtown rentals, the Chicago Tribune reported. The big driver downtown: the 16,582 new jobs created in 2016 and the 15,883 jobs from 2015. [Chicago Tribune]

PacTen plans condo tower in LA’s Westlake neighborhood PacTen Partners is planning to build a mixed-use condo building in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. There will be 140 residential units, 9,115 square feet of commercial space and 257 parking spaces, according to designs filed with the city. The PacTen development will join a 37-story residential tower at 1100 Wilshire and Realm Group’s 36-story Bixel Tower in the changing area. [TRD]

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/miami/2018/02/24/national-cheat-sheet-multifamily-building-boosts-us-housing-starts-mortgage-rates-hit-highest-level-since-2014-more/#new_tab via IFTTT

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National Cheat Sheet: Multifamily building boosts US housing starts, mortgage rates hit highest level since 2014 … & more

Clockwise from top left: JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, a rendering of the Schuylkill Yards project in Philadelphia, WeWork founder Adam Neumann, and the planned Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans.

Multifamily building leads US housing starts higher in January A 19.7 percent increase in residential rental and condominium starts lead to a 9.7 percent nationwide increase in housing starts from December to January, according to the Department of Commerce. Single-family home construction rose by 3.7 percent. January’s increase to 1.33 million starts followed December’s sharp drop of 8.2 percent. Home prices remain strong due to a supply shortage, with the Standard and Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home sale price index finding a 6.2 percent rise between November 2016 and November 2017. [TRD]

Mortgage rates hit highest level since 2014 Mortgage rates have risen for seven consecutive weeks, pushing 30-year mortgages to their highest rate since April 2014, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey found. The rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages ended the week at 4.4 percent, which is up from 4.38 percent from the week before and 4.16 percent at the same time last year, HousingWire reported. “Mortgage rates have followed U.S. Treasury’s higher in anticipation of higher rates of inflation and further monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve,” said Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist. [HousingWire]

Taking on Airbnb, hotelier joins investors in short-term rental company San Francisco-based AJJK Inc., which works with developers who set aside blocks of apartments for short-term rentals, got a $15.5 million in funding from an investment group that includes hotelier Barry Sternlicht, Fifth Wall Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company, which will be renamed Lyric, is attempting to compete with Airbnb’s “Friendly Buildings Program” by offering an amenity-filled luxury option. Airbnb has 13,000 units listed in its program, while Lyric is aiming to have 1,000 units by the end of the year. [TRD]

Bixby Land Company and AXA Investment Managers putting $400M into the US industrial market A joint venture between Bixby Land Company and AXA Investment Managers will acquire up to $400 million in industrial properties across five states in the next three years. Led by Bixby’s Mike Severson, the group will look for properties in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington that range from $10 million to $40 million in value. [TRD]

Rapidly expanding WeWork predicts more than $2.3B in revenue As it has grown to 20 countries and has some 200,000 members, coworking giant WeWork expects to earn more than $2.3 billion in revenues this year, the New York Times reported. After a $4.4 billion investment from SoftBank, WeWork is expanding beyond workspace rentals to co-living buildings and services like gyms and a kindergarten school. [TRD]

MAJOR MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

JPMorgan Chase plans to build massive tower for New York HQ JPMorgan Chase will keep its headquarters in the same New York City location but will tear down the current 52-floor building and build a new 70-story tower in its place. The new Park Avenue building will give the bank an additional 1 million square feet of office space, the New York Times reported. Built in 1961, the existing tower has been renovated several times. JPMorgan has tried to move out before, trying unsuccessfully to build a new home on Manhattan’s Far West Side in 2014 but abandoning the plans when $1 billion in city subsidies did not come through. [TRD]

A $3.5B redevelopment in Philadelphia begins with a public park A 20-year project to revitalize 14 acres of underused land near the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia is launching with the construction of a public park. Eventually the Schuylkill Yards project will be a science and technology center, boasting some 2.8 million square feet of office space and one million square feet of lab space. The plans also call for 1.6 million square feet of residential and more than 100,000 square feet of retail. The city hopes proximity to the transit hub, as well as Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania, will attract as much as $4.5 billion in additional private investment. [NYT]

Florida Realtors see a surging Miami-area residential market in 2018 The new year kicked off with a flurry of home sales activity in South Florida’s three counties at the start of 2018, with volume and prices trending upward. Miami-Dade County saw a 5.3 percent year-over-year increase in sales volume with 1,820 closings in January and 6.5 percent rise in home prices. In Broward County, the number of residential sales rose 3.67 percent over last year and the median price for a single family home increased 10.8 percent. In Palm Beach County residential sales rose only 1 percent as single-family home sales dropped by 3.8 percent but condo and townhome sales jumped by 7.6 percent. [TRD]

Hard Rock International plans to build hotel and residences in New Orleans There could soon be a new place to party in New Orleans as Hard Rock International is proposing an hotel and residential tower near the famed French Quarter in the city’s Central Business District. The 18-story tower will have 350 hotel rooms and 62 residential units, as well as 12,000 square feet of event space and a rooftop bar. The hotel is scheduled to open in spring 2019, and the residences could be listed as early as spring this year. [Curbed]

As many as 7K apartments are in the pipeline for downtown Chicago Downtown Chicago is expecting to have 3,000 new apartments come online in 2018, which will be a relatively down year compared to the 4,350 units added in 2017 and the 4,200 units projected for 2019, according to executives at Integra Realty Resources. Even amid concern about an oversupply, a 31 percent increase in absorption from 2016 to 2017 shows there is still an appetite for downtown rentals, the Chicago Tribune reported. The big driver downtown: the 16,582 new jobs created in 2016 and the 15,883 jobs from 2015. [Chicago Tribune]

PacTen plans condo tower in LA’s Westlake neighborhood PacTen Partners is planning to build a mixed-use condo building in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. There will be 140 residential units, 9,115 square feet of commercial space and 257 parking spaces, according to designs filed with the city. The PacTen development will join a 37-story residential tower at 1100 Wilshire and Realm Group’s 36-story Bixel Tower in the changing area. [TRD]

from Chicago – The Real Deal New York https://therealdeal.com/2018/02/23/national-cheat-sheet-multifamily-building-boosts-us-housing-starts-a-20-year-redevelopment-project-in-philadelphia-kicks-off-more/ via IFTTT

[m-y-c01]

Florida’s Latest Railroad Is a Mostly Private Gamble

The Brightline, which runs between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, is paid for by a private company and could be a new model for public infrastructure – if it survives.

(AP)

Just last month, a fleet of brand-new passenger trains, painted in eye-popping colors such as magenta, azure and lime green, all with yellow accents, started carrying riders between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. If all goes according to plan, they will soon start servicing Miami, too, rolling down 66 miles of one of Florida’s most congested corridors in an hour. Passengers can enjoy wide seats and onboard Wi-Fi, and will start and finish their trips in architecturally striking stations in downtown Miami, Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach. The stations will include retail spaces, along with adjacent office buildings and apartment towers that promise to add extra vibrancy to the surrounding neighborhoods.

It’s a startling development in an area that, despite being hemmed in on a narrow strip of land between the Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean, depends almost entirely on cars.

But what’s more startling is how the service is being paid for. It isn’t the state of Florida or the municipalities along the route that are putting up most of the funds; it’s a private company that’s convinced it can make money by building and running the $3.1 billion project largely on its own. By 2020, the company, named All Aboard Florida, hopes to extend its “Brightline” service all the way to the Orlando airport, 168 miles north of West Palm Beach. With top speeds of 125 mph, the train could take passengers from Orlando to Miami in a relaxed three hours, rather than the four stressful hours it usually takes in a car.

For many transportation and infrastructure advocates, Brightline is exactly the right project for the current political and financial environment. Congress has repeatedly balked at raising new taxes or finding long-term sources of money to pay for existing infrastructure needs, and most states don’t have the financial wherewithal to launch ambitious new public works projects. That leaves deep-pocketed private investors as a crucial source of funding to build much-needed infrastructure. For conservatives, relying on the private sector represents a wager that what gets built can be supported by the market rather than by tax dollars. The fact that Brightline will be the first privately built passenger railroad to open in the United States in decades means it will garner plenty of attention.

But before Brightline can serve as a model for infrastructure development elsewhere, All Aboard Florida needs to prove its trains can make money. There are many doubters. They point to lawsuits, angry neighbors, construction delays, safety questions and political interference. All Aboard Florida has so far struggled to show it can put together a financing package that will attract investors, operate in the black and provide Floridians with a new transportation option that could reshape the state for years to come. No matter how high the hopes may be, if the finances don’t pencil out, the rest is just fanciful thinking.

(Governing discussed this story with an All Aboard Florida representative for six months, and, at the company’s request, pushed back publication to accommodate delays in Brightline’s scheduled South Florida opening, which finally occurred last month. Ultimately, however, the company declined to make anyone available for an interview or to submit answers to written questions. Governing drew from public statements, regulatory filings, court documents and news accounts to provide information about the company and its operations.)

Florida today might seem like an odd place to build new intercity rail, but it was rail that transformed the state from a sparsely inhabited swamp to a booming vacationland a century ago.

Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil, built a rail line and accompanying hotels that pushed the Florida frontier down the Atlantic coast from Jacksonville until it reached Key West. That line led to the creation of West Palm Beach and the incorporation of Miami. The line Flagler built, the Florida East Coast Railway, stopped serving Key West after a hurricane in the 1930s, and it stopped carrying passengers entirely in 1968. But it’s the same route that Brightline trains would travel on for most of their journey between Miami and Orlando.

A rendering of the MiamiCentral train station. (Brightline)

To follow the finances of Brightline, it’s helpful to know that Fortress Investment Group, a private equity firm from Wall Street, owns Florida East Coast Industries, which in turn owns All Aboard Florida, which operates Brightline. None of them own the track, or the freight railroad that uses it, but they have a long-term agreement to give them access.

Car-saturated though it may be, Florida is an attractive place to build higher-speed passenger rail because it is flat. That makes track upgrades simpler — and less expensive — and makes it easier for trains to get up to speed. The fact that All Aboard Florida has access to existing tracks and rail rights-of-way all along the coast generally eliminates the need to take additional private property, which can be a legally onerous and politically fraught task. The company’s plans largely avoid that problem even in the areas where it will have to build new track, because the new rail line will follow an existing state highway from Cocoa (near the Kennedy Space Center on the Atlantic Coast) to the Orlando airport.

The distance between Orlando and South Florida is another factor that makes rail service attractive. Brightline will be too slow to qualify as true high-speed rail, like the 200 mph bullet trains that service cities in Europe and Asia, but it will achieve speeds similar to the Acela on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. The distance from Miami to Orlando is too long for many drivers and too short for flying, which is the sweet spot for passenger rail (one reason why the Northeast Corridor, from Boston to New York to Washington, is Amtrak’s most popular route).

Connecting Orlando to South Florida would also link Florida’s top tourist destinations. Supporters hope the easy access between cities will encourage visitors to tack on a few extra days to their vacations, so that cruise passengers and beachgoers in Miami could also visit Walt Disney World and Central Florida’s other famed theme parks with little extra hassle.

For Brightline’s southern stretch, stations in the heart of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach have been designed to appeal to residents who want to enjoy walkable amenities in city centers. That’s especially true in the newly resurgent downtown Miami. Brightline’s MiamiCentral train station will span six blocks in a formerly drab corner of downtown. The tracks are elevated 50 feet above street level, held up by V-shaped columns. Below the tracks, glass-enclosed retail spaces will line the streets, while above, towers will provide 800 rental apartments, a valuable commodity in an area where the number of residents has doubled since 2000. “The private sector can move things faster sometimes than government,” says Alyce Robertson, the executive director of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, a city agency. “The station went up like magic. It seems like they were just breaking ground, and now it’s beautiful. The architecture is also not the standard-issue value engineering you see in government buildings. Pretty soon, we are going to have a new service here unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

An interior rendering of the train station at the Orlando airport. (Brightline)

Brightline has the potential to reshape the area’s other transportation offerings as well. MiamiCentral’s location next to the busiest stop on the county’s light rail line and next to the downtown people mover will make transferring among the different systems easy. Even more important, Brightline will share its southernmost tracks and MiamiCentral station with the area’s commuter rail service, Tri-Rail, which connects Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The Brightline connection will allow Tri-Rail for the first time to drop its passengers off downtown instead of at the airport or a transfer station northwest of the city.

Local governments have spent $69 million to bring Tri-Rail into MiamiCentral. Bonnie Arnold, a spokeswoman for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, says the benefits of the new station go beyond convenience. “You’re going to know you really arrived somewhere when you get there,” she says. “It’s what you think train stations ought to look like. It’s going to set Miami on fire for places people want to go.”

And one day, it might do that. But in the meantime, there are plenty of Floridians who don’t like Brightline and some who would be just as happy if it remained unfinished. The most vocal opponents are people living near the center of the route, who will see trains speeding by but get little benefit from them. That’s a region called the Treasure Coast, just north of West Palm Beach. County, state and federal officials from the area have tried to put the brakes on the project. Opponents have raised concerns about unsafe pedestrian crossings, blockage of emergency vehicles, environmental impact and additional expenses for local governments.

Debbie Mayfield, who represents much of the Treasure Coast in the state Senate, is pushing legislation to give the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) more power to enforce safety standards on railroads that operate at speeds greater than 80 mph. That would require Brightline or any future high-speed railroad to put up fencing in areas where there are a lot of pedestrians, roll out better train controls to prevent derailments like the one in Washington state in December and install remote systems to warn when crossing gates aren’t working properly. Mayfield also worries that local governments, which had agreed to pay for maintenance of railroad crossings when they only handled slower-moving freight trains, will now be on the hook to pay for upkeep of the far more expensive gates required for the private Brightline. Mayfield’s legislation has cleared one committee, but it is still a long way from reaching the governor’s desk.

Mayfield, though, says she would be “absolutely OK” with Brightline if her bill became law. “We are not trying to kill it,” she insists. “We are elected to ensure the safety of the citizens of Florida and to protect taxpayer money. That’s what I care about it.”

The railroad’s safety quickly became an issue as service began in January. The day before its formal launch, a Brightline train struck and killed a pedestrian who reportedly crossed the tracks while the gates were down. Days later, another Brightline train killed a cyclist who tried to beat a train. It was the fourth fatality Brightline’s trains were involved in since July. Both of Florida’s U.S. senators, Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bill Nelson, asked federal railroad regulators to investigate the deaths and address railroad crossing safety in the region.

Florida has been debating, studying and planning high-speed rail for decades. Before Brightline, though, the closest it came to building it was in 2010 when the Obama administration, with the backing of then-Gov. Charlie Crist, announced it would pay for an 85-mile segment from Tampa to Orlando, with plans to extend the line later to Miami. But in February 2011, shortly after Crist left office, his successor, Gov. Rick Scott, rejected the $2.4 billion in federal funds to build the high-speed rail. Scott doubted that the line would attract as many riders as its planners claimed, and said that Florida would be on the hook for any cost overruns. “The truth is that this project would be far too costly to taxpayers, and I believe the risk far outweighs the benefits,” he told reporters.

A little more than a year later, in March 2012, All Aboard Florida first revealed its plans to build the Orlando-to-Miami line without public money. “This privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail service will be running in 2014, at no risk to Florida taxpayers,” its materials said at the time.

But soon after All Aboard Florida unveiled its project, it became clear that state support would be needed, even if that didn’t come in the form of a direct subsidy.

Almost immediately, the railroad started negotiating with Florida for the right to build its Orlando extension along a state highway. FDOT provided the Orlando airport with $159 million in grants and $52 million in loans to build a new station that will service Brightline trains once they start running. All Aboard Florida pitched in $10 million to build the station and will pay $2.8 million a year in rent, plus per-passenger fees, to the airport.

(David Kidd)

Scott supported the All Aboard Florida bid. “All Aboard is a 100 percent private venture. There is no state money involved,” the governor said in 2014. (The fact-checking service PolitiFact has rated that statement “mostly false,” because of the state and federal benefits All Aboard Florida has already received.)

All Aboard Florida has enjoyed good relationships with the Scott administration. Adam Hollingsworth, a campaign adviser to Scott and the governor’s chief of staff from 2012 to 2014, worked as an executive at one of All Aboard Florida’s sister companies after the campaign and prior to becoming Scott’s top aide.

According to a 2016 New York Times report, Hollingsworth was involved in Scott’s decision to reject the Obama stimulus money for high-speed rail, and he pushed the governor to support the Brightline concept. Hollingsworth also helped introduce the governor to Wes Edens, a co-founder of Fortress Investment Group, the owner of All Aboard Florida.

Once Hollingsworth became Scott’s chief of staff, he recused himself from matters involving the railroad. But Fortress still worked closely with the Scott administration. That was evident when the company asked the Florida Development Finance Corporation, a nonprofit arm of the state, to issue $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds on its behalf. The “private activity bonds” allow private developers to pay off their debt at lower rates, because the proceeds from those bonds are exempt from federal income taxes.

The board ultimately gave the company permission to sell the bonds. The only problem was, the company couldn’t find enough people to buy them.

All Aboard Florida says it has already spent $2 billion to improve its freight lines, add a second track along its existing route, build stations, and buy trains and other equipment. But it’s also looking for long-term financing to cover the remaining cost of the project. That has not been an easy sell.

Originally, the company applied for a $1.6 billion loan from the federal government that would allow it to borrow money at the same interest rate as the federal government does. But getting a federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan can be difficult because of mandated environmental reviews, hefty upfront costs and a notoriously slow application process.

In congressional testimony last summer, Mike Reininger, the former CEO of Brightline and now the executive director of Florida East Coast Industries, its immediate owner, said the federal environmental review process was too cumbersome and that RRIF and other infrastructure financing programs “suffer from opaque and complex rules which discourage pursuit of these options and render them underutilized.”

Whatever the reason, All Aboard Florida walked away from its application for the federal railroad loan, after it spent two years going through the environmental review process. The Federal Railroad Administration issued a final environmental impact statement for the entire Miami-to-Orlando route, one step away from final federal approval, before All Aboard Florida opted instead to pursue another financing mechanism: the private activity bonds.

The company tried several times to find buyers for the bonds. In August 2015, it offered a 6 percent interest rate for the entire $1.75 billion. When that didn’t work, it raised the rate a month later to 7.5 percent. It tried a third time in October, keeping the rate at 7.5 percent but offering better terms for buyers. A fourth revision in November also yielded no results.

The attempted sales did, however, trigger federal lawsuits by two Treasure Coast counties that Brightline trains would pass through — but not stop in — between West Palm Beach and Orlando. After more than a year, Indian River and Martin counties cleared a major legal hurdle to challenge the company’s ability to issue the bonds. All Aboard Florida short-circuited the lawsuit by changing its financing plan yet again. It told the court it would break up its bond offerings to match the phases of the project. For now, it would seek to sell only $600 million in bonds to cover the costs of its Miami-to-West Palm Beach segment. At some time in the future, it would look to sell the remaining $1.15 billion to finance the extension to Orlando. Practically, this meant that there would be no bonds for the improvements in the Treasure Coast counties, which negated their lawsuit. The judge dismissed the suit last May.

But the lawsuit did reveal how tenuous the company’s plans were for financing its second phase. In one of his rulings, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper concluded in 2016 that All Aboard Florida had almost no choice but to sell private activity bonds to pay for the Orlando expansion. That approach “is not the current financing plan for the project — it appears to be the only financing plan,” he wrote, relying in part on proprietary business information that he kept under seal. All Aboard Florida told federal regulators that the tax-exempt bonds were the “linchpin for completing our project,” the judge noted.

One reason Cooper made his comment was that Fortress, the ultimate owner of Brightline, was itself in financial trouble. Its market capitalization shrank by more than half just in the time the lawsuit was pending. Other potential sources of finances also posed problems. For example, a company lawyer said in court that Brightline could not afford to pay interest rates of 12 percent for corporate debt for the entire project, the rate a plaintiff’s expert said would be necessary to fund it privately. Plus, the federal railroad loan seemed to be off the table, because the company stopped pursuing it.

Since Cooper made that ruling, though, many aspects of the railroad’s situation have changed. First, a Japanese telecommunications giant, SoftBank, announced last February that it would buy Fortress for $3.3 billion, a significant markup from its market value. (The sale was finalized late last year.) In July, Brightline applied again for an RRIF loan, asking for $3.7 billion.

Once completed, Brightline will run from the Orlando airport to downtown Miami. (Brightline)

Then, in October, the company got the Florida development board’s permission to issue $600 million in private activity bonds to help pay off debts it incurred building the South Florida portion of Brightline, in particular $504 million for a high-interest loan it took out in 2014 and a separate $98 million debt to the manufacturer from which it bought its five trains.

Fitch Ratings gave Brightline bonds a BB- rating, which is three notches below investment grade. The agency’s analysts were concerned about whether there would be enough demand for Brightline’s services and, if so, how quickly it would ramp up. Part of Brightline’s problem is that there are no projects to compare it to. This is the first one of its kind in decades. “Seeing demand even relatively close to All Aboard Florida’s forecasts in an area like southeast Florida, which has this auto focus, would show there is a market for this sort of rail and that there is potential for other city pairs for high-speed rail,” says Stacey Mawson of Fitch. But the proof doesn’t yet exist.

In December, the Federal Railroad Administration finally issued its long-delayed record of decision for the entire project, the final administrative step of its environmental review, which allowed the project to go forward.

On balance, the most recent developments seem to have put All Aboard Florida in a better position than it was in a year ago. The best news for the company is that the first Brightline trains began service last month between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and it’s likely the cheerfully colored trains will be rolling into Miami soon. What’s a lot less clear is when — or even if — they’ll make it to Orlando, where, at the airport, a soaring, modern intermodal center, built with public money, nears completion and awaits its first privately funded train.

*This story has been updated from the original version, which appears in the February issue of Governing’s print magazine.

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The post Florida’s Latest Railroad Is a Mostly Private Gamble appeared first on Reasons To Visit Florida For Vacation.

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[isprava]

Timeless design, new holiday rentals ready for your festive season and more, this October - Luxury villa and property for sale in Goa

Timeless design, new holiday rentals ready for your festive season and more, this October

A DREAM HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Some say it’s captivating at first sight. Others say you will get lost in its embrace the moment you arrive. Villa Capela is many things, but never the same thing twice – and it can be all yours this festive season.

Where rustic meets refined and elegance meets extravagance. All roads, the winding ones and the ones dotted with pretty little daffodils, lead to one this season—to Villa Capela. Located in a secluded part of Parra in North Goa, a spot carefully handpicked for its idyllic calm, as well as its close proximity to powdery sand beaches, popular bars and pulsating restaurants, this is where time stops, and the memorable times begin. Reminiscent of a Mediterranean fort, its doors and windows open up to a space that will take your breath away. Antique furniture, projecting balconies and quaint bridges that connect the bedrooms—and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The four-bedroom fully furnished haven features courtyards where you can bask in the sunlight, a swimming pool that spills into palm-fringed paddy fields and charming bedrooms replete with bespoke furnishings and custom designed flooring, that offer distinct views from every vantage point. Away from the sprawling living and dining room, the staircases of Villa Capela lead to one discovery after another, like the spacious terrace onto which the branches of a banyan tree have taken over. But it’s the sloping pergola where you’ll spend most of your evenings, sipping tea and watching the sun set between the hills. Here, you can get completely lost, and find exactly what you’ve been looking for. Villa Capela, now available for you to rent, is the only place to make your best memories this festive season.

TIMELESS IN A TIME OF CHAOS

While most are distracted by the fashionable and the trendy, Isprava is obsessed with the timeless, with design worthy of the ages.

Have you ever seen a picture of something from another era and thought to yourself, this could be something you could be looking at today? While glossy magazines propagate bold and contemporary design trends as well as an experimental mix of styles, Isprava appreciates classic, understated beauty that offers an everlasting appeal. Design that has a staying power. Never design that was created to be temporary. But design that was created to endure the years, and the varied style sensibilities that come in its view. Design that will outpace the fads and frenzies of a few, but captivate the attention of many for a very long time. Design that will stay as fresh and relevant today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow. It’s neither avant-garde, fussy, ornate or opulent. It’s simple and sophisticated. It’s functional, yet not boring. It’s subtle, adaptable and belonging of its space and its environment. It features colours and materials that are traditional, the ones that have been created to outlast. It is inspired from the ages of yesteryear, from Greek architectural marvels to British heritage masterpieces—replete with strong columns, arresting statues and aged mouldings—the things that will always look good on any kind of canvas. It features natural resources and fibres—wood, stone and brick—that give a new lease of life to any kind of space, big, small or lavish. These are just a few of the indelible things that contribute to timeless design—the cornerstone of beautiful living, and the mandate Isprava swears by.

EXPERIENCE THE NILGIRIS, INSIDE-OUT

There’s something about the Nilgiris that stays with you, long after you leave. Especially when you experience Isprava’s Nilgiris, from the inside-out.

Once the summer home of the British, where age-old mountains, archaic railway tracks and quaint tea plantations reigned, today, ever more so, is the perfect setting for the 21st century vacation-seeker. But not only for its lush beauty or gleaming Blue Mountains that stand tall on the outside, but for what’s on the inside too. That is, inside an Isprava haven. There is nothing ordinary about Isprava’s Nilgiris. Drawing inspiration from the untouched beauty that surrounds, the rich culture that captivates and the abundant nature that embraces, each Isprava home is a reflection of its destination. As soon as you enter, you will be compelled to stay. The climate on the outside will beckon. But it’ll be hard to let go of the warmth Isprava’s walls bring to your homestay. Nature lovers will want to explore their surroundings. But only when they are done discovering what’s around every corner and behind every bend—design and luxury that can’t be found anywhere else. Equestrian enthusiasts will be tempted to tee off at a nearby golf retreat, but only after they lounge long enough in the indulgent luxury that Isprava offers. And while all of the Nilgiris is waiting to be discovered, inch by inch, Isprava offers you the chance to discover it, experience by experience, within its intimate embrace.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ISPRAVA'S HEAD OF OPERATIONS -  KAMINI GILL

From an art collector and antique lover to renovating Portuguese villas in Goa and now running the day to day at Isprava, frankly, like a boss, Kamini Gill’s inner most passions, and inherent talent make her a force to reckon.

Her mornings begin with a prayer of gratitude to the universe, and ask her where her heart is set on for a dream holiday home, and she quickly retorts: Florence or London. She’s brought not only her infectious personality to the Isprava field ground but also a business acumen and design sensibility that is set to take Isprava places, perhaps even Florence and London one day! In conversation with Kamini Gill...

How did Isprava find you, or you find it?

It was no accident that the path I was on for so many years led me to the doors of Isprava. I always had a passion for art, antiques and beautiful spaces. I spent many years managing my own family’s holiday homes, some of which are heritage properties which required significant restoration and renovation. After a lot of hard work, customized touches and an obsessive attention to detail, I was satisfied about ensuring an unforgettable staying experience for all my friends and family. In many ways, those three pillars hold up Isprava’s operating philosophy, and the company therefore seemed like the perfect place for me to be and do what I love doing on a much grander scale.

As head of operations, what’s usually on the agenda?

Well, everything really. The main goal is to execute the management’s unparalleled vision in a high quality, timely and cost efficient manner—so I have to be hands on with almost every aspect of the company and brand, and almost every member too. But that’s what makes my job that much more exciting. I thoroughly enjoy the process of aligning the internal team and external stake holders, from the architects and interior designers to the suppliers, vendors and contractors to ensure a highly motivated and high performance operating environment. This is what empowers me, and makes me tick.

What do you love most about the company?

It’s an extremely driven organisation with a strong collaborative culture. We here at Isprava emphasize a great deal on delivering and creating value. This is deeply institutionalized as the Chairman, Mr Darshan Shah and CEO & MD Nibhrant, personally set the tone from the top. Every employee of the company pulls in the same direction and that makes for a very fun and trusting work environment.

What’s your take on luxury in India and Isprava?

I believe the luxury space in India is still evolving. As societies become more affluent, luxury follows a certain life cycle. Initially it is about asset creation, but eventually it graduates to more experiential spending which encompasses travel, art, bespoke holiday homes if you may. That is the stage that pockets of India are now starting to reach. But it’s a space with very exciting growth prospects. As for Isprava, the final frontier of luxury for us is exclusivity. And that is the very beat of our drum—crafting highly bespoke spaces and experiences. Making each home unique to the owner’s unique taste and sensibility, often achieving the impossible blend between classic and contemporary.

What’s your design sensibility like?

It is definitely more inclined towards the vintage, but with a modern outlook and mind-set.

Walking over to your desk at Isprava, what will we see?

My diary which serves as my trusty daily planner, my laptop and a herb infused bottle of water.

What do you do to relax after a long day of work?

I like to have a hot steaming cup of coffee, and practice Buddhism.

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