Three weeks ago winter was hitting me hard. I love snow and winter sports. I don't even mind shoveling when I know the snow is just going to make the skiing and snowshoeing better. I don't, however, love the in-between season when the cycle of melting and refreezing beings, creating a treacherous layer of ice; testing both my balance and my patience whenever I have to take the dog for a walk.

Two weeks ago our friends Mike and Mistral were visiting and mentioned that they were headed to the islands to scout for boats and contacts for Mike's non-profit summer program Common Tides. They casually suggested that I should tag along to keep Mistral and the baby company while Mike and his business partner worked. I was amused by the idea but my amazing husband immediately put his logistical wonder brain to work, scouring the internet for tickets in an effort to alleviate my winter angst (and possibly to have an entire week to himself to watch March madness games).

One week ago I found myself on a beach in Tortola snapping photos of my friend and her adorable baby, soaking up the warmth and appreciating how lucky I am to have married such an amazing, kind, thoughtful guy (and to have the type of friends who would invite me on vacation with them).

In the spirit of "working" while I was on vacation, I took the opportunity to test out a new lens that I had brought along on the trip. Koa's first ocean adventures seemed like a worthy milestone to break in my new 85mm (and the old 50mm 1.8 got some love on the windier beach days when I was too chicken to take the 85 out and about).