Devious6

@Gingerninja - I think the most we've ever ended up bidding was $950 - and that is split in half since we got two trips out of it. It's a tremendous way to go and still help out a not-for-profit.

@Gingerninja and @SStu We love to go to Antigua - will be making our 5th trip to Galley Bay Resort in November. It's an all-inclusive, under 100 rooms, amazing food and secluded beach, 3 great restaurants and bars with a Rum Shack and walk-up sandwich shack, no kids and no casino. They have a band every night, a movie on the beach night and several other evening events each week. It's an amazing place just to relax and enjoy the beautiful beach. If you want to hit other night spots they are close at hand by taxi. This is a pano I took last year on our trip - that's Lynn with the camera. This was taken after we ate breakfast - the restaurant is to the left of Lynn, open to the ocean. Notice the lack of people - the resort was full yet there are many times when you feel totally alone. Even when there are people on the beach, you never feel crushed in like many other resorts/beaches. We've also found a great way to reduce the costs, as well. Most of the resorts provide reduced cost vacations to their resorts for not-for-profits to use in auctions. You can find them many times through your local PBS stations and on a site called Bidding For Good. You bid for the package and that money gets paid to the not-for-profit. Generally, you bid on a 7 day stay for up to two rooms. Then there is typically a per-person, per-day up charge you pay to the resort. For Galley Bay, we pay between $140 to $180/person, per/day depending on level of room to cover your food and drink costs. We stay in one of the luxury beachfront room - walk out the back door and into the sand; into the surf in 30 yards so we're in the 180 price range. That rate turns out to be approximately 40% of the normal cost and even with what we pay to the not for profit and airfare we are under 50% of the retail cost. Here's the really cool thing we finally realized we could do - split the weeks between two different years. If you watch the "must use" dates on the packages, you can many times find one that spans a year+. The one we got last Fall covered both our trip last November and this November so our bid price was spread over two trips. Elite Island Resorts operates out of Florida and has several properties on Antigua and St. Lucia as well as others. Galley Bay is now one of the more exclusive...wasn't that way when we started going there back in 1999 - we just love the local and the level of service. Check out the auctions! It's a great way to help out a NFP and still save a tremendous amount on a dream vacation.

What @Dan and @Gingerninja said!! LIGHT moisturizing is crucial - and some here go for a totally dry approach with no moisturizer. I prefer a very light application twice a day - it seems to help control the itch for me. In any case, remember you are healing an open wound and your skin needs air to heal itself. Over moisturizing it will be counterproductive.

Great idea @Gingerninja!! @pphilly - I'm not too far away from you - live in the Scranton, PA area.

Welcome to the forum! The answer to your question is best provided by an artist who is experienced with cover-ups. Someone experienced in doing cover-ups will be able to give you options and impacts of those options. If you indicate where you live - or how far you're willing to travel, some folks would probably be able to recommend artists who might help.

Killer tattoos!!! Congrats!!!

Welcome to the forum...and let's see some pictures of that art!!!

Welcome to the forum!! The issue with cost is that it is dependent on the artist and where you live/are getting the work done. Generally, the better the artist, the more expensive the hourly rate. You want quality...so pay for quality. In terms of size, the concept of "go large or go home" might impact this tattoo. There is a lot of fine line work and detail in this tattoo. Going larger might help to highlight the detail. In any case, the first thing is to find a solid artist!

WHat!!!??? No alcohol???!!! That might be enough to make me swear off tattoos!!!! NOT.

I hadn't seen this before - need to go back and read the whole thread now.

And don't worry abut your English!! You're doing just fine!!

Some great artists in the Philadelphia area, too!! Instagram is definitely your friend - it will really help to narrow down what you might like once you decide on a style. Welcome!!

@Gingerninja - we'll I'm too old now, anyway. But, seriously, let's set something up for the College this Fall. Me college email is volkm@lackawanna.edu. Drop me a note with what you need, when might be some good times and we'll get it set up!!!

@Gingerninja - does the registry follow the same requirements as the Red Cross for giving blood? I used to donate every 60 days until they put the permanent ban on people who lived for more than 6 months in Germany/Europe during the Mad Cow scare in the UK. We were there for more than 3 years...so I can't give blood again...ever. DO you know how that affects the registry? Same restriction?

Excellent!!!! I love them both!!