I'll try to keep the travel log short this time, but it is always hard. Too much fun, too many pictures.
Anyway, after spending a couple of days at the cabin, we dropped the kids off at Grandma's on the way home, packed for a couple of hours, and then went to the airport. I've never been to the Carribean before, but the water is just as beautiful as everyone said it was!
Our hotel was beautiful too. The funny thing is, they had a very pretty infinity pool, but I never actually touched that water. The beach was a lot more fun.
But of course, before we arrived at the hotel we had to get our rental car. St. Thomas is in the American Virgin Islands, but for reasons no one figured out they drive on the left side of the road. With cars designed for the right side of the road. But our favorite was the little sticker on the dashboard.
Never thought I would be TOLD to use my horn frequently. Don't mind if we do.
It is an interesting island. I get the feeling that tourism and fishing are the only incomes they have, and while the real estate is expensive and goods are expensive, the people don't have much. But there were a lot of boats. So many, in fact, that they had to be stored vertically.
Christopher much preferred the little sailboats at our hotel. He was seriously in love with the little catamarans, and went out every chance he got while we were there. But he doesn't do things half way: he studied every tutorial and youtube video he could find before he went out.
As I said, great resort. This was the view from our balcony.
Our group did a lot of activities while we were there. One of them was taking a boat ride out to some snorkeling spots in the British Virgin Islands. Beautiful water - and really fun friends.
The next night we went to a "Carnival Night" at a local restaurant. It was a bit hokey, but loads of fun (and great food). We noticed they had this set up left over from a wedding photo shoot earlier, so we took advantage.
So pretty.
Anyway, on to the party. This lady on stilts had a lot of fun dancing with a few of our guys.
And Kyle and Kristi even competed in a dance competition. They were awesome!
As their prize, they got a hat with a beach ball and some rum. Good thing none of us drink rum.
The fire guy was pretty cool.
But dancing with everybody was more fun.
Another day we went on a "ecotour", where they took us kayaking and snorkeling and hiking. Our guide, Jesse, was awesome. Not only was his dry sense of humor fun, but he really was excited by the wildlife we saw. And when my sandals completely DIED (mysteriously, one sandal broke into pieces about a half an hour before the other one) he actually gave me his shoes and went barefoot on the rocks! Talk about service.
Nice, sweetheart. Nice. Here I was, thinking "smile for the camera" meant keep paddling . . .
I found this crab when we were getting in our canoes. Creepy looking, huh?
And what trip would be complete without Christopher looking goofy? He got up here and asked "do I look like the Little Mermaid?" Yes, honey, unfortunately you do.
Back to the cool fish.
Hi turtle!
That afternoon, they had a regatta at the resort. That's "sailing race" for us land people. Christopher signed up right away, and eventually we had three boats of two DigiCert guys each, and then three other boats to compete against.
There they go!
Christopher and Ben got second place in the first two runs, and were hoping that the last run would cinch it. But then, two boats down from them, Travis hopped in his boat after a nice push off . . . and his teammate Paul shoved the rudder as he tried to hop in. That shoved them into the next boat, which stopped Chris in his tracks, and before you knew it, Travis and Paul were sideways in front of my husband's boat. Blocking three boats from leaving.
My husband's competitive side was angry for a mintue or two, until he couldn't stop laughing about it.
Another feature of our week was the nearest town, called Red Hook. It was about 500 yards long in total, with mainly restaurants and a ferry to St. John. But smack in the middle was a construction nightmare. The locals told us it had been under construction for two years. Yikes.
On our last full day, Christopher and I drove up to the North side of the island to see Magen's Bay. We had heard that it was National Geographic's favorite spot on the island, and it sure didn't dissapoint. It seemed like more of a locals spot than a tourist spot. But it was the best beach we had ever seen. The water was so clean that you could see every detail of the sand floor when you had waded out 50 feet, just like a pool. No seaweek, no junk on the ocean floor. And it was huge! This is just one half of the island. (Replace random guy with a bikini girl and this would have been a much better shot . . .)
Now, the first thing we saw when we got to the beach was a ripple in the water. Dolphins! I just wished I had my long range zoom lens on. We weren't sure if that was normal or not, but then the lifeguard next to us said "Did you see that!" Nope, not normal.
We also had fun driving around and seeing the true culture of the island. And finding awesome views. If you look close, you can see a sea plane taking off.
And last but not least, one of the people traveling with us is a professional photographer, and was nice enough to take shots for everyone. (Oooh, random plug. Check out
Niki Martins photography if you like her work. She's great.)
It was a WONDERFUL trip, but after being basically out of town for three weeks I was sure ready to be home with my kids again. Not to mention done flying, after seeing the Delta safety video eight times in three weeks. If only home included a gorgeous beach somewhere . . .
