Dream Vacation

We had such a wonderful, romantic, FUN, beautiful trip!

(CAUTION: Travel log to follow with a gazillion pictures! Just want to remember this trip!) We took a cruise to the southern Caribbean, something I have always wanted to do. I had been on a smaller cruise before and Chris was a virgin cruiser (quite fitting considering the ENDLESS virgin colada's we ordered throughout the week), so this trip FAR exceeded all our expectations! The beaches, every single one of them, were like pictures from post cards, the kind of sand and BLUE, CLEAR, WARM water that you only see in calendars and you think cannot possibly be real. I have never seen anything like those places! We had to kind of pinch ourselves just to know we weren't in a dream! I mean, really, I don't even know how to describe the water! Just gorgeous! The ship was really fun as well. Lots of time to spend by the pool, eating ourselves into oblivion, relax, watch movies out on the deck under the stars as the cool ocean breeze blew by, watching the water beneath us. The sunsets were beautiful to watch, also, as the shipped pulled away from the islands every evening. Then there were the endless supply of pina coladas and strawberry daiquiri's, did I mention that?! And we actually got to sleep in -- I had almost forgotten how wonderful that is!!

Our first stop was St. Thomas, where we were welcomed to the island by these giant lizards sun bathing. I was pretty sure one of them was going to be chased down by one of them, but they were pretty tame! We indulged in some shopping and took in a little bit of the city. Crowded, every shop owner trying desperately to get you into their stores, but a really cool, fun island feel. After shopping, Chris and I headed to Megan's beach, which was our first taste of these Caribbean beaches and waters. We were just amazed!! We couldn't get our clothes off fast enough to get in for a swim! We swam and rocked in the ocean for a good 2 hours! It was a wonderful day! This was also the night of our first formal dinner. We saw people soooo totally dressed up in ball gowns and tuxes, but that was a little much for us! I've never seen so much sparkle and sequins! My mom sure looked BEAUTIFUL in her Indian clothes (brought back from her mission there). She got so many compliments! The next day was Tortolla, We went to a private beach where we again, spent the day just amazed at how beautiful everything was!

We enjoyed lunch in a little bar right on the beach in our swim suits and this is also where Chris unveiled his now infamous speedo. Inside joke: for the months leading up to the cruise, he and my brother and dad all teased each other about parading around in speedos and how they had better start shopping for the perfect one, etc. This was all in jest, because of course, there really should NEVER be anyone wearing speedos...EVER! Anyway, so as a joke, Chris ordered this really cheesy speedo online. When we first arrived at the beach, he pulled off his shorts and ran down to the water in all his glory, nothing but a speedo. We all about died laughing! It was quite a sight and quite a shock for my unsuspecting family! Really, one of the top highlights of the trip -- it was classic Chris!Then it was on to Antigua. This was my favorite island. Just when we thought the water could not get more blue or sand more white, we found this secluded little resort which I'm pretty sure is part of heaven! We snorkled, walked along the beach, and found a beautiful look-out point where you could see nothing but ocean. We took a really neat car ride to and from the beach where we got to really take in the island that the LOCALS live on, not the touristy stuff. It was just fascinating. Simple, small, but very bright-colored homes, cows and goats crossing the road all over the countryside, a HUGE cricket stadium erected literally in the middle of nowhere! I absolutely love that part of going to a foreign place -- I love to see how people live, how different their lives are, how simple but how happy the people are, to not feel like such a tourist, but to take in the culture of where we are. Very cool! Our next day was the only day we had rain, when we arrived in St. Lucia. It was a down pour getting off the ship, and we were told by our guide, it was the first rain they had had in 3 months! We were very happy we had not planned a beach day for this particular day, but instead had arranged a tour on 4-wheelers! It was a perfect day for this!
There was a group of about 7-8 couples and we were led by a few locals. We went on a great trail (although my brother and Chris were itching to move a little faster and more adventurously) that led straight to the ocean! We got to ride on the sand next to the beautiful water and then took a break to enjoy the incredible views. It was so gorgeous! My SIL, LeAnne, and I decided to be a bit rebellious and NOT wear the suggested pants and closed-toed shoes and this was the punishment we got! We were COVERED in mud!! But we were very comfortable and that's all we cared about! What's 4-wheeling anyway, without a little dirt! We got back to the ship earlier that day, so we did some more shopping to bargain with the locals and then just relaxed back on board.

The last stop we made was on the island of Barbados. This island was a pretty close tie for my other favorite island. It was absolutely GORGEOUS! We took a smaller boat tour on a really fun 3-story pirate ship. We rode out to this really beautiful beach where the water was the clearest and bluest that we had seen our whole trip. Unbelievable! Chris and I then boarded a smaller boat with a group of people to go snorkeling to a sunken ship. There were sooooo many fish, it was amazing! The first time I put my head in the water, I was completely swarmed and surrounded by schools of fish everywhere and it freaked me out at first! Beautiful fish and really cool exploring of this sunken ship. It was a lot of fun! After we got back to the beach, Chris took a turn riding the slide that ran from our ship down into the ocean.
We also had a really good lunch on the boat and took a beautiful walk down the beach. It was a pretty perfect day! That night was our second formal dinner night on the boat -- the food was soooo delicious! Chris even tried escargot (yuck!). I loved every single day and place we visited on the cruise! It was so incredibly relaxing and we were just awe-struck by the beautiful places we visited! The bright, bright colored houses and buildings everywhere to remind us that we were on the islands, the happy and beautiful local people we met, the boats (a new obsession that I have discovered -- I LOVE boats, old, new, sailboats, tugboats -- all of them!)!
It truly was a dream vacation for us and I am now stuck itching for that warm, warm weather!!

But the very BEST part of the trip was all the time I was able to spend with Chris. It was heaven! We haven't been a trip just the two of us since before the kids were born. We had so much time to just be together and reconnect and I was reminded over and over again why I love him so much! He makes me laugh harder than anyone else, he respects me and protects me, we can talk about everything together, we enjoy doing the same things, he is just my very best friend in the world! How often do you get to have a week long, kids-free vacation with your very best friend?! Not too often! All the more reason this was sooo great and so special for us! And we so enjoyed our time with my parents and my brother and SIL as well! We had some very good laughs and it's so nice to spend a vacation with people you feel so comfortable with and enjoy being with so much! All in all, this was a much needed, much appreciated, and much loved vacation! Now all I can do is look at the pictures and daydream of those crystal blue waters and white sand beaches and warm sunshine! Those will be happy memories for a very long time!
(some more of my favorite sights we encountered)