St Johns Island

Back to the vacation pics.....
These pics are actually from our last day on vacation. We took the car ferry, which was a first for all of us, over to St John's so we could drive around and explore it a little more in depth. First we drove to Cinnamon Bay, very beautiful, and found donkeys on the beach. Yes, wild donkeys. As beautiful as it was there, we got back in the car to find some sugar mill ruins. When we got to where we thought the ruins were, we found a trail that went right across the shoreline. Somehow we got in our heads that this trail took us to the ruins. No, this trail took us over a mile past the ruins to Watermelon Cay. Very beautiful and we witnessed some sea turtles swimming around, but not exactly where we meant to go. So back to the car we go and decide to head over to Coral Bay to get something to eat. More wild donkeys on the road, and a soccer team made up of goats. ;) So, here's a note to anyone going to St Johns in the off season....almost every restaurant in Coral Bay is closed until the busy season. We did eventually find a place to eat, but you will note here that I am utterly exhausted. After refueling, we headed back to our most favorite beach, Trunk Bay. We stayed as late as we could, until we got concerned we might miss the last ferry back to St Thomas. We stayed long enough that we were the only people left on the beach. There's something so amazing about having one of the world's most beautiful beaches all to yourselves. Anyway, that was our last day there. There are so many great pics, that I had to do the slideshow thing. Hopefully, the colors will look ok. They've been looking a little crazy in past slideshows. I blame it on Flickr.

Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away with meeeeeeee

Over a week ago now, we sailed on the sailboat New Horizons on one of their day long snorkel tours. It started out at 9am and we got back at 4pm. They served us many many watered down drinks (as they always do on these things) and a decent lunch. We sailed to Honeymooners Beach on St Johns Island and to a private beach on Little St. James for our snorkeling pleasure. We saw tons of fish, coral, sting rays, and even a sea turtle or two. We attempted to get Katie in the water to snorkel, but at the words "sting ray", she was back on the boat. She's not a fan of them. I can't blame her, some of them were probably bigger than she is. LOL So anyway, we had a good time, got way, way too much sun (it was the only day any of us got burnt), and made a good memory. I wish I had picture of the full sailboat, but trying to carry your 16 month old son, camera and personal affects kinda makes you forget about somethings.

Coral World

Across the bay from where we were staying in St Thomas was Coral World. Katie loved it, of course. All the fish, coral, sea turtles, lorikeets(birds)and other sea creatures that she could enjoy. So enjoy just a few pictures of what we saw there.



The view from Coral World

The views from above

These pics are from the plane trip to St Thomas and the views from our hotel room.

Magens Bay

We had a very very nice late afternoon evening at Magens Bay last week. And as I sit here with my sick little girl and feeling ill myself, I dream of the sand beneath my feet, the waves splashing, and the sun shining.

Stealing Iguanas

It's crazy how many iguanas there are on the island of St Thomas. They apparently love to hang about the pool and hot tubs. Oh and they LOVE oranges. And they like to attempt to steal said oranges off of your drinks. Oh yeah, if you're ever there, don't wear red nail polish. Unless you like to be nibbled my iguanas now and then. It's up to you, I guess.

My wake up call

This is what woke me up this morning.

Last minute escape to Hilton Head Island

Last week we decided on Wednesday evening to head to Hilton Head early Thursday morning. So after some quick reservations, laundry, and packing, we drove the short 4 1/2 hour drive down there. We, of course, had to stop at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Nothing like lots of fat and starch when you're on a road trip. :) It really was a great 3 day trip. The beach and hotel were B-U-S-Y, but it was still very enjoyable. Katie enjoyed herself the most, although Sam fair loved the beach and pool too. He wasn't fond of the waves as they broke, but as long as he was at the shore line or actually in the water past where they broke, he was fine. Sam can actually doggy paddle if you hold him under his stomach. It is quite a thing to behold, watching this little 14 month old paddle around the pool. Kate, as you will notice, will not go in the water without her floatie and floatie vest. But she does quite well swimming around the pool by herself. Even being so brave as to swim around the deep end by herself. Yay Katie!!!We took the kids swimming at night after dinner, spent all day on the beach and by the pool, watched movies before bed, and had a couple of snacks out of the mini bar. Sometimes that $4 pack of M&Ms just hits the spot. Oh and on the way back, we stopped at this gas station we've stopped at before where they let you feed their animals. They have a bull, a cow, a couple of ostriches, a llama, goats, geese, and a donkey. :) So anyway, here are some pics from the trip, and a couple of videos.

Better Late than Never

So I finally have a few minutes to sit down and go through all of the pics from our trip in December. I am still missing the pictures from Asheville, but I have all the ones from PA and DC on Flickr. Well all the ones I am willing to share. ;) The above picture is the only picture of the 4 of us ever. Well, I think maybe except from when Sam was born. I think there is one there of the 4 of us. In any case, Sam was cold and Kate had a busted mouth and tooth. It was a good time anyways. So check out the rest of the pics of the Washington trip and the Pennsylvania trip. Which, don't forgot were all the same trip. Long drive but so worth it to have our new car. Did I tell you guys how much I LOVE our new car? It's the bomb. The best ever. Anyway, when I find the Asheville pics, I'll be sure to add those in too.