I have often thought about this blog the last couple of months but have not given it enough time to sit down and write. Our life since July has been extremely busy and exciting. We had a wonderful vacation at the end of July thru the first week of August. Much appreciated to my parents for taking our whole family on such a wonderful family vacation. We were able to go with both my brothers and parents and my little family.
My dad planned this trip to St. Croix part of the virgin islands as a surprise birthday for all of us kids in the family. Dad planned all kinds of fun activities as well as a lot of relaxing for myself and Ella, which is something we both really needed. The boys did a lot of scuba diving Monday thru Wednesday. Jeff enjoyed this more then anything on the entire trip. Jeff would have been happy to dive the entire vacation. Ella and I spent the first 4 days at the beach and just relaxing in the ocean. The water was the perfect temperature. Still to this day Ella will ask when she is going back to swim in the ocean. Monday evening my parents, brothers and myself took a wonderful horseback riding trip. We were able to see and learn about the sugar mills that were on the island as well as take the horses down the beach and even swimming. None of us expected that we were actually taking them far out in the ocean and swimming but it was a wonderful experience. Unfortunately Jeff is allergic to horses and Ella was still to young to participate, so they were only able to meet us at the beach and take some pictures. The guide was kind enough to Ok Ella riding the mile or so back to the stable area so she would be able to have a short ride as well.
There was also our day trip to Buck Island, which is an island about 20 miles from St. Croix. We had to drive about 45 minutes to get to the yacht club where the boat was docked that would be taking us there. This was the furthest we really traveled on the island and got to see a lot of the island. When we got to the yacht club we went into the changing rooms to get ready. The car ride must have been too much for Ella because she started throwing up all over the changing room. The poor girl has never had car sickness before then or since then. It defiantly made the day even more interesting. It was a very relaxing boat ride over to the island. Buck Island is known for its coral reef, it is the largest coral reef area that is also a national park. Most people go to Buck Island for the snorkeling. David, Dad, and Jeff all got out to snorkel while the rest of us stayed on the boat soaking in the sun. I attempted to snorkel but have learned thru that experience it is not something for me. Once they were done exploring the coral reef, the boat captain took us around the island to an area where you can get out and swim or go up on the island and explore some. Ella again loved the water, and enjoyed having everyone in the water with her this time. On the way back to the dock we were actually able to see 3 wild sea turtles! It was amazing!
Friday Jeff, Ella and I took at trip inland to see the Rum Distillery. It was very interesting to see how the Cruzan rum is made there on the island. After the distillery we went a drive thru other areas of the island. After this we decided to head back to the coast and the town of Christenstead, and do some shopping. Then later that evening we met up with the rest of the family for dinner! We had so many good dinners on the island, but this one was probably one of the better! This as our last full day on the island and in some ways I was more then ready to get back home and back to normal life, but in so many other ways I was not ready to leave. I still miss a lot of the things we were able to do while on this vacation. Thank you Dad for the wonderful trip! It was amazing!
