I am such a baby when it comes to leaving my kids. My poor sister in law Beth! I was sending her lists, agendas, phone numbers, food....yes I went a little overboard. It's so hard for me to leave the kids and I feel bad for whoever we are leaving them with...hoping that they don't act as rotten for them as they do for us! Not that my kids are rotten but they have their moments (let's say every day moments...). So, my head is always filled with worries for my kids and the people who are taking care of them. We took the red eye flight out so we left them with our favorite babysitter Kamela for the night and it was all I could do to not be a blubbering idiot walking out that door. I couldn't resist going back upstairs one more time to give Tyson (who was already sleeping) a hug and kiss...and back down to give nate (who was still awake...I swear that kid never sleeps!) a squeeze. Trying not to loose my composure too bad. With tears streaming down my face...we finally packed up and left. Although Jason is not one to express his emotions in tears, I know it was hard for him as well. Every night for a few weeks before we left we would talk about how hard it is to leave the kids. They are the light of our life and besides the gospel they are what gives us purpose Having said that...I know that taking them on a vacation would not be a good thing..LOL! Seriously...as hard as it is to leave them...taking them, is just not an option yet. We've tried that...and we've learned. :-)
I think that hardest part about leaving this time was that for a month straight I had to leave each week. Jason and I had a business trip in California for a few days the 1st week, the next week was a funeral...the week after that was a funeral...and then the following week was our trip. I was feeling so guilty for the lack of time I had spent with them all month and then to leave again...was a little harder than normal.
Even though it is hard for us to leave the kids I am so grateful to have family to leave them with. They had such a great time...in fact when we would call each night Tyson wouldn't even talk to us for 30 seconds! I know that they were loved and well taken care of by my parents and Jason's sister and husband. It's such a comforting thought to know that even though you are not there with your kids that there are others who will love them and take good care of them.
So...on the plane ride home Jason and I put together a list of all the things we were going to miss (and already missing) about St. Thomas and all the things that we definitely will not miss! Even though a place can be absolutely beautiful there are always things that are less than desirable and that make you glad you are going "home". Even though St. Thomas is technically United States it still felt as though we were in a different country. As beautiful as it is I could never live there year round! So here goes...
Things we will not miss....
After about the 2nd day on vacation I had 62....yes that 62 Bug Bites! Every night I would ferociously scratch my legs and arms until I fell asleep. I am sure I will have scaring from that but hey what do you do?! Needless to say we tried to stay inside after the sun went down and away...from the water where all the bugs were! Jason only got a few bug bites...I guess they didn't like him too much...
Pot holes! I'm not sure where the construction workers were (they are about as visible as the ones here in surprise!) but they had the biggest pot holes I have ever seen! Driving on the left hand side of the road through hilly, winedy - one lane roads are not the safest anyways...when you add LARGE pot holes on top of that...it just makes for a constant roller coaster feeling with an occasional swerve to avoid getting stuck in the pot hole! Might I just add that Jason's driving abilities did not help things much...for those of you who have had the thrilling experience of ridding with Jason you'll completely understand what I am talking about. :-)
Jet Lag! That I will definitely not miss. A total of 14 1/2 hours in flight with 6 hours in layovers...but it was all worth it!
I will not miss the shock on EVERYONE'S faces when we said "We do not drink". It's not as if we go around advertising it but when you are on vacation and on an island you are definitely the minority if you don't drink. Everything is about the alcohol so when you mention you don't drink it's "REALLY?? OH!" One guy asked us if we were from Oregon! Hilarious...I think he was meaning Utah... It doesn't bother me that we were the minority...it just gets a little old when people act as if you had just told them the President was assassinated. Isn't there anyone out there that doesn't drink anymore????
We took the car ferry over to St. John's and they have the car ferry transporting every hour. We got there around 3:15 for the 3:30 ferry and missed it by a long shot...there were about 10 cars at least in front of us that didn't get on either so we had to wait another hour and a half for the next ferry in the car since we couldn't get out of the line. Then they have you sandwiched in with a bunch of other cars and they don't let you out of your car on the ferry ride back...fun stuff. I'm glad that I brought something to read but at that point when your wet and sandy you just want to get back and get dry!
Why do movie theatres have to be so stinking cold? Seriously...I think this one was the coldest we have ever been in! We went to see Eagle Eye which was a fantastic movie but we were so cold neither of us could enjoy the movie! It was as if we were standing in a freezer box! Next time it's turtle necks and sweats! LOL!
The next thing I will not miss is the nasty yet expensive food. Since it is on an island the food is ridiculously expensive and I'm not sure why it rarely tasted good but it was pretty nasty. Jason and I couldn't even finish our meal at Fat Tuesday's....that was one of many restaurants we definitely will not revisit.
Again...just to prove my point of how expensive the food was $9.85 for ONE turkey sandwich...are you KIDDING me!?
I really hate to make this all about food but being as though I love it so much I had to put in here about my macaroni and cheese "surprise" that I had at the airport on our way back. I thought I was playing it safe but after taking my first bite...I realized it was definitely the nastiest mac and crac I have ever had...I'm not sure the cheese was even cheese because it didn't look or taste like cheese and to make matters worse it had jalapenos in it (you'd have thought we were in Mexico!) and carrots. Odd combination but ok...moving on!
After my month of a total of 9 airplane flights I have just about had it with the airplane seats. Delta has got to be the worst of them all. So...for another one of my things I definitely will not miss is the lovely 1 inch they give you of leg room in the airplane with your set tilted so far forward you can't even sit up straight...fun stuff. :-)
Back to the food again. Can I just say how much we don't like seafood? I mean once and a while fish is fine and maybe some shrimp but that's just about all they had was seafood! Poor Jason ordered Tuna thinking it was going to be cooked and it was like sushi...poor guy couldn't even finish it! I on the other hand went for a lovely steak!
I think most of us can say that it is not hard to gain weight on vacation...being lazy and eating out every meal that's a great combination for putting on the pounds but for me what made it worse was that the food was nasty so gaining weight for nasty food...that makes me downright angry! If I'm going to gain weight the food better darn well be worth the extra pounds!
I think by the end of the trip I was about ready to put up my own road signs. I'm amazed that a place that is filled with so many tourists has no street signs! The map was pretty good that they gave us but how in the world did they expect us to follow it with no signs?! No one knew where to go either. If you got directions it was "go down there that way and take a left at the maple tree...go a little bit farther and take another left by the goat". Are you kidding me?
As much as I love going to the beach and swimming... sitting in a wet bathing suit all day (and then to be rained on) is just not for me...that is why I love Arizona. You are dry within a minute of leaving the water!
I think these are sheep...but we had the privilege of not only dodging the potholes, but the lovely animals that were randomly standing in the middle of the road (chickens, donkeys, sheep and goats to name a few).
These two pictures give you an idea of how many stairs we had to climb each day. Good exercise but I hate stairs. I counted 164 stairs from our room to the lobby. I think there were about 130 from our room to the restaurant every morning for breakfast. That got a little old. I love to walk but stairs are just a good pain in the butt..
The sign says "Caution...dangerous corner ahead". So...here is one of the few signs posted on the island. The roads were so bad and curvey that it just makes you not want to go anywhere because you are literally afraid for your life. We had a close call one day...imagine the small single lane we are driving in when we turn one of those lovely corners a semi is actually in our lane...seriously these drivers out there just don't care! One night we passed by an accident where I believe the guy lying in the road was dead...I'm sure it happens all the time because these roads are so crazy!
So as you can see...nothing too seriously bad but a few things we definitely will not and are not mising! Now for the good stuff! Here is what I am dreaming about these days...and what we are dying to go back to some day!
No laundry & (well...I had to do it all when I came back but nonetheless I still was exempt from it for over a week) maid service twice a day! I just almost felt guilty for not doing anything! Notice I said "almost"...
We got to swim with a sea lion at Coral World and that was quite an experience. It was fun...we really liked it. I think that would be the neatest job to be able to train dolphins and sea lions!
"The Bath's @ Virgin Gorda". We took a tour to the British Virgin Islands and got to see these caves they call "The Baths". They were pretty amazing. Supposidly in one of the caves Tyra Banks started her career with her first photo shoot. I know that was an extremely important bit of information to share and everyone is going to want to jump on over there because of it...
The joys of any vacation...not having to cook! That's priceless!
Again...priceless not to have to do ANY dishes!
We had the best shakes at a little shack called "Utterly Delight"...apparently it is pretty well known on the island but it looks so old and crusty it should be condemned...
Almost every day we worked out in the fitness room on the "Elliptical" machine with built in TV screens and cable TV....looking out at the ocean...now that is my kind of working out!
We met a few workers down there at the resort that helped make our trip fantastic! Rik down at the aquatic center and the picture below is Sven one of the restaurant managers. They both were just awesome & told us every where to go and things to do. Without them we would have been a little lost!
Over at Coki Beach was some of the best snorkling. We also got to feed the fish these little dog biscuits. They were crazy & would swim right up to you. Obviously they must be used to being fed...a bit freaky for me so I stood off to the side and took pics while Jason did the feeding.
Jason & I have never played tennis before together. It has probably been about 13 years since I have played and it was in gym class. I am not exactly what you would call "gifted" in the sports area. In fact I'm the complete opposite. I would have thought that Jason would have known that but when I suggested we play tennis I really think that he thought we would actually be "playing" tennis. I had the best time...laughing my head off because I was missing almost every one of his serves but I am not sure he thought it was quite as funny as I did. At one point when I was serving the ball over to him he whipped it so hard back and it hit my leg....in the nasty picture below of my leg you can see the lovely round tennis ball marking (along with my scabby red bug bites) Although it was unintentional....I still made him pay for it! :-)
Another joy...to watch movies every night & FOX NEWS! I know it sounds quirky but I am quite into the politics these days....I love that Sean Hannity!
Being able to sleep in! Jason and I LOVE to sleep in! If you know me well...you know better than to call before 9 am. Some of my friends won't even call before 10...I'm definitely not that bad (unless it's on the weekends!) So...being able to sleep in and roll out of bed to look out at the ocean then head down for the breakfast buffet...that was definitely priceless!
Hummus Dip...we've never had it before. Apparently it's some bean they have over there (maybe they have it here in the states and I just have never heard of it?) but it was seriously delicious!
The breakfast buffet every morning....with pineapple juice & banana bread. You just can't get any better than that for me!
Beautiful...lush forests. The scenery was just breath takingly beautiful. I great up in Minnesota and I miss those green trees sooooo bad! I know some people think Arizona is pretty but I have yet to see the beauty in this brown state so when I go anywhere that has green everywhere I am completely in Heaven!
This is a picture of Trunk Bay. This beach was on St. John & had awesome snorkeling. We even saw a sting ray which was really cool. I will definitely miss the snorkeling and the beautiful beaches! St John is only 3 miles away from St Thomas. We could see it from our room. We liked St John so much we spent two days of our trip over there. It is only a 15 minute ferry ride. We took our rental car on trhe car ferry so we could see the whole island.
My last but certainly not least is the beautiful views. This is a picture taken from our room. Almost every where you go there is something beautiful to see there. It's so pretty it just doesn't seem real. I loved it and miss it tons!
So there you have it. The longest post ever (I won't even tell you how long it took me to do this...pretty embarrassing!) but definitely the best trip we've had so far.
6 comments:
How fun!! I looks like you guys had a great time!! I'm sure it was a nice break from everything!!
Hi Denise! I've been thinking about you! How fun that you got away to the Virgin Islands. That's been one of our few trips. We went to St. Thomas for 4 days and then St. John's for 3 days. We stayed at the Marriott resort on St. Thomas and loved that, although going into the city was pretty dirty. But the beaches are so beautiful! Our taxi stranded us on some sugar plantation so we were stuck walking down a crazy twisty road in horribly hot humid weather. But hey, it's an adventure I guess. You guys are so cute to go on vacations together!
wow I wished i could have come! looks so nice and what a fun time with ni kids! I Know it hard at times to leave them but so good to have a brake too!!LOL
I think this sets the record for the all time longest post ever. I started it, took a quick nap, had my afternoon snack, then finished it. whew! J/K - It was awesome! Jason told me a little about it, but thanks Denise for posting the pictures and talking more about your trip. It looks like you guys had a great time...besides the crappy food, rain, and tri-athalon course you had to do getting around anywhere on all those stairs. Thanks for letting Cylee and I in on this little gem call the Mariner Klan Blog! Im pumped to be able to see how you guys are doing and see how much the boys have grown. We will for sure keep up on your blog...We miss you guys!!!
leaving the kids is so hard for me too! jeremy doesn't quite get it, he is so laid back and doesn't stress like i do! i 100% agree with the food. i have not been to st. thomas but i swear everytime we go to an island the food is not good and you pay a ton for it! annoying! but it looks beautiful there. glad you guys had a good time!! :)
Just the two of you? How fun! I'm glad you got to spend that time together, you will never regret it!! But we do need to plan a vacation together sometime soon!! I'm glad I now have access to your blog. I have a lot of catching up to do, I will have to stay up late:) Call me, let's plan something, maybe after the holidays!
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