Hey there! We are getting pumped up about our upcoming trip to Florida, so to keep myself at bay, I've been looking back at some of the photos from our previous trips there. These two were too good not to share, even though they are from July 2005. Mom, Dad, Matthew, & I went on a trip back then to Sunny Isles Beach and while there visited Miami and the Everglades, Key West, and then spent 1 night in Highland Beach, FL.

That was a fun trip and the highlight was definitely the time we spent in The Everglades. I would recommend this trip as a must do for visiting South Florida. We took an airboat ride to go see alligators and ended up only seeing 1, but the boat ride was worth doing even without seeing many gators. The tour we took included a wildlife show and the photos included in this post were taken there. I'll include the info. from our tour company and would recommend them based on our experience back in 2005. As to if anything has changed since then, I can't say. But, here is their website if you are interested. http://www.gatorpark.com.We pre-printed some coupons from their website when we visited, so before your trip be sure to check their site to see if there are any current deals.

We leave on Sun. for Sunny Isles and are ready to be back at the beach! It has been less than a month since we traveled and already Matthew and I are going nuts! Plus, I'm sure you guys are getting as tired of my musings from home as I am! It was nice to be at home for a few weeks to rest up, but we are both road warriors at heart and are ready to go.


1st photo: Oh yes, that is a real live frog that I'm kissing. He was a huge thing, about the size of a dinner plate. The reason that I ended up getting asked to kiss him was funny in and amongst itself. For those of you that know me well, you know that I can't pass up a restroom. I have the world's smallest bladder. Yes, I know, too much information. But this is the true story. So, little did I know that everyone was waiting on me at the wildlife show. That was pretty embarrassing because everyone at the show knew we were missing 1 from our party (me) and then I'm sure it was one of my parents that announced I had went to the bathroom. Thanks guys, Nice.... Anyway....when I finally show up, trying to sneak in without being noticed, the guy running the show says, "So, you're late? Anyone that is late has to kiss this guy." And, he holds up a big frog. So, I say, "Are you serious?" And, he's like, "Yep, pucker up." Little does he know that I am a huge frog fan and not one bit afraid to kiss the adorable creature. So, I ask "Can I really kiss it?" So, he leans in and gives it a test smooch. So, I say, "Give him here." And, the rest as you can see is well documented. 2nd photo: This one is priceless as well. At the end of the wildlife show, the guy says that anyone that wants to take a photo with a real live gator can do so. I think we paid a buck donation ($1) for this. The show and airboat ride were one price, but I thought a dollar was an o.k. extra to pony up for such a rare photo opportunity. So, I of course ask if I'm allowed to kiss this guy too and luckily the answer was yes. I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but the baby gator is wearing a black rubber band type device around his snout. That is for "insurance purposes" according to the guy doing the show. The guy kissed him without the rubber band and said he really couldn't hurt anyone since he is so small, but then he put the rubber band on for us tourists. A funny side story is that there were others waiting in line behind me to take their own photos. So, when I passed the gator to the person behind me (a little boy around 9 or 10 years old) the gator promptly peed on him! I'm just glad it wasn't me!

I just love it when people send me fun little quizzes or tidbits about themselves that catch me off guard. You find out your best friend broke her arm falling off the monkey bars at age 5 or that your boss' first pet was a hamster named Fuzzy. You know, important things like that. ha.ha. Well, Matthew is working late tonight and I thought I'd come up with my own little list to share. So, I hope you will enjoy reading 15 travel related fun-facts about me. I thought since this is a travel related blog, I'd try to stay at least a bit on topic. Besides, talking about travel is always fun!

1) I was a late-bloomer when it comes to travel. I hadn't left the state I was born in until I was 14 years old! My first out of state trip was a day trip to Georgia, from my home state of TN.

2) I was 15 before I ever saw the ocean and my first beach trip was to Daytona Beach, FL. I've now been to around 50 different beaches. I guess I've made up for lost time!

3) I was 16 before I ever flew on a plane for the first time and that was to Orlando, FL. I can't even begin to count our plane rides since then, so I won't. ha.ha.

4) I was 16 when I left the country for the first time, on a trip with my parents to Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas.

5) I've had the privilege of seeing 2 different people lay eyes on the ocean for the first time: One was my brother Nathan who was 8 or 9 when he went to the beach for the first time. We were in the backseat of our rental car and I was trying to explain to him how awesome it was and he was so excited. As we pulled into the beach parking lot at Pompano Beach he says, "WOW! COOL! Uh, can we get out?" I laughed at him and told him no, we came all that way and were just going home now. The second was our then 6 year old god daughter Latisa. We arrived at night and she was already asleep (to Sunny Isles Beach, FL) and the next morning when she wakes up I say, "Are you ready to see the ocean?" and I throw back the curtains to our hotel room. She says, "WOW!" And, I'm thinking, oh how nice, she loves it then she says, "That's the biggest pool I've ever seen!" Nice...leave it to a kid to be more interested in the hotel swimming pool. ha.ha.

6) Matthew and I didn't go on a honeymoon. GASP! I know, right? Well, we went on a couple short day trips to a beach in Maryland and to Six Flags because I was in the midst of moving to D.C. as soon as we were married. But, we didn't go on a "real" trip until that December 6 months later. I do wish we'd went on a nice, long beach trip as soon as we were married but one of our family members talked us out of it. I don't know why we listened. I feel like we missed out. But, as Matthew says, "He is trying to make up for it now." ha.ha. Yeah, I think we've more than gotten our honeymoon!

7) I can't go on cruises without getting sick. I've been on 2 and believe me, that is it for me.

8) I've been skiing once and only once. Never again. I am not a skier. ha.ha. I had no business skiing the Rockies on my first time out. I had to be rescued by a ski patrol on a snow mobile because I flat out refused to come down after I got up there.

9) Matthew traveled a lot as a child and even lived overseas. I rarely traveled and lived in only 2 houses before we were married. One house from the time I was born till I was 15. The other from age 15 till I left for college. My parents and brother still live in that 2nd house.

10) My Granny & Papa (my dad's parents) went on a 2 week trip out west in an RV with some friends, when I was a little girl. They might as well have gone to the moon as far as I was concerned. I just knew they were gone "forever" in a little kid's mind. My first souvenirs were a coveted Native American made turquoise and silver bracelet (which I still own) and a Mt. Rushmore t-shirt. Well, I finally got to go buy some of my own Native American jewelry this past summer and next summer, guess where we want to go? Yep, Mt. Rushmore!

11) My first unsupervised (non-parental) trip was senior week after I graduated high school. 5 of my friends and I went to Panama City Beach, FL for a week and stayed in a condo. Believe it or not, we didn't get into any trouble and had a great time. I ended up with a wicked sand burn from riding a boogie board directly after a storm. My friend Angie and I got knocked down hard off of a big wave and I looked like an idiot for the rest of the trip, with a big carpet burn looking mark on my face from hitting the bottom of the sand.

12) I have been to Spring Break. Poor Matthew somehow missed out on this right of passage. We also went to Panama City Beach for this trip (me and 3 girlfriends). I came home with a great tan and a new belly button piercing (which I still have) that totally freaked out my mom! ha.ha.

13) I remember getting a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt from NYC from a lady at our church who went there with her daughter. I guess I was 10 or 11. She was our teacher and brought them back to all the kids in the class. None of us had ever been to NYC so we were SOOO impressed. We all made a promise that we'd go there someday. I held up my end of the bargain when Matthew and I went there for the 1st time a few years ago. You know, I actually thought of those kids from class and our Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts when we got there!

14) My dream trip is to Bora Bora, French Polynesia. We said we'll go there someday.

15) Oh yeah, if you are wondering after my example question up top, I've never broken a bone on the monkey bars but did have to be gotten down in 2nd grade after I climbed up there and got stuck. My teacher got me down in front of the entire class and I was humiliated. And, my first pet wasn't a hamster, but a Bassett Hound dog named Shortcake. I had her for less than a week and she ran away to never been seen again. So, along came Mitzi, a miniature poodle who would be my companion starting at age 3. Mitzi would walk me to the end of the driveway to wait on the school bus every morning and she would show up every afternoon, right on time, to walk me home. She was a true and loyal dog for many years and peacefully passed on, the summer before I left for college.

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are enjoying fabulous weather, wherever you may be today! We are still at home and have been all weekend. We haven't done a single thing productive since Matthew finished up with work on Friday. We did make it to see the new raunchy comedy Step Brothers. It was hilarious, but I would recommend it for an adult audience only. It definitely deserves its R rating. But, we got a good laugh out of it. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Other than going to the movies, Matthew has flown his remote control planes and I've been shopping for crap I don't need. ha.ha. We've grilled pork chops, watched the first disc in the sitcom/drama Undeclared that we got via Netflix, and my current favorite activity of alternating between sitting on the front porch or back patio and just watching the sprinklers water the grass.

Of course, Lexi has been in on the non stop action as well, as is evident from the photo below. Ahhh, the lazy days of summer. My favorite season! I'll talk to you guys later this week, as we get geared up to hit the road (actually, hit the skies) to Sunny Isles Beach, FL!

Now you all know that I have a soft spot for greyhounds, as I have one of my own. So, keeping that in mind, this was too cool not to share. This is the story of Cindy, a high jumping greyhound! You can find her story on http://www.soaringcindy.com, including the info. about her record breaking jump and there is also a photo of her that I found online from the Purina Dog Challenge at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25462504/?pg=10#TDY_Pets_Purina

Cindy is the Guinness Book of World Record holder for the dog high jump. In Oct. 2006 she beat her own previous record with a jaw dropping 68 inch jump! That is 5.6 feet (taller than me!)

Just thought you'd like to check out the remarkable Cindy! Bye for now!

Hey everyone! I have some pretty exciting news! It rained here today! Yep, that was all I needed to do apparently was complain on the blog yesterday about it not raining. We've gotten a steady rain now for the past several hours. The grass is already looking better and guess who is back? The birds! This time there are LOTS of them. I got some good pics today and thought I'd share. For those of you who are wondering why the heck I'm talking about birds instead of about vacations, well, not even someone who is Always On Vacation can be Always on Vacation! I have to have a break sometime! Don't worry readers, I'll be back on the road as of Aug. 3rd to sunny Florida and plan to have lots of posts pertaining to that trip after we get back, on the 9th! For the time being, enjoy the birds! Until then, if you are entertained by the slower pace of life with us at home, feel free to keep tuning in!


1st & 2nd photos: O.k., there is a lot going on in these photos. First of all, yes, that grass needs to be mowed. ha.ha. But, see that yellow sprinkler? It is the only reason this grass is that tall. The rest of the yard (that doesn't get the water from the tree sprinkler) is brown. Yes, I did notice that large, ugly weed and the clover. Dang it. I also wanted to point out how skinny my poor tree really is. See that metal rod? That is the shepherd's hook that holds the bird feeder. The tree isn't much bigger round than that. But, my tree is getting taller and thicker! It is just a slow grower! My poor flowers are looking a little worse for the wear too. But, the birds always trample them and they have had to survive the awful drought we've been having. So, they look pretty good considering. Above: Don't you just love this family of doves that has decide to grace our yard with their presence?! I do! My Uncle DeWayne (my dad's youngest brother who passed away when I was 5 or 6 years old) used to love doves and had some as pets. Any time I see doves, I think of him. So, it was nice to see a whole flock! What are they doing? I think they are eating the seed that has fallen to the ground that the other birds have kicked out of the feeder. The doves are pretty large and the ledge on the feeder is small, so I think that is why I rarely see them on the feeder. Look just to the left of the sprinkler, toward the bottom of the photo. See the little guy hiding in the grass?

Below: Hey! Does anyone recognize this little dude?! I think he is the one from yesterday that was enjoying the sprinkler!
Above: A hungry crow gets a snack. I just love this photo. Check out his beak stuffed with food! I know many people don't like crows in their yard, but I don't mind them. He's a hungry boy too! I say let him eat!

Below: I love this photo as well. Check out the body language of the little guy on top of the feeder. It looks like he's saying, "Umm, excuse me Mr. Crow? Do you mind if I join you? Or are you going to beat me up if I do?"
Above: Nope! He didn't get his little birdie butt kicked! The big crow just flew away when he joined him! I guess he was full already!

I don't know how the weather is where you live, but here it has been hot and dry. I think it has only rained once or twice this month and only for a few minutes at a time. With temperatures in the high 90's, that makes for very miserable conditions outdoors. Since it hasn't been raining, we have had to set up the sprinklers in our yard to keep the grass from dying. Last year, we watered the entire yard (front and back) and lived with the high water bill. This year, we said we didn't care what happened to the back yard, we'd just do the front. So, our front yard which is sod looks great and the backyard which was just grass seed and partial sod on the sides is as brown as dirt. The one exception to the no water in the backyard rule is my beloved maple tree. This was the first tree planted on our property and was planted by the builder of our house. It is a skinny little thing, but I think it has character! So, I set up a sprinkler to just cover the tree and the surrounding area and let it run for 1/2 hour every other day. Also, in this tree is a bird feeder. I remove the bird feeder when I water to keep the seed from getting wet and having to be replaced.

Yesterday, I just happened to be in the kitchen windows and catch the following sight. The sprinkler was on the tree and I noticed a small, confused little bird looking for the bird seed that I had taken away. Poor guy. Little did I know, he knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn't after the food! He was after the water! As I stood there looking on, the little birdie flapped his wings, fluttered about, and tweeted his little head off in the water from the sprinkler. Soon after his little happy song began, he was joined by several friends. I sprinted for the camera and got the following two shots before they noticed me and flew away. I thought they were so adorable playing in the sprinkler, like children on a hot summer day! They just seemed so happy and greatful for the water and they made my day just getting to watch them. I've seen birds take a bath in a birdbath before, but never saw them play in a sprinkler. Usually when it rains, birds take cover. Not these guys, they loved every minute of it!

As I sign off for now, I'd like to invite each of you to take a minute and think of your feathered friends. Do you enjoy watching birds? How about installing a bird feeder in your yard? Or even better yet, a bird feeder and a bird bath! I've heard that a lot more birds will come to your feeder if you also provide a source of water. I'm thinking of getting this particular hanging bird bath from PetsMart. I'll post pictures after the purchase (if I can catch some birds in the act of bathing or drinking), but for now here is the link.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754735

UPDATE on 7/24/08 ( 5:30 p.m): O.k. now I'm really excited! After further research on hanging bird baths, I have found the winner! This one is even cooler than the one I first liked from PetsMart (link above). I just bought it and it should ship within 24 hours! I'll post some pics of the actual bird bath/waterer when it arrives! Here is the link to it if you're interested. If you order today 7/24/08 (anything from the site with no minimum order) there is free shipping. Be sure to write down the code they give you for use during checkout! http://www.duncraft.com/Bird-Water-Cooler-with-Roof----WEEKLY-SPECIAL-P2479C11.aspx
Since this is a special promotion, if the link expires you can always find it from their home page which is http://www.duncraft.com and click on hanging bird baths.


Below: A cute little bird enjoys our sprinkler.

Above: Another shot of the same bird. He was the only one that wasn't camera shy. This is one of the coolest photos I've taken in a long time (in my opinion). I was thrilled that I got the shot of him in the middle of a flapping his wings in the water. It looks like he is just about to land on the branch, but he had already been sitting there for a few minutes. He was just flapping about to get water up on his back, I guess. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed viewing these two pics as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Platinum Engagement Ring: You don't even want to know how many $.
Matching Wedding Band: Again, you don't want to know.
Gas to drive to the jewelry store: $10
Box of Kleenex to dry your tears: $2
Knowing your marriage is intact even when your rings aren't: Priceless
____________________________________________________________
Scene 1 (2 days prior): I'm thinking to myself that my rings feel a bit more snug than usual as I'm sitting there mindlessly messing with them while watching a movie. Hummm, that's odd. So, I try to take them off but they won't budge. I tell Matthew to hit pause on the DVD player and I go grab a bottle of lotion thinking this will surely do the trick. As the movie starts back up, I use the lotion to try to get the ring off but it is still a no-go. I decide to give up because by this time my finger is painfully swollen. I figure I'll try tomorrow.

Scene 2 (last night): I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep but can't. Why? My finger feels numb and tingly. Not good. So, I figure, hey, I'll get up and go see if I can get this ring off now. I tried every remedy known to Google. I tried lubricating it with lotion, soap, butter, Windex, and about every other slippery substance we had in the house. I tried putting it on ice, running it under cold water, holding it above my head. Nope, not working. I see some crazy idea online about using dental floss to try to get it off. The Windex and the dental floss came the closest to working but my rings still wouldn't come off.

Scene 3 (this morning): By now, I'm starting to panic. After not sleeping at all last night, I figure that today has to be the day that my rings come off. My finger is sore, swollen, and just down right feeling awful. After a couple more tries with Matthew's help using some of the remedies I'd already used last night, Matthew says, "Maybe you should just get it cut off." Yep. Not what I was hoping for, but since my finger wasn't looking so good and was losing circulation, we decided it had to be done.

Scene 4 (this evening): Matthew and I are in the car on the way to the jewelry store and I feel like my rings are on death row. I'm almost in tears and he keeps reassuring me that no ring is more important than my finger and that we can get it fixed. When we make it to the store, they say that they can't do it that I'll have to go to the emergency room. I was in a panic by now and begged them to do it. They aren't supposed to for liability reasons so this is why I'm not naming names as to where we went. To my relief, they agreed to call the manager to get her to come down and do it. I think she must have been at home, because when she arrived she had her 2 young children with her. Bless her heart. I was so thankful she had agreed to do it. So, with her 2 daughters, Matthew, 2 other store employees and myself looking on, she set to work. She used a tool that looked much like a hand-crank can opener. It looks like an evil little sucker, but there is a guard that goes between your finger and the blade to keep it from cutting you. However, she lubed it up with hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol and when her daughter asks, "Mom, why are you putting that on there?" she says, "Just in case." Nice. That makes me feel better. So, with an assurance that it wouldn't hurt a bit and that they could fix it after it was done she starts cranking---literally. With 3 cranks, the engagement ring snaps in two and with a set of needle nose pliers she takes it the rest of the way off. Immediate relief for my finger. Immediate sense of sadness for me. I was not happy that my special ring was now cut open.

Scene 5 (also this evening): So, what about the wedding ring? Well, since it is a bigger size than the engagement ring, I figured that I might be able to just slide it right off after the engagement ring was off. No such luck. I tried and tried to pull it off, but it was just too tight. My finger was just too swollen. So, Matthew says, "Just cut it off. Money is no object to fix it. Just make her finger feel better." See, he is the sensible one. I on the other hand was thinking, great, I've just "ruined" my engagement ring and now it is going to happen to my wedding ring too. Oh well, let's just get it over with. So, 11 cranks later, it comes off too. Apparently, it was a sturdy little thing.

That's the end of the drama.

So, what happens next? Well, I have to wait 2 weeks to make sure my finger gets back to normal. Then, I'll go in and get it resized. Luckily, the majority of the cost is covered on an extended service agreement Matthew bought when he purchased the ring so that was a smart decision on his behalf. But, we still have to pay more than I'd like to. Yes, I am still lamenting on the loss of my rings but they aren't really lost. Matthew said something along the lines of it not being about the rings but about what they symbolize that is important. Leave it to a guy to say something like that! ha.ha. You know us girls and our rings! We feel naked without them! But, in a couple weeks, I'm sure they will be as good as new. I was just happy that Matthew was so cool about the whole thing. He was way more concerned with me and my finger than he was about the rings. So, that let me take over the job of mourning over the demise of my jewelry while he was concerned for my health. ha.ha. What happened to make my finger swell up? I have no idea. I haven't had my ring off since I had it cleaned in March but I usually go a long time between taking it off. So, I don't know what the difference was this time. I've learned a lesson though. Once my rings are fixed, I'm going to take them off at least once a day to let my finger "breathe" and to make sure that it still will come off.

Well, that is about it I guess. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a more pleasant subject to talk about. I just wanted to share my story to save others the heartbreak. So, if you haven't had your ring off in years, take it off and see if it still WILL come off. If not, you are probably doing major damage to your finger. If it leaves a permanent indention like mine(not just a tan line) that is not good!

Here is what my ring finger looked like a couple hours after "the procedure". It is sore and still a little swollen, but it looks much better than it did in the store. Yes, I know, I need a manicure but it is hard to keep nice nails when spending so much time in salt water at the beach. It's a rough life, let me tell you. ha.ha.

Hey guys, believe it or not, this is it. This is my LAST set of photos pertaining to St. Maarten and our journey home from there. These photos are all of the Westin Hotel on St. Maarten and they were all taken from over at Mr. Busby's Beach Bar/ Daniel's Restaurant. They were at the end of the chip taken from the digital camera, so I didn't remember having them when I did my previous posts on the Westin. I thought they were worth sharing, so here they are.

The second set of photos was taken inside the airport at our layover in MIA (Miami International) on the way home. Now if you have never been to MIA, you are lucky. ha.ha. I do not like that airport. Anytime we go there, I always feel like I'm going to hurl. The first time we went there I asked Matthew, "What in the world is that AWFUL smell?!" as soon as we entered the terminal. He said, "That smell is people." Gross! I didn't have to ask this time; I was as prepared as I could be. For some reason, a vast majority of the other patrons in the MIA airport don't believe in bathing or deodorant. It is mostly international travelers and yes, I know we Americans are hung up on personal hygiene. But, let me tell you, if you are not used to having to sniff hundreds upon hundreds of people with MAJOR body odor at one time, you are in for a real treat.

The solution? Check yourself into the American Airlines Club Lounge! This place is a little oasis in the airport. We always make a bee line for here as soon as we land. I do wish I could hold my breath long enough to make it from the gate to the lounge, but I have to breathe at least once or twice on the way. ha.ha. Fortunately, we have always flown first class when traveling in and out of MIA so I can't comment on what the smells are like once you actually board the plane. Luckily, everyone in first class always seems to take a shower before boarding. ha.ha. Seriously, I am not trying to make fun of people, but geez, my churning stomach just can't take it. For those of you who are traveling out of there this summer when it will be especially hot and stinky, bless your heart! ha.ha.


Below: A close-up view of the Westin, from Mr. Busby's/Daniel's down the beach.
Above: Another view of the Westin. Check out those houses on the hill behind it! Nice, huh?

Below: A non-zoomed in view of the Westin to give you a better indication as to the distance to the popular restaurant (Mr. Busby's/Daniel's). Some folks walk it in low tide, but we chose to drive every time.


Below: The parting shot from the Westin. See that rocky hill , just behind the yellow beach chairs? That is what you have to get across or around if you are walking. Every time that we wanted to go , the water was too high to walk.
Above: Me in the smell-free zone of the airport lounge. This room is so nice. It is the quiet room and no cell phones are allowed. We just read our books in absolute silence. We had fun on our trips but we were glad to be coming home. Another tip: Notice I am wearing long pants. If you are like me and freeze to death in too much air conditioning, wear long pants and bring a sweater just in case when traveling by air. It is rarely too hot for me on a plane, usually too cold. I also wear socks and actual shoes instead of flip flops or sandals , even in summer because my feet get cold if the air conditioning unit on the plane blows along the floor. As soon as we board a plane, it never fails that ladies in short-shorts, flip flops, and spaghetti strap tank tops start asking for a blanket because they are cold. Remember, many airlines are cutting costs these days and removing their blankets except in first class. So, either dress accordingly or bring your own blanket. You can change into your lighter clothing once you land.

Below: One last shot of the pretty airport club lounge (American). Since our club card was stolen in St. Martin, we had to pay cash and get reimbursed for it later. But, it was worth every penny for the fresh air and quiet!

Hey everyone, yep, this is my second post today. I'll probably do a 3rd too, since I am almost finished with my online tour of Anguilla and it is about time to wrap up in order to prepare for our next vacation. Nope, still not telling where! Maybe tomorrow?!

I wanted to do a post of the ferry dock area all by itself because I think a port as pretty as this deserves its own post. Looking at these photos, you wouldn't realize that this is a busy little area with boats coming and going all day. I think it just looks so pretty (like a postcard). So, cranky taxi guy who said "There is nothing to see here, its just a port" you were wrong! We got to the ferry boarding area a little early so we decided to walk around and take these photos. If you get there early and want to wait inside, you can. There is a nice air conditioned waiting area and clean restrooms. Make sure you are not the last in line to board the boats though (pay attention to the time). Why? Remember what I said about making sure you get a seat "up top" and not "down below"! We sat "down below" for both trips and it was hot as all get out. But, the folks who got there first and sat "up top" seemed not to look as hot and flustered when we got off the boat. Hold on to your passports (don't lose them). Someone lost theirs on our return ferry and I never did hear what happened with that. I know that the customs agents were not happy with her. Let's put it that way! On your return trip you will get a Guadeloupe passport stamp when you get back to St. Martin. So, now we have both a St. Maarten stamp (from the airport) and a St. Martin stamp (from the ferry dock). We love collecting our stamps! One little hint I will give you about our upcoming trip is that we won't be getting a stamp. It's a state side trip. Any guesses before I let the cat out of the bag tomorrow?!


Below: What a pretty little beach! This is at the port, so I think it alone would be worth the trip to the beautiful island of Anguilla!
Above: Matthew and I get a rare shot of the two of us together with our new fancy camera self portrait timer.
Below: Another gorgeous beach shot. Can you believe this is at a dock? I couldn't!
Above: Matthew & I again, at the pretty little dock beach.
Below: Boats patiently wait for their owners.
Above: The pretty little beach with St. Maarten/Martin in the background.

In closing: You have now officially seen the LAST of our Anguilla photos. It makes me kind of sad that this is the last one. But, it isn't saying goodbye to Anguilla! It's saying see you soon! Don't worry blog readers, there are many more vacations to come, even if all of them aren't as picturesque as Anguilla! Thank you for reading! I hope you are enjoying it!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! We did, we basically just sat around and did nothing except fun stuff! We went to our friend's house (hi Mitch & Wanda!) for a yummy cookout on Sat. night and then we also saw two movies this weekend. First up: The Dark Knight, which is the new Batman movie. Now I must say that I normally don't get into the comic book remake movies. They usually bore me to tears. But, this was an all out masterpiece! There is talk of Heath Ledger (who unfortunately passed away a few months ago), of getting an Oscar nod! I think he wholeheartedly deserves it! He was OUTSTANDING in his role as The Joker. Before we saw the film, I was thinking that it might be getting a little too much hype and that everyone was just being nice by speaking highly of Heath in his role because of his untimely death. But, I was wrong! He was great! The movie was great! If anything, it was a tad bit too long at 2 1/2 hours. They could have made it 2 hours and still had the same scenes, I think. But, that is being picky. The second movie we saw was Hellboy II. I didn't like Hellboy (the first one) so I should have known better than to go see the sequel. We didn't like it at all. We both nearly fell asleep and I think the entire movie was just about setting up the story line to make a Hellboy III. Needless to say, we learned our lesson with II, so we won't be seeing the III.

I'd like to say a special hello to Kim and to Nolan, the greyhound! I love "meeting" people via this blog and I was especially thrilled to meet a fellow greyhound person! Lexi would love to have Nolan over for a play date! If anyone (who lives in TN or will just be visiting) would like to get together with their greyhounds, just let me know! Lexi LOVES other hounds but doesn't really care for small dogs so we don't get to take her to the dog parks much. She does love to run in her fenced backyard though and would love to have a playmate to do so with!

O.k., back to business everybody! I am beyond excited to share with you the photos from our Anguilla trip and visiting Cap Jaluca. This resort was so perfect. I loved its beach, the atmosphere, the other people there, just everything. If we were to go to Anguilla for an overnight stay, this would be my number 1 pick! The best part of this trip was that we saw an actress there (I'm not naming names) and she was so friendly and said "hello, how are you" to us as she was walking by. Matthew didn't recognize her but I am a celebrity junkie so I knew who she was right away even under the big hat and over-sized glasses. Apparently, Anguilla is a haven for celebrities. They don't get bothered here (by locals or guests) so this is why they come here. The saying goes that celebrities go to St. Barts to be seen and to Anguilla to get away. ha.ha. I thought that was funny. If you are on Anguilla, you are there to relax, not chase around celebrities taking their photos, so no, I didn't even attempt to take a picture of her. I've heard she comes here all the time and loves to stay at Cap Jaluca. After visiting here, I totally see why she would do so!

We were lucky to even get into Cap Jaluca to look around as it is gated. But, we begged the guard to let us in and told the truth as to why we wanted in. We were looking for a place to stay on our next vacation. I think he knew we weren't there to cause any troubles, so he let us in. We took lots of photos here but I was careful to leave any people out of the photos in case I captured a celebrity by mistake as apparently it is usually covered up with them here as well as at Cuisinart. Being a star enclave, I was worried that it would be "stuck up" here. Not at all. Everyone was so laid back and friendly. Everyone is here for the same reason, just to relax on the beach and chill out. Anyway, here are the photos and I'll explain them as I go along, like usual.


Below: The entrance to the Pimms restaurant on the property.

Below: Walking into Pimms Restaurant.
Below: The beautiful guest buildings at Cap Jaluca. We didn't take any pictures any closer to the buildings than these. The above mentioned celebrity was hanging out at the pool near these buildings so we wanted to respect her privacy. Now don't get me wrong, if we were actual guests of Cap Jaluca, I'd have taken as many photos as I wanted of wherever I wanted (except for other people of course), but since we were only visitors we didn't want to be mistaken for someone trying to sell tabloid photos. If they would have asked to see our room key, we wouldn't have been able to produce one. So, since we had been let in on good faith from the guard outside, we tried to lay low.

Above: Me right outside of the restaurant area (near Pimms). This was such a pretty spot. We would have loved to have had a meal here!
Below: The pretty seating areas at the restaurant. Look at that view! Now that is oceanfront dining!

Below: More views from the restaurant.
Below: I just loved this rocky area. I bet it would make for great snorkeling. We saw LOADS of fish swimming around here.
Below: The beautiful beach at Cap Jaluca. It was so calm and relaxing here. I think it would be worth every penny to stay here.

Below: More beautiful beach! Just look at those waves. There are none! So peaceful!Below: A couple boats docked in the beach area of Cap Jaluca.

O.k., so yes, I should have looked up Temenos to see that I had indeed spelled it incorrectly. But, better late than never in correcting a mistake, I say! When we first started looking at Temenos, it was a small, botique sized hotel operated by St. Regis. Apparently, that is no longer the case since St. Regis is planning a residence community there under the same name that will be much bigger. It is slated to open winter 2008.

I did see another property called Temenos, that is owned by a couple (can't remember their names) but their names are on the large sign outside the property and it is gated. So, I believe that the photos contained in this blog are the old St. Regis that is now under new ownership and has nothing to do with the soon to be opened St. Regis Residences. I think St. Regis may have dropped the hotel when it decided to build the residences or maybe the owners dropped St. Regis--not sure. However, I would still be inclined to stay here at the property that I think is simply called Temenos or Temenos Villas. The entrance is gated so we couldn't go in but the entrance is super cool looking with gray colored stone and is hard to describe. But, if the actual property looks half as good as the entrance did, I think it should be a nice place to go. I wish I would have taken a photo of the pretty entrance way, but I didn't think of it at the time. So, just for clarification purposes the photos contained in this blog are NOT of the new residences going up (St. Regis) but are of the old St. Regis property/hotel called Temenos that is under new ownership/management. We had long dreamed of staying here when it was a St. Regis and I still think by the looks of it that it is very nice. However, I think I would personally like Cap Jaluca better. Cuisinart too for that matter. But, it is still very pretty and I think it has a nicer beach than Cuisinart (less crowded) and its beach matches Cap Jaluca's.

The second set of photos were taken at a random beach down the road, as you can tell from the pictures that it is not the same beach as the one in front of Temenos. This beach had some sea weed on it but was still very nice. Again, I wish I knew the name of it, but I don't as we were just driving around and when we saw a beach we jumped out to take photos.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I'll talk to you again soon! We are almost finished with my online tour of Anguilla as I only have photos from Cap Jaluca and the ferry port left to show you and then we'll move on to our next vacation destination. Nope, still not telling yet! But, I'll let you know where early next week!

Below:
The pretty Temenos Villas (formerly St. Regis hotel). Yes, I too thought it was a bit tacky to park the cars in the front of the villas right on the beach. Maybe they are doing construction and it isn't open for business yet? I don't really know. We didn't really research hotels (to know if this place is open or not) since we weren't planning to stay the night, more just a quick recon to see if there was any place we'd like to stay when we went back someday. This place made the grade, as did Cuisinart & Cap Jaluca.
Above: Me on the pretty beach near the villas. I do think this was one of the nicest beaches on the island. It was very long which would make for nice walks on the beach. Also, the sand was very soft and white and especially clean.

Below: Matthew liked it here too!
Above: A shot of the beach by itself.

Below: The other beach. This one wasn't far from the villas (by car) and we thought it looked neat as well. It was completely deserted. We were the only ones there!
Above: Me on the beach with a nice view of St. Maarten/Martin in the background. I think even though there was some seaweed here that is what made for nice photos as it lends itself to contrast with the pure white sand. If you look closely there are little vines and some vegetation on the beach. This was a truly "wild" beach and didn't look like it had ever been tampered with by man. Very cool!

For those who are new to the blog, you may not be familiar with my Going Home series of posts. Since we are frequent travelers, sometimes just being at home feels like a vacation! We are on the go, go, go so often that sometimes I forget how nice my neighborhood is, how much I love my house, and just how very blessed we are in our little corner of the world. I am often asked why we are out of town so often. Matthew has a job that includes a lot of travel and we are fortunate in that I am able to travel with him. Other times our travels are purely for fun. For instance our latest trips were all "fun" trips except for Puerto Rico and that was "work". Well, work for him, fun for me. ha.ha.

What do we like to do at home? Well, we both blog a lot, read, and go to movies together or watch DVD's at home. I love to shop and Matthew likes to fly his remote control planes. This past weekend was great in that we had our 2nd annual block party with our closest (distance wise) neighbors and the group has grown from less than 10 last year to almost 50! We had a blast and everyone brought food to share. We had more burgers, hot dogs, chicken, sides, and deserts than we knew what to do with. There was a bounce house for the kids, a karaoke machine, and all sorts of lawn games. So, if you haven't taken the time to hang out with your neighbors this summer, give it a try! We really weren't that organized. One of our neighbors just ran off some flyers and put them in everyone's mailbox with the date and time and people just showed up! It doesn't have to be anything elaborate or crazy. Just like a family cookout, except bigger! Sorry no photos from that. We were too busy socializing to remember the camera.

Speaking of movies, there are a lot of them coming out in the next couple months that I am dying to see. Fortunately, Matthew and I have similar tastes in movies. While we love all genres of movies, our current favorite is Super Bad (yes, the raunchy teen comedy). We have it on DVD and anytime we are just having a really bad day, we watch it and can't help but laughing till we cry. Before Super Bad came along, our favorite was Napoleon Dynamite. I would recommend both movies but Napolean is the only one safe to watch with children. Super Bad is 100% non-appropriate for anyone. It was Rated R and then some in my book. That is why it is so funny. I know many of my friends left the theater because they thought it was too vulgar. We were out with some friends of ours and mentioned it and they were like "we turned it off because it was too nasty". Oops, ha.ha. If you decide to rent it, be forewarned. It is not for the faint of heart. If humor of the extremely crude "birds and the bees" nature bothers you, don't even try watching it. I know I would have been grounded for life had I watched this movie in high school or even college if that gives you any indication. ha.ha. But, it is GREAT! I did like Knocked Up too (which was produced by the same folks as Super Bad), but it isn't half as funny as Super Bad. Along the same lines, there are several completely juvenile comedies coming out at the theater that I am looking forward to: Step Brothers (July 25th), Pineapple Express (Aug. 8th), Tropic Thunder (Aug. 13th), House Bunny (Aug. 22nd), and College (Aug. 29th). Other movies I am looking forward to in the non-comedy genre include the political Swing Vote (Aug. 1st) and action flick The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (also Aug. 1st). We are going to see The Dark Knight (the new Batman movie) tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. It seems wildly popular as all the showtimes at our theater have sold out so far. We live less than a 2 minute drive from a movie theater, so we hear it calling our names every time we drive by. So, we end up seeing pretty much everything that come out. ha.ha.

Some of you have already met the lady of the household (no not me). I'm talking about our dog, Lexi. She's as spoiled as ever and I have some new photos of her to share. She is the proud owner of a new indoor dog bed. Matthew is super excited because this is the first indoor dog bed that she has had that he "isn't ashamed to have in the living room." ha.ha. He's so funny. It is hard to find beds for Lexi because she is allergic to cedar and most dog beds have cedar. This one has a foam filling, but no cedar and is big enough for her which is another problem with finding a good bed for her. Big dog beds are expensive, but I was happily cruising the isles at our local TJ Maxx (in the Home Goods section) and ran across this one for a steal. Great store, if you have one near you, go check it out!

I guess I'll close with my usual Chris Daughtry lyrics for which this post series is named and the photos.

I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.
__________________________________
Below: The always exquisite, Alexandria, a.k.a. Lexi, named after the city of Alexandria, Virginia where we lived when she was adopted into the family back in 2003.

Hey everyone: I'm back with more thoughts on our day trip to Anguilla. While there, we visited the grounds of 4 different hotels. We saw Arawak Beach Inn, Cuisinart, Tenemos villas (used to be a St. Regis I think-sorry if Tenemos is spelled incorrectly), and Cap Jaluca. Cap Jaluca was our favorite (more on that later) but Cuisinart was a very, very close second. It had magnificent grounds and we did eat lunch there (more on that in a minute). I have a lot of photos from here that I wanted to share with you, in case you want to stay here. I would give it a big thumbs up as far as the overall property and grounds go. Since we were not guests, of course I can't comment on the rooms but the lobby and grounds were super nice. It was very, very clean and the people there were exceptionally pleasant--the workers and the other tourists. We saw many different kinds of tourists here: folks on their honeymoon, couples with children, singles, and adults with their friends. It seemed like a nice place for everyone. I'll go ahead and start with the photos and explain them as I go along.


First up: The main building and pool. Very tastefully done. Clean, clean, and did I mention clean? ha.ha.

Above: Matthew with the beach area in the background. That white umbrella is a bar area right on the beach. The island you see in the distance is St. Maarten/Martin.
Below: One of the buildings (guest rooms) on the premises.
Above: The ceiling inside the reception area. Matthew took this picture and at the time I made fun of him for taking pictures of the lobby (I know, not very nice. ha.ha.) but it turned out very pretty, I think.
Below: Matthew & I on the beach with the Hobie cats for rent, behind us. If any beach had waves to speak of, this one was it and as you can see they aren't any more than 6 inch high waves. ha.ha.
Above: Matthew & I again.
Below: A nice shot of the pretty beach at Cuisinart.
Above: A close-up of a plant on the property. Matthew took this. I just love his photography. He is so "artsy."
Below: Another classic Matthew shot. This was our table setting at lunch. Wasn't it pretty? This was at the restaurant by the poolside.
Above: A cute little lizard roaming the grounds. Click on this to enlarge and look at his nose. Doesn't this remind you of a dinosaur? I thought this guy was so neat.
Below : Me with some pretty foliage on the Cuisinart grounds.
Above: This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. We ate lunch here and guess what Matthew and I ordered? Yep, the chicken. ha.ha. We could see these guys roaming around while we were eating their cousins. ha.ha. Most of the food (if not all) from here is organic and much of it is grown on the island by Cuisinart staff. So, I bet these guys are either egg producers or future dinner. Kind of creepy, but interesting. The food at Cuisinart just wasn't our thing (gasp, I know, shocking) but we like to eat not dine. If you are a fancy dining kind of person, you will probably be alright. I am a basic meat and potatoes kind of girl and am not skinny so I need a lot of food to fill me up. ha.ha. The portions were small here, but beautifully presented. But, then again, I am more into the actual food itself instead of the presentation. I know that the vast majority of people come to Cuisinart for the food and the cooking lessons, but it just wasn't my thing. I 'm glad we tried it though.
Below: A pretty bush beside our table at lunch.
Above: St. Maarten/Martin taken (with a 10x zoom) from the beach at Cuisinart. I overheard some ladies beside us at lunch talking about how some day they would like to take a vacation to St. Maarten/Martin but that it was too expensive there. I think what they said was "first class with first class prices." I got a good laugh out of that because Anguilla is much more expensive than St. Maarten/Martin. But, Anguilla would be so worth it. It is definitely in our "must return" category of places we've visited.