What a trip! (Long Post)

Our little family made it back stateside a week ago last Sunday. After a week of cruising (literally), lots of beaches, food, and family, I think we are ready to take a vacation from our vacation! Overall, it was a good trip. The islands were beautiful and we had pretty good weather (all but in Barbados). We were able to partake in swimming, snorkeling, sea kayaking, hiking, and some relaxation time as well :) I would definitely visit many of the islands again (most of all St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten!), but it would take some convincing to take another cruise with a 1 yr old!

Colin did very well considering. The plane ride down was rather uneventful, we were able to keep him relatively entertained with snacks and toys. He only took 1 day on the beach to get used to sand (walking is difficult when the ground shifts!); he then proceeded to taste the sand at every following beach. Although he isn't crazy about the ocean, he did seem to have a little fun in the water as long as he was being held by someone he trusted (mom, dad, nana or papa), though standing on the sand with waves was not his cup of tea. Ship time was fun as long as it wasn't too crowded and he was allowed to investigate, a.k.a. walk around unhindered. Dinner time on the ship was one of the most challenging times because he was tired from the days' activities and it was pretty loud in the dining room (read over-sensitized). He did sleep pretty well in his little sleep tent which we placed beside our bed, and I got lots of reading done on the balcony outside our room while he slept. The plane ride home seemed much longer than on the way down, but probably largely felt that way due to the half day of sightseeing/walking we did around Old San Juan before getting onto the plane. So that is the quick recap of our trip. Look below for a few of the highlights and pictures!

Leaving from San Juan, hello St. Thomas! We took a taxi ride, then ferry ride over to St. John to Trunk Bay. Beautiful beach and water, with an underwater snorkel trail that was really good!

Welcome to St. Thomas!

Ferry to St. John

Trunk Bay

Waiting for the ferry back - Colin trying to escape his admirer

We had a day at sea between St. Thomas and Barbados. Worst day for me (I get motion sick). We did manage to entertain ourselves on the boat.

Matching shirts!

Apparently none of the grandkids can smile normally

Giant chess game!

Barbados was nice, though a little rainy especially in the morning. The sun did come out in the afternoon and it was warm!

Playing in the sand!

 

Huddling under the umbrella

Playing with Nana

From Barbados to St. Lucia.  After the beach day at Barbados, some of us went sea kayaking, some of us hiking on St. Lucia. (Jenni, Bill, Bob and I did both!)

View from the top of some ruins

St. Lucia from the ruins

St. Lucia to St. Kitts. We took a taxi from the port to a beach near the point of St. Kitts. You can see their sister island Nevis (Nee-vis) well from the beach! It was a warm day and the beach was full of shells for the kids to find. We did a little walking up and down the beach while Colin slept in his carrier.

  

Another rainbow over St. Kitts

Under the umbrella again - this time for shade!

Testing out the properties of this beach's sand

View from the beach to Nevis

Last full day of the cruise was spent on St. Maarten. We booked a snorkeling trip for the first half of the day at Creole Rock. We then met up with the beach crew in the afternoon to enjoy the beautiful beach!

Family picture - last day of cruise

From St. Maarten back to San Juan. We spent the day walking around Old San Juan before heading to the airport in the afternoon to head back to the cities. Strangely enough, it was about 80 degrees in PR, then when we got on the plane back to MSP, the weather in St. Paul was 77 degrees... what a strange winter we've had :)