16th July 2010 Chicago to Miami to St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

We got up at 6:45am and our taxi to O'Hare picked us up at 9:45. We started the day out right with a $34 pair of shots and beers at the Skyscraper Bar and boarded our flight to Miami. Oddly enough, the guy sitting next to us used to live in the house across the street from ours. It's a small world. He was headed back home to Boca Raton after a week of work in Chicago. Our flight was a little behind schedule so when we got to Miami we had to run to the gate. We grabbed a hot dog and chicken sandwich at Nathan's and boarded our flight to St. Thomas. After a few hours, we were back "home" in the Virgin Islands.

We had a red Jeep Wrangler ready for us through Discount Car Rental, and after we signed for it, we were off through Charlotte Amalie and on to the Marriott...home for the next week. We actually found a parking spot right at the main entrance to the resort. We dropped off our bags, and headed downstairs to the Captains Cafe and split a burger. After our snack we headed up to the Rum Bar for a few drinks until they closed. Our original room was considered a "resort" view...which I think means you get a nice view of the hotel roof, but after a bit of negotiating, we ended up with a beautiful view of St. Thomas Harbor.

17th July 2010

We got up around 9:30am today...our 6th wedding anniversary! We wouldn't want to be celebrating it anywhere else in the world! It was a bit overcast and stormed off and on today, but we still had a great time. We hopped in the Jeep and drove to Redhook and then on to Sapphire Beach. The weather cooperated for a little while. There was a storm on the horizon that slowly crept its way towards us, until an allout downpour erupted. We were hungry so we ordered a pizza and some Presidente's, and by the time they got there, the rain was done and we were able to eat on the beach.

Eventually it was time to head to the aiport to pick up our friends from Minnesota. It wasn't quite time yet, so we stopped at the Island Beach Comber on Lindbergh Beach to have a few drinks and get some drinks to go for our friends. Finally their flight arrived and they hopped in the Jeep. First stop was the Pueblo grocery store. We saved a lot of money by buying beer, vodka, and snacks at the grocery store. Then, it was on to the Marriott, where amazingly enough, we again got a parking spot in the circle. After dropping off our groceries and getting settled in, we went out to our friends balcony and watched as a cruise ship left St. Thomas Harbor. After that, we got ready and headed to our anniversary dinner at Oceana in Frenchtown. Tiffany had steak again, and I had the pan seared halibut. Then we all topped it off by sharing a chocolate cake with caramel ice cream.

18th July 2010: Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I.

Today we got up at 6am and went to the Redhook Ferry Terminal to catch a ferry to Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. We first headed over to St. John to pick up a few other passengers. They were running late, seemed to already be drunk, and kept us at the dock much longer than we needed to. Finally we headed out and made our way to Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke. Upon arrival we hopped off the ferry and went through "customs", which was a small blue building right next to the dock. From there we took a $5 taxi ride to White Bay. We were dropped off at the Sandcastle Hotel, home of the famous Soggy Dollar Bar. We dropped our snorkel gear and bags off at the beach and came back up to the bar for an excellent "Pirates Breakfast". James had the popular Pain Killer drink, which is said to have originated at this place. From there, we walked down the beach to the One Love Beach Bar, where we had a few drinks and eventually ate lunch. After lunch we signed our names on the ceiling, and went down to the far end of the beach to try out the snorkelling. There was quite a bit to see underwater, and the sun was nice and hot. By then it was getting close to time to leave, so we walked all the way to the other end of the beach to visit Ivan's Stress Free Bar. There is a short trail that goes up about 20 feet above sea level to help you avoid the rocky area of the beach. Ivan's is a very cool place. The walls are decorated with pictures and shell mosaics. The bar is frequented by Kenny Chesney, and is the bar in the No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem video. Unfortunately, we missed Kenny by one week. The bar tender and a guest said he was sitting at the bar the Saturday before. Bummer. Right when we got to the bar, a heavy storm blew in, and we called to have our taxi pick us up. We still wanted to go to Foxy's in Great Harbour. The rain came down very heavy, and we had to jump out of the van and run for cover when we arrived. We had enough time for a couple drinks, but then we had to get back to the ferry dock by 3pm. The way back was fun. There was a very intoxicated woman keeping everyone entertained. Before we knew it, our trip was over and we were back at the terminal in Redhook on St. Thomas.

We stopped for happy hour at Big Bambooz and got some conch fritters & cheese fries. That is where we met Gus the bartender. It was a fun time. After happy hour was over, grabbed a few more drinks and went down to the hot tub at Morningstar Beach. When we finally ran out of beer and got hungry again, we headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. Our place of choice for tonight was Iggie's. We sat out on a picnic table out on the beach. The band Liquid Sunshine was playing again, and we even saw Gus from Big Bambooz. I had the teryaki chicken with rice, beans, & veggies, and Tiff had a chicken wrap. After dinner we hung out for a little bit and then called it a night.

19th July 2010

We got up around 9:30 today and had our cinnamon butter loaf and a few diet cokes out on the balcony. After we got ready, we met our friends in the lobby and headed out to tour the island. We first went up to the Mafolie Hotel to show them the view of St. Thomas Harbor. From there we got lost a few times trying to get to Drake's Seat to see Magens Bay Beach. It was extremely busy...taxis coming and going constantly, a local man peddling pictures with his pet goat, a bus with a tire that was ready to explode. From Drake's Seat, we went down to Magens Bay. It was very crowded but the water was calm and it was very beautiful. We got pizza and cheeseburgers for lunch. The weather was overcast and rainy, so we hopped back in the Jeep and headed off to Coki Beach, our favorite beach on St. Thomas. We were a little hesitant, given that a 14 year old tourist was killed there just one week before. The sun actually came out for a while so we all went snorkelling. There were a ton of fish and it was very nice. Eventually, following the pattern of this trip, the skies darkened and the opened up on us again. James and I ran out to the Jeep to put the side covers back on, and we got soaked. After the rain died down a bit, we headed off for yet another beach...Secret Harbor. We snorkelled a bit, but it was overcast and the water was a bit too murky. We got kicked out of the beach chairs and just decided to head back to the Marriott, just in time to see the Carnival Victory heading out of the harbor. For dinner, we headed down to Yacht Haven Grande and ate at Wikked. It was still storming like crazy, but it ended up being one of our favorite meals of the trip. We had conch fritters for an appetizer, Tiff had pasta, and I had tacos. We went through a few rounds of Red Bull and Vodkas, and decided it was time to head to Fat Turtle for the remainder of the night. Bryan the bar tender was working again, and he actually remembered us from our Memorial Day weekend trip. It ended up being a very fun night. Of course James and Autumn got the "special"...a drink the size of a pitcher. We ended our long evening of partying back at the Marriott.

20th July 2010

We awoke today to the future Tropical Storm Bonnie dumping its rain on us, and ended up spending most of the day hanging out at the hotel room. We ordered pizza from Dominoes for lunch. After watching the cruise ships leave, we went out in the rain to Havana Blue for dinner. James got the "special" - surf & turf, I had the Relleno Snapper, and Tiff had the Filet. We had a few more Red Bull & Vodkas, and eventually headed back to the hotel for the night.

21st July 2010: St. John, U.S.V.I.

This morning we awoke to sunshine and heat, which was great becuase today we were taking the Jeep to St. John on the car ferry in Redhook. The ferry was rocking pretty good, but we met a nice girl who helped to calm everything down. When we got to St. John, we went straight to Trunk Bay. Unfortunately we were unable to find a parking spot, so we went down the road to Cinnamon Bay, where after about 20 minutes of waiting, a spot opened up. Cinnamon was a bit of a disapointment this time. The water was dark brown due to the runoff from the heavy rains. On top of that, the sun seemed to disappear. So, after a few minutes, we made the choice to head back to Trunk Bay and try to find a spot again. On our way out we stopped at the Cinnamon Bay Loop Trail and checked out the old sugar factory. Back at Trunk Bay, we succeeded in finding a parking spot, and we were glad we did. The sun magically came back out, and the water was as blue and clear as ever. The beach was crowded, but we had a wonderful time and really soaked up the rays. We knew it wouldn't last, and we could eventually see the rain soaking St. Thomas and slowly creeping towards us. Finally it arrived, and we were still in the water when it downpoured...and didn't stop. We tried to wait it out up at the shower facility, but it just seemed to keep raining and raining. We made a mad dash back to the Jeep, and we were all soaked. The rain was running down the mountain in torrents and was flash flooding everywhere. We knew it was time to go, but we could see that the road was flooded pretty bad, so we just hung out until we saw another Jeep go through the water and followed it through. There were several spots on the road that were flooded, but we made it through them all fine. Then we came to a spot where traffic was stopped. A park ranger closed the road ahead of us. We had to wait about 10 minutes until he started letting everyone through, one by one. It was by far the deepest water we drove through, and i kept thinking "turn around, don't drown" as I drove deeper and deeper into the stream. It only took a few seconds and we were safely on the other side. Back in Cruz Bay, we hung out at High Tide and had a few drinks and some snacks. Tiffany found a bracelet she really liked at the store next door, so she bought it. Then we headed back to the ferry dock, got lost, and finally made it just before it left for the day. After we got cleaned up back at the Marriott, we headed up to the Mafolie for dinner. It was great as usual, and our friend from our last visit was bartending again, so we chatted with him after dinner. By then, we were all wore out so we went back to the Marriott and sat in the lobby until bed time.

22nd July 2010

Of course it was beautiful today, since we were leaving. We got up and went down to the breakfast bar and got a $21 breakfast buffett to-go. Then we hung out at our friends room until it was time to check out and leave. We dropped the Jeep off at Discount Car Rentals, and our driver took us to the airport where we sat until time to board our flight. The end of another great caribbean trip. Until next time...Jeremy.

We just got back from a great trip to St. Thomas and St. John, in the United States Virgin Islands, and are trying to switch our mindset back to the right side of the road. We will try to take you there if we can...

Saturday, May 29th, 2010
Chicago (ORD) to D.C. (IAD) to St. Thomas (STT)

We got up this morning at 2am and left the house by 3. Got on our flight with 35 well behaved 7th graders on their way to Washington D.C. for a social studies field trip. Tiffany watched "The Office" on the flight while I slept. After about an hour and a half we were in Washington D.C.'s Dulles Airport awaiting our flight to St. Thomas.

It was exciting to get off the plane in St. Thomas and feel the humid Caribbean air again. We snapped a few pictures, and since we only brought carry-on baggage, went straight to the Budget desk to pick up our Jeep Wrangler (with a quick stop at the Cruzan Rum booth for a free shot of rum). This was the first time we rented a car in a place that drives on the left instead of the right, but after a few minutes of driving in busy downtown Charlotte Amalie, we felt like locals. We stayed at the Mafolie Hotel, which is perched up on the hill above the downtown area, and has world class views of St. Thomas Harbor. We quickly checked in, dropped our stuff, changed into our swim gear, and headed for Magens Bay.

It was hazy and cloudy, but we still managed to enjoy the beach. The fee to get in was $4 each, plus $2 for parking. Because of the weather, there weren't many visitors on the beach, but a large family of locals were having a cookout at the southern end of the beach, and several ex-pats were hanging out at the beach bar. We had some pepporoni pizza, and a couple drinks, and decided to head back to the Mafolie. Once there we ordered a poolside cheeseburger and italian potato salad from Tim the bartender. After our snack, we decided to go grocery shopping to get some beer and some diet coke. We went to the Pueblo grocery store in downtown Charlotte Amalie. While we were inside, a huge storm arrived, and we had a horrific downpour for about 10 minutes. The streets flooded badly, so we waited a little bit before running out to the jeep. Back at the Mafolie, a little bit of water got inside our bathroom, but we just dried it up and got ready for dinner - my last night of my twenties.

Dinner at the Mafolie was beyond our expectations. The wait staff were extremely friendly and the food was wonderful. We shared the mozzarella, tomato, and asparagus appetizer, I had the tropical glazed grouper, and Tiffany had the flat iron steak. I tried a couple of Virgin Island beers - Virgin Island Summer Ale and Blackbeard Ale...I liked both of them. Tiff had a glass of chardonnay. Both entrees came with rice and steamed veggies (broccoli, squash, cabbage, and carrots). The view of Charlotte Amalie and St. Thomas Harbor was breathtaking. It stormed a bit in the distance and there was a light rain off and on, adding to the ambience. After dinner we were both tired so we headed back to the room and watched some tv until we fell asleep.

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

We got up this morning at 8:30am and had some bagels and blueberry muffins at the restaurant. After that we packed up some beers and headed to Coki Beach. Loved it. There was reggae music, excellent snorkelling, and a beautiful view. I tried another new beer, Elephant (from Denmark). "Web" was our server (from Jasheh's Beach Bar). As he said, "like the computer". Tiff tried a "Bomb" frozen drink and liked it a lot. For a snack we had our typical cheeseburger and fries. The snorkelling right off the shore was excellent. A large school of Caribbean Reef Squid was hovering on the bottom, along with a very large barracuda and many other fish. Coki ended up being our favorite beach on St. Thomas. After a while at Coki, we decided to head to Sapphire Beach to check it out...It was also beautiful and had views of St. John and Tortola & Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands, as well as several other small islands. There was no music and it was a bit quiet for our liking, so we decided to try out a few more beaches. On the way out of the parking lot, a huge iguana was sitting in the driveway. Next stop was Secret Harbor Beach. It was much choppier and was more of a water sport / boating area. We didn't stay very long. After that we backtracked a bit to Cowpet Bay Beach. It was nice, but the swimming area was very small and there were a lot of boats. The last beach we visited on this day was Morningstar Beach at the Marriott. It was very beautiful and had a view of St. Croix, but it the surf was quite rough compared to some of the other beaches we visited.

For my 30th birthday dinner, we ate at Mim's on Bolongo Bay Beach. I had snapper and Tiff had chicken alfredo pasta. After dinner we walked over to Iggie's Beach Bar. The band Liquid Sunshine was playing and we had a couple beers and headed back to Mafolie to hang out at the bar with Derrek and Joe the bartenders. Then we went to bed.

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Got up at 8:30am again today. The Carnival Victory was already docked in St. Thomas Harbor. Interestlingly enough, that is the exact same ship we were on the first time we visited St. Thomas. We had our daily breakfast at the Mafolie, packed up our Presidente Lights and Diet Cokes in a cooler, and headed off in the Jeep for the day. First we went to the Magens Bay lookout (I believe it is called Drake's Seat). We got directions from a very nice local who was teaching young boys how to play the steel drum. A mother who just dropped off her child was nice enough to let us follow her up to the lookout. The view was amazing. It was obvious that a cruise ship was in today becuase taxis were pulling in and out of the lookout's parking lot like crazy. After the lookout, we continued on to see a few more beaches. We stopped at Hull Bay Beach, and then on to Dorothea Bay Beach. Dorothea Bay had very rough surf, and was more of a cobblestone beach with jagged rocks along the west shore. There were apartments next to it, but it was very quiet. A few ladies were riding horses in the surf, and one actually got loose and ran around eating the grass. It was a very beautiful sight to see the horses walking in the surf. After Dorothea, we went around the island towards the airport and got out for a few minutes at Brewer's Beach. It wasn't very nice and the piles of seaweed smelled really bad. After our trip around the island, we headed to Red Hook and had lunch at Amigo's mexican restaurant. We shared some excellent tacos and the queso dip. Tiff had an iced tea and I had a Presidente. It was very hot and humid. After lunch we stopped at a little store called "Keep Left" and did some t-shirt shopping. From there we headed back to Coki Beach. This time it was a very different, much more hectic scene - a result of a combination of cruisers, locals, and the fact that it was the Memorial Day holiday. Even the surf was much heavier for some reason. There was a "bad" accident on the road to Coral World. Actually a safari taxi hit the driver's side wheel of a car. It was a sight to see - the cop writing on his clipboard - the traffic jam - the onlookers. When the sun started to dip and the crowds went away, we got hungry, so we went back to Mafolie for a grilled chicken quesadilla - just in time to see the Carnival Victory backing out from the dock and into the harbor. We then got ready and drove to Yacht Haven Grande to scout out a potential spot for dinner, but it was really dead and some of the restaurants were actually closed, so we headed downtown to see if we could find Oceana and perhaps get a seat without reservations. Frenchtown is a bit shadier than Yacht Haven, but we eventually found our way to Oceana. It was much nicer than we expected but we were able to get a table with no problem. I had grilled Mahi-Mahi and Tiff had Filet Mignon. Then we had a few drinks back at Mafolie and went to bed.

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

We got up a bit later than normal today. It was raining again, and this time there were 3 ships in the port - Carnival Liberty, a Royal Caribbean ship, and the Oasis of the Seas was at the other new port. We went down for breakfast and decided to try to go to St. John for the day. We got ready as quickly as possible, jumped in the Jeep, and headed for the Red Hook Ferry Terminal. We got to the terminal, found parking, and managed to buy our tickets just in time to be the last 2 people on the ferry. After a 15 or 20 minute ride, we were in Cruz Bay, St. John. We needed a bottle opener so we walked to one of the stores and then grabbed a taxi to Cinnamon Bay Beach, where we spent the rest of the day. The snorkelling near the small island of Cinnamon Cay was decent. There was a large Yellow Tail Snapper, lots of Sea Fans and Sea Urchins, as well as Fairy Basslets, Blue Headed Wrasses, Squirrel Fish, and tons of other fish. You could hear and see the Parrot Fish hard at work making St. John's beautiful white coral sand (they eat algae off of the reef, and excrete the pieces of coral out the other end as sand). Yes, we enjoy laying on the beautiful fish poop. For lunch we went up to the T'ree Lizards Restaurant and had a couple cheeseburgers, some fries, and some diet cokes. We met and talked to a couple from Massachusetts. They were camping on the island and seemed to really be enjoying it. After a few more hours on the beach, we took a taxi back to Cruz Bay and had a couple drinks at "The Beach Bar" near the ferry terminal. We took the 5:00 ferry back to Red Hook, paid our $10 parking fee and made it back to Mafolie just in time to see the ships heading out of the harbor. The Oasis of the Seas was already gone. We got showered up and went to Hook, Line, and Sinker for dinner. It was in Frenchtown and the food was great. The waitress was also very nice. I had the pecan crusted grouper, and Tiffany had pasta. After dinner we walked along the waterfront and Tiffany spotted a Green Moray Eel coming out of one of the storm drains, so we took a few pictures. On our way to Yacht Haven, we stopped at the Greenhouse for a few drinks. Oh boy. After an hour or so of talking to the guy sitting next to us, we managed to escape to the Fat Turtle in Yacht Haven Grande. It was very quiet and relaxing, and after a few drinks, we headed back to Mafolie for the night.

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Today was our last day in St. Thomas. We got up late around 9:20. The Celebrity Solstice cruise ship was the only ship in the harbour. We went down to the restaurant for breakfast and fed the iguanas. After we got all packed up and ready to go, I took our remaining five Presidente Lights down to Derrek at the front desk, and we headed off to the Beachcomber beach bar at Lindbergh Beach near the airport where we had lunch and a few drinks. From there we dropped off our rental car and waited for our flight back to reality. The end of another great trip to the Caribbean. See ya soon. Keep Left.

Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras, January 30th to February 6th, 2010

...a work in progress...

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Chicago, IL to Houston, TX
We woke up early and took a 3:45am taxi to O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago. The first leg of our American Airlines flight ended in Houston, TX.

Houston, TX to Roatan, B.I.
While in Houston, we headed into Pappadeaux restaurant and ordered a few Michelob Ultras and vodka shots. From there we got a breakfast sandwich & hashbrowns, and I ordered my regular Vanilla Iced Coffee from Starbucks. Once we boarded our flight, it was actually delayed on the ground becuase the tug wouldn't start. Finally we were on our way, and were soon over Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and then the coast of Belize. The flight was a bit bumpy so we ordered some bloody Mary's. When we approached Roatan, we actually flew right over Infinity Bay on West Bay Beach. A few minutes later, we were landing at Aeropuerto de Roatan. It was great to be back in the banana republic and the humidity and heat. The Roatan Airport was fairly typical of Caribbean airports, with the exception of the large black machine guns the security guards were all carrying. While we waited for our luggage, a man approached us with a luggage cart and waited with us. Soon after, the Infinity Bay van picked us up and we were on our way. We drove through Coxen Hole (where the cruise ships dock), and stopped at the supermarket so we could all buy our supplies for the week. Past experience told us this was a good idea, since the stores closest to the resorts are usually more expensive. Our resort was on West Bay Beach, the best beach on Roatan. We got out of the van, checked in, and headed to the beach. The water was beautiful (as expected), and we got a cheeseburger and fries at La Palapa bar and took it all in. For drinks, we had Salva Vida, our first Honduran beer, Diet Coke (or "Coca Cola Light" as they call it down here), and Imperial Beer. Our bartender's name was Carlos. He was a nice, friendly guy, and the service was great. After our snack, we got some Barena Beer and headed down to the beach. Towards the end of the day, we walked to "Bite on the Beach" and back. It was the most amazing sunset, so we took a bunch of pictures and ended up at the bar back at our resort. We had some Port Royal Export beers for happy hour, met some people from Toronto Canada, and went back to the room to change for dinner.

Dinner at Bananarama, tiff had chicken fettucini alfredo, Jeremy had Garlic Shrimp (2 for $20 special) + rice & beans. Very friendly wait staff, plenty of Barenas, dogs wandering around, family had a pinata setup for a birthday, ended up talking to Jim & Phil about scuba. the bathroom toilet flushed from the top...pull a lever up and the water goes down until you let go. Phil is somehow associated with the resort. Jim dives with the resort a lot but is staying at Infinity Bay. then we went to bed.

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Woke up at 10:55am, made toast & bagels for breakfast, ate outside on the patio - beautiful day so far, baby was pooping outside by the pool, went in and got ready to snorkel at the beach. beautiful reef, tiff and i went out for about 10 minutes, tiff bought a necklace and sent a guy out to make matching earrings. $10 for all of it. Listened to some Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, and Bob Marley. headed up to pool for our Cheeseburger, fries, chips & salsa lunch at La Palapa. Mmmmmmm. Roger the D.J. was playing great reggae so we sat in the pool, people watched, and had a few more beers. Went back to the room, walked down to the cliffs at the southern end of West Bay Beach. There were lots of locals, normally cruise ship people. back to the room to get beer and chill on beach. Happy hour, didn't know what time it was, a few Barenas & a Monkey La La, the guy at the bar said "If life gets any better than this, I don't know what I'm gonna do." back to room to get ready for dinner. Nigerian guy, took a barge here from Africa for repairs, he was videoing everyone he talked to. For dinner Alfredo the water taxi driver took us to Bite on the Beach...however, they are closed Sunday & Monday, so he recommended his family's restaurant, "The Lighthouse", in the town of West End...it was awesome. Tiffany had chicken penne pasta, and I had blackened mahi with rice & beans. also had jalepeno poppers with coconut breading...awesome. alfredo's sister in law and his brother owned the restaurant. Usually the water taxi's do not run at night, but Alfredo gave us a ride back to Infinity Bay. we got off the taxi and went back to Bananarama for some more Barenas. Scotty the bartender was really cool, the grammies were on and Taylor Swift was on, headed back to bed.

Monday, February 1st, 2010

We got up around 9am today, it was cloudy and windy. had our normal breakfast on the patio...got ready to walk to the market. Went to the shopping mall just east of the resort, got some iced coffee at the cool beans coffee house, bought a few souveniers, more beer, and diet coke. the sun came out and it was hot again, headed to the beach, went to the dock to jump in the water, back to the room to get more beer, went to the pool, met some more people from Canada, back to the bar for Happy Hour, back to the room, went to dinner at Fosters. there were kittens running all over, the food was extremely buttery. then to Bananarama for drinks. when they closed we went to Paradise Beach bar for karaoke and drinks. they only had a few english songs so we had to sing acappella. Finally made it back to bed.

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Today was Tiff's birthday...happy birthday tiff...got up around 10am, had breakfast, checked on our scheduled seaplane trip, walked down the beach to bite on the beach, had a beer, plane picked us up at Las Rocas. Our pilot's name was Clay, he was from Colorado, but his family runs the business down here. we went out for about 20 minutes or so. Had great views of the island and of mainland Honduras and the neighboring island of Utila. Very cool experience that I would recommend to anyone visiting Roatan. Afterwards, we watched a moray eel at Las Rocas, then headed back to Infinity Bay for lunch. beach was very crowded today, due to the cruise ships..there were 3 on island. We got in the pool and shared the garlic chicken, beans & rice, french fries, and a few Barenas. Very good as usual. Then we went back to the beach. Around 3 or so, Tommy, one of the Infinity Bay sales agents, told everyone that he got a call from a friend on Utila that a huge pod of about a thousand dolphins was headed towards Roatan. So, they threw a couple cases of Salva Vida on the boat and loaded up about 20 people and headed out to sea. We saw a couple dolphins and stopped the boat, but soon enough we got into the pod. It was the most amazing site...dolphins were everywhere as far as we could see. They were swimming along the boat 5 or 6 wide, and jumping out of the water everywhere. Then they stopped the boat and let us jump in. I just downed a Salva Vida and jumped in the water. The water was extremely choppy, and I immediately realized that jumping in was a mistake. Without fins, it was very difficult to stay above the water. There were a few young girls out there who were starting to panic. They didn't even have snorkels. One girl asked me if I would help her, but I was having enough trouble staying above the water. On top of that, I looked up and saw the boat drifting away very quickly. I waved my arms at the boat and yelled at them to come back. My mind went into survival mode, and I tried to swim on my back and still use my snorkel to breathe. It seemed like and eternity, but the boat finally started to back up to us. I pulled myself up the ladder and was just exhausted. It was quite an experience, but I will be sure to use fins every time from now on. Luckily everyone made it back on the boat.

For Tiffany's birthday dinner, we went to Vintage Pearl, which is part of the Bananarama resort. It was very nicely lit, and you were not allowed to wear shoes inside, which was kind of a nice touch. The menu was very different from what we were used to, I had Veal Parmesean, a salad, and cream of Potato soup. Tiff had a chicken pastry puff. we had banana bread pudding for dessert. After dinner we enjoyed the surroundings and walked back to the Thirsty Turtle (also at Bananarama) for a couple Barenas before heading back to the condo for an early night.

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Today we got up early at 8am and had our normal breakfast on the patio. We did a load of laundry, and had a short rain shower in the morning. It cleared up quick and we headed to the beach. We talked to some people from the Carnival Valour. For lunch we got our regular cheeseburger and fries from La Palapa. Then we took a water taxi to West End in search of an ATM. West End is a diver area, and it is still fairly rough. The road is dirt and sand and has a lot of pot holes. There are people riding bikes, mopeds, in the back of pickup trucks, and on foot. The first ATM we found was out of order, but they directed us down the road and we were able to take out some more cash. On the way back we had pizza and Coca-Cola Lights at the Shark Cave Pizzeria. Then we took the water taxi back. Tiff took a nap on the couch and I watched the history channel for a few minutes and went outside to see the kitties that were hiding around our patio in the landscaping. After that we went down to the beach to take in another beautiful Roatan sunset. For dinner we walked down to Bite on the Beach. I had grouper with sauteed pineapple sauce and a Monkey La La and a Coca Cola Light. Tiff had chicken past and a mango daquiri. We watched on the horizon as the Carnival Valour left for its next destination. After dinner we watched the moray eels swim around in the rocks below the restaurant. The owner's little girl was very cute and she was throwing breadcrumbs to the crabs and eels. She knew a lot about the sealife and told us everything she knew. After a while, we headed back to La Palapa for a Barena and a Monte Cristo, Cuban Cigar that I really didn't need. It was a bit windy, but still another very beautiful night.

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

bagels for breakfast, nice day still a bit windy. Laid in the sun, walked to the Thirsty Turtle for chips salsa, blt, & a cheeseburger & fries. Went back to the beach. Checked out the iguanas on the cliffs, went back to the beach, fed a bagel to the fish just offshore. Jeremy snorkeled down to the cliffs and back a couple times. Back to La Palapa for a snack - we changed it up this time and got wings and cheese fries. Back to the beach. Heard rumors that bad weather was on its way for Saturday....a "Northerner" as they called it. It was very windy today, but still nice. Sun still hot. For lunch we had spaghetti and meat balls at La Palapa. Tommy caught a tuna and had the chef prepare some fresh sushi. Tiff even had some...it was excellent. We ended up staying all night at La Palapa talking to our new friends Todd and Lisa and the bartenders Gary and Ezra until way past closing time. Gary was belting George Jones songs that even I hadn't heard. He had quite the collection on his IPod. We were suprised that he knew country, but he said he loves it because "George Jones sings songs about life and love, and that is what it is all about". He said Carlos got his visa approved today to move to the United States. He said he wouldn't give up what he has in Roatan for nothing, and he loves it here. After 10 too many Barenas, we turned in for the night.

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Our last full day on the island, we got up at 8:15 again. then we went back to bed until about 10am. Got a hot breakfast today. Jeremy had the "Tipical Breakfast" (sp)...soft tortillas, refried beans, fried plantain, bacon, fresh mozzarella cheese, & 2 eggs overeasy. It was wonderful. Tiff had some very good hash browns that the chef cooked up for us. They weren't on the menu, but they were great. We topped it all off with two coca-cola lights and headed to the beach. For a snack we had chicken fingers and cheese fries. The waves were slightly larger today...possibly a sign of the storm on the way. Had a cheeseburger and fries for our last lunch. snorkeled a few times, had fresca and beer, filled up our traditional beer bottles with sand for our basement bar. Went to the pool.. ended up going to the Mayan Princess to try to get dinner, but we kind of felt bad about leaving Gary and Ezra when we had a perfectly good restaurant right there at Infinity Bay, and they had live music tonight. So we had our last dinner at La Palapa. I had shrimp stir-fry and tiff had alfredo pasta. Then we hung out at the bar until closing time with Todd & Lisa, Michelle, and Ezra and Gary. At the end of the night we said our good byes, gave Ezra and Gary a nice tip, and went to bed.

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

We got up around 8:15am and got our stuff ready to head home. We went down to the beach one more time. The wind had really picked up, and the water was kind of rough. We checked out and got a cab for twenty dollars back to the airport. On the way back we got stopped at a road block by the police. It was a bit nerve racking, but after he checked the cab driver's permit and license, we were off to the airport. We were early, but we didn't mind. We had to take out money since Roatan has a $37 per person departure tax that we were unaware of. Once inside the terminal we had some snacks and a couple final Barenas at the bar and hung out. There was a diving video playing on the tv and I think we watched it 3 times through. Eventually they called us for boarding, Tiff walked out onto the runway with a beer in her hand and got stopped by security. Then we got on the plane, and headed back to Houston, TX, USA, already thinking about the next time we will head back to beautiful Roatan.

We are raising money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for the M.S. Walk May 2nd, 2010. $1, $5, $10...any amount you can give is much appreciated and will go to a great cause.

VISIT OUR PERSONAL PAGE TO DONATE.

Thank you in advance for anyone who makes a donation, no matter how small or large.

Regards,
Jeremy & Tiffany

a work in progress...

Ahhhh, what a trip! Just got back from beautiful St. Barths to see Jimmy Buffett perform for the 60th Anniversary Celebration of Le Select. Nothing more to say. Well, ok I'll tell the story...

Thu 5 Nov 2009 (ORD to MIA to SXM to SBH)

Chicago, Illinois, USA

We got up on time at 2:45am...after a long night of work, work, more work, paperwork, packing, and no sleep. We somehow managed to pack carry-on's only, which I have to say is amazing for us, but would later prove to be a great choice. Our trusty taxi company was there on time to get us to O'Hare in plenty of time. We checked in, went through security, picked up a couple of bagels, and waited at our gate for our friends Tom & Teresa who arrived a bit later. American Airlines slept in a little...

7 November 2009 - Jimmy Buffett playing A Pirate Looks At Forty at the Le Select 60th Anniversary Celebration, St. Barthelemy, French West Indies

7 November 2009 - Marius Stakelborough introducing Jimmy Buffett at the Le Select 60th Anniversary Celebration, St. Barthelemy, French West Indies

6 November 2009 - Video of Marius Stakelborough giving a speech at the Le Select 60th Anniversary Celebration, St. Barthelemy, French West Indies.

Today we went to the Jimmy Buffett concert with the Chicago Parrotheads on our annual bus trip. It was a great time as always. The drizzle lasted all night but it made it even more magical.

Today we went to the Jimmy Buffett concert at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL. We took a taxi with our friends Nate and Genevieve and Carla. It was a great day of tailgating with our club (http://www.chicagoparrotheads.com) and we were able to meet some of the Coral Reefer Band...Nadirah Shakoor, Doyle Grisham, and Jim Mayer. Our club was able to charge for the meet and greet with 100% of the money going to our Alzheimers Memory Walk team. There was lots of food, lots of beer, lots of beer, and lots of beer. In case you are wondering, yes, you can make it through 8 hours of tailgating and still manage to enjoy a full concert.