The Fuji's in the Caribbean

So before we had kids, Dax and I took a couple of cruises, thanks to our good friend Kristina who worked for Pincess Cruiselines and hooked us up.  We swore to each other then, that we would do it again every chance we could.  Well six years later, we finally got the chance. 

After weeks of planning and working out all the details of kids, and sitters, and work, and church callings we were finally off.  With only one minor glich (yes we missed our flight from Vegas to Ft. Lauderdale, no there is nobody to blame but our inability to read the arrival vs. departure monitor) we hit the ship ready to vacation like rock stars.

Princess Cays

Our first port was the Princess Cays, an island owned by Princess cruiselines.  Not alot of sights to see, but beautiful sand and water and lots of buffet food to feast on. I combed the beach while Dax soaked up the sun.

As you can see, the sky was pretty dramatic as we left port this day.  We later learned that this was the beginnings of hurricane Earl that closed down all the ports a week later.

 St. Maarten

We shopped the main square, then found ourselves a couple of beach chairs, and a bucket of diet Coke and spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the sun. The thing that I can never get over is the color of the water.  Tourquoise just doesn't seem to describe it.

This is my seashell friend, and these are the vendors with all their souveniers trying to sell to us as we laid in the sun.

St. Thomas

Our next port was St. Thomas.  On this day there was another ship ported along side us.

Since we have been on this particular cruise once before, we knew exactly where we wanted to spend the day.  After just a little bit of shopping in town, where I bought a fabulous knock-off Prada, we grabbed a taxi and headed for Magen's Bay.

This beach is everything you've always imagined about the caribbean. Bleached white sandy beaches, water that is like 88 degrees and gentle waves lapping at the shoreline.  Truly paradise.

Grand Turk

Our final port was Grand Turk.  Talk about tourist central.  This little port had just one little square of shops,  and a Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville with probably the biggest pool I've ever seen.  We rented snorkel gear beachside, found ourselves some beach chairs, and dove in to see some sea life.

We had an incredible week at sea.  Thank you so much to all those who helped with the crazies while we were away, especially my mom, who, once again, came through in a pinch. Talk about 'best laid plans"! Anyway, we owe you BIG. 

Thank you to Dax, for letting me tag along, and for the best 11 years of my life.  There's nobody I'd rather spend my days on the beach with.  Let's not let six more years go by until we do it again... we'll need to start looking for more babysitters!