3rd Stop - Antigua

On our actual Anniversary date, January 19, Glenn and I chose to do an "excursion" trip which included sailing on a catamaran, snorkeling along the paradise coral reef and swimming on a private island topped off with a bar-b-que chicken and fish lunch.

 

  

  

It was great to lay on the trampoline webbing as we were cruising out to the snorkeling site.  The snorkeling experience was fantastic.  Then the topical fish were  so colorful and the water was so clear.  My only regrets were that I didn't have a disposable underwater camera with me, nor did I take any photos while we were all decked out in our snorkeling gear.:(

 

This was a great anniversary day celebration with a new experience, snorkeling.  

When was the last time I did something for the first time?  

This was great - to swim with tropical fish, ride on a catamaran, see the coral reefs and swim along the white beaches.  

More later,

~J

2nd Stop - Tortola, British Virgin Island

The small, beautiful island of Tortola was dotted by mountain peaks all along the ridge with steep drop offs.  By far, this was one of my favorite places.  The island is only 12 miles long and 5 miles wide.

We rented a mo-ped for the day.  $50.00 for the whole day - not bad.  Since this island has British influence, the people drive on the left hand side of the road.  So imagine me holding on to Glenn for dear life, yelling "Think LEFT, think LEFT" to remind him to drive correctly.

 

We drove all over this island.  We ended up on the far side of the island for lunch.  We found a quaint beach restaurant that was on a tiny inlet from the ocean.  Palm trees lined the beach and hammocks hung lazily between them.  There were some old wooden boats that were being repaired and painted.  Actually this restaurant had 5 minutes of complimentary internet service with the purchased of a fish (maji maji) sandwich.  Glenn was able to check our emails very briefly.

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the island of Tortola.

More later,

~J

1st Stop - Domician Republic

 

Dominican Republic was our first island to experience.  Here, the official language is Spanish, so we had no problem getting around.  Actually this country shares the same island with Haiti.  Geographically, Dominican Republic is on the Eastern end of the island with a mountain range dividing the Western half where Haiti is located.

We came ashore on this island just days after the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti.  We asked several locals if they felt the tremors, but since we were clearly 100 or more so miles from the epicenter, the Dominicans didn't feel a thing.  Actually, you wouldn't even know that we were on the same island.  Yes, I did feel awkward and strange to be docked here, knowing that many people on this same island lost their lives in the earth quake.

   

30 Year Cruise

Last week, Glenn treated me to a 30 year cruise.  That part is a Joke. It did not last for 30 years, it was to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary! We went to the Eastern Caribbean.  We started off in Miami, then stopped in  Dominican Republic, Tortola BVI  Antigua, Barbados and finally St. Kitts.  Each island was unique in character, culture and customs.

For the next few days, I'll be "blogging" about our trip.

Wedding Shots 30 years ago

Sherrie and me
Beverly holding Brian (who is now nearly 31 years old)
me and my mom
Leaving for our honeymoon. We flew out on Delta Airlines (honeymoon pass, as I worked as a reservationist for Delta back then), to San Juan Puerto Rico and then onto St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

This is the last of the wedding photos! Its been fun to walk down Memory Lane.
~J

Family Shots

Rick, me, Sherrie and Ronnie
with Glenn's parents
with my parents, known today as Grandmommy and Grandddady

Bridal Party

Glenn with the groomsmen - my brother Ronnie, Bruce Crawford (does anybody know where he is?) and Ken Isles (lost contact with him too) and Glenn's childhood friend from Mexico days, Tom Beekman.
Glenn with the Bridal party -(l to r) my sister, Sherrie, Pat Adams Jones, Donna Strickenberger Brown (I see her every 5 years at HS reunion) and Lisa LeRouax Irvin all were gradeschool - highschool friends of mine

The Cake

We had a delicious wedding cake. MaryAnn Sherman made the chocolate grooms cake - which by the way was so good, we never got a piece of it. Jan 19, 1980

More photos in the next few days!
~J

30th Wedding anniversary

January 19, 1980

My dad proudly walked me down the isle on this day - 30 years ago today!


30 years ago today, Glenn and I were married at NBC. Note the 'afro' Glenn is sporting. I wore my sister-in-law's mother's dress. Beautiful lace. I loved it.

More photos to come in the next few days.

~J

Brunch at Casa Del Mundo

• French Toast
• Strawberry, pinapple and Banana Smoothie

For brunch, we road on the public boat to Casa Del Mundo.

A great place to relax and enjoy the scenery!

Check out their web site:  La Casa Del Mundo


Breath-taking! 

~J 

Catching Flies

We stopped by Bob and Ann's house for a few minutes to visit his elderly parents and also Ann's mother.  As we walked through the back garden, we noticed that Bob's dad was really enjoying the sunshine.  He was fast asleep.

Bob's garden is Beautiful!

 

Bob's parents are so sweet.  They are adjusting to their new home environment here in Guatemala.

~J

LBN Construction Project

For those following the LBN construction project....

...now the front side on the street.  I love the stone work action going on here.

~J

Antigua Trip

A Day spent in Antigua...

• Visit with Paul and Ruth
• Parking our van at Forrest and Carol's
• Lunch at our favorite spot, Las Palmas (garlic fries, yum!)
  
• Walking through the Arch street
• Shopping at De Colores
• Climbing on the ruins
• Shopping in the market

Can't get better than this, spending time with Gary!


~J

Going to the Dock

Our walk down to the public boat ramp was quite challenging. 

 

This wasn't the safest ramp down to the dock.

This ladder was placed over the "man hole" so no one would fall into it on the way to the dock. If you fell in you'd have to be rushed to the "doc" :)


~J

Cables X-Tremos

Zip-lining in Panajachel, Guatemala

 

check out the web site Nature Reserve (click on link) for more information.

Gary and Madison enjoyed the 20 minute walk up the trail.  They stopped to see spider monkeys and a beautiful waterfall.  I stayed back to finish my cross stitch project.  We've taken many friends here to zip-line, including my sister, nephew Kyle and now Gary!

 ~J