but chris on the hill sees the sun going round
WELL HERE IT IS! my big ol' post about ST CROIX! pictures taken by my sister, kathleen, story told by MEEE!!
so i drove to michaels on friday august 3rd...i, of course, was doing great - great timing - no mistakes - then i miss the LAST TURN THAT WAS ON THE LEFT! whyy god? philadelphia has the worst system of streets and highways in the entire universe. anyway after turning around on a street that said do not enter we made it! the three of us then went to Target for last minute supplies (and berry berry kix!!YEAH!) then went to eat at houlihans which i'll admit is probly one of the worst restaurants on earth - pretty nasty
we then went home - i went online, packed up more proficiently, etcetcc then laid awake for a while because i just could not sleep. woke up at 5 am, got ready...left in michaels car. went to philadelphia international. found economy parking - took one of those group buses to the WRONG TERMINAL! walked all the way back to terminal a (i think) - there was this long ass line to get to the the check in. we just did self check - was done in a minute - with no lines. it was AWESOMEEE YO! went through all lines incredibly fast. waited an hour or so - i bought an magazine and some m&ms...uhh.. went on the plane.
i sat in the middle. i was seriously nervous at first even though this was like my 5th time on a plane. i guess i just hate taking off the first time - after that im used to it. we watched simpsons on the plane for like 2 and a half hours. but the thing is - the flight kinda blew. stewardess was a bitch, air wasnt on, we watched WILD HOGS. yeah, shitty flight.
then we landed in SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO:
we got off the plane. we were only there for like 40 minutes. i bought a postcard. uhh, then we got on the plane!!: "Looks like it'll be a smooth flight - We should be there in thirty minutes." Minute later: "Well, ladies and gentleman, looks like we will be landing. Turns out it wasnt as long as I anticipated" LOL
so we landed in St Thomas, and this is where the day turns kind of sour. First Michael thought we had to get our bags all over again, so we stood at the claim carousel for an hour waiting for our bags. We were horrified because we thought they lost them. We went to Cape Aire, and they told us that they were being transferred to our flight. So, relief, hooray. Then, the waitingg!! Like two hours - it felt like an eon passed by. KAthleen wasnt feeling well either...it was all kind of miserable. But then finally we boarded this:
HOW AWESOME IS THIS THING?!?! they even had to weigh everything so it wasnt too heavy/over burdened!! they told me my bag wwould be coming on the following flight, because of that, so i was like "ok." i mean i was worried, but i trusted them
anyway it was honestly the most beautiful plane ever.
i listened to cursed love by bonnie prince billy, bridges and balloons by joanna newsom, and fluffy tufts by the cocteau twins, while we kinda just floating very close to the clouds and the ocean. it was so awesome. the propellors were right there, very loud
heres kathleen, who got to sit next to the pilot!! she was right there!! it was so beautiful, it really was. i thought it was so cool. we even got to see the runway as we landed
anyway we landed. we met our taxi driver Doug, a native. i was so pumped to finally have my bag, when the following flight landed. we waited forever - nothing. we were told to go to the other carousel - as i was walking i got what would be my last text - from andy specifically - for a while. as i walked in - no bag!! we went to some people, they told us it would be on the NEXT FLIGHT coming in at 8! we had to go because we couldnt make doug wait. and i was just so pissed.
the rest of the night was bloody annoying - shitty service a restaurant in the hotel. no bag. and we realized we couldnt get cell phone reception so i had no service. i wasnt too bugged by that, but still i realized it would eventually bug me seeing as id be here for a week
but the first ride to the resort - Carambola - was amazing. our first glimpse of everything we'd familiarize ourselves with in a week. giant mountains covered in fluffy green trees - low laying clouds that left shadows on the mountain sides - mahogany trees that curved like a giant tunnel - very steep roads - aqua blue water that turned a darker blue in the horizon - mongooses and geckos, and, of course, the fact that we were driving on the LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD.
view from the car coming around the mountain. the resort is kinda down there. the resort itself was very very pretty, kind of a sanctuary in a mountain side, with its own beach.
random room picture. very beautiful room - i loved the big bathroom - the shower - we had this cool kinda bungalow deal in one corner. very beautiful
Main core of the resort, lobby, shop, restaurant, etc
the next morning i woke up feeling nervous - i was scared i'd have to file a claim on mine and kathleens bag and we lost our stuff. but then michael triumphantly came back with my bag and keys for a rental car! pretty sweet moment. then we went for breakfast but i wanted some pancakes like CRAZY.and they were awesome pancakes. we also met Dan, the guy who worked at the dive shop - really awesome guy who we talked to constantly. really really friendly
the beach of the resort.
Me and Michael. CLAIMER im wearing this hat because my hair was wet and i didnt have time to dry it! not because i wear winter clothes to the beach
Following breakfast we decided to venture out and find a supermarket so we could cook during the week. This included finally driving on the left side of the road. Well Michael got used to it after a while but to be honest it felt awkward for all three of us - lol - especially because the roads were so poorly designed - very narrow and sudden bends. but michael mastered it pretty much by the end. also my iTrip worked perfectly on the island so we listened to mine and kathleens ipods on the radio a lot :)
we found a little supermarket called Pueblo. we bought some stuff like fruit and salad stuff and chicken and cheese and spaghetti
We bought the groceries then went on an adventure to go around St Croix which isnt big to begin with. We wanted to go to the main city Christiansted. this is the first time we'd take a road that we ended up taking fifty million bajillion times.
we eventually found christiansted - i love this city. its very very tiny and had an european feel to it
I loved the buildings, the streets, i loved the shops and the heat. it was beautiful
Later that day we went to the beach for the first time. What amazing water! It was warm at the first touch and incredibly clear. The sad part was there were tons of rocks in the water, so it was hard on the feet.
However, the view itself was so incredible. Everything was bright and soft
A nice view of a path in the resort, some of the plants that were everywhere, and Michael :)
We swam in the pool a lot, too
The next day we went searching for a K-Mart, and bought lots of goggles and swimming shoes. Then got some ice cream. Then, SWIMMING AGAIN!
Then we went to Christiansted to find dinner. We found this very...well, American ish sea food place. Me and Kathleen paid for dinner.
Sunset in part of Christiansted
Kathleen
The next day we did probably the best thing EVER!: SCUBA DIVE!!. I was SO EXCITED but incredibly incredibly nervous. We met our instructor JB, a guy from Arkansas, at Cane Bay Dive Shop.
Then we watched the PADI video and he went over everything with us. It was nerve wrecking, and it was also raining a LOT! We found shallow water at the beach and practiced.. It was kind of freaking, breaking underwater - having to practice putting the piece back in your mouth while under there, blowing water out of your goggles, and equalizing the pressure in your ears. We swam out to about 10-15 deep and he brought us to the bottom floor - this was probably the most nerve wrecking of all because I felt so...weird - like claustrophobic almost. I couldnt breathe through my nose and my ears were hurting. After being under for about 5 minutes I realized how wonderful it really was...
It seriously, seriously was.
Swimming underwater, without coming up for air? Probably the greatest thing ever. Seeing fish and coral, amazing. However we didnt see much because we spent so much time training. But we arranged to come back on Thursday in hopes of seeing more amazing things at greater depths...Namely, STING RAYSS!!!
We got back and I went swimming. Then we kinda just hung around the rest of the day. But we decided to go searching for some food, we thought we had found some chinese place but it was kinda nasty, so we kept driving. We stopped at this place called "Off The Wall" by Cane Bay. it was awesome!!! this beautiful little place with lights all over palm trees and the sound of the ocean in the dark, a wonderful breeze coming to and from. It was owned by a little local lady who moved from Wisconsin...and they had some pizza and sandwiches so it was all fun and good. we liked her a lot and she gave us good advice
Next morning was pretty good, slept in, got up, took one of my morning jogs around the resort.
Then laid in the bed of the gods: HAMMOCK!!
gahh i loved the hammocks there. how awesome they were!! laying with such an awesome view, the ocean, my iPod. it was really, really nice. watched Herrons and Pelicans fly around. kinda just laid and thought...i loved laying in their hammocks more than anything. I did this a lot all week
A Herron
In the afternoon we went to this, Buck Island. A national park that has a snorkeling tour - we saw some giant schools of fish, lots of coral, baracooda and BABY SQUIDD!!
Then we swam in the best water i have ever, ever swam in. It was BEAUTIFUL!! gahh!! clear as anything, fish swimming around my legs...i went out really, really far. It basically felt like the ocean was a pool. I didnt want to get out. It was the best
The next day, Thursday was pretty wonderful. We got up very early, and went to go scuba diving. I was a little nervous again, but at least we didnt need more training - we could just go right in!
this picture is very bad of all of us but honestly i want to show us scuba diving!
Our instructor was Nick, this awesome kind of young guy who had a great sense of humour. We swam out very far then went right into it! It was so amazing, everyone, honestly! We saw giant schools of fish - lots of tropical ones - eels - flounders - we found a konk shell with the little guy still in there! So amazing, so cute!! GIANTGIANT mountains of coral - i would float right above them (although i did get stung by one and i had this red mark where it stung, still) Like huge cities, they were, with fish weaving inside. We found seahorses, which was awesome. I saw a sea anaenome (sorry about the spelling LOL), a shrimp! and we swam with a sea turtle!!! Alas, no sting rays!! But oh my god, we were down there for 54 minutes! It felt so long, and it was the best. It really was.
The only problem was I had ear problems the rest of the week, lol. Anyway the rest of the day I spent on the beach, I laid in a hammock a while and wrote a postcard. Then i was like "TIME TO GET TAN!" BECAUSE GOD I AM SO PALE and so i laid in the sun for like 40-50 minutes, without..you know, sun screen. And it obviously worked because I got the worst sunburn of my life. I was a little stupid about it but hey SCREW OFF i have an awesome tan where the sunburn was now! It hurt a LOT THO GAHH LIKE even when I'd put aloe one it was just..incredibly...painful. I shudder thinking of this pain
Then we went to Christiansted for a sunset sail.
I gave andy a call while kathleen took pictures of this cutie. Then we boarded this tiny, beautiful sail boat...Drank rum punch except you know, I just drank punch honestly. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip - really wonderful...It pretty much felt like floating over waves but not getting wet. It was a quiet but lively bunch of people - a really nice captain, and this really sweet girl named Rashana who became my friend and I gave her my email.
Tracklist for this trip: I Called You Back (Bonnie Prince Billy), Fade Into You (Mazzy Star), Diamond Heart (Marissa Nadler), Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
We got back to the resort, then had dinner. I had this awesome salad that had a plantane in it!! pretty good stuff
Next day was Friday. Our last real day on vacation there. Of course the first half was a little fucked up - Michael didnt feel well, and I had the shittiest sunburn of my life so even just wearing clothes was a hassle. But we had a planned Kayak trip. Going there, I really did not want to - i didnt feel like being wet - getting the sun on me even more , i felt awful. Not to mention the fact that we had the lamest "Guide" ever...he pretty much stopped us every 2 minutes of kayaking to tell us a dumb story and quiz us on what he considered his "hard" knowledge. He was just really anal and boring as hell. Michael was having trouble kayaking. So he wanted to go back, and me and Kathleen were just like: oh fuck yes.
Our guide wanted us to stay but we were just like, ready to say anything to get the hell away from him and the "kayaking". Too bad it sucked cause i pretty good at it. We went back to the room, i pooled it some and saw JB, etc etc. We wanted to find some sort of nice dining place , fancy if you will, but the best we found was one inside of another resort on the island. So we got kinda dressed, and went there.
It was just a really nice, kinda final, end to our week. Sitting together and eating and talking.
We decided to try out the casino too. Obviously im not old enough to get into one but i went in anyway and nobody said anything. When michael and kathleen were sitting at the slot machines doing their thing i was like, Hmmm i want to try! So i shoved five bucks in - lost it. lol. asked michael for a 5 - lost that. Finally i was like FINE I'LL TRY 10!! well my $10 turned into $20! and i was pretty excited. But then suddenly the thing started making all this noise and the amount was going up - 50 - 60 - 80 - 100 - 120 - 150 etc all the way until $196!!! I was like oh hell yes!!! so i cashed out. then i put in 20 bucks and won 40 with that. So I won like $230 bucks at a casino!! I was pretty excited and happy. Michael cashed it in for me. I was so happy :)
That night i packed, and fell asleep really late. I guess i was a little nervous to leave but happy to get to go home, too. We got picked up by Doug and taken away from the place we had been very very familiar with for 6-7 days.
We had a long day going through customs and all this bullshit at the Ct Croix airport. Our flight was like 3 hours, to Miami.
However once there, that was it. We were gone away from the vacation, back in America. We waited 2 hours or so, I called Steve. Uhh.. ate a croissant? Didnt really do too much. There was lots of lightning in the sky when we left, but it was the final plane!:
I listened to my iPod the whole way. When we got there, it was great.. I love airports at night, nothing too hectic. We got our bags almost immediately, probly the best airport experience of the whole trip. We then took the group bus back to the lot, looked for the car because we forgot exactly where we parked. Got home, I called Andy, I felt pretty good to be back but I had so much to talk about.
Next morning, kinda hung around. Then we went to PF Changs for lunch which I paid for with my awesome winnings. Said goodbye and thanked Michael a bunch because he was so wonderful to us! Finally drove home, and when I got there I saw my baby kitty!! Then I saw Tara, and gave her her gift.
It was an awesome, awesome, awesome time. It was so wonderful to go with Kathleen and Michael, two people I love a lot, and just have all these experiences with them. We had fun together. I loved being an escapist for a week, hanging in a hammock, listening to my ipod, looking at the ebb tide. I feel happier in my life than I ever have, because I can look at these things and admire them more fully, because I'm less distracted, less upset. It was a good vacation.
The end!
so i drove to michaels on friday august 3rd...i, of course, was doing great - great timing - no mistakes - then i miss the LAST TURN THAT WAS ON THE LEFT! whyy god? philadelphia has the worst system of streets and highways in the entire universe. anyway after turning around on a street that said do not enter we made it! the three of us then went to Target for last minute supplies (and berry berry kix!!YEAH!) then went to eat at houlihans which i'll admit is probly one of the worst restaurants on earth - pretty nasty
we then went home - i went online, packed up more proficiently, etcetcc then laid awake for a while because i just could not sleep. woke up at 5 am, got ready...left in michaels car. went to philadelphia international. found economy parking - took one of those group buses to the WRONG TERMINAL! walked all the way back to terminal a (i think) - there was this long ass line to get to the the check in. we just did self check - was done in a minute - with no lines. it was AWESOMEEE YO! went through all lines incredibly fast. waited an hour or so - i bought an magazine and some m&ms...uhh.. went on the plane.
i sat in the middle. i was seriously nervous at first even though this was like my 5th time on a plane. i guess i just hate taking off the first time - after that im used to it. we watched simpsons on the plane for like 2 and a half hours. but the thing is - the flight kinda blew. stewardess was a bitch, air wasnt on, we watched WILD HOGS. yeah, shitty flight.
then we landed in SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO:
we got off the plane. we were only there for like 40 minutes. i bought a postcard. uhh, then we got on the plane!!: "Looks like it'll be a smooth flight - We should be there in thirty minutes." Minute later: "Well, ladies and gentleman, looks like we will be landing. Turns out it wasnt as long as I anticipated" LOL
so we landed in St Thomas, and this is where the day turns kind of sour. First Michael thought we had to get our bags all over again, so we stood at the claim carousel for an hour waiting for our bags. We were horrified because we thought they lost them. We went to Cape Aire, and they told us that they were being transferred to our flight. So, relief, hooray. Then, the waitingg!! Like two hours - it felt like an eon passed by. KAthleen wasnt feeling well either...it was all kind of miserable. But then finally we boarded this:
HOW AWESOME IS THIS THING?!?! they even had to weigh everything so it wasnt too heavy/over burdened!! they told me my bag wwould be coming on the following flight, because of that, so i was like "ok." i mean i was worried, but i trusted them
anyway it was honestly the most beautiful plane ever.
i listened to cursed love by bonnie prince billy, bridges and balloons by joanna newsom, and fluffy tufts by the cocteau twins, while we kinda just floating very close to the clouds and the ocean. it was so awesome. the propellors were right there, very loud
heres kathleen, who got to sit next to the pilot!! she was right there!! it was so beautiful, it really was. i thought it was so cool. we even got to see the runway as we landed
anyway we landed. we met our taxi driver Doug, a native. i was so pumped to finally have my bag, when the following flight landed. we waited forever - nothing. we were told to go to the other carousel - as i was walking i got what would be my last text - from andy specifically - for a while. as i walked in - no bag!! we went to some people, they told us it would be on the NEXT FLIGHT coming in at 8! we had to go because we couldnt make doug wait. and i was just so pissed.
the rest of the night was bloody annoying - shitty service a restaurant in the hotel. no bag. and we realized we couldnt get cell phone reception so i had no service. i wasnt too bugged by that, but still i realized it would eventually bug me seeing as id be here for a week
but the first ride to the resort - Carambola - was amazing. our first glimpse of everything we'd familiarize ourselves with in a week. giant mountains covered in fluffy green trees - low laying clouds that left shadows on the mountain sides - mahogany trees that curved like a giant tunnel - very steep roads - aqua blue water that turned a darker blue in the horizon - mongooses and geckos, and, of course, the fact that we were driving on the LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD.
view from the car coming around the mountain. the resort is kinda down there. the resort itself was very very pretty, kind of a sanctuary in a mountain side, with its own beach.
random room picture. very beautiful room - i loved the big bathroom - the shower - we had this cool kinda bungalow deal in one corner. very beautiful
Main core of the resort, lobby, shop, restaurant, etc
the next morning i woke up feeling nervous - i was scared i'd have to file a claim on mine and kathleens bag and we lost our stuff. but then michael triumphantly came back with my bag and keys for a rental car! pretty sweet moment. then we went for breakfast but i wanted some pancakes like CRAZY.and they were awesome pancakes. we also met Dan, the guy who worked at the dive shop - really awesome guy who we talked to constantly. really really friendly
the beach of the resort.
Me and Michael. CLAIMER im wearing this hat because my hair was wet and i didnt have time to dry it! not because i wear winter clothes to the beach
Following breakfast we decided to venture out and find a supermarket so we could cook during the week. This included finally driving on the left side of the road. Well Michael got used to it after a while but to be honest it felt awkward for all three of us - lol - especially because the roads were so poorly designed - very narrow and sudden bends. but michael mastered it pretty much by the end. also my iTrip worked perfectly on the island so we listened to mine and kathleens ipods on the radio a lot :)
we found a little supermarket called Pueblo. we bought some stuff like fruit and salad stuff and chicken and cheese and spaghetti
We bought the groceries then went on an adventure to go around St Croix which isnt big to begin with. We wanted to go to the main city Christiansted. this is the first time we'd take a road that we ended up taking fifty million bajillion times.
we eventually found christiansted - i love this city. its very very tiny and had an european feel to it
I loved the buildings, the streets, i loved the shops and the heat. it was beautiful
Later that day we went to the beach for the first time. What amazing water! It was warm at the first touch and incredibly clear. The sad part was there were tons of rocks in the water, so it was hard on the feet.
However, the view itself was so incredible. Everything was bright and soft
A nice view of a path in the resort, some of the plants that were everywhere, and Michael :)
We swam in the pool a lot, too
The next day we went searching for a K-Mart, and bought lots of goggles and swimming shoes. Then got some ice cream. Then, SWIMMING AGAIN!
Then we went to Christiansted to find dinner. We found this very...well, American ish sea food place. Me and Kathleen paid for dinner.
Sunset in part of Christiansted
Kathleen
The next day we did probably the best thing EVER!: SCUBA DIVE!!. I was SO EXCITED but incredibly incredibly nervous. We met our instructor JB, a guy from Arkansas, at Cane Bay Dive Shop.
Then we watched the PADI video and he went over everything with us. It was nerve wrecking, and it was also raining a LOT! We found shallow water at the beach and practiced.. It was kind of freaking, breaking underwater - having to practice putting the piece back in your mouth while under there, blowing water out of your goggles, and equalizing the pressure in your ears. We swam out to about 10-15 deep and he brought us to the bottom floor - this was probably the most nerve wrecking of all because I felt so...weird - like claustrophobic almost. I couldnt breathe through my nose and my ears were hurting. After being under for about 5 minutes I realized how wonderful it really was...
It seriously, seriously was.
Swimming underwater, without coming up for air? Probably the greatest thing ever. Seeing fish and coral, amazing. However we didnt see much because we spent so much time training. But we arranged to come back on Thursday in hopes of seeing more amazing things at greater depths...Namely, STING RAYSS!!!
We got back and I went swimming. Then we kinda just hung around the rest of the day. But we decided to go searching for some food, we thought we had found some chinese place but it was kinda nasty, so we kept driving. We stopped at this place called "Off The Wall" by Cane Bay. it was awesome!!! this beautiful little place with lights all over palm trees and the sound of the ocean in the dark, a wonderful breeze coming to and from. It was owned by a little local lady who moved from Wisconsin...and they had some pizza and sandwiches so it was all fun and good. we liked her a lot and she gave us good advice
Next morning was pretty good, slept in, got up, took one of my morning jogs around the resort.
Then laid in the bed of the gods: HAMMOCK!!
gahh i loved the hammocks there. how awesome they were!! laying with such an awesome view, the ocean, my iPod. it was really, really nice. watched Herrons and Pelicans fly around. kinda just laid and thought...i loved laying in their hammocks more than anything. I did this a lot all week
A Herron
In the afternoon we went to this, Buck Island. A national park that has a snorkeling tour - we saw some giant schools of fish, lots of coral, baracooda and BABY SQUIDD!!
Then we swam in the best water i have ever, ever swam in. It was BEAUTIFUL!! gahh!! clear as anything, fish swimming around my legs...i went out really, really far. It basically felt like the ocean was a pool. I didnt want to get out. It was the best
The next day, Thursday was pretty wonderful. We got up very early, and went to go scuba diving. I was a little nervous again, but at least we didnt need more training - we could just go right in!
this picture is very bad of all of us but honestly i want to show us scuba diving!
Our instructor was Nick, this awesome kind of young guy who had a great sense of humour. We swam out very far then went right into it! It was so amazing, everyone, honestly! We saw giant schools of fish - lots of tropical ones - eels - flounders - we found a konk shell with the little guy still in there! So amazing, so cute!! GIANTGIANT mountains of coral - i would float right above them (although i did get stung by one and i had this red mark where it stung, still) Like huge cities, they were, with fish weaving inside. We found seahorses, which was awesome. I saw a sea anaenome (sorry about the spelling LOL), a shrimp! and we swam with a sea turtle!!! Alas, no sting rays!! But oh my god, we were down there for 54 minutes! It felt so long, and it was the best. It really was.
The only problem was I had ear problems the rest of the week, lol. Anyway the rest of the day I spent on the beach, I laid in a hammock a while and wrote a postcard. Then i was like "TIME TO GET TAN!" BECAUSE GOD I AM SO PALE and so i laid in the sun for like 40-50 minutes, without..you know, sun screen. And it obviously worked because I got the worst sunburn of my life. I was a little stupid about it but hey SCREW OFF i have an awesome tan where the sunburn was now! It hurt a LOT THO GAHH LIKE even when I'd put aloe one it was just..incredibly...painful. I shudder thinking of this pain
Then we went to Christiansted for a sunset sail.
I gave andy a call while kathleen took pictures of this cutie. Then we boarded this tiny, beautiful sail boat...Drank rum punch except you know, I just drank punch honestly. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip - really wonderful...It pretty much felt like floating over waves but not getting wet. It was a quiet but lively bunch of people - a really nice captain, and this really sweet girl named Rashana who became my friend and I gave her my email.
Tracklist for this trip: I Called You Back (Bonnie Prince Billy), Fade Into You (Mazzy Star), Diamond Heart (Marissa Nadler), Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
We got back to the resort, then had dinner. I had this awesome salad that had a plantane in it!! pretty good stuff
Next day was Friday. Our last real day on vacation there. Of course the first half was a little fucked up - Michael didnt feel well, and I had the shittiest sunburn of my life so even just wearing clothes was a hassle. But we had a planned Kayak trip. Going there, I really did not want to - i didnt feel like being wet - getting the sun on me even more , i felt awful. Not to mention the fact that we had the lamest "Guide" ever...he pretty much stopped us every 2 minutes of kayaking to tell us a dumb story and quiz us on what he considered his "hard" knowledge. He was just really anal and boring as hell. Michael was having trouble kayaking. So he wanted to go back, and me and Kathleen were just like: oh fuck yes.
Our guide wanted us to stay but we were just like, ready to say anything to get the hell away from him and the "kayaking". Too bad it sucked cause i pretty good at it. We went back to the room, i pooled it some and saw JB, etc etc. We wanted to find some sort of nice dining place , fancy if you will, but the best we found was one inside of another resort on the island. So we got kinda dressed, and went there.
It was just a really nice, kinda final, end to our week. Sitting together and eating and talking.
We decided to try out the casino too. Obviously im not old enough to get into one but i went in anyway and nobody said anything. When michael and kathleen were sitting at the slot machines doing their thing i was like, Hmmm i want to try! So i shoved five bucks in - lost it. lol. asked michael for a 5 - lost that. Finally i was like FINE I'LL TRY 10!! well my $10 turned into $20! and i was pretty excited. But then suddenly the thing started making all this noise and the amount was going up - 50 - 60 - 80 - 100 - 120 - 150 etc all the way until $196!!! I was like oh hell yes!!! so i cashed out. then i put in 20 bucks and won 40 with that. So I won like $230 bucks at a casino!! I was pretty excited and happy. Michael cashed it in for me. I was so happy :)
That night i packed, and fell asleep really late. I guess i was a little nervous to leave but happy to get to go home, too. We got picked up by Doug and taken away from the place we had been very very familiar with for 6-7 days.
We had a long day going through customs and all this bullshit at the Ct Croix airport. Our flight was like 3 hours, to Miami.
However once there, that was it. We were gone away from the vacation, back in America. We waited 2 hours or so, I called Steve. Uhh.. ate a croissant? Didnt really do too much. There was lots of lightning in the sky when we left, but it was the final plane!:
I listened to my iPod the whole way. When we got there, it was great.. I love airports at night, nothing too hectic. We got our bags almost immediately, probly the best airport experience of the whole trip. We then took the group bus back to the lot, looked for the car because we forgot exactly where we parked. Got home, I called Andy, I felt pretty good to be back but I had so much to talk about.
Next morning, kinda hung around. Then we went to PF Changs for lunch which I paid for with my awesome winnings. Said goodbye and thanked Michael a bunch because he was so wonderful to us! Finally drove home, and when I got there I saw my baby kitty!! Then I saw Tara, and gave her her gift.
It was an awesome, awesome, awesome time. It was so wonderful to go with Kathleen and Michael, two people I love a lot, and just have all these experiences with them. We had fun together. I loved being an escapist for a week, hanging in a hammock, listening to my ipod, looking at the ebb tide. I feel happier in my life than I ever have, because I can look at these things and admire them more fully, because I'm less distracted, less upset. It was a good vacation.
The end!