My brother Smed and Shanda tied the knot a couple weeks ago in St. Croix, and we went along to celebrate with them. Unfortunately, our whole family couldn't make it, so me, Mark, my parents and cousins John and Julie went to represent them (represent!).
It was a blast. Shanda's awesome, and we're all thrilled she said yes to Smed (trust me, we held our breath the whole time, exhaling only when she finally said, "I do"). Her family's also great, so instead of losing a son/brother, we doubled our family!
The wedding was wonderful. It was short and sweet. My brother is all stupid-goofy in love, and happy, happier than I've ever seen him, and it is truly awesome to see.
 |
| Happy family! |
I'd never been to St. Croix before, and I didn't have very high expectations. When I Googled "what to do in St. Croix," the only results that returned were snorkeling at Buck Island and beer-drinking pigs. (I don't even want to admit how excited the beer-drinking pig made me!)
I figured St. Croix would be beautiful, but I was more anxious it would be very hot. (I don't like hot.) I figured I'd suck it up for Smed and Shanda, and run off to the air conditioning as soon as the ceremony ended if need be.
But St. Croix surprised me. Our resort was right on the bay, which provided constant tradewinds to cool us down. As long as the winds were blowing, it was nice. As soon as the winds stopped, we moved into the pool, and life was good again.
The resort was all-inclusive, which meant all the food and drinks were included. (Or, as Mark observed, they were "free." So much to learn, that one.) I'd never been to an all-inclusive resort, but I kinda liked it--I never had to decide where to eat, or when.
Mark LOVED it. Every time I turned around, he was at the bar, ordering virgin pina coladas or dirty bananas (a pseudo-banana smoothie with chocolate sauce). I did panic once when he gave my 6-year-old nephew a drink, then proudly (and loudly) exclaimed, "Hey, Johnny likes pina coladas now!" I hurriedly explained to every one in ear shot that the drinks contained no alcohol.
I was also worried about the people of St. Croix, because my favorite thing about traveling is meeting new people, and learning about their countries. I've been to the Caribbean before, and the people I met were cranky, bitter, and not at all interested in conversation. I'm happy to say that was not the case with the younger Cruzans we met. They were happy, joyful, and welcoming. The older people who worked at the resort were not as openly friendly, and not much inclined to work on their people skills. When we placed our orders, we were never sure what we'd get--if we were lucky, we'd get half the food, and a few extra plates of stuff we didn't order.
One day, we asked for shrimp wraps, two orders of mozzarella sticks and a hot dog. We got the wraps, one plate of mozzarella sticks two orders of coconut shrimp (???), and no hot dog.
Mark and Johnny shared the plate of mozzarella sticks. Mark never did get his hot dog, or the second plate of mozzarella, but he filled up on the shrimp, so it was all good.
"Guess they forgot my other food," he said, as he ran off to the pool.
Suddenly, I heard laughter at the table next to us. I looked over to see the waiter dropping off a plate of mozzarella sticks, and the giant two-foot long hot dog. Maybe it was a coincidence that they ordered the same food we were missing, but I doubt it. Luckily, those kinds of things don't bother us--as long as the kids were fed, who cares.
But overall, the food was pretty good. Our favorite was Rok Star night, when they deliver your (raw) dinner on a 750 degree stone. I kind of gagged when I saw my raw shrimp and scallops (I'm not a sushi fan), but within minutes, the food was completely cooked through (I actually over-cooked it the first time, but it came out perfect the second time I ordered it). It was so cool!
Mark ordered the steak, which arrived equally raw. (It was dark, so I didn't notice until I looked at this photo later.) He loved it, too.
The resort had lots of fun activities, including paddle boards, sailboats and kayaks. Smed took Shanda and the boys out kayaking one day. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, until he realized A) he and Mark were the sole paddlers and B) OMG, is that a giant squall coming toward us in that humongous black cloud?
I tried taking my mom for a walk while all this was occurring, but she was too busy panicking about her grandchildren out at sea. So instead of walking, she stood under the deck having mini-heart attacks and fretting about how (or if) they'd get back to shore.
Apparently, Mark had the same concerns.
Most of the group stayed at the resort the whole time, but some of us wanted to see the island. We took the shuttle into town, a 20-minute ride with gorgeous views of the bays and wild iguanas. We arrived in Christiansted, the island's biggest town, to find it was approximately five streets down and five streets over, and filled with unopened stores. I began to fully grasp the concept of island time when I saw this sign:
For the record, we passed this place on three different days, all after 11 a.m., and never saw it open.
My cousin John, Mark, and I went in to town one day for a snorkeling trip out to Buck Island. I am not a huge fan of boats or the open ocean, but Google insisted this is the best thing to do in St. Croix, hands down, so I sucked it up and went. I'm super glad I did. (One reason I was nervous about getting in the water? This guy, who Smed found during a walk on the beach.)
This was our boat--a wimpy little Catamaran. I immediately broke into a nervous sweat when I saw it.
"Is now a bad time to tell you boats make me anxious?" I asked John, as we sailed out of the harbor. I tried to play it off with a casual laugh, but I don't think he bought it.
The water was amazing--a turquoise blue you only see in paint tubes, not in real life.
This was Buck Island:
This was the friendly local who greeted us upon arrival. He scared the crud out of the little boy who spent the whole boat ride over telling us how afraid he is of sharks. His sister ignored him, finally admitting the only thing that scared her were barracuda. She did not think it was awesome when he pointed and screamed, "Look, a giant barracuda!"
The snorkeling was unbelievable--we saw all sorts of tropical fish, including blue tangs, parrot fish, wrasses, and even an eagle spotted ray. (I didn't see that guy--I was too busy telling myself to stop freaking out and snorkel.) We snorkeled through the underwater national park, through coral reefs and fish. It was amazing.
People who had an equally amazing time? My dad, who never actually left the resort until we went home. He found a nice, comfy spot and enjoyed himself.
We had a blast--snorkeling, swimming, eating, relaxing. I didn't think I could do nothing for a whole week, but turns out, I'm pretty good at it. The activities were awesome, but the best thing about the whole trip (besides the wedding) was the company. I had such a great time hanging with my parents, my kid, my cousins, my brother and new sister-in-law, and all of Shanda's family. It was great for my parents, too, who got to spend lots of time with their grandsons.
I'll always remember those blue, blue waters, and the pelicans dive-bombing the ocean in front of us. But I'll remember the little moments, too--my son wrestling with his cousin while I laughed and laughed at those silly boys.
Because truly, the one thing that traveling's taught me is it really isn't about the destination, it's about the people on the journey with you. And I can't think of a better group to have spent my summer vacation with...
No comments:
Post a Comment