We're back!

We just got back from vacation yesterday. We had such a great time, I can't even begin to tell you. I'll try to post a few of my favorite pictures here and then I'll give a link to the whole album. We took a bunch of pictures, mostly of the beautiful scenery.

First of all, we had Danny and Vicki's wedding on May 23rd. It turned out to be really exciting as the tornado sirens went off. Luckily, they were having their reception in the basement of the church, so we were all safe and the party could continue. The wedding was really beautiful and Ben and I are excited to have a new sister-in-law!

We flew out on Sunday, May 25 to Puerto Rico. The ship we took was huge compared to the other one we have been on. There were two pools, a rock climbing wall, a basketball court, a miniature golf course, an ice skating rink, a casino, a theater, and lots of other fun things to do.

Our first port was Barbados. Ben and I took a local bus to a beach to snorkel. The bus ride turned out to be quite an adventure. We were the only non-native people on it and they really drive crazy there. We were flying around bikers and walkers and the roads were so narrow. Ben and I were holding on for dear life. Plus, we didn't know for sure where our stop was. It's a good thing that the people were so nice and told us when to get off, otherwise Ben and I would probably still be in Barbados right now riding that dang bus! Anyway once we got there, the beach was almost empty and really beautiful. It felt like we had the whole thing to ourselves; it was wonderful!

The next stop was St. Lucia. This was probably the most scenic and beautiful country we visited. There was so much to see. We took a tour that showed us local banana plantations, a volcano, a waterfall, and we got to snorkel in between the Pittons, which are two large mountain peaks. The roads were so windy, curvy, and hilly; several of us on the trip got a little car sick. It was definitely worth it, though.

Then, we were on to Antigua. Ben and I took an excursion on a boat all day that day. We saw tons of beautiful beaches and little islands that make up Antigua. We snorkeled in a couple of different spots too. On to St. Maarten/St. Martin. This country is half Dutch and half French, so it was really interesting to see both sides of the island and experience some of the culture. We visited a couple of beaches there...where evidently clothing is optional. That was pretty interesting, to say the least. One of the beaches is right across the street from the airport, so the planes land right over your head, which was really fun to watch. Our last stop was St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. We loved it there! In the morning, we did a little shopping and then went to a local butterfly farm. Then in the afternoon, we took a ferry over to St. John. On the way we saw several celebrity houses. In St. John we visited Trunk Bay. It's an underwater national park and is just amazing! There was lots of coral and fish to see. We even got to see an octopus! We really enjoyed the whole cruise! It was just so much fun. I've never seen such beautiful places and, of course, the food was just wonderful. If you would like to see more pictures, here is the link to our photo album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lschrant/Cruise2008?authkey=O_Ah00bOT_M