Category Archives: Tourism

Descriptions of the places we’ve been.

Ze Plane! Ze Plane!

December 27, 2013Tourismprincess julianna airport, Sint Maarten, St. Martin, sxm airportDiana

One of the biggest attractions on St Martin is the airport. We had seen an episode on the travel channel about crazy airports and this one had ranked in the top 10! So, in our first few days on St Martin we caught a bus over to the airport check it out.

It did not disappoint! The planes come in over this tiny beach and come down just after having reached land. There is a small fence between the road and the airport and people stand there waiting to be blown by the jet blast. I wish we could say that we were too smart to try it but curiosity got the better of us!

There are two bars where you can sit, enjoy a cold beverage and watch the double show of the big planes coming in and the people standing at the fence getting blown around. It made for an enjoyable afternoon!

Ryan watches as one of the smaller planes comes in.

Here she comes! Did I mention how low they get?

Seems pretty clear to me….

But we laugh at danger!

One of the big ones coming in.

Getting closer!

It looks like you could reach up and touch it!

People feeling the blast! Guess they’re not any smarter than we are!

Enjoying the show

A fun couple from Canada we enjoyed our afternoon with.

Hello St Martin!

December 26, 2013TourismFt Louis, Marigot, Sint Maarten, St. MartinDiana

After our restful and relaxing time in Anguilla we headed over to St Martin / Sint Maarten. The French and Dutch share the island which is kinda cool but also somewhat frustrating when on a boat. It meant that if we were going to go to anchorages on both sides we’d have to check in and out of customs and deal with clearing Stanley through two countries! So, we decided that we would go into the French side and then just taxi and use buses to get around the island.

Our first stop after a nice ride over was Marigot Bay. We found a great spot to drop the hook that was convenient to town and dinghy distance from the lagoon which is in the middle of the island.

Downtown Marigot with Ft Louis above.

Marigot as a town was okay, it had some fun shopping and a few restaurants but seemed to shut down every day after the cruise ship folks left back to their boat. It did have Ft Louis above it which gave excellent views of the harbor and the island.

View of Marigot Bay from the Fort.

View out over town.

For Christmas we moved into the Marina Ft Louis and treated ourselves to some calm and air conditioning! We got the boat decorated and it even started to feel a little bit festive! We kept up the tradition of gorging ourselves Christmas morning having a huge breakfast with cinnamon rolls as dessert! We had even been able to do some shopping and had a few presents for each other.

Getting in the Christmas spirit!

For Christmas dinner we went out with our friends from Te Mana who had Kirk’s parents visiting as well. It was a delicious dinner with great company and all in all we enjoyed our Christmas.

A lovely sunset on Christmas.

Heather and Kirk from Te Mana.

Enjoying our dinner.

Anguilla – The friendliest island in the Caribbean!

December 19, 2013TourismAnguilla, CusinArt, Meads Bay, Road Bay, Sandy Ground, Shoal Bay, ViceroyDiana

After we left the BVI we had a 15 hour overnight voyage against the wind and currents to Anguilla. I had actually believed that once we got down here from Virginia all the hard sailing was over! At least our friends on Te Mana were out there with us and we were able to break up some of the monotony by chatting with them over VHF on the way. So, after getting beat up all night we arrived in Anguilla (pronounced Ang- gwilla) at 8am relieved and excited to be somewhere new!

Te Mana at anchor in Road Bay, Anguilla.

Our first view of Anguilla. It is pretty flat with lots of beaches.

We relaxed our first day there and got in some sleep after being up most of the night, but the next day we wanted to explore! We rented a car with Te Mana (Kirk, Heather and Russell) and set out on our journey. Our first stop was unfortunately the clinic where Kirk was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot! Luckily the health care was first rate on Anguilla and he got a foot brace, some crutches and medications and we were sent on our way!

The island is small enough that we probably drove on every single road as we traveled around. Our first stop was lunch at Shoal Bay which was billed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It was quite nice and we enjoyed our lunch and a swim in the sea. Ryan drove us around and they drive on the wrong side of the road there! Luckily there was only one near miss!

Ryan at the wheel.

Russell and Heather. Russell enjoying his coconut while we’re waiting for our lunch.

Kirk and Russell

The water here is gorgeous!

Russell is part fish and part monkey!

View of the gorgeous beach.

We agreed that this beach is prettier than the one in Anegada BVI which was previously our favorite.

Does anyone else think Ryan needs a haircut?

Kirk broke his foot but was able to make it around on crutches!

We next went and visited one of the fancy resorts on the island, the CuisinArt, which was quite nice (but as we realized later in the week a total dump compared to the Viceroy). 🙂

Right down the beach from the CuisinArt is Dune’s Preserve the home of the famous Anguillan musician Bankie Banx who according to one article we read about him is as famous for spreading his seed as his music! We were lucky that Bankie was in attendance and got our picture with him!

At the CuisinArt

View of the long pool.

Looking toward St Martin

Villas at the CuisinArt.

Dune Preserve which has a tree house vibe.

The famous Bankie Banx. He was not performing while we were there but serving up drinks (and having a few himself). 😉

Outside of the Dune Preserve.

We finished off our day exploring with an attempt to catch the sunset (fail) and a mexican dinner (win). What a nice day on a pretty sweet island.

Couldn’t quite get the sunset.

Russell showing off his acrobatics….if he wanted he could have a career in the circus!

The next day Te Mana left to head to St Martin, but not before we got this awesome photo of their boat beneath a rainbow!

Now just Ryan and I we needed to rent a car again to take Stanley to the vet to get his health certificate. All countries require a health certificate to let the dog in although I don’t understand why anyone would be traveling with a sick rabid dog…

Anyway, taking advantage of the car we drove around the island some more to see some of the places we missed the first time. We had an awesome lunch in Meads Bay. I had super fresh fish that was amazing and Ryan had a cuban sandwich that he sucked down in record time. 🙂 After that we visited the Viceroy resort which was pretty posh, but it better be for $800 a night!!! We ended up finishing our day listening to music at the Pumphouse, a local restaurant that had a fun mix of locals and tourists. Everyone we met as we went around the island were extremely friendly and nice. It really is the island of happy people.

Straw Hat restaurant in Meads Bay.

Beach at Meads Bay

Ryan slightly exasperated at having yet another picture taken.

First views of the Viceroy.

Viceroy villas.

Viceroy bar.

Lastly, here are some photos of our boat at anchor in Road Bay Anguilla. And some of the sights in Road Bay. This is a place that we would love to go back to.

Peace and Love and deserted islands and bubbles – Jost Van Dyke

December 6, 2013TourismBubbly Pool, BVI, Jost Van Dyke, Sandy Cay, Sydney's Peace and LoveDiana

Considering that we’ve chartered in the BVI twice before and at this point been there almost a month it’s hard to believe there are places we haven’t been. But there are and we found them! We spent our first ever night in Little Harbor on Jost. This was a great place and we were able to dinghy from there over to Sandy Cay (what our friend Greg calls the best example of a deserted tropical island) and then over to the other side of Jost for a hike to Bubbly Pond. Plus we got to see what we’ve been missing all this time at Sydney’s Peace and Love. Our friend Jack is always going on and on about their painkillers! 😛 Well none of it disappointed and it was fun to see something new in a place we feel like we know so well.

The famous Sydney’s Peace & Love

The view from Little Harbor

Sandy Cay has a beautiful beach, some palm trees, a small hill and lots and lots of hermit crabs!! We set off to walk around unwisely leaving our shoes in the dinghy. It was okay at first when the trail was sand but then it turned to rock, and then to mud! And all I could picture was squishing a poor hermit crab with my bare feet! Luckily that didn’t happen and the view from the top was worth a little discomfort.

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After our Sandy Cay adventure we headed back over to Jost to check out the bubbly pond. This was a fun walk and it took us about 15 minutes to get there. It’s called the bubbly pond because the waves come crashing through this small area and make it all foamy in the small pond. Pretty nice and a good way to cool off after that walk!

The Baths

December 4, 2013TourismBVI, The Baths, Virgin GordaDiana

The Baths are probably the most famous spot in the BVI. On the quarter mile hike you scramble up and over boulders and wade through water and are rewarded at the end with Devil’s Bay. It’s very nice, just don’t go when the cruise ships are in!

You have to swim in from your boat. It’s quite the trek!

This may just be the most photographed spot in the Baths!

Caribbean Thanksgiving

November 28, 2013TourismBVI, Gorda Sound, Leverick BayDiana

Being away from family at the holidays is hard. Luckily we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with friends. We got our turkey dinner at Leverick Bay in an open air upstairs patio overlooking Gorda Sound. It sounds nice but it was no match for my mother’s turkey and stuffing! At least the company was good!

Ryana, Starburst, Andromeda, Te Mana and Tara

Virgin Gorda BVI

November 19, 2013TourismBitter End, BVI, Virgin GordaDiana

After the last of our crew left we headed over to Virgin Gorda for some R&R. It was fun to visit the Bitter End where we got married 2.5 years ago. It still looks the same! When we got over there we saw that a bunch of boats from the Salty Dog Rally that also went from Virginia to the BVI were still arriving. It was nice to meet some of them and catch up with Kalunamoo who we had met in Annapolis.

The Bitter End.

View of Virgin Gorda

Ryana in Virgin Gorda

Over several days in Virgin Gorda our major accomplishments were kayaking around Gorda Sound and snorkeling reef. We were still recovering from the passage so it was nice to take it easy.

There’s a big reef at the entrance to Gorda Sound. We took our dingy over and snorkeled around for awhile.

Ryan holding a starfish (and I think there’s one on his head too!). 🙂

Out of the water but still a little soggy.

BVI Tour with our awesome crew

November 18, 2013TourismBVI, Cane Garden Bay, Jost Van Dyke, Soggy Dollar, TortolaDiana

Once we made it down to the BVI it was time to relax, drink a few painkillers and snorkel. Well, that was after cleaning, waxing, fixing and reorganizing the boat of course! Since we left a day early on the rally we had a week in the BVI before our crew were going to fly home. That meant a little exploring was in order.

First though we arrived in Nanny Cay Marina on Tortola which is actually quite nice. This is where they held the final happy hours for the Carib1500 rally and the awards ceremony party. We spent a few days just hanging in the marina and enjoying being on land! We enjoyed rehashing the trip with our fellow rally folks and sharing our stories of rough weather and faulty equipment. The final party was fun too and we all dressed up in our matching shirts!

Docked at Nanny Cay marina.

Dressed up for the party in our matching shirts. I think it took 4 tries to get this picture! (ahem…graham!)

Ryan was trying to win a mustache contest (he came in 2nd) which is why he looks so ridiculous!

Father and son

When we got out of the marina (finally!) it was time for some snorkeling. We headed to the Indians and got in the water and splashed around.

The Indians

Ryan snorkeling

Fish

Graham relaxing on the sail over to Cooper Island.

After that we went to Cooper Island to relax for the night. We met up with Te Mana there and had happy hour aboard our boat and dinner on theirs. Our resident bartender Greg went the extra mile by printing a list of drinks our boat offered and serving them up with a smile. 🙂 Then we had a great dinner on Te Mana with great company!

Kirk serving up dinner.

Russell reading from their drinks menu.

Pierre and Heather enjoying dinner.

Graham, Tony and Greg relaxing with their drinks.

Next up on our BVI tour was Jost Van Dyke. We moored the boat in White Harbor, had drinks at the Soggy Dollar and dinner at Foxy’s. Ahh….this is the life. Plus Stanley got to chase balls on the beach and ride on the paddle board!

At the Soggy Dollar

Graham finding the tag he previously left at Foxy's. He only had to look about 5 minutes...what a good memory.

Graham finding the tag he previously left at Foxy’s from “The Virgin Excursion”.

Stanley chasing after a ball.

Tony keeping an eye on Stanley (or is it the other way around!)

Stanley on the paddle board.

Stanley gets concerned when we’re in the water! It’s okay buddy!

After Jost we headed back to Tortola. This time we stopped at Cane Garden Bay. We headed in for lunch, toured the rum distillery and generally just hung out and relaxed. We made a dinner on the boat and in the morning sadly bid farewell to Graham as he left to catch his flight.

Enjoying lunch.

Graham learning about how they make rum.

Greg holding his new rum “the panty dropper”….

Stanley dressed up for Graham’s last night.

Bye Bye Graham. 🙁

Lastly, we headed over to Trellis Bay to bid farewell to Greg and Tony.

Greg testing his PFD.

At Marina Key looking at Scrub Island.

Prosciutto wrapped melon (made in Graham’s honor) spiced up with some mustaches!

It was sad to see everyone leave after a great passage and a fun time in the BVI. You guys are welcome to come back anytime!!!

Visit with my Mom, Kay, Steven & Rosemary – D.C. & Annapolis

October 29, 2013TourismAnnapolis, D.C., William Paca HouseDiana

This is the final post from my family’s visit to the East Coast in early October. I had a great time seeing everyone and hope they’ll all come visit again!

We decided to spend one day in D.C. even though everything was shut down. We figured we could at least see the monuments and walk around. All the monuments had caution tape put up around them but we were happy to see that no one paid any attention to that and just went right in anyway. We were able to do the walking tour of D.C. monuments starting with the White House and then going down to the Lincoln Memorial. We were even able to see the new MLK monument which I hadn’t seen before.

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All of us in the Oval Office! 😉

After a nice walk around we got hungry so headed to Old Ebbit’s Bar & Grill. Ryan and I had frequented this place when we were in D.C. and my Mom had been before when she was in D.C. with her friend Gina. Lunch was delicious and then we went to Steven & Rosemary’s friend Ben’s apartment to check out the view from his roof. Ben’s got a pretty sweet place and the view is awesome.

The next day Steven and Rosemary came to Annapolis to see our boat and walk around town. We had a lunch where Steven got a pretty epic fish sandwich and then we walked up Main St and visited the William Paca house and gardens.

What a great way to end their visit. Steven and Rosemary went back to their friend’s place in D.C. and the next day I took my Mom and Kay to the airport. It was sad to see them all go but we had an amazing time and I’ll be looking forward to the next visit.

Visit with my Mom and Kay (and now Steven & Rosemary) – Mt Vernon

October 29, 2013TourismGeorge Washington, Mt VernonDiana

My Mom (Sally) and her friend from the library Kay came out to visit in early October. Halfway through their trip my brother Steven and his wife Rosemary came out to stay with a friend in D.C. so we were able to spend time with them too!

It was a rainy wet day at Mt Vernon, but we didn’t let that stop us. We decided to not only do the house tour but one of the behind the scenes tours as well. My Mom was the only one who had an umbrella, but strong winds kept that from being very useful! The rest of us got a little soggy, but were able to dry out during lunch were we tried peanut soup (verdict….meh!) and had some hot tea and chicken pot pie.

Mt Vernon

The useless umbrella!

A little soggy…

Back of Mt Vernon

Onsite at Mt Vernon they have George and Martha Washington’s grave that you are able to visit as well and several outbuildings that recreate life at Mt Vernon. They also have a really great museum that we spent over an hour going through. It had all kinds of interactive exhibits and movies to watch. It also had George Washington’s dentures!

Steven and Rosemary in front of GW’s grave.

An old carriage.

My Mom taking the oath of office! Is this binding?? 🙂

We all had a great time and planned to meet up in D.C. the next day!

The Voyage of Ryana

Ryan, Diana and Stanley explore the world Western Atlantic by boat