today...

i am thankful for everything GOD has provided for us.

HAPPY  THANKSGIVING!

gobble, gobble.

st. kitts day 6.

all the rich food we had been eating called  for a little cardio,
or in our case a hike through the rain forest up to a waterfall.

we hired mr. rogers to get us there and give us the grand tour.

he was an awesome hiker, and fed us fresh coconut and homemade bread after we were done.
i had no idea fresh coconut tasted so different from what we get at the store...way better!
this was our ride.

and this is how windy it was getting there.

he drove us part way up and we hiked the rest.
wild monkey's would dart across the road in front of us...they were way to fast to catch them in a photo.
these guys were eager to pose though.

did you know bananas grow upside down?  you probably did...i didn't.
i guess i never really thought about it before.

 walking through the giant hanging vines was really cool.

...and if your gonna try and swing on them like tarzan, you should always test them first.

we finally made it to the beautiful waterfall...

 who are these people?

tonya and i got in and waded around, the boys didn't wanna get wet...wussies!
we hiked our way down and headed back for the day.

 we stopped for one last photo.

after we recovered from our hike, we headed down the beach to eat at the shiggidy shack.

we watched the sunset while we were eating...so pretty.
i just love the beach restaurants...so laid back.

sean and i both saw strange green lights fly across the ocean when it was getting dark.
totally weird!
we found out after, that they even mention that on their t-shirts...so at least we know we're not crazy!

another cute pic.

well, only a couple more st. kitts post left...in case you were wondering, anonymous.
later.

st. kitts day 5.

so if your gonna travel to a luxurious island, then it wouldn't be right if you didn't pamper yourself a little.
right?

before i go any further, i have to say how in love i am with the planters just outside the spa.

 aren't they just the coolest?  i totally want them...maybe i can recreate them on a smaller scale.

ok, back to the spa...
tonya and i both got  facials that lasted 80 minutes.
80 minutes of pure relaxing, heavenly bliss.
you totally hate me right now, don't you?

the spa was super relaxing and so quiet...

 i had the whirlpool and sauna all to myself.

 i totally felt  like a rock star.  :)

the facial lady said we would look like we were ten years old when she was finished... HA!
i think she got a little lost in translation...

while the girls were at the spa all morning, the boys played another round of golf.

the golf course at the resort is really beautiful...the front nine borders the caribbean and the back nine borders the atlantic. 

that evening we tried our luck at the casino.
i was a newbie to it all.

we entered a lame slot tournament.
i made it to the final round, but ended up 4th.
no bueno!
i had to leave my awesome dinner to finish the tourney.
at least i got to share this with craig for dessert.

that night we discovered the greatest drink on earth.
the frozen mojito.

there was only one bartender who could make the perfect one...nicola.
she always had a big smile on her face and she was the sweetest!

she thought it was hilarious that we wanted to take her picture.
she was so nice and gave us the recipe...which i wrote down on a napkin.
one of these day i might just share it, but for now it's a secret. 
it has totally knocked the margarita down to number 2...it's that good.

just a couple days left of torture...
then back to reality.

st. kitts day 4.

so what does one do if you want to rent a car on a neighboring island and they don't accept U.S. driver's licenses?
you go buy one of course.
...or you all gang up on one person (craig) and make him buy one.

he passed...YEAH!
it works like this:  you show them your U.S. license, hand over some money...wah lah, YOU PASSED!

the proud "new driver"

after craig got his license, we headed back down to port zante to catch the island ferry to take us to nevis.
nevis is the sister island to st. kitts.

the ferry ride lasted about 45 minutes...it was a really beautiful trip.

 leaving st. kitts.

arriving in nevis.

it's pretty much one giant volcano surrounded by beaches.

we met up with the rental car guy, showed him craig's licensse, paid him some money and we were on our way.
he told us just to leave the car wherever with the keys under the mat and unlocked
...it was a small island and they would find it.  that cracked us up.
so did our car.

it seriously looked like a squished down  mini van.
i just loved the "baby in car" sticker.  HA!

craig did a heck of a job driving on the left side of the road for the first time in his life.
and as a disclaimer, he was chosen to drive since sean seems to have wrecked every mode of transportation he has ever driven on the left side of the road.

the funny thing about the drivers side being on the right side...the blinkers are also on the right side and the wipers are on the left.
we always knew when craig was going to turn because the wipers would come on.  :)

we took a lap around the island to map out the things we wanted to do and see.
it literally took less than an hour.
we kept yelling at the boys to stop the car every 5 minutes so we could take some pictures.

the rent a car guy suggested we eat at sunshines on the beach.
the road we had to turn down to get to it, didn't even look like a real road...
take the worst dirt road you've ever driven down,  then add foot deep potholes every 2 feet, and cows lining the way, chained to trees.  i wasn't sure our little toyota was going to make it.

poor babies...i felt so bad for them.  especially if they were part of the menu.

we finally made it...

it was a laid back, kick your shoes off and sunbathe while you eat kinda joint.
totally my kind of place.

we tried their signature drink, the killer bee.

after just one, we determined it was adequately named. :)

while we were waiting for our food, some guy named "crazy dick" tried to sell us some jewelry ...and some pot!
we did buy some jewelry, but  you'll be happy to know we did decline on the weed. :)

when we asked what the fresh fish of the day was, the waiter ran back to check to see what his granddad has just caught.  can't get any fresher than that!

tonya's ribs

and you'll be glad to know the poor cow was still alive on the side of the road when we left. :)

craig's totally predictable cheeseburger.

sean and i went for granddads catch of the day...something called an "amberjack"

those little teeth creeped me out...but the rest of him was delish!

while we were waiting on the check...island time ya know,
tonya and i walked the beach for some souvenirs.

we found tons of great shells...even some big conch shells.
the beaches on nevis have more black sand in them from the volcano being so close.

the sand was super soft, you practically sank while walking on it.

after lunch we continued on our journey and stopped at another beach to look around.

 totally dreamy!

when we made our first loop of the island, we saw this shack of a building with the word "pottery" on it.
it was closed, but by the time we came back around it was open.

there were two local women doing all the pottery by hand.

tonya and i each bought a handmade tile...
so much better then a mass produced souvenir.

our next stop was this old church and cemetery.

some of the stones were from the 1800's...
and i loved that instead of the "born & died date" they put "sunrise & sunset.'

 loved, loved, loved the inscribed floor in  the church.

before we caught the ferry back we tried to do a little shopping, but everything had already closed,
so we ditched the car and walked around the main town.

 the public library.

and hanging out by the ferry port was this little guy...
he totally looked like a really fat miley!

the sun was setting, so it made for a stunning ferry ride home.

stay tuned for day 5  ...that is, if you don't hate me by now :)