My Memories of St. Maarten

I want to send a BIG thank you out to Leah, Kate, & Clare for guest posting for me while I was enjoying the beautiful island of St. Maarten. I had an idea of what to expect from getting a sneak peek of their posts, but the color of the water there truly is unbelievable.



We stayed at The Westin Dawn Beach and it was everything a 4 star hotel should be. Comfy lounge chairs, a swim-up bar, heavenly bed, and amazing food. This was my view for much of the vacation.



Kristen and Paul did an amazing job planning and hosting this destination wedding. From hand painted bottles of rum in the rooms, to Da Party Bus (more to come), to the most perfect beach wedding.. everything about the experience was thoughtful and lovely.



Not to mention how beautiful Kristen looked in her wedding dress. She was the perfect bride. I feel honored to have been invited to be there on her Paul's big day.

Site Seeing & Snorkeling

Yesterday was wonderful.  I went on an incredible trip to Scott's Head and Champagne Bay and it couldn't have been a more perfect day for site seeing and snorkeling.  Scott's Head is at the Southern tip of Dominica where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.

We walked up a short trail to an amazing lookout.  Clare and I are both "semi-retired" teachers who are so lucky to be traveling instead of being a part of the back to school madness happening in America right now. 

The water is so clear you can easily see the reef below where we went snorkeling.  Cabrit's Dive shop also offers scuba diving here, and I can't wait to see this place from a different perspective.  There is a drop off where the reef descends over a hundred feet. 

From Scott's Head, we drove up to Champagne Bay where the snorkeling is seriously out of this world. Bubbles of air stream from underneath this beautiful reef.

The photos of Champagne Bay are courtesy of Kristen Beevers, as my underwater camera is on the outs right now; one too many trips underwater. 

Champagne Bay is truly the best place I've ever snorkeled.  The water was calm and warm, hundreds of different kinds of fish were swimming around, there are multiple reefs within swimming distance, and the champagne bubbles were just icing on the cake. 

Only in Dominica..

Do they have linoleum on the floor of a van..

 

Or decorate their homes with seashells and hot pink paint..

 

Only in Dominica (and China) do they have Corn Candy..

 

But China certainly doesn't have grocery stores 

that open onto the beach..

 Only in Dominica do fishermen announce with a conch shell 

they are selling pufferfish off the sidewalk..

Or make sure they have absurd sayings on their vehicles..

One Down!

I finished my first semester of grad school this week!  And it was just in time to join the girls on a trip to Red Rock.