Caribbean Encounters: Lost in Paradise

Happy Friday to you all! Okay, so I wrote this on Monday, but never got to post it until now. So, past weekend re-cap: We had a very lovely and yet still action packed weekend. I went on a “girls’ night” on Friday with a new friend, Melissa, who is a traveling nurse here until May. She’s my age and very nice. Nothing crazy- we just went out to a couple of different restaurants (bars) and were home pretty early. Chris enjoyed some quality alone time that probably was quite nice.

On Saturday, we went on over to St. John to try a hike we had noticed the last time we were on the island. It was supposed to only be about a 3.2 mile hike, but we got a little bit lost (I swear- we followed the signs) and we ended up hiking another hour and ½ or so extra. Somewhere along the line I decided that each wrong turn we took would equal an extra BBC (Banana, Baily’s Colada) drink when we got to dinner. I think I was up to 4 by the end of the hike. To add to our excitement, since we had been catching up on some episodes of “Lost” lately, I was able to pretend we were part of the show with the threat of polar bears and other menacing diversions around every corner. It keeps life interesting. The hike was well worth it, though, since it took us up to some ruins that overlook an amazing view of Maho Bay. It was a completely unexpected, but very gratifying, surprise. Hike photos at the end of this.

Once we got back to the car, after following a road back the last mile and ½, we went to go to an early dinner at a restaurant that we heard had good pad thai. That wasn’t open yet and we had to catch the last car ferry back to St. Thomas, so we ended up at Margarita Phil’s for some great Mexican eats and a Margarita that was big enough to replace the 4 BBC’s that we had earned from our hike.

Sunday, we decided to take it easy and hit the beach and the pool for a bit and then went out to dinner at good ol’ Havana Blue with one of my co-workers and her husband. Dinner was great, as always, and we had a lovely time. One of the bonuses of eating at the place where you work is that you get some fantastic treatment. What a great crew of people work there!

This weekend coming up we have Erik and Candice coming for a couple of days. Then, on Monday, Chris’ cousin Diana, and her husband Brad will be on the island for the next week and staying a casa de Edwards for a couple of nights. We can’t wait to play host and once again show off our lovely island.

As is proving the trend lately, I have one other person in my thoughts in which I am hoping for a quick recovery. My brother Chris’ girlfriend, Jackie, is laid up with a knee problem due to some cartilage breaking off and floating around. Looks like she’s got surgery on Tuesday to get it removed. Ouch! So, Jackie- I am wishing for you a speedy and painless recovery. Although, I know there is pain, so I hope it’s at least speedy.

Hugs to all,

Kasey