Longest Post Ever!

Hi All,

So much has happened since we last saw everyone. We had our 2nd trimester ultrasound, discovered the baby's gender and went on our big trip. We got back from Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands last week and had an amazing time. Even though it rained the whole time we were there we still saw a little sun and got a little tan. Peter Island provided an endless supply of OFF! bug spray due to the huge increase in mosquitoes after the rain. And although we were frequently wet, we were never cold. Our stay in San Juan was for three nights at The Hotel Convento. It is directly across the plaza from the oldest church in San Juan and used to be the site of the Convent for the Carmelite nuns (of course, we lit a candle form Grandma). The nuns have since moved to another part of town, but a developer built a beautiful hotel in the place of their residence.

Views from the roof of El Convento

Cathedral de San Juan

All the buildings in Old San Juan are built in a Spanish style and have gorgeous garden patios in the center. We took a walking tour through the town and toured the two major attractions in the city: Castillo San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal Fort - two beautiful ruins from when the Spanish settled on the island.

San Cristobal Fort

In front of El Morro

The Streets of Old San Juan

Of course, my favorite part of Old San Juan was the shopping. We found a children's store that sold hand made dresses and jumpers for infants and toddlers. Everything there was hand sewn in Puerto Rico or sent from Spain. It was run by three old Puerto Rican ladies that have been stitching and sewing their entire lives. The things they make and imported were beautiful. Justin and I spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out what our little chiquita would fit into and for how long. These items are what we decided on.

Four piece outfit with a headband! We hope she has lots of hair.

They had so many dresses for baptisms. This one was my favorite... imported from Spain.

Still a little ways to grow!

Puerto Rico was fantastic. We easily saw the entire part of Old Town in two days. After a few rainy days, we were ready for some island sun in the Virgin Islands. We headed back to airport to catch a tiny 8 passenger plane to Tortola, where we would then get picked up via ferry to head to Peter Island.

Peter Island was amazing! Even though it rained almost the entire time we were there, the Virgin Islands were gorgeous. We spent a morning at the spa, Justin did a scuba diving trip and we explored their "By reservation only" beaches.

Front lobby

The pool we never used

Torrential Downpour

A break in the clouds- our room is in the building across the beach

Our room was right on the beach and came with a huge bathtub and a deck that overlooked the water. The room also came with its own bird watching experience as we had a cute-but-deadly bird build her nest underneath the roof outside our room.

"Cujo" the bird

This would have been all fine and dandy as both Justin and I respect nature and wildlife. However, Cujo was extremely protective of her nest. The first day I sat in our deck chair she made a beeline at full speed for my head. She then perched on a palm tree a few feet away and made another full swoop for my eyeballs. Big Brave Justin sat out there for less than five minutes before she made her territory known and he surrendered inside. Once behind the safety of glass doors, she stood watch for a few minutes and stared us down with her beady eyes as if to say "I dare you to take a step back outside!". So, we enjoyed our view from the safety of our room. We spent most of our time on Peter Island doing a whole lot of this:

and this

and drinking these (virgin of course).

By far, our most eventful day was when we rented a little motor boat with Capt. Curtis and toured the rest of the Islands. We motor boated around all the islands and made a few amazing stops for sightseeing, snorkeling and lunch. Even though it rained that day too, the water was still warm and we managed to work on our tans. The waves became quite choppy in the afternoon and we were advised to move to the rear of the boat unless we wanted our little girl to come out with bruises on her head. Our first major stop was the island of Virgin Gorda, which is huge. It took 20 minutes to boat the length of it. Virgin Gorda is known for the "Baths" that are volcanic creations on the beach - perfect for hiding buried treasure or a private swim. We could have spent an entire day exploring and snorkeling in this area.

Adventure Justin ready for a day on the water

Entering the baths

Someone can't fit through

Super Justin

Sparkly water

View of the Baths from the water

Back on the Boat

After the baths we headed to the furthest Eastern tip of the Virgin Islands, which was a tiny little island that took 5 minutes to walk around. There was a really cool pelican perched above the restaurant that hovered over us.

We went to Jost Van Dyke Island for lunch at the Soggy Dollar Bar and then to "The Indians" and "The Caves" for some amazing snorkeling.

The Soggy Dollar

Snorkeling in the caves

Back at Peter Island Harbor

Our last day on Peter Island was spent on the beach dodging rain clouds. We reserved a spot on "Honeymoon Beach" that only has water access. We had lunch delivered via zodiac boat and huddled together under the umbrella while we ate our cookies and sandwiches. Our trip home the next morning involved a 30 minute ferry ride to the Island Airport, a 40 minute ride on a commuter plane, then two legs of domestic travel (from San Juan to Pennsylvania to Seattle). We rode first class the entire way, which made the experience worth while and much more tolerable.

Peter Island Ferry

Tired and a little sun burnt

What would our last day be without another storm?

Justin is almost as tall as the plane

Good-bye Virgin Islands!

Hola Puerto Rico!

First Class VIPs

We arrive to Seattle later that same night and were picked up by my friend Emma who loved telling us about how great the weather had been in Seattle. All in all, we had a fantastic time. There is no better way to reaffirm a relationship than being stranded on an island in constant rain without TV or entertainment. We will forever treasure our days on the islands and will enjoy telling stories of bumpy boat rides and routine showers of OFF! bug spray to our little girl when she asks why she's different :)