Weekend away

This weekend we went up to Vermont to celebrate Joe (Dave's friend from college) and his wife, Monique's marriage. Last year they got married in South Africa (where Monique and her family are from) and unfortunately we (and many others) weren't able to make it. So for their 1 year anniversary their parents had a wedding reception for them at The Vermont Inn.

I was just beside myself with how incredibly adorable the Inn is! I couldn't get enough of it! It made being in Vermont in the middle of winter with the freezing weather and all the snow tolerable.

The Inn


Our view

The Inn is now owned and run by the Duffy family including their dog Sassy (a bonus in my book) and when we arrived Jennifer, showed us around. Since not many people were checked in yet we got to take a peak at a lot of the other rooms. Every room was different! I immediately fell in love! Some even had their own fireplaces.

Our room


Mike next door in his pink room
He wasn't a big fan of the Inn. Being over 6 feet tall he was really close to hitting his head on a lot of the ceilings! But the pink room is actually the most popular room at the Inn due to it's charm and price.

After we settled in we decided to check out The Greenbrier Inn store that we passed coming in. MOST ADORABLE store I've ever been too! It was an Inn that was converter into a gift shop so while there were many little rooms set up with a theme it was an open floor plan. So you go from room to room and each one has a zillion of it's own cute-sie things for sale. We easily spent and hour there. I found so many things I'd love to have and a tons of things I wanted to get for others but had no occasion in mind for which I could get them. And since we'd just finished buying all our Christmas presents I really didn't want to buy anything to store away for some future gift. Although I did buy a couple small things and got some good ideas for a couple things to make. Definitely a store we'll visit again next time we are in the area. I'm hoping for a fall trip in the next couple years!

The Greenbrier Inn Store

After our shopping adventure we headed back to the Inn to find home baked cookies and hot cider! How much cuter can this place get??!

Later that night was the wedding reception. It was so nice to celebrate with Joe, Monique and their families and catch up with everyone from the VT 251 crew that was able to make it (Morgan, Emily, Val, Jeff, & Mike) and those who couldn't make it were missed.

And of course I didn't take a single picture at the reception dinner so I have to wait for Morgan to post all of hers!

Aladar

Aladar (our bearded dragon that I bought myself when I was 22) just recently turned 8!!

Because Al is contained in his 40 gallon tank he doesn't get in any trouble and he's such low maintenance he doesn't require much attention. He's fed and I keep his tank clean but other than a hundred passing by's a day, a few licks on the glass from his buddy Oliver, and a visit now and again from the little girls that live next to us he's sort of left to entertain himself. And frankly he doesn't even like to be held anymore, which is completely my fault since I stopped handling him when he was still pretty young due to his fascination with fleeing from my hands. He'd always run to a hiding place that was IMPOSSIBLE for me to get to and I would have to sit and wait and entice him with a bowl of meal worms until he decided to come back out. Well that was fine and dandy when I lived in a room at my dad's but once I moved out to my own apartment his days of freedom slowly came to an end. And it only got worse for Aladar once he and I added Dave to our family and adopted his younger sister Roxy who it turned out was not his biggest fan! And that's just through the glass.

And [this is so embarrassing] earlier this year I thought he was dead and Dave and I went as far as turning off all his lights and heaters for a couple days and it wasn't until I went to take him out to bury him that I realized he was just in a VERY deep sleep (in my defense: he's been known to "hibernate" for a couple days but not so deep that you couldn't wake him up out of it)! I've thought about giving him to someone that may be able to offer him a more exciting life but it just wouldn't be the same without him around and frankly I wouldn't be able to sleep at night thinking about how he was. And I know that feeling would never go away. And Oliver would miss him.

I wish we could get him a lady friend (if I put another male in the tank there would be a fight to the death). But unfortunately it's hard to come by adult dragons (and when you do they're expensive) and you can't tell whether a young dragon will be a male or female for a year or 2.
I'm not even sure he'd appreciate having to share his tank, I was never a big fan of sharing my room with my sister! And who knows, maybe one day we'll have a fearless son (or daughter) and they'll be the best of friends!

Giving Thanks

I can't believe it been over a week since Thanksgiving! Between being in charge of our big move at work during the day and my nights being consumed with all the things I need to make in time for Christmas, time is FLYIN'! And since Thanksgiving is my 2nd favorite holiday (St. Patrick's Day being my 1st) AND this is our first year with a successful turkey dinner I couldn't let it pass without a posting (even if it's over a week late).

We had our guinea pigs (my dad, Jen and Joe) over for an afternoon lunch again. We tried this last year and it was a total disaster so we figured we owed it to them. Really we just needed to prove to ourselves we could make a delicious dinner and since they were such good sports about the raw turkey last year we figured anything would be an improvement for them! And in our defense we had no control over the turkey being raw. We had NO idea one of the heating coils in our stove was going to blow on such a crucial day! Which really just screwed everything up because I did my best to time it so the sides would be ready when the turkey was supposed to be ready. So not only did we have raw turkey, we had cold sides! TERRIBLE!! Absolutely terrible! Good thing it was just the 5 of us and everyone had a better meal waiting for them later in the day, except my poor dad!

So really there's no where to go but up after that experience! I even made a nervous joke about how there was the chance the 2nd heating coil could blow this year. Knock on wood they both made it through the whole 4 hours we needed them to.

Dave made a delicious turkey; the little red thingy even popped up (yes that was the most exciting part of the entire day)! I can't take any credit for that though, he even cleaned it! But I must say I impressed myself with my side dishes (I don't normally toot my own horn but I thought they were delicious). I was even brave enough to try and make my own apple crumb and pumpkin pie (I know neither are trivial but my scar from last year is still healing and I've never made a pie before, maybe next year I'll get really crazy and even try making my own pie shells!)

And since I knew I had to go into work on Thanksgiving I baked the pies and prepared all my sides the night before so all I had to do was bake them for 30 min., which I did while Dave was preparing the turkey for dinner. So the timing couldn't have worked out any better and it made everything stress free.

I even decided to be a little fancy now that our dining table is set up. Dave bought some flowers and I sewed a fall table runner. I even pulled out the china for it's first time use! I was a little weary (I'm super paranoid about breaking anything) but then I thought, what the hell do I have it for if it's going to sit in it's plastic storage cases for all of eternity?!!

I even got to use the claddagh napkin rings Jen got us for our first anniversary.

Bad and Worse

This would have been NO surprise had it just been Oliver; he's constantly trying to sneak a quick cat nap in on our bed. But Roxy?? Roxy is our star child. And in Dave's eyes she can do no wrong! You won't walk into a dark living room and find her on our couch. No, she's smarter than that, she waits until she knows we're at work for the day and she always makes sure she's sitting at the window waiting for us when we get home. She only gets caught because of the massive amounts of hair she leaves behind and the odd drool spot (our couches are pretty damn comfy!) And forget it if we forget to close our bedroom door! She'll take FULL advantage of our entire bed (it is the best sunspot in the house and it honestly wouldn't bother me if she didn't shed so much), it takes me hours to get rid of all that hair!

I guess I give them credit for trying! It's good to see they are so hopeful that one day they might wear me down enough I'll just say "screw it, have your nap"! It's definitely a possibility...after all that's typically how they end up napping on the couch with me. I get so tired of refereeing their "wrestling matches" that I bribe them with a nap on the couch - works like a charm every time!

I would like to thank our TV for crapping out

In the coming spring, after we put in new carpeting in the family room we were going to get the big flat screen, high definition TV that Dave wanted to get LAST year. But luck was on his side when our current TV started crapping out a few weeks ago. (It's still under investigation whether he fiddled with something I don't know about!)

It all happened pretty fast; for a few days the TV picture would freak out and have some white lines going through it and then just fix itself after a few seconds. Then it started becoming a black screen with a white line across the middle which we figured out after a few stomps on the floor the picture would go back to normal. But before we knew it the stomps weren't working anymore! Even I was frustrated at this point, it was interfering with my shows!!

And so began the start of our family room renovations. We were planning on doing them before Christmas anyway, the passing of the TV just sped things up. And after a few incredibly busy/stressful weeks at work for Dave I'm glad he can come home and watch his sports in HD (as long as one of my 5 shows isn't on!)

So we've been busy trying to figure out re-decorating and the rooms were finally ready to be unveiled this weekend! Well minus the blu-ray DVD player and wireless surround sound that Dave wants! Those are definitely going to have to wait another year or two! I want my new siding first!

The Perfect Hiding Spot

So it turns out one of Oliver's favorite places (other than on the couch or on our bed) is under our bed. I only discovered this because one day I came out of the bathroom in our bedroom to find this:

Olivers 'lil feet sticking out from under the bed gave him away!

So now I have another place to search for him when he's "missing"!

It amazed me that he could even fit under there and it terrifies me that he's going to get stuck one day because while he's smaller than Roxy he's still 30 pounds (soaking wet) with long legs and a lanky body! Then one day I witnessed him army crawling his way under and since then I've seen him army crawl his way out. He's one adventurous 'lil bugger! There are no boundaries that can stop him!

So by now I should be used to him popping out from under the bed at any given time but it still surprises/terrifies me especially when I think he is somewhere else. Last night he got me good when he army crawled out under my feet as I was getting into bed thinking both dogs were asleep on their beds in the living room (where I last saw them 10 minutes earlier). And on top of it the 'lil shit jumped over me and got onto my pillow before I even knew what was happening! And sat there like "what are you gonna do now?!" So while I was wrestling him off of my side of the bed he managed to jump right back up get under the covers and scurry as far down as he could get! If only the covers weren't all tucked in at the end he would have scurried right back onto the floor! But since he was nested all the way down at my feet I decided to let him stay until he warmed up my feet. I figured he wasn't going to last long anyway - I mean he was resting his head on my stinky feet after all! But I forgot, he LOVES his mom's stinky feet! I don't know how else to make any sense of his obsession with stealing my dirty socks!!?

Hopefully our new sleigh bed frame won't interfere with his "hiding" space. Maybe he'll even have a little more wiggle room under there!

I NEED one of these!!

I ♥ Greyhounds! And I've always wanted the white greyhound statue Joey had in FRIENDS. And I've Googled high and low for years with NO luck! Not even anything close enough for my liking until today...

Greyhound statue #1

Greyhound statue #2

Anyone stuck on a Christmas present idea feel free! I don't know if anything would make me more excited than seeing one of these waiting for me under the Christmas tree in the morning! I'm sure next time I want another dog Dave will suggest one of these, it would be cheaper in the long run!

Monkey Bread

This weekend we took a trip up to Massachusetts to visit Kelly and Taryn and their families (2 of my good friends from college). It's become sort of an annual trip over the last few years and it's always a fun time! I'm just glad they live close enough that I get to see them a few times a year. Especially because those kiddos grow up waaaay too fast!!

And Kelly's family even grew in size. Last month they adopted Athena, the cutest, sweetest boxer mix of a dog! Of course they claimed she's never behaved so well in the month they've had her but they also don't know what it's like to have a dog like Oliver! (I swear I love my "firecracker" child to death!!) Which was the main reason Taryn and I made Kelly host our get together because we couldn't wait to meet her (and of course we wanted to see the kids and Mark - that should be assumed!)

And since Taryn offered her place for us to crash afterward I jumped at the offer because I haven't seen Walter and Winnie since they had first gotten Winnie a couple years ago (also fur babies and the coolest dogs). I think Walter and Roxy would be BFF and Oliver and Winnie would be partners in crime for sure! It would be fun to see them all together (well maybe for a couple minutes before all hell broke lose!)

Last time we were at Taryn's, she and Al had also just bought their house a few months before so it was nice to see all they've done. I may hire her out to come down and help me figure out how to decorate our house!

And honestly the reason I think she wanted us to stay over so badly again was because she had to redeem herself from our last visit. They had bought all new, nice, stainless kitchen appliances (fridge, stove) and in the morning Taryn, being such a great hostess, decided to make us Monkey Bread - which I had never heard of but it sounded delicious! So she put it together and set it to bake in the brand new, never been baked in oven and in about 10 minutes she had a good oven fire going! We can make fun of her and laugh about it now because no one was hurt, including that beautiful stainless oven! But needless to say we didn't get to try the delicious Monkey Bread! So lesson learned: you can't use an angel food pan to make Monkey Bread, you need to use a bundt pan! And this time around there were no oven fires and the bread was every bit as delicious as I had imagined it was going to be!

And of course like every other year I bring my camera and not a single picture gets taken to document the trip! So instead I will post the Monkey Bread recipe.


Monkey Bread

Ingredients:
4 cans refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 ^o and grease bundt pan.

2. Mix white sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut the biscuits into quarters and coat each piece with the cinnamon/sugar mix.

3. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the greased pan. Continue layering until all the biscuit pieces are in the pan.

4. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the layered biscuits.

5. Bake for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull apart and enjoy!

Devil Child

He does this:

And the reason it was only the inside of the bed to begin with was because I hadn't yet gotten around to sewing a second patch onto the outside cover! So I'll just add to the list, making a new inner piece for the stuffing!

Because he thinks he can then do this:

Which sometimes actually works because he curls up so tight and doesn't make a peep, in the dark he just looks like another pillow!

I'm still trying to figure out his fascination with destroying all things cloth...

I nearly killed him last weekend when he decided to chew a fleece sleeper I had spent the better part of a day sewing for a friend...but that's another post for another time.

Oliver Perez

So I'm a week late on the Halloween post but the pictures are too good to skip it!

Our Halloween started out with Oliver's dog training class that ended with a costume parade. And would you know our little Oliver Perez won 1st place!!!

Mainly because 2 of the judges were Mets fans but regardless I bet he would have won anyway ;-)

And since Roxy was sad she missed out I let her in on the fun when we got home!

Then our 2 nieces came over for some trick or treating which brought our grand total of kids up to 13 this year! Record breaking numbers! I was so excited for Halloween in our new neighborhood since we are close to the elementary school and tons of little kids live around us. Well apparently we live to close to the start of the hill so no one really wants to come our way! Next year I'm definitely giving out the big candy bars! And I've really wanted to "dress up" the front lawn but just haven't found anything I'm crazy about. Maybe that will start enticing kids to come down our way! There's no shame in a little bribing.

Snow White (Caroline) and the cutest 'lil bumble bee I've ever seen (Emily)

After the swarms of kids left we headed over to my friend Missy's place for a Halloween party. Costumes were optional so Dave opted to not dress up but since I love dressing up I couldn't resist. Halloween may be my favorite holiday, well no that would be St. Patrick's day and then Halloween follows closely behind. But since I was so last minute this year I liked my costume but I wasn't super excited about it. I was hoping to be something else that I couldn't find to my liking at the stores so now I know for next year and I can plan ahead and make it myself.

Me (Raggedy Anne), Missy (Little Red Riding Hood), Beth (Rainbow Brite)


Lucy, one of Missy's 2 Yorkies - sweetiest little dogs ever and I'm a BIG dog person!



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And this weekend before I had a chance to put it away Oliver found his little Met hat on the kitchen table and ....

I guess I kinda deserved that one!

A Class Act

This past Sunday, Meb Keflezighi, made history. Not only did he run a personal best AND win his first marathon ever, he became the first American to win the NYC marathon in 27 years. 27 YEARS!!! I can go on and on but really I just wanted to share this article that a friend of mine shared with me.

Keflezighi posts an historic NYC Marathon win for a fallen friend
Author: David Epstein
Source: SI.com

If you're 34-year-old Meb Keflezighi, what tribute could you possibly come up with that would be a fitting honor for your friend and training partner Ryan Shay, who collapsed and died in November 2007 during the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in New York City?

In a news conference before the 2009 New York City Marathon, you could ask for a moment of silence in his honor. Check.

Or, just as you turn into Central Park between miles 23 and 24, you could break away from Robert Cheruiyot, the four-time Boston Marathon champion from Kenya, en route to becoming the first American to win in New York since Ronald Reagan was settling into his first term 27 years ago. Check.

And then, less than a mile later at the bottom of Cat Hill, now that you are solidly in the lead with the television cameras -- and the eyes of the world -- on only you, you can make the symbol of the cross on your chest as you fly by the spot where Shay, a Notre Dame grad, fell. Even though Shay's father, Joe Shay, isn't watching the race -- there are too many faces he painfully recognizes -- he might say afterward that you are "one of the class acts in all of sports" and that your gesture is "just so significant." Check.

And just to make it all more meaningful, perhaps it can come after a year-and-a-half of rehab following that terrible November day two years ago, when Shay died and when your body fall apart. When you got sick days before the race, cramped up because of dehydration during it, and ended up crawling around your hotel room on all fours because of the pain in your legs. When, for days "you practically couldn't get up and walk to the bathroom," according to your wife, Yordanos. And when, months later, a doctor would find the stress fracture in your hip that had you thinking about hanging up your racing flats for good.

You could go through all that and then return to New York in 2009 to run a personal best and win a marathon for the first time, well after people were beginning to "write you off" because of age and injuries, as Ryan Hall, the most-hyped U.S. marathoner who finished three places behind you on Sunday, put it. Check.

That would be even more perfect because, instead of retiring, you would have struggled back to health and all the way back to the starting line in New York, where you could force yourself to forget that nearly all the two million spectators lining the New York City course expect an athlete running for Ethiopia, Kenya, Brazil or Morocco to pass first. Check.

That last part shouldn't be too terribly difficult, given that you already banished the naysayers when you took silver at the Olympic marathon in Athens, the first medal for a U.S. man since Frank Shorter took silver in 1976. And even before that, you joined a generation of American distance runners, like Shay, who knew that Americans could run with Africans, and who were resolved never to let there be another time like 2000, when the U.S. qualified only one runner for the Olympic marathon.

And maybe you can make sure, on race day, to be the only runner out there wearing a USA singlet, so that it will be that much more unique when you enter the last quarter-mile slapping the letters on your chest and remembering how Shay took personal offense when people said you weren't a "real American" even though you've been here since you were 12. And so that it will be that much more special when, in post-race interviews, you recite the exact day you came to America -- October 21, 1987 -- from Italy after your family left Eritrea as refugees; and when you mention how much you loved going to school at UCLA, and how grateful you are for the opportunities, in school and in sport, that America gave you, and how proud you were to become a citizen in 1998. Check.

And then, when you cross the line in first, you can let the tears of sorrow and the tears of joy mix as they flow down your cheeks. Check.

Ohhh how I've missed you

For the past year I haven't been running and running is the one thing everyone identifies with me. That's how I identify myself; I'm a runner. That's my title. That's what I do. That's what I've been doing for the last 16 years of my life. And typically one of the first things someone I haven't seen in a while asks me about is my running. So it's no surprise the shock I give people when I tell them I'm not training for a marathon this year or any other race and in fact I'm taking some time off.

I did after all run 5 marathons in just over a years time in 2007. See, I knew I was going to be taking some time away from running so I decided to squish as much in as I could, to get it out of my system! If only that worked! Instead I just gave my body a shock of it's lifetime and ran a couple really horrible marathon times.

And here I am 3 years after my second NYC marathon (NYCM) loooonging to be running in it this coming weekend. I completely blame NYCM for my marathoning obsession! Ever since the first one I ran, back in 2003, I've never been the same! And apparently there must be some 3 year rule with me and NYCM (2003, 2006), if only I realized this last year.

2003, my first marathon (i.e. the start of my obsession) & my friends and family that came out to cheer me on!

At least my year off from running is officially over! On Sunday instead of running 26.2 miles I'll be happily running my 3 mile loop! I never thought I'd be so happy to run 3 miles (other than during a marathon tapering week) - I know, I'm a bit of a running snob!

And there's nothing better than dusting off the box of new running shoes I bought for myself last year in anticipation of this day! And I'm positive they were just as happy to see me!

Liquid Sunshine and Rough Waters

We got back on Thursday from a 5 day cruise with 40 new family members and friends to Bermuda which started off with our cousin, Tiffany's wedding! She and her husband, Dan decided to get married on the Royal Caribbean ship, Explorer of the Seas. The ceremony and reception took place while the boat was docked at the harbor (you can't legally get married on International waters) so those who couldn't sail were still able to attend the wedding.

Captain Arnold, who they found out is highly requested, performed their ceremony so they were really excited! It was really nice. Here are just a few of our pictures:

After the wedding we headed to the upper deck of the ship for the sail-away party.

The bridge the cruise ship goes under


Everyone goes out to the upper deck to see the ship go under the bridge

We make it and everyone celebrates!

View of the city from the harbor in Bayonne, NJ

Turns out it was really windy up there and I pulled a Marilyn Monroe for everyone!

Getting my dress under control after it went up over my head

Nic, Tiff, & Jen

We spent the next day and half exploring the boat and eagerly awaiting our arrival to Bermuda. There are so many things going on while you're sailing you never have a dull moment! There was even an ice skating rink that we never made it to and a rock climbing wall on the upper deck, shuffleboard and mini golf! Every night there was either a show after dinner or a parade put on by the cruise staff and then live music at the piano bar and somehow after all of that our group (of 15-20) always ended up at the one dance club, The Chamber, to end the night at 2 or 3am! We had a great showing of karaoke performers for the two nights of karaoke too! We all kept quite busy!

We discovered The Chamber on the first night of the cruise because they were having an 80's dance party

A little after dinner mini golf and shuffle board

We had to watch out when Jen was up because she was inches away from hitting a ball right off the deck

Dave and I dominated at shuffle board until we invited Tiffany and Dan to play (I'm not sure it was a fair win though because Tiffany's puck release seemed illegal, even though we were playing by our own rules!)

A couple of us were really excited to try out the rock wall on the way home but because of the rough waters it was closed!

One night there was a 70's disco parade. The entertainment crew on the cruise dressed as the Village People


The first night of karaoke, those that didn't sing danced!

The piano bar


There was a formal dinner


Our typical outdoor gear while crusin'

We even had Johnny Rockets a couple times for lunch!! One of the highlights of the ship for us! I laughed at everyone who said you gain weight on a cruise but I believe it now! Food is PLENTIFUL! And delicious!! I'm glad I didn't find out about "snack time" before dinner every day until the last day!

The ship is so big you can even get lost - which Jen did numerous times! And we made fun of her until we did the same thing ourselves one night! On our floor (we were at the back of the boat on floor 2) you couldn't walk from the front to the back of the boat you had to go up a couple floors to do so. So if we were at the front of the boat and went down to floor 2 we couldn't get to our room; it only took us once to figure this out, Jen on the other hand....

Our room

The towel animals our room attendant made for us each night:

A bat


You're guess is as good as ours but we think a pig

A monkey - most impressive!!

A lobster

We were a little disappointed with the sea life cruisin' down to Bermuda though! We saw 2 flying fish (super cool!) and some other tropical fish that Dave called gold fish (because that's what they looked like from up high - which means they were probably 6' fish!) We did hear a rumor that there were dolphins the first night but since it was late they didn't make an announcement. Dave was hoping for some whales (I would have LOVED that myself but I knew better!) On the way home we asked one of the workers and he said they NEVER see anything going down to Bermuda. They see whales up in Boston but that's really it!

Checking out the front of the ship - no exaggeration!! Like my Titanic re-enactment?!

Then when we woke up on the 2nd day we were in Bermuda!!! Dave and I didn't waste any time we got off the boat as soon as they let us and headed over to get our scooter! We were going to explore on our own! Well we had no idea it takes an hour to get to Hamilton which is one of two major cities in Bermuda, the other is St. George which is at the very end of the island - we heard that's a 2/2.5 hour bus ride, I can only imagine how long that would have taken on scooter!

View from on the boat at the dockyard

Houses in Bermuda from boat at dockyard

Our ship during the day and at night

Ready to explore!!

We walked around Hamilton and found it not so exciting. Lots of places to eat mixed in with Versace and Louis Vuitton! We did spot some men in bermuda shorts with knee socks, loafers and ties though! I didn't really think that was true but it is - it's their business casual attire! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures!

Downtown Hamilton

Since we couldn't afford to do any shopping and the day was brightening up we decided to try to find the beach. That was no small task! By sheer luck we ended up on the road that had all the beaches on it and the one we picked to go to happened to be the beach most people from our cruise was at including some of our family! And we got to experience the nice pink sand!

Horseshoe Bay

We relaxed there for a little bit before making the hour ride back to the boat, we were nervous to drive in the dark because during the daylight hours it was scary enough on the narrow, steep, windy roads! There were actually 5 scooter accidents, we were one of them although the most minor of the 5! One couple had to go to the hospital and someone from our group flipped over a guard rail and totaled the scooter before even leaving our dockyard! Now we understand why there was an extra, mandatory $30 insurance charge for each scooter rental!

The following day in Bermuda was just as eventful! We headed to St. George with Jen and Joe to check out the shops and the beaches up there. The day started out cloudy but that didn't deter us! We took the ferry over to St. George, spent some time wandering the shops which were much more what we were expecting, more local, crafty things; sea glass jewelry, etc. And then we decided to walk a few blocks to the beach. Once we got there the sky opened up and we ran to cover in an old fort until it let up. Then we made our way back to the beach for some pictures before heading back to catch the ferry. Well once we got to the dock it really poured for a good hour! And wouldn't you know there was a ferry every hour except the hour we were hoping to catch it (but we weren't the only ones who didn't read the schedule closely). Apparently they take a break between 1 and 3pm! So we took cover wherever we could, visited some shops again... And finally made it back to the ship with half an hour to spare! We couldn't get over how happy the locals were with the rain. Three different people made comments to us about liquid sunshine and of course we were a little p.o.'ed since we only got 2 days in Bermuda. So at dinner that night we were telling the other couple we shared our table with and they had gone on a bus tour because of the rain and it turns out rain is the only source of water for Bermuda. I guess in that case I'd be pretty happy when it rained too! Made me feel a little bad for cursing those people in my head earlier!

Downtown St. George

I just loved the colors of all the houses


Right before the sky opened up


Caught in our first downpour

Jen entertained us while we were waiting for the ferry during the worse of the down pours!

The waters coming back were really rough. The night we started sailing home the captain was sailing faster than normal to get out because the waters ahead were even worse so he wanted to get through as much as he could over night. Not sure if that worked out how he planned because that following day was still pretty bad! The crew put barf bags on each of the stair wells and in the bathrooms. A LOT of people were not feeling well! It was so rough the water in the pools on deck were splashing out like tidal waves! They finally had to drain and cover them all! But by dinner everyone in our group that wasn't feeling well was drugged up and ready to go! We had a great turn out in karaoke that night! Although we all turned in a little early - I'm sure the DJ at The Chamber missed us!

Enjoying some last rays of sun

The second parade the entertainment crew put on - the Islands Parade

Erica & Kenny and Ty

A few of the aunts


Tiffany did some back up dancing for them

Sadly that next day when we woke up we were already docked back in New Jersey. And were met by a blustery 36 degree rainy day! I'll try not to complain about 70 and rainy ever again!