Wedding Celebration in Paradise

It's so wonderful to be able to share the most special times with those you love.  This was one of those times.  Ryan, Margo, Greg, Cindy, Michelle, Miranda, John and I got to join Dori and Brenda as they celebrated their love for each other on the beautiful island of St. Croix.  

Soon after our arrival we checked in at the Pink Condo's which Ryan's mom owns.  They were directly on the beach and very comfortable...  Each with a King bed.. full kitchen and all the amenities of home. This was a picture right out the front door.   Dinner at JT's was an exciting experience and I got to taste my first island Johnny Cakes.  They were pretty good...  Breakfast each morning you could usually find us at Polly's.  The food was excellent... and service was amazing.  First thing Saturday morning after breakfast we made out way down by the pier to do some shopping.  Early December still found 80+ degree temperatures with extremely high humidity.  But there was no snow.. so you won't find me complaining.  

The rest of Saturday was spent getting aquatinted with the island and finding the local K-mart to stock up on what we might need .. Cindy and I got a bit lost and found ourselves on an island plantation and had some good laughs.  

Sunday was "Wedding Day"... So big celebrations all around... Before the festivities began some of us decided to take a snorkel swim down by the pier.  A cruise ship was in port but we didn't think anything of it.  Well come to find out... it's apparently a federal offense to snorkel within so many yards of a cruise ship so we're lucky we didn't get caught.  John and I were lucky to see a turtle.. which was super amazing.  The wedding celebrations started later that afternoon.... Dori and Brenda were nervous and excited.. They had asked and John gladly accepted their request to officiate, and I was so blessed to offer the prayer for the celebration.  We had spent most of the morning, aside from felony snorkeling, building a beautiful arch for the ceremony and decorating for the reception. I brought thule and lights from home and John, Ryan and Ryan's granddad constructed something beautiful from nothing. The ceremony was amazing with just a "hint of rain" .. We all ended up soaked.. but it just added to the amazing beauty of the day.

After the ceremony it was back to Ryan's moms house for the reception and cake.  We were so blessed to be able to take part in such a joyous celebration. 

   

Monday morning John and I took some time to tour the island in the jeep we had rented. It's quite a small island .. only about 28 x 6 miles long and wide... Our first stop was at Cane Bay Beach.. We were the only ones there and it was so serene and peaceful.  Then it was on to Cramer Park and Point Udall which is easternmost point in the US by travel. We basically drove around the entire island and saw some amazing sights.  Upon our return back to the condo's a few of us snorkeled from our condos down to Rainbow Beach.    

Later that evening we went on a Bioluminescent Tour in 2 person pedal kayaks.  It honestly was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  It was pitch black and we were 2 to a kayak and we all pedaled out to the Bio Bay and the guides showed us the most amazing creatures that light up when you "disturb" them as well as some small jelly fish you can actually hold... And after that fun evening we ended up at Rowdy Joe's and had the most incredible mac and cheese in the world.  Funny story.. The waiter we had at Rowdy Joe's that night, Alex, would also end up being our waiter the next day when we all ate lunch at Rainbow Beach.. He was awesome!!

Tuesday morning brought us back to Polly's for some delicious blueberry waffles.  John and I then trekked over to Sandy Point.. an incredibly beautiful place where scenes from The Shawshank Redemption was filmed.  John and I saw some type of flying Manta Ray.. which was quite amazing.  Later that afternoon we took everyone back to Sandy Point so they could all partake in the visual extravaganza.. It was not to be missed.  

After we all left Sandy Point several of us attempted to snorkel out to a shipwreck but we started out too late in the day and we were losing sunlight so we abandoned that endeavor.  We spent the evening on the beach and all had pizza from Napoleon's.

On Wednesday we went on a snorkel tour to Buck Island...   It was an all day adventure and we saw some dolphins and fish as well as a turtle and stingray.  We ate lunch on an island inhabited with cats and mongooses (is that a word?)  Greg and I were sure our life jackets were trying to strangle us but no-one else seemed to have that trouble.. 

Thursday found us at the local tire shop getting a tire repaired.. The roads in St. Croix are not the best and a sharp rock found its way into our tire.. but at least it was fixable and $10 later we were back on the road.  We took a trip through the rain forest and found a little hideaway known as the Mt. Pellier Domino Club with self proclaimed "best burgers on the island".  Finding this place is half the fun and upon arrival you're still not sure if you're in the right place or have stumbled upon a gangsters hideout. They have a beer drinking pig and if you pay a few bucks you get to go in and watch this huge pig crush a beer can and guzzle the beer.  They've had to switch to non-alcoholic beer since the last pig died from cirrhosis of the liver.  It was cool to see and they seem to love the beer.

The Rum Tour was next and well worth a stop.  Included with your entry fee you got the guided tour as well as several drinks of your choice.  It was an excellent time made even more fun by the girls I was with and the yummy beverages we got to drink.

Friday came too soon and it was time to start heading back to real life.  We did some last minute souvenir shopping and sight seeing before heading over to the Chicken Shack for lunch before we headed to the airport.  We had an amazing time and the weather and company were perfect.  If you have a chance to go to St. Croix definitely jump on it.. It's an amazing place.