The "Daily Grind"

After our first night at the Islands, in our glorious Villa (that doesn't sound too smug, does it?) we settled into a pretty regular routine for the rest of the vacation that went something like this:

Wake up, take a deep breath and revel in the fact that you're on vacation and temporarily living in a place with a postcard, "wish you were here," 180 view. Wander to the kitchen as you slowly wake up, socialize with the urban-vacation-family and eat whatever deliciousness Hooper decided to feed us that particular morning. Next we would decide which of the several beaches available to us, change into our swim suits, load up the two Jeeps with snorkel and beach gear and head out. After a brief drive, we'd set up camp at our beach for the day, lube up on the suntan lotion, and sun ourselves silly. Seeing as most of us had at least a minor case of ADD, either a football or frisbee would soon make an appearance or we would amuse ourselves with the sand (read: bury people in it). Next would come our daily snorkel adventure, followed by lunch. Depending on the day, from here we would either move to the next beach, or head home for the evening. Once home, we made use of the bitchin' outdoor showers (if you live somewhere warm, it is SO the way to go), and got "fancy" for the evening (read: put real clothes on). Each night we made dinner in and enjoyed a family-style meal. Soon after, the card playing and dessert eating would begin. Usually after a few rounds of Rook (aka: Oh, Hell) and rum-soaked beverages, half of us would turn-in for the night while others stayed up and enjoyed the night sky and quality conversation. Eventually we'd all call it a night and wake up the next morning just to do it all over again.

It was pretty fantastic really. The only difference was that on the last day, we rented a boat. Hello British Virgin Islands!

Linen Pants & Cuban Cigars

As some of you may or may not know, on every vacation to Miami, we always have a "Linen Pant Night." I won't go into that story right now, but suffice it to say, each year we look forward to dressing up in our linen duds, taking several pictures, and pretty much thinking we're the coolest thing since sliced bread. (See picture "Come-et-e-yay-ha!" on sidebar for Linen Pant Night 2007.)

So our second night of vacation in the Islands was themed "Havana Nights," not only as a tie-in for the linen pants, but also for an evening of piña coladas, tacos, and an after dinner Cuban cigar. That's right baby, I said Cuban. As the unofficial host, Andy bought a round for each of us. I'd never smoked a cigar before, so I figured, Why not?


Brett was kind enough to take me under his wing and show me how to do it up right. After lighting my cigar for me, he first showed me how to take a puff, but not inhale (otherwise I'd be coughing and choking everywhere). Seemed easy enough, so soon I was ready for my next lesson: how to let the smoke roll out of my mouth (rather than just blowing it out). If you can do it right, it looks pretty sweet. This one took a little more practice, but I think I got the hang of it (sort of). Soon I was holding the cigar between my teeth like a pro and flicking the ash off the end like I'd been doing it my whole life. (Okay, so I can't actually pull that off yet, but I like to pretend). Toward the end of my cigar, I was brave enough to try to inhale (I know, scandalous!) and after a wee bit of sputtering, I managed a few small inhales and earned my very first smoking buzz. I thought it was pretty hilarious.

So I think I'm officially one of the boys now. (But maybe not.)

We HAVE arrived - UPDATE!!

So it turns out that when our friends Brett and Andy told us we would be spending our annual vacation with our Floridian friends in the Virgin Island on St. Thomas - it was only half true.

We began our travel on Tuesday evening with a pit-stop at the Poux Palace for a little farewell dinner with Papa Poux himself (pasta with chicken in red sauce - a family classic). From there we headed to SeaTac to board our red-eye flight bound for Miami. Of course there was the token kid who was freaking out and screaming before the flight and yes, she sat directly in front of us. After a long sleepless flight, we arrived in Miami. One haphazard nap, a scrambled egg sandwich, and two games of pinochle later, we were back on a plane and headed toward the islands.

We arrived without event and I was surprised to see just how tropical the Virgin Islands were. We had landed in what I can only describe as a deep bowl and everywhere I looked it was lush with vegetation. The air was thick and hot and I was immediately soaked in my NW clothes, but mostly I was just glad to finally be there. We quickly picked up our luggage and crammed 7 people and their stuff into two jeeps and braved driving on the left side of the road. Eke!

As we twisted and turned our way through the city, my first impression of the Islands was that it was like a hybrid of Hawaii and Mexico. The landscape was ripe with green palm trees, low hanging coconuts, and fruit stands. The air was warm and dense and cardboard shanty towns littered the narrow, poorly maintained roads. After winding and twisting our way through the rolling topography of the island, we eventually pulled into a ferry terminal. That's right, we were island hopping. Turns out our hosts had managed to pull a fast one on us and we would be staying on the beautiful island of St. John. St. Thomas was merely our point of entry, a ruse if you will.

A brief ferry ride and a few twists and turns later and we pulled up to what I can only describe as a personal luxury complex. Complete with two small "buildings", our own mini-pool, four suite/rooms, personal out-door showers with a view and wrap around porches - we had finally arrived. The view is nothing short of breath-taking, not to mention immense. We are governors of our own mini-district. Rulers of our dominion, Kings and Queens of our own personal castle. After reveling in the view for several minutes, I let out a deep breath: I'm on vacation; we have arrived.

Check out this quick video for a tour of our Villa in St. John: