I'm back from vacation, but I definitely didn't want to leave! Here's the recap:
Saturday: Somehow I managed to not hear my alarm, so I only had 20 minutes to get ready before the taxi came to pick me up at 4:20 am. Luckily, I had just about everything packed. I left the Hayden/Steamboat airport at 6:30 am. Then the fun began! I flew from Denver to Washington/Dulles (which is one of the worst airports I've been in). When I was on the plane to go from Dulles to San Juan, there was a security breach and we got to sit on the tarmack for awhile. So, by the time I got to San Juan, I had to really hurry to get to my gate, which was 2 concourses away. I got to St. Croix at 10:30 pm; Owen & Carol were there waiting for me and were surprised that I was alone.
This now brings us to our segment of "Why Delta Airlines Is Awful." Nate flew out of Milwaukee on Delta; however, his plane was late getting in, so he was behind schedule from the beginning. When they approached Atlanta, there was bad weather so they had to circle for 45 minutes. Because of this, Nate missed his connecting flight to San Juan. There were no more flights to San Juan that day, Nate got put up in a hotel and put on a flight at 8:30 am the next day. After hours of phone conversations with the airlines, Nate got his flight from San Juan to St. Croix rescheduled. Or so we thought...
Owen & Carol took me to Cottages by the Sea and helped me get all checked in.
Sunday: After our rental car was delivered at 10:00 am, I went to the restaurant next door to have some breakfast.
It's vacation, mimosas for breakfast!
Banana Rum Pancakes
Sitting on the beach
Owen & Carol came to pick me up from Cottages, and we went to the Country Club. At this point, I get a text from Nate in San Juan and it turns out that Delta is a bunch of morons. They didn't confirm Nate's flight from San Juan to St. Croix, so he couldn't get on the plane. Nate ended up running back and forth between the American and Delta and Cape Air counters, and by some luck, they got him onto a Cape Air flight. Owen, Carol, and I went to get Nate from the airport around 3:00. The strange thing is, Nate's luggage came in on the American flight that they wouldn't let him get on. Later that night we met Owen & Carol at Coconuts on the Beach for their steak night and a few drinks.
Monday: We spent Monday grocery shopping and just hanging out.
Mmmm Raspberry Cruzan
There was an iguana just wandering around on the beach
Relaxing on the beach
Cheers!
Swimming and hanging on the beach (Don't mind my bald spots!)
Sunset from the patio
Nate grilling dinner, shrimp & steak kabobs
Tuesday:
This is our cottage on the right, Chart House
On Tuesday, we took our little Toyota Echo and went to Christiansted.
Standing on the boardwalk in Christiansted
We had to eat at this restaurant solely because of the name. It turns out that the food is rather good!
After lunch we walked around town and did some shopping. Then we got back to the car and started the drive out to Point Udall, the easternmost point in the U.S.
On the far east end of the island it's actually desert-like, cacti and everything
Monument at Point Udall
Coastline at Point Udall
Wednesday: We started out our day with a tour at the Cruzan Rum Distillery. It was actually pretty interesting, but the best part of the tour was the tasting at the end. You could have whatever you wanted and as much as you wanted! They just kept bringing the drinks. Our tour guide/bartender Pedro was pretty amusing.
After the rum factory, we went through the rainforest to the Domino Club. This is where the Beer Drinking Pigs live. Unfortunately there's only 2 pigs now; the last time we were there in '07 there was 4 pigs. We bought each pig a beer, and Nate fed them. I wasn't about to put my hands near those teeth!
While we were attempting to find Dragonfly Villa (the villa we stayed at in 2004), we played in the rainforest.
That night we had dinner at Owen & Carol's house with some of their friends and my cousin Paul's student Torrance (who is the chef at the restaurant next to Cottages). It got to be quite the late night, chatting on the deck!
Thursday: This was supposed to be our lounge on the beach day, but the weather decided not to cooperate.
We drove down to the Country Club, had a drink, and walked around the beach.
This is the Country Club
For dinner that night we grilled tuna steaks and made corn on the cob. It was delicious!
The flash was bright, I'm not drunk. We also had Rum Raisin ice cream for dessert. Yum!
While we were eating out on our patio, the geckos moved in. Smart little guys, they waited by the light to eat the bugs. After dinner, we met Owen & Carol at Coconuts on the Beach for a few drinks.
Friday: For our last day in St. Croix, Nate and I went to Christiansted to go snorkeling at Buck Island.
Off we go in the Big Beard Tours sailboat
Ok, so funny story: This is our captain Steve. Nate and I were talking to him and it turns out he's from Appleton, WI. Even funnier, I realized that he was the first mate when we went snorkeling in 2004.
Motor-sailing out to Buck Island
When we got to the island, we anchored on the beach first so we could practice snorkeling and make sure our gear worked okay. Nate and I were snorkeling, and then I saw a stingray. I panicked and went back to the beach at this point.
All done snorkeling (underwater pictures of the fish are yet to be developed)
Rum Runners, my favorite restaurant on St. Croix. We had lunch here after snorkeling; we were starving!
Dining room/living room
Bedroom area
The bedroom and kitchen were one big room
Hanging out on the patio before going to the Caribbean Community Theatre play with Owen & Carol. The show was pretty good! Nate and I were laughing that they had a full bar at the theatre.
Saturday: 
Nate and I were quite sad to have to leave. It was way too early as well, 5:00 am.
Luckily on the way back neither of us had any flight or luggage troubles. However, there were two casualties; when Nate's rum was coming down the baggage claim conveyer belt two bottles broke. Tragic!
Overall, we had a great and much deserved vacation!
This fish was scary. It had teeth; I swam away fast!
It's vacation, mimosas for breakfast!
Banana Rum Pancakes
Sitting on the beach
Mmmm Raspberry Cruzan
Relaxing on the beach
Sunset from the patio
Nate grilling dinner, shrimp & steak kabobs
This is our cottage on the right, Chart House
Standing on the boardwalk in Christiansted
We had to eat at this restaurant solely because of the name. It turns out that the food is rather good!
On the far east end of the island it's actually desert-like, cacti and everything
Monument at Point Udall
Coastline at Point Udall
Wednesday: We started out our day with a tour at the Cruzan Rum Distillery. It was actually pretty interesting, but the best part of the tour was the tasting at the end. You could have whatever you wanted and as much as you wanted! They just kept bringing the drinks. Our tour guide/bartender Pedro was pretty amusing.
After the rum factory, we went through the rainforest to the Domino Club. This is where the Beer Drinking Pigs live. Unfortunately there's only 2 pigs now; the last time we were there in '07 there was 4 pigs. We bought each pig a beer, and Nate fed them. I wasn't about to put my hands near those teeth!
While we were attempting to find Dragonfly Villa (the villa we stayed at in 2004), we played in the rainforest. 
We drove down to the Country Club, had a drink, and walked around the beach.
This is the Country Club
For dinner that night we grilled tuna steaks and made corn on the cob. It was delicious!
The flash was bright, I'm not drunk. We also had Rum Raisin ice cream for dessert. Yum!
While we were eating out on our patio, the geckos moved in. Smart little guys, they waited by the light to eat the bugs. After dinner, we met Owen & Carol at Coconuts on the Beach for a few drinks. 
Off we go in the Big Beard Tours sailboat
Ok, so funny story: This is our captain Steve. Nate and I were talking to him and it turns out he's from Appleton, WI. Even funnier, I realized that he was the first mate when we went snorkeling in 2004.
Motor-sailing out to Buck Island
When we got to the island, we anchored on the beach first so we could practice snorkeling and make sure our gear worked okay. Nate and I were snorkeling, and then I saw a stingray. I panicked and went back to the beach at this point.
All done snorkeling (underwater pictures of the fish are yet to be developed)
Dining room/living room
Bedroom area
The bedroom and kitchen were one big room
Hanging out on the patio before going to the Caribbean Community Theatre play with Owen & Carol. The show was pretty good! Nate and I were laughing that they had a full bar at the theatre.
Saturday: 
Nate and I were quite sad to have to leave. It was way too early as well, 5:00 am. 
