Vacation Previews

An overhead view of part of our resort

On Saturday the husband/lover/beach boy and I will embark on our 35th Anniversary celebration trip.  We're heading to the Sandals Halcyon Beach resort on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

You can read about how we did our daily countdown in this post if you want to see how ridiculously excited we have been.

 The countdown began about six weeks ago, and now, with only three days left, we are nearly euphoric.  (Except for Bob, who at the moment is sick as a dog, and needs a miraculous and fast recovery.  He has been home from work the last two days, and I don't EVER recall him doing that.  I even made him sleep in the camper, so that he can't share his germs with me.)

In case you don't know exactly where St. Lucia is, it is one of the southernmost Caribbean islands.  When we booked our trip, I knew it was DOWN THERE somewhere, but I didn't know just how far south we would be going.  Its tropical location should give us plenty of sunburn issues sunny skies and pleasant warm temperatures.  Our resort is on the northwestern coast of the island, in the Castries area.

Because our flight brings us into the airport at the bottom part of the island, and because the island terrain and roads are mountainous and curvy, and because the Caribbeans drive like bats out of hell, and because the husband is concerned about motion sickness, we arranged for a helicopter transport from the southern airport to our resort.

The Gros and Petit Pitons Mountains

This twenty minute flight should be a great aerial look at the length of the island and its geological features.  We will be flying over the Pitons mountains and La Soufriere volcano - the world's only drive-in volcano.  It contains numerous craters with steamy gasses and boiling water, and is one of the island's main tourist stops.

Along with several sightseeing excursions we have pre-arranged, we plan to enjoy all the dining venues and activities that our resort has to offer, especially snorkeling and relaxing in the various pools.  Here is a view of the main pool:

The lagoon pool is said to be quieter and more "away from it all," so that is more likely where we will find ourselves.

And, if the grounds and gardens are anywhere near as beautiful as advertised, we will act like geezers and take daily strolls around the resort.  There are no buildings here that are any higher than the highest palm trees, and that reflects the Sandals' commitment to keeping this resort a true tropical paradise.

Our room has its own little patio on which we can have meals, if we like, and it looks straight out onto the beach and ocean.

I'm looking forward to sitting out there in the evening with a glass of wine, having some good conversation and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the ocean in the moonlight.  It's rough, but somebody's gotta do it, right?

Thirty-five years is a long time to be married in this day and age, and we are blessed to have shared those years with each other.

Son Caleb and his trusty companion Sheila, the weimaraner, will be very capably holding down the fort at home.  Do I wish he could join us?

NAH.