Saturday, November 21. - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Today I drove my kids (Koby, Camryn, Elly and Lucy) to Cedar City. We loaded the kids up in the car early in the morning. The kids were still in their jammies and still sleeping. Grandpa Spelts offered to meet us in Cedar City so I wouldn't have to go all the way to Las Vegas. I was really grateful for that. The kids were excited for their week with the Spelts fam while Ryan and I took off on our cruise. Ryan's work (Living Scriptures) sends their best salesman on a cruise every year. This year was a Mexican Riviara Cruise. It was my first time on a cruise so I was a little nervous. I ended up getting home around 9:30 PM that night, packed and got to bed around mid night. Slept for a few hours and had to get up and ready to go to the airport. Shane and Laura Wiser picked us up. The morning was really cold and wet.

All day Saturday we traveled by plane. It was a really long day. Our first flight out of SLC took 2 hours stopping in Dallas TX. Our second flight took 6 hours stopping in Puerto Rico. Ryan and I didn't have seats next to each other. I sat next to this older couple going home to Puerto Rico. They knew very little english, but we became friends and had some fun conversations. Neat people.

Once in Puerta Rico we headed toward our luggage and buses that would take us to our boat. To make a long story short I forgot our passports in the plane. I left Ryan and ran as fast as I could back to the where we unloaded. I had to wait in line and jump through so many loops to get those back. In the end I got everything and we made it on the shuttle bus.

We loaded the boat. Found our rooms, had some dinner in the big dining room (Met Hervin our waitor. He was great!), and went to bed so exhausted. Kind of an interested feeling being rocked to sleep by the boat.

Sunday, November 21. - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

When we woke up we were already docked and ready to explore new country side. We had a lovely breakfast. The sun was out and the weather warm. We loaded off the boat and decided to go find a church so we could partake in Sacrament Service. We took a small bus to a branch house not too far from where we were docked. The country side was so beautiful. Lots of trees and flowers everywhere. The warm air hitting our faces was a reminder that we weren't in cold Utah. It felt wonderful. The people were very nice in the branch we attended. I think we made the speakers a little nervous (a young couple with a small boy). We more than doubled their congregation with the group that we had.

The church is true not matter where you are in the world. I love it. After the sacrament meeting we took another taxi bus to the beach. The sands were white and the water so clear and blue. I didn't swim but found a chair to layout in. Laura Wiser and I mostly read our books and soaked up lots of sun. Oh, how good it felt. Ryan and the rest of the guys went snokling while most of the girls just hung out. It was really relaxing. After a few hours there we were ready to go back to the boat. It was nice to get cleaned up and to relax a little bit in our rooms. That night was formal night. We got all dressed up and had a nice meal. We met our waiter () he was great. Dinner for our group was at 8:00 PM. The boat was usually on its way to the next port at dinner time so the boat rocked back and forth while we ate. I was using the patch to help me with my sea sickness. It was fun walking back to our rooms swaying back and forth in the hall ways.

Some of our group in front of the chapel in St. Thomas.

This is where I hung out most days (on the beach). It felt so good to be in the sun.

Ryan had fun snorkling. The water was perfect

Laura Wiser was my buddy. We ran laps on the ship most days and worked on our tans. Such a great friend.

Shane Wiser had fun watching everyone from the warm sandy beach. He has become such a great friend. We had so much fun hanging out with him and Laura. We feel very blessed to have them as our friends.

Monday, November 22. - Philipsburg, St.Maarten

I think this was one of my favorite days. We woke up to a little rain outside. We had planned on going Ziplining but due to the rain we had to forgo that. After some deliberation we decided to rent fourwheelers and explore the island. Our group was so big. We rented out every mo ped, four wheeler and cart in the store. It was so fun. We took over the roads. A long line of couples and young men lining the road. I held on tight to my man and enjoyed the sights around us.

We ate lunch with the Wiser's. It was so relaxing. Afterward we took a little hike up to this fort that was used during war times. What a beautiful view.

We decided to go to the airport on the island. We heard that the plane came in so close to the beach you would almost be blown over by the power of the plane. Once again the beach was amazing. The guys had their swimming suits on and did some wave surfing. It was a little too crazy for Ryan and I. The waves were big and threw some of our guys around a lot. It was a miracle that no one was hurt.

After playing on the beach for a while we decided to go back to the boat. We had just enough time to make it if we hurried. We loaded up and as we got back on the road we hit rush hour traffic. It was crazy. We had a hard time keeping our group together and remembering the way back to the boat. Our section of the group went a wrong way and had to turn around. As we came down this really big hill a cloud released the coldest rain and hail on us. We hid our cameras and phones under our shirts and bags so they would not get ruined. Ryan and I laughed so hard. Ryan could hardly see and hid behind him. Ryan was soaking wet and I was in the areas that were not directly behind him. The crazy thing was that we made it to the rental store first. We made it in time for the boat. The last of us recieved claps and cheers from fellow passengers and workers on the boat. THE BEST DAY!!

Tuesday, November 23. - St. John's, Antigua

We talked about just staying on the boat this day, but ended up exploring the island again.

Wednesday, November 24. Castries, St. Lucia

This place was really crazy. A month prior to our stop on this island they had a really bad hurricane. It really hurt this island. We were the first boat to dock in a month or so and the people were hungry. As we got off the ship the people swarmed us. Trying to get us to take their taxi, buy their product, or eat their food. I felt so many emotions on this day. Sorrow for not wanting their service, scared because they were so pushy, and mad because they wouldn't listen to our replies.

We (Ryan, myself and the Wisers) walked around the shops looking for souvenirs to take back for our kids. We walked away empty handed. Got into a taxi in search of a beach to just relax on again. The first beach we went to had so much debre on it and the water was brown from all the sediment floating in it. Someone told us that when hurricanes hit they not only affect the land but the oceans as well. The fish and coral reefs. It was sad to see. We walked down the road to a store and bought some candy and treats from the island to give our children. We figured out the public transportation. It was cheaper and fun to talk with the locals. We were then taken to another beach on the other side of the island. It was said that it is quiet and the beaches were not affected by the storm. As we got there we were once again bombarded by people wanting us to use their services. One really old man came up to Laura and I and started reading our palms. He placed a bead in our hand and said things like we will live a long and prosperous life. That will be $5 dollars. We looked at each other and told the guy no. That we did not ask for his service and that he could have his bead back. He was so rude. We ended up paying to get into this park so we could get away from these people. The Park was called Pigeon Island. It was fun to read the history of the island and to explore. We found a pretty beach and rested for a while. I swam with Ryan while the Wisers watched our thing and we did the same for them. The day before Jordan Sharp's things were stolen.

After we were done we decided to head back to the boat. The guy that was driving our bus (a mini van), said that he would come back for us. After waiting for a while we decided to walk to the bus stop. We probably walked two miles. It was fun but we were tired at this point. Once we were on the bus Shane had some interesting conversations with the driver. We listened and watched school teachers and students coming and going on this bus. This was how they got around. Everyone was cordial. I found myself looking into peoples eyes to get a feel for what they were like (good or bad). Our driver had good, kind eyes. That made me feel at peace being in his bus. It was a crazy day but we had an adventure. I am glad that we experienced that instead of staying on board the ship.

Thursday, November 25. Bridgetown, Barbados