Honeymoon Recap: Sunday/Monday

We woke up and repacked our bags and headed to the airport.  We went to the airport where we grabbed some Duncan Donuts and headed to our flight.  We had a direct flight from Miami to Chicago and then had a drive back home.

When we got home, everyone wanted to see pictures of the honeymoon.  We ate dinner and looked at pictures and J and I told everyone about our trip.

Monday was my Birthday so we had people over for dinner and cake.  My grandma made the rhubarb pie that she always makes for my Birthday and Jason made the Boston Cream Pie that he’s been making me since we first started dating.

We relaxed and tried to wade through all of our stuff at my mom and dad’s house as we tried to get ready for our move to Bloomington a few days later.  It was a great end to our wedding/honeymoon weeks… there is nothing I love more than a Birthday with my family around me.

Next Up: DIY Projects

Honeymoon Recap: Saturday

On Saturday we got up and had breakfast and then had to head to the airport.  Our butler brought our bags and we took a picture with her before we left for the airport.  

Once we got through customs, we stopped in a store and got some great sauces and spices to take home with us.

I had the BEST grilled cheese sandwich EVER in the airport restaurant and then it was back to Miami where we spent the night.

Instead of going out to dinner, we just went down to the bar.  While we were down there, we hopped on their computers to check emails.  I got on Facebook for a quick second and my photographer messaged me and told me to check her blog.

She had put up wedding pics and I looked at them and cried.  What a great surprise to come home to!

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Sunday

Honeymoon Recap: Friday

We slept in as we had done all week, and then went out to our special reserved spot…

Who would not LOVE to be here all day.  We had drinks, food, time in the water, and a lot of time to read and relax.  I’m pretty sure we even took a nap or two through the day.

While we relaxed, we had some visitors.  There were two crabs who were lounging in the plant just a little way from our cabana.  It’s hard to see this one, but his name is Sebastian.

Then there was another crab who I had been working on catching a picture of off and on.  I named him Carlos and after some time being coy, he finally came out for a full photo shoot.

After we were done outside, we came back in and got ready for our dinner at the restaurant overlooking the water.  We took a picture with one of our butlers since it was the last time we would see him...

And enjoyed our first sunset as we sat down for dinner...

It was a beautiful restaurant 

and I made sure to take pictures of our last meal in St. Lucia.

 Crab salad with cucumber and lime

 Fresh scallops with sun dried tomatoes and bacon on lettuce with a citrus dressing

 Caramelized apples and walnuts on spinach

 Coconut lobster bisque

 Seafood platter... shrimp, crab legs, muscles, lobster tail and fish on a bed of rice.

 Filet mignon with fried onions on garlic potatoes

We went back to the room and smoked our cigar 

with our new friend Lenny

before we turned in for the night.

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Saturday

Honeymoon Recap: Thursday

We slept in and got breakfast delivered to our room and then enjoyed a great day at the beach. 

Our butler reserved chairs for us under a cabana and we relaxed and swam and went out on a water tricycle. 

This is what happens when a camera goes from air conditioning to humidity  :-D

We at pizza for lunch and went to the pool for some drinks before we went and got ready for dinner.  Our butler made reservations for us at one of the other resorts, at a hibachi restaurant.

We got there and had to wait for a while, but there were drinks (we think it had cranberry in it) and really weird chips…

We were seated with 5 other couples at our table and we instantly made friends with one of the girls, who agreed that Saki Bombs sounded like a good idea.  Of the other 5 couples, 4 of them were really friendly and talkative… although there was one who really said nothing the whole time.

We had a sushi appetizer and saki bombs before dinner and then it was time for our main course. 

Round One: Mahi Mahi (the fish so nice they named it twice) and chicken

Round Two: Pork chops with fresh pineapple, steak and vegis

We hopped back on the bus and went back to our resort where we walked in to...

We didn't ever eat this cake, but it was pretty!

And then we called it a night...

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Friday

Honeymoon Recap: Wednesday

We got up early again and headed down to the dock for the Simon Says tour.  We knew it was a speed boat tour (hooray for not getting on a bus first thing in the morning), but we didn’t really know what all we would be doing.  Our tour guide’s name was Darwin… he was awesome… and we started the day with cloudy skies, and a cooler of beer  J

We went around the island and go to see some cool sights…

 Where the original Dr. Doolittle was filmed

 Word on the street is this belongs to Oprah

 George Foreman's house... his wife is originally from the island.

The Piton Mountains

Then we stopped for some snorkeling.  I had been snorkeling before, but it was just off the beach at a resort I stayed at in Jamaica.  The place we stopped was a preserve where they put an artificial reef and there were SO many fish… it was beautiful!  Even J, who doesn’t swim, threw on a life jacket and took in the cool underwater world. 

After snorkeling (man, I wish I had an underwater camera with me for that) we hopped on a bus and went to a hot mineral bath.  We walked through on a trail and our guide pointed out some really cool plants and fruits.  We got to the waterfall and the mineral pools and the water came from a waterfall and it was warm, right from the source.  It is supposedly therapeutic… good for joints and muscles. 

From there, we went to the volcano that formed the island.  It was steamy and smelled like sulfur, but it was cool.  We walked down to the stream that flows out from inside the volcano and it was time for our mud bath.  

We got in the water that was warm and grey and then our tour guides brought us a bucket full of mud.  We spread the mud all over and let it dry and then got back in the water.

It made our skin feel great… so soft, and we even brought some mud back with us for ourselves and our family.

Once we were done there, we got back on the bus and went and had a “home cooked” authentic island meal at Simon’s wife’s restaurant.  It was AMAZING.  I absolutely loved every part of the meal of chicken and macaroni and cheese(not like the American version).  It was a great end to our tour.  We got back on the boat and it started to rain… and let me tell you… when you’re on a speed boat in the rain, it stings!  

Darwin... our tour guide

We made it home and we were cold and wet and didn’t have time to get ready for the sunset cruise that we had scheduled… plus, it was cloudy and raining and there wouldn’t have been any sunset anyway.

We came home to flowers on the floor and a beautiful bubble bath with a bottle of champagne.  Once again, we drank the whole bottle of champagne and ate the fruit and got into our awesome, cozy robes and relaxed and warmed up after our day in the rain.

We ordered room service instead of going to the restaurants for dinner and it was a wonderful, relaxing night… and once again, we were asleep early… we really needed the sleep!

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Thursday

Honeymoon Recap: Tuesday

We woke up early on Tuesday and grabbed breakfast and met our other butler before we got on the bus for our zip line tour.  Our tour guide… George of the Jungle… that’s what he called himself.  It was another long trip on a bus to the middle of nowhere, but he kept people talking and the trip really wasn’t that bad.  We got to the zip line place and got all dressed up…

Then it was time to GO!!!

While we were zip lining, George was in the jungle trying to find spiders and reptiles… here’s what he brought back to show us…

We got back on the bus and George had some treats for us…

 Ginip Fruit

 Fresh Coconut... it kind of tasted like a macadamia nut

 Mango Julie... most amazing fruit I've EVER tasted

Spiced rum... oh how it burns...

When we got back to the resort, we decided we wanted to book another tour.  There was one called the “Simon Says” tour that people were raving about so we signed up to go on the tour the next day.  We went back to our room to find...

After our snack, we headed to the pool for a little while and got a few drinks and then it was time for dinner.

Our butler had made reservations for us at Tosconani’s… the Italian restaurant on our resort.  It was wonderful!  We were so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of dinner... but I did get dessert.

 My Lemon Meringue Tart

J's Tiramisu

Once again, we were tired… once again we went back to our room and went to bed… who needs night life when you can relax!?!?!

Next Up: Honeymoon Recap: Wednesday