Call on Me (St. Lucia Day TWO)

At Jump Up, we liked a lot of the music and managed to actually find what became the "vacation song" called Call on Me by Jah Cure. Wanna listen? It's catchy. Promise. :)

So, blogger was being a beast at work today and wouldn't let me comment on your blogs OR login. Arg! Annoying. This means I'll have to bring the mac when I travel tomorrow. Yes, that's right... I forgot I was leaving town for a meeting in Arkansas! Oops! 

Alright peeps...without further adieu.. here's day two! (I didnt mean for that to rhyme). I started making the pics a little bigger. And.. thanks so much for the comments on day one!! I'm trying to get facebook uploaded. I think my new fav application is iphoto for facebook b/c you can upload up to 200 pics per album! HELL YES! I only have two albums! :) I get props for whittling 1300 pics to 400. And I'll upload more to snapfish or somewhere if you wanna see more scenic and retardedly cheestastic (yes there are some) ones. 

As I posted, we had a tour on day two...and I was...um..a little hungover to be blunt here. 7:30 am.. rise and shine! Eric shined. I rose. Barely. 

Making fun of me....Nice. (Actually he gets props for being super sweet til I felt better around oh....10am) 


Spencer drove us around the capital at Castries and showed us some old buildings used during some of the 14 wars (between Great Britain and France) held over the island nation. We were asked what the below building looked like. We both guessed church. Wrong. It's an old jail. 
9:15 am or so, we stopped for breakfast at a local food stand. Spencer, our guide, bought breakfast and was so sweet, wanting us to try the local food. :) My tummy was not in any shape for that, but Eric got a bowl o' pork smothered in garlic (yeah) and Spencer got a bowl of soup for Eric to try later...cow heel soup. Do you have a hangover? B/c picture yourself having one and being offered cow heel soup. haha. 
Spencer stopped at a banana plantation.. one of many on the small island. Their bananas are a bit smaller than what we're used to and sweeter... They're rather awesomesauce. Seriously. The locals eat 4 or 5 in one sitting! (Eric may have gotten made fun of for asking to purchase just one banana later in the trip.. )

The color blue keeps certain bugs away and the bags protects the bananas. (I'm an expert now or something apparently)
Hi, I'm a baby banana. 
This is Eric. In a plantation. With his bowl o pork. (haha)
Close-up fishing village. 
From the mountains..same village... :)
Meet Jax and Eric. They're a cute couple. Fact. 
Yes! My fav! Snake man. Okay, so we're driving along with Spencer and he says "Wanna see a boa constrictor?" (native to island). Correct answer here, people: DUH. This dude was awesome. He sits by the road and collects tips (think 2 dollars or so) for letting people get pics of the snake. haha.. And what I love is how much he could give a rip. He's got his smokes, his snake....life's good. 
Soufriere. Our third hotel was between the two peaks. Gros Piton is the one we planned to hike with a guide before we opted to enjoy Pitons (the local beer) on the beach instead. ( Sending love to those who try it. I'll blow you kisses from the beach.) Petit Piton is much more steep and is a death trap not recommended for climbing.
Touraille waterfall! I heart waterfalls!
Love this shot!
Note I am fully clothed. I did not leap from any rocks or break any ribs. Thank you very much. 
Welcome to the drive in volcano! (aka sulfur springs). In the 1800s, it was mined for it's sulfur but hasn't erupted since the 1700s and is therefore dormant (I'll take volcanos for 400, Alex)... But see the steam? Dude. It's hot.
One of these little hot spots is called Gabriel's crater. Some moron tour guide jumped on the rock to demonstrate how sturdy it was. Yeah. Let's just say it wasn't so sturdy. Thanks, Gabriel. 
The piton is huge. Eric is surprised. (We're so easily entertained with ourselves it's scary).
After the tour, Spencer took us to a little place in Soufriere for lunch. Soooo good...a full plate of chicken, rice, salad, plantains, etc...
Spencer brings along beer and rum punch should you desire to indulge. I was finally feeling back to normal but a certain vacation date (*cough ERIC*) nixed my "I'll have some rum punch" comment...haha... This was my face. 

I ended up trying it anyway... This is how much I loved it!

The restaurant from the outside!
Okay, so our first tour stop earlier in the day was a place called Port Saraphine...where all the cruise ships come in. It's a center full of duty free shops. Eric found a watch he'd been looking for in the states, they didn't have the exact one, so the store ppl found it at another store and brought it back..after hours! Spencer drove us back over there for Eric to retrieve his watch and the place was closed aka became our "lets entertain ourselves" photo wonderland for about 15 minutes. 

Are you going to St. Lucia? B/c I highly recommend our tour guide. He.was.awesome. Eric found him on the net on some forums bragging about him. Such a great guy.. He had a wealth of info on the island plus some amazing personal stories. Loved every minute (after two waters and some tylenol that is). :)

Whew.. that took awhile.. Okay...our friends from OK (from law school) found a random hole in the wall place on a horseback riding tour they'd been on that day and asked if we'd be interested in going back for dinner. They'd taken a pic with Amy Winehouse there earlier... Sincerely hoping we'd see some of her antics, we were in. It was so randomly located, our cab driver had to ask where it was.... Hilarious. 

Here's the place! Called Majories Beach Bar!
Yeah, this is for real. Apparently this floated up, the US came and cleaned it out, and left it. Hilarious!!
Oh and did I mention it was karaoke night?! Awesome. :)
Bonfire!!! (with a few rain drops) Gorgeous. 
I was being a stubborn jerk/only child trying and failing to get a good shot of the palm tree and moon...and Eric figured it out! Thank you, Canon, for having cool features on your point and shoot cameras. :)
Dinnertime!! Hope you had a great Monday! Once I got through my zillion emails, life started looking a little brighter today. I only went to youtube twice (ish) to listen to that song linked above and pretend to be on the beach. 

Hopefully I'll finish fbook tonight. :) 

Weekend Recap AND St. Lucia Day ONE!

Hi hi!! So, the weekend was weird b/c my days are all still messed up. It's kinda hilarious actually. Friday night, slept. A lot. Saturday, was a pretty pathetic couch potato...SYTYCD, Here Come the Newlyweds (boo for the Cox's going home), Real World-Road Rules finale, The Soup,...yeah. I'm so cool. Oh, and I did get off my rear long enough to unpack! Eric, his brother and I went to see The Hangover on Saturday night. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a movie in awhile..but warning.. it's super inappropriate. If you're offended by the f bomb, I'd advise against spending 8.50 to see it... Covering all our bases on foods we missed while gone, finished the night with Braums and headed home. This morning, we went through all our photos and exchanged! You know what that means....THEY'RE GETTING POSTED PRONTO!!!

To kick off this hoorah, just gonna say... I'm sorry b/c it's going to be ridiculous...hahaha. :) I opted to take my new blog friend, Megan's, approach by going vacation day by day in posting! I hope you had a great weekend, everyone! Here's our trip... from Miami (Wed the 3rd) through the end of Friday (the 5th). Since Friday was the first full day, I'm considering this all day one. 

Lunch at our hotel in Miami...rested and ready for St. Lucia! (thank you camera self timer.. It got used...A LOT).

Our first room! Coco Palm! Very cute little boutique hotel in Rodney Bay (the busiest part of the island). Super affordable and great staff!!
Arrived. Set bags down. Went to hotel restaurant. Ordered beverages. We had our priorities, people.. haha! (you can guess which one is mine)
The local beer-Pitons!
Coco Palm wasn't right on the beach, but wasn't far at all!
A little crooked, but not too bad for the self timer, huh?!
Where would you like to sit? Right in front of the restaurant/bar? Yeah. That works. haha!
Hung the entire day at the beach, relaxed, bought jewelry from a local guy, headed back to the hotel for the Friday night Jump Up (the local party-fish fry in town!)
The bar and restaurant at our hotel. Super cute. Eric's sitting in center in green shirt (aka in front of the bball game) ;)
If Eric turned over his left shoulder in previous pic, this is what he would have seen!
Jump Up! Locals come out and bbq fish, chicken, and every kind of food you'd want! We bought local beers from a guy who had a "bar" (cart) set up and was selling them to buy football uniforms for his kids school. Super cute. (they have a really good school system there.. will comment on this later).
Eric red snapper. I think it was dead. Hopefully. I had chicken. ;)

People made things out of the palm trees-including angel fish! Cute, right?
Jump Up was really rolling as we were leaving to head back to Coco Palm! :) They had a stage, reggae music blasting, etc. We met up with my friend from law school and his wife for a night walk on the beach before heading home. :) 
I'll fill you in more later, but one thing I was absolutely astounded by is how fabulous the people are! We never felt like "bothersome tourists." As a cab driver told us, children are taught in schools to smile and wave at tourists...and have full understanding about the income they bring to the island nation. I never once felt unsafe. Locals pass each other and wave, comment about each other's lives, honk to say hello, etc...so great! Speaking of cab drivers, it's a top position on the island and is highly respected...costing over $20,000 USD to just BECOME a driver and that doesn't include your car. The drivers are all very proud of their cars...and most are very nice SUVs. More about all of this later so I don't totally bore everyone any more than I already have..haha!

Hope you had a great weekend! I'm sad to be back in a way...but so glad to have had the experience! I can't wait to go back to the Caribbean, but I bet I'll be hard pressed to find anywhere I love as much as St. Lucia...or as much as this trip. :)

Doing the Math....

1.5- number of hours Eric and I slept last night in NYC. 

2- number of times we went through customs

6- number of hotel rooms we were in

2- number of new passport stamps (including the one for re-entry)

3- amount of couples from OKLAHOMA we met in St. Lucia! (note: one couple was from OKC, sold their house and was just chillin on their boat!)

1,026- number of times we were asked if we were on our honeymoon (haha...exaggerating) 

1- number of AMAZING villas we stayed in (our "upgrade" I mentioned turned out to be a brand.new.villa. complete with its own private infinity pool. Pics to follow. WHA?! We were pumped!)

1- shark I saw....

2- times I snorkeled in the water after seeing said shark (I get points here)

1300 or so- amount of pictures we took! 

0- number of times we turned on the tv (awesome!!) 

1- French music video we saw being shot at our hotel (we think they were full of it and just wanted free stuff, but it was comedy to watch them "film" and gyrate all over- stories to follow)

Immeasurable- amount of laughs, good times and outstanding memories we made!! Cheesy but true. 

I could keep going but I'll wait for pics. We mostly used his camera since it's better... planning to download and trade pics tomorrow!! I have NO idea how to post them in any order...This is gonna be interesting. Just do me a favor and occasionally comment "Fun!" or "Pretty!" or something b/c I realize it's going to be excessive and you're gonna be like "Seriously, Jax, stopit with the picture overkill." 

Alright, I'm off to catch up on your bloggage and take a much needed nap. Hope you're having a great Friday! 

Oh...annnnnd.. BRIT BRIT is coming to BOK! I'm so going! There's really no question here. Soooo.. if you, too, would like to go, let's get organized before tix go on sale peeps! Hit me baby one more time...er....or something like that!!! :) Happy Weekend!

Way Back...Yesterday...

No WBW post today... but....

They're upgrading our room right now (story in a sec if time) so I have a minute to tell you a story! Thanks for the comments btw! :)

So, our beach at this hotel is famous for snorkeling. It's actually got a biological reserve right on the beach roped off so guests can have snorkel equip for free and swim around, in awe of all the amazing underwater life.

Okay, so... the beach looks like this from left to right: piton, beach with deep water and platform where people are jumping/diving into ocean, roped off swim area with crystal clear water, dock where water taxis come in (a major drop off from swim area), roped off biological reserve for snorkeling, other piton. So, we're nestled in the middle of the two pitons. Okay.... So cruise ships come in on Wednesdays to another area on the island and take excursions over here to snorkel. I wanted to make sure I got to snorkel yesterday before the crowd came in (obviously).

So, after looking quite hilarious in flippers, mask and snorkel, we stepped into the biological reserve.. just us.. We saw some AMAZING fish, coral, etc right off the bat! Being absolute chicken sh*t, I stayed near Eric, though and kept glancing at the murky deep boat area..ya know...just to make sure there wasn't anything lurking over there... ;)

I glanced down and saw the most amazing snakelike thing! I started sputtering through my snorkel "mmmph...smmake...mmmph!" Eric saw it and kept watching it with me. I thought "wow, he thinks this is really cool too!" I later found out he thought it may have been something he read about called the fer-del-ance snake. (google it-it's nuts). I doubt it was, but it seriously did look like one (telling myself it wasn't so I'll get in the water today). Brought over by plantation owners (I think), the snake isn't native, but is one of the most deadliest, member of the pit vipers, and very aggressive. I just thought he was super interested in it, too... *shaking head at self*

So, every few minutes, I'd haphazardly glance to my left to see the murky deep water to make sure everything was on the up and up (and Eric kept his eye on the snake)...but I hadnt looked for awhile and was watching in amusement as two fish fought below me. That's when I looked...and saw the shape of the head....and then the fin....and no, I am not kidding you. It wasn't huge.. but it wasn't small.. I'd say 4 feet and right there on the edge of the bouys demarking the boat dock area (25 feet or so from me)...and it was definitely a shark swimming parallel to me (how I saw it's whole body). I surfaced and started scratching Eric's leg and threw the mouthpiece out studdering "SHARK!" With that, I saw we were the only two people in the whole area...and we were far out. I went back under, looked, and it was gone. By this time, I was already moving toward shallow water at an insanely stupid-human-bait-pace.

Eric said he thought I'd been kidding until he saw I was headed toward shore and then the look on my face... b/c I came up for air, looked behind me to make sure he was there headed toward shore too (b/c that made sense in my head: warn Eric, both rapidly abort snorkeling), and saw he was still pretty far out.. The only thing I could say was "......I'm...LIKE FREAKING OUT!" Being the smarter, calmer one in the sitch, he had a large pocket knife thing he pulled out and slowly edged toward shore keeping his eyes moving around him. Me on the other hand apparently thought I could outswim the shark. Yeah. Once I got shallow enough, I fell into some coral, thus making my rear burn for about 45 min afterward....*laughing at myself*

Anyway, I have to admit I was pretty happy Eric believed me...b/c I know what I saw even if others think I'm nuts...but I didn't want him to think I was nuts. At dinner last night, we were talking to another couple we'd met and the guy was like "Makes sense... Biological reserve right next to some murky, deep water... That's kinda a no brainer, right?! I felt justified...hahaha.. Needless to say if we snorkel today, it will be with lotsa other people. We don't have to be faster than the shark...just faster than them. ;) Kidding...er...kinda...

Guys, in all seriousness, even picturing what I saw makes my heart race. I used to want to go down in a shark cage someday.. I don't really know about that anymore!

Okay on to our room...We knew they were in the process of a completely CUHRAZY renovation so we really didn't expect extravagant by any means...but we had two twin beds pushed together..haha.. We gave it a shot, but upon mentioning it this morning, the staff was more than happy to upgrade us to a renovated room just up the hill! Awesome!! :)

Alright, I'll go now.. Sad today is our last full day. We leave tomorrow late afternoon and will be back in T town on Friday morning. Last night's dinner was simply breathtaking... The pictures we took (we're on like 1100 in total this week btw) are all postcards. All. *sigh*

Have a great day, everyone!!! :) Thanks again for the comments! Makes my shark diatribe worth it if I think you're reading...haha! :)

"Are you on your honeymoon?"

-the question we've been asked aboooooout 150 times. per day. haha! We laugh every time. Last night we met a couple from DC here for the guy's birthday (married couple) and another couple here for their year anniversary. We were all laughing at the "Are you on your honeymoon" question all of us keep getting...

We just arrived at Jalousie Plantation (our final hotel) from Discovery at Marigot Bay! Loved Discovery and met some fab people. Since we're at Jalousie early, our room isnt quite ready (hence the emailing really fast). Well, I can blog in depth when I return but.. since I left you...some highlights...

*Jump Up (not Jump Off like I called it) was AWESOME however the local rum may or may not have had an affect on our 7am tour wake up call.. Comedy. The tour was amazing though. Spencer (tour guide) drove us to fishing villages, a volcano, a waterfall we swam in, etc. He stopped at numerous roadside food stands to let us sample the local cuisine. My remnant rum tummy just made me smile and say "no thanks"...haha..

* Some friends from Oklahoma found a local bar where they had a bonfire and karaoke..oh and amy winehouse was there! HILARIOUS! We didnt see her, but they did and took a photo with her. Stories to follow.

* Discovery at Marigot Bay was like an absolute oasis. I cant even write enough about it right now so I won't even try....

Things we still plan to do:
* see Diamond Falls (close to our hotel)
* have sunset dinner at Ladera (look up the resort.. they have one exposed wall on the mountain in each room!!)
* snorkel (duh)
* explore. explore. explore.

....and beach it up as long as we can!! We're having an amazing time and either I'm in denial or we still really like each other after all this time together- a bonus. :) Hope you're having a great week, everyone!!!

Live, from Rodney Bay!

Hi everyone!! Just got on a computer at the hotel to check a few things and decided to blog! :) We're staying at Coco Palm right now then will transition to Discovery in the center and ending finally at the southern end of the island! :)

It's beeeeautiful here! We had some issues with the flight. Sitting in Tulsa, realized our flight was wwwwwaaay delayed, opted to try to get on one in 10 minutes.. made it.. however, we didnt think our bags would. BUT, THEY DID! We made it to Miami complete with bags at around 2am Miami time. Then, headed for the fabulous St. Lucia and arrived yesterday! And get this...a guy I went to law school with was on our plane and is staying right down the road with his wife. HILARIOUS. Such a small world, right?!

Anyway, tonight there's a party down the way.. I keep calling it "Jump Off" but I think I'm totally wrong.. haha.. We're going to go regardless as to what it's called.

Today, we walked around and explored the area then headed to the beach where we plopped down all day long. With tourism season just barely over here, there are definitely not many people. It's rather nice-not overcrowded, no wait for things, but still plenty of activity. The locals are so great-people will stop their car if you seem confused and ask if you need directions.

As much as I harassed Eric about having someone at the airport to pick us up, it was a really good idea. He drove us the hour to our hotel and told us all about the history along the way-wars, the people, the food, drove us past supermarkets, etc. We booked a tour with the same company tomorrow to see things like the volcano, waterfalls (my fav) and some other stuff.

Overall, I'm just so glad to be here. So relaxing... :) I'll try to blog more when I get a chance and hopefully it wont be so rushed.

Welcome to the weekend, everyone!!

Most importantly, I haven't been injured...yet. haha! Oh, and despite having an "international calling plan" my phone definitely does not work. at all. Arg. Sprint will be getting a few kind words upon my return..haha!

Love from the Caribbean! :)

WBW-Vacation Edition

A long, long time ago.. say... 10 years.. (good Gawd, my reunion is this year. Great reminder here. *sigh*)..a group of recent grads went to Cancun. How we got our parents to ever agree to this, I'm still not certain. The advent of google has definitely brought the ability for parents to actually research these "senior trips" more. Back then, that would have likely provided the reason I was grounded for even asking to go. haha! Nah, we were a good group really. It wasn't anything like you see on MTV spring break these days, that's for sure. 

I don't remember how many people went from our school...maybe 25? Some other area schools went at the same time and stayed at the same place, so it was like Tulsa/Owasso/Catoosa descended upon Mexico for one week. These were the four girls who made up our room-Lisa, me, Blaze and Shawna. :) You'll notice I got some of my hair braided. Yes, that's right. A random local used her comb to braid my hair and put beads in it. *shudder* What was I thinking?! 

You'll also notice how much we looked like high schoolers...and how much I totally think today's high school girls DO NOT look like high schoolers. Am I right here?! 

My friend, Chris, got a funny hat. I made a funny face. It was a funny picture. Whatever. (You can tell our room was super clean). Chris and I are still friends and he even dated my friend in law school for a couple years... funny! I even joined Chi O due in part to his awesome big sister, Julie! 

High school boys are so mature when there's a girl (Shawna from pic above) buried in the sand. Yes, I posted this b/c if you even remotely knew him, you'd laugh b/c he was the perpetual joker... The guy in the middle was one of my best high school guy friends. We even reconnected (thank you, myspace) last year and chaperoned our old high school's prom! See pic. He decided to go into something dangerous in the Coast Guard (recon missions and stuff) and sadly, we lost touch again. :( Doubt he'll be at the reunion...boo... 

Will my children go on a senior trip? That's a toughie... If they're gonna make bad decisions, they're gonna make them regardless of where they are. But, dude.. I can bet the money from my trip would have been spent a little better in say...Europe. haha... 

I'm almost packed!!! YAY!! I took the day off tomorrow even though we don't leave til later just to get stuff finished. So thankful I thought about that! 

I dunno if I'll blog again before I leave... depends how much I avoid things tomorrow....I'm getting excited!!! Ipod charged. Magazines packed. New Moon (reading it again) packed. Clothes...mostly packed. haha! 

"Somebody call NINE ONE ONE!!!"

Sorry to break it to ya, but the blog isn't as exciting as the title... I was driving to DSW for a last ditch attempt at finding a cute bag/purse and my new fav song, Fire Burning, was on...so of course I was jamming like a ridiculous fool...when I saw the girl beside me jamming to the.same.song right at the "Somebody call 911" line! We met eyes, got nervous, then realized we were both listening to the same thing and started laughing... It was an awesome moment. Fact. 

Annnnnd I found the CUTEST bag!! It's a little Nine West number (new thing: calling things "numbers"- like "That's a hot little number." Do it; it's fun). It's yellow! And I may have just taken a pic w my phone and posted it to avoid packing...

I really DO want to go on vacation.. I just want someone else to pack for me...

Oh and fyi...if you had any idea how much stuff I got done at work today, you'd totally hire me... not that I want to be hired...but well, you'd be impressed. Yeah. 

When I get back, the first thing I'm doing is seeing this movie.. b/c everytime I see the preview, I laugh so hard it's really embarrassing.. Just sayin...

Fine. Fine. I'm going to pack. Blah. Oh, and don't think I'm gonna avoid WBW.. It will be posted, my friends.. I just have to find it. Are you reading this? If so, why aren't you posting for Way Back Wednesday?! :) Stacia came up with it and it's genius! Find a photo. Tell a story. Hell, find an internet picture of something you consider "way back"...Whatever! If you want others to see it and you're not already linked to my blog, just leave a comment to say you did it on my WBW post tomorrow! :) 

And while I'm on that, I noticed I've added some followers in the past couple weeks! Fun stuff and super interesting new blogfriends. Thanks so much-I love reading your blogs! :) I think I'll kinda miss the blog while I'm on vacation...betting I'll find a business center and feed my blog addiction at some point... haha!

Oh...update... new neighbor. Girl. Seems cool. Listens to loud, but good music (which is okay b/c she's likely unpacking). She hasn't done anything annoying yet. Will keep you advised. New neighbors make me nervous. 

Things I have done since yesterday

1. Stayed up til 1:45 am cleaning the kitchen, etc. I have issues with coming home to a messy house and avoid it at all costs. I also avoid packing. Soo...cleaning wins.

2. Got my VS swimsuit in (yes, another one...and thank you, Meredith, for your comment on my last post b/c I so agree!). The first one I got from VS DID.NOT.FIT. Good news= this one does!! It's just a basic black bikini and it was uber cheap!

3. Took back a swimsuit I got at AE. It was the first one I got and basically it was out of defeat. I was tired. It fit. It was on sale. I gave in. Then, when I got a couple more, I realized I didn't even like the AE one and it was a waste of money. I took it back and the lady said "We don't return swimwear." I said "Okay... but.. could you please show me where it says that on your return policy?" She looked over it and replied "Lemme call someone.." Three minutes later: "Ma'am, we can return it." I said "I know. Learn your store policies!" (Okay, I really didn't. I was actually very nice, but just sayin...haha) :) I'm a lawyer. I read fine print. 

4. Ate at the new Charlestons out by Bass Pro. Once the patio opens, will be even better! :) And no one knows it's open yet, so go now if you're interested. :)

5. Felt very confident when leaving work that I'd get everything done before we fly away Wed night....until someone said "See you at the meeting tomorrow?" I obviously didn't know about said meeting. I spend the evening working at home so I could attend said meeting. Arg. 

6. Officially have someone to pick us up at the airport in St. Lucia. Seriously hoping he has a sign with at least one of our names on it. I would like to take a photo of this. 

7. Gave myself a pedicure. (I don't like strangers touching my feet.)

8. Looked for a casual purse to carry down there (think cheap, bright) and still no luck. Advice welcomed. 

9. Still love the Coxes on Here Come the Newlyweds. I should abbreviate. HCTN? Yeah. Done. 

10. Looked at my suitcase and thought "I should really get on that..." hahaha...

(And I paid my student loans and had a mini mental crisis per usual..haha.. Happy 1st of the Month!) Hope you had a good Monday, peeps.