It was hard to leave Ethan with Grandmas and Grandpa, but we decided to treat the other two boys to a "normal" family vacation. Chase hasn't had one since he was 4 and Julian has never had one. We always go somewhere over spring break, but we've always gone with the grandparents so we could have help with Ethan. This year they offered to just take him for a week so we could just go and give all of our attention on the other boys. Ethan hates travelling anyway. So he was happy as could be spending the week with his grandparents.
Anyway, I can't even tell you what an amazing week we had. The relaxation (a normal amount with a four year old), lots of REM sleep, no diapers, no strollers, no crying (for mommy), no frustration (besides the normal amount), etc. etc.
Our trip started April 5th. We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our cruise sailed out that evening. We hopped on the Carnival Victory, unloaded in our room and started the relaxing by the pool.
Our itinerary was:
Day 1. St. Thomas
Day 2. Dominica
Day 3. Barbados
Day 4. St. Lucia
Day 5. Antigua
Day 6. St. Kitts
We planned to spend that whole next day and night in San Juan to explore it a little.
There is so much to tell. So little time to write about it. So here are some of the highlights.
Dominica was BEAUTIFUL. We hiked up a rainforest to a volcanic hot pot and waterfall. Chad and Chase hiked up further to soak in the pool of the fall. It was so amazing.
In St. Lucia we went on a Pirate Extravaganza. It was on a real pirate ship that was used in Pirates of the Caribbean II and Roots. They had pirates, a mock battle and all the free rum punch we could drink. We sailed to a deserted island and snorkeled and played in the clear water. It was so much fun. The kids had so much fun. The pirates let the boys steer the ship (for real), and Chad took home a nice sea urchin wound on his knee. That trip was well worth the money.
In Antigua, Chad and Chase went on the canopy tour. They went deep into the rainforest and zip-lined around. They said it was fun.
St. Kitts was beautiful. We didn't go with a "ship excursion" (too expensive). So we went on our own. We got ourselves a taxi and toured around the island. Our taxi driver was very knowledgeable about the island and gave us a good tour. We ended up at an amazing beach and swam the rest of the day. Such fun.
San Juan was beautiful. Chad took Chase sight-seeing in Old San Juan. I stayed back at the hotel with Jule to play at the beach. We ate AMAZING Puerto Rican food that night and Julian of course made friends with a little Puerto Rican boy who was there with his family. So he was entertained while we ate. It was a perfect trip. everything just seemed to go right.
On the ship, Julian was a very popular little character. Everybody knew him by name and he made lots of friends from the Dominican Republic (the cutest little girls who didn't speak any English, but tried to take care of him like he was their own). He spent the entire time in the pool and on the waterslide. They had a little kids club where he went a few times and had a blast there too. Ugh. Too much fun to tell it all.
Chase went to a 12-14 year old kids club of his own. He had a blast too. He was always gone doing something with those kids and he loved having the freedom to come and go (and eat) when he wanted to. He came home with lots of emails from kids all over the world and he's doing a great job keeping in touch. He said he wants to go on a cruise again soon. Sorry Chase.
Chad and I had a great time too. The sleep was amazing and so were the places we saw. It was hard to leave Ethan, but after seeing the fun that the boys had, it was worth it for them.
Thanks Grandma and Granpa P. and Grandma A. We don't know what we would do without you guys.
