2007. whoop whoop whoop..... that quick, that gone. Key west was great! But "too expensive". The places we stayed were the best available, and yes: expensive. * side note - The Gardens Hotel was chosen by millions of travelers as a 2008 Travelers’ Choice award winner! I'll have to agree - it's the best hotel we've ever stayed at. Then on to Australia! New Zealand! Incredible as well. ...but, flight is too long, time zone hard to adjust to, expensive, etc. No, not me - I loved it. We also went back to Hilton Head Island; was totally relaxing. No complaints from the kids about the food, or being bored, or not wanting to be there. It was a good time. We also, not listed on the home page, went to Kohler WI. Very nice, quiet little town. We stayed at the American Club; you just can't do much better than that place. Truly the most enjoyable & challenging golf courses I've ever played. Kohler, even though un-mentioned on the home page, is a recommended trip/visit. And Cathy also guarantee's that the "spa" is the best ever. That is 2007 in a nut shell.
2006. See the home page for details... Only 5 trips. ....this is the wrong direction to take - fewer trips than the previous year.
2005. Can't believe it's long gone. I believe we took 6 trips - worth mentioning. Vegas (twice - as in '04), a Caribbean cruise ( Cozumel, Grand Cayman & Jamaica), New Orleans (pre-Katrina), Quebec, and the Mayan Riviera (Mexico) are the few trips that we were able to squeeze in during that short year. 6 trips - just the right amount of travel in my book. I'm afraid 2006 won't be as adventurous. See the home page for details.
2004 is below
July & August sent us to Hilton Head Island; personally, my 1st time. What a nice place to vacation! What a super place! Check out a few of our pictures. It was a long drive, but well worth it. We did a lot of biking, walking, swimming, boating, eating, and even found time for golf. What a relaxing trip - if they just could always be that way. We played 3 rounds of putt-putt, and I play a couple rounds at the local course with a new friend & neighbor - Dave. We had a big time on the ocean riding a couple Wave-runners. We also, finally, got to eat & drink at the infamous Salty Dog Cafe.... and had a great time there! They have a nice outdoor bar with live music & plenty of shops; which is no doubt why they have a bar! We stayed in Sea Pines and spent most of our time in Harbor Town, the Salty Dog, and of course at the Sea Pines beach area/bar/restaurant. We did plenty of wave-riding, surfing, and sliding in the ocean. This is a place I plan to go back to.... with all the kids. This was, I believe, a better spot to vacation, with the young 'ns, than a cruise.
April took us on a Spring Cruise, back to the Caribbean aboard the Radisson M/S Seven Seas Mariner. We started off in San Juan, P.R., then off to St. Barth's, Antigua, St. Maarten, and Dominican Republic. I guess I could review each stop. Maybe "grade them". That's the way I am - opinionated. I'll begin by being brief (not easy for me). San Juan - A - always fun & friendly. However, the Hard Rock Cafe had a fire and will be out of commission for awhile. This forced us out into the wilderness of Old San Juan & some out-lying areas. We hit a couple local cafes & pubs, and spent 1/2 day at Isla Verde. Old San Juan - A - great for walking, shopping, sight-seeing, and getting a nice Puerto-Rican feeling. Wyndham Hotel - nice. Lots of street vendors, weekend street shows, & only a few street people ;) .. Isle Verde, San Juan - A - Spectacular hotels, nice beach, some great local restaurants. Not much for walking or sight-seeing. St. Barth's - D - disappointing! Beaches are hard to find. Unbelievable isn't it! An island of about 8 sq. miles and we had problems driving to a beach. Grande Saline beach was nice. St. Barth's is a French island, and the people have the French look and attitude. 'nuff said... except for 1 more thing - Le Select was a huge let down. St. John, Antigua - B - Friendly people. An old island feel...probably because everything is very old. Miller's beach was very nice and had a very clean, relaxing cafe, it was a restful stop for us. Also, the bar tenders at Miller's were awesome (unlike Nikki's Cafe on St. Barth's). Philipsburg, St. Maarten - A - They built a peer to attract the cruise ships resulting in a new, convenient place to get off your ship. It's a 15 minute walk into town. Lots of shopping, great beach, loads of hotel & beach bars & restaurants, and some nice music coming from every establishment (I'm talking about the kind of music we like - 80's/90's piped in and then some live Caribbean on the beach). This is a place we will gladly go back to.
I've highlighted some of our favorite spots of the Caribbean up at the right. We're not experts on the region but we have certainly seen plenty. It doesn't include every stop, nor every "favorite" location/vacation spot for us ... anyone who knows us, knows that Las Vegas is our #1 destination - great place for a wedding too ;) (in 2003 we ended up there 3 times, a record for us. And twice in '04. NO, we don't have a problem!). Our most enjoyable Caribbean destinations have probably been Grand Cayman & San Juan. The great thing about the Caribbean is that every island has it's own personality and varying points of interest. We've yet to determine our #1, favorite Island.
Amongst the inland destinations; New York city and New Orleans come in a tie for 2nd. Cruising Alaska and traveling to the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee must be mentioned. Orlando was great too! Our family is always first, but the Sun, the Beach, Margaritaville, and a cold Kalik Beer ... come in 2nd... ?? ... ok, who am I kidding .... If you've ever sat on a Caribbean Beach, watching the waves roll up, while drinking a cold beer (of course, with a lime floating in it) then you know what I'm talking about. The people are friendly, the drinks are always cold, the weather warm, and the local foods are usually so good that nothing else really matters. It's so relaxing. Families can be a bit troublesome at times and we all need to get away from them for brief periods. In fact, without that dangling carrot of an upcoming trip for the two of us, hanging just out of our reach, I doubt we'd make it 'till our tomorrows. Sounds like a Buffet song! ...long live Jimmy... and long live vacation traveling!
