Church in St. Thomas

Our first stop on the cruise of a lifetime was St. Thomas. That was a Sunday, so Dad found a branch about 20 minutes from the dock and we rode a taxi into town. It was really cool to go to church in a new place. Everyone was so nice! Two of the most amazing ladies gave talks - Sister Krout, the newest sister missionary in that area and Sister Guilene Finch. Obviously, I knew neither one of them, but after listening to their talks, I felt as though I truly knew their hearts. They were such amazing ladies and very steadfast in the gospel. It was a joy listening to them.

One older woman, from the looks of her around 70 or so, took one look at Dad and said, "You need some sun! That's just not natural!". It was pretty hilarious. She was so concerned for him because Dad isn't the tannest of men, and her bluntness just took us by surprise! We all laughed pretty hard. It definitely went in the quote book Kristie was keeping.

In the open air taxi, about to leave the dock

The driver drove like a maniac! It was like a rollercoaster.

The fam outside the church building

After church, we came back to the ship and changed. We went to a place called Coral World which was a really cool interactive aquarium. We got to see a shark & stingray feeding, pet a shark and watch a sea lion production. Then, we all got to feed stingrays ourselves. That was really cool. I've never been near stingrays and have always wanted to swim with them, or have some kind of interaction. They were really funny because as soon as the Coral World trainer brought us to their aquarium, they seemed to get so excited like they knew what time it was. We were able to sit on the side and stick our hands in and pet them while she told us how they lived and what their temperment was like. They were really gentle and seemed to really like being pet. Then she showed us how to feed them. One stingray in particular would come up and want to be fed, and when you lifted his "nose" to drop the fish in his mouth, he would squirt water at you out of excitement! Needless to say, they nicknamed him Squirt. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the day.

A baby nurse shark we got to pet. She felt like sandpaper.

Petting the baby nurse shark

Learning how to feed stingrays. This was one of the coolest things. The stingrays felt like giant portobello mushrooms!

This guy was way excited!

After Coral World, we walked over to a famous beach called Magen's Bay. It was beautiful and the weather was amazing. We couldn't have asked for a better first day.

Me & Kristie with our new favorite smoothie guy. I forgot his name but he made the BEST pina coladas (virgin of course) known to man! He used all natural ingredients and no sugar added. He even filtered the water used to make his ice. Now that's legit!

Puerto Rico

We left on Friday morning for Puerto Rico and stayed the night in a cute little non-hotel called San Juan Suites. I was pleasantly surprised with the place Carma & Travis picked out. They did a great job! Once we checked in, we found a great place to eat called Las Ruices just two blocks away. The common dish in Puerto Rico is called Mofongo, which is mashed green plantains served with some kind of protien. It is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I really want to learn how to make it. However, as good as it was that night, it didn't agree with me the next day, if you know what I mean.

A plantain is pretty much like a banana. Too much fiber maybe.

Is that TMI?

Who cares...it's my blog!

After we ate, Mike, Kristie, Blake, Shannon, Joseph and I went in search of a fun disco. By the time we found one, Joseph and I were exhausted so we decided to go back to the hotel. The others stayed and had a blast. Needless to say, I was a little jealous hearing their stories the next day. I wish I would have stuck it out.

Joseph and me on the plane

We've arrived! Outside our hotel

Dad, Mom, Carma & Travis at Las Raices

J, me, Mike & Kristie

Shannon & Blake

All the girls with our server. They all had to wear this outfit. When I was looking at this picture later, I thought "Who's the girl on Shannon's left?" and then I realized it was part of the painting. Just a little glimpse into a day in the life of Erin. :)

We had all day Saturday to see the sights in Old San Juan before we had to board our ship. Old San Juan is beautiful! The streets are lined with colorful buildings and everything is really compacted - nothing like Texas. A cobblestone street runs all through Old San Juan also. We went to see the San Juan Gate which is the three mile wall that encloses Puerto Rico. In order to enter the city, you had to enter through one of five gates. The entrance we went through was used for centuries by Spanish dignitaries. They would enter and immediately walk up the street to the San Juan Cathedral to give thanks to God for a safe journey. Guards secured the gates at night and if you were on the other side when they were shut, you were locked out until the morning! Once we entered through the gate, we went to see the fort. This was really cool! All the history behind it was pretty amazing and you really got a sense of what Puerto Ricans went through in order to protect their families and their land.

One of the streets we walked down. I love all the colors.

This building was my favorite. I'm a huge fan of orange and blue. Check out Dad in the corner. There was a FOR SALE sign. We were all trying to get him to buy it. :)

Shannon on the streets of Puerto Rico! That should be a song.

A really fat cat on the streets of Puerto Rico...that should be a song too.

Brothers


Me & J outside of San Juan Gate

Just a normal day with the Martinos. You can see the fort in the background. And Mikey doing an Irish jig. I was so proud!

All the girls standing on a Danish battleground. Yeah, we lift weights...

An amazing backdrop

This was the view from the bathroom

The boys with cannonballs

The girls with cannonballs

Joseph being awesome in a sentry box. This is where guards would hang out and watch for invaders.

This is one of the many living quarters for the soldiers and their families. This picture doesn't do the cramped space justice and two or three families would live in each room!

We also went to see San Juan Cathedral but those pics are pretty boring. All in all, we had an incredible time in Puerto Rico and it was the perfect start to our vacation.

Happy New Year!

This year, Joseph and I had plans to go out to eat with his brother and sister-in-law, along with his cousin and his girlfriend. We were all dressed up and ready to go when unfortunately, our babysitter cancelled at the last minute! So instead of going to dinner and a movie, we got take out, played games and rented a movie. We still had a blast. We also ate a ton of candy leftover from Christmas. I had to get it out of my house. As you can see from the pictures, the boys were on a sugar high.