Uh Oh, Someone Learned How to Use YouTube...It's About Time!

Now that I'm finally starting to write on our blog a little more, I figured it was time to learn how to upload videos to YouTube.  It was pretty simple, I'm not sure what took me so long to attempt it.  Here's my first video.  Greg took it of the dolphins we found while on our friends' boat a few weeks ago.  Enjoy!

Hiking the L'Esperance Trail

The other day Greg and I hiked the L'Esperance trail with our friend Lesli. It was such a beautiful day, and after a long week at work it was so nice to get outside!

Greg hiking the first section of the L'Esperance Trail



A beautiful flowering Pinguin plant

We also finally got a chance to see the Baobab Tree, also known as the "tree of life". There is only one Baobab tree on St. John, as it is usually found in the African savannah regions. The seeds for this tree were brought to St. John by slaves that were brought here. The large trunk of the tree can hold water and can be tapped during periods of drought.

The Baobab Tree at the ruins of the old Seiban Estate

 

 

Lesli with the Baobab Tree

 

The trail has a beautiful view of Reef Bay, and ends at Little Reef Bay. After several miles of hiking we were very happy to be able to dip our toes in the water to cool down.

View of Reef Bay

A cairn found on the Little Reef Bay beach

Lesli, enjoying the cool water and view



Greg, getting ready for a dip

Dolphins, Whales and Fish, Oh My!

A few weeks ago, Greg and I had the most amazing morning with our friends, Mike and Bridget.  They recently got a new boat and invited us to go fishing with them.  Let me start off by saying that none of the four of us know  anything about sea fishing, so right off the bat we knew this was going to be an interesting experience. 

We only had 2 rods, so Greg and Mike got them set up and cast them into the water.  After several minutes Greg decided to add to the bait, and through a couple of Doritos into the water. I'm not saying it was the chips, but about 10 seconds later Greg had caught a barracuda, coincidence, I think not. I have to say, it was pretty funny watching Greg and Mike reel in the fish, unhook it, and set it free. All while trying not to get bit by the barracudas enormous teeth.

 

 

 

We had just thrown the lines back in the water when Mike thought he saw a couple of dorsal fins coming out of the water close by.  So, we pulled in the lines, motored over to where he saw them and found a Mama dophin and her baby.  It was incredible!  The water was so calm which gave us an amazing view of dolphins.  It was definitely the best dolphin experience I've had since we've been down here.

 

 

 

While following the dolphins, we caught a glimpse of something else in the water close by....something big!  We had all heard that there were a couple of pods of whales moving through the area, and were so excited when we saw water sprouting from their air holes.  We quickly motored the boat over to them, but as soon as we got to them, they dove down into the water.  This went on for about an hour or so with us never being able to  get very close, but it was such an incredible experience to get as close as we got. 

We had such a wonderful day with great friends!

8 Tuff Miles (Feb. 23, 2013)

Since finishing the marathon in January, Greg and I turned our focus towards training for a race on St. John, called the 8 Tuff Miles. This is an 8.5 mile race that crosses through the center of St. John. It runs from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay along Centerline Road with an elevation gain and drop of 999 feet. It's an extremely hilly run, and this was Greg and my second year participating. Greg did awesome, completing the race in 1 hour and 6 minutes. I beat my time from last year by almost 4 minutes, and beat my goal of 1 hour 30 minutes by 15 seconds.



At the start line in Cruz Bay


This race just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  When they started this race 17 years ago there were around 20 racers.  This year over 1,200 racers crossed the finish line in Coral Bay.



Highest point in elevation sign!



Our friend Tiffany, Greg, and me at the finish line in Coral Bay.



Greg with our friends Allison and Tiffany enjoying a well
deserved beer at Skinny Legs after the race.

Catching Up

Okay, well so far this year I haven't been doing a very good job at keeping up with our blog. Not much has been going on with us lately, but I realize that I have skipped a few blog worthy moments. The next few posts are things that we've been up to in the past 2 months.

Fun in Disney World (Part 2)

On Tuesday, we spent most of the day in the Magical Kingdom, we of course did all of the classic rides, and had a blast on Space Mountain, and the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor.  We were a little disappointed that Splash Mountain was closed, but we'll just have to catch it next time.

So excited to start our day!

A great day in Disney!

Captain Greg Sparrow! Aargh!

We also treated ourselves to some food that we definitely can't get on St. John.  I couldn't believe that neither Greg or Nicole had ever had a turkey leg.  Mmmm...so good!

Greg enjoying his turkey leg.

Mmm... ice cream sundaes!

It was a great trip, and it was so nice to get off of the island for a few days.  We are all already talking about doing the race again next year, or a different marathon, we haven't decided yet, but we all enjoyed this one so much, that I wouldn't be surprised if we do Disney again. 

Fun in Disney World (Part 1)

After the marathon, Greg, Nicole and I stayed a few extra days to take advantage of being in Disney World.  Nicole spent most of Monday with her Grandparents in Epcot while Greg and I tackled three of the Disney Parks on our very sore legs.  We were definitely moving pretty slow, but walking around was probably the best thing for our legs.

Tower of Terror!

Standing in line for the Tower of Terror.

Hmmm...Where should we go next?

We started in Disney Hollywood Studios, where we survived the Tower of Terror, the Rockin' Roller Coaster, and of coarse the Star Wars ride.  Next we moved on to the Animal Kingdom, which was probably my favourite park.  I loved seeing all of the animals in the Animal Safari, and the new Expedition Everest ride was really fun.  Also, apparently January is the time to go to Disney World.  We didn't wait longer than 20 minutes to go on a single ride...Score!

Here comes our safari!

We got really close to a giraffe.

Lots of sunbathing crocodiles.

White rhinos!

We got really close to this little guy.  He came right up to the safari.

Me in the Animal Kingdom with Expedition Everest in the background.

After the Animal Kingdom, Greg and I headed over to Epcot to meet up with Nicole and her Grandparents.  We had a lot of fun going around the world, and loved the light show at the end of the night.

Enjoying a Bratwurst and Oktoberfest in Germany.

Nicole and me waiting for the light show to start in Epcot.

Walt Disney World Marathon

Greg at the race expo with his bib number.

Fun at the race expo.

Greg and I ran the Disney marathon last Sunday January 13th.  The race started really early with the first group of runners starting at 5:30AM.  We stayed at the Pop Century Disney Resort,  which was great because we got free transportation to the race site, and all of the parks, but we we had to be in line for the buses at 3:00AM, so it was definitely an early start.  It was also much hotter than they were originally expecting, but I think that actually turned out to be to our advantage since we were used to training in hot weather.

View of Cinderella's Castle at mile 5.

 The race went really well!  Greg did amazing and beat his goal of 4 hours by getting a time of 3:58.  I'm so proud of him.  I didn't beat my goal, but had a cold that was still hanging around from earlier in the week, so didn't expect to get the time I wanted.  I crossed the finish line with a time of 4:53. 

Greg and me after the race.

Greg, Nicole, and me.

Disney sure had this race worked out.  I was amazed at how organized everything was.  The race itself was really fun, with characters, and entertainment throughout the whole race.  It was also so nice for Ellen, Greg's Mom, to come to Orlando to cheer us on.  We saw her several times along the route.  Unfortunately, she had to leave later that day, but it was so great to catch up even if it was a short visit.

3D side walk artist drawing the marathon logo.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the hotel pool and napping.  Later that night Greg and I ventured out to Downtown Disney, where we had a bite to eat, and watched some football.

Disney World Here We Come!

As some of you know, Greg and I have spent the last 4 months training for the Disney Marathon, which is this Sunday January 13th. It definitely hasn't been easy training on St. John because it's so hilly, and lately it's been so busy that we've been working crazy hours, but we've done the best we can, and are as ready as we're going to be!

We leave today for Orlando, along with our friend Nicole, who is also running. We're going to be meeting up with Nicole's, and Greg's parents tonight. It's so nice of them to come all the way down to FL to cheer us on.

I can't believe the race is in just two days, wish us luck!

Greg waiting for our flight at the St. Thomas airport.

Happy New Year!

My New Year's resolution this year is to stay better connected with friends and family.  That being said, I have decided to start up our blog again.  I realise that I didn't do the best job at it the first time around (I'm blaming part of that on a sub-par internet connection over the past year) so I'm really going to make a conscious effort at it this time.   It's a new year, new internet connection, it's gonna get crazy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's, and I'm really looking forward to telling everyone what we've been up to down here on St. John.