We started in San Juan and then sailed to Curacao, Aruba, Dominica, and St. Thomas. Since Andre is not much of a beach person, and I get sunburned just looking at the beach, we decided to look for other types of excursions for our island stops.
In Curacao (ok, I know there's supposed to be a little comma-thing under the second c, but I can't figure out how to do that on my American keyboard) we went for a mountain bike tour of the island. It was incredibly beautiful and included stops at an old fort and a sanitorium which was a hospital of sorts built well outside of town and oriented so that the wind blew into the building from the island side and out the windows to sea to prevent the spread of TB.
For some reason, Andre really liked this old cannon. I pretended not to know him while he was doing this. 
In Aruba, my sweet sweet husband agreed to go horseback riding along the beach with me so that I could enjoy one of my most favorite pasttimes. Poor Andre and his poor horse. For some reason, the ranch decided to give Andre the smallest horse, and his legs were almost dragging the ground! We also found the hotel and beach where we stayed on our honeymoon, and so went back and spent about an hour on the beach there. No worries, though--we stayed tucked under a little thatched umbrella so that the dangerous rays couldn't reach me as easily!
Dominica was gorgeous! All green and mountainous. We took a van ride way up into the mountains for an authentic cooking experience in the home of a local family. We made fish stew, coconut-coated fried plantains, coconut rice, tropical fruit salad, and an incredible spiced rum pumpkin drink. Most of the fruit, vegetables, and herbs came from the backyard.
Andre and Liz, the family's chef. He needed a little assistance scraping all the tomato out.
Slicing plantains. Riveting, I know.
Proof that he's not just a pretty face.
Cooking in the outdoor kitchen. I was kinda nervous because we were given the task of frying the plantains, and this chica doesn't really fry stuff. They turned out pretty good, though.
Pumpkin juice!!! I have a whole new appreciation for Harry Potter's love of this drink. 
Our time in St. Thomas was spent on a 40-ft racing yacht, learning the different roles and racing with a second yacht. Andre was a superb grinder, and I pulled on some ropes. We actually have some really great pictures of this. Unfortunately, they are all on a jump drive in Andre's office. Maybe I'll get them uploaded next month.
Our "cup" for winning the regatta. We let the other people onboard keep it, since the entire rest of the group (including the other yacht) was an extended family traveling together.
We did sign it, though. I again had to pretend not to know Andre.
We had a really great time on the ship, too. Lots of relaxing. We read six books between the two of us, and made it to the gym a couple times, too. I found a great hidden deck at the front of the ship that was perfect for an afternoon nap. And the food was pretty great too. I may or may not have ordered multiple desserts some nights. Okay, I absolutely did.
Escargot. Glad I tried it. Once was enough.
Andre's new friend :)
We went to a mystery dinner theatre one evening, and this "woman" just loved Dre! She pulled him up out of the audience during the hors d'oeurves/plot set-up part of the show and had him help her out with some props, and then came around and hugged on him during dinner. Can you tell how much he loves it?!Okay, Jenn, I did it!
(That's a hair band, by the way, for those of you who may not recognize it. )
Looks pretty normal, right? Old Blue is holding strong--12 years old this year! And you can see they have finally cleared all the mobile homes from the property next door. They're going to be building new homes over there soon. But wait...is there something in that tree over there, something that just doesn't belong?
Well look at that! Somebody's fence found it's way 20 feet up into a tree!
We had a tornado come through last night, and Andre and I were completely oblivious until friends started calling and texting us asking if we were okay. We were fortunate to have absolutely no damage to our home or cars. And from what we've heard so far, there weren't any injuries, just property damage and some power outages.
The back patios/alley of the townhouses just across the parking lot. Some houses across the street had much worse damage to the siding and roofs.
Lightning is never supposed to strike twice, but what about tornados? 'Cause we are now under another tornado watch until midnight tonight. What is going on here?! I thought this was hurricane territory, not tornado alley!
Why they won't let me start performing neurosurgery is beyond me. I mean, I wore personal protective equipment and everything. 
I was just checking to see how many pounds the camera really adds to my butt. I have no idea what my friend Jenn was doing.
The Dress-for-the-Weather game. The mittens fit. The vest didn't. 
My friend Megan. Slightly vertically-challenged.
