Passports to Paradise...

John and I in front of the harbor in Saint Thomas!

Over the Holidays this past year my husband and I were able to travel to the Virgin Islands for vacation. It was a very exciting trip as I had not flown in several years (since 2007) and my husband had never flown before! We were very excited to get to go on this trip with my brother and sister-in-law. I love the ocean and to swim so I was super stoked! When we found out that we were going on a trip for the holidays, the only initial information we were given was that we needed to obtain our passports. We did this right away, and then we begged the question, Where are we going!? Well my brother and sister-in-law had planned this trip as a surprise for us, so rather than give it away, they gave us hints!

Mike and Steph doing
a little shopping in
downtown!

The first hint was a train rolling down a snow covered track. The second hint was picture of a saint. We were lost, and had no skill at figuring out the hints so we continued to beg. We were told that we would not find out our destination until we were packing for the trip. We were woefully excited, and we followed along with this deal, eagerly anticipating the announcement! We were told to pack for warm weather, and we did, before leaving for the airport we were given scrabble tiles, and we were expected to figure out the name of our destination. With a little help and direction, we found that the name of the place we would be spending the next two weeks was Saint Thomas! Of course this lead to googling, which quickly informed us that we would be traveling to the Virgin Islands!

We readied ourselves for the trip and headed to the airport! We were so full of excitement we could almost burst! After a lovely flight into the Islands, we grabbed our luggage and headed out for our rental house. I have never been to any Caribbean Island before and needless to say I was floored by the beauty and differences between the oceans and land I have experienced, and what was before my eyes. The beautiful and exotic mountains and the crystal clear blue water looked like something from a magazine cover of a dream vacation I would never take!

A side view from the balcony of the house we rented!

Once we arrived at our rental home, the view was jaw dropping! We were so lucky to have been blessed to have gotten to go on this trip and adventure in such a beautiful place. After unpacking our bags, and making ourselves at home we prepared to visit the city of Saint Thomas!

The view from a restaurant where we had breakfast!

The first place we went was to Hull Bay Hideaway. This restaurant quickly became a staple of our trip! With delicious fish tacos, a beautiful view, and fun activities to keep you entertained for hours, we spent several hours at this restaurant! The next morning we woke up and went swimming at Magen's Bay, which was voted one of the world's most beautiful beaches by National Geographic. The calm waters, soft sands, and crystal blue water all contributed to the beauty of the bay. While swimming there, my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and I saw a sea turtle poke his head out of the water. This was the first bit of wildlife we had experienced while on the trip and it was an amazing sight to see! Later, we went on a boat tour and went snorkeling at one of the uninhabited islands close by. The fish, coral, and different animals you could see was mind blowingly amazing! I could have spent all day with my head in a snorkle! On a later snorkeling adventure, we even seen an octopus about 10 feet down in the water. It was an amazing sight to see. We also took a ride on The Cat, which was a sail boat that took us out to snorkel to see Sea Turtles! It was so much fun and beautiful to see the Sea Turtles swimming under the water! On another trip, we hired a captain and he took us to the British Virgin Islands. While there, we jumped off the boat and swam ashore an island that has only one establishment on it, The Soggy Dollar Bar, your captain literally boats in as far as he can, and then you jump off the boat and swim into the island. You pay for your beverages, food and gifts with soggy dollars! It was such an exciting place to see.

Our pregnancy announcement! 

By far, my favorite part of the trip was Christmas Day, after our Christmas Dinner, which we had catered in from the Frenchman's Cove Marriott, my husband and I found out we were expecting! After wanting to be parents for so long, it was a beautiful experience to find out on Christmas in the Virgin Islands! Then we proceeded to take our pregnancy announcement photos while we were there to commemorate the exciting news! After a wonderful trip, and a lot of fun with my brother and sister-in-law, we headed home to celebrate the news with the rest of my family. Our adventures in the Virgin Islands will forever hold a special place in my memories! If you enjoyed hearing about our beach adventures here check out some of our other beach adventures here!!

Oh, the Windy City!

The view from our hotel room!

I was so excited to visit Chicago. Although I had been to New York before, I had not traveled to a large city in a long time, and never with my family. So when my husband and I headed for the big city with my brother and sister-in-law, we were very excited.
With a few bucket-list type items, we made our plans! First we had all decided that we had to get some Chicago style deep dish pizza. The first restaurant we headed to was Giordano's. They are famous for their authentic deep dish pizza and we were not going to be disappointed. We checked into the hotel, and bundled up in our winter attire and navigated our way through the cold snowy city. At the restaurant we waited for about an hour to be seated and then we dug into some deliciously thick and cheesy pizza!

The view from the 95th floor during the snow!

We walked around downtown during a lot of our trip and we went to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower. This is not for the weak of heart nor is it for those that fear heights. That many stories in the air, you have to be alright with heights to make it. Unfortunately, our view was blocked by the amount of snow falling down. It was still

The lounge downstairs at our hotel! 

 beautiful and outrageously high though!



The next place we visited was the The Second City Comedy Club, where we enjoyed our dinner with a hilarious show. The city was a wonderful adventure, and because we went near Christmas, we also got to walk around the Kris Kringle Holiday Market, this was a german market full of different crafts, gifts and all sorts of interesting beers and foods. We had a wonderful trip walking around the market looking at all of the different offerings.



Then we headed back to our hotel, which in the downstairs restaurant area, they had a lounge that was interesting to visit while having some after dinner drinks. I enjoyed visiting Chicago with my family so much! I cannot wait to go again. This time, although, I may try to travel when it is a little bit warmer. Visited the Windy City, but never seen the Big Apple? Read about come cool places to visit while in NY here!!

Nawlans....

A view of the city.

New Orleans was an interesting city to see. The downtown area is beautiful. It is full of tons of older historic homes. The streets are pouring with people of all different backgrounds and the town is full of culture and life. Although it was a beautiful city to see, it is not one of my favorite trips that I have been on, nor will I be likely to return. I thought the older homes were beautiful and every single balcony is overflowing with a beautiful plant that pours off and hangs down. When you look down the cobblestone streets, and the buildings are covered in ivy, and every balcony has planters full of multiple overflowing spring flowers, it truly is a sight to see. This was one of my favorite things about New Orleans. I found it to be unique and beautiful. In addition to the plant life and the secret gardens you may stumble upon, the city is full of life and character. No matter where you turn you will be hearing a different story of someone's life, love and passion. You can walk down some of the streets, where people have their art lined down the walls of the buildings. While looking at the art you can see the beauty and a lot of times, their life story. There is a lot of culture and you may hear and have a difficult time understanding the thick french accents natives speak with.

A beautiful New Orleans Sunset.

While in New Orleans,we made sure to get a historic (because they are said to have been created there) hurricane from Pat O'Briens. The drinks were great and the back patio at the restaurant is like another secret garden nestled away. Another place to make sure to visit while you are there is The Cafe Du Monde. They are open 24 hours and no matter what time you drop in you will experience the culture of New Orleans. They are world renown for their famous Beignets. Order one with a warm coffee, or with a glass of milk like I did. Although I had a wonderful time in New Orleans, I probably will not visit again. It is a beautiful city but it does have it's downsides. The streets are extremely crowded and it isn't always the safest place to be after dark. Some of the locals are aggressive in their techniques to "sell" there services and if you go at the wrong time or down the wrong street the smell and the trash is not the prettiest things to see. The other thing I struggled with in New Orleans was mind blowingly large number of homeless folks sleeping under the bridges. If you have ever been to New York, DC, or even just a larger city you may be familiar with the large homeless population, but I have seen none that compared with the heartbreak I experienced looking at the hundreds of people sleeping under the bridges in the city of New Orleans. If you do adventure to New Orleans, which I still recommend, be sure to visit during the daylight, unless you are looking for the 'party' of the night life, and be sure to avoid the rougher areas! These are my traveling tips for visiting "Nawlans" as the locals would say.