Our Honeymoon on the Cruise!

On November 9, 2008, Joon and I left for Toronto, begining our two week journey of family, friends, honeymoon and wedding, all rolled up into a cruise and all inclusive in the Southern Caribean.

We began our trip with a whirlwind cruise of the Southern Caribean, with seven stops in seven days. We embarked the ship in San Juan, Peurto Rico and steamed full aheah for our first stop, St. Thomas. Hot and very developed, St. Thomas had more jewelery stores than a person knows what to do with. Now as a gal who LOVES anything sparkly, I have to admit that the amount of jewelery stores were a bit overwhelming. It was in St. Thomas that Joon decided that he wanted to get a new watch for our upcoming wedding, and so the hunt for the perfect watch began, although at that point, we weren't sure what the perfect watch would be.

Next stop was a little island called Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic. Dominica is an island that depends entirely on tourism and fruit exports, so the things to do and see are natural things, not shopping. So a cab was chartered for eight, and away we went to the interior of Dominica. We were headed to the rainforest where we would be swimming in natural pools with a waterfall. It was amazing!!! We also had a chance to try fresh bananas, and they were fantastic. Just a side note, the bananas we eat in North America are picked TWO MONTHS before they are ripe for exports. Eating a ripe banana is like eating an entirely new fruit. It was so sweet and tasty... YUM! We also had a chance to see sugar water from sugar cane, which was very neat. After a full day, back to the ship we headed for some naps and sailing to our next destination, Barbados.

We docked bright and early in Barbados and first stop on our list of things to do was a tour of the Mount Gay Rum factory, home of the oldest Rum in the world. Now, a tour of a Rum factory usually means a taste of the Rum produced at the Rum factory, so by 11 AM, we were all a little tipsy! With our bags of Rum in hand and rumcake in the other, off we headed to the beach for some sun, sand, and snorkeling. Joon, his dad, and Matt decided they wanted to see more than shore fish, so they charted a boat to take them to the deep water. First stop, an old shipwreck for some snorkelling. After the shipwreck, they went out to a reef just off the coast of Barbados and swam with giant turtles. Joon's dad and Matt hooked a ride with the turtles which took them deep down to the depths of the ocean, which forced them to let go! After a great day in Barbados (and a small sunburn on me) we headed back to the ship for rest, and our first formal night on the ship.

Thursday we docked in St. Lucia to unsettled clouds, and after about an hour in town, we were forced back to the ship due to RAIN!! Not something Joon and I wanted to see as in just a short seven days, we would be back for our wedding. The rain seemed ominous foreshadowing of what was to come. Not wanting to dwell, we accepted the rainy day, headed to the pool, and napped, swam, and played "Big 2, a chinese gambling game that can get heated very quickly, especially in the Chan family!!!

Day 5 we docked in Antigua, which seemed like a nice little town, but we bypassed the town and headed again to the beach!!! We enjoyed more sand and sun, and after a week of the ship, it was definitely what we all needed!

Our last day on the ship was in St. Kitts, and after an entire week of go-go-go, we were all exhausted. Joon and I took a quick tour of the town, and then headed back to the ship to nap! We slept the entire day away, so not too much to report on St. Kitts... sorry!

We pulled back into San Juan after a busy week with a bit of sadness to realize that our holiday was half over, but excitement as the big day was approaching and we were meeting all our family and friends in St. Lucia!

More to come on St. Lucia, and pictures from the cruise!!!


xoxo
L&J

A part of history!

Wow. Life is busy and crazy and hectic, and as Joon and I frantically pack and prep for two weeks away on our wedding and honeymoon in the southern caribean, we had to pause for a moment last night after Barack took the presidency of the United States. I didn't think it was possible for change in the US. Especially after the last two democratic candidates (Kerry and Gore) were supposedly shoe in's to win.



But, history has been changed, and Barack is in! I feel like this is a teeny tiny taste of what it must have been like in the 60's during the human rights movement, and Martin Luther King's speech, I have a dream. I feel grateful that I have had a chance to witness this and be a part of history.



Barack Obama is the hope of the future, and the catalyst of change. Yay Barack and adios Bush!!!!