Well to start 2009 off on the right foot a trip to the Virgin Islands sounded like a perfect idea! On December 30th I flew out of Newark, NJ and had a direct flight to paradise, Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas. What follows is a brief overview of each day of the voyage.
Day 1: I arrived in St. Thomas and met up with Kelsey. We explored St. Thomas and discovered "Two for Tuesday's" at The Greenhouse. The Captain Mango was quite delicious!
Day 2: We woke up early to take the ferry to Tortola. We met the rest of the group at The Moorings and boarded our new home for the next two weeks. After preparing the vessel for voyage we set sail at 3pm and headed to Key Bay on Peter Island where we anchored for the night. It was one of the nicest snorkel sites we had the whole trip. Plenty of fish, coral, and even a nurse shark.
Day 3: We woke up early and went for a long morning snorkel. Saw more turtles and fish as well as a 1.5 ft Spiny Lobster, mmm he would of been tasty! Had a delicious breakfast and then set sail for Long Bay at Virgin Gorda. It was approximately a 2.5 hour trip and it was beautiful, plenty of sun to soak in. Once anchored we went snorkeling at Mountain Point. This was a cool snorkel site because around the point there was this hidden grotto. You had to dive down in the water and go through an underwater archway up into the grotto. Very cool but slightly challenging with the current and surge.
Day 4: We woke up very early to sail over to The Baths just so we could get a day mooring. The Baths were awesome, it is all these enormous boulders which form natural tidal pools, tunnels, arches and scenic grottoes, that are open to the sea. Some of the boulders are about 40 feet long. It is an amazing place to visit but can get very cramped and touristy when the cruise ship folks arrive. After we explored for a bit we hiked to the "Top of the Baths" where there was a little restaurant and a freshwater pool. We had some delicious cheeseburgers in paradise and a nice dip in the pool. Then we took the dinghy back to our boat and set sail for The Dog Islands. We took up a mooring in the North West corner of Great Dog island and did some snorkeling. Then we sailed over to Drakes Anchorage in Gorda Sound where we anchored for the night.
Day 5: In the morning Mary and I took the dinghy out to this little cove to watch some amazing big waves roll in. As we rounded the point we saw most of the waves were breaking on a pretty shallow reef and there were a bunch of surfers out. It looked pretty gnarly. After breakfast we did some "sailing school" with the pro's Mary and Todd. We practiced tacking with the jib and also did two well maintained jibes. We sailed over to Saba Rock and took up a mooring ball at the Bitter End. We explored both Saba Rock and the Bitter End but decided to eat dinner at the restaurant on Saba Rock.
Day 6: We woke up very early to get ready for our first dive trip. We took the dinghy over to the Bitter End and docked outside of Killbrides, the company we were diving with. We decided to do a two tank dive, the first being out at Ginger Island. We dove a site called Diane's Point, it was a sloped bottom with a lot of coral and various fish. Unfortunately there was quite a bit of dead coral which was sad to see. Our second site was over at Great Dog Island and it was called Two Ray Bay.
This was an awesome site because we dove a plane wreck. There were very large schools of fish and the coral was in much better shape. I came to the realization that warm water diving is a lot more pleasurable then the cold water in Alaska! After our dives we headed back to the boat and set sail for Marina Cay. I even took the helm and practiced my cruising skills.
Day 7: After refilling our water tanks we left Marina Cay and headed over to Trellis Bay. It is a very artsy community with a lot of handmade goods. Very cool! After a short visit we set sail for Monkey Point. Wow, talk about exciting snorkeling. There were hundreds and hundreds of minnows, they were so thick you could barely see through them. However, it is slightly startling when your swimming through the minnows and all of a sudden your face to face with a 3-4 ft long Tarpon! After snorkeling we set sail for Jost Van Dyke where we anchored in Great Harbor. After dinner aboard the boat we all piled in the dinghy and went ashore to check out the infamous Foxy's; "where friends are met... and memories made". Oh how true that proved to be! Kelsey and I were hoping for a fun night with drinking and dancing. In the beginning it looked like we were going to disappointed, that was until we met the Scottish couple. Suddenly the party started, the drinks were flowing, and then Kelsey and I met our pirates. The rest of the night... well lets just say what happens in BVI stays in BVI!
Day 8: The next day Kelsey and I being semi-cranky and hungover couldn't get off the boat fast enough when we got to Cruz Bay at St. John. We had a much needed lunch and checked out some of the shops before getting back on the boat and sailing over to Leinster Bay on St. John.
Day 9: In the morning we headed ashore to hike up to the Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins. It was a nice walk and the ruins were pretty cool. At the ruins there was a local who gave out samples of sugar cane, "chew but don't swallow", it was not what I expected but very yummy. After the hike we went for a swim/snorkel out at Watermelon Cay. It was awesome snorkeling and I got some of my best underwater photos there. I saw a huge beach ball sized puffer fish, rays, flounders, very large starfish, barracuda, and the typical reef fish. Once back on the boat we headed over to Salt Pond Bay on St. John. It was late afternoon by this point so we took the dinghy up to the beach and hiked Ram's Head. What a beautiful view from the top!
Day 10: We left fairly early the next morning and sailed over to Road Town, Tortola to check back into BVI customs. Once done with customs we sailed to The Indians for some more snorkeling. I decided to sit this one out and soak up some sun. After snorkeling we headed to Privateer Bay on Norman Island.
There were a bunch of caves so Kelsey and I took the kayak and went exploring. Later that night during dinner we were eating our Cornish Game Hens by headlamp light and throwing our bones over the back, when we started hearing a slurping noise. I jumped up and shined my headlamp over and we were all shocked to see a bunch of sharks sucking the bones off the surface of the water while bats were trying to grab them of the surface. I of course had the crazy idea of going fishing! 
So I tied some dental floss to a hot dog and threw the hot dog out and lured the sharks closer. It was amazing to see all the sharks in various sizes and of course it freaked everyone out for snorkeling the next day. Later that night some of us wanted to go around the point and check out Willie T's so we took the dinghy over. The Willie T is a floating pirate ship bar/restaurant and it is quite a hoot. Within 5 minutes of arriving we did a "Shotski", watched a girl run around topless and molest the bar tender, a guy peed on our dinghy, and we convinced a very drunk obnoxious guy to jump off the top of the ship. The night only got better when the really drunk group left and the Yachtzee's arrived. Not only did they dance with us but "The Lady in Red' turned the railing into a stripper pole and Kelsey lead the whole group to Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Day 11: We had another early start in the morning because we were going on our second dive. We sailed over to Manchioneel Bay on Cooper Island where we met with our dive group. We left a little after 2pm and headed over to the Wreck of the Rhone. The RMS Rhone was a royal mail steam packet ship that transported cargo between England, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. She was wrecked off the coast of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands on October 29, 1867 during a hurricane. It was a very cool dive site with awesome visibility. We saw tons of fish including groupers and some very nice coral heads. After the dive we headed out for our last group dinner on Cooper Island.
Day 12: The trip was slowly coming to an end and no one wanted to leave. We all packed up our stuff and cleaned up the boat while we sailed back to The Moorings base. Kelsey and I parted ways with everyone and took a taxi back down to the Ferry building where we caught a ferry back to St.Thomas. That night we decided to end where we started at The Greenhouse. We made it an early night and relaxed in our room before falling asleep.
Day 13: Our departure was nearing but Kelsey and I had a few hours in the morning so we walked around St. Thomas and went into some of the shops before finally taking a taxi back to the airport. Our flights left at similar times so we were able to go through customs together and then kick it in the airport before we parted ways to head back to the real world.
This trip is by far one of the most amazing experiences I have had to date and I was able to share this adventure with some really great people. It was also a great way for me to add to my life list of birds and fish. Some of the sightings include the Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Brown Booby, Magnificent Frigatebird, and of course one of my personal favorites the Brown Pelican. As far as the fish go, there are just far too many to mention!
In early March, I was lucky enough to get to see a bunch of different friends who I hadn't seen in a while. The excitement started when Sadie and Sean came up to New Brunswick for a brief visit. I gave them a little taste of Rutgers by going to Stuff Yer Face for dinner. Afterwards I introduce Sadie to bubble tea which we both enjoyed. We chatted for a bit and then it was time for them to hit the road and continue their adventure. Later in the week Sadie was able to come back down and stay the night. We went to game night at a friends place where we played Risk as well as Rock Band. We then stayed up way too late chatting away! It was so great to have some Alaskans back in my life! Then the weekend of the 13th I did a little road trip up north. First I stopped in Waltham, Massachusetts to see Cody and help him move to a different apartment. There were some beautiful swans I had the pleasure of stalking and the weather was amazing. I spent two days with him and then headed north a little more to Durham, New Hampshire. An old roomie of mine lives there and it was great getting to see her and catch up. Vicki and her boyfriend 
Andy are quite crafty and they taught me how to screen print my own t-shirts. Very Cool!! On Sunday Andy took us to Boston to see his mom's bakery where we got some very delicious treats and then went on a nice walk near Walden Pond in Concord Mass. After an eventful weekend I headed back to Jersey. Later that week on Wednesday, Tucker was in town from California and she came and hung out with me for a bit. I met Tucker and her friend Kelly at Harvest Moon and then we headed over to Easton Ave. for some ice cream. Later that night I taught Tucker how to play Ticket to Ride before we crashed for the night. The next morning it was very rainy which canceled our South Street Philly plans. Instead we headed towards Philly and stopped by REI and hung out before Tuckers flight. So thank you thank you to all my friends for keeping me in mind during your travels or for letting my crash on your couch. Your all great and I can't wait to see you again.
The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, which contained an enormous recreation of a Humpback Whale hanging from the ceiling. The Akeley Hall of African Mammals, is where I got up close and personal with some elephants and tigers. The Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples, 
There was also the Primate and 
dark we finally made it to Lands End just in time to get our free meal. We booked it to the dining room where Tasha enjoyed her King crab legs and I enjoyed a lovely Halibut Iliamna. Everything was delicious! With our full tummys we decided to do some exploring. We put on our bathing suits and checked out the hot tub, sauna, and current pool. Later we retreated to our room where we discovered a multitude of beds. Alaska does a great job of taking a tiny room and having it comfortably sleep 5-6 people. After having our choice in sleeping area we decided to get some sleep before our big adventure the next day. The next morning we woke up, made ourselves breakfast at the yummy buffet and then headed out. First we stopped at the Eagle Lady's place to observe some Grey Crowned Rosy Finch then we headed to our plane. It was a little four seater and the flight over to Seldovia was a little
bumpy but the views were amazing. Seldovia is a very tiny town that has a lot of chainsaw carvings. There was next to nothing open so Tasha and I decided to just go for a long walk and explore the town. Along the way we took photos of all the chainsaw carvings, watched some sea otters play in the harbor and froze our butts off. It was around 6 degrees outside, BRRR! That 
night we stopped by the little conveniencee store and bought the ingredients necessary to make microwave nachos. Turns out our room had a huge kitchen but no stove only a microwave. We watched far to much Nip/Tuck that night while eating our delicious nachos. The next day we only had a short time before our flight. So Tasha went on a morning hike while I stayed back and explored town a little more. At noon we flew back over to Homer. This time the flight was much calmer and beautiful. We shopped around Homer and then started the drive back to Seward. It was a great trip and a lot of fun!
