So, the hurricane was kind of anticlimactic. Everyone was preparing for this huge storm, but since it went far south of us, all we got was rain and some heavy winds. Not that I wanted it to be crazy and destroy everything, but everyone basically got all hyped up about nothing major.
Here is some video I took as the storm passed by us:
As you can see, not much going on. The part of the island that seemed to be affected most was Bay Road. This is a main road through town which runs right along the water. A day after the storm went by, the waves were still crashing up over the beach and onto the road, dumping sand everywhere. Here are a few pictures:
And here is what the rest of the island looked like the day after the storm:
We spent the day at Cockleshell Beach "aka Lion Beach" and enjoyed the nice weather after the "hurricane" (Brian, Cory, Brad and Lauren)
Tropical Storm Dean has been upgraded to Category 2 Hurricane Dean as it approaches the Caribbean. A picture that was just updated at 5pm is below. I added some info to help make things a little more clear:
So technically, they are expecting the hurricane to go south of us. But we are still on Tropical Storm Watch, which means we will probably get Tropical Storm strength winds and rain as it passes by us.
Not much is going on right now at Ross. Finals were cancelled for tomorrow because of the expected heavy rains, which means Cory has to take his last final when he returns for school the first week in September. Other than that, we are just bracing for lots of rain and wind. We'll keep you posted....
Well, I am back in St. Kitts again. I spent about 10 days in the US visiting family back in June and July, and it was awesome. Too bad it went by so quickly!
Right before I left, Cory and I enjoyed a fancy dinner at Marshall's. It is a great restaurant in Frigate Bay that overlooks the Caribbean, and has amazing food. I had steak for dinner, and saved room for my favorite dessert there...espresso kahlua cheescake! Yum!
The next day, it was off to the airport. Finally, instead of going there to pick up new students, I was actually leaving this time!
Flying out of St. Kitts, I had a 3 hour layover on St. Maarten. Cory recommended that I leave the airport and walk down to a nearby beach at the end of the runway, since my layover was so long and I would have plenty of time to explore. That was the best advice ever, I had such a great time during those few hours!
Here is a video of our landing....so pretty!
First of all, the beach is amazing. So beautiful, with crystal clear water and white sand!
And then, the best part.....
This beach is right at the end of the runway, so planes fly right over you!
Here is the video that I took
Look how close some of them get!!! (I didn't take this one)
Here is a video someone took of a giant plane taking off. Keep a close eye on the beach, and you will see people getting blasted by the jet thrust out into the water
Here is Cory's experience with the jet thrust when he was there
I could have spent all day at this beach! It was awesome, and I was kind of sad to have to go back to the airport to get on my own flight. But that also meant I was finally headed home, and that was great incentive to leave!
Back in the USA! Being home felt so nice, but I was tired from all of the travel, and my mom and I were headed to California in the morning. So we postponed my first Starbucks trip until morning, since we both just wanted to get some sleep.
I wasn't in North Carolina long, but I did get a chance to meet the neighbors' new puppy, Logan. Soooo cute!
We got up extra early the next morning to make the required stop at Starbucks, and finally, the wait was over!
Mmmm, grande extra foamy toffee nut misto.....
And after much waiting in line, it was on the plane and off to California! (we also had some fun testing out the color setting on my camera)
Once we got home to California, it was nice getting to make my way around to see all of my family. My nephew Ethan was only one month old when I last saw him, and I made it home just in time for his 1st birthday party. I love his curly hair!
Ethan really loves this show on the Disney channel called the Mickey Mouse Club. I know it's an older show, but this is a new computer animated version, and he is just obsessed with it.
So after visiting with Ethan quickly, I headed up to Napa. My mom was spending the night at the Silverado Resort to plan a business conference for next year, and I had to be in Napa early the next morning anyway, so I decided to stay with her. The Silverado Resort is such an amazing place, it is so pretty there! Our condo was nicer than most apartments I've lived in!
We took a 4 mile walk around the entire resort and both golf courses early the next morning, which was really nice. I stopped to take a few photos
We even saw some California Quail...they are so cute
And when we got back to the clubhouse, we had the most amazing buffet style breakfast. Being on St. Kitts, by the time some fruits and veggies get to you way out there in the ocean, they aren't exactly fresh anymore, or maybe have some mold, especially the berries. Well, I think I made up for this by eating about 2 plates full of fresh berries that were AMAZING. My mom preferred to have them on her oatmeal
After I was finished in Napa, I headed to Vacaville to visit my younger brothers Alec and Colby. Alec, who is 16, was already taller than me when I left the year before, but not by much. Colby, who is 14, was around the same height as me. I was shocked to find that Colby was now taller than me, and Alec was much taller than me!
Me and Colby
Me and Alec
After hanging out for awhile, I took the boys out to lunch, to one of my favorite little restaurants in the whole world. Favela's is a little family owned Mexican food chain (with only 3 locations) in my home town. They have the best Mexican food I have ever eaten, and that is said even after living in San Diego for 8 years! Out of everything I was looking forward to eating while home, Favela's was at the top of my list.
The menu....
Such a cute little place!
Me and Alec with our giant burritos
Then I couldn't help embarassing the boys; it was a joyous occasion after all....I had the entire staff of Favela's pose with me.
During my entire visit home, I think I ate at Favela's about 5 times! But it was worth it every single time!
On Friday night, I was so excited to attend a Giants game (the Giants vs the Arizona Diamondbacks) with my good friend Jimmy. Here is the view on the Bay Bridge, driving into the city
Jimmy is a season ticket holder, so anytime I know I will be visiting home, I check the Giants schedule and give him a call, hoping he will save me a seat for one game. Thanks again Jimmy! Here is the view walking up to the field
Here we are, right in front of Jimmy's seats, supporting the team with our Giants gear! By the 2nd inning, I had to go buy more Giants gear (specifically a nice warm Giants jacket) when the temperature dropped like crazy and I thought I was going to freeze to death!
I took a few pictures as we walked around the park to the store to get my jacket. Here is the big score board
And here are the fans out in the water, waiting for a home run from Barry Bonds. There are usually more than that, but I don't blame them, it was freezing cold!
And speaking of Bonds...
....We got to see homerun number 750!
We also got to see a crazy fan run onto the field! He ran right up to Bonds, and they chatted for a second. Everyone was expecting Bonds to push him away or walk away, but we were all surprised. Bonds put his arm around the guy, and slowly walked with him to the side of the field, chatting all the way back to the waiting security guards. It was pretty funny.
I had planned on chowing down on some great ballpark food while we were there, but I was just too cold to move the entire game, so we decided to stop at In and Out Burger on the way home. Anyone who doesn't live on the west coast probably doesn't know about this place, but it is the best burger around. Yum! (and check out my new jacket!)
And we thought moving to the Caribbean was a life-changing event! We have a baby on the way, and we are so excited to share the journey with our family and friends!
