I was almost starting to think this post would never happen, but somehow here we are! Just a little late, but who is really counting? The trip to St. Croix was one for the books with over 500 photos and a St. Croix engagement to show for it.
Luckily I managed to narrow it down to some favorites to share with y’all over here, but I can’t promise this post isn’t going to be one huge photo dump. Just think of it as a mini blogcation because I’m about to take this little piece of the internet all the way to the Caribbean. I hope you have your drink and sunscreen ready!
Since we only had a week, we had to strategize how we would spend our time to make sure we go to do everything on the bucket list and we did just about all of it plus some!
Monday was spent at the beaches of The Buccaneer again, which was a great place to practice snorkeling for the excursion we had planned for later. The beaches are calm like a pool, which is perfect if you don’t like getting owned by waves (hi, that’s me).
Monday night we headed to the pier in Christiansted, the central northern part of the island, for their famous crab races. Basically, you buy a crab and bet on your crab to win the race and the winner takes home one of the awesome prizes up for grabs!
My luck decided to show up for once and my crab, Brees, won a race which meant this girl got a free bar tab for drinks at one of the resorts! Sidenote: when in the Caribbean, you can never have too many drinks!
Tuesday morning we headed out bright and early back to the Christiansted pier to catch the Big Beard boat to head out to Buck Island Reef National Monument for snorkeling.
Buck Island is an uninhabited island and ranked one of the top beaches in the world. When I say it’s one of the prettiest beaches with the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen, I’m not exaggerating!
After snorkeling, we grabbed lunch at Rum Runners at the pier where we were welcomed by a few crabs that decided to join us and take a nibble on Chris’s toe! After lunch, we walked around downtown Christiansted, which sort of has a French Quarter vibe in the building designs, and I shopped for locally made jewelry.
St. Croix has a lot of hand made jewelry artisans on the island that make unique pieces, each with a significant meaning. I left with two rings and the famous St. Croix hook bracelet that I now wear everyday. They’re some of my favorite accessories that remind me of our engagement! I’m a sap, y’all.
Spoiler alert: I had to write all of this down or else there’s no way I would’ve remembered everything we did each day. The days were long to say the least! After a busy Tuesday, we decided to spend a relaxing beach day at the Renaissance on Wednesday. The beaches are very wavy here, but still make for some pretty views!
Obviously I had to do a mini photoshoot with the scenery, which I’m sure I looked ridiculous doing, but I wouldn’t be a blogger if I didn’t. That photoshoot ended quickly as soon as I stepped on a bee in the sand and stung my foot. It was probably for the best, except I could barely walk the rest of the day, but hey, beauty is pain and I got some cute pictures out of it.
After the beach, we waited until it got dark and spent the rest of the night kayaking to the Bioluminescent Salt River Bay, one of the only few bio bays left. This was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and unfortunately couldn’t be documented because it’s not possible (apparently National Geographic tried with their fancy cameras and still couldn’t catch it).
The bio bay is home to living bioluminescent microorganisms that light up. There are microorganisms that react to your hand as you wave it through the water which looks like sparkly crystals. There are also glowing jelly fish that you can scoop up. You can hold them in your hand; they’re completely harmless. When you touch them, they flash and light up- really the coolest thing ever and a must do if ever given the chance.
After visiting with the beer drinking pigs, we headed to the Cruzan Rum distillery for a tour of the factory. The tour is only $5 and you end it at the bar where you’re greeted with free shots and two mixed drinks. Remember how I said you can never have too many drinks in the Caribbean? They mean it!
We also stocked up on a football season’s worth of rum to take back with us since the airlines basically encourage you to do so by allowing you to check it on for free. Don’t mind if I do!
By Friday, we were exhausted from all the long days and decided to make our last full day a relaxing one, with nothing but eating, drinking, and swimming on the agenda. We headed back to the Buccaneer for the calm waters for a lazy day on the beach.
Chris and I made one last trip to Whistle Beach where he proposed at the beginning of our trip to take a few more pictures of our special place. We also explored the resort and the sugar mills since we didn’t do that the first time around.
Liz Cipriani says
This looks absolutely fantastic! Congrats on the engagement! This makes me want to go somewhere tropical so badly.
Dara @ The Southern Thing says
Thank you!! Tell me about it! I want to be there so badly right now!
Rachel Gault says
What an amazing trip! Congrats again on the engagement, so exciting!
Dara @ The Southern Thing says
Thank you so much!!
SMD @ lifeaccordingtosteph says
Beautiful! Buck Island looks incredible.
Helene in Between says
that water is just SO blue! looks incredible.
Brittany@TheLadyLawyer says
So pretty! Adding to the bucket list 🙂
Elizabeth Falcigno says
That looks like an AMAZING place!! So unbelievably beautiful. Congrats on your engagement!
-Liz
http://www.TheCleanEatingCouple.com
Dara @ The Southern Thing says
It really is gorgeous! Thank you!
Jessie @ Just Jessie says
That looks so amazing! The water is so beautiful! Congratulations on the engagement. 🙂
Miranda @ Miranda Writes says
Congratulations on your engagement! I'd say he picked the perfect spot to propose. Those beaches are incredible. That water is unreal!
Miranda Writes
The Siberian American says
Gorgeous photos-nothing better than the gorgeous Caribbean water! We snorkled the reef by Buck Island too, and it was so neat! 🙂
Becky Ginther says
So many gorgeous photos, what a perfect place for a proposal! That frozen drink in your hand looks pretty good too 😉
MAPLELEOPARD says
Wow how romantic and fun! What a lovely way to celebrate an engagement, congrats! I love your photos, so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
Valerie
Fashion And Travel
Kate at Green Fashionista says
What an amazing trip, and your photos are stunning! Such a gorgeous place for the perfect proposal! And can we talk about how much I love your coverup from Wednesday's pics? So pretty 🙂
Rhonda Albom says
Wow. The crystal clear water, the white sand, the incredible visibility in the sea and of course your happy smiles. What a great trip.
NC Sue says
I'm worried about the pig trying to eat an aluminum can. Did he actually chomp it up and swallow it? Was he okay?
Please come link up these great photos at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/08/double-play-on-way.html
Dara @ The Southern Thing says
The pig drinks, then spits out the can. Completely harmless.
The Girl who Loved to Write says
These pictures are amazing! What a beautiful place!
Lauren @ Lot Forty Eight says
Still here!!