Family Beach Vacation 2023...

12 days before school started, we took our greatest adventure of the summer! We went a bit off the beaten path and found a tiny little island, unspoiled, and appropriately named, Queen of the Caribees, as everything about this West Indies island was magical!

We were really all over the map literally when trying to plan this beach vacation. Since it was so close to my 40th birthday, Micah let me head up this destination. I'm a sucker for exploring secluded lands that feel as if they have yet to be discovered. I am very intentional about our travels, believing that our journeys to faraway places are so much more than just a vacation. 

I love the Caribbean, and so that was my starting place. I stumbled upon Nevis because it is better known for it's counterpart island St. Kitts. However, even though they are often coupled together, the island of Nevis is much more remote. I ended up finding beach huts sitting right on the sandy beach and I was sold! With so much golf traveling this summer, we had to book this trip right at the end of summer.... which ended up being the perfect way to end our break!

Getting to our paradise was a long day of travel, first flying to Puerto Rico and then hopping on another flight for Nevis. Once we finally made it, we were excited, hungry and a bit tired! But that sand was calling our name, the swimsuits in our bags taunting us... there was no time for tired and not a minute to waste getting to that water! 

We were greeted at our bungalow with true island hospitality, which included rum punch, homemade chips & guacamole and fruit punch for the kids. Roen and I were the first down to the water- we practically ran! Remi had to get all this technology situated and ready, because this kid loves capturing videos and pictures of all things under the sea! Micah headed straight to the beachfront bar, because all I wanted was a tropical drink in hand and to sit on the beach... literally had been dreaming of this moment all summer! Thinking back, I still feel that rush of excitement of this very moment!

Within seconds of our very first plunge, we realized we had discovered what might be the best slice Caribbean water in the entire sea. We found dozens of sand dollars, spiny sea stars, and starfish as big and orange as basketballs. These creatures were literally everywhere! We snorkeled for hours, collected sand dollars (we only collect the white ones, leaving the living brown sand dollars undisturbed), played in the sand, met a local fury friend and watched the sun go down over the deep blue waves. 

That evening, we had a chef come in and cook a meal of local cuisine for us. We knew we would want to be in the water as long as possible, so this was the perfect option. Chef Elvis prepared our food and when it was ready, we came up, and had dinner on our balcony, overlooking the sunset and in our swimsuits... doesn't get much better than that for my crew!

After dinner, we went back out to the sand and went crab hunting... oh the fun! The boys hollered, laughed, chased and caught see-through, pinching crabs until we were forced to call it a night! As we tucked into our beds, there was no better feeling than knowing, it had all just begun!