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2006/4/21 Our St Lucia VacationWhat a week we had! As you know, we left for sunny St Lucia last Friday evening. We had a layover in Atlanta before boarding the plane to St Lucia on Saturday morning. Our excitement mounted as we approached the island. Little did we know that despite being such a small island (14 miles by 27 miles) the drive from the airport to the resort took an hour and followed very narrow, windy, mountain roads. This was an adventure in itself! When we finally arrived at the resort, we were in for a bit of a disappointment. Although the resort was beautiful, our suite left much to be desired. The best way I can describe it is to refer to Revenge of the Nerds II. If you have seen this movie, you will understand. After the nerds are forced to leave the beautiful hotel, they wind up staying in that dive where an alligator lives in the pool. I kid you not, this was our impression of our first suite. Perhaps you notice I said "first" suite. This is because we decided on the spot that we would not stay in that room. We immediately contacted the concierge and asked for a new room - we offered to pay whatever they wanted but told them we would not stay in that suite. Originally, they were less than helpful, so we marched back into the concierge office and told them that if there was no other room available, we would be leaving on the first available flight. We explained that the suite we booked was based on their descriptions and pictures from the website. While they would have loved to have disputed this with us, we pulled out the Blackberry, went to the Sandals website and showed them pictures of the suite. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words . . . we were provided another suite that was quite lovely as you can see from the pictures. If only our troubles ended there. Unfortunately, we spent the majority of the vacation having to be the squeeky wheels just to get basic service such as housekeeping. We are not sure what the deal was, but it appeared that we fell through the cracks and were forgotten. We even had to hassle them on our last day to get our checkout documents (which were supposed to be provided the day before departing). To top it off, we called for bellman assistance with our bags (as was required by the resort's policy) and they failed to arrive after an hour so Garrett carried our bags to the Concierge office where he was told by the manager that he did not need to do that. Well Garrett explained that it appeared no one else was going to do it. The manager was speechless. This may have turned out to be a good thing because fifteen minutes later, he informed us that they had hired a private car to take us to the airport so that we would not have to ride the shuttle. This was a nice touch but a case of too little, too late. I think perhaps they were concerned about the evalutation form, and rightfully so. We had much fun filling out that form. This is not to say that our vacation was a bust, it was not. We had a wonderful time together, made some new friends, and have great tans. Our time to just relax by the pool and on the beach was what we were looking forward to most going into the trip and in that regard, the trip was perfect. St Lucia was also a very beautiful island so it made for a wonderful backdrop in all our pictures - check out the slideshow!
I am not convinced that Sandals is terrible, after all we had the best time at Sandals Negril on our honeymoon, however, I strongly discourage anyone from visiting any Sandals in St Lucia as the customer service was a notch below where it should be.
We arrived home early this morning due to airport closings in the Southeast last night. It was a long day of travel but Salem was thrilled to see us and it felt so good to get even a couple of hours sleep in our own bed. Now we are just getting back to the fun of work and cleaning up the house. Fortunately, we came home to warm, sunny weather.
On a completely different note, we would like to welcome our newest little Johnson (Aubrey Danielle) to the world. Our wonderful friends, Justin and Tiffini Johnson, welcomed their second little girl into this world on April 15th. Big sister Taylor is quite impressed and a perfect little helper. We will be flying to Las Vegas in August to meet our new "niece" and cannot wait!
We hope you all had a Happy Easter and are enjoying your Spring! 2006/4/8 The Saga Continues . . .What a week we have had. . . Anyone who knows me and my driving history, probably figured it was only a matter of time before I got into another accident (especially with the way people drive in MA). Well on Thursday it happened! I should begin by saying that I am completely fine, not so much as a bump or scratch. And, contrary to what you are all likely thinking, this was not even remotely my fault - there is a first for everything :) When I was driving to physical therapy at 5 AM, I noticed a semi wheel-well in the middle of my lane. I had three choices: swerve to the right and go down a minor cliff, swerve to the left and hit the car next to me, or hit the wheel-well. Fortunately, my driving has improved since I was as a teenager, and I opted for the responsible choice - I hit the wheel well. Originally, I thought it just took out my tire. I pulled over to the side of the highway (a very scary experience in itself!) and called Garrett, begging him to come rescue me (he did). I then called for roadside assistance. After what seemed like an eternity, Garrett arrived and assessed the damage. Not only was the tire blown, but the front bumper and front right side were damaged - USAA estimates the damages to be at least $4100 (thank goodness for insurance!!!). The car was towed to the body shop and is currently being repaired. Major bummer to happen to my new car but at least I am okay and didn't hurt anyone else. In a very strange way, I am a little happy to now say that I have been in an accident that I did not cause - trying to look on the bright side of things!
My other big news of the week is much better . . . I am starting to see my quad!!! After the car was towed, Garrett dropped me off at the subway and I went to PT (I refuse to miss a day for anything). On Thursday, my therapist "Dutch" told me he thought he saw the muscle flicker. I didn't see anything but I decided it was a positve thing that he thought the muscle was beginning to return. Well this morning at PT, I saw it! Usually when he tells me to tighten my muscle, I cannot see (or feel) a thing, but this morning I both felt it and saw it. Even better, my left leg bent (with a lot of PAINFUL help from Dutch) 95 degrees. This may not sound like much, but trust me, it is a HUGE improvement. I try very hard at PT to just grin and bear it but during this morning's bending, I was begging him to stop, of course he didn't and I survived. I am definitely making improvement and feel that I am getting stronger every day. I have no doubt that Dutch will have me running in time for my two June races. More importantly, he will have me ready for the half-marathon and full marathons that I am signed up for in October and January (Garrett thinks I am completely nuts!). Everyone needs a stress reliever, and running is mine. It is the one time that I get to be completely selfish and enjoy myself and my thoughts, so I refuse to give it up!
Aside from all of that excitement, we are really looking forward to leaving for vacation on Friday. We cannot wait to spend a week relaxing on the hot, sandy beach! We promise to post pictures of our "fun in the sun" when we return.
2006/4/2 Spring Forward!Well here I go again . . . It is finally starting to feel like Spring here in Massachusetts. Last week we even had temperatures in the low 70's and it was AWESOME. Today it is sunny and clear, a little cooler than I would like but I refuse to complain. At least it isn't snowing anymore. Garrett is outside working on our yard right now. We are hoping to get a jump start on the lawn this year.
Well despite my best intentions, it looks as though I will not be running for some time. I had some minor complications with the knee surgery that caused most of the major muscles in my leg to shut down. It is frustrating because I spend so much time building up my muscles and they disappear practically overnight. At this point, I do not have enough muscle strength to even straighten my leg completely. Fortunately, I am now going to physical therapy a couple hours a day, three times a week. I have gone for three sessions and already I feel that there is improvement. I found a great place right near my work so it is very convenient. I also feel that I am in excellent hands with Kennedy Brothers (www.kennedybrospt.com) . Not only does half of my law firm go there, but they also train athletes for the Boston Marathon and are the official therapists for the UAE soccer team. My therapist "Dutch" assures me that as long as I follow all of his instructions, I will be running again in 6 weeks and will be ready for another half marathon by the Fall. The therapy is brutal but I love it because I feel that I am recovering (albeit slowly . . .). I am signed up for two races in June so I am hoping to have no problems by then. Until then, I will work hard in therapy and try to walk without a limp - I think I look pretty silly right now, but I'm getting better :) I'll continue to keep you posted.
Not much other new stuff to report right now. We are just counting down the days until our vacation . . .
Hopefully, you too are enjoying Spring weather! |
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