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My oldest nephew graduates high school!!!!!!!

By June 30, 2013 No Comments

 

THis place was awesome Can you dig it? It is time to party Us in the cave using the timer on the camera

[Shane – this first half is by Luke, who graduated with my nephew, and the second is by Trevor my oldest nephew]

As students, something we have looked forward to throughout our high school career was graduating high school and the amazing gifts we got over here. After the ceremonies and family and parties, we look forward to our summers and most importantly our senior trips. After the ceremonies and family and parties, we look forward to our summers and most importantly our senior trips. [Shane – mine was to Cancun with my cousin.  It was a rambunctious time, but we don’t need to get into that now 😉 ]  Trevor and I were told that we were going to be spending our senior trip with Trevor’s Uncle Shane on his catamaran sailboat for 9 days in the US and British Virgin Islands. I was so excited to hop on a boat and sail around some islands and get some good sun in! Boy was I in for a trip of a life time. I have been fortunate enough to have traveled across Europe and see some incredible things, but, this trip can definitely compare.

I got the chance to go snorkeling in some of the coolest reefs and see some awesome marine life, while getting the opportunity to try some new things. While snorkeling, usually you stay on the surface of the water, but with Captain Shane leading you in your snorkeling experience it is more like scuba diving without the oxygen tank. He pushed me to swim down through the caves at depths of 20ft plus, to see fish I might not have had the chance to see before; learning how to do this was incredible and I owe it all to Shane. Some of the marine life I saw included: sea turtles, (which I got to swim with!!) stingrays (pretty big ones too), lionfish, lobsters, sharks (the docile kind) [Shane – that would be nurse sharks], squid (small ones), and all kinds of tangs and others! I have been snorkeling before but this trip ranks numero uno for snorkeling.

We also had the chance to hike around the islands to see some historic sites and even better views. Ram’s Head was such a beautiful view and the hike was fantastic. Also, learning how they harvested sugarcane and turned this one plant into a triple profit by selling molasses, rum, and sugar from this one plant was great! Shane sure knows his history! Some of the beaches here are unforgettable. Trunk Bay and Sandy Cay I could have stayed at for a couple of days due to how fine the sand was and how the water was so beautiful.  All of these things put together on top of actually contributing to sailing a 41’ catamaran sailboat made for one heck of a trip. I couldn’t have asked for a better senior trip. Captain Shane and the Guiding Light will show you the time of your life on a boat.

Some tips and words of advice: keep three points of contact on the boat when moving around.  I have my fair share of bruises to account for that. Second, Conserve!!! Turn off all fans, lights, anything you see on, turn it off when it is not being used! I got scolded a couple of times for that. Thirdly, don’t drink the tea at the Bomba Shack! Fourthly, pick up some blue bell ice cream at the BVI check in, it’s fantastic! [Shane – see last week’s blog]  Lastly, if Shane calls you princess, you know he is just teasing.  [Shane – what can I say 🙂 ]  You should call this guy up for one heck of a time sailing around and having fun.

Luke – Riske Snohomish High School Graduate, off to University of Idaho next fall [Shane – I told him he can tell which students are prostitutes due to them having I-DA-HO on their shirts J ]

Now it’s my turn to talk about this awesome trip that my best friend Luke and I have been on for the last 7 nights of our lives!!! This whole trip started with a long 16 hour plane excursion from Seattle, Washington. When we landed we were told to walk along the runway and my uncle would be there to pick us up. This sounded like the craziest directions ever, since when do people just walk next to the runway! Once we landed and found my uncle and we started our walk to the corner where we picked up a safari. We quickly loaded up and headed out to sea!

It wasn’t but 30 minutes into our trip when Uncle Shane asked if we wanted to do our first dive. We quickly suited up and dove head first into the water! This was the same story with four more beautiful dive sites that first day! Unfortunately the second day was rained out but this gave us the chance to check out Uncle Shane’s collection of 600 different movies and 15ish games! The third day we started sailing into the British side. After checking in we zipped over to a small store and grabbed some yummy Blue Bell ice cream. [Shane – again check out last week]  We pushed off and headed to a bay where there is a boat named the Willie T [Shane – you have to corrupt them early, right?], which is a bar and a great place to jump into the water from a high point for those looking for an adrenaline rush! The forth day we made it to the baths which is pretty much an adult jungle gym! We finished the day with some more great snorkeling and sailing. [Shane – one spot I took them underwater and inside a rock where there is an air pocket.  I even found girls to do it with them…but their boyfriends want to come also.  Sorry guys]  The next two days we spent sailing and snorkeling the prettiest reefs and islands I’ve ever seen! Sunday was an interesting day to say the least but I’ll let Uncle Shane talk about the Bomba Shack! [Shane – check out next week’s blog for my write up on the Full Moon Party]  The next day we went to the beach where the painkiller was constructed, which is tasty so you should all give it a try when you get the chance to make it down here. The last full day we had here we got to hike to see a sugar factory and petroglyphs (rock carving from 900 to 1500 AD). Then we top the trip off with my personal favorite place to dive, Buck Island! This place has the greatest concentration of sea turtles! We even got the chance to dive down and touch a few of the nicer turtles.

This was the end of our trip but the memories made here will last Luke and I hopefully tell the end of our lives and we will be able to show our many pictures and stories to our families when we get home and to our families in the future. I also want to take this time to thank my mom and dad for giving me the chance to go on this trip of a life time, and also to Uncle Shane who put up with us for the last 8 days. Thank you again for all who made this happen! And to all that come behind us on this voyage have fun and get ready to swim because most of the cool stuff is under the water!

Trevor – Riske Snohomish High School Graduate, enlisting in the US Coast Guard [Shane – he wants to drive the big boats while shooting pirates with a hand gun.  Just don’t give me a ticket out here 😉 ]

[Shane – guys, I had a lot of fun with you and I have to say I am proud two 18 year olds had to work to keep up with me.  YEA!  Of course now I need to recover :).  Trevor, it has been a joy watching you grow up into one of the most well rounded and level headed men I know.  I love you]

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