St. Kitts June 2008

As the stomach flu hit the Kent home, my Dad, Kelly, and I were packing and preparing for our trip to St. Kitts. Unfortunately, Kelly and my Dad came down with it 24 hours prior to our flight departure. Kelly was so sick she was unable to go. My Dad was determined to go but let me drive the majority of the way to LAX while he slept. I knew he was truly sick because he rarely lets me drive. We flew business class(thanks to an upgrade) on a redeye to St. Kitts. Poor Kenny Bushling had to sit back in coach and spend the night visiting with a yoga instructor. After going through customs, my dad inquired about our rental car. They directed him back to the customs agent who asked for his name and gave him the keys to the car. We drove on the wrong side of the road to the beautiful St. Kitts Marriott. It is located in Frigate Bay on the Atlantic side of the island. Our two bedroom condo was extremely nice and the Marriott resort was beautiful. Later that evening my cousins Craig and Andrew Hollis joined us for a fun-filled week of diving.

The bulk of the week was spent diving with ProDivers. My Dad made the arrangements prior to our arrival so we were set to dive five days. ProDivers had a beautiful pontoon-like boat and provided brand new equipment, dive computers, an underwater camera, and the best divemaster. Even the shuttle driver that picked us up each morning was great and took us on a few wild toad rides. The divemaster, Austin was very accommodating and informative. We saw all kinds of beautiful coral formations, fans, sponges, and lots of underwater life. We dove a couple of shipwrecks, dove into a volcanic vent, and even ventured underwater after sunset. We saw barracudas, lots of turtles, sting rays, a inflated puffer fish, squid, eels.......the list could go on and on. The diving was fabulous. Unfortunately, Craig and my Dad had some problems with equalizing their ears. The highlight for me was taking underwater photos. I loved it so much that I came home and bought a new camera!

The trip also included some crazy driving done by my father, a sightseeing trip to the fort built by Great Britain in the 17th century, delicious smoothies, a fresh aloe massage on the beach, chasing after monkeys hoping for a photo opportunity, meeting the famous island pig, playing progressive rummy and other card games, and lots of good time spent visiting. I treated myself to daily afternoon naps and finished reading three different book. The trip had the perfect balance of adventure and relaxation for me.