The saying “Time flies when you’re having fun” certainly proved to be true this month as I spent more than half the month doing what I love most – traveling!

I kicked the month off with a week long eastern Caribbean cruise that departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico and stopped at five ports of call: St. Thomas (USVI), Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. After the cruise, Mark and I headed north for a four day road trip from Boston up through New Hampshire and into Maine. Maine had been on my U.S. States bucket list for quite some time so I was glad to tick it off with walks along the scenic coastline and in the surprisingly cool city of Portland. The month was rounded out by the wedding of my university friend in the Virginia countryside, complete with a fireworks show and lots of dancing.

Destinations visited (there’s a LOT this month!):

San Juan, Puerto Rico

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (sights around island)

Bridgetown, Barbados

St. Lucia (sights around island)

St. Kitts (sights around island)

Philipsburg and Maho,  St. Maarten

Boston, Massachussetts

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Ogunquit and Portland, Maine

Washington, District of Columbia

Herndon, Reston, Bluemont, and Great Falls, Virginia

Favorite destinations:

St. Lucia – This Caribbean island’s scenery completely stole my heart as we explored its beautiful beaches, mountainous terrain, and got to enjoy delicious St. Lucian cuisine.

St. Kitts – If you want to go somewhere to escape, St. Kitts is where to do it. I appreciated its laid-back pace, scenic vantage points, and learning about its history as a British colony.

Portland, Maine – Portland is a surprisingly cool city – we loved exploring the restaurants, wine bars, and historic downtown.

Highlights:

The cruise – The endless activities, kids clubs, unlimited food, comedy shows, and of course our tropical ports of call led to Mark, Markell and I having a blast during our week cruising through the eastern Caribbean.

Challenges:

Staying on budget – As with any month with a lot of travel, I regularly calculated how much I was spending to make sure I wasn’t overdoing it. I also ended up having the tiling in my townhouse’s bathroom shower redone which was an unexpected expense (at least the new shower looks great!).

Posts:

How to Spend a Day at 6 Caribbean Cruise Ports of Call – How my family spent the day at or destination port and ports of call.

Under the St. Lucian Sky – Our explorations and highlights in stunning St. Lucia.

How to Spend One Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico – Old San Juan is compact enough that you can really see a lot in one day – here’s how.

A Storybook Day Trip in the Cotswolds, England – A day spent exploring the charming English Cotswolds countryside.

Coming up in May 2017:

My first trip of the month will be a weekend trip up to New York City to catch up (ie. drink cocktails and gossip) with my friend Miriam who is visiting from Germany. Later in the month I’ll be flying to north to Toronto, where my friend Sara is based. Together we are renting a car and driving through Ontario to Bruce Peninsula National Park and Tobermory, where we plan to go hiking, take a sunset cruise, and do a bit of swimming (if late May weather allows!).

 

Where is your May taking you?