Mike and Beth come to St. Kitts!

Boy oh boy am I behind on blogging! I haven't blogged since Rob hurt his leg. An update on Rob (if you don't already know)- he tore his PCL. It's like the ACL, but it goes the opposite direction in your knee. Not surprisingly, it is VERY rare to tear your PCL... so of course that's what Rob tore. He also strained or sprained his MCL, and bruised his bones.  He does not need surgery, but he is in a huge brace that pretty much goes from his bum to his ankle. He needs to wear the brace and use crutches for two months, but the tear should heal on its own. Yay for no surgery!

Here is a picture of Rob (and me!) in his brace.

Now on to the real topic- My parents came to visit! They were here from April 1st through the 8th! It was great having them here for a whole entire week! They got here on a Sunday afternoon, so we kinda just vegged out and took a walk on the beach behind our house. My dad even found some kind of weird radio transmitter. Unfortunately when we opened it up it was very rusty inside. Oh well.

My parents, Mike and Beth

Monday we got up and did some sightseeing at Brimstone Hill Fortress. We walked around the ruins and the fort and the skies were clear so there was an amazing view of Statia, and island near St. Kitts. There were tons of monkeys around, which is awesome, cause I haven't seem them around Brimstone before. After spending the morning sweating our butts off, we went and had lunch at the Marriott, then hung out at the house all evening. Tuesday we spent the day at Shipwreck Beach. My parents were able to lounge around on the beach all day, but I had my last archaeology class, so I left the beach early. My dad was able to get some snorkeling in, and while he said he saw some cool stuff, he didn't go as far as I usually do, so I think he probably missed seeing some of the best stuff. Oh well. Tuesday night I dragged them to trivia, and they got to meet the trivia crew. Despite Ting Country's best efforts we lost by ONE POINT!!!! Grrr! Oh well. There's always next week...

Up at Brimstone Fortress. Island of Statia in the background

Wednesday I had to work (BOO), so I dropped my parents off at the Marriott beach before I went in. I was super bummed not to spend the day with them, but I think they had fun without me... jerks. My dad did some more snorkeling, and as he was coming in towards shore, he said some British girl started screaming at him. He popped his head up, and said the girl was yelling, "SHARK!! SHARK!! RIGHT NEXT TO YOU MISTER!!! SHARK!!!" Of course my dad sticks his head back underwater to check out said "shark."  No shark, just a big barracuda. My pops did said it was a bit weird to see a big barracuda in shallow water, he thinks something was wrong with it. He did get his butt out of the water though, he was not interested in messing with a possibly sick and/or crazy cuda!  I met them by the pool bar around 4:30 for some snacks before heading home. Wednesday we had a really nice dinner at the French place near our house. As my local friends can tell you, nearly all the eating establishments here are open air, so many provide bug spray for customers to use. We all sprayed a bit on our legs right before we sat down. My loser dad kept touching his leg and saying, "Crap! I touched my leg again!" I think he washed his hands like 7 times.

Thursday morning I had to run some errands in town, so we grabbed breakfast at Carib Cafe and then did a bit of sightseeing at Wingfield Estates (where I excavated with my students) and Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor. In the afternoon, my dad and I went back to the Marriott Beach while my mom stayed home to read and nap. That night we dined at Blu, the seafood restaurant at the Marriott. We were a bit nervous, cause hotel eateries are usually on the lame side, but we were pleasantly surprised with our meal... although the bread totally sucked. To be fair, I think all the bread on this island sucks, except at the French place. After dinner, Rob and my dad did a little gambling at the casino. They played blackjack, and they both won! Yay for beating the house!

At the Marriott, about to go take the casino by storm!

Friday was a total bust. We decided to go to Nevis, got up early, drove ALL the way to the far end of the island, paid for the ferry ride to Nevis, only to discover that because it was Good Friday EVERYTHING was closed. EVERYTHING. We wandered around a dead Charlestown for 10 min, then looked for a place to eat. Luckily Sunshine Bar was open, and we got some grub, and got on the next ferry back to St. Kitts. I felt terrible, it was a huge waste of time and money! We could have been laying on the beach all day!!! Oh well. Friday night wasn't so bad though, we went to my favorite place to eat dinner- Carembola's. My dad was feeling a bit weird, so he didn't get to enjoy dinner, but the rest of us did! My coworkers were at the table next to us, having the end of semester dinner, so it was a fun night. I would eat at that place every day if it was a little cheaper.

Saturday we had brunch at the Marriott and then spent the day on the beach. Nothing special happened, just a lazy beach day. We tried the Italian place at the Marriott for dinner... not impressed. I was bummed cause it was my parents last night in St. Kitts. It's really hard to live so far away from them. Since Rob started vet school in August, 8 months ago, I've only seen my parents for two weeks at Christmas, and the last week. I love my parents A LOT, and I can't wait to live close to them again one day! I'm excited that I get to see them again next month when I visit the states! Yay!

Sunday was "regular" Easter (today is Greek Easter- Xristos Anesti!), and my parents departure day. Their flight was at 3:30 in the afternoon, but because our airport is tiny, and only one person checks in the whole flight, you really need to be there 2 hours in advance. Plus, they will yell at you if you are not, ask my friend Mauri. So, we really only had time for a lazy breakfast and one last lunch before I had to bring my parents to the airport. It was sad to have to say goodbye, because the week went so fast. Although, I'm sure they were relieved I wasn't hysterical crying like I was when they left Egypt last year!

I am so glad that Beth and Mike, my awesome parents, were able to come visit me and Rob for an entire week. I had a lot of fun with them. I really couldn't ask for better parents.