#2508 Valentine's Days on vacation

Tonight the three of us were eating dinner (pizza from Pizza Hut) MT and I were reminiscing about vacations we have had that happened on Valentine's Day. It got me curious about how many Valentine's Days we have spent out of the country, where we were, and what we did.

Turns out there were three Valentine's Day vacation adventures. 

2006 

We took our first big vacation out of the country on a two week cruise in the Caribbean. Our first stop, on Feb 14, was St. Maarten. 

For our activity that day, we rode in an America's Cup racing yacht. We were on the crew of the True North IV, the Canadian boat. Here's a photo of it coming to pick us up:

Look at the water! What I remember the most about this excursion was that I threw up when the race was over, not on the yacht, but in the transfer boat. I think that being relatively still after the thrilling and fast race caused my stomach to revolt. It was pretty embarrassing. 

That night on the ship, there was a midnight chocolate buffet. It was decadent and delicious. Other than the throwing up, it was a great day.

2008

We took another cruise in 2008, but this time we took T with us. We were again in the Caribbean and on Valentine's Day, we were in St. Lucia. It was rainy and we took a catamaran cruise for a snorkel and a look at the Pitons. MT did swim and probably did a bit of snorkeling. T stayed under the cover and read a book. I probably stayed under the cover with him. It wasn't cold, but it was soggy. MT said the water was very nice. I remember that men in kayaks came up to the boat when we were anchored for the swimming to sell pot and seashells.

The Pitons are always spectacular. I wish it had been a beautiful, sunny day, but they still look pretty awesome shrouded in rain.

2019

MT and I were in Thailand at the Centara resort. On Valentine's Day I did something I had never done before: I went out in a kayak on the sea! I don't think I will ever forget the feelings of anxiety, fear, exhilaration, and triumph I felt that afternoon.

That night we were treated to a phenomenal sunset. 

There were other years when we vacationed in February, but it was after Valentine's Day. Still, these are three pretty good memories to have of Valentine's Day past.