The Toohigs: 15 Years: St. Lucia, Part One

John and I had started planning a Caribbean getaway trip five years ago for our 10th wedding anniversary, but I got cold feet once I *finally* got pregnant and decided I wanted to wait. And then we had an infant and I didn't want to go that far away. And then life got busy as it tends to do, and it's now 2021! Our 15th anniversary is coming up in May, and with our girls being more self sufficient, we decided it was now or never. Maybe it was quarantine delirium, but we felt like we needed to get out of the house and spend some fun, relaxing quality time together. I have had my eyes on the Sugar Beach Viceroy in St. Lucia for years. I love the topography of the island (can you beat beach AND mountains??), and the resort sits right between the famous pitons with a to-die-for view. With the help of fantastic grandparents and our favorite college babysitter home for winter break (and negative Covid tests in hand), we took off!!

I'd say half the guests at the resort were honeymooners. While John and I (mostly me) had quite a few chuckles at all the new 'Mr. & Mrs.' tshirts, luggage tags, amazing outfits, etc., we agreed that we loved this 'older' place in our marriage better than those sparkly first days. We have endured lots of loss these last few years and have grown a lot individually but also closer together as a couple. We've come out of it stronger and more bound together, both as parents and husband and wife. We don't take for granted this happy place of our marriage of 15 years and look forward to many, many more together (from island adventures full of rum and pina coladas to math homework and dance practices). This is the life!

Saturday, January 2nd: First time (for me) in an airplane since March 2020 (which was Spring Break in San Diego). 6 a.m. flight, connected through Atlanta. Planes and airports were probably halfway full, and the airline did a great job of spreading us out, limiting contact, and keeping us sanitized.

Hewanorra Airport...teeny tiny, but they handled the incoming customs process during a pandemic very well!

Ahhhh, paradise! We made it to our house at Sugar Beach Viceroy around 5 p.m.! The drive from the airport took about an hour on very windy and hilly roads, through several villages. Our driver was able to take us straight to our villa (an Oceanview Grand Luxury Villa, #318), bypassing the typical lobby check-in which was nice. Sugar Beach is located on the Caribbean side (western) of the island, up against the Petit Piton, and next to the Gros Piton. This mountain in our view is the Petit Piton, but it sure wasn't petite! It's actually very steep- only climb-able, while you can hike the Gros Piton. Our villa wasn't visible from the road and was down this beautiful little pathway.

The shower had an outside door to the deck! After a brief moment of panic, I did make sure it was mirrored from the outside- lol!

First things first, we headed down to the beach for sunset and to see if we could get in for an early dinner at the Bayside restaurant. They have little minivans that shuttle you up and down the mountain. During Covid, I appreciated that they sprayed your hands with sanitizer before you got in the car, and they did all the door opening for you.

The Jalousie Bar (Sadly, we didn't discover this jewel and its fried mac and cheese until our last day. We had been just eating at our spot on the beach, but we should have walked over here!)

Bayside Restaurant

Ok, send the girls. We are never going home.

They had an after-dinner St. Lucian rum and chocolate tasting, and John fell in love. The bartender, Larus, took great care of us all week!

The main building has the lobby, The Great Room (fanciest restaurant on property, upstairs), the Terrace Restaurant (downstairs on the patio where John had breakfast each morning with a hungry kitty cat), and the Cane Bar (sushi place in that upstairs round part).

Sunday, January 3rd: Such beautiful flowers everywhere you turn

These rocks were crawling with crabs in the mornings. See him??

There are remnants of an old sugar mill.

Loved catching the blossoms open on the lilly pads!

The walkway down from the main building to the pool and the beach.

Lots and lots and lots of Miami Vices

As much as I loved being in paradise, I needed to see these precious smiles!

When you just can't find enough shade...

Kitty cats everywhere

A great viewpoint of Petit Piton on the walk between our villa and the beach

The entrance to the 100 villas

One of the larger villas on our walk (you can actually see it in the background of the above pic)

We found Glenconnor Beach, a smaller adult-only beach closer to the Residences. It has a great pier with lounges and hammock swings over the water.

View of the Residences from the pier

Dinner at the Cane Bar

Monday, January 4th: Leaving our villa, walking down to the beach (takes about 6-8 mins). That's Gros Piton, and this street is much steeper than it looks. It's a workout on the way up!