Nursery underway tomorrow!

I'm so excited to come home tomorrow because the paint in the nursery will be finished! We chose the color below from Sherwin Williams, it's not exactly your traditional light baby blue. I hope we like it! I also ordered furniture last week from Rock A Bye Baby in Annville, PA. The shop had a large selection of furniture and they were very knowledgeable about their products. The Bonavita Peyton furniture will take 2 weeks to come in. I'm looking forward to picking it up!

Paint color- SW6529 Scanda

Dresser/Changing table- thinking about changing out the knobs for brushed nickel

Crib- I love the clean lines

Nursery before- view from back of room

View from door- I think the crib will be along the back wall.

23 Weeks

23 weeks today and nothing major to report. The baby is now almost a foot long (you know the size of a sub) and weighs just over a pound. The baby can now sense movement, so I'm sure he'd enjoy a night out with my Zippy girls for some dancing! His sense of sound is also improving, I think he liked the Rodney Atkins concert that we attended on Sunday at the Majestic as I felt him kicking up his heels to the country music. Check out the 2 videos below from the concert.



The concert was very good. Rodney Atkins was just a good ole country boy who could really sing. He seemed sincere and very down to Earth as he talked about each of his songs and told stories about his children. I particularly enjoyed hearing him sing Watching You. He only played for an hour, and didn't do an encore which was my only disappointment. The Band Perry was also good. I only knew their one song but I think we'll be hearing more of them on the radio. It's nice to have these kind of events so close to home and the Majestic is a beautiful venue to watch a show.

23 weeks

Happy Spring!

Today was a beautiful first day of spring! Temperatures reached the mid 70's:). I didn't get too much time outside as Mom, Tammy, and I attempted to start the baby registry at Babies R Us. It was all a bit overwhelming but I think we have a good start. Nate and I can add to it (or delete) another time or online. A little baby sure needs a lot of things!

I also attended my 2nd baby shower in 2 weeks. Which confirmed my statement above, babies sure do need a lot of things. This shower was to celebrate my friend and the twins that she is expecting in early May! The shower was held at Sophia's on Market, a cute little cafe/bakery in Camp Hill, PA which provided tasty food including salad, fruit with dip, mini-sandwiches, pasta salad, cake and brownies! The favors for the shower were clever (and tasty). Someone made pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate which were drizzled with pink and blue. My friend received some really nice gifts; she will not need to buy too much in order to finish getting ready for the little ones. The many clothing items that she received for both the boy and girl were just too adorable!

I'm celebrating spring with flowers inside and out, just seeing the blooms makes me happy!

My centerpiece/prize from the shower. Nothing says spring like daffodils.

Pretty tulips, and what a deal. Check out Royers on Friday's, buy one bunch get one free (in addition to these I got a dozen roses, all for $10!).

My first flowers to bloom this year. I think they are mini-iris, but whatever they are- they are the most adorable flowers ever!

Nursery Bedding- Check

Over the weekend, I purchased the bedding below at Pottery Barn. After much internet searching, Nate and I narrowed down the bedding to 3 top finalists and then chose this one as we felt it was the most "boyish." I like the primary colors and that I'll have several choices for accent colors. Our quilt doesn't have a name embroidered on it, as we would need to actually know the name of our little guy in order to have that done. We are a LONG way from agreeing on a name:). My bedding also differs from the picture, because I got a light blue sheet rather than the trucks. I purchased the red panel curtains below as well, which I may or may not keep. I'm thinking about pairing them with the roman shade and blue valance (which matches one of the blues in the bedding) already in the room. I'm considering using the lightest blue from the bedding as the paint color. It's seems so traditional to paint light blue for a baby boy, I'd hate to be so predictable.

Bedding from Pottery Barn Kids

Curtains from PBK

Possible accent items:


Mobile from Babies R Us
Bin from Target


I love orange and the bedding has orange in it but I'm not sure if I can use red, blue, and orange as accent colors. Would that be too much? This lamp is from Target.

I love this rug from PBK, but it's expensive. I'm looking for something similar, that's less expensive or waiting for a sale.

Baby Gifts

I'm not the only one having a little one. Recently, I made a few baby gifts for some of my mom-to-be friends. Check them out!

Diaper cakes are easy. I use a paper towel roll and build around it with rolled up diapers. Secure the rolled diaper with a miniature rubber band (found at craft stores) The base layer has 3 rings of diapers (start with 6 in your first ring, 14 in the next ring, and 16 in the final ring), the 2nd tier has 2 rings of diapers (6 and 14) and the final tier is one ring of 6 diapers. I secure each ring of diapers with thin ribbon, and then put a decorative ribbon around the entire tier . Decorate with your favorite items. These aren't too difficult to make and take about an hour or so.

I used some wash clothes in the bottom ring of this one. I decorated with mittens, socks, bath toys and a stuffed animal on top.




Crocheted baby blanket and hat. The blanket takes A LOT of time, so from now on I might only be making hats. Directions for the hat found in this post.

22 Weeks

Today, I'm 22 weeks. My belly has really popped out, even people who don't know me comment on my pregnant status. With the popping of the belly, has come a lot of "how are you feeling?" questions. It's nice everyone is concerned, but really I do feel just fine:). So far I haven't had to slap away any strangers hands from my belly. I most definitely will though, if someone who I do not know attempts to touch me they should expect to be slapped. I hear this happens, how gross!

At this point in the pregnancy, the little guy is 11 inches long and about 1 pound. His facial features are becoming more distinct and his eyes are formed. He's moving around a lot. After eating a spicy salsa the other night, I think he performed his own rendition of a salsa dance in my belly! As I mentioned above, I feel great, other than some back pain, which is manageable. I have been having very strange and vivid dreams. I've heard this comes with pregnancy, it's really quite annoying though as it wakes me up many times per night. The dreams don't even pertain to the baby, rather the images range from fighting a war to my Mom having dozens upon dozens of cats at her house! Weird! It's becoming more difficult to put together outfits in the morning, since a lot of my shirts are not longer fitting, yet I find many maternity shirts are still too big. I've been trying to buy some regular shirts that are not fitted, luckily this style seems to be in right now and I have found several. Hopefully, these shirts will still fit even when I'm no longer pregnant. I've also been wearing more dresses as this one of the most comfortable options.

Dresses with an empire waist, such as this one from NY and Company work well

"Flowy" shirts are comfy and should still look nice post baby bump. This shirt is from Old Navy.

22 weeks--Dress from New York and Company, one of my favorite preggo looks:)

Birthday Wishes for Me:)

Well, I guess this is the last birthday I'll have for a while since I plan to stay 29 for long time. I can't believe 30 is right around the corner, scary! Thank gosh 30 is the new 20, but I'm not sure how I can relive my 20s with a baby, so I'm guessing that's not exactly true:). Anyway, I had a great birthday. I got to see some of my TU friends on Saturday to celebrate a friend's baby! It was so nice to catch up with the girls and their husbands. On Sunday, my family and Nate's parents came over and we went to Hickory Bridge Farm (see restaurant review below). I received some great gifts and my Mom brought my DQ ice cream cake, which is a must on my birthday. I ate a piece of cake for me and one for the baby later that evening. Today, Nate cooked me dinner and gave me my presents (including a spa gift card that I can't wait to use). Thanks to everyone for making it a great birthday! And, one can't forget to make their birthday wishes, this year my I'm wishing for: a healthy baby, an easy delivery (does this even exist?), and more patience, which we all know that I'll need!

Hickory Bridge Farm Restaurant Review
This restaurant is located in Orrtanna, PA, not too far outside of Gettysburg. The restaurant is a renovated barn with lots of antiques inside. It's quite unique and a little more interesting than some of your average dining rooms. The property also includes overnight accommodations in 2 farm houses and several cottages. A small store is also open during the warmer months, where you can still buy penny candy. The location is really beautiful and would provide a lovely backdrop for wedding or other pictures. Onto the food....the food is served family style and is real "home-cooking." The meal starts off with spiced peaches, homemade bread, and a salad. Next, you are served 3 entrees one of which is always crab imperial, on Sunday the other 2 were pork with apple stuffing and oven fried chicken. The meal is also served with several sides, our sides on Sunday included: potatoes, carrots, broccoli with cheese, and hush puppies. Everything at Hickory Bridge is always very good and they'll bring more dishes of anything and everything you want. The crab imperial is probably my favorite, it's especially tasty! They also serve you a choice of desserts. You'll definitely be full when you leave, if you're not it's your own fault! The cost of the meal, which is on the expensive side, includes everything listed above as well as a drink. The restuarant is BYOB so if you would like wine or beer make sure you remember to take it. Hickory Bridge is a great choice for a special meal, especially if you are looking for a place that has a warm atmosphere and traditional home-style cooking.

Trip Review- Part IV Anguilla Accomodations

We stayed at the Frangipani in Anguilla, located on beautiful Meads Bay. The hotel is small with only 19 rooms, some of which are suites. The building itself is absolutely charming, with its beautiful architecture. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with pretty flowers and shrubs and meticulously maintained. The pool wasn't large but it was very pretty with an infinity edge that looked at the ocean, rafts were even provided:). We stayed in a luxury room, the cheapest of the options offered. The room was simple including a bed, chair, mini-fridge, and bathroom. The room was well decorated and the bathroom was very modern but didn't offer much privacy. The room also had a balcony, we didn't have a view of the beach or pool but that would have certainly enticed us to spend more time on the balcony. The staff at the Frangipani was helpful and courteous. The resort provided many water sports option (included in the price) such as a kayak, hobie cat, water skis and wake board and a raft for behind the boat. I really have no complaints with the resort except that the "continental breakfast" included in the package was a rip off. The continental breakfast from Straw Hat included 3 pastries on a plate and a glass of juice or coffee. If you chose not to eat it and order off the menu you were given a $7.50 credit but the only thing this could buy was a begal, no coffee or juice came with this and drinks were very expensive. Then of course you had the service charge which is automatically added onto all checks in Anguilla. In reality the complimentary breakfast wasn't free. They also wouldn't give you the $7.50 per day as a credit on your final bill. A few pictures from the resort:




We saw many of the other resorts on the island including some the well know resorts such as: Viceroy (located on Barnes Bay), Mallihouna (located on Meads Bay), Cap Juluca (located on Maudays Bay), and CuisinArt (located on Rendezvous Bay). All were spectacular, especially the new Viceroy which was hip and trendy with an awesome pool and comfy chairs. The beach at the Viceroy wasn't so great though, you had to be shuttled to Meads Bay or somehow make your way down to Barnes Bay. Viceroy seems to be taking a beating by the locals as they are not appreciative of this large scale project on their quaint island. The resort that I would probably choose from the ones listed above would be Cap Juluca, this hotel was stunning and the grounds were so beautiful. Futher, the beach at Cap Juluca, Maudays Bay, was one of my favorites. Anguilla had some of the most impressive resorts I've ever seen, I don't think you can go wrong with your choice here even if you choose one of the less well known properties not listed. I would recommend resorts located on the above listed beaches, Shaol Bay West or Upper Shaol Bay rather than a property on Shaol Bay East. Shaol Bay East is more developed so only choose this area if you are looking for a few beach bars within walking distance of your hotel and more people on the beach.

Pool at Viceroy


Cap Juluca

Wedding area at Cap Juluca, which overlooks the ocean. What a beautiful spot for a ceremony!
CuisinArt

We spoke to some folks who stayed in a villa that they booked through www.vrbo.com. They stayed for a week at 1/2 the cost of our resort. We'll most definitely consider this option in the future. This would give you the freedom to eat some meals in, which would also save you considerable money. Beautiful villas are scattered throughout the island some located directly on the beach and others a little further away but often with ocean views. I'm sure it would be easy to find a lovely home, away from home.

Trip Review Part III- Food

Here goes, the post about all of the food we ate....and we ate lots of it! Please keep in mind I’m rating these restaurants in comparison to the best restaurants I’ve ever ate at including those in Turks and Caicos and a few upscale places at home and in towns we’ve visited. I’m not very good at being patient and in the Caribbean you are on island time, if you are more patient than I am (which most likely you are) then I’m sure you would rate the service aspect higher than my ratings below. To be fair, I will say that all servers were very friendly, my only complaint is the waiting, especially for the check.

Scale: 1=Poor 2=Fair 3=Average 4=Good 5=Excellent

C Le Restaurant-

Food Quality- 4

Portion Size- Large

Service- 3

Atmosphere- 4

Comment- One of the best salads I’ve had in a long time and a very large for a dinner salad. I really enjoyed the sauce that complemented the snapper (Nate had this as well). The presentation was very pretty and side dishes were excellent. The dessert menu was a disappointment, so much so that we didn’t even order dessert. I’d rank this meal 3^rd out of all dinners.

Grouper

Le California

Food Quality- 4

Portion Size- Standard to small (main course) Dessert- Large

Service-3.5

Atmosphere- 3.5

Comment

We wanted to save room for dessert so we just had the main course. Nate had mahi mahi and I had stuffed grouper, which I liked. Nate thought the grouper was better than his mahi mahi and better than the snapper the night before, I preferred the snapper from the C Le. The side dishes were average. I loved the dessert menu here, so many choices of ice cream combinations. Very yummy.

Straw Hat @ Fangipani

Food Quality- 4.5

Portion Size- Standard

Service- 3

Atmosphere- 4.5

Comment: The setting is right off of beach and they light the beach up so you can actually see it. Tables are set casual. There are many tables so you can hear other conversations, etc. therefore this keeps it from getting rated a 5 for the atmosphere. I had a seafood pasta with a pink sauce. The sauce made the dish. Very good. I tried a couple of bites of Nate’s tuna and wished so much that I could eat rare tuna, it was tasty! We had the flourless chocolate cake for dessert with ice cream and enjoyed it very much. My 2^nd most favorite meal of the trip.

Straw Hat

Luna Rosa

Food Quality- 5+

Portion Size- Standard

Service- 3.5

Atmosphere- 4

Comment: My favorite meal that we ate on the trip, everything was excellent. The gnocchi appetizer literally melted in your mouth. The bread and complimentary bruchetta were so tasty and my crab pasta was excellent. The pasta sauces used in this restaurant were the best I’ve ever tasted. This must be how food tastes in Italy! I don’t normally like tiramisu but Nate loves it, so we ordered it. It wasn’t traditional tiramisu it was more of a whip cream texture and it didn’t taste like coffee, I loved this kind of tiramisu:) The atmosphere for this restaurant would have rated higher but the tables were very close together, therefore you could hear all conversations around you. It was located in along the water and architecture was quite pretty.

Veya

Food Quality- 3.5

Portion Size- Standard to small

Service- 4

Atmosphere- 4

Comment: A real disappointment for me after all the hype. Maybe it was the menu, when I read it nothing really appealed to me it had some very odd combinations of food which I’m sure some people like but I prefer to understand what I’m eating and like more simply prepared dishes. I will say that the complimentary soup and bread they brought out were excellent. I didn’t like our appetizer but Nate did, it was a layered salad with corn, black beans, shrimp, avocado, etc. We both had the snapper for our entrée, Nate had his served whole while I had mine filleted. The food was fine but nothing to get too excited about, the sauce was a little odd, Nate took his sauce off and really enjoyed the whole fish. The side dishes were OK. Nothing on the dessert menu sounded good to us so we went back to Strawhat and had the caramelized bananas with ice cream which was very tasty. Veya is a nice setting, it feels like you are dining in the trees. Our waitress was very nice, prompt for island time too. Some of the other diners were raving about the food, so I think this is either a place you really love or just aren’t impressed with, no in between.

Whole snapper

Olivers

Food Quality- 4

Portion Size- Large

Service- 4.5

Atmosphere- 3

Comment: We were the only diners at Olivers so that seemed odd. The building is a little old and if you get set directly near the window you might see a few critters crawling in, thus the 3 for atmosphere. As you can imagine, service was good because it’s not too hard to take care of one table. This would have been a great setting if you could have seen the beach but it wasn’t lit. I think this would be a nice place to watch the sunset as it’s right on Long Bay. All of the food we had was very tasty. Our appetizer, the portbella and shrimp, had great flavor. Nate ordered the grouper and I had chicken stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, and crayfish. I didn’t try Nate’s but he said it was probably the best fish he had the entire trip. Mine was good, the sauce complemented the chicken well and sides were of good portion. There was not a lot of crayfish in the stuffing part, which was fine with me because the baby had probably ate enough seafood for one week. For dessert we had profiteroles, which was the best dessert of the week! These were stuffed with ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce, yum!

Lunches and Breakfast: We ate lunch at the following restaurants: Coco (St. Martin Orient Beach), Straw Hat, Dune Preserve, Davida, Gwen's, CuisinArt. With the exception of Coco, I would recommend all of the lunch places as we had great food from each. Coco wasn’t bad it was just really pricey. All lunches were expensive, as compared to a lunch in the area I live in. Dune Preserve is a definite must if you are in Anguilla, you just have to check out this very unique place. Bankie Banx plays live music there as well, we didn’t get to hear him but would have liked to. Gwen's is in a beautiful location, so I would reccommend at least going for a drink just to check out the beach in this area. There is also live music at Gwen's, again we didn’t get to hear it. CuisinArt uses hydroponic ingredients for all salads, which is unique, this restaurant is at the resort so it obviously doesn’t have the island charm of Gwen's and Dune Preserve. Straw Hat is located on beautiful Mead’s Bay, we stayed at Frangipani so I’m not positive but I assume if you eat at Straw Hat you can enjoy the beach chairs and umbrellas for free. This is a great beach to spend a day or even just several hours. Same goes for Davida, although the beach here isn’t as spacious as Meads Bay. I’ll also mention Un Amore in Anguilla here as well. We had pizza one night for dinner at Un Amore, baby loves pizza, and it was very good the most reasonably priced meal of our trip as well. All items on Un Amore’s menu were reasonably priced. It would be a good place for a quick lunch or to grab sandwiches to go and take them to the beach. We got breakfast one morning at Garrods, which had similitude prices to Straw Hat where we ate all other mornings. Garrods menu showed inexpensive lunches, as well and would be a good place to grab sandwiches to go. It would be my suggestion to buy some bottled waters, sodas, and juices at the grocery store and have lunches at the beach some days since going to restaurants for lunch really adds up. The same goes for breakfast, if it weren’t included in part of the Frangipani package, we would have definitely bought some things at the grocery store and ate in our room or on the balcony.

Overall, the food in Anguilla and St. Martin was very enjoyable, although definitely expensive. If you are going to dine out, be prepared to spend money! I wasn't quite as impressed by the restaurants in Anguilla as I was by the dining options in Turks and Caicos. Most of the settings weren't quite as remarkable and I don't feel like I was "wowed" as much by my entrees. I did have very high expectations regarding the food in Anguilla so that may have affected my opinion. Regardless you'll find many dining options worth checking out in Anguilla as well lots of fun beach bars and local hang outs.

My drink of choice, virgin strawberry daiquiri

Trip Review Part II Anguilla- Beaches

We arrived in Anguilla via the public ferry. The ferry was easy and departed on time. The ride to Anguilla only took about 20 minutes. The sign when you arrive says "Anguilla tranquility wrapped in blue." This couldn't be more true, Anguilla is home to the most beautiful blue water and you really do experience a sense of peacefulness while on this charming island. The locals on the island are warm and friendly. Our taxi driver from the airport took it upon himself to site facts about the island, point out places of interest and give us advice for our trip. When we arrived at Frangipani we were greeted by more friendly folks (and rum punch/fruit punch). We quickly changed into our swim suits and hit the beach. Speaking of beach, this part of the trip review will focus on Anguilla's beaches, oh the beaches!
The hotel we stayed at, Frangipani, was located along Meads Bay. Other hotels located along this beach are Mallihouna and to some extent the new Viceroy. Meads Bay beach is wide and long and the water is of course a beautiful shade of blue. While we were in Anguilla Meads Bay had some rough surf. Nate enjoyed having some waves which are often non existent in the Caribbean. Large yachts and sailboats, often parked in Meads Bay and came on shore near the Mallihouna.

Nate rides a wave in on Meads Bay

Meads Bay, Mallihouna in the distance

$400 million yacht in Meads Bay

On Monday, Ronnie Bryan brought our rental car to the resort and we immediately started exploring. We visited the following places on Monday: Long Bay, Sandy Ground, Crocus Bay, Limestone Bay and Shaol Bay East. The main roads through the island are paved but many of the roads leading to the beaches are dirt. We had a Toyota Corolla and didn't have any trouble navigating the roads, just a little bumpy at times. A little about each beach:

Long Bay was one of my favorite beaches on Anguilla. We had the beach to ourselves and it was a stunning. The beach was long, a great walking beach. The sand along Long Bay was incredibly soft, in fact you sunk down into it several inches as you can see from my picture. The water was fairly calm, so take your raft along to this one. There were no resorts located along here, just a couple of private villas that were rentals and my dream home, which had perfect architecture and the most complimentary colors. Olivers restaurant was also located right on the beach and would offer a great view of the sunset.

Enjoying Long Bay

Soft Sand

My dream home

Sandy Ground was a bit of a let down for me. I expected more of a beach here but it was
primarily a small harbor. There were several neat beach bars around here and you could take a boat out to Sandy Island. We heard great things about the Chocolat tour that leaves from Sandy Ground and takes you to Prickly Pear and Sandy Island. The snorkeling in both is supposed to be pretty good. Something we'll consider next time. The cost is about $80 per person and includes lunch.

We made our way to Crocus Bay around lunch time. DaVida is located on Crocus Bay so we ate lunch and then enjoyed their comfy lounge chairs. Crocus Bay was a pretty area but not as spacious as Meads or Long Bay. The sand here, especially as you enter the water, was very rocky, making it hard to get in and out of the water. There were several people hanging out on the chairs at DaVida as well as folks eating lunch so it wasn't as private as Long Bay but by no means was it crowded. You can meet the "man under the tree" at Crocus Bay who will take you by boat to Little Bay, which we heard is a decent spot for snorkeling and bird watching.

Crocus Bay, from Davida

After Crocus Bay we ended up at Limestone Bay, which was Nate's favorite beach that we visited. Limestone Bay was a very small beach but it had some beautiful rock formations protruding into the ocean. Nate did a little fishing and snorkeling here. He only caught one small fish and found a large conch. The manager at a resort did indicate that Limestone Bay as well as Crocus Bay are good areas to fish, I guess they just weren't biting on this particular day.

On Limestone Bay

We ended our day at Shaol Bay East which is the most developed resort area of the island but still not crowded, as this beach is very long and spacious. The sand is really white at Shaol Bay East but it isn't nearly as soft as the sand at Meads or Long Bay. The sand at Shaol Bay East is made of tiny shells but they do not hurt your feet like at Crocus. The water here had some small waves but was relatively calm. There are several beach bars/restaurants along Shaol Bay, as well as hotels so you have many options for drinks or lunch. We had drinks from Myra's and watched the sunset.

Shaol Bay East at sunset

Our next day of touring the island included stops at Shaol Bay West, Barnes Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Cove Bay and Maundays Bay.

Shaol Bay West was another long, wide, and of course beautiful beach in Anguilla. The water was calm while we were there you could easily raft beyond where the small waves were breaking. A great beach for walking and just a couple of people around here and there. Only a few hotels and houses located here. I thought the Covecastles villas looked interesting and would consider these as a lodging option in the future depending on the price, etc.

Nate's treasures from Shaol Bay West

Covecastles on Shaol Bay West

Next, we stopped at Barnes Bay, which is where the Viceroy is located. The water was rougher here, with similar waves as Meads Bay. There were actually shells on this beach so I was able to do a little beach combing and bring home a few treasures.

Behind us, Barnes Bay at sunset

Maundays Bay was absolutely stunning. This is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. The water was so many shades of turquoise and blue; it was breathtaking! My pictures below don't even seem to do it justice. The beach was long and wide and the water was very calm- again take your raft. Cap Juluca, a luxurious resort, is located on Maundays Bay but there is also some undeveloped area and you can certainly have plenty of space to yourself.

Beautiful Maundays Bay

Rafting at Maudays Bay

We were getting hungry so we headed to the Dune Preserve located on Rendezvous Bay. Rendezvous Bay has been eroding, according to the locals, so the beach was not very wide especially near the Dune Preserve. The beach widened as it stretched down toward Cuisin Art. Rendezvous Bay waters were very calm, another beach to relax on your raft:).

Rendezvous Bay looking towards Cuisin Art

Nate's treasure from Rendezvous

We also checked out Cove Bay which was a large beach with calm waters. A few locals were hanging out here but still uncrowded.

On our 3rd day of exploring the island we visited Sile Bay, Savannah Bay, Junks Hole, Scilly Cay, and Upper Shaol Bay.

Sile Bay wasn't really a beach and the road was a little rough leading up to it. It was primarily a rocky area looking out at the water.

Savannah Bay was a very large beach with calm waters. We hung out here for a while, the beach was long and we were practically the only people there. The shore wrapped around in a beautiful curve. This is a great beach to spend a day or a few hours relaxing.

We stopped at a spot that overlooked Junks Hole and then drove on to Scilly Cay. Scilly Cay was a beautiful harbor area, with bright teal water. You can take a boat from here to the Scilly island and have lunch. We didn't do this but next time we'll definitely consider it as it looked like a great spot to hang out.

Scilly Cay, with Scilly Cay island in the background

The final beach we checked out was Upper Shaol Bay. We ate lunch at Gwens which is located right on the beach. The beach has also eroded a bit here and therefore is not very wide but it's plenty long enough to go for a nice walk. This was another one of my favorite spots that we visited as the water was a beautiful blue and palm trees jutted out of the sand.

View of Upper Shaol Bay from Gwens

Nate snorkeled in all of the above locations but didn't see too much. His sightings were limited to some lobster and a few tropical fish. He did find some interesting things that he brought to shore to show me such as a large conch and starfish (he put these back to go on about their business). We talked to another couple who snorkeled in Little Bay and they indicated that this was a little better than just off the shore of the many beaches that we visited.

Anguilla claims to have 33 beaches, I think this is a bit exaggerated as they consider places such as Sile Bay a beach, but regardless we explored some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. I don't know if I've saw water of such stunning shades of blue. One of my friends commented that it looked like we were the only two people on most of the beaches we visited, it didn't just look this way, it really was this way:). It's so nice not to have to fight the crowds and put your towel down right next to another family. Enjoying the beaches of Anguilla was truly a relaxing experience that provided for wonderful memories.

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for my review of accommodations and lodging in Anguilla.