Etsybloggers Carnival - Feb. 28, 2010

Handmade by Sandi set out two questions for the etsybloggers team carnival:
#1 what's the best vacation you ever had OR
#2 of all the places in the world, where would you like to go and why?

There’s lots of places in the world I’d like to visit, so I decided to write about vacations. I usually stay around the house during my vacations - great time to catch up on things I want, and need, to do. My family has always enjoyed vacationing together, and there were two that I can’t decide which were best...so I’ll tell you a little about both.

Last year I went to Ireland. We spent 2 days in Dublin, then drove to the southwestern coast and met my sister and her friend, where we rented a house. Sheep dotted the landscape, beautiful churches in every town, and the Atlantic Ocean was never far away. We drove to a few historic sites and did a lot of hiking. And had superb weather the entire time. Quite a surprise. It was absolutely lovely!

The other vacation was sailing in the British Virgin Islands.

Seven of us charter a yacht, with my brother as skipper. We got together this time in memory of my father’s passing, the year before. I grew up sailing in NJ, and as a kid, we sailed in the islands many times. This time, we flew to Puerto Rico, caught a smaller plane to St. Thomas, then took a ferry to Tortola, where we picked up the boat. We sailed and drop anchor in several locations, about 10 days in all, staying in a cove for a night or two, then onto some other island. Lots of swimming and snorkeling. Very relaxing. We had the great time together and ate the best seafood.