Into Little Cottonwood Canyon

A break from honeymoon pics to pull out some from the ski trip before they get too stale. We met the OT's up there in January a few weeks after the honeymoon (a surprise birthday present!) and made leaps and bounds in our skiing. We returned to the great Little Cottonwood Canyon and spent all but one day at Alta.
The first day was overcast. Thomas and I braved the roads again (after getting stuck in a snowstorm last year--but that's another story) and headed up alone on our first day.
Up out of the valley into the forest.
Cottages higher up the mountain, past the first resort.
The tiny town of Alta.
Looking back down the canyon (with a shot of the ski bus).
Smog in the valley, pooled there by a set of meteorological conditions called inversion.
Makes you think, don't it?

Anse Chastenet

Sorry it's been a long time. Got big projects working in the garden. I am excited to say that it's beginning to look picture-ready. In other less important news, I also quit my job and started a new one that I don't hate.
Continuing with the honeymoon pics... Anse Chastenet Resort on St Lucia was our last honeymoon stop. The resort cascades down the side of a mountain to a white sand beach. Above, Petit Piton from our porch.
Evening sky from the porch.
The porch outside our room.
Birds in the bougainvillea beneath our room.
Our room, decorated by local artists.
Detail of the painting around our door frame.
Lobby.
Reception.
Local potheads.
Decorated staircase.
Three little birds pitch by my door step, singin' sweet songs, melody pure and true.
Pile of sugar intended to distract these visitors from the breakfast buffet.
Mermaid sculpture on the beach staircase.
Bar with Petit Piton in the background.
Our very plaid bed with mosquito netting.
The world outside our door.
In-room art.
Well-placed fan. A most fantastic bed, if I do say so. No AC but the mountain breeze through the slatted windows kept me very comfortable.
The ocean on a sunny day.
The vegetarian restaurant...
fantastic painting!
You guessed it... Petit Piton.
Lighted path to the upper rooms.
Our windows at night let the cool breeze in.

Love

You know how I know my husband is mean? Because he was totally embarassed when I did this and made me erase it.

Crabs!

I harassed these little gold-colored fellas on the black sand beach at Anse Chastenet.
This was literally the most strenuous thing I did on the last day of our vacation.

Jade Mountain

On the last leg of our honeymoon we stayed at Anse Chastenet Resort on St Lucia. Perched above Anse Chastenet is it's sister resort, Jade Mountain. For more than twice the price of the borderline unreasonable rate we paid for our room, you get this.
Three-walled suite with a private infinity pool and panoramic view of Soufriere Bay and the Pitons.
Thomas in the living area with the Pitons in the background. There is no wall on this side of the room, but it is engineered with an overhang that prevents rain from entering.
To keep the mosquitos out.

From the outside. The interior shots were from the room at the top.
Courtyard with skyways leading to the suites.
Beautiful, but the money we would have spent there would have eaten up our travel budget for several years.

Gros Piton Hike

We choose St Lucia for our honeymoon site in no small part because of the opportunity to hike UNESCO World Hertiage site Gros Piton and Petit Peton. After running a gauntlet of travel-related adventures and realizing that vacationing in a third-world country was more of an adventure than we had anticipated, we opted to hike the well-traveled Gros Piton and forgo Petit Piton. Above is a view from the top of that hike with a view of Petit Piton.
Myself in Five Fingers. Hiking in these was not as fun as some other hikes. The trail was very rocky and I had trouble keeping up with our guide.
St Lucia Coast, to the north.
Valley to the north of Gros Piton.
Another view of the coast with farming villages visible.

Interior mountains.
Me.
That other guy I was with.
In a tree.
Steps. Lots and lots of steps.
View from the bottom looking up at Gros Piton.