In celebration of Earth Day, we take a trip to the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands for a visit to GreenVI Glass Studio. GreenVI is a non-profit organization dedicated to recycling and other green projects in the islands. GreenVI’s Glass Studio takes used bottles and transforms them into beautiful gifts. There is a selection of pendants, paperweights, and other creations from which to choose, however, if you ask, you can be treated to a made-to-order special creation. We had already picked out two lovely turtle pendants when our host offered to make one to our daughter’s specifications and we were able to watch to whole process. We watched as…
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When a camera first comes out, you’ll read a lot of reviews about specifications with a limited number of tests of the camera in action. When it comes to underwater cameras, you’ll find even less. What follows is my experience with the waterproof, shockproof Olympus Tough TG-3. If you’ve come for a technical review with lots of pixel peeping, you’ve come to the wrong place. This review is based upon my use of the Olympus Tough TG-3, which was put to the test on our trip to Anguilla. I had no expectations that the image quality would compare to my DSLR. I did want something that was portable and waterproof…
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I love to collect postcards. When I travel on business, I stop into local antique stores and take a look around, especially for postcards from the Caribbean. Many of these cards date back to a time when zip codes weren’t used. You just wrote the city, or city and state, and your card found its way to the right place. The images draw me in, but I love to read the messages. Some are very short and sweet. Some cram as much as they can in that tiny little space. Some reflect the time they were written more than others. The places have changed over the years, and our…
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When people describe Anguilla, they often rave about the beaches and the food, but not to be overlooked is the music. Live music is widely available on the island, and the most famous Anguillan musician has to be Bankie Banx. Bankie plays regular at his now famous Dune Preserve, but once a year, he hosts “Moonsplash,” an event bringing in even more great music to the island. Moonsplash began as a moving music festival with the first concerts on Sandy Island off St. Martin and in St. Barths. In 1995, Moonsplash landed in its permanent home at The Dune Preserve on Anguilla. Over the years, Moonsplash has featured many of…
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With all the hullabaloo about the color of a dress, whether it be black with blue or white with gold, let’s not forget the important things in life, like the color of my sand! We take a look at sand from some of our favorite beaches, Pinney’s Beach on Nevis, Rendezvous Bay on Anguilla, French Leave Beach on Eleuthera, and the famous Pink Sand Beach of Harbour Island, Bahamas. What color is the sand, really? Take a closer look in our piece, “Is That Sand Really Pink?” Happy Friday! SaveSave
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When we return from our trips from the Caribbean, we carry with us many great memories, loads of photographs, and oftentimes, a few grains of sand from the beaches we visit. Fall in love with the island all over again by transforming that bottle of beach sand into a beautiful piece of jewelry you can carry with you forever. Head back to the beach with Dune Jewelry. I first saw Dune Jewelry in person while visiting Limin’ Boutique on Anguilla. The talented people at Dune Jewelry had the great idea of fashioning pendants, earrings, charms and more from the sand of our beloved beaches. They have loads of sand in…
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When we look toward traveling to a new island, one of the first choices we make is the hotel, and picking the perfect hotel for your family is no easy task. Picking the perfect resort, villa, or hotel requires research and consideration of what you need, and more importantly, what you don’t need, to make your vacation a happy one. 1. Room or Suite? Anyone traveling with their family knows how difficult, and how expensive it can be, to find the perfect accommodations. Our family of four started traveling out of the country when the kids were 6 and 8 years of age. When the kids are that young, you…
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You will probably see a lot of posts about the “best travel tripod” if you were like me and you were struggling to make a decision as to which to choose. Some articles were more informative than others. What I gleaned from what I read was that what was the “best travel tripod” for one photographer, was not the “best” for another. Here is my choice for the best travel tripod, the Gitzo GT0532 Mountaineer Tripod . It met my needs for support and stability, while at the same time remaining light enough to pack for all our adventures. 1. Carbon Fiber I knew I wanted a carbon fiber…
