Nevis 2017

Jeff is such a hard worker. And this year- his hard work earned us a trip to Nevis! The company takes the top performers on a 'once in a lifetime' vacation each summer to celebrate their accomplishments. I had never heard of Nevis prior to his win. But now... I will never forget it. 

Nevis is located in the "West Indies", close to St. Kitts. It's known as the place Princess Diana traveled to when she needed to escape her troubles with Prince Charles. We flew from DFW to Miami and then Miami to St. Kitts. The view from the plane was spectacular. 

Once we landed in St. Kitts, we then had to take a boat to Nevis. Nevis is so tiny, no commercial airlines fly there. The boat ride over was pretty. I felt like we were traveling to the island where they filmed Jurassic Park. Nevis has a huge volcano right in the middle of the island.

Day 1, we wasted no time and hopped right on the beach after we checked-in at the Four Seasons.

The first night there, we had a 'Welcome Dinner' with Jeff's fellow colleagues who had also placed in the top group of performers.

Day 2 we had breakfast before heading out for the day.

We took a long walk around the property. The terrain is very hilly. And the humidity is like nothing I have ever experienced. (And we used to live in New Orleans!)

Our first adventure was aboard a catamaran. We sailed out into the ocean for snorkeling. We got to explore sunken ship and lots of coral reefs. 

Then we docked and had lunch on the beach.

After wards, we sailed back to the island. I love the bright yellow umbrellas at the Four Seasons.

We went to dinner with a few of Jeff's friends and their wives- outside of the resort. The restaurant was called the "Gin Trap" - the food was amazingly fresh and I loved the decor. All white!

Day 3 we went on a jungle hike. We were secretly hoping it would have been a difficult hike up the volcano. But it was more relaxed. Still.... we got really, really sweaty.

And we saw monkeys! There are about 10,000 people on Nevis and 30,000 monkeys. With no natural predators, the monkey population has exploded. The islanders think they are a nuisance.

Jeff doing what Jeff does best-- making people smile!

Our next dinner out was the 'awards night' where the winners were recognized. This was also off the resort, the restaurant was called Bananas Restaurant. The views here were amazing. 

Day 4 Jeff played golf, so I entertained myself with a run. And I was surprised to meet so many monkeys on my outing. They were pretty brave and let me get close enough to take a few photos.

Later, we ventured in to 'downtown Nevis'. A little known fact about Nevis is that it is the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton. Since Hamilton is all the rage on Broadway, there seems to be a lot of new information available about his life. I am embarrassed to say I knew absolutely nothing about the man. But the citizens of Nevis were quick to educate us. We even visited his birthplace and the official Nevis Alexander Hamilton Museum. It was a small exhibit in a building about the size of my family room. But it was packed with information. (I am now an Alexander Hamilton fan! )

Besides the museum, there wasn't a lot of 'touristy' things to see/do in downtown Nevis. Some people chose to take a boat over to St.Kitt's to shop for souvenirs. But we decided to head back to the Four Season and paddle board instead :)

Day 5- One of the highlights of the trip, was the company volleyball game. It resembled the scene in "Mr. Mom" when the boss hosts his own sports competition. Lol. Jeff's team pulled through and ended up winning the match against 'the boss'. It was quite funny.

My favorite night out was when it was just the two of us. We walked along the beach to Sunshine's for a 'killer bee'. Everyone in Nevis loves about that Rum Punch. We tried it-- but weren't fans! It is super strong and super sweet.

We had dinner back at our hotel- we ordered cheese pizza in the lobby. It was the best meal I ate the entire we were there! I have the palette of a six year old! Lol.

Day 6 -Our final full day in Nevis was more pool time and relaxing on the beach.

The company hosted a farewell dinner on at Mango's. It had a spectacular view of the water. (Actually there were no bad views anywhere in Nevis!) 

Day 7-The only draw-back of our entire trip was the travel time. It takes an entire day to get from DFW to the island. So on our day home, we left the resort at 5am - just as the sun was rising. We rode a boat to St. Kitts. And then caught a flight to Miami. From Miami we caught another flight and got home just in time to take our girls to a late dinner.

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home! But if you ever get the chance-- give Nevis a try.