That's all she wrote folks!

10 square miles in the Caribbean. That is where I have now spent the past 4 1/2 months of my life. Quite possibly the best 4 1/2 months of my life. As the finish line approaches, which is an 11:35 am flight out of Statia on Saturday, it is now time to look back on all the great experiences I had while here. Week 2 of my journey found me just finishing up my open water scuba diving certification. I had never even snorkeled before and the thought of an extended amount of time below the surface of the water kind of concerned me. The first day of lessons I jokingly said to my instructor Mike that us Minnesotans tend to usually stay above the water! He laughed and said I would have no trouble. And he was right. It was amazing and I got the chance to swim with stingrays, sharks, octopus, seahorses, HUGE turtles, barracudas, and tons of the most beautiful fish you'll ever see. Not to mention amazing coral reefs and many different ship wrecks. Needless to say I will never forget scuba diving in St. Eustatius. I have also now spent over 130 days living in a tent at the base of a volcano. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be but I do not intend on camping any time soon! I have luckily had few encounters with spiders, scorpions, crickets, ants, etc. For the first couple months I made it a point to do a thorough nightly inspection for those critters but now I don't even bother. Lately my main concern has been with the pigs. The pig invasion has still not been settled and I'll be interested to find out how they end up dealing with them. All I know is that there must be a "pig nightclub" outside my tent because nearly every night I hear the commotion. And I don't think I've mentioned the joy of hand washing clothes as yet. Let's just say there's about 1 billion jobs in this world that I'd rather do thean washing my clothes by hand. I can't wait for the return of the washer and dryer. And that's not the only luxury that I've been without. This is also 130 plus days of cold showers. I'm not even sure what a hot shower feels like anymore! Not that it really matters as I don't think I've been really clean since the day I left. TV....besides a couple of sports games and the Super Bowl, I haven't seen a lick in quite some time. And actually haven't really missed it. We have had the world's worst refrigerator as well as a sink that seems to be home to more ants and cockroaches than dirty or clean dishes. And don't forget about the unbelievable Botanical Garden road that we get to travel daily on with our banged up trucks. BUT!......the previous is no comparison to the amount of great things that I've experienced. Sitting on the highest peak of the Quill with a cold beer in hand, watching the sun set on the ocean horizon. I've gotten to hike some amazing trails and actually get to call it work...and live in one of the top 100 botanical  gardens in the world. I've gotten to meet and become friends with people from all over the world and become part of a wonderful Caribbean community. I've attend island festivals and even got to see an Elvis impersonator! I've had the chance to spend a day in the local schools here as well as help out with after school snorkel and ranger clubs. But don't get me wrong, we actually had to do a lot of tough work. Maintaining mountain trails and working in the Garden has gotten me in the best shape of my life. And to the absolute astonishment of anyone who knows me, I've actually quit drinking diet pop! No lie! So as I conclude my blog, I must thank all of those helped make this journey possible...and you know who you are. Thank you a million times over! It's a bittersweet feeling leaving the island but it's now time to start the next chapter of my life. And who knows what that will be! I look forward to seeing everyone upon my return! Until next time America!!