anniversary perfection!

back in september, on our 21st anniversary craig gave me a card that said he was taking me on a trip on Nov. 18.
he told me to bring a swimsuit and a book.
and that was it.
i never asked for details once!  🙂
craig loves to plan!
he loves to think about all the things you could do when you visit a new place.
he is really good at details.
he is a people person and can handle people & noise together easily.
his brain can take in lots of information and make decisions.
i dislike planning.
i like to do practically NO things when i go away from my house… meaning i like to sit & relax & just BE with those i am traveling with.
i don’t need or enjoy tours or crowds or small talk or corny stuff.
basically… i prefer very little human interaction on a vacation from anyone who is not ON the trip with me.
(i sound ridiculous!)
i cannot make decisions with lots of information…. i shut down.

i say all that because he took in all that he knows about me and made THE BEST trip ever!
i felt so loved & seen & understood & beyond special.
it brought me to tears many times.
we have been through a lot in 21 years and this was complete paradise for us.
the best week of our entire marriage!
we were like newlyweds but so much better because we KNOW we can get through hard stuff… we’ve done it.
and we just like each other so darn much!

we left our house at 4:15 am and traveled all day ending up in Tortola, an island in the British Virgin Islands.
we picked up our rental car… stopped at a grocery store for some food (which was a good hint that we weren’t going to a resort and i was happy to hear that) and then we found our house.
and i nearly died from extreme J O Y.
i mean… whaaaaaattt?
is this real life?!
am i oprah?!

craig is AMAZING!
he is amazing at lots of things but he is a PRO at using vrbo.com and that is how he found this place.
it was an absolute DREAM!
perfect for just two people.
excellent for those seeking quiet and rest.
and SO CRAZY beautiful in every way.

this was the view from every window!
no other houses around.
and about 3 minutes from the prettiest beach we’d ever seen!

all the furniture was like this… heart eyes!!!

we took the house manager’s advice and took our 4WD car waaaay down to this beach.
the roads in Tortola are… wild.
i have never driven on anything like it.
SO steep!
or not even a road… just a dirt trail with huge ruts in it.
also… no street signs.
none!
and they drive on the “wrong side of the road”!
craig loved the challenge of all of those things and i was completely happy to attempt to navigate based on possible familiar landmarks.

one other couple on this entire beach came as we were leaving.
they asked us to take their picture in the water with a #12 flag (Seahawks) and in return they took this photo of us.  🙂

and then… we found out our 4WD wasn’t working!
two local surfers were coming to check the waves and attempted to help us… it was a no go.
that #12 couple eventually came back up that “road” and gave us a ride back up to the house.
everyone was super nice and helpful!
even the car rental people who just brought us another car that afternoon with working 4WD.
it’s close to impossible to drive there without it.

my favorite detail of the house was waking up in the morning and opening all the windows and doors right away.
and climbing back into bed for awhile.
the sounds of the ocean & birds and all the plants everywhere.
the breeze blowing through the whole house…
sighhhhhhhh.

we found the world’s prettiest basketball court.

we took a ferry over to Peter Island.
it’s private and only has the Peter Island resort on it.
if you sit in these chairs and raise the flag… a waiter comes to your lounge chair!!!
craziness.
it was a lovely place to spend the day.

we both read a lot during this trip.
i read Everyday Grace and craig read a gigantic book called Wooden: A Coach’s Life all about basketball.
gosh i love that guy.  🙂
and he really truly loves… basketball.
and me too i guess.

HA!

on one beach i stopped and bought a coconut.
i drank the water in it and then they chopped it up with a machete and gave me the pulp to eat.
i had never had fresh coconut!
it was so much better than coconut in a bag from the grocery store! (duh!)

we went out to eat the first night and after that i asked if we could just cook at our house.
because that house was PERFECT and there was no reason to leave it!
i was craving quiet SO much and even a restaurant was too many people for me.
i wanted good food on the deck with my favorite person.
and wine.

here we are halfway through our trip…
look what just three days away from regular life does to our faces?!
who are those young happy carefree people???
five kids? who has five kids? surely not those people up there.  🙂

we went snorkeling at Peter Island.
It was like swimming in a fish tank at RainForest Cafe.  HA!
it didn’t seem real… the only time i see that kind of sea life is at the zoo or theme restaurants.
i saw a sea turtle but when i tried to get craig’s attention i scared it away.
but can i say that there might not be anything less graceful than putting on snorkeling gear… the flippers!!

look who found me a heart rock in the BVIs?!!!

there are wild chickens EVERYWHERE you go in Tortola.
on every road… every beach… every restaurant.
i felt completely at home!  ha ha ha!  🙂

we watched about 25 surfers and it was so interesting!
We had never seen that in real life either.
(kansas doesn’t have much surfing…)
and basically we concurred that SURFING IS AWESOME.
we had major respect for them because we were both grossed out every time the ocean water got on our lips!
so the deep swimming and wave crashing and total hard work was really cool to watch.
my little phone camera couldn’t capture it though… i wished i had a big zoom lens.

ummm… your cow is loose.

different surfers on a different day at the empty beach near our house.
they came on that boat and got off and started surfing!

it felt like we were on Lost.
everyday.

and that’s how big the surf was….his board cracked in half!

that day we decided to not try the road we had gotten stuck on the first day.
so we walked it.
i mean… HIKED it.
think of a treadmill incline at it’s highest level… that was this road… but worse.

and the second we reached our car at the top it started to pour!

ummm… your sheep are loose.

it appeared to be a thing.
livestock roaming freely where ever they please.

on our last day we took a boat to Virgin Gorda to see the baths.
WOW.
again… it did not seem like it could be a real place!
it was the most beautiful place imaginable!

that night we ate the best meal we’ve had maybe… ever?
it was a restaurant in Virgin Gorda called Coco Maya.
it could be because i was literally so hungry that i almost cried when we sat down.
for real.
(and maybe i did cry… but just a little)
but i think it was the best tasting food as well.
It was a tapas restaurant but it also served one entree… pad thai.
YES!
it was so good and i have thought of it everyday since we came back!
the restaurant was gorgeous too…it was ON the beach… open air… no windows… just perfect.
this pic is from their website.  it was dark when we were there and completely packed.

it was the best week!!!

an open letter to mr. duerksen:

craig –
you made me feel like luckiest girl in the whole world.
i mean it!
how can 21 years seem so short?
thank you for every minute of planning you did & every dollar you spent.
thanks for not thinking I’m a weirdo for not wanting to be around people & for cooking my own food.
or at least for not saying it.
and thank you SO MUCH for the gift of quiet and relaxation.
we needed it!
i’m so glad you’re mine.
let’s go back next week!!!
-mrs. duerksen

then it was time to travel home.
sad face.
not because we didn’t miss our kids… but because kansas isn’t an island!!!
and that is a total drag!
why isn’t it?  why don’t we live on Tortola?!
reality.
we went right back into it.
complete with an ice storm the next day!
oh kansas… you’re dumb and i’m not speaking to you right now.
call me when you get an ocean.