Mom's Visit Part 2: Adventure Day!

Saturday was our “Adventure Day,” and though we did plan most of the activities, there were a few things that sprung up along the way that made the day even more interesting and adventurous.

Let me start by saying that not only did I love having my mom here, I loved that Kyle was done with classes and had nothing to worry about for school! Normally I get to explore the island with friends and other spouses, but it meant so much to spend so much time with two of my favorite people!

Our first destination was Trafalgar Falls, but the drive there was quite the adventure. It takes about an hour and a half to get to the falls, and the roads there aren’t the greatest - at some points they aren’t even paved! We were driving Ryan and Ashley’s car, and the entire trip I was covering that car with prayers that it we would make if safely, and the car would still be in one piece. My mom sat quietly in the back seat, and though she seemed cool and collected, I know she was freaking out a little bit too with every pothole (there had to be millions) and every car that zoomed past. But I can’t thank Kyle enough for driving that day!!! We all joked that he definitely needed a stiff drink when we got home for how hard he was gripping the steering wheel! And thankfully, two other families were driving cars along with us, so if anything were to happen, we could get a little help from our friends.

So my fervent prayers were answered and we made it safely to Trafalgar! Trafalgar Falls is made up if 2 waterfalls - “Mama” which is cold and “Papa” which is hot. The hike there is pretty easy, and just takes 10 - 15 minutes. Last time I was at Trafalgar, we stopped at the viewing deck where you can see both falls, but they’re still pretty far away. Well, with this being “adventure day” no way we were stopping there.


View of Mama Falls from the deck


Kyle and I on the deck with Mama Falls behind us


Me and Momma in front of Mama!

After the deck, there is a path that leads you all the way to the bottom of Mama Falls. To get there, we trekked through several natural sulphur springs - as warm as hot tubs! I think we could have stayed there and relaxed all day! Water from these springs came from the warm Papa Falls.


Me and Mom in one of the sulphur "hot tubs"


The gang at Trafalgar:)

We followed the water, and it leads toward the bottom of Mama Falls. We went from hot water into frigid cold water in just seconds! The view from the bottom of that waterfall was beautiful, and we could see all the way to the top of Mama Falls.


Kyle and I at the bottom of Mama Falls. The water we're standing in was freezing!


Mom and Me :)

We explored and found the point where the two falls come together. I had one foot in hot water and one foot in cold - it was so cool! And then Kyle found a ledge to jump off of - and though it looks tiny, it was higher than it looks! We made sure we followed Greg’s advice to be adventurous!


Mom and her crocs where the warm and cold water came together!


Mom waving hi from Dominica!


Kyle jumping off his "little cliff" into the bottom of Mama Falls

After our little exploration through Trafalgar we found some picnic tables and ate the lunches we packed. I made some of Ashley and I’s bread so my mom could try some! After eating, taking a little rest, and saying a little prayer for the car, we continued on to our next adventure…

From Trafalgar, we drove on to TiTou Gorge, which was only about 15 minutes away, though the roads didn't get any better! TiTou Gorge is one of my favorite places to see on the island. They also filmed a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 there! (I've never seen it, but Kyle tells me it's when they are being keep in these huge round cages by ingenious people, and then they cut them down and they fall into water. Well, they fall into TiTou Gorge!)

The only way to get into the gorge is by swimming, which doesn't sound bad until you found out the water is FREEZING! When you get in the water, your body tingles all over and then eventually just goes numb! I was a little nervous because the first time I went, Ashley and I were a little hesitant to swim through, but being the trooper she is, my mom got right in the water! And after a few yelps of "Are we crazy?! This water is freezing!" we started doggy-paddling and we were off through the gorge!

Kyle led the way through, and I can't tell you how gorgeous it is inside! (We did find a spot above the gorge where we snapped a few pictures, but it doesn't look nearly as beautiful as it does in person!) Only a small amount of sunlight comes through the top. We swam a few minutes, and then reached a spot halfway through the gorge where we could touch the bottom. The next stretch of swimming leads to the end, where a waterfall falls right inside of it! It's a little tricky to swim through because of the current of the waterfall. We made it to the back, where there is a rock you can climb on and jump off of! Kyle and I jumped off, and my mom gracefully slid off the rock:) and we swam back through the gorge.


A view from the top - the waterfall in the back of the gorge


Though it's a little dark, this is Kyle and I inside the gorge. (He had to hold onto me, because when I went to grab onto the wall, a giant spider popped out!)

Kyle couldn't help but try to scale the walls inside. He quickly found out they're really slick and there's nothing to grab onto. He also quickly noticed something was missing - his wedding ring!!Luckily, the water is so clear and we happened to be in a shallow part, so right as we looked down I spotted the ring. WHEW! Major catastrophe avoided...

At the beginning of the gorge, there is a small warm waterfall that was perfect for heating back up! Once we got out, the three of us went exploring and found the spot where we took pictures from the top of the gorge. To really see how awesome it is, you'll have to see it in person - we'll take visitors anytime!!


Mom under the small warm waterfall


The bridge that leads above the gorge


Inside the gorge

To get to and from the gorge, it's a short walk, but part of it you have to go across a questionable looking bridge.


Kyle and Mom on the bridge

We all made it back safely, but there was a surprise waiting for us...



The car had a flat tire!! After inspecting it, the guys found out it was from a nail, and the bad roads probably pushed out the air faster. So we're in the middle of nowhere, but thankfully we have friends with us! My mom and I decided to stay with the car while Kyle went with the others into Roseau, about a half hour away. We actually had fun standing by the car (we were nervous to get in in case it tipped over!) because it just gave us even more time to do a little mother-daughter bonding:). The only bad thing was we got attacked by mosquitos.

After about 2 hours, they made it back with the repaired tire, fixed by a boy who was about 10 years old - and it only cost 20 ec! The guys got the tire back on, and we were off. We were supposed to make one more stop at Screw's Sulphur Spring, but it was already starting to get dark, so we all decided to head home. It definitely was one adventurous and fun day in Dominica!

Mom's Visit Part 1: She's Here!!

There's nothing like a mama-hug.

-Adabella Radici

Kyle and I were both so excited to have my mom come and visit - though it seemed so surreal that she was actually going to be here! We planned the trip and tickets were booked about a month before she was going to come down, so before we knew it, she was boarding her plane in Columbus to head down to our little island, Dominica!

When we first saw her walking out of the arrivals section of the airport, it was like a little piece of home was being delivered to us! The transport ride from the airport to our apartment felt so surreal as we chatted and caught up - as if for the past 3 months we hadn't been thousands of miles away!

We gave her the "grand tour" of our apartment, taking about 2 minutes to walk from the kitchen/living room/dining room area to the bedroom/office and then into the bathroom. We also decided to celebrate Mother's Day, and all 3 of our birthdays early as we exchanged gifts. I got a few new shirts and dresses, which made it feel like my birthday and Christmas all in one! :)

For dinner, we headed to Tomato's, a restaurant in Dominica that is owned by a couple from Canada, so it is the closest to American food you'll get down here. As we finally had a chance to sit down, we realized just how tired we were - especially my mom, who had been up since 5 am!

The "gang" at Tomato's! (notice how tired my mom and I look...)

After Tomato's we headed to Sweet Refuge Cafe, a new "hot spot" in Picard because they sell ice cream! (Well, they call it "Texas Gelato, which we really don't know what that means! All we know is it's good!!) Then we finally made it home, where my mom and I crashed. For the first night she was here, we had an air mattress blown up at the foot of our bed. Yes, it was very "cozy" but we made it work! But the rest of the time my mom was here, she had her own apartment! Our friend Ryan moved out of his apartment, and it would be open until the end of break. It was just on the floor below ours, so it worked out perfect!

Kyle had actually taken his last mini EVER that day and he was ready to celebrate!! So he left us at home, to fall asleep probably seconds after he walked out the door, and he met up with some of his friends. As I mentioned before, most of his close friends are staying for 5th semester in Dominica, but Justin is now is Saginaw, Michigan. So it was nice Kyle got to spend time with him and say goodbye until we see him again at graduation 2 years from now!

The next day, Friday, we woke up ready to go! We walked to campus and gave my mom the tour. I think one of my favorite spots on campus is the "Subway Deck" since it's right outside of Subway (yes, we have one here!). The deck overlooks the Caribbean Sea, and you can see across to other parts of the island. It's gorgeous and so relaxing!

Kyle and I out on the deck!

After the little tour, we headed down to the beach closest to campus. We dropped our stuff under the shade of a palm tree, spread out our towels, and laid out under the sun! I think it was the perfect welcome to relaxing island-life for my mom! Not soon after though, we started to feel little raindrops. Similar to Ohio, Dominican weather has a mind of it's own. Five minutes after beautiful sunny skies, it was pouring down rain! We headed to a restaurant nearby for some shelter where we grabbed some mango rum and cokes (yum!)

Soon, the rain stopped and the sun was back out, so we headed back to the beach. We walked to the far end of the beach, and it was so nice because we had the whole place to ourselves! Thinking this would be a great place to snorkel, we grabbed our gear and went out there. (My stepdad Greg told my mom to be adventurous while she was here. She didn't even hesitate to put that mask and snorkel on and jump in the water!) We swam around for a little bit, but discovered maybe a few fish and a lot of sea urchins - which creep me out when I don't snorkel with my crocs on, so I didn't last all that long. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing under the sun, and harassing crabs (well, I say "we," but I'm sure you can imagine who was doing most of the harassing...)

After getting all "dolled up" back at the apartment, we headed back toward the beach to the restaurant PBH, the same one we went when Mamaw and Pampaw came to visit. It's right on the water and you can see some gorgeous sunsets from there. Well, since it rained that day, the sky was a little overcast, so we didn't get much of a sunset. But we still had a great dinner, and even went to see the movie "P.S. I Love You" after we ate! It was a great first day of my mom's island adventure!

She's Just Being Maile

We also wanted you to meet a new friend we made this past semester: Maile, the little girl I baby sat for! She left the island last week, and both Kyle and I already miss her! Since I normally woke up early to take her to school, ate lunch with her, and sometimes picked her up from school, I feel like a big part of my day is missing! We had a lot of fun together, but now she's back in the states as her mom, Kristina, is about to take Step 1 and then start rotations!


Meet Maile

I went on a field trip with Maile and the rest of the Day School to Savanne Paille, the Dominican school I tutored at last semester (while I was there, I saw Aaliyah!) It was a really fun day! I have no idea what's going on in the second picture, but her face cracks me up!

To be honest, I think Maile liked Kyle more than she liked me! :) They had a lot of fun together when Kyle would join us for lunch. And my last day watching Maile, we went to the pool after school and Kyle took a study break to join us. We had a blast!

Kyle tried to sneak in a little nap, but Maile caught him!

My beautiful pink, red, sparkle and glow in the dark pedicure, compliments of Maile :) And please check out my tan line from my flip flops - I don't know if it will ever go away!!

Let's hear it for the boys!

I'm not the only one who has been blessed by great friendships down here. Kyle has made some friends down here who have provided so much encouragement, support, and good memories. From time spent in class, to RCF, to football, he has been surrounded by solid guys who he has grown close too. We'd love for you to meet a few :)

Aisle E & Dan: Dodgeball Champs Yet Again

You may remember me writing about this group of guys last semester, but it's true - though they may not look like the most ferocious dodgeball team, Aisle E won it all again!

The Champs: Dave, Greg, Kyle, Dan, and Justin. Everyone except for Justin will be staying in Dominica for 5th semester! Justin & his wife Ashley will definitely be missed, but he will have the comforts of grocery stores, carpeted floors, and cows that actually live on farms instead of your backyard to get him by :)

Just this past week, the guys got together for a little reunion before 4th semester came to an end. Ashley and I made them dinner, and we all headed over to Justin & Ashley's for a fun night of food and games. We even got to play a few games of Garbage!

Then last Friday, the guys planned one last poker night before their final rolled around and Justin left the island. And guess who won the whole thing? You guessed it... Mr. Kyle Morgan!

The Thundercats: 4-Time Champs!

That's right! This is the first time in Ross University history that a semester has won 4 consecutive championships! The game was 4th semester vs. 2nd semester, and it wouldn't have been complete without arguing and a few close calls, but in the end, 4th semester ending up winning it all!

And though Kyle didn't get to play, he stood on the sidelines videotaping the game, and calling out plays. He was bummed to have to sit this one out, but he was so pumped they won! Kyle will definitely miss football next semester. If only everyone would stay for fifth so they could play one more semester...

This one's for the girls...

I have been SO blessed to have met such amazing women down here who have become some of my best friends! God definitely answered prayers that I wouldn't just be sitting at home all alone while Kyle studies. So I'd like you to meet some of them and take a look at some of the adventures we've had on the island!

Our visit to Titou Gorge, Trafalgar Falls & Screw's Sulphur Springs

Ashley's mom came to visit, so a group of us got together to show to island off to her. We had a day of island adventure and then relaxation at the sulphur springs (our closest thing to a spa!)

Me, Ashley, Sara, Liz & Ralna at Titou Gorge. It was one of the coolest places we had been on the island, but also one of the coldest! You have to swim through the water to get through the gorge!

Ralna, me, Sara, and Liz taking the very easy hike to Trafalgar Falls. Multiple cruise ships were in that day, so we had plenty of tourists to share our hike and view with, but it was still beautiful!

Ashley and I in front of the "Momma Falls" at Trafalgar.

Finally, we get to relax at Screw's Sulphur Springs! (We have no idea why they call it that. And in case you were wondering, yes I am wearing a bathing suit! It's just strapless...)

They even served us fresh fruit! (Well, this is after we ate it all!)

Game Night with the Girls!

Liz, Ashley, me and Sara

One night, Alia, another spouse down here, invited us all over to her house for a game night. Kyle had to study all night so I was in! I was having one of those days where everything I started to cook or bake just went wrong, so with 5 minutes before we were supposed to go, I grabbed some candy corn mammaw & pampaw brought us and I was out the door. Well, the candy corn was a huge hit! And so were the games! We played MadGab and Cranium. Ashley and I were partners to Cranium, and we ended up winning the whole game!

Ross Spouses Organization Spaghetti Dinner

Ralna, Ashley and I are all on the board for RSO and this semester, the organization planned a spaghetti dinner for the students right before one of the minis. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly how we can help out our husbands and other students since we can't even pronounce half the words in their study packets... but we learned quickly that cooking and making meals is such a big help. So we grabbed our spaghetti noodles and pots and got cooking & serving! The students loved it, and we had a fun time too!

Me, Katrina, and Courtney dishing out the noodles, sauce and green beans! Despite wearing a white shirt - i didn't get a bit of spaghetti sauce on me! (and knowing me, that's a miracle!)

Ashley gave us a ride home after the dinner, but forgot to mention she left the floats we use at the pool blown up in the back! So Courtney and I shared the back seat with an innertube!

Dinner at Blue Bay

While Ashley's mom was visiting, Kyle and I went out to dinner with Ryan, Ashley and her mom, Marta, at Blue Bay (as you can tell, one of our favorites on the island!) We had a great time, and I can't tell you how grateful I am to have Ashley down here!! She is definitely an answer to prayer!!

My AMAZING Bible Study

I have had the privilege of being in a Bible study with some amazing women for the past two semesters. I love how diverse our group is. Czarina, Katie, and Jamie are students, Ralna and Denise are spouses with children, and then there's Ashley and me. I have loved spending time with these ladies, who have been to open and encouraging. Czarina, Katie and Jamie are leaving to go to Miami for 5th semester. It just won't be the same without them!

Back row: Ralna, Jamie, Ashley, Katie, & me. Front row: Czarina & Denise

Yikes!

"What is that?" you might be asking. Perhaps it's a bowl of gravy, or maybe you're like Kyle and thought it was a new chocolate flavor of Jell-O. Well, keep guessing but I am sad to tell you that that lovely brown liquid came straight from our faucet. Yes ladies and gentleman, THAT is our water!

I've mentioned it before, but when it rains for several days our water tends to get a little murky. Well, it's been raining non-stop for the past few weeks, so we knew this was coming. I showered and just prayed we wouldn't get any diseases. We brush our teeth with bottled water. But I didn't quite realize how bad it was until I went to do the dishes and this is what came out. Yuck.

Needless to say, there is still a pile of dishes sitting in our kitchen...

Who says we're too old?

If you couldn't tell, we LOVE celebrating holidays! (Christmas and Valentine's Day are our favorites). So, we couldn't let Easter and April Fools Day pass without finding some unique ways to celebrate.

I mentioned in a previous post that on Easter, we went to RCF's Sunrise Service, which Kyle actually gave the message for. Then we were off to a brunch potluck with some of our friends. Well, we thought we were missing a little something... so, of course we hid baskets. We are fully aware Easter baskets have nothing to do with actually celebrating Jesus rising from the dead and triumphing death & sin so we can actually have life, and have it to the fullest (amen!), and sadly we found out long ago that the Easter bunny is not real, but we figured as long as we don't have kids of our own yet, we should still be allowed to partake in the fun. :)

We hid baskets for each other around our apartment and hunted for them. I've heard Kyle was quite good at basket-hunting when he was little, and was infamous for beating Keri. I'd say he probably beat me in finding his, too. I mean, our apartment is so spacious and there are just so many places to hide them! (note the sarcasm there. but I do love our apartment, don't get me wrong!)

Not there! Keep looking...

Found it!

Kyle's Easter Basket!

A little lost...

There it is!

My basket! (Kyle was a little sad because he was planning on getting more stuff for my basket, but he was stuck in bed all day Saturday when he got hurt. But he did give me "coupons" good for cookies from Subway, so I'm just fine with that!)


So, we had a great time celebrating Easter, and then one of my least-favorite holiday rolls around: April Fools Day. I spend the whole day being a nervous wreck just waiting for something to pop out or go wrong. (I think this is all due to my brothers - who probably loved this holiday and tormented me. They even put plastic wrap over the toilet seat!)


I spent the whole day thinking Kyle was secretly plotting something and I analyzed everything he did. (Like, Oh no, he had the bathroom sink on for a long time, he's got to be doing something!). Thankfully, he's so sweet to me and didn't try anything, but I wanted to do something so I got online and did a little research. And I found so many April Fools recipes, so I went to town! I made "Meatloaf Cupcakes" and then dirt dessert. I'm pretty sure Kyle thinks I'm a little crazy for trying to celebrate holidays so much, but it makes those days just a little less ordinary :)

"Andrea, what is this?"

They're Meatloaf Cupcakes!!

And they were actually pretty good!