BONAIRE!!

Here is the thought process that led up to this weekend:

Idea #1:

Fly to Dublin, rent a car (think small, 2 seater, "smart car" style), drive to Shannon, Ireland and fly home. Mat wanted to see the country side and thought what would be better than Ireland.

But the flights started filling up and eventually, Ireland was crossed off the list.

 Idea #2:

 Frankfurt, Germany

We thought of this before Ireland, actually, but the flights were overbooked and it didn't look promising.

Thursday rolled around and there were seats! We booked it!

We started researching places to go, sites to see, hotels to sleep in - everything!

We packed for Germany weather (high 70s and thunderstorms) and headed to the airport.

The flight was supposed to leave at 7pm, but the aircraft was late which made the flight delayed.

Around 7:30pm, the seats started filling up more. 

Around 7:45pm, there was 4 seats left.

By 8pm, only 1 was left.  

We sucked up the disappointment and found the nearest departure screen.

Where can we go?

What flights still haven't left?

Which leads into...

what we ACTUALLY did:

Fly to

Bonaire!

This is actually the spot the interns chat about when all else fails.

It's referred to as the "Dutch Caribbean" since it's a little island owned by the Netherlands.

Now, here comes the fun part!

Remember, this summer's motto is

"be ready for anything & just roll with it!"

We caught the 11pm flight from Houston, landed in Bonaire at 5:30am.

It was still completely dark outside when we landed, but sooooo warm! The airport is one of the smallest I've ever been too (including Idaho Falls, which isn't big by any means). The flight was full coming down, so Mat and I each had a window seat. I was lucky to catch just a bit of sleep, Mat on the other hand, didn't (or couldn't) sleep one bit. We decided once we landed we'd find a hotel and "rest our eyes".

This trip we also took Tyler, one of the other interns, with us. He was a trooper!

When we woke up from our 2 hour "eyes rest", we were caught completely off guard by the beauty of the island! 

And all of their friendly creatures....or as Mat referred to them as the "true locals":

These crabs were so skittish - that they wouldn't come near us!

This little guy was just hanging out, roaming around on the rocks.

I had NEVER seen one of them outside of a cage before, so you can only imagine the shock that went through my body as I'm watching them (there was more than one) roam around through the hotel area.

Yes, those are pink flamingos!

And just for Mom Haderlie....

They had wild donkeys - everywhere!

(Sorry, Mom, they really wouldn't fit in our carry on, but we'll get you one next time!)

These two decided to pose for the picture. :)

We had literally 24 hours before we were to be in the air heading back to Houston, so in good ol' "traveling by the seat of your pants" fashion, we did the following:

*Breakfast 

(Mat had a seagull egg omelet...I stuck with the bagel.)

*Rented a Scooter for $20

*Rode around the island

*Found the town with the shops

With Frankfurt on the brain, we didn't pack any swim clothes.

We grabbed swim suits/trunks, sunscreen, a summer dress and snorkel gear.

*Quick Snack/Lunch

*Found a snorkel/swim spot

Note: Bonaire is a HUGE diving area! There isn't much beach like areas, but there are a TON of swimming and snorkeling places.

(We did this until we had to take the scooters back.)

Mat testing it out...

...and Tyler not wasting anytime getting in the water!

Mat exploring...

*Had dinner

*Relaxed

The hotel had a GIANT chess board - think Harry Potter - so Mat & Tyler played a round.

However, Tyler has the pictures on his camera. :)

*Hit the sack just in time for a 5 hour nap before our flight.

It was an INCREDIBLE weekend!

We took a TON of pictures, so here's a few more:

The colors of the water were beautiful & crystal clear!

This was from our hotel (that pier is where we watched the sunset & completely forgot the camera).

Mat ready to go!

This was my favorite spot!

Did I mention the water was 80 degrees??

Lizards were EVERYWHERE!

These little guys would run across the road...keep in mind, they come in all shapes & sizes!

We found these rock staircases that would lead you closer to the water.

We couldn't find an access to the water unless you wanted to jump over, so we took it as a photo opportunity instead.

And then we found these to look at...

Hermit Crabs!

This was us at the end of the day...

Can you tell we're tired??

 The sunrise from the airport.

And then a view from the plane.

Bye-Bye Bonaire!