Thank you Stampin' Up for a wonderful week long cruise through the southern Caribbean. And thanks most of all to my wonderful customers and fellow downline demonstrators who helped me earn this fabulous reward trip. On past SU trips, my family has sailed along, but our kids could not miss school this time of year, so my friend and fellow demonstrator Beth Daniels came along. We had such a great time last week -- I know it's been difficult for both of us to return to reality.

After setting sail from Puerto Rico our first stop was Barbados. Can you say that water erosion is a powerful thing -- check out that rock on the eastern side of the island.

We are both history buffs and loved visiting St. John's Parish on Barbados. And our guide gave us great info on the Sandy Lane section of Barbados -- including info about the resort where Tiger Woods was married (and rooms can go for $25,000 a night!) She said he may be returning to get "unmarried" depending on how that all works out.

The next stop was beautiful St. Lucia where our tour took us by pitons left by volcanoes and we stopped at a very beautiful plantation where coco beans are harvested to begin the process of becoming chocolate (the first photo in this post is the view from that Plantation).

After St. Lucia came Antigua and our favorite adventure -- riding Segways! Once we got the hang of it, it was just awesome. Segway of Antigua is an awesome little company and really gives you a great tour as you ride along some beautiful beachfront.

Beth and I agree that we would both like to own a Segway -- a most amazing piece of machinery.

St. Marteen was our next stop — half Dutch and half French, it's a gorgeous island and can you guess which side is home to clothing optional beaches? Wowsa -- we got some views that I won't share here and we opted for clothes of course. Who'd want that sunburn??

St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands was our last stop before returning to Puerto Rico and flying home. We visited a lovely beach resort for the day and enjoyed soaking up the sun and just relaxing.

Cruising always offers incredible views, incredible food and the 24/7 service that makes you truly relaxed.

We loved exploring the ship, which was huge....

And Stampin' Up always spoils us with "pillow gifts" that magically appear in your cabin each night thanks to the amazing cabin stewards who work so hard. Thank you again Stampin' Up -- and HUGE thanks again to all my wonderful customers. You made this vacation possible. Now my family is counting on going with me next year (and Beth is inspired to earn the trip I know!) — Alaska, here we come!