Land Hoes
In this May 2025 blog edition, we are introducing a new character, our cousin Lan! We figured the normal cast would get a little stale, so we wanted to keep things interesting for everyone. In typical Rhianna and Kerry fashion, the trip started with early alarms so we could make our early flights and get to our destination pretty early. We had different flights down despite Kerry and I both leaving from Boston but we were all able to meet up in Puerto Rico, where the airport is crowded, overwhelming, and way too warm. After a short layover for everyone, (Kerry’s 3 hour layover became 30 minutes after plane issues that they ultimately decided to ignore - which was my engineering recommendation from the beginning) we boarded onto a tiny plane that reminded us of a flight we took in Guatemala. (Editors note: Kerry wants it to be known she got up at 2 am and yet I still beat her to PR). Kerry and I were randomly assigned seats that were in rows in front of one another and it was quickly clear the plane would not be full. In fact, we were 3 of the 31 passengers. We wanted to sit next to each other but were a tad concerned about weight distribution so asked the singular flight attendant if I could move up next to Kerry, to which he replied “can you move back with her actually?”. This prompted Kerry to be a little concerned because she “didn’t want to crash the plane”, but ultimately she did move back to my row. The 30 minute flight at 9,000’ elevation went off without a hitch and we were soon in the BVIs. The view was spectacular as we were landing. I dont know why, but the photo in my head whenever I would picture the BVIs was flat islands, perhaps it’s the Florida girl in me. I was quite shocked to find them mountainous and Kerry and I were trying to figure out if we think they’re volcanic or tectonic. In typical Kerry and Rhianna fashion, we decided we would make up whatever we wanted and that would be fact :) The blues in the water are a stunning watercolor medley that I don’t think I would ever tire of looking at.
Upon landing, we deplaned and were sequestered outside the plane to wait for our guide to walk us from the runway to the tiny airport. We had to go through customs there where we each paid a mandatory $10 environmental fee and had to answer many more questions than I anticipated, most of which I did not know the answer to. Catching a taxi was much easier than anticipated and we got to talking to our driver. While they drive on the left here (the fact that may be true totally slipped my mind on the travels and it was quite a shock), the driver is typically on the left because cars from America are cheaper than cars from Europe. The roads are also quite narrow and drivers quite fast. Our taxi driver asked us if we were familiar with driving on the left and we said while we specifically haven’t done it, we have been to countries where they do and our uncle was the driver once with poor results. About five minutes later, he was asking who was captaining our boat this trip and we said “our uncle”, to which he emphatically exclaimed “the same one???”. After having quite a chuckle at Chris’s expense, he said “don’t tell the locals! I’ll take your word for it but don’t say “when he drives, it’s bad. But when he sails, it’s perfect”.
His other words of wisdom were “we’re chillax to the bones here” as he’s whipping through these roads and when asked about the water temperature he said “oh I know it’s nice. That’s the word we use. Either cold or nice.” Needless to say, we made a bit of a friend on that 20 minute drive. Side note: his son works in Clearwater at a marina!
Our arrival at the b&b for the night was celebrated by three very cute dogs, a few cats who looked suspiciously at us at best, and a sweet woman who was our host. At this point it was around 3:30 and we were hungry (to no one’s surprise I’m sure). We quickly dropped our bags and went to get dinner at the moorings which is a convenient 5 minute walk from the b&b. We found lovely seats facing out towards the water and all the sailboats and demolished our food. By this point, the 89 degrees and what feels like 100% humidity was getting to us so we hustled back to our house and hopped in the pool which did god’s work in rejuvenating us.
Post pool, what else is there to do but get ice cream! (Again, I’m sure this is not a surprise to anyone). After some quick googling, the nearest ice cream shops were a 25 minute walk but the grocery store is only 5 minutes away so off we went. While at the store looking at our pint options, Lan said she doesn’t eat a ton of ice cream so to not take her into consideration when deciding how much to get. Despite this, we did end up with two pints for the three of us, took them back, sat on a bed, played cards, and finished both pints of ice cream. We played golf until the late hours of the night when we deemed it to be bed time (read: 8:15 pm). However, we couldn’t sleep without doing our crossword puzzles so we moved the beds next to each other, did a Tuesday and a Wednesday, and fell asleep like we were at a sleepover as children.
- Rhianna
Golf scores:
Lan: 66
Kerry: 25
Rhianna: 71
Ice cream count:
2 pints
Some things never change :-). Love you guys!
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