Checking In With Chelsea

DIY ideas, crafts, and tips for your home

subscribe and never miss a thing!

Receive Free Email Updates

  • About
  • Videos
  • Projects
    • Indoor Projects
    • Outdoor Projects
    • Craft Projects
  • House Tour
You are here: Home / Outdoor Projects / Spicy Family Vacation

Spicy Family Vacation

December 8, 2014 By Chelsea Lipford Wolf Leave a Comment

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and did the American thing of stuffing your face until you’re full and then some! My family and I went on our annual family vacation. More on that below…

But first just a quick mention to check out two blogs I wrote for BLACK+DECKER that were inspired by this time of year and having holiday guests arriving on the regular! Click on over to see how I made this pet gate from plastic lattice.

plastic lattice made into pet gate blocking off cased opening

And I also put together this DIY rustic-style ladder from shovel handles!

rustic ladder holding blankets and white bath towels

Now back to Thanksgiving! We’ve been going on a week-long family vacay for as long as I can remember. Thank God my parents got the travel bug and took us with them! But since both my sisters are still in school (1 is getting her bachelors and the other is working on a masters), there is generally only one week during the year we can all take off together for a family vacation. And that’s the week of Thanksgiving.

This year we got our passports stamped on the island paradise of Grenada. It’s about 90 miles off the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean. And it’s called the Spice Island due to all of the spices grown on the island like nutmeg! And hence the title of this post.

Most of the time on these vacations, we rent a house or apartment. Generally it’s cheaper for our family of 6 (with the new addition of my husband, Brandon!) since you can prepare meals instead of eating out all week. And this year was no different. I’d say my mom topped the cake of past years’ rental houses with this year’s. I mean, just check out the view from the back porch…

view of sun setting over island from infinity pool with palm trees in foreground

At the bottom of the hill the house sat on was a dinghy, sailboat, and 2 kayaks that came with the house rental. On the Sunday we were there, all 6 of us loaded up in the dinghy rated for 4 adults and headed across the water to Hog Island.

6 adults in small dinghy boat

Hog Island has a “bar and grill” called Roger’s that serves food on Sunday afternoons. The island has no electricity and no running water. So it’s a unique place to visit. Looks like a postcard, but that’s what it looked like when we pulled up.

boats on shore at remote island roger's grenada hog island

family on hog island beach with dinghy in water

We spent a lot of our time relaxing around the infinity pool. But also took the time to go for a short hike to see a cool double waterfall. It’s the first 2 waterfalls in what’s called “Seven Sisters”. If we had hiked further, we would have seen the other 5 sister waterfalls.

double waterfall in middle of rainforest on island of Grenada

After we hiked there we spent a little time sitting on the rocks in the pool below the first waterfall. Mom pretty much captions it all in this picture.

mom in bathing suit sitting in natal pool below seven sisters waterfall Grenada

On a separate day, Dad, my sister Melanie, Brandon and I went scuba diving. We visited 2 different reefs and saw a variety of underwater wildlife.

husband and wife in wet suits on boat for scuba diving Grenada

But my favorite dive trip was on Thanksgiving morning! All 6 of us went, 3 of us were scuba diving and 3 were snorkeling.

blonde daughter and dad sitting on boat in bathing suits Grenada

We went to an underwater sculpture park that’s about 20 feet deep, so it can be seen from the surface for the snorkelers. And this is probably my favorite picture from the whole trip, Brandon and Dad enjoying a lovely feast under da sea for Thanksgiving!

Brandon and Dad Scuba Diving on Thanksgiving

But as always, I’m glad to be home! Before we left on our trip, we started working on replacing the retaining wall in our front yard. We left it unfinished for over 2 weeks while we were away and then waiting on a weekend to finish it. But we finally did it this past Saturday and I hope to share how we did it soon!

Crumbling retaining wall in front of vinyl house near asphalt street

In the mean time, comment below to let me know what you and your family did for Thanksgiving! And be sure to follow me on Facebook for notifications when a new episode or blog is posted.

Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea

Subscribe for Free Updates!

Stay up-to-date on Chelsea's latest projects, tips, useful resources and more.

Previous Post
Staining Wood Handrails Part Deux
Next Post
Brick Wall, Waterfall

Related Content

Merry Christmasy ProjectsStaining Wood Handrails Part DeuxUtah State of MindChelsea’s Choice: Smarty Pants Drill

Please Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

I’m Chelsea. DIY
enthusiast who loves
sharing my victories
and mishaps!
Learn more
here.

CHECK IN WITH CHELSEA ON INSTAGRAM

Ask me how I know😑Whether you’re doing a smal Ask me how I know😑Whether you’re doing a small patch or a whole room, this drywall sanding hack will keep the dust at bay and keep the rest of your house looking good😎
.
.
#drywall #diyhack #tipsandtricks
A Spring Break to remember! Thanks to CeeCee and P A Spring Break to remember! Thanks to CeeCee and Pop Daddy for bringing the Wolfpack along on vacation! A long travel day ahead of us but it’s always worth it to spend time with family and get some r&r.☀️😴 Happy weekend!
9 years!✨Brandon and I will be celebrating 9 yea 9 years!✨Brandon and I will be celebrating 9 years of marriage this week. And how perfect we were invited to a wedding tonight walking distance from our home.🥰Sometimes reality is better than the movies and this weekend is one of those times. Enjoy, friends!☀️
What else do you use paper plates for besides eati What else do you use paper plates for besides eating?? Spray paint onto a paper plate and dab a small paint brush to do spot touch ups! Life hack when you’re working on a project but don’t need to paint the whole surface!👏🏻
.
.
#lifehack #diyhacks #spraypainting #painttips #paintprep #paintpro #shutters #craftsman #1940style
Didn’t mean for this to be #ASMR but here we are Didn’t mean for this to be #ASMR but here we are!🤷🏼‍♀️ I bought this orchid 15 months ago to use the flowers in our hair for my sister’s wedding. I’ve already repotted it once and it’s bloomed 3-4 times! Time to do it again with a pretty new pot that matches our new kitchen cabinets!🤩
.
.
Steps to repot an orchid:
1-large pot without drainage holes
2-plastic pot slightly smaller with holes
3-trim if needed so plastic pot is at or below outside pot
4-add layer of orchid specific potting mix (it looks like bark!)
5-add orchid, fill in around roots with more bark- don’t forget to add some mix under the leaves!
6-to water, soak bark and fill up outside pot, rinse the leaves too!
7-let sit for 5-10 minutes, then drain and dry the outside of your pot.
8-set in place and enjoy!🌷
New laundry, who dis? Our laundry room was a BLANK New laundry, who dis? Our laundry room was a BLANK slate after the kitchen renovation left it reconfigured too. So Dad and I tackled simple projects that make this space functional and of course visually pleasing too!👏🏻The full project airs this weekend on @todayshomeowner!
.
.
I love that the cabinets and hardware match what we have in the kitchen since the spaces are right next to each other! Synergy!
.
.
What do you love about your laundry room?
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Indoor Projects Outdoor Projects Craft Projects
Facebook Pagelike Widget
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Advertise with Chelsea
  • Media
  • Today’s Homeowner

Search This Site

Receive Free Updates Via Email

Copyright © 2023 Checking in With Chelsea • All Rights Reserved