Back In the U.S. of A!

NOW we are for reals.

Knowing that we would most likely volunteer for standby, I guess I never seriously entertained the thought of actually getting on that plane and leaving. We kissed out sweet hotel room goodbye and headed to the airport.

Since we were already checked in we got to stroll right up into the business class line.



Don't mind if I do! My friend Karla checked us in and I almost completely lost it knowing that this meant goodbye forever. Ross and I quickly headed over to security so I could at least cry in front of a dozen strangers.

Ross and I hung out with his cool classmates before we anxiously boarded the plane. I gave Karla one last tearful hug and headed out on the tarmac.

I absolutely love this photo I took of our friend Ida. She is so dang happy to be headed home forever!!



It was on my STBL to take a photo out of a plane. What better time than my last views of Grenada?

I was right over the plane wing, but I still like the pictures.

Once we landed in AMERICA we headed straight for food. Any food. We ended up eating at Corona Beach Bar in the airport. Once we all got our food we took a fantastic photo that I need to track down.

We all look so happy in the photo. I love it. What a welcome to America!

See Ya Lata- Hold that Thought

As many of you know, Ross and I planned on flying out of Grenada Saturday, May 17th. You know, along with every other person in Grenada.

Friday night was really weird; packing up and putting the finishing cleaning touches on the apartment.

Ross cleaning off the top of the closet

All our stuff from the past two years was packed up in 4 bags, 2 carry-ons and a couple backpacks. I was pretty surprised but all the bags were comfortably under weight. In the morning my fantastic friend Erin gave us a ride to the airport. As we were leaving Lance aux Epines I saw a SGU school bus. That wasn't so weird, but it was awesome to think that I would never have to wait for, miss, or ride one of those ever again. As Erin drove down Maurice Bishop Highway, windows down and fresh Grenada air blowing on my face, something so normal felt surreal, "This is it."

Ross and I planned on flying out that day but not really. Long story short, American Airlines consistently overbooks their flights (particularly at this time of year) and they offer vouchers to travelers who "give up" their seat and travel on standby.

I have an amazing, absolutely incredible friend who helped us out. It really could have been a disastrous morning what with my travel reservation made in my maiden name, a couple false alarms, and re-booking our tickets. My friends sure aren't making it easy to leave this place.

Ross and I decided to give up our seats and fly standby. This meant we would stay an extra day in Grenada. It's a pretty sweet deal, they give you American Airlines voucher money, a food stipend, and put you up in a local resort. Also, they provide your transport to and from the airport in a nice taxi van.

I was blown away by the service of the staff at Dodgy Dock, the resort we stayed at. The room was far better than I could have hoped for.



The room had two levels and gorgeous views! I thought the decor was pretty cool too.

The second level had a bathroom with a walk-in shower with jets! And another pretty view.

I think our favorite feature was the AC though! I thought we might go to one of the pools they have, or venture to the beach, but we just relaxed inside. I honestly don't know why we have never traveled like this before. It was awesome to be packed and moved out of the apartment, but have time to decompress and say a couple more goodbyes.

The best part was that our original itinerary had a 24 hour layover in LAX, so we arrived at our final destination in Utah at about the same time had we not taken the voucher. It was a truly beautiful last day in Grenada, and it made the upcoming full day of travel a breeze.

RDR Apartments: Our Home

Now that I am sitting here, not living in my apartment - completely moved out, I figured it would be a great time to post pictures of my apartment. Backwards as always!

I was talking to my sister Jen and she reminded me that I never showed her pictures of my apartment. Since I spent the day packing and cleaning and leaving, I figured the apartment was finally in a state my mom would approve -CLEAN.

Jen, here you go!

This is a picture Rissa took when she was visiting in December.



We live(d) on the top floor, center. We got that romantic Romeo & Juliet balcony.

One of the reasons I love this apartment is that I feel really safe. When you go up the stairs, there is a locked gate to the second level.

Ross in action opening the gate door, and our front door, #8.

Here is the view from our front door. Everything is so dry.

The front door opens up to my small kitchen. To the right is a small couch covered in luggage. The the left is a table and a couple shelves. My least favorite thing about the kitchen is the lack of counter space. My favorite thing is there are 4 windows.

Heading back to the bedroom, you can see the door for the bathroom on your right, the bedroom straight ahead. This picture is from the hallway, looking back at the kitchen/ front door.

Here is the bathroom, empty but clean. The cute towels and shower curtain were all packed up and gone by this point. The best thing about this room is the BATHTUB! It is not very common for apartments to have bathtubs here in Grenada, so this is nothing short of a miracle/ gold mine. Definitely a huge selling point for me. 

The second best thing about the bathroom is this funny little electric razor charger.

Next the bedroom. Once again, all packed up and pretty plain. No more pretty afghan or red sheets. Through that door is the balcony, as you can see pictured on the right. With the awesome magnetic mesh to *try* to keep out bugs. 

Another view of the room from the balcony door. From this angle you can see back down past the bathroom to the kitchen.



It's a bit small, but very cozy. This might be my favorite home I have shared with Ross. The owner/ property manger is the best. Very flexible, super fast to fix things, and even better -pre-emptive. Every once in a while she will send a handyman around to check things out, or a plumber to clear the drains. And at least once a year she sends a guy to spray for cockroaches. I got a little emotional as we left, remembering all our good times in this apartment in the past year.

But alas, it is time for a new chapter, and I am ready. :D

Pack, Clean, Repeat BREAK!

As you can tell from my previous post, packing and cleaning, cleaning and packing has been the bane of my existence. Ross and I are sooo close to being done. I can just feel it. Because Ross and I have a terrible track record of amicably packing and moving, I built-in little breaks. The breaks were designed to help us get some fresh air and enjoy our last moments in this beautiful country. 

After some Friday morning packing we headed to the ever-classic Grand Anse beach. 

The beach is a great photo accessory - it always makes you look great.

I love our tan lines. You can tell we have desk jobs. ;)

I took a ton of photos and a couple videos. I'll miss this being our backyard, but I just have to remember that getting to hang out with Ross in the warm Caribbean waters wasn't every day life, but a nice perk once in a while. 

After some beach time and swimming we decided to get some lunch at Umbrellas, a restaurant on the beach. I ordered a virgin pina colada of course. I got into a bit of a habit of ordering them every once in a while if we went out. I am happy to say I found the BEST one on the island. I am sad to say I found it on my second to last day on the island. Haha. 

As Ross and I were staring out at the amazing view from our table, we laughed to ourselves. Grand Anse was the first beach we went to, and Umbrellas was the first restaurant we ate at. Funny how life so often comes full circle like that. 

Our friend Ethan met us and later we took a classic beach pic with him. 

We will take as much beach time as we can get! But for now it's back to packing. 

Half Way There

It is DONE! Finally official, Ross has completed and passed his first two years of medical school. As his classmates were joking, "We have the "M" of the "M.D." The Basic Science (classroom) years of now a thing of the past. 

I had this plan to meet Ross outside the lecture hall after his last final, but as always I was running late. So instead he found me up at the Office saying a final tearful goodbye to my co-workers. After that awful experience was over we headed down to the 5th Term/ 3rd Year party. SGU rewards the students with beer for purchase.

In front of Taylor Hall, you can see the tent and crowd of people over to the right

Ross and I opted for alternate beverages, but joined the party with big smiles and sighs of relief.



I have never seen a happier group of people in my ENTIRE LIFE. I took pictures with some of Ross's classmates that adopted me even though I'm not in school. Carolyn on the left, Ida on the right.

You could feel the tension from the students just rise up and evaporate into the hot humid air.

Our friend Ethan took some photos of us and I love how happy Ross and I look!



Seriously, just check us out!

Ross with our friend Ryan.

Bye campus! See you again -never!!

Somehow we got recruited to take a picture with some of Ross's classmates. We weren't planning on it though, so we arrived unprepared. I felt bad about it, but I think they were all just excited to be done. No one cared that Ross was in a t-shirt and flip flops.

Lizzy took the photos and thanks to her talent they turned out great!



Best of all, we got a private photo shoot.

Thanks a thousand Lizzy! You are so awesome to share, they turned out great despite our unpreparedness.

These Petersens won't be "Beyond the Sea" for long!

The Coconut Beach

Wednesday evening some of my work friends arranged a nice chill hang out. After work we went out for drinks at this restaurant called The Coconut Beach. I didn't have a preference but when Lauren suggested the place I was really excited because I had always wanted to go. Apparently the food isn't great but we were just there for drinks so it was all good. 

Plus, look at that sunset! That is hard to beat. Cassie, I just loved the atmosphere, you know? Being able to kick back and relax with your toes in the sand, a pina colada in your hand is the quintessence of island life right? It was the perfect evening. It was one of those events that you kick yourself for not doing more often. The company and conversation were the best I have had in a long long time. I am reminded once again of the truly amazing people I have met here in Grenada. I am beyond lucky to be such good friends with them, and I know that the bonds I formed will last long after I leave. 

Sadly not everyone could make it, but for being last minute, I think 5/7 is still pretty good.

Music Monday #9: Goodbyes

I fly out of Grenada this week. It's a bit insane to think of just how long I have waited for this moment. Of course the implications of this long awaited wish, are the I now need to focus on cleaning, packing, beach trips, and goodbyes.

For Music Monday I present you with two "Goodbye" songs of sorts. Not cute ones, like John Denver. We should know that isn't what I am all about. I'm am terrible at goodbyes. I am, in fact so terrible at them, I have actually mastered them. I don't like to get teary-eyed and weepy and focus on THIS IS THE LAST TIME EVER I WILL SEE YOU. In part because that is very hefty, and in part because I don't believe it is true.

I am a firm believer that life is weird enough that we re-connect with people all the time. Whether it is true or not, I really hold on to that.

Bouncing Souls is a band I never listened to before Ross. And now I am hooked. I seem to always find new gems from them. Today I have two songs from them that are perfect for life right now.

"True Believers" is a short little song. Here are some of the lyrics:

I've met some people along the way
Some of them split some of them stay
Some of them walk some walk on by
I've got a few friends I'll love till I die

 Grenada has brought me close to so many incredibly wonderful people. I've made friendships here that I know will last forever. Just a few days ago I actually got teary eyed thinking about leaving this place. That was a first.

From all of these people I try to learn
Some of them shine some of them burn
Some of them rise some of them fall
For good or bad I've known them all

People are really funny that way. But what a blessing to have friends that teach us. Friends that shine and rise and are influences for good in our life!

The next song is also from Bouncing Souls. Ross sent it to me last week and we both agreed that it was perfect for our life right now.

"Better Things" is a really hopeful song. It's the kind of song we all need after a hard day, or a move across the globe.

The next song I want to share with you is by the same band. But before I debut it, I want to take some pictures of this, my last week here. I might make it it's own post, or I might just update this one.

Stay tuned!

(ha... ha. Get it?!)