Vacation King and Queen (aka Vacation Ninjas): Grand Turk, BVI (British Virgin Islands)

RATING: $$$$+++++
Grand Turk, BVI (British Virgin Islands)
via Holland America Line's Westerdam cruise

We spent my birthday in Grand Turk, BVI. What a gorgeous place. The first thing you notice is how clean it is and that there were no beggars all over the place. Everyone was so friendly.

A great -- FREE -- place to enjoy the day is at Margaritaville. They have the most beautiful pools and swim-up bar, and you can just hang and have some fun there.

We also did a snorkel and stingray swim excursion which was offered through the cruise line, which was $59pp and worth every penny. John's favorite place to be is in the ocean with a snorkel or SCUBA mask ... I, on the other hand, was very happy walking up and down the beautiful white sand beach taking pictures of him ... but here's a PSA: WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN. I definitely learned my lesson. It was an overcast day, so I didn't cover up, and yes, I GOT FRIED!!

Swim-Up Bar at Margaritaville

The stingray excursion is always fun. This one is especially good because you get to walk in from the beach, whereas most stingray excursions (like the best one in Grand Cayman's Stingray City) has you land in the middle of the ocean on a sandbar (which is only waist-deep, too). So this one was kinda cool that you can walk in and out of water when you want. Since we have a little stingray (a 10" female, Cortez stingray named Christmas) as a pet, it was especially fun to be able to play with the really huge ones and feel their suction power, stronger than a vacuum to pull the squid out from your hands (make sure to hide your thumb!)

Location of John Glenn's landing on return from the moon!!

Before our excursion, we took a tour of the whole (small) island, which was only $16 round-trip per person. At the north tip, there is a lighthouse we got to visit and read about a little history. We also learned that Grand Turk was the island where John Glenn wound up landing on his way back from his journey to the moon. I was glad to have learned this. I don't remember reading about that in a history book. It's nice to learn history from where it happens, not just from a book.

All in all, this was a perfect, very happy birthday, especially after having an awesome special dinner with roses delivered to our table!