The Crabtree Zoo

Our first port of call was George Town, Grand Cayman. Weather wasn’t the best, scattered thunder showers was the order of the day… But, none the less, we had a pretty full day. We visited the Turtle Farm, went straight to Hell, swam with Sting Rays and did a bit of snorkeling in the rain…

We just got back from a 7 day cruise around the Caribbean with guitar master Gary Hoey. My Dad had picked up a flyer for the cruise at one of his last concerts, and being the big fan that he is thought it would be a great vacation for everyone in the family.

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, I hadn’t listened to Hoey in maybe 6 or 7 years, he’d kinda fallen off my radar. But, I have to say that after spending a week with him, his family, the rest of the band and seeing two private concerts, I have a whole new respect for guy and his music. Not only can he make a guitar sing, but he’s just a genuinely down to earth nice guy.

For those who are unfamiliar, Hoey is best known for his instrumental surf rock, he did the soundtrack for “Endless Summer II” and not to mention a whole series of Christmas covers, which are pretty fun to listen too.

The cruise wasn’t all Hoey by far, that was just one small aspect of it… We stopped off in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya. It was also Lauren and My five year anniversary, and the first time both our parents got to meet… Below are a few shots from the concerts, more photos from the rest of the trip will be posted over the next few days.

Towards the end of the shows Hoey’s kids, Allison and Ian got up on stage to join their dad. Ian rocked just as hard as his dad, that kid is going to grow up to be quite the little ripper…

My Dad with Gary

And of course Me with Mr. Hoey…

Back in April 2007 Lauren and I went to Aruba for Lauren’s Parents 25th Anniversary. We had a really great time exploring the island, scuba diving and just kicking it with a drink on the beach. Aruba is a small Dutch island about 20 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Here are some photos from the trip.

Before we went to Aruba I decided to buy an underwater case for my Canon IXY 800IS. Thought it might be fun to try out a little underwater photography. The case ended up working great and these are just a few of the shots I got.