Thursday, March 24, 2005

Intro (or, the reasons behind our madness)

March 24, 2005

Dear family and friends,

We are not having a mid-life crisis, just finally moving somewhere warm and sunny. With our 3 year wedding anniversary coming up, we have spent several years now traveling the U.S. and a few other countries looking for our ideal home in the sun. We’ve decided on Florida after many fun trips to Miami.

In between moving, we are going to further travel the world. We have both quit our jobs here in St Louis and have already been to Cozumel, Seattle, and a Caribbean cruise. Next, we are off to Steamboat Springs for some skiing and then to Tampa. After that we will be out of the country for two months. Yes, on April 15th we leave for LA – Hong Kong – Macau - Bangkok - Singapore - and Sydney. Then a short stop at home in St Louis, and off to London, - Santorini, - Mykonos - Athens - Barcelona and Ibiza. We return June 15, 2005.

We are then moving to Florida in July. Stacy is pursuing a job opportunity that may allow her to start then in either Miami or Tampa. Mel is looking to start an investment firm, work for a small investment company, or start some other business.

We will try to send lots of postcards or emails and keep in touch with everyone. Our cell phone numbers are 314-374-3858 (Mel’s changed when he quit Edward Jones) and 314-494-5773 (Stacy). Our e-mail addresses are melmarten@hotmail.com and stacy_marten@yahoo.com

This also means that 8820 Moritz in St Louis is for sale. We would like to sell it by owner at a reduced price if possible, otherwise, we will list it at full price later. Please pass our info along to anyone who may be interested in purchasing.

We already have our hotels booked, except for Australia where we will play it by ear, but if you have any suggestions on things to do, we would love to hear! We will miss everyone!

The Traveling Martens.

Saturday, March 12, 2005


Caribbean cruise

We spent a whole week with eight good friends on a cruise that left Miami, and stopped in San Juan, St Thomas, St Maarten, and the Bahamas. We all arrived in Miami a day early so that we could go out in South Beach in style, hitting the Shore Club pool bar and Mynt. Next stop was San Juan; several of us have been there before and enjoy it. We walked around old town and even sat with the pigeons. In St Thomas, we chartered a private sailboat for the day. The captain took us out to a couple good spots to snorkel and made us great sandwiches and the best guacamole I've every had. Several of the girls got dropped off at a private beach for the afternoon. St Maarten was the prettiest of the islands, with beautiful beaches and blue water. Stacy and I rented sea kayaks to take out into the bay. In the Bahamas, we went to a beach near the Atlantis resort and had fun trying to body surf on some large waves.