Over the last 30 years, my wife Diane and I have stayed at The Reefs more than 15 times. But the visit I will always remember was the time I stayed at Sandpiper Cottage with my wife and 2 sons in late November/early December 1991. At that time, all mammograms performed in Bermuda were sent to Boston for me to interpret. The only Mammography unit on the island was located at the Bermuda TB, Cancer and Health Association (now known as the Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre).

On that visit to Bermuda in 1991, I participated in a fundraising event to purchase a Mammography unit for King Edward Vll Memorial Hospital. Proceeds from a special raffle which was held during an equestrian event at the Botanical Gardens in Paget, known as Equefest, were donated to that cause. My wife and I had the honor of being seated with Prime Minister John Swan and Governor Sir Desmond Langley. I was invited to give a short speech welcoming Bermudians to the event, and my wife assisted with the raffle. It was a thrill we will never forget. Added to this was the opportunity for us to experience Bermuda during a different season and a quieter time.

The tranquility of The Reefs, and the usual superior attention we received from the staff were truly extraordinary. The feeling of contentment I had standing in front of Sandpiper Cottage on the cliff, looking down at the beach, surrounded by my family and pleased with the success of the fundraising event should make it easy for anyone to understand why my ongoing "love affair" with The Reefs and Bermuda was so special on that particular evening. Although I anticipate having many more memorable moments during future stays at The Reefs, I hope this one will never fade.

After getting married and having children at a young age, we were really looking forward to our first trip away from the kids - and especially our first trip to the Reefs - to celebrate my 40th birthday and our 20th anniversary. Unbeknownst to my wife, I called The Reefs in advance to plan a big surprise! We arrived at The Reefs on my birthday. When we got to our room, there was a large wrapped box sitting on the bed. My wife said, "Somebody must have sent you something for your birthday." I tried my best to act surprised.

With a lot of sneaking around, I managed to ship her wedding dress and my suit, shirt and shoes to The Reefs. This was no small feat. I came home in the middle of the day, took the wedding dress box from our closet, removed the brown paper wrapping, carefully removed the dress, stuffed the box with clothes so it looked full and had similar weight, and rewrapped the box. I packed the shipping box and mailed it to The Reefs leaving no receipt trail. When the box arrived, The Reefs wrapped it and put a big bow on the top. The Reefs staff also helped me make surprise arrangements to renew our vows by arranging for a minister, a videographer and flowers.

Finally, I bought a gold necklace and bracelet, and carefully hid these in my carryon luggage. When we opened the box, my wife was stunned. The jewelry was icing on the cake. She was shocked and thrilled when I revealed the plans. We renewed our vows on the beach the next day while other guests looked on from the balcony. A perfect memory in the most beautiful place we could imagine. By the way, the dress fit perfectly!

As recent honeymooners at the idyllic Reefs, my wife and I were thrilled when we received word of this contest. What an opportunity! However, the more we thought about our own memories it became clear that we were not the most deserving of such an honor. So, I am submitting an entry for two people who are far more deserving - my parents.

My parents honeymooned in Bermuda 42 years ago following their small, Bronx, NY wedding. They loved the island so much that they returned twice and discovered The Reefs as the only place they would ever stay. Even today they recall how special each day spent at The Reefs was. It was these memories that convinced both my sister and me to spend our honeymoons at The Reefs. In the years that have passed, however, my parent's vacations have become few and far between.

Having six children meant that my parents had to give up many things, especially time for themselves. My youngest brother is severely mentally disabled and every day for 31 years my parents have dedicated themselves to his well being. My parents have changed every diaper, given every feeding and attended to every illness without a moment's consideration of giving him less. Despite the tragedy of also losing two sons unexpectedly to illness, my parents continue to be the two most positive and generous people imaginable.

Since I know they would never reach out on their own, I am submitting this entry in their honor. I cannot think of any two people more deserving of the chance to relive their cherished time at The Reefs. The look on their faces when I tell them they will be heading back to The Reefs would be enough for me.

We were vacationing with my parents and had dinner at The Reefs. My husband and I thought it would be the perfect moment to tell my parents that we were expecting our first baby the following April. We called ahead and asked the chef to prepare a special dessert for us that said "Congratulations Meme and Opa" (grandma in French and grandpa in German). After a wonderful dinner, they brought out dessert and it was a cake with the message written on it. My parents looked at it, somewhat confused at first, and then it slowly sank in and they cried! Our daughter is now almost 8 years old!

When I was a little girl, I fantasized about meeting the man of my dreams in crazy, romantic ways. Ironically, "in line at customs" didn't make the list - but that's exactly where I found him.

On October 9, I departed Washington, DC for my annual trip to Bermuda slightly annoyed. US Airways had recently stopped flying direct flights from Washington area airports - so I had to connect through the lovely city of Philadelphia early one Friday morning. As I boarded my connecting flight and went to take my seat, I noticed a handsome blonde man sitting in the row behind me. After several awkward attempts to check him out through the crack in my seat (which resulted in my head resting on the shoulder of the woman next to me not once, not twice, but three times), I was able to determine that he was a) not wearing a wedding ring and was b) reading my favorite book.

Deplaning in Bermuda, I found myself directly behind him in line at Customs. After 10 minutes of chatting and winding our way through the Custom Hall to the sound of the steel drum band, we'd exchanged information. Our first "date" started at the Swizzle Inn and ended with a midnight skinny dip in the grotto at Grotto Bay (shhhh!), and after that we were off and running - or should I say mopeding? Exploring Tucker's Point, swimming at Elbow Beach, lunch at the Princess, hunting for Spanish Rock (never found it!), St. David's lighthouse by day, Gibbs lighthouse by night, Henry XIII's and drinks at Salt Kettle House led us right back to the DC area where we're "happy ever after" (with a little pink sand left in our hair.)

PS - Thanks US Airways!

I visited Bermuda for the first time in October 1972. While on vacation, I met a young man, Richard, who was sailing a boat down to the Caribbean with his brother, Vinnie. Due to a violent storm, the boat ended up in Bermuda for a few days. Richard and I had dinner together and planned on taking the Rum Swizzle Cruise the next day. Through some miscommunications, we missed each other that day and left the island without seeing one another again.

In May of 1974, I came down to Bermuda again with a girlfriend. While we were sitting in the Hog Penny one evening and I was telling her the story of the guy I met the last time I was in Bermuda, I turned around and gasped. Vinnie walked in the door! I sent the waiter over with a note, "where's Richie?" and Vinnie yelled "He's here!" They had not been back to Bermuda either and they were on a boat again. We had a great reunion and now have been married almost 34 years.

We came to The Reefs this past October to celebrate (in luxury this time) the day that we met. We would love to visit again with our two sons and their wives to share the romance of Bermuda and The Reefs.

We honeymooned at The Reefs in 2006. That vacation remains our most romantic and luxurious to date. However, my favorite Reefs memory happened AFTER we arrived back home.

My husband and I spent at least part of every day on The Reefs' beautiful beach snorkeling. On our second to last day, we were enjoying a late afternoon swim when my husband's wedding band slipped off his finger. The water was so clear that I could see the gold band slowly sinking to the ocean floor. I treaded water while my husband swam to shore for snorkeling gear. He returned with one of the lifeguards on duty and dove for the next hour, but to no avail. The ring was gone.

Heartbroken, I went to the front desk to file a report and gave a detailed description of what we had lost. We flew home two days later and we promised ourselves that since Bermuda had our ring, we would be bound by it and our memories.

A few weeks later, we received a call from The Reefs. A very excited clerk said that a guest was snorkeling close to shore and found a ring. Low and behold the ocean had given us back our wedding ring! The amazing people at The Reefs facilitated its return and my husband had his original wedding band back on his finger a month after we had lost it in the ocean. We tried to figure out who our rescuer was, but the Good Samaritan who found our ring didn't leave a name or number.