Through some fortuitous timing, we were able to meet up with some of our good friends from grad school in the US Virgin Islands in mid-December. Back in August, we got an email from our friend Alette (who is living back in the Philippines) that she was going to be in the states for a meeting and would we all be able to meet up somewhere for a mini-reunion in Florida. This was about the same time I was suffering through morning 24-hour sickness and we hadn't told folks yet, but said we'd be happy to host folks here in St Pete. When our other friend Marilyn responded to the email, she had to spill the beans that they too were expecting a baby due in January so she wouldn't be able to travel in December, but they were happy to host us at their place in St. Thomas. So, after two weeks of checking flights, our budget, and assessing the reality of our own travel plans before a baby came (we had to let the news slip to them early), we decided to go for it. What better way to enjoy our waning days of a carefree life than spending it with dear friends on a tropical island?! And fortunately since we knew enough in advance we were able to plan out a budget so we didn't have to break the bank to make it work. We were able to get in 4 days of a friends reunion while also having 3 days just the two of us for a mini-babymoon of sorts.
The day before we left we packed up the furry kids and took them down to Mom and Larry's for their own vacation - we're so thankful that they were willing to keep the kids while we're away. When we're gone on shorter trips we usually have a pet-sitter for them, but on longer trips, it's easier to take them to my Mom's so we know if anything happens they're in good hands. We also know that they're being loved and spoiled while we're gone so it's easier for us to relax.
On Thursday, Dec. 12th we flew out of Tampa, connecting through Miami, and landed in St. Thomas around 10pm (local time, they're an hour ahead). That was the longest bit of flying I've done since being visibly pregnant so the doctor suggested a few things to help keep me comfortable - wear loose clothing, compression socks, drinks lots of water, and walk around during the flight. Mom loaned me her compression socks and I wore a long loose dress and sweater that was incredibly comfortable so the flight was really easy. Stepping off the plane in St. Thomas, it was lovely to be greeted by balmy air, and the hint of hills in the darkness (Wade in particular loves going anywhere with topography, he's not a flat-lander like me). Marilyn and Tyler picked us up at the airport and we drove the few minutes to their house along steep, winding roads. We were greeted by a chorus of tree frogs and her cats that we knew in Miami when we arrived. We stayed up for a bit chatting, but after midnight we were all pretty pooped and finally went to bed. We slept under a mosquito net (which only added to the tropical ambiance) and one of her cats, Blixie, crawled in bed to snuggle us all night long. We drifted off to a chorus of coqui frogs (so named because their call sounds like "co-kee!") - I was one happy camper!
On Friday, we got up, had breakfast, and got a tour of the house so we could really appreciate it in the morning light. It was a cozy, bright open air house with a wrap around screened porch that had an incredible view of the water and hills and a nice breeze throughout the house. A nice way to start every day! Once we had eaten, Marilyn drove us by her and Tyler's office at the University of the Virgin Islands (they're both professors there) for a quick tour then over to the Jeep rental place to pick up our car for the trip over to St John for our mini-babymoon. One of the highlights for me was finally being able to drive a Jeep Wrangler again (I miss the Wrangler I had in college, but not the poor gas mileage) - a common rental for St. John due to it's winding hilly roads and occasional off-road trails to reach some beaches. Once we had the paperwork squared away, we loaded our stuff and headed across the island to stock up on food, top off the gas tank, and grab the car ferry to St. John. We made good time, found a lot of good food at the market, and made it to the dock in time for the noon ferry. We had been warned that the boarding the ferry can be a bit of a circus and a free for all since everyone has to back onto the barge into single file lanes that are barely wide enough to open your car door. As expected, there were people hollering directions in some indecipherable language (it was incoherent even for the usual Caribbean-slanted English you hear in the islands), tourists who appeared to have never backed a car anywhere, and lots of impatient locals. It was pretty amusing actually - thankfully, when I worked for the Park Service I used to have to do a lot of backing up and trailering of boats into skinny ramps and spaces, so it was all pretty easy. We parked then sat back and laughed at the show around us. Despite the chaos, it was a fairly quick boarding process and we were on our way to St. John before we knew it. It was our first trip on a car ferry, so it was a little surreal sitting in a car on a moving boat watching the tropics go by.
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| The view from the ferry - St John dead ahead. |
The trip was about 45 minutes and we were off the boat before we knew it. We made the winding 45 minute drive (complete with roving packs of donkeys and goats!) across St. John to Concordia Eco Resort for our 3 day baby moon (a last honeymoon with just the two of us before the baby arrives) on the East end of the island, just on the border of the Virgin Islands National Park. We got checked in, dropped our stuff in our studio apartment, and promptly took the nearest trail to the beach (past huge tree-like cacti and lots of hermit crabs). We hiked about 15 minutes down to Saltpond Bay for a dip in the water. It was near sunset and pretty chill to me, so I walked a bit then sat in the sand where the gentle waves lapped on the shore. Wade went for a snorkel then joined me on the shore just taking in the scenery. It was hard to believe we'd only been in the USVIs for less than 24 hours and we already felt a world away! Sunset comes and goes pretty quickly there so we hoofed it back up the trail to beat the coming darkness. We cleaned up and made ourselves a lovely dinner to enjoy on the balcony while we enjoyed the sounds of the local frogs. We read for a bit then went to bed only to wake up in the middle of the night to a howling rain storm. We had to rush to close the doors and windows then mop the floor dry and it took us a while to get back to sleep with the howling wind. By morning most of it had blown through, but our towels and suits that had been hanging on the deck to dry were completely soaked.
Saturday morning we slept in a bit then made breakfast and ate it on the balcony while enjoying the amazing view.
We purposefully made no plans while we were there and just wanted to take the days as they came. It was a good thing since we were slow moving after a crazy night of wind and rain kept waking us up. We finally pulled ourselves together and headed out to the famous Trunk Bay to see the snorkeling trail and enjoy the beach. Since the beach is part of the National Park Service (and is world famous) there were showers, restrooms, picnic areas, and a snack bar. It began pouring right as we got there, so we huddled under the picnic shelters for a bit until it stopped. Wade got in the water to snorkel and I sat in the sun trying to warm up and dry off enough to want to get in, but generally just enjoyed taking in the view. After Wade was done snorkeling we sat for a bit then the rain blew through again so we packed up and headed back to the bathrooms to rinse off before leaving. By that time we were ready for lunch so we stopped at a few scenic overlooks for pictures on our way to Miss Lucy's in Coral Bay to try some local Caribbean fare. We were greeted by nosy chickens and friendly cats so we felt right at home!
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| Taking in the view from the scenic overlook. |
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| My new friend at Miss Lucy's |
We sat right on the water of Coral Bay with a spectacular view while we enjoyed delicious callaloo soup and rotis that I washed down with a virgin Pina Colada. One of the cats spent the entire meal in my lap which was really funny and wonderful. Apparently that's his schtick to get some scraps after a meal, so we indulged him. After that we headed back to the lodge to nap and clean up for dinner. We made another delicious dinner, read, and played some games before bed. It was so nice to be somewhere so quiet and be unplugged. We relished being able to just "be" and to be somewhere so peaceful - particularly as we reflected that everything was going to changing so soon.
Sunday morning we repeated our breakfast on the deck ritual (cereal, hardboiled eggs, and fresh fruit) then headed out to check out the snorkeling in Jumbie Bay. We got there and it was raining again. I was soaked through (no shelters this time) and shivering and absolutely refused to get in the water unless the view was "worth it" so Wade got in to check it out. He finally found some interesting things to see and assured me it was actually warmer IN the water - he also said I looked truly pathetic huddled under a sea grape tree for protection from the pelting rain with nothing but a flipper over my head to keep the rain off my face. I finally caved and got in the water with him while it was still pouring on us. This time we remembered to bring our camera so we could test out our "tough" camera (the one we had to buy to replace our beloved Canon G-series on our Big Sur trip). We took some underwater video and pictures which was fun, although they weren't too great due to the surging waves and rain.
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| Snorkleing in Jumbie Bay. |
But once I warmed up a bit we had fun. We finally got out and drove back up to another NPS beach that had showers at Cinnamon Bay so we could clean up and meet Marilyn, Tyler, and Dan (another old lab mate from Miami) at Skinny Legs for lunch. The whole open air bar was decorated for Christmas which felt a bit surreal so we sat at the table right next to the Christmas tree to make the most of it. The highlight of lunch for me was delicious virgin Painkillers! It was nice to have some tropical drinks while I was there and found that if made well I actually didn't miss the rum. Wade was happy to drink my fair share of the rum and enjoy my designated driver status during the trip. After lunch we did a little shopping in some of the local stores, then headed to Francis Bay to meet up with Jimmy, another friend from grad school. We had to do a bit of off roading to get there, but the Jeep handled it fine and we were rewarded with a lovely little cove and beach. It was a great afternoon of catching up with friends, snacking, and floating in the water.
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| The two preggos on Francis Bay beach :) |
By dinner time we headed back to the west side of the island to clean up at Dan's house (his grandparents have been living on/off the island since the '60s!) before the rest of them headed back to St Thomas. We enjoyed a stunning view and a dip in the pool before trekking back to the east side where we were staying. We made a late dinner, played a game, then turned in early.
Monday morning we started our day a bit earlier and packed up a little before hiking back down to Saltpond Bay to get some photos in better light and enjoy some more secluded beach time. We tried to hike over to another bay where there was supposed to be good beach combing, but the wind was so stiff the water was blowing over the trail and we lost it. We still managed to enjoy the beach, although the water was freezing (yes, I have very little cold tolerance).
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| One of the many friendly hermit crabs on the trail to Saltpond Bay. |
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| Crazy cacti trees on the trail to Salt Pond Bay. |
We finally headed back to the studio to clean up, pack up, and check out before lunch. Once we were done, we headed over to the town of Cruz Bay on the east side to get lunch, do some shopping, then catch the care ferry back to St Thomas. We had lunch and did our shopping at Mongoose Junction, which was this incredible stone shopping area that looked like it was a historic structure (it's not). There were lots of neat local restaurants and shops but we didn't have enough time to see it all. We caught the car ferry back to St Thomas and got the Jeep returned just in time, despite the traffic. Tyler picked us up at the airport and we headed back to their house to hang out until dinner and for Alette's arrival later that night. Although her flight was late, in the excitement we all stayed up talking and exchanging gifts into the wee hours of the morning.
Tuesday morning we were all a little slow moving but finally got ourselves together for a trip to the famous Magen's Bay. On there way there we stopped to get milkshakes at a little roadside stand called Udder Delite (how you know you're in the islands: you have to ask them to leave the rum out of the milkshake you order). They were really creamy and tasty - my favorite was a blend of chocolate and coconut ice-cream. Magen's Beach is a big destination for cruise ship passengers, so we got to the beach just in time for lunch, some sun, and highly entertaining people watching.
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| The overlook for Magen's Bay. |
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| Lunch at Magen's Bay Beach. |
Eventually, the rain creeped in again and we had to run for the car. We waited it out and got a little more sun, but the sunset finally caught up with us and we headed home. That night Marilyn and Tyler continued their warm island hospitality by making a fantastic dinner that we enjoyed on the patio before playing games late into the night.
Wednesday we slept in a bit while Marilyn and Tyler headed to a prenatal appointment (their little boy is due in late January) and the three of us packed up our stuff for another day at the beach. When they got back we loaded up the car and headed back over to Hawksnest Bay for some good snorkeling and more floating. We had picked up food for a picnic lunch that we enjoyed on the beach and we lounged until we lost the sun behind the hills.
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| The girls floating at Hawksnest Beach. |
After that we cleaned up a bit and changed to do some shopping in Cruz Bay before meeting Jimmy again for some sunset snacks and drinks.
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| Sunset in Cruz Bay. |
We caught the last car ferry and had some late dinner on St Thomas before making our way home. We were lucky to have Tyler chauffeur us around all day!
Thursday morning we awoke to a hearty breakfast of Star Wars pancakes! I was so excited and they tasted fantastic. We rallied for another trip to the beach and went to a nearby beach at Brewer's Bay that is near Marilyn and Tyler's office. We saw some sea turtles in the water which was neat, watched the planes landing at airport, and enjoyed baking in the sun. Eventually we resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to have to fly home that evening and headed back to clean up. We managed to squeeze in one last stop at the ice cream shack on the way to the airport but it was still really hard to leave after having such a wonderful time with dear friends. One consoling fact was that we already knew we'd have to make plans to come back again soon. We did have an unexpected bonus on the flight home - there were some empty seats, so Wade moved over so Alette and I could share a row and play cards the entire flight back to Miami. The flight went by quickly and it was nice to have some extra time with Alette before we got to Miami and had to part ways (her flights back to the Philippines didn't leave until the next morning). Again, it was bittersweet since we don't get to see her often, but were were so thankful for the time we were able to spend together and hope we'll get to see her again soon. Wade and I headed off in search of dinner and lucked out with a sushi place before having to board the plane for our short flight back to Tampa. We didn't get home until almost 1am that night and the next morning went down to Mom and Larry's to pick up the kids. It sure was weird coming home to an empty house! We were so thankful the kids enjoyed their own vacation with Mom and Larry, in fact I'm not entirely sure they wanted to come home with us!
We can't wait to make the trip down to the Virgin Islands again someday - especially since it was family-friendly enough that we felt like we could do it with the Little Lady in tow next time! To check out all of our pictures and video, you can find them here on our Picasa site.
