St John Trip

My family and I had 7 glorious days in paradise. My parents, Grandma, Dave, Lexie, and I went to St John USVI for the week for some R&R. As all vacations do, it went by way too fast.

St. John is probably my all time favorite tropical places to go. Each time I go, I fall more in love with the place. There is something so laid back about that place - everyone moves at a slower pace. It's a small island and 3/4th of it a national park - thanks to Laurence Rockefeller. Only about 3,000 people live on the island. There is no airport and only 3 stop lights. There are a few grocery stores but if you are looking for specific things, you would have to take a ferry to St. Thomas. It's quite different than Atlanta. . . . I always come back so refreshed.

I was super anxious about trip, meaning the flight. It's only 3 1/2 hours to St. Thomas, but Lexie has never flown before. Not to mention she hates to be still. Right at take off she fell asleep on my shoulder and slept for an hour and 1/2. Then she happily played for the remaining hour and 1/2. Whew! I was so relieved!

We rented a house over looking Peter Bay (the area where Kenny Chesney has a house :-). The house was amazing in every way. We had a view that looked directly at Jost Van Dyke. I had no problem waking up to that view every morning!

One day, we chartered a private boat and toured the BVI's - Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and Yost Van Dyke. We first stopped at Virgin Gorda and saw the baths. While we where venturing around those islands, we stopped at a very cool restaurant, Willy T's for lunch. It's a floating bar/restaurant off Norman Island (the island also known for Robert Louis Stevenson's famous Treasure Island). After stopping for lunch, Dave, my Dad, and I went snorkeling at the three Cave's off Norman Island. It was gorgeous. We saw all sorts of beautiful fish. I was fascinated! After snorkeling, we went to Jost Van Dyke to the Soggy Dollar Bar. Our dinghy didn't work, so my Dad, Dave, and I swam to shore for one of their signature cocktails, the painkiller. Down the beach from Soggy Dollar Bar is Ivan's. From what the locals say that is where Kenny Chesney hangs out all the time when at his place in St. John. I was on the prowl hoping to see him. :-) Needless to say, it was a fun day!

The rest of the time was basically rest and relaxation. We drove into town (Cruz Bay) every so often for groceries or for cocktails. Otherwise, we would go to Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay and be beach bums.

Lexie did exceptionally well on the beach. Back in July, her and I spent 3 weeks in Destin. But she was only 3 months old. I was a bit worried how she'd react this time around. The first day we went to Trunk Bay, she HATED it. Didn't like the sand nor the water. I was a bit bummed. The next day we tried again. I was a little more persistent. I put her on the hard/wet sand and it seemed to be better than the dry sand. I inched her a bit in the water. Minute by minute she began to loosen up. By the end of the day, she loved it! She loved it so much she was trying to eat the sand. Ha!


Sweet pea also did really great that week because she was battling her first sickness! 10 months along and she has never been sick (minus teething). She has had a terrible runny nose that won't go away. It seemed to get worse as the week went on. But she was a trooper. Again, I was worried about the flight home since her cold had gotten worse. She again fell asleep on my shoulder at take off. She slept for 2 hours. She played for about an hour. But the last 30 minutes she was not happy! Not sure if it were her ears or what. Luckily everybody around us on the plane were nice and didn't make those complaints like I used to! :-)

I'm so glad my Grandma got to go. This was her first international trip without my Grandpa. I think she had a great time. It was wonderful to see her with Lexie. It was quite a special trip!

If you want to see pictures, you can check them out on Lexie's site. There were too many to post! :-)