This weekend we took a trip to a place called St. John which is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are a big string of islands that go from Florida to Cuba to Puerto Rico to the U.S. Virgin Islands to a string of smaller islands that end near Venezuela. All the islands have a lot of beachfront and are in a very warm part of the world.
Mommy loves this area because it has white sand beaches and blue, blue water. Normally we go down there to go diving but because we had you along we just relaxed and sat on the beach. The islands were named the Virgin Islands by Christopher Columbus (one of the people who is claimed to have found America first although now people think it might have been a Scandinavian). He named it after St. Ursula who apparently was some religious figure who had 11,000 virgins (kind of funny).
We got up early on Saturday morning (5am) and headed to JFK to catch our plane. Our flight was only 3 hours long and we landed on another island called St. Thomas. We then took a shuttle bus to the ferry dock and waited for the ferry which then took us right to the Westin Resort on St. John by the beach. They greeted us with a complementary rum punch drink and then we unpacked in our room. I was dead tired so the first thing I did was take a nap.
Mommy fed you and walked you around the hotel area while I slept. It had a nice big pool (there's you with mommy), white sandy beach, lots of palm trees, and very warm weather. You only see palm trees in warm climates like Florida and California. There aren't any in New York. They are kind of funny the first time you see them. At the top are the leaves and also coconuts if you look closely. You can crack open the coconuts and drink the juice (coconut milk) and eat the bright white meat inside the hard shell. This was the first warm weather you’ve ever experienced. You ended up sweating a lot because we had you dressed too warmly but you got used to it at the end.
We ended the evening with dinner at a nice restaurant at the hotel called Chloe & Bernard (here's you with mommy at the table). Mommy had red snapper and I had scallops. You watched and were a good girl while we ate. We brought you back to the room, fed you, changed you, and put you to bed.
On Sunday we went out to the pool and lounged there all day. We kept you out of the sun so you wouldn’t get burnt. Here you are with your very own tent to keep you shaded. The other kids were jealous. The sun is so strong that the light can actually burn your skin if you are out too long. Mommy bought bagels for us to eat for breakfast. You also took a dip into the pool with mommy. You didn’t seem to mind it but you didn’t especially like it either – kind of a general indifference.
We even had a bikini outfit for you to wear so you weren't all dressed up in normal New York clothes. All the boys were checking you out and we met quite a few couples who mentioned you were such a cute baby - there were some very smart people at that resort!
And of course we had to hook you up with some sunglasses. Although they were a little big for you we thought you looked adorable! Although I'm not sure why you are sticking your tongue out at me?
After the pool we went back to the room to cool down and you and I slept for a while (the heat makes you tired). Then we went to a restaurant called The Balcony which overlooked Cruz Bay and the port. You were very good and slept through the whole evening. The food was very good – I had sea bass and mommy had bouillabaisse (a French seafood stew). Both were excellent. We took a taxi home and called it a night.
Monday we tried the beach out. We got there before anyone else early in the morning. They weren't even done cleaning the sand when we got there. We again laid out and read and took it easy while you camped out in your tent. Mommy took you into the water again and this time you didn’t seem to like it because you were crying. The water was very warm (even warmer than the pool) so it wasn’t the temperature. And the water is a beautiful turquiose blue. Something you'll never see at beaches on the mainland of America. It's because the water is so clean and the sand beneath is so white, it reflects the color of the sky better than if the water were dirty. After a while you got used to the water and calmed down a bit. It was very hot that day and so after a while we went back to the room again to feed you and cool down.
Here's a picture of the beach at the resort we stayed. You can see lines in the sand where they drag big rakes over it to clean off the seaweed and other stuff that washes up onto shore at night. If you look really closely you can see mommy carrying you down at the very end of the beach.
Later that day we took a nice little walk along the road that goes up past the Westin Hotel and the bay where we stayed. You were very excited because it’s one of the first times you were wide awake while we went for a walk in a strange place. You were excited to see all the trees and you would look towards (but not see) sounds you heard by the side of the road. There were little lizards there that would run off when we came close. They were a little too fast and small for you to spot them.
We walked back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. This night we went to a place called The Lime Inn. It was a disaster. Not only was the food not very good but you were very cranky all night. So we tried to rock you to sleep but nothing worked. And then we checked your diaper and you had gone pooh which is why you were so upset. We didn’t have much of an area to change you so I took you outside and found a private spot and did my best to change you in the car seat which we used to carry you. We left quickly and took you home and washed you down (mommy is lecturing me right now on the correct sequence of events - you'll get a lot of that when you get older!) and put you to bed because you were exhausted. I put a relaxing photo here because we were all a little flustered at the time :).
The last day we took it easy again. We went down to the pool for a few hours. Like before, I stayed with you under the umbrella. But this time we both got a bit of sun. Luckily you didn’t get so much (you were just a little bit red) but I was burnt on my knees of all places. When I was young you could go out all the time in the summer and not worry about getting burnt but it seems like the sun has become much stronger over the last 10 to 20 years (or rather the ozone layer which protects us from the light has grown thinner). So we are very careful about keeping you away from bright sunlight for extended periods of time. I’m not sure we know how you and I got so much sun when we stayed under an umbrella, but it was a good lesson to make sure you are bundled up and shaded. It was so hot there we eventually went back to the room and checked out and waited for our ferry to take us back to the airport in the shade of one of the buildings.
When the ferry took us back, you slept the whole way back. As we travelled back we saw 3 huge cruise ships in port near the airport on St. Thomas (big huh?). Then we took a short bus ride to the airport and our flight took us to San Juan, Puerto Rico where we changed planes. The person at the desk was so nice and upgraded us to first class for our flight back to New York because of you. We got in very late (after midnight) and had to wait a bit for our car to pick us up but we eventually got home and put you right to sleep. Wow. What a vacation!
