Becky and I just went to the US Virgin Islands. It was the first trip without the kiddos in a while. We flew into St. Thomas but spent the entire time at St. Johns. The vacation was the best ever. I really enjoyed the snorkeling and floating in the water on the beach and partying with friends. We did some mild hiking, lots of swimming, and a ton of partying with friends. We were there for a wedding. The groom and his family are long time friends. Having them on the island made the trip that much more enjoyable. Becky and I had some great couple time with just the two of us. Then at night we would typically head over to the other villa and party with the groom’s family until the wee hours in the morning. Then sleep in until 10 (or later), rinse, repeat.
Things to remember for next time:
- When snorkeling you must reapply the sun screen.
- Rum is cheaper than bottled water on St. Johns.
- Get a 4×4.
- Drive on the left.
- You can show up at the 6am ferry at 6:10am and make it (this would have saved us 30 min of sleep on the return)
- Rent at Hertz, not Budget
- Do not expect anything or anyone to be in a hurry or on any time line other than “island time.”
- Once you are adjusted to island time you understand the beauty of the previous bullet.
I highly recommend Rendezvous Villa while staying on St. Johns. I also can recommend Capt. Phil on the Wayward Sailer for a good time of sail and snorkel.
In related news, you really cannot take less than a 3 week vacation from work and expect to actually get that time off. I have about 60 hours worth of work piled up waiting for me to tackle. I might get caught up in about another 2 weeks. A few years ago I took off from Thanksgiving to New Years and that was perfect. Not much was left for me since I was gone so long. I am not sure I want to do any more 1 week vacations from work. It is just not worth it.
