STT, USVI

Check.it.out.

Even on a dreary day it's beautiful on "the Island".

On day 1 we were greeted by sweet Fran at the airport.  She and her French husband took us to a fabulous dinner our first night in St. Thomas.  Don't they look like SO.MUCH.FUN! 

Well, they absolutely are!

The hubs and I stayed at the Marriot our first 2 nights.  Good thing because

Full Day 1 - RAIN!

It rained and rained and rained and rained and rained our first full day there.

That looks like it was a really neat waterfall, but it is really just something the Marriot built and you could totally see the pipes that were putting out the water.  They were doing some construction and I really think we weren't even supposed to be over there.

We went downtown...without umbrellas...and walked about 2 and half miles to get something to eat...only for the lights to be out at our restaurant of choice.  And then I was wet and super hungry.

Full Day #2 - Coki Beach!

I was a little, well, um, let's be honest...quite nervous when we drove up.  There were tons of Rastamon.  No tourists, and I couldn't see the beach.  But we walked through all of the intimidating people and by the super loud Reggae music and it was beautiful and safe and there were locals and tourists and we met nice people like this...

(PS - this is the only picture of me in a bathing suit you will get b/c my weight loss mission was a super huge failure)

He told us his name is Black Bull or el Torro Negro (I think).  He was so entertaining.  He cut open a coconut and let us drink coconut water because it takes all of the toxins out of your body. "But the doctor won't tell you that because he want to make his money, you know."  He cut some aloe from a plant on the side of the rocks for us.  He showed us laminated photos of his family and told us his family history.  It was entertaining to say the least.

Day 3 - Boating around St. John!

Well, first we woke up early and went down to the beach at Sapphire Bay.  Our hosts were going swimming, so the hubs and I decided to go down to check it out.  I was scared to death of putting on a snorkel mask, but somehow while we were down there the hubs convinced me to put on his mask and try breathing through the snorkel. It was SO much easier than I though it would be so I used an extra mask and went out, but not far.  And so it goes...

At noon we met these guys at the marina.

Nick and Shonda were so awesome to take us out boating.

 

The girl to the left is Elsa.  She's French. Like, for real from France.  She doesn't speak much English.  She is doing an internship in St. Thomas.  She is quite possibly the sweetest thing ever.

How cute are we?

So the whole snorkel story was actually important because we took an extra snorkel boating and I jumped off of the boat and snorkeled...in deep water...kind of far from the boat.  I think this is Maho Bay.

How super beautiful is the water! It was so clear that I could see the bottom the whole time.  I snorkeled at every stop.  Andrew found this.

There lots of starfish.  Mostly huge like this one.

We went to Francis Bay where the rain started coming in on us.  We did what any boaters would do.  We ran from the rain.  We went to the south side of St. John (I think we stopped at Dittliff Point).  We ended the day at Thach Cay.  There was so much really great stuff to see snorkeling at Thach Cay.  I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day in the Islands.

Day 4 - More Rain...and Sun!

The hubs and I went downtown to eat and then we tried to go to Magen's Bay, but it was raining.  So we turned around and went on back to Sapphire....and it was sunny. Here it is. 

It looks cloudy, but it wasn't.

We snorkled about half way to the rock.  We saw 3 super big sting rays and a conch bed.

We went to dinner in Red Hook and had hands down...the best calamari. Coco Blue, yummy! 

I look pregnant in that picture.

We took another...where I don't look preggo...because never fear!  I'm not!

DAY 5 - We Had To Go Home

But first we went snorkeling.  I was determined to swim with the sea turtles...and I did.  Well, I swam above them.  We also swam on the edge of the reef and saw some really great colorful fish, etc.

Then we took showers, went to lunch with Alex at the Frenchman's Deli (excellent!), and went to the airport.  We were exhausted and ready to see our babies by the time we got to Atlanta.  While we waited on our flight we went to eat at TGIFriday's.  I was bored so I started snapping pictures.

And then he posed.

And I posed.

And I think we were delirious.

But we made it home and our babies were asleep and we went to bed.

And I had a conquered fear of the ocean and snorkeling.

And the next day we had our babies and some wonderful memories.

PS - Thanks to my mom, aka Biscuit, for keeping my girls while we were gone. 

PPS - Thanks to our wonderful hostesses Fran and Alex for letting us crash in their extra bedroom for 3 nights and carting us around the Island and showing us around.