Directly after our visit to Maryland, we flew down to Atlanta to meet up with Poppy, Uncle Darren, Aunt Annie and Jonas for a weeklong trip to beautiful St. John. The night before our departure, the boys were happy to celebrate Hannukah again, this time with Poppy.
The next morning, we were on our way, taking the Atlanta airport plane train to our plane before landing in St. Thomas, where we then took a taxi to a ferry to St. John to rent a car. I mention all this because the boys were really into all the transportation and loving the fact that we we deplaned via stairs on the tarmac : )
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| On the ferry we would've missed if we arrived 30 seconds later |
Upon porting Cruz Bay, St. John, Annie and the kids and I hung out in the town square while the guys fetched the rental cars. The light rain, or "liquid sunshine" as the locals call it, gave way to a huge rainbow welcoming us.
It was a 10 minute drive to our place in Chocolate Hole, and we got settled in. It was't going to be difficult to get used to those views...
DAY 1
On our first full day, we headed to back to St. John's largest town, Cruz Bay, for some shopping, eating and playgrounding. For Christmas/Hannukah, Dad treated Annie and I to a piece of jewelry from one of the local jewelry makers where we picked out the same exact piece : ) Thanks Poppy! We enjoyed drinks at an outdoor restaurant while Darren took a brewery tour.
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| Morgan in front of Morgan's Mango |
DAY 2
For our first beach outing, we headed to the north side of the island to Maho Bay. It was a beautiful, less crowded cove with ample shade and great snorkeling. Ed was even brave enough to don a snorkel! He and I saw some barracuda, a manta ray and schools of fish. The boys had a blast playing in the surf, building sand castles and meeting new friends.
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| barracuda |
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| manta ray |
DAY 3
On the following day, Darren and Poppy and I spent the morning on a snuba excursion at Trunk Bay, deemed the most beautiful beach on the island. It was my first time and I had to learn how to use the equipment, clear my mask and force my ears to pop underwater. It was neat to be that deep underwater and we saw a pretty reef including sea urchins and colorful fish. Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the gang and spent the afternoon enjoying the beach. We even got the kids to snorkel for the first time. Morgan was really gung ho about it, venturing a little too far out for our tastes. Both boys got a kick out of seeing fish from the underwater vantage point.
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| Is that Ed out there??? |
DAY 4 / New Year's Eve
Dad and Darren had a day long excursion to Jost Van Dyke for scuba diving. Meanwhile, the rest of us explored the other side of the island at Coral Bay. We did some shopping, saw some random animals like iguanas, roaming goats and chickens, and had a great, relaxing lunch on the water.
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| the sea shell collector |
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| King of the mountain! |
After the guys got back, we got ready and it was off to Rhumb Lines for a nice dinner in town. It was a beautiful evening and we sat outside, listened to live music and prematurely toasted the new year. Back at the house, after ice cream and menorah lighting, we celebrated with a 10:00 early new year for the kiddos courtesy of Darren's New Year's Countdown You Tube video : ) It worked.
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| the countdown starts! |
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| Happy New Year!!!! |
DAY 5
On New Year's Day, we crashed the Westin to enjoy their large pool and tennis facilities. They also had a playground for the kids to run around where an iguana even joined in the fun. Another one even hung out on the island at the pool. And by "hung" I mean up in a palm tree, before he lost his grip and fell slap into the pool below. It was a lazy pool day, the perfect way to spend the first day of the new year.
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| inspecting his booty |
DAY 6
On our final full day, we trekked the Sugar Mill Ruins on the north side of the island, followed by a hike on the Leinster Bay Trail. The shallow cove provided awesome snorkeling where Ed and I spotted barracuda, a baby nurse shark, sea urchins and the highlight -- following a beautiful sea turtle. Deeper out, Annie, Darren and Dad saw a 9-foot nurse shark on the sea floor below. After a long afternoon and picnic, it was time to head back.
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| baby nurse shark in 1 ft of water! |
After the full day, it was time for Poppy to tell one last Squiggledy Figgeldy story - a treat the boys had enjoyed each night.
On the way home, the transportation modes didn't have nearly as much luster, as the boys tired from carrying their bags in the heat and schlepping from one place to another : )
That turned around though when they got to go in the cockpit. Dean had been working all week on a Delta plane model, complete with detailed passengers and beverage cart inside, and happily presented it to the co-pilot who said he'd put it on the shelf next to his model airplanes : )
Thanks Poppy for a memorable week - it was great to spend time with each other in such a scenic place. We all had a ton of fun!
