We arrived to JFK at midnight but had an early flight to St. Thomas the next morning so we spent the night at the TWA airport hotel. They converted an old TWA terminal to a hotel with vintage decorations, features and even a museum. It was pretty neat.
Except with Dan snoring on one side and Nick mouth breathing on the other, I ended up taking a pillow and wrapping up in a towel on the floor of the shower to sleep. And it wasn't that bad.
Our flight was delayed and we arrived at Charlotte Amalie at 3:30 p.m. instead of the expected noon.
Our catamaran "Luna" is beautiful and Nim and Fabiola seem delightful, but we needed to hurry to get to our first stop before dark and out of the marina before an extra fee was imposed.
Our catamaran "Luna" is beautiful and Nim and Fabiola seem delightful, but we needed to hurry to get to our first stop before dark and out of the marina before an extra fee was imposed.
We had a quick safety briefing and with no time to change into shorts, we headed out to sea.
It was a little rough, but they warned us from going down to our rooms to change which is the kiss of death for sea sickness when the boat is speeding. I made a quick change into shorts in the kitchen because if I was too hot for too long, I would also be sick.
and a bed/chaise for two -- or three if you're willing to get cozy -- to stretch out.
No one complained about the chance to nap for the several hour sail bumping along to our first stop.
We arrived at sunset to a cove called Maho Bay at the Virgin Islands State Park with several other catamarans hitched to buoys.
Everything is stunning -- the clear water in three shades of blue, dozens of small green islands, warm air, and being on vacation for the next week.
Fabiola made us a delicious shrimp and herb & butter pasta telling us tonight we needed comfort food.
She was right. It was delicious and so satisfying.
The last day I would look this cute for the next week.
It's all bathing suits and air dried hair from here on out.
Slept so great. Our rooms are tiny but well-thought out to make everything fit.
The size of a wall-to-wall queen size bed on a platform and two lockers for storage.
Everyone has their own small bathroom--toilet, sink, shower & mirror storage.
The bed and linens are super comfortable and everything is decorated so cute, we feel right at home.
It's amazing to wake up to questions like "what time do you want breakfast?"
We snorkled with sea turtles this morning. Dozens of them everywhere.
They were huge and had one, or even two, sucker fish stuck to their shells.
Also snorkeled around a small reef where we saw fish of all kinds and a couple of sting rays!
Sat on the beach for a few minutes and realized why Nim wants to change spots. This beach gets crowded.
Climbing back in the boat, waiting for Dan who was on the ladder, I took my snorkel and fins off.
Courtney swam up and encouraged me to take a look through my goggles at the ladder.
Huge, four foot barracuda just chillin' where Dan had climbed right over him. Yikes!
We moved to Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay for the rest of the day and to spend the night.
Hiked to an old sugar factory ruins and learned a lot about the process from the guides who volunteer there. I NEVER KNEW brown sugar came BEFORE white sugar. I thought molasses was added to white sugar. Instead sugar is brown before the molasses are extracted. Wow.
I'm also very excited about my old Mr. Fornelius 5th grade learning coming back.
Finding stem coral or horn coral in Mill Hollow was the equivalent of winning the lottery in elementary school. I found a HUGE stem coral and now making the connection of ocean coral--Lake Bonneville--Uinta mountains and having another mind blown moment.
Salads and grilled chicken skewers for lunch.
So fresh and beautifully presented. Thanks Fabi!
Lots of reading and relaxing this afternoon.
Then appetizers and drinks on the front of the boat.
View from our bedroom...
Nim grilled pork medallions and Fabi served it with quinoa -- it was so flavorful Nick said he'd eat quinoa if we made it like this. She gave us the recipe!
Dessert -- key lime pie. Yum!
Moon was a "luna" moon -- a crescent, just like our Luna's logo.
Double Ditto game tonight.
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