"God vacations here."

  What happens when your old college roomie calls you in the middle of the day on a random Wednesday and invites you to go on an all-expense paid trip to St. Thomas with her???

If you’re me…you nearly break your neck falling off the treadmill. Then quickly look around the gym to see if anyone else working out on their lunch break noticed you falling off the treadmill. Shake it off and reply to her…when you can regain your breath…with a GIANT “YES!!!”



view from our room at the Ritz Carlton-St. Thomas

I will try to keep this post short as the pictures will speak for themselves. Here’s the break down…one week at the Ritz Carlton in St. Thomas. One full day of sailing and snorkeling in St. John. One full day crisping our skin on the beach. One full day shopping and beaching in St. John. And then one glorious morning on the beach prior to departure.

So here’s what I learned…most flights to the Virgin Islands route you through Atlanta, Miami, or Houston. It is a 3+ hour flight from Atlanta to St. Thomas.  If you are a US citizen you do not need a passport to enter…however, here’s the sticky wicket, you’ll need one to leave. That said, if your dream is to be detained in the Virgin Islands…I suggest ‘accidentally’ leaving your passy at home.

The US Virgin Islands were originally the “Danish West Indies” but due to a downward spiraling economy, the onset of WWI, and US fears that the islands would be exposed to German U-boats, were eventually sold to the US in 1916 for the bargain price of $25M US gold. The islands are about 50 miles east of Puerto Rico…and MUCH closer to the Equator than you might imagine.



Trunk Bay beach, St. John

Each of the three islands, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John has its own personality. St. Croix is the largest of the islands but since I didn’t go there…I can’t say much about it. St. Thomas is the capital and clearly the biggest tourism island. Charlotte Amalie is the VI capital and the spot where most flights (STT) and cruises to the VI arrive.  The island of St. John is 2/3 National Park thus making it the least populated of the three islands.

Getting around the VI is very simple…with the exception that you drive American cars on the left side of the road…i.e. left-side driver drives on left side of the road. It’s a little off putting. There are ferries that leave on the hour from Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook (which is the one closest to the resort areas) to the other islands ($14/round trip). We even noticed that they offer a weekend excursion to Puerto Rico that leaves on Friday afternoon and comes back to Red Hook on Sunday.  Nice if you need a little change of scenery I guess. There are also plenty of “taxis” on the island to get you where you need to go. However, be prepared for a wait and to share your “taxi” with about 8-10 other people. From my experience, I did not see a single “single” taxi. All “taxis” were 12 passenger vans…and the cabbies will wait FOREVER to try to fill those seats.



After a day on this beauty out snorkeling...you most likely
wont care what your hair looks like, but if you do...

The average temp year round is 87 degrees Fahrenheit. And it was pretty close to that the entire time we were there. A very balmy 87 degrees.  The “balmy” part is what initially worried me about my tresses. IF this had just been a vacation…I wouldn’t have really cared and just sported the “ocean look” the entire time. But because this was a quasi-business trip for my BFF we were both a little concerned about the state of affairs for our hair. She has gorgeous dark brown hair that in the humidity turns into Shirley Temple-ish ringlets. I have baby fine, blonde hair that when subjected to massive amounts of humidity plasters itself to my scull. Not at all sexy in this world of high volume, perfectly sculpted, Bardot-like waves. Luckily my friends at Wella Professionals hooked me up with their OilReflections and Sebastian Stylbrid9. I’m not even kidding when I say my hair looked, and felt, delightful the whole time. I was concerned that the large amount of saltwater that I subjected my hair to on a daily basis would really dry it out. But I truly think it was the Wella Professionals Oil Reflections that saved my hair. On the flip side…the Sebastian Stylbrid9 was just what I needed to actually tame my hair. It was great when I wanted the flat-ironed sleek look and even better when I wanted to go for the tousled waves. Hold, texture, and heat protection. Can’t beat that! Oh wait…yeah you can…because you can find both at your local Ulta store! See…the four of you reading this blog will now rush out to get these products and have A-mazing hair!

Fresh fish night at the RC. Literally off the boat.

And while I’m doing a little “product placement” I might as well give a shout out to the folks at the St. Thomas Ritz Carlton. I think we’ve all heard the high praise that most Ritz Carltons receive and if you’re like me you probably think it’s a little exaggerated. Readers…I can truthfully tell you it is NOT. The quality is everything you’ve heard of and more. The grounds were SMOKE FREE and spotless. The rooms were squeaky clean and the housecleaning service had a magical way of cleaning your room without EVER being in your way. And when you travel as much as I do…inevitably you find yourself under foot with housekeeping. Not here!

The resort had 3 restaurants and a FroYo café. The food at all restaurants was amazing…and I had THE BEST smoothie I’ve ever had at the FroYo café.  If you’re a rum fan…this is your place. EVERY drink is a fruity-rummy drink. By Wednesday I purposefully switched to Vodka tonics simply because my body had started rejecting ALL the fruit I was ingesting from the fruity-rummy drinks. By Thursday I’d down-graded to beer.

St. John Brewers in St. John. They had cider on tap! 

 

But beyond the fruity drinks, the great food, the comfy beds, the squeaky clean-ness, and the Corona commercial setting…what stood out to me the most was the friendly staff. EVERY person I passed…from housekeeping, to gardeners, to bartenders, to sailing crew…everyone I passed looked me in the eye and said “hello”. Can you imagine how many times a day those folks have to greet all the people staying there??? It must be exhausting. But they did it…ALL of them.

Okay…I’ve clearly rattled on waaaaaay too long here. I will wrap this up and leave you with some final thoughts in my favorite form…bullet points:

      * I over packed. Totally. I would have been fine with 2 swimsuits, 1 sarong, 1 pair of shorts, 2 tank tops, a fun skirt and a party dress. Nice sandals and flip-flops would have sufficed for the whole week. As far as make-up???  My eyelash curler, mascara, and some powder would have done the trick.

* We were WAY closer to the equator than initially thought. SPF 30 does NOT cut it. Let me repeat that…SPF 30 is not enough. Even if re-applied every hour.  Pack the SPF 50…and pack a LOT.

*   Take advantage of all the time you have. Take that sailing day excursion to the other islands! Visit with the crew… and I guarantee you’ll hear some great stories.

*    Don’t be afraid to get off the resort and visit some local places. Everyone speaks English…so just ASK.



Trunk Bay Beach...again. My favorite.

*   When I go back…I’m renting a house on St. John and a Jeep and will be-bop around to all the lovely National Park beaches…with a cooler of hotdogs and Doritos…because when you spend the day swimming on a gorgeous, white-powder-sand beach…you really want a grilled hotdog and some nacho chips.

*    For every fruity-rummy drink…do yourself a favor and drink a glass of water.

*    Although St. Thomas is great…St. John is pristine. Truly, if God vacationed…this is where He would go.

I don't even care at this point how I look.
Quote: "I haven't felt this good without a prescription in 5 years!"