Virgin Islands Vacations - My Four-day Experience on St. John Island
I almost had one of those Virgin Island
Vacations last week. Note, I said, almost. In fact, I actually went, and
stayed at the Westin, St. John Resort for 4 Caribbean nights.
It was nice just sitting in the breeze by the
ferry dock on Friday. That was the only time I got the chance to
actually sit and enjoy a few minutes of the Virgin Island Beach resort
scenery.
Watching one jet ski after another passing on
in the blue Caribbean waters made me envious.
I had spent four days working on a project
at the Resort and did not get even a grain of sand between my toes. You
can imagine how that hurt, when I realized that the ferry to take us to
St. Thomas was on it's way.
I captured these pictures of what could be a
Virgin Island vacation to share with you. However, I wished I had time
to actually live the experience. I will be back.
 This
picture shows one the first signs of bliss on a Virgin Island vacation.
Even though it was cloudy and raining on our descent to the airport, the
view was nothing short of spectacular when we got on the ground.
The airport is a relatively small one - with
one main runway. But it handles a relatively large volume of air
traffic. With daily flights from major airlines such as Delta (757
aircraft), American Airlines, Continental Airlines, and many others, the
tropical islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix are popular
tourist destinations.
 Spend
a few minutes waiting around the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas and
you will flight operations to and from the islands by many of the major
carriers. This picture shows a section of the airport and an American
Airlines jet taking off to the east in the background.
Arriving on Your Virgin Islands Vacation
Most people arrive by air. Why not? It is the
quickest way to get there, and since there are so many flights it is
usually a first choice.
 If you have your own yacht,
sail on! There's nothing stopping you. In fact, as I imagine it, that is
the best way to do island hopping.
Commute between islands in this archipelago is
done mostly by boats. On my trip from St. Thomas to St. John I took the
Westin ferry.
Getting from the Cyril E. King Airport in St.
Thomas to the resort on St. John is super easy.
 I
noticed that ferry services are from mainly two points to St. John.
The public ferry leaves dock in the Red Hook
area on the east side of the island. (I drove to Red Hook on my first
visit to the Virgin Islands in 2005). You can even take your car on the
boat if you want.
The Westin Resort in St. John makes your trip
easy. You can arrange have your luggage checked onto the Westin ferry
from the baggage claim area of the airport. Actually, you don't need to
touch your luggage again until you are ready to unpack in your room!
Talk about a Virgin Islands Vacation treatment.
They really make it easy for visitors arriving at the Westin Resort in
St. John. But I was still unlucky to have had a unique experience this
January, 2006.
Now, where is my food?
 If
you are planning one of these Virgin Island vacation getaways and you
have a special diet (as I do), listen up. You will need this advice.
I am quite inflexible with my diet, and I have
strong reasons to be. That's why I paid heavily for my food in
St. John. I really paid.
This picture shows a one-liter bottle of
drinking water (supposedly imported from Fiji). The price I paid for
this drink of water made Abraham Lincoln winced, literally.
If you have pictures showing in your browser,
you are looking at $5.00 worth of water. I had to place it on the
exquisite table in my hotel room and took a celebrity shot of that
crystal punch!
It was the most expensive water I ever drank. I
sincerely believed I would never thirst again! But I did. You may
gallons of this thirst-quenching fluid on your tropical vacation,
especially if you respond to every outdoor activity you come across on
those beach resorts. Remember, the Caribbean knows no winter - it's warm
weather all year round.
For me,
finding food was more difficult than Columbus trying to find land 5
centuries ago. [The previous link shows you what I said about my food
ordeal in my blog.]
Oh, the children will love it...
And they will love you for it, too! There is a
lot of water space for kids and adults to play in the sheltered Cruz Bay
at the Westin, St. John.
You can lounge on beach chairs in the shade of
the coconut trees. And no coconut will fall on your head, either.
There is also the large pool with poolside bar
and grill. So you can burn off the extra calories right there. No need
to take it to your room, or back home. And while you're at it, make sure
to pick up your tan. You will make folks back home wonder how you
manage to get a natural tan even in winter months!
I did not have time to tour the island of St.
John. There are many attractions though, including over 30 beaches,
nature trails, historic sites,
a national park
(covering two-thirds of the island), and more. Both adults and
kids love to ride the open air 'taxis' - converted from pickup trucks,
it seems. You can tour the islands in these carriages.
I had a good time
I did have a good Virgin Island vacation -
rather an attempt at one. I may get fired if I say I had a vacation.
However, I promise myself one. Only that I will bring my own food.
On my way back to Atlanta, I bobbed in and out
of sleep for most of the flight. I was exhausted, having worked for more
than 10 hours per day most of the time I was there.
I was lucky to wake up in time just to catch a
last glimpse of the setting sun. It is that same celestial guy that has
warmed the islands so well and has successfully confined old man winter
to the north every year.
As I reviewed the picture on my Olympus digital
camera, I noticed that I had caught the reflection of the sun spot in
the image as well. I began to imagine what an experience I could have
been treasuring at that moment, cruising at an altitude of 38,000 feet.
Had I really
had a
Virgin Island vacation, and not just a mirrored reflection of one, I
believe I would still be on cloud nine. |
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