Saturday, July 10, 2010

A Perfect Day

I’ve often wondered what a “perfect day” would be like. Well, Monday, June 28, 2010 was such a day for me. During our family vacation to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands we took a day-long excursion aboard the “Bad Kitty," a 49-foot power catamaran. The excursion included four stops throughout the British Virgin Islands. Together we climbed the rock formations at The Baths in Virgin Gorda, enjoyed a Caribbean lunch at the Cooper Island Beach Club, experienced the best ever snorkeling at the Indians in Norman Island and discovered the “Nilla Killa” at the famous Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke.

During our second honeymoon trip to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands in February 2009 to commemorate our 25th anniversary, my husband, Scott, and I took a day trip to St. John. Most of St. John is a national park and this lush island was a welcome relief from touristy, fast-paced island of St. Thomas. So we decided to use St. John as “home base” for our 2010 family vacation to celebrate our daughter’s graduation from high school. Over the years, we hadn’t been able to take many great family vacations and we wanted to create some lasting memories with and for our kids, now 21 (Phil) and 18 (Alyssa).

Through stjohncondos.com, we rented a beautiful two-bedroom, three-bath villa at the Westin Resort. Our hilltop condominium offered us the best of both worlds—the benefits and amenities of a resort with the convenience of a full kitchen, a washer and dryer, and a small pool just outside our doorstep complete with a gas grill and a panoramic view of Great Cruz Bay. The first two days were spent relaxing and exploring the island by day followed by “happy hour” at our pool while grilling steaks, shrimp, potatoes and corn. We “beach hopped” from Hawksnest Bay to Trunk Bay (our favorite) to Cinnamon Bay and explored the offerings of local merchants and the shops and restaurants at Mongoose Junction. We also braved some wild mountain roads and ventured all the way to Coral Bay to lunch at Skinny Legs, self-proclaimed as a “pretty ok bar and grill.”

Then came our perfect day. After “doorstep service” (we were picked up by dinghy on the Westin’s beachfront), our first stop was The Baths, which has truly become one of my favorite places on this earth. We swam to shore to explore this natural wonder with its giant boulders, pools of water and multiple beaches. One stop along our excursion was more beautiful then the next. Lunch at the picturesque and nearly uninhabited Cooper Island was delicious. Snorkeling in clear, azure 30-foot waters at the Indians was amazing. While they offered Rum Punch and introduced “Painkillers” aboard the Bad Kitty, we got to experience the original Nilla Killa at the famous Soggy Dollar Bar. Since you can only get to Jost Van Dyke by boat and there are no docks, you have to swim to shore … so soggy money is acceptable. [We recreated the tasty Nilla Killa at home as follows: 1 oz. vanilla rum, 4 oz. pineapple juice, 2 oz. orange juice, 1 oz. cream of coconut, shake well, pour over ice and top with a splash of grenadine and freshly grated nutmeg—it goes down really easy!]

All of these experiences combined almost created the perfect day, but what made it truly perfect was the appreciation we received from our kids. When we returned to the Westin, they treated us to cocktails at the resort’s luxurious quarter-acre pool and then they informed us they were treating us to dinner. They shopped at the Starfish Market and then grilled up a feast of steak, shrimp and ahi tuna kabobs for us—and they even cleaned the dishes.

There were many “thank yous” and many hugs that evening—but the pleasure was truly ours. I will remember forever how wonderful it was to spend a day in the warm sunshine and cool Caribbean waters with the three loves of my life. It was undoubtedly a perfect day.

View photos of our trip to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and my perfect day.