Pictures: http://travel.webshots.com/album/225371030yBSEud

This trip was a year in the planning. We are St. John veterans and have been going there yearly since 1999 and sporadically before that. We were most recently on St. John in November 2003.  If you are reading this I probably don’t have to explain why this is my favorite place in the world. We have stayed in villas and Cruz Views Condos (once) in the past. We really love the privacy of a villa and the convenience of a swimming pool. The expense of a nice villa is actually quite reasonable when you share it across 4 couples. I have not brought my kids since 1997 when they were 5 months and 6 years old. It was their turn for another trip.

Why Maho Bay Campground? We went during spring break for my kids, the week before Easter. My 6 year old daughter Ana is a social energy machine. Having kids for her to play with is important to my and her piece of mind. My 12 year old daughter Elizabeth is more interested in snorkeling with her Dad, reading through a stack of fantasy novels, and eating well. My long-suffering girl friend, Christine, would prefer to have Dad to herself in a romantic villa. Maho Bay Campground seemed to be the best compromise. Besides, I have wanted to stay there for a long time and I was paying the tab! I’ve been wanting to spend more time on the Coral Bay side of the island and this was a good opportunity.

Maho Bay Campground is not a last minute travel option for Easter week; it sells out months ahead of time. We reserved in May of 2003 for April of 2004. Reserving early gets you first dibs on your choice of tent-cabins. We asked for a great view and got the best one in the place – A14. This cabin is on that tip of Maho Point and has an unobstructed view of the sunset, Peter Bay and the large number of boats, sailboats, and yachts moored in Francis and Big Maho bay. The cobblestone beach at the bottom of the cliff provides the serenade of rolling cobbles when the waves hit that I can only liken to ice rolling around in a really big glass. Being all the way out there has a few disadvantages. It is far from the parking area, camp store and dining pavilion and the bathrooms. Being closer to the bathroom would be good for the ladies, as all three of my traveling companions mentioned, especially after the third beer.

We made reservations for restaurants, day sails and horseback riding before we left - not that you have to, I just like to get this out of the way. We left lots of time and whole days for spontaneity. One of my favorite things to do when I visit St. John is to do something new each visit while hitting the favorites.

Day 1 Saturday – Taxi-Plane-Taxi-Ferry-4WD

To the St. John veteran the transportation hops are old hat. I travel enough for work and pleasure that I go into a travel fugue as soon as I leave the house. Seen through the eyes of someone who last visited before she could sit up, this is a big deal. ”Why can’t we fly to St. John? It’s too hilly, that keeps some of the people away and saves the place for us.” So, here are the gory travel details that the masochists like to hear about.

Packing light is a religion for us. One small knapsack per person and a snorkel bag sharedbetween two people isour usual load. No matter how little I bring there is always something I do not wear. We had to bring beach towels this trip and a few extra camping supplies so we brought a small roll-away suitcase that we could have carried on if it did not have a pocket knife packed inside. My daughters each brought a small knapsack that was able to fit more clothes than they wore. As usual, we brought too much sunscreen and bugspray.

Travel notes:

- Taxi from the house at 5:30AM to catch 8:25AM flight out of Washington Dulles

- Arrive 6AM check for direct United flight to St. Thomas – tickets purchased on hotwire.com in June, no refund, no seat assignments – exhorted reservation agent 2 weeks before trip to get seating together, she had to call and get seats released for this very full flight. Lesson learned: hotwire.com is better for adults traveling together who do not need to sit together

- Arrive 1:30PM at St. Thomas after a pleasant flight. The beer wet suits (can koozies, very important) were out and the Red Stripes were inserted before luggage started showing up.

- Taxi to the Charlotte Amalie ferry dock for the 3PM ferry.

- Arrive in Cruz Bay around 4PM (where’s the Dockside Pub!) and head straight to the Beach Bar, luggage and all, for a quick Heineken before rental car pickup.

While I pickup the Montero at Conrad Sutton’s the girls order snacks and play with beach dogs at the Beach Bar -I love that place. Mrs. Sutton is always very happy to see me. “You’re back! You look so young, just like Bill Clinton, but I know you don’t do those things he did. Will you be coming tochurch tomorrow?” I really need to join her at the Episcopalian service one Sunday. Mr. Sutton is harried and moving quickly to get me out in 15 minutes. He goes over every ding in the truck and marks it on the form. Each little scratch is noted as he groans over the affront to his fine truck. As always, great service. I always use the Sutton’s for my cars and I’ve always been well treated. A little courtesy on my part seems to go a long way.

I park illegally (I don’t think I have ever been able to park legally in Cruz Bay) and load the girls and the luggage and head to Starfish Market. I like Marina Market and its prices, but Starfish Market has the best selection of Foreign Extra Stout on the island, also known as West Indian Viagra. This is not your usual 3.8% alcohol Guinness in a can. This is a sweeter and stronger version at 7.5% alcohol. We get some Ceres, ABC, Dragon, Royal, Guinness FES and a few others. We also grab some Heineken cans for the beach and Red Stripe for the cabin along with some food necessities and snacks. Having better beer on St. John would please me. On to Maho Bay.

I love driving newbies along the North Shore beaches in the afternoon.
That first view looking over Caneel Bay always takes there, and my, breath away. Driving past Easter Rock I told the story of its Easter morning escapades and succeeded in scaring the snot out of my 6 year old daughter - Ana wanted to stay off the North Shore Road to avoid Easter Rock for the rest of the trip. My daughters oohed and aahed over all of the beaches. Hawsknest Beach is in the middle of a big renovation and much of the parking lot was excavated.

When we turned up the Maho Bay Campground road it was pretty much what I had expected. Badly patched paved road giving quickly out to dusty rutted washboard. I don’t know how the water trucks make it. We pulled down to the check in area and unloaded the truck and checked in. The check-in went well with friendly staff and we were given a map of the campground. It covers a lot of territory and we did not investigate the whole campground. That was when we were introduced to the one of the main “features” at Maho Bay – the stairs. Three big sets of stairs to the runway that traverses the hill to our cabin. The runway is about 200 feet long and carts are provided to trundle your gear. It took us three runs to get everything to our cabin site and then another set of stairs to get everything into the cabin. It took about 2 hours to get checked in and unloaded. I parked the truck up the hill in the too small parking area.

The cabin is both bigger and smaller than you would expect. It is 16x16 and separated into an uncovered deck and kitchen area on the front view facing side and a bed room and living/sleeping area on the back side. The small sofa can be made into a single bed and a single cot can be assembled from a steel frame, single size 6 inch thick piece of foam rubber and small mattress. The cot is really only suitable for someone weighing less than 80 pounds. If you want to move about at all you need to put the cot away during the day. The bedroom has curtains that can be used to screen you from your cabin mates. But, there is no real privacy other than a quick clothing change. Storage space is at a premium. We made do stuffing knapsacks and the suitcase in corners. If you traveled with suitcases for each person youwould not have anywhere to put them. There are two fans, though we only needed them in the late afternoon. Wedid not hear our neighbors during our stay. Some of the cabins overlooked the walkways and gave you a view of people going back and forth while you cooked or washed your dishes.

The kitchen supplies are actually much better than camping quality. A good 48 quart cooler, 2 gallon water jug with spigot, propane stove, large RubberMaid bin with a lid for your non-refrigerated items, flatware, bowls, colander, coffee percolator, pots and pans, cutting board, and counter and shelf space more than adequate for keeping utensils stowed and organized. A small cafe sized table and four resin chairs rounded things out. The chairs were quite flexible and could assume any pose as long as you did not want to sit straight while leaning against the backrest.

It has been a long day, tensions rise, time to get some dinner. Rule 1 traveling with women; always know where the closest toilet is. Once we get in line for dinner at the dining pavilion we have a potty emergency. One problem with being a single Dad is that there is one place you are not welcome, the place where your 6 year old goes potty. Big sister can only help if she knows where the potty is. I now know where every single women’s toilet at Maho Bay is.

Big surprise: Beer. Maho Bay had McEwans IPA and Newcastle Brown Ale on draught at the dining pavilion. Meals at Maho Bay Campground are good. I’m a foodie and love a great meal, as you’ll see later in the trip report. Maho Bay does a lot with what they have. The prices are what you expect given that they are in the boonies on an island that is itself at the far end of the country. Entrees were $12-$18 and included salad bar. If you are careful and select entrees that are okay if they are prepared ahead then you will do well. If you want something cooked to order stick to the EXCELLENT breakfast or go somewhere else. To get served you stand in a long line, place your order with the friendly staff, and wait for your name to be called while you help yourself to the salad bar. I had red snapper the first night and learned the limitations of the kitchen. I finished the meal because I was hungry and the flavors were fine. It just seemed warmed over. The vegetables and smashed garlic potatoes were good as was the salad. Seafood is not the strong suit here. Look for the vegetarian, Italian and Mexican specials.

After dinner we walked down 118 steps to Little Maho and enjoyed walking in the water. Quiet time starts at 10PM and the low-key security folks will remind you. The very fun group of Australian girls on the beach got shushed promptly at 10PM. Walking back up the 118 steps causes the soon ritualistic moans and complaints to begin. There is a good reason they sell a shirt that says “I survived the steps at Maho Bay!” No “radios” are allowed at Maho Bay without headphones. We brought our portable CD player with battery powered speakers. Cool tunes with no complaints from the neighbors.

To bed. Maho Bay is a noisy place: surf crashing, tree frogs, moaning birds, etc. My 6 year old daughter Ana had trouble sleeping. After multiple toilet trips and a couple of tearful moments I found the solution. Turning on the fan next to her bed provided the white noise necessary to keep every sound from waking her up. The fan stayed on the rest of the week and she slept soundly.

Day 2 Sunday – Settling in at Maho Bay, Francis Bay beach day

Up at 6:30 with Ana looking for trouble - she and I left Elizabeth and Christine in bed [DCP_1493-Bananaquits] and had some breakfast when Maho Bay started serving at 7:30. Coffee was on well before hand. Omelets, pancakes, fresh fruit, fresh made Granola, good stuff. I had fresh cut pineapple and a bacon/cheese omelet. My 6 year old scarfed her pancakes and gave them a thumbs up. Breakfast at Maho is a treat. The dining pavilion is high over Francis Bay and has a great view. The little one and I walked over to Big Maho Bay while the big girls got ready for the beach. It is an easy walk on the goat trail. I really do prefer Francis Bay over Maho Bay. Francis Bay seems to be clearer and have better fish.

We drive over to Francis Bay at 10AM. It is a weekend and a bit more crowded than usual. Things are a bit murky, but the beach is great and the water feels good. We usually visit St. John in the off season – October and November. The water was cooler than we were used to – 78F vs. 82F. After making some new friends and splashing about we are ready for a late lunch.

Time to head over to Coral Bay for lunch at Island Blues. I always enjoy this place. I liked it in previous incarnations as well. It is a relaxed setting and the food is reliable. I gave my girls a choice between the best burgers and good food with french fries and they chose the french fries which means Island Blues. The best burgers, of course, are at Skinny Legs – no french fries there. If I gave them that choice later in the week the answer would have been Skinny’s. Happy service with a smile, cold beer, a water view, and good food is the Island Blues experience. Quite casual, so we wore our bathing suits with cover ups. The Quesadilla with spinach and pine nuts was quite good. I had a chicken spinach bacon wrap with brie that came together nicely. The girls enjoyed their fries while I enjoyed the cold Heinekens.

Back to Maho Bay Campground for late beach time at Little Maho and happy hour. We would have gone out for dinner in Coral Bay that night except we had a special treat in store – Inner Visions at the dining pavilion from 7:30-9:30. Inner Visions is a St. John tradition, excellent reggae that usually plays at Fred’s in Cruz Bay on Wednesday night’s.

Dinner at Maho Bay was an improvement over Saturday night – chicken curry, grilled flank steak, and coconut shrimp (mistake). The chicken curry was more of a Polynesian interpretation and held up well on the steam table. The flank steak had great flavor and texture and worked well with the vegetables and salad. The merlot at $4/glass was good. The coconut shrimp that my 6 year old ordered was cold and tired. We had a big cooler of Red Stripe and Foreign Export Stout to keep us company.

Inner Visions playing to the Maho Bay crowd is interesting. The crowd has lots of families with kids that range from infant to late teens, healthy seniors who enjoyed their second bottle of wine while listening to the show (good selection at the bar at $20/bottle), yoga people who looked great, and some locals who were in for dinner and the band. Inner Visions plays a roots reggae mix with a smooth groove. It is very easy to listen and dance to. For the first three of four songs folks pretty much stared at the band and tapped their feet. Christine and I could not stand it anymore and started dancing; we had a lot of company shortly. Inner Visions played two great sets and kept going until 10PM. They finished with Shala-la, the first track on Spiritual Dancer. Their CDs are available on Amazon.com. It really was a magical evening.

We finished the night listening to the surf on the cobblestone beach and the tree frogs enjoying our Pernod and soda. My 6 year old eyed a tree frog climbing on a branch next to our cabin. Big sucker! It was nice to see one of these critters for once. I read for an hour after the girls were asleep. It was so peaceful falling asleep with the moon lighting up the islands out to the West and the boats at mooring. Full moon tomorrow!

Day 3 Monday – Horseback Riding, Haulover Bay, Full Moon

After breakfast we headed over to Coral Bay for my Elizabeth’s and Christine’s horseback ride. We booked a trail raid with Dana from Carolina Corral (340-693-5778) before we left. We were originally booked for a 2PM ride but she asked us to come at 10AM since she had some cancellations. It sounded like some of the folks who book with her are pretty high maintenance. Dana is a smiling relaxed person that the girls really liked. We met in Coral Bay and followed her truck out to the ranch in the valley behind Coral Bay. It is a very rustic area with lots of critters wondering around. Most of her horses were either rescued or bought from people that did not want them any longer. Dana has given them a home and they seem happy to be there.

The trail ride went through Coral Bay and up the Johnny Horn Trail past the Moravian Church. Up and over the hill and down to Hurricane Hole bay. They cantered up the Johnny Horn Trail hill, which was a thrill for Elizabeth. Dana kept them out of the water as they walked along Hurricane Hole because some of the horses have  tendency to roll in the water, whether they have a rider or not.

While the big girls were horseback riding I took Ana over to Haulover Bay for a relaxed snorkel lesson. She has snorkeled in the pool, but this was her first introduction to real snorkeling. We parked at the Coral Bay side of Haulover Bay. The road goes right by the water there. There was a donkey in our parking space, but I encouraged him to move along with the front of the truck. It is a cobblestone beach with an easy water entry, if you watch for sea urchins. Ana loves to swim and is good at it. I put a floatation vest on her anyways. The snorkel was left on the beach until she was more comfortable with the rest of the activity. We were soon admiring the fishes and steering very clear of the sea urchins. To a 6 year old sea urchins look like a nightmare. This side of Haulover Bay is not an exciting snorkel, but it is extremely calm. The fringing reefs at each end of they bay are worth looking at. After we had enough snorkeling we explored the sides of the bay and talked about the whelks and snails we found.

We headed back to Coral Bay to pick up the big girls. Ana wanted a snack and Dad needed more Mount Gay Rum and limes so we hit the Love City Mini-mart. It is a pretty good little place - the prices were fine. We got a strawberry popsicle and some tamarind balls as a snack and headed over to the drop off spot at Time for a Break (former Pickles Deli). Nicky J was working and she kept cold Heinekens coming. She had some good looking cakes cooling that would not be ready for a couple of hours. This is an extremely relaxing spot to sit for a bit.

The horse girls showed up after a while with smiles on their faces. My 12 year old had an extremely good time and wanted to book for another ride as soon as possible. Dana at Carolina Corral has some new fans! The girls were quite happy with their horses and loved the ride. They ride western and recommend closed toe shoes. Dana does not use a hat or sunglasses, but I made my girls use them. Helmets are available if you want one. We signed up for another 10AM ride Friday morning for Elizabeth.

Christine had some aches and pains and was ready for some pain relief. Skinny Legs! I’m a fan and my daughters fell in love. I usually have my best burger of the year at Skinny’s every year. I love good food and I’m a bit of a kitchen geek. I make sausage and grind my own hamburger when I am in the mood. But, when I taste the burgers at Skinny’s I ask why I bother. Hand patted on a fresh made soft roll. You get over not having french fries very quickly. Elizabeth bugged me the rest of the week to go back for another burger. I was happy oblige. Ana skipped the hot dog on the second visit and nearly finished her enormous burger, which is unusual for her.

Goofing off at Little Maho finished out the afternoon. Christine realized that climbing 118 steps from the beach after horseback riding was a lesson in pain. She is getting ready to celebrate the 12th anniversary of her 29th birthday and has only gone horseback riding a dozen times or so. I was accused of trying to kill her between the horseback riding and the steps. Ed at the Maho Bay Campground beach hut kept us supplied with cold Heinekens to ease the pain. Ed has to carry everything he sells down those steps to the beach hut. He is one of the very friendly Maho Bay staffers that lives on site and takes care of the tourists. I found the staff to be great and full of smiles.

Everyone got their showers in preparation for the big full moon night! Showers at Maho Bay are fine. You have a pull shower that dumps unheated water on you. The water seems to be warmer in the afternoon. There are only 3 showers in each of the men’s and women’s rooms so backups do occur, mostly on the women’s side. I heard some folks complaining about lack of hot water but we got along fine. We saw a mongoose climbing in a tree next to our cabin on the way back. He stared at us as we walked by before ambling off through the underbrush.

We knew when the full moon was going to hit – 7PM. The Naval Observatory has a great calculator at http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay_noJS.html. We had discussed going to Miss Lucy’s for the full moon party but we had heard too many negatives about the service. So, we headed over to Shipwreck Landing. The road has been repaved out that way and the street lights are working. It was a pretty easy drive. We arrived in time to watch the moon rise over the BVIs. We sat at the empty bar with the kids. The tables were packed with large parties, some with 20+ people. We were stuffed from eating those big burgers at Skinny’s for a late lunch. Donna, the bartender, was working in blender hell keeping the tourists lubricated. We ordered appetizers that turned out to be great: curried cauliflower soup, mussels provencal, spicy chicken wings with wasabi mayo and conch fritters. The kids loved the mussels while I enjoyed the curried cauliflower soup. Everything was good. We struck up a conversation with Donna and it turns out she spent some time tending bar at a place down the street from Christine’s office in Beltsville, MD. She jotted down a note to a friend who still works there and we plan on delivering that soon. Watching her poor a BIG painkiller Christine just had to have one to sooth her aching horseback bruises. I’d say it had 3-4 oz. of rum! We saw some folks from Maho Bay that had tried to go to Miss Lucy’s but they were out of food at 7:30.

We headed by Miss Lucy’s at the end of the night. I figured we could have a drink and enjoy the band. Apparently they only want you there if you show up early for the buffet. The staff was not at all pleasant about this. Unfortunately, politeness and service seems to be a consistent problem here. We stopped by Voyages instead and enjoyed a very pleasant night cap, if you can call a drink at 9:30 a night cap. Island Blues seemed to be hopping when we drove by.

Back at Maho Bay we had to park well back along the road on the side. I hoped that our Maho Bay parking pass with our site number would be enough to get a polite notice to move our truck before a delivery truck pushed it down the hill. Getting back to the cabin I heard the groans of weary legs from the girls as we walked down the steep driveway from the parking area. After this evening I started dropping the girls off at the loading area and making the trek on my own. We were carrying 2 gallons of bottled St. John water and bags of ice on most trips back to the cabin. My favorite item at the Maho Bay camp store was the 10 lb block ice. I have a block ice fetish. One block would last two days in the cooler. Crushed ice lasted about 12 hours for the same weight. What a magical product.

Sleeping that night was interesting. The bay was lit up by the moon and the cabin was full of silver light. Frogs, birds, mongoose, everything seemed to be quite active. I woke up off and on during the night, especially after the moon got low in the West and shone directly through the cabin window screens.

Day 4 Tuesday – Little Maho Bay beach day

We decided to relax and stay close to the campground today. Breakfast at the dining pavilion was another great meal. We headed down the 118 steps to lots of groans about who was trying to kill whom. Ana ran ahead to find friends. I carried everything so that the sore could shuffle. We found great snorkeling on the west end of the beach towards Big Maho Bay right under our cabin. Lots of big fish, including a 4 foot grouper under an overhang with a pretty big school of grouper nearby. The coral was a bit beat up. I had to explain to a few novice snorkelers why we do not stand on the coral.

Ana spent the day running with the growing tribe of young kids on the beach. Elizabeth snorkeled and worked through her novel. The big people relaxed. Ana was in the water all day. The Coppertone Kids Spectra 3 SPF 50 is supposed to be very good stuff with transparent zinc oxide included.  It could not quite stand up to the energy girl. I re-applied the lotion 3 times, but she still had some pink skin on the backs of her upper thighs that night. I think they are serious when they say apply to dry skin.

Lunch for the kids was steak caeser wraps from Ed’s beach hut. The adults only had a snack and some Heinekens since we were stuffed from the big Maho Bay breakfast. I brought down salami and cheese from our cabin. Maho Bay lets you run a house charge account. We just signed for the stuff we bought and they provided a detailed invoice at check out. This worked out great. Ana was able to sample some independence. It also allowed them to do some fetching for Dad from the camp store. The chocolate chip cookies at the beach hut were a big hit as well.

For dinner we hit JJ’s Texas Coast Café in Cruz Bay. We were looking for something low key that could satisfy the kids. This is always a reliable place to eat and it worked well for us this night. We met a family at an adjacent table that was staying at Cinnamon Bay Campground. They had stayed at Maho Bay before but preferred Cinnamon Bay because of the great beach. We heard this from a lot of folks during the week. The woman was a healer and talked about healing through touch. It was an interesting conversation, but I’ll stick to the Advil and West Indian Viagra. On the way home we see Ed from the Maho Bay beach hut hitchhiking in front of Mongoose Junction. We pick him up and have an interesting chat about working at Maho Bay. It’s one notch above being a volunteer and hard physical work. With no vehicle, getting away from the campground for the night is tough.

Day 5 Wednesday – Hansen Bay & Vie’s, Voyages Dinner

This morning we had some quick Spam and Eggs for breakfast and enjoyed coffee on the deck. We drove over the mountain to Coral Bay and took the road out to East End. This is a fun roller coaster ride along a steep very narrow ridge line. You can see beaches on both sides in places. We were out at Hansen Bay near Vie’s Snack Shack by 10AM.

Hansen Bay is a very special place. The beach is owned by Miss Vie’s family and has been in the family for a very long time. She has a small snack stand and makes some of the best conch fritters I have ever had. You pay $2.50 per person to visit the beach. There are some chairs, a water hose run from a cistern and a pit toilet. The key is the pristine calm water in this very sheltered cove. We spend the day on the beach. Miss Vie opens around 11 and we grab some snacks.

Dinner tonight is at Voyages in Coral Bay. We head back to Maho Bay to clean up for another fancy dinner. As we walk to our cabin we see some of the friends that we have made this week. The parents were wondering where Ana had been today? Kids from 8 to 4 years old were looking for their beach activity coordinator from the day before. Ana really does make friends easily. Bad news: we’ll be sailing tomorrow and will not be around again.

Voyages turns out to be just okay. The space is much bigger than needed on a Wednesday night during the busy season. The food was good, but not great… and we were paying for great. Shipwreck Landing or La Tapa are definitely much better options. After dinner we have our after dinner drinks back at the cabin and enjoy the tree frog symphony.

Day 6 Thursday – Sail to Jost Van Dyke on Allura, Dinner at Skinny Legs

We booked a BVI day sail on Allura. This is a family run and family built 50 foot catamaran. They pick up some folks at Caneel Bay resort and come get us at 8AM. No dock at Maho, so it’s a swim out. Allura has been purpose built to support day sailing and shows it. There is an enormous amount of deck space both under cover and in the sun. She sails at quite a clip and has a great crew/family.

While we enjoy breakfast of fruit and banana bread the boat heads over to Great Harbor on Jost Van Dyke to enter the United Kingdom. Elizabeth quickly finds her happy place and is perched as far forward as allowed while underway. Ana spreads her towel on the deck and works her way through the orange juice.

Foxy’s is open in Great Harbor and we have a drink and a peek at the small microbrewery - a fun idea, but not that great in execution. With Her Majesty’s Blessings, we head over to Sandy Cay for a snorkel. It’s rougher than normal and a bit of a task to swim over to the island. Not worth getting off the boat, but the resident Eagle Ray swims by, unbeknownst to the snorkelers who are trying to keep their heads above the waves.

Lunch is at Foxy’s Taboo on the East End of Jost Van Dyke. This is a brand new facility and sports an impressive dock for the day sailing crowd. We fill the place up and stress the kitchen with the 35 or so people we have. But, with some island time attitude adjustment (Painkillers) it works out just fine. I prefer heading over to White Bay rather than this end of the island, but it was fun to give it a try. The sail back to St. John is a splendid run with the wind. Going through customs at Cruz Bay is annoying, but we are treated to sailing back by Caneel Bay before returning to Maho Bay Campground. Everyone is jolly as we swim through the North swell to get back to the beach.

After a quick washup we head over to Coral Bay for dinner at Skinny Legs. Things are quieter hear at night. We relax and enjoy a round of great burgers. There is a group of French boaters sitting next to us. The girls attend a French immersion school and Elizabeth is nearly fluent. She starts laughing at some of the questions they are asking each other. Apparently their English is not very good. After a quick bonjour, they begin peppering Elizabeth with questions and complement her on her accent. We au revoir them and head out. Tomorrow is our last day, so we go to bed early exhausted from a day of sailing.

Day 7 Friday – Francis Bay Beach, Woody’s, La Tapa Dinner

This morning Ana got up early and asked if she could get breakfast by herself. She feels very comfortable here and has formed her own tribe of kids. She heads up by herself in time to be in line for the first round of breakfast. She makes that long walk back to the cabin with her pancakes, chocolate milk and cereal, very pleased with herself. It’s a gorgeous morning. The rest of us finish up the last of our food for breakfast and make lunches for the beach.

Francis Bay is pristine today. We get out early and claim a shady spot with a picnic table. It’s an idyllic day of relaxation made even more pleasant by the noble task of finishing off our stock of beer. Mmmmm, Foreign Extra Stout on the beach while floating in the water. We see the enormous VW Beatle sized turtle with two huge remoras that frequents Francis Bay out where the grass grows thick. This guy is so huge that he doesn’t notice anything larger than a boat. We stay on the beach until the no-see-ums start biting. One last moment on the beach to memorize the scene… Elizabeth is nearly to tears about going home. I know the feeling.

We clean up and head to Cruz Bay for last night reveling. Our first stop is Freebird in Wharfside Village. This is our favorite jewelry store with very tropical themed bracelets and such. Ana has a nice collection of sterling silver bracelets from here.

Dinner is at La Tapa. Elizabeth enjoys her steak, but finishes Ana’s spaghetti with olive oil and garlic. Christine goes for the excellent duck breast and I enjoy a fat rare piece of tuna with truffle oil. The wine is a rich Amarone that goes well with everything. Service is great and personable without being overwhelming. This is our favorite and most consistently good restaurant on the island. Ana, as is usual for her at this location, conks out on the bench next to me. She wakes up for the dessert tray, but the girls vote for another round of strawberry daiquiris at Woody’s on the way out.

Woody’s is always a bit high strung at night. It is a funky college bar atmosphere with stupid human tricks in a small space. Kenny Chesney pops in on occasion and goofs off. We’ve seen Harrison Ford in there quietly drinking a beer and reading a newspaper during the day. Nobody mobs us for autographs either. The girls get their daiquiris and we get our walking around beers. A stroll through Cruz Bay at night has its own special sounds and smells.

Day 8 Saturday – Going Home

Packing up and cleaning out the cabin takes less time than unpacking did. Somehow all of that food and beer has evaporated. We check out of the cabin and drive along the North Shore. Ana comments that she is glad that we are not going to go past that Easter Rock scary thing just as we drive past. It’s rather more impressive from the other direction. She makes a face at me in the rear view mirror realizing that she has been tricked, sort of.

We drop the truck off at Mr. Suttons a bit dirtier than usual. We make a habit of hosing the trucks off before we return them. They tend to get quite dirty on the unpaved beach roads. The 11:15 Saturday ferry to Charlotte Amalie is always packed with anxious tourists with flights to catch. They do not start selling tickets until 15 minutes before hand. We say goodbye to Cruz Bay and enjoy the ferry ride. We always make certain to get seats on the right side so that we have the best view of St. Thomas.

Quick taxi to the airport and a rapid check-in. The security line is a good 90 minutes due to the limited throughput of the immigration and customs booths. This is resolved on later visits. The plane ride home, Dulles airport and the taxi ride home seem a bit surreal after a week on St. John.

Coda

The girls talked to their friends and relatives enthusiastically about their Spring Break trip. Ana spent the next few years drawing pictures of the underwater views and making picture books of her adventures. The enthusiasm is contagious. Her Aunt Laura and Uncle John visit Maho Bay Campground on the next two subsequent Spring Breaks. Our extended family decides to spend Thanksgiving 2006 on St. John – three houses and twenty four people. Ana will be a grown up 9 ½ and Elizabeth will be nearly 15. That will be an adventure! Christine and I return later that year in October for a two week BVI tour.