St. Johns US Virgin Island
- Lacie Rothrock
- Jul 15, 2023
- 14 min read
(Our view from our balcony in St. Johns)
So as many of you who read my blog may know, we went on vacation to St John's, courtesy of my Father-in-law. You also may know that my daughter just turned 16 at the beginning of June. Well with June being such a crazy month, we pushed her birthday get-together back to the day before we left for Vacation.... lets backtrack a little bit.
I surprised my daughter with a future trip to NYC for her birthday. I gave her the option of a big birthday blowout party or a surprise, she chose the surprise. Since her birthday was a surprise trip, we decided to do a small pool party at the house and let her have some friends over for cake pizza, and swimming, and have one friend spend the night. Weeeelllll.... because our family likes to keep things crazy, the day before we leave for our big vacation, Kamdyn injured her foot. I'm not talking about a little stubbed toe... like a grade 2 sprain, can't walk, is having her friends carry her around, swelling and bruising... Yup... the girl who has to go to Tremaine and compete and audition again in just about a week and a half from her injury... Not to mention having to chuck it through multiple airports, TSA's, boat rides, and then vacation... Also, did I mention that all doctor's offices were closed and we were leaving early in the morning? This meant that I would have to help her nurse it a long and heal as quickly as possible. Literally, she hurt it WALKING around in circles on the trampoline... not even jumping... just walking and talking...
Luckily (I use that word loosely) I had suffered a severe ankle injury a few years ago and still had my boot and all my braces and knew the basics of caring for it. My first focus was getting her to where she could make it through the airport. We tried on a few braces and boots and found one that works for her and she could limp along slowly. I trailed behind with her so she wouldn't get lost from our group. TSA of course had to search her brace because it was bulky and had metal in it. The next focus was R.I.C.E as much as possible. I wanted to try to keep the swelling down as much as possible to prevent her from getting worse. She hadn't finished packing but luckily her friend who stayed the night was able to help her with that. So, I am fully aware that this will make our vacation to the tropical Island (and the travel to and from) VERY interesting. Knowing her, she never wants to "rest" and sit still, and isn't the best patient at following doctors' orders... and she's also extremely worried about her upcoming Tremaine trip. Let the Vacation Begin!
Our trip starts out with a flight change, and we have to leave a day earlier and fly to South Carolina and stay the night there. While we are all very eager and super excited to start our vacation, I just keep worrying about her ankle. I can tell she's trying to pretend like she's fine and hide her limp, but it's pretty hard for her, not to mention that flying (and travel in general) always makes the chances of limbs swelling when they are not injured, now we are fighting against an injury. Also, being a teenage girl, she still wants to look cute and fashionable... well ankle braces do not fit her fashion ideals hahahahaha! Anyways, we make it to the airport in South Carolina (the flight was uneventful and the plane was comfortable) and are waiting for our hotel shuttle to arrive. It never does, so we end up finding two taxi vans (there are 8 of us on this trip so we need larger vehicles) and they take us to our hotel. The Taxi that we were in was quite interesting. There were some concerning sounds coming from the muffler area of the van (I don't know much about cars hahaha) but it was so loud the rest of our group heard it in the other van! Anyways, we make it to our home for the evening, get checked into our rooms and then we all decided we need dinner so we order Dominos and eat in the lobby together. It was late, and we were all tired, but it was good company and the hotel was nice. The kids found a few kittens outside to go pet while we adults watched and chatted. We headed up to our rooms and passed out quickly. We needed to be downstairs bright and early to catch the shuttle back to the airport to head to St John's/St. Thomas the next morning. Luckily we researched the shuttle for 8, otherwise, we might not have fit. I will say, we all just brought carry-on and personal items and no one checked bags, which made getting through the airport much easier and quicker.
Kamdyn again was searched going through TSA, but I will say the lady that was searching her was super kind. Kam wore her brace on the outside of her sock today so they could see it, and she was so gentle and kind to her. Brozden got his pocket searched because it "looked suspicious" even though it was empty. We found that to be comical. Once we made it through TSA and found our gate, we decided to grab a quick breakfast from the food court in the airport. Brozden and I had not had our coffee yet and were on the hunt. Both of us could really care less about the food, we just wanted coffee. We all decided that we would go through the burger king line and grab breakfast sandwiches and drinks (coffee and water for Brozden and I)... well when we got up to order, they did not have coffee #sadface. So the hunt was still on. We did manage to find some cold Starbucks drinks at a gift shop and got those. They are not our favorite as we both prefer non-dairy and a stronger coffee flavor, but hey, it works! We had JUST enough time to scarf down our sandwiches and finished our drinks... well Brozden accidentally spilled half of his coffee on the ground... #winning . We boarded and buckled up for the long flight. This plane was a little more crowded and the seats and legroom were tighter than our other plane. I think I fell asleep listening to a podcast for a short while at the beginning of our trip. I had downloaded several hours worth of podcasts to keep myself occupied on the plane, along with a few mindless games I had on my phone. The flight was long but not unbearable.
We landed in St. Thomas and had to exit the plane on the tarmac. This is a smaller airport and all planes board and unload directly on the tarmac. As soon as we walked off the plane, you could tell you were in the tropics. It was humid and hot, but beautiful. Our next leg of travel was to get a taxi to the ferry. I will tell you, driving (or being a passenger in the Virgin Islands is an experience all in itself. They drive on the left side of the road, but the driving seat is also on the left... and speed limit signs (though rarely posted) are only suggestions. They drive pretty fast and weave in and out of traffic like stunt drivers. Our driver was amazing and such a kind person (we would actually bump into him again later).
Adam set up front with him and he gave him a crash course in driving on the Island and a few tips and tricks to remember. He said he wanted to hear how his trip went at the end of our vacation. He dropped us off at the marina and we loaded onto the boat that would take us to St Johns. Adam, his brother, niece, and I all sat on the top deck, while everyone else was on the bottom deck of the boat. It was pretty crowded. The ride over was about a 20-minute boat ride from one island to another, and it was gorgeous outside. The waters are so clear and so blue. We docked right on the downtown square area of St. Johns, which was a pretty hoppin' place with loads of vendors and food trucks and live music. None of us realized this but the week we were there was their Carnival Celebration week. We grabbed our luggage from the dock and started walking to find the car rental place. We had 2 jeeps reserved for us. It was only about a 2 block walk from the boat to the rental place. We loaded up into our jeeps and made our way to find the villas.
We stayed at the Coconut Coast Villas right on the beach. The first drive there was a little nerve-racking. The fact that we were driving on the opposite side of the road wasn't even the biggest thing... some of the roads, specifically "Hill Street" (aptly named) are not what you think of when you think of a road. They can barely fit one car down it and are so steep you feel like you're on the first incline of a dollar coaster. We survived hahaha. We made it to our villa and started getting our luggage to our assigned spaces. We had 2 places for our bunch. We had a studio apparently type place with a conjoining door to a 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and full living room. So essentially we had a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 balcony villa right on the beach with the most picturesque views ever. And off our front porch was a bird sanctuary salt pond. We were up 3 flights of stairs, but we got used to it.
Once we got settled, and got some hydration in us, we were all a little bit (well a lot of bit) hungry. We decided to go down to the downtown square area where the festivities were all going on and grab some food from the local food vendors and walk around for a bit. Considering that Kamdyn was not in great walking shape, Adam dropped her and I off as close to downtown as he could get (parking was impossible). Then he went back to the villa, parked, and walked. We grabbed some food, checked out some of the shops, and enjoyed the live music. We then all walked back to the villa and the kids spent the evening in the pool, right next to the Ocean. Day 1 was a success (after a quick run to the grocery store for some snacks of course)
Day two was beach day! We spent the entire day at the beach, lazing around being beach bums, the kids snorkeled, we had delicious food, and kamdyn and I Sunburned (even though I wore a lot of sunscreen, reapplied, AND sat in the shade), hahahahaha. I found out that one of my medications makes me sensitive to the sun, who knew... Kamdyn CAME to the beach prepare in her longsleeved reef shirt that her dad got her to protect her from the sun... but as soon as her feet hit the sand, off it came. I don't think she understood the purpose of it. Luckily only the back of her burned since she was snorkeling for hours lol. once she started to peel, she looked like a burn victim who had escaped from the hospital. We finished the evening off by cooking dinner and playing card games in our villa with the whole gang. It was a late night but a fun one. I loved watching the kids at the table playing and teaching everyone to play phase 10. It was nice to see them spending time with their grandpa Craig, aunt and uncle, and cousin.
Evenings in our place became the routing. Since we had a larger space and a full kitchen we would cook dinner in our place most nights. We would play either card games or the guys brought the Nintendo Switch and hooked it up to the TV and they would play that. It was highly entertaining to watch everyone play together.
Day three was another beach and snorkeling day for everyone, except me. I chose to stay back at the villa, cleaned up from the previous night, read my book on the balcony, and listen to the waves. It was glorious! My burn was bothering me pretty bad by this point, blistering a little, so this was exactly what I needed... and my perfect idea of a vacation. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect relaxing morning. We then found a cute little shopping center and restaurant and spent a few hours there for lunch/dinner. We also had to get ice cream (kams favorite).
Day four was an interesting day. There were some ruins that the guys wanted to hike to. I chose to go along with the ride, but after a little research, I chose not to do the Hike part. My ankle still can not handle hiking down and up a mountain .. hell, I still struggle with going DOWN stairs with that one foot. .. and truthfully Kamdyn probably shouldn't have done it either, but she had a little pep in her step this day. Adam thought it was a "quick hike". The jokes on him... they were hiking for almost 3 hours! And it was a hard hike.
Kam and her cousin made it back first. I think they finally just ditched the idea of wanting to look at stuff and were more focused on ending the hike and getting water. They hightailed it back and left everyone in their dust. I had been enjoying a nice light sprinkle and beautiful views when the back door of the jeep was opened by the two of them "WATER" they grunted lol. Luckily I came prepared with a cooler full of water and some fresh fruit to snack on. I cranked up the AC, as they were drenched with sweat, and they devoured the water and fruit. It was the funniest thing to see.
Once the rest of the group made it up the mountain, we found a nice little restaurant right on the beach (free-range goats for our entertainment included). We made it just in time as a storm rolled in, which was nice because it cooled everything down while we sat outside and ate and listened to the storm on the ocean. I had the BEST fish sandwich and fried plantains I've ever had. We finished up our day with a (actual) short hike to a sugar can mill ruin. The views again we the most beautiful sites ever!
While driving around in the jeep, we had all 3 kids with us, which made for prime-time entertainment when a "mid-day workout session" came over the radio. They we all getting into it in the back seat, moving, running in place, lifting weights (cell phones lol), oh man was it comical. Not only did we have a workout room in the back seat of the jeep, did I mention we took a wrong turn and did a little unplanned off-roading in the jeep. It was interesting, to say the least.
Day five! Day five reflected day 3 a little. Everyone went for a quick morning snorkel except me. I'm just not much of a snorkeler. I prefer to look and listen to the ocean and not get in it. If I thought day three was nice, this day was even better. I grabbed my book, a bowl of cherries and went out to the balcony, and started reading while listening to the ocean. A good storm rolled in, which was the coolest thing to see (and hear). I could have listened to that for hours! Watching it come closer to shore from the balcony, well I think this is my favorite thing to watch now.
This was our last full day on St. Johns. The storm did knock out the power grid a little bit, but our Villa was on solar so we were good. Once the storm calmed down, we went back to the downtown square area and got some coffee, and lunch, and did a little more shopping. At some point in time, we managed to go back to the villa and pack up most of our stuff (so it was less to do in the morning), but we wanted to head back to the square for the evening festivities. Which we did, and it was amazing. They had so many vendors, a big reggae concert going on, food, frozen treats, and just so much going on. It was a blast! We all piled in one jeep, yes all 8 of us, don't ask how, but it was funny and amusing. This was the perfect last day on the Island, and none of us really wanted to head back home.
Day 6 was a travel day if you will. We got up early, dropped the jeeps off at the rental place, walked to the beach, and caught the ferry back to St. Thomas to spend the night. Once we made it to the Island, we actually parked right next to Todd. Todd was the BRB (Big Red Barge) that drove by our Villa several times a day. We learned to recognize him by the sounds of his engine and it because a little thing with us. He kind of because a part of the vacationing family without even knowing it... "Oh, there goes Todd again, working hard", " Is it Todd?"... we all got several smiles out of Todd hahaha.
Anywho, back on St Thomas we had the taxi driver drop all but two fo us off at some shops. The other took the bags to the new hotel. They then caught a taxi to meet us at the shopping center. Remember that taxi driver that I mentioned before that we liked, the one that drove us to the Ferry the first day... well he was the driver that brought the two to meet up with us at the shopping center! He gave my father-in-law his number so we could just call him when we wanted to head back to the hotel. It was such a cool moment to have him again. He was excited to hear how the guys did while driving. It was such a cool ending to our last full day on one of the islands. We did some shopping, lunch, and ice cream and then headed to our hotel for the night. The kids spent the last night in the pool (beachside) and we finished with Dominos' Pizza poolside hahaha.
Day 7, time to go home. Day 7 was a full day of traveling with a loooong flight home. We gathered our bags first thing in the morning and walked to the Airport. It was literally right across the street. We made our way through TSA and once we found our gate and got settled, Brozden and I got some coffee, and then we all got some snacks and drinks for the plane. Our layover in Dallas was a super short layover and we didn't think we would have time to eat a proper meal, so snacks it was. The flight was a little over 5 hours if I remember correctly. We then had a 45-minute layover in Dallas. This might sound like a decent amount of time but it really isn't if you think about getting off your current plane, finding your new gate, and boarding your new plane... in Dallas! Basically, we had time for a quick potty break, the kid's uncle managed to grab 8 sandwiches from Mcdonald and we scarfed one down just in time to board our final flight home. Dallas to XNA. It was a short flight, only about an hour. My mom picked us up at the airport, and then we were home. Back to reality, back to Arkansas, no more ocean, but plenty of good memories. Even though you don't do much while traveling, it always makes me super tired. Basically, we unloaded our bags and went to sleep. Well, Adam went over to our friend's house who was moving and helped take a few loads from one hour to the other.
The next day was going to be busy for me. Adam had to work, I needed to get caught up on our laundry from the trip so Kamdyn couldn't turn around and pack her bags for her Florida trip. She was home for all of 3 or 4 days before she left again. Brozden also had a trip to Springfield for a gymnastics camp the weekend after we got home.
All in all, we had the best trip, with the best company. Adam and I haven't had a light vacation in a while (that isn't kid activity related) so this was super nice. Now we are back to reality and back to our busy schedules. In fact, as I type this, Kamdyn is in Florida... which I will talk about in the next blog.. and Brozden is at home recouping from his weekend Gym cap...and I... well I'm back at work and just trying to get caught up on life. :). I'm going to end this blog now because the more I type, the more I want to run away back to the island lol. Thanks for reading and letting me have a week off from blogging. Until next time...bye!!
-Rothrock Mom
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