American Virgin Islands

Our first day in the American Virgin Islands was the 11th of April. Justin, Anthony, Margaret, Mike, and I began the day by hiking up Margaret Hill and Caneel Hill on St John Island. Afterwards, we explored Cruz Bay. We ate lunch at Ocean Grill in Mongoose Junction, who divided their dessert menu into chocolate and non chocolate desserts (which means I only have to read half of the menu, cutting my ordering time in half). After picking up groceries, we returned to boat. Justin and Mike made a delicious dinner.

Justin and Anthony ready to start hiking

Hiking up Margaret Hill

Justin, Anthony, Myself, Margaret, and Mike at the top of Caneel Hill with Cruz Bay behind us

Awesome dessert menu at Ocean Grill in Mongoose Junction

Sunset in Caneel Bay

Margaret and Mike left early the following morning to pick up a rental car. We drove to Trunk Bay and we did the Snorkel Trail. Next, we visited the Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins. We drove around Coral Harbor looking for a place for lunch, and we settled on Shipwreck Landing (the decision was made when we found out they had coffee and a 16 layer chocolate cake). After lunch, we drove to Ram Head, where we checked out the Salt Pond. We hiked Ram Head Trail, which provided us with magnificent views. Lastly, we drove to East End ( a whopping 12.8 miles to cross the entire island from Cruz Bay to East End) and then we returned back to boat for an early night.

Justin on the Snorkel Trail in Trunk Bay

Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins on St John Island

Myself, Justin, Anthony, Margaret, and Mike at Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins

16 layer chocolate cake in Shipwreck landing

Salt Pond by Ram Head on St John Island

The Spillman clan at the Salt Pond

Justin on Ram Head Trail

Ram Head Trail

Anthony on Ram Head Trail

Justin at the end of Ram Head Trail

Ram Head Trail

Wild donkeys

On April 13th, Margaret and Mike returned the rental car first thing in the morning, after which we moved the boat to Little Lameshure Bay. Anthony and Margaret went kayaking, snorkeling, and swung off the boat using the halyard. We finished the night by watching True Lies, an oldie but a goodie.

Little Lameshure Bay

Justin and I relaxing in Lameshure Bay

Justin made sour dough bread

Justin, Myself, Anthony, Mike, and Margaret at dinner at Little Lameshure Bay

Justin, Myself, and Anthony chilling in Little Lameshure Bay

The next morning, Justin, Anthony, Margaret, and Mike hiked to the petroglyphs and an abandoned plantation. I did a workout on the boat. At lunch time, Justin, Anthony, and I took turns swinging off the halyard. We spent the afternoon sailing to St Thomas Island, and we arrived at the Crown Bay Marina just before dinner. Everyone took hot showers and caught up on laundry. We had dinner at the marina, officially celebrating Mike's birthday. We then watched the James Bond film, Goldeneye.

Justin by Petroglyphs

Justin and Anthony at the abandoned plantation

Margaret and Mike at the abandoned plantation

Anthony swinging on the halyard

Myself swinging on the halyard

We spent the 15th using the internet to update facebook and the blog. Justin worked on boat batteries, which turned out not to need to be replaced, just charged for a very long time. We left Crown Bay Marina because it was too expensive and we anchored by Hassel Island. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean.

Mike, Anthony, and I catching up on internet time

Mike and Justin with Mike's present, a map with the route of the trip drawn out

Justin, Myself, Anthony, Margaret, and Mike out for Mike's official birthday dinner

We took dingy into Frenchtown on St Thomas Island the next morning. We walked into Charlotte Amalie and meandered atound some shops. We purchased a hammock and some local paintings. We returned to the boat for lunch. Margaret and Mike packed their bags. We brought their bags to their hotel. We had one last dinner with passion fruit mojitos and mango margaritas at the Green House Pub. We returned to boat. Justin and Anthony prepared the boat so that we can leave for Puerto Rico early in the morning.