ISLAND LIFE

Vacation photos, part 2! Since St. John does not have an airport, we had to fly into St. Thomas. We didn't spend much time there - it felt a little too busy, full of junky gift shops and cabbies harassing you for a ride at every corner.

Sleepy, remote St. John was more our speed. Most nights, we left the resort to have dinner in funky Cruz Bay, the island's only town of sorts (Coral Bay, on the island's other end, is more of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it village, complete with goats blocking traffic on the highway).

Not the island's most picturesque spot, Cruz Bay nonetheless has its charms...

...such as this colorful residental space, organically tucked into a plaza full of restaurants and little shops.

I took this pic for the "N' Mo" and received an additional, one-of-a-kind sign (on the left) as a bonus.

Even shopping complex Mongoose Junction, the town's most blatant tourist destination, seems unique and constructed to blend in with the surrounding landscape.

One day, we rented a jeep so we could explore the rest of the island. It proved a challenge - not only do people drive on the left side of the road, the roads themselves are among the steepest and curviest I've seen.

Overlooking Maho Bay (yes, the sea appears this gorgeously blue everywhere there).

The Annaberg sugar ruins, which overlook this:

A few shots of lovely Leinster Bay, with views of the British Virgin Islands in the distance:

Another day, we took a ferry to Virgin Gorda, which is part of the British V.I. Our resort, Caneel Bay has a sister property there called Little Dix Bay. The trip took a little over an hour and offered some stunning views along the way, such as this majestic house on a rock...

...and this cool, old vessel.

After wading through customs and immigration, we boarded a taxi - note its awning, reminiscient of a 1970s lawn chair.

Our first stop was The Baths, which first required a ten-minute walk down to the sea...

...followed by another ten minutes wedging one's way through (often ridiculously narrow) caves.

Fortunately, the destination featured some spectacular views.

A high surf prevented us from doing much swimming or snorkling, but it was still worth the trip.

Afterwards, we cabbed over to Little Dix Bay for lunch. It's a beautiful property, as you can see in the pictures below, but Steve and I preferred Caneel Bay's more spacious layout.

My favorite part of the whole vacation? Sitting here at Little Dix Bay for about a half-hour, watching the waves and letting any remaining stress just dissolve away. This is why we went to the Virgin Islands.