there are so many favorite moments. One of mine is the first time my husband and I went snorkeling it was at Hawksnest. We were in water that was only knee deep. Put our heads w/snorkels in the water and started screaming because there were sooooooooooooooo many fish. The people on the beach probably thought we saw a great white or something!
Another one is the first time we experience a full moon on the island. We were eating at Chateau Bordeaux. It was probably one of the most spectacular memories I have. The moon light reflecting off of the water inbetween the hills. We got to experience that again last year. Planned that one. Photo's just don't capture the moment.

Definetly too many!

One that I tell alot is walking all the way out in Megan's Bay till only our heads were above the water....looking down & seeing our toes, that's how clear the water is!!

My best VI moment actually occurred back here in St. Louis Missouri. I'll explain.

I had taken my two kids to DisneyWorld three times in two years and numerous beach trips to Florida, South Carolina over the years. My husband and I absolutely fell in love with the USVI's and had been there twice without kids. When the time came (and the price was right) we discussed and splurged to take them to St. Thomas (Wyndham). You only live once! Well, of course, they loved it - - beaches, the crystal clear water at Trunk Bay, fish, iguanas, KidsClub at Wyndham - - even amongst the mosquitos and oppressive heat/humidity.

About 6 months after we got back, my 7 year old daughter used her best scribbling/handwriting to complete a paper for school with questions of "Your best memory/favorite place on Earth/ideal vacation/place you want to go back to someday". The answer to all of the questions was "St. Thomas and St. John" (spelled incorrectly of course). I could not have been happier or more proud that we created a little VI addict!! And ever so grateful we spent the money. VI's over DisneyWorld - - hands down!!

When my kids went in the water on the beach and asked why the water was salty..it was so clear and blue they thought they were in a giant pool 🙂 Others.... that rush of HOT HOT air as you step down off of the plane, that first taste of rum in your favorite drink, the sound of the waves, seeing that first iguana, getting to any of the beaches and just standing there for a moment thinking... "wow, this is amazing, I can't believe I am here" and just taking it in with every sense, seeing fish swim around you when you snorkel, not being able to get cell phone service 🙂

There are so many. And I've mentioned most of them over and over here many times. Here are a few more:

Watching iguanas in the trees through binolculars from the villa porch.
Having to shoo away the hermit crab from the outdoor shower.
Being stared down by a gang of tiny squid at Haulover.

#1 Favorite Moment: Seeing my very first Hawksbill Turtle while I was snorkeling at Secret Harbour Beach Resort in St. Thomas.

#2 Favorite Moment: Seeing a Spotted Eagle Ray at Waterlemon

#3 Favorite Moment: Sitting on the upper balcony of our Villa on St. John for the first nite & drinking rum & coke & gazing at the incredible lights of St. Thomas. Truly felt like we were living a dream.

#4 Favorite Moment: Like others have said, that first moment of walking into the most incredibly warm, clear water and, again, feeling like it is a dream. (Especially from a New Englander!)

I went to STJ for my 40th birthday with 9 people - a mix of siblings, cousins I hadn't seen in years, friends and friends of friends. The island worked its magic on our little group. Besides singing Happy Birthday to me EVERY night (what a hoot), the 10 of us bonded in such a special way that I just don't think would have happened anywhere else.

#1
Being married on Trunk Bay to the most wonderful person in the world

#2
Snorkeling in all the cays and bays and being a part of an underwater world that is more amazing than the one above it!

#3
Sitting at sunset on the balcony of the villa with my husband after our wedding night 🙂

I recall the first perfect moment. My first trip to STJ was in the mid-80s. Flew down with a few friends who'd been there before and had me prepared for paradise. Arrived at the old airport (which had a kind of third world feel to it). Got a van to Red Hook and I was starting to have second thoughts. STT wasn't looking at all like what I'd pictured. It seemed congested, developed, almost urban. That wasn't what i had come to find. I was starting to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. I was there for a month (my life was so simple then. A lot less money, but a whole lot more time) and I wasn't happy with what i was seeing.

But then the ferry and arriving on STJ (there was still just the old concrete dock. The ferry building wasn't there yet. Nor were the concrete monstrosities that now deface the hillsides). I was feeling better---a sweet little Caribbean village. Then out to Maho on the amazing north shore road. We stopped at The Kite. It's long gone, but it was a funky little bar that hung on the hillside at Peter Bay. It was run by a local guy named Victor. I liked the Peter Bay of Victor Hall a lot more than I like the Peter Bay of Kenny Chesney. I sat there and realized that I was happier and more content than I'd been for a long time. I was in a beautiful place with the best friends I'll ever have in my life. It was an absolutely perfect moment. There was nothing, not a thing, not one single thing that I would change. It was heaven. And I realized it then and still had a month left.

I've had many perfect moments there since then. I'm blessed to recognize most of them when I'm still in them, not after they've passed. Most of them involve so much less than what i seem to need to be content and happy at home. Often they're small, sweet, absolutely perfect moments. Moments in heaven. Not like heaven, but really heaven. I think I'm at my best on STJ---not my most productive, but my best.

Two extra plane tickets: $880.00
Villa for 4 instead of 2: $3400.00
Extra food/meals: $500.00

Seeing the look on my teenagers faces when they finally got to see what we had talked about for years...priceless!

In the mid 80's we stowed the boat and went sailing for 2 weeks.. After anchoring one night in front of the WHT I dropped something (forget now just what it was) over board. I asked my eldest son to dive and retrieve it. He said Mom I can't we are anchored in 80 ft of water ( I could see what i had dropped just as clear as if in the bottom of a bath tub..Oh what a wonder that was and still is every time i now look off our balcony and can still see the bottom.

Most fond memory is building a "pyramid of beauty" by starting our trip at Magans Bay - St. Thomas, then going to St. John for Trunk and Cinnamon then topping it off with a trip to Jost Van Dyke and White Bay. Each day, we thought we'd lived our own definition of paradise, only to have the next day surpass our expectations again! I can't imagine any better than Caribe beer at Magans, Bushwackers at Woody's, and Painkillers at Soggy Dollar!

Sailing out on that beautiful blue water and seeing what Captain Pat meant when he said, "Don't be surprised if you see more blues than you get with a box of crayola 64's! "

Great responses! Let's keep it up everyone!

As a resident on St. John the phrase "favorite island moment" means something a little different than my best memory of a happy day in paradise. For me is means a time when something happened that could only happen on an island.

Went to the post office two weeks ago and asked why I hadn't received any mail for two straight weeks. Usually you get some junk mail, a cell phone bill, a flyer. . . .something. . . anything! For 14 straight days I opened my box to find it empty it had become a kind of joke among my brother and I. When I asked if there was a problem with my box, maybe I hadn't paid my yearly fee, or they had torn my name identification off the slot by mistake I was given a most unusual answer.

"Its da slow season, da mail be running a bit slower dis time of year"

Ok, go ahead and explain to me why the slow season with less tourists (who clearly do not receive mail in the peak season or off season) has anything to do with the delivery of U.S. Mail. Regardless, I walked away more confused than when I went in. . . .a true island moment.

-Josh

As I've read everyone's "moments", I've found myself becoming more and more relaxed... sinking back into that warm playdough kind of calm that I have only felt when in STJ. I can relate to what you said, Lex, about thinking you "were at your best" on STJ... for me, I remember telling my husband and our two close friends that I couldn't "remember feeling so much like myself". I didn't have the constraints of home, having to go places I didn't want to go or do things that I didn't want to do... no responsibilities or obligations... I was just me. The real me. I could look however I wanted and do whatever I wanted. I think that is part of the joy of STJ... the relaxing into yourself again. I think when I think of the feeling of "island time", THAT is what I'm feeling... so I guess my favorite memory is of the way I felt while I was there. There is something special about standing in Cinnamon Bay after all have gone but the few and you're feeling totally and wonderfully alone in paradise and there is something special about dining with friends by candlelight with the moon reflecting in the water that laps on the sand nearby and the way the rum warms you like the night air on Cruz Bay. Looking back, I have to say that from the tiny park across from the ferry dock where I waited for my ride up to Gallow's Point to the last, long, quiet ride back to CA to go to the airport seven days later, it was a brief unbelievable moment... etched in my mind forever.

It's funny how relevant this discussion feels today! I was on my treadmill earlier, just finishing up my final mile (got to get swimsuit ready for my upcoming USVI trip!) when a familiar song came on my ipod shuffle. Since I really don't understand gadgets, my husband "reloads" new music every so often for me and it is always a surprise as to what I'll be hearing next. That said, I was amazed to hear "Don't Worry About a Thing" by Bob Marley come on. As I was doing my cool down walk in the euphoric afterglow of a good jog, the music transported me to STT. I was suddenly back, years before, at my little shop downtown feeling the cool breeze of the ceiling fans blowing on me through the damp morning air. I'd always get there 15-30 minutes early and turn on some mellow jams & enjoy an iced coffee, a cheese danish and reading the paper before opening the doors. I swear, it was so strange, I could actually SMELL that pastry!
It has been years since I moved back to Colorado, yet listening to that song brought me right back to a quiet ritual that a young woman never thought about twice... until today. I now realize that it was in those seemingly inconsequential moments of solitude that I really came to find myself. I would never have believed that such a small, mundane thing as a sliver of "personal, quiet time" could carve out such niche of honour in my heart. That peace that flooded back to me today reminded me that not only did I find what I was searching for all those years ago but that I took it back home with me. You always hear people say "My heart is in the Islands" or something to that effect, I guess the reciprocal can be just as true.
I spent those mornings casually doing the same things most everyone does before kicking off their day. Yet, somehow having the islands as your silent partner makes things a little sunnier. So I guess that WARMTH would be what I would describe as my "favorite island memory".
...Oh, wait...or was it the midnight skinny-dipping ??? ... No it was the warmth, yeah, .definitely the warmth!

I've been thinking about this for the last couple of days, trying to narrow it down - there are so many favorites! After some pondering, I thought it appropriate to recount our first snorkel experience during our first (honeymoon) visit.

It was our first full day on STJ; staying at Concordia when I picked up the studio's dog-eared copy of "Feet, Fins & 4WD" (they still provide it for their guests, though a more recent edition than we had then) and started reading the author's snorkeling lesson. I immediately decided "This is what we're going to do today!" So we went to the then Coral Bay Water Sports, rented gear (closely following the author's advice on how to find the proper mask) and headed back to Concordia's pool to try it out, figuring once we mastered it in fresh water, we'd be ready for the ocean. Well, if you have never attempted snorkeling in a pool, let's just say it isn't that easy - I just couldn't float. I was starting to get discouraged, but my husband said "Let's just go to the beach and try it there." Okay, but I still wasn't sure. We went to Salt Pond Bay, geared up (again closely following the author's advice) and began. I will never forget the natural feeling as I FLOATED, actually floated face-down in the beautifully warm Caribbean! And the fish! My first glimpse of the underwater world was beyond belief! From that moment I was hopelessly hooked for life! That was the experience that started it all. Thank goodness I didn't let the bad pool experience prevent me from making that first attempt.

Your story of your first snorkeling experience reminded me of mine. On my first visit to STJ I was with friends who'd been there previously and raved about this activity called snorkeling. I was eager to get started, so the first morning I went myself and rented gear at the Maho shop, then went on down to Little Maho. I went straight out into the middle of the bay. I got a sense of the mechanics of snorkeling, but didn't really see the point. I could swim without lifting my head to breathe, but I didn't see what was so exciting about that.

There's not much to see in the middle of the bay. Some small silvery fish and sand. I'd been looking forward to snorkeling and it was turning out to be kind of disappointing. Then one of my friends showed up, chuckled a little and suggested I try it over along the rocks going out toward the point that would lead over to Big Maho. And my mind was blown!!! Coral, big fish, small fish, the underwater world of the tropics!! At the sight of my first parrotfish I realized that I was in heaven. I'm indebted to my friends who brought me there and I've had the joy of introducing others to it.