Thursday, June 15th

The itching is down to about a 4 on a scale of 1-10 so that's a big thumbs up! The saga continues with Lizard Boy and his constant harping for us to find him "the magic stones." You know the ones you can order at the top of the page? Well he was hovering over my shoulder while I was reading the boards a few weeks before we left and spied the stones. The little man LOVES rocks and had begged me to order them for him. My out was telling him we'd try to find him some when we got to St. John so he'd quit bugging. Yeah, sure. My plan backfired the minute we arrived on island and morning, noon and night he started badgering me. I just knew I wasn't getting off that island without those damn rocks! I only told you this as it's kind of like a prequel to an adventure on another day.

I didn't sleep very well last night as I think I was still adjusting to all the loud sounds of paradise and so of course in the morning, psycho rooster reminded us that there is such a thing as waking up too early while on vacation. I decided to break out some provisions and actually overexert myself into cooking breakfast in the villa. We ate eggs, toast and hash out on the upper deck while watching the sleepy town and harbor come to life. After breakfast we all scatter to get ready for our day. Lizzard Boy comes walking out of his bedroom bull legged like he'd been out riding a horse for 2 days (hey, maybe he did lasso one of those donkeys). I asked him why he was walking like that and he said cause he had a rash on his uh-um's from walking in the wet suit and the netting on his swim trunks irritated it. Daddy had the poor little guy change into a better pair without the netting and he was much better. Today is the 3rd day in a row that my face has gone without makup and let me tell ya, I feel so free I can hear the Hallelujah chorus. I LOVE going au naturel on vacation! We set the security system (although I do confess to wondering who in the hells would come if it were to go off) and left the villa with the North Shore as our destination of choice for the day. On our way down or up or something, as we came around the corner, there was herd of fricken cows bounding down the center of the road. We approached thinking the car might scare them and they would get out of our way but no, they were either oblivious or annoyed at our approach so we just rolled with it as they cantered and we were finally able to move on down the road. Of course I made Honey stop at every scenic everlook and interesting spot on the way out to the North Shore so I could get my pics and after about the 15th stop, we finally came to the Trunk wall. It was love at second look and I of course took the obligatory photo with my cam as well as my cell that way I would have it with me wherever I went always (sigh). We arrived at Trunk, paid the fee to get in and then went to scout out spot. There were no ships scheduled in that day but I thought it was pretty crowded (by St. John standards) none the less. It didn't matter though, it's lovely in the extreme and will always hold that special place in my heart as it was where I first fell in love. All four of us dropped our stuff, grabbed our gear and immediately headed out for a snorkel run. Rash Boy started complaining the minute I put the snorkel vest on him but I told him he'd feel better in the the water. It was deliciously decadent and almost the minute Graduate Girl and I stuck our toes in, a stingray glided past to greet us. Amazing! We snorkeled the trail and then over by the rocks to the right and out past a ways. We say Parrot, Trumpet and Needle fish. Huge Schools of the little silvers (fry?), and some nice corals among others. After a while, Graduate Girl and I decided to head out of the water for a while. Snorkel Bob was distraught thinking his snorkel fun was over for the time being but Honey stayed out with him for quite a while longer while Graduate Girl and I baked on the cookie sheets. This was the trip where he finally "got it" and is now a full fledged snorkel king. I can see that his love for it will last him lifetime and It makes my heart happy that we've made so many great memories together. We stayed until early afternoon and then decided to head over to Cinnamon. I was interested in seeing the beach and the campground. I'm glad we went because I can honestly say that the cottages just aren't for me. For $200 more, you can stay at Samuel Cottages and have more privacy with your own bathroom! Of course the perk of being on the beach is nice but I'd prefer driving and having my very own throne. The walked the glorious beach, baked in the sun and then swam the day away in the warm Caribbean Sea. Can heaven be any better? I think we left the beach around 4:00ish. We were checking out the ruins when everyone started sniping at each other. We hadn't eaten all day but decided to continue on along the North Shore road to see where it would take us. Right before we hit the fork, we were all getting good and bit**y so we decided that it was a good time to get something to eat, like now! Graduate Girl spied the Columbos snack van and there you have it. It was dogs and smoothies all around. I think there was a Ben and Jerry's thrown in for good measure too. We had 2 Banana and 2 Coconut smoothies and OMG, those Coconut ones were out of this world. Lunch was $45 plus tip (having dilusions of Disney World here) and we were all nice people again. Did you know that the snack van has been there since like 1985. The owner mentioned Hurricane Marilyn and said the van hadn't moved from that spot since. He said that everytime a hurricane hits, the road washes out and buries the van deeper into the ground. The tires are 3/4's not visible. A hip little spot for a bite. After mowing down the dogs, we drove just to the Coral Bay (I think) overlook then decided to turn around and head back to the villa. On the way back we saw a pile of junk old Suzuki try to make it up one of the hills only to slide back down right into some ladies SUV. He took off pretty quick so I don't know if there was damage or if he just decided to take off.

Back at the villa we had a lazy float in the pool, a soak in the tub and then just munched out on junk while slurping down some Banana Banchees and watching a videos. This was the only night I felt it was too hot to sleep. I think it was like 378 degrees but I'm pretty sure that my fried skin and the alchohol I had consumed didn't help matters either. Next up, a local goes to the pole and my wild child (Graduate Girl) has a request for her special trip. No it's not the handbag. More to come...