Sunday, April 24th

Awoke first at 6:15 to the sound of surf. Then the next thing I knew, it was 9:00. Guess we had a little catching up to do from our 4AM wake up and flight to St. Thomas yesterday. Had an “OK” continental breakfast at our Best Western Emerald Beach hotel. English muffins, other muffins, toast, and cereal – not much fruit by the time we got there. But, it was free & oceanfront, so no complaints!

We decided to have a “getting to know the island day”. I had found a little driving tour on Frommer’s site. So, we headed left on the main road (route 30). We passed the Virgin Islands University – really pretty grounds – then we were looking for a sign for Brewer’s Bay. We saw a sign and took a left. It turned out to be just a driveway/or street to a house. But, turning around & heading back to the road, we saw the perfect “photo op”. (As we all know – the best pictures are the ones you don’t plan for.) There was this gorgeous little cactus & a pretty boat in the water. We just love this shot. (Photo links to follow soon.)

Found Brewer’s Beach – really cute. You have a great vantage point to the airport runway. And it looked like a cute little beach. We continued on driving up and down winding roads overlooking the beautiful vistas. We were often struck by the contrast of homes on the island. Some very, very depressed others quite magnificent. We had a nice drive – but, the stress of the “not knowing what the next turn would bring” finally got the best of me.

Decided it was time to find the Mountain Top. Easy enough to find. Really a cute place. Lots of nice little shops. But, we headed right for the good stuff. We had heard a lot about the “famous banana daiquiris” and we were ready to see if the reality was as good as the hype. Let us tell you – this is one drink that is not to be missed. It was fantastic!! A little pricey – but, worth it. Great view of Magen’s Bay from the outside deck. As usually, met some lovely people on vacation. Shared in taking each other’s pictures. Meeting nice people is a bonus that we often don’t think about – but, it sure does add so much to just seeing new places and doing new things.

Left Mountain Top - stopped at Drakes Seat – then off to Magen’s Bay. It was really a beautiful beach – but, you must be prepared for a fair amount of people. There were some nice little pavilions and there were many little parties going on. We had fun walking the beach; swimming in the beautiful water and watching pelicans dive for their lunch. Though we were glad we went, we decided that we would have just as much fun back on “our” beach.

So, heading out – we decided to stay with our “liquid lunch” theme and tried out “Udder Delites”. This is another island “hot spot” that is not to be missed. There is nothing like getting a chocolate/coconut ice cream milkshake with Kahlua in it. Why are there no places like this in Massachusetts??

Spent a couple of hours on our Emerald Beach. Great waves and beautiful clear, warm water. Also, beautiful white sand – and it was fun watching an occasional plane arriving or leaving the airport.

Supper that night was at Mafolie Restaurant. Driving there, we didn’t think we would ever find it. But, the locals were great at steering us in the right directions. Again, I don’t know how people deal with these steep, winding, suicide corner roads. (Maybe that’s why they have places like Udder Delite!)

We arrived at Happy hour and sat at “The Bar with a View”, as my husband calls it. We dined at an incredible table overlooking the Charlotte Amalie harbor. We saw the lights come on in the city. It was very romantic. And the food was very good, as well and great service. We were so glad that we had chosen this special place.

We arrived back at our hotel – it must have been around 9. We asked how late the pool was open and we told that it “officially” closes at 6 – but, that we were welcome to swim at our own risk. So, we finished our day with a swim in a lovely, practically deserted waterfalled pool lit by moonlight and stars.

Perfect end to a perfect day.