Monday, April 25th

Had breakfast at Best Western – then headed off to Sapphire Beach Resort Marina to catch our New Horizons Day Sail to St. John. As always, interesting driving on winding, hairpin roads – really steep in many places. But, we made it there in plenty of time for our 9:15 departure.

Our first directive was to remove our sandals/sneakers before boarding the sailboat. (I knew this was good sign!) We had a great captain, Jeff and a fantastic crewmate, Lauren. Lauren started off asking what our beverage of choice would be, I went for a Mimosa – Jim went straight for a painkiller (what a wild man). After we started heading out, Lauren came around with a beautiful tray of breakfast breads - blueberry, corn and (my favorite) chocolate with chocolate chips. Great way to start the day! Contrary to popular opinion – chocolate isn’t just a dessert food, anymore.

We set sail after we were out for a bit. It was a really nice boat, plenty of room and even ample shade. Our first stop was off of Honeymoon Beach, St. John. As we got closer, it was just like all the pictures – too pretty for words. The beach was gorgeous! It was so nice to see this beautiful beach from the perspective of an ocean view.

We all headed off to snorkel or hit the beach. The snorkeling truthfully was fair. At that location, we much preferred to just enjoy the beautiful beach and heavenly water. After a while, we are all called back to the boat. Lunch was served – and what a lunch it was! Hot Italian Meatballs, a fantastic green bean/feta cheese salad, pasta salad, cold cuts, French bread and for dessert, brownies with kiwi on top. It was really an amazing lunch. The other boats near by sure did look envious!

After lunch, we headed off to a second snorkel stop in Christmas Cove off of Great St. James Island. Again, I wasn’t blown away with what we saw in the water. No turtles – and really not that great of variety of fish. Who knows, maybe just an off day. Irregardless, it was fun and great just being in the water. All in all, it was a very good trip. We were fortunate that we were given a discount coupon book with our Budget Car Rental. One of the main reasons that we booked this day sail was due to the fact that we had a 2-for-1 coupon, which made this a really affordable way to get out on the water, have a great lunch, see Honeymoon and enjoy the gentle breezes. All in all, a good choice for us for the day.

Back to BW for a quick shower and in the mood for a good Burger. Based on many recommendations, we headed to Greenhouse Restaurant in Charlotte Amalie. GREAT burgers and 2-for-1 drinks, couldn’t beat it. Great restaurant open to the sights and sounds of the busy harbor front.

Ended the evening at BW with another complimentary rum punch (still from our late room perks). Both of us too tired from a day on the sea to hit the pool, much as we wanted to. But, a great day.

On a funny note: upon arriving back to our room, Jim noticed no hand towels or face cloths had been left. So, he coined a new slogan for BW “No hurry, no worry – no service.” Oh, well – like I have said before, with this view, who cares?!?