Saturday, April 30th

Had breakfast in our own perfect dining room, overlooking the beautiful beach and bay. Coconut bread from Marina Market – tasted good – but, needed some kind of butter or spread. Oh, well.

Off to our beach. Met, again, a nice couple from yesterday. Always fun sharing travel stories and bonding with our fellow travelers. Went snorkeling again – and guess what?? – Give up?? We both saw “Snorkeling Sea Turtle #2”, at the same time. Jim got some more pictures – and this time I could enjoy the sighting a little better than yesterday because I wasn’t hyperventilating from excitement and awe. I could calm down and just breathe normally and enjoy the wonder that I was beholding. I must have followed him (from a comfortable distance) for about a good 5 – 10 minutes. I didn’t want to annoy or bother him. Who needs swimming with dolphins when you can swim & snorkel with sea turtles? Truly amazing!!

Another great day of fish viewing. Absolutely gorgeous!! We felt like we were in ”Finding Nemo”. It just didn’t seem real. We kept looking at each other with these silly grins on our faces – like “are we really here?”

Relaxed on our chaises under our favorite tree. Jim got some great pictures of 2 iguanas fighting for the attention of a female. It was a typical wrestling match. Really interesting to watch. Of course, the guys ended up walking off in different directions and the female was left wondering “What happened?”.

Had to stop for a bit to return our rental car to Budget at Sapphire Beach Resort. We had a light lunch at “home” of cheese and crackers and a “cold adult beverage”. Saving ourselves for our supper. Back to R&R on our beach. More snorkeling. Still amazed that it is like swimming in an aquarium. What a place!

Had the last supper of our trip at the Blue Moon Café. We had an absolutely incredible meal. Started off with a great bottle of wine. I had a nice green salad, Jim had the conch chowder. For our main meal, Jim ordered the Mixed Seafood Grille & I had the Tenderloin. Fantastic food – beautiful ambiance – incredible view as the sun was setting over our bay! We saw a large three-masted schooner & saw the lights from a cruise ship in the distance. Sunset turned to darkness and the restaurant was lit up beautifully. Just an awesome evening! (A little pricey – but, well worth it for a special evening!)

Back to our room to pack – how sad is that! To say that we will miss this place is an understatement!

Sunday, May 1st

Our last day in paradise. Awoke a little after 6:00. Got my poor husband out of bed to take a walk along “our” beach before breakfast, while all was tranquil and peaceful. What a wonderful time to be out there. Just a few other early-risers. Shared a wave or two with other guests who were sipping their morning coffees while gazing off from their balconies. It was a great way to start our last day on the island.

Back to our room to pretty much finish packing. Off to breakfast (around 8, this time). Jim had a breakfast burrito and I had a breakfast croissant with scrambled egg, cheese and bacon – very good. Beautiful morning to gaze out over the railing and see beautiful sails in the distance.

Headed back to our room, finished packing. We took what was truly the last of our balcony shots. Boo Hoo!

We didn’t have to leave to head to the airport until around 1:30. So, we deposited our luggage in the lobby, keeping out a change of clothes. Headed to the beach, in our suits, to enjoy our last few hours. We had fun just swimming around and were amazed at all that we could see under the water with just the naked eye. Great morning just relaxing in our favorite chaises.

Had our last lunch at the outside café. We remarked to our waitress how lucky she was to live here and be able to snorkel all the time. She told us she didn’t know how to swim. We told her that she was missing sooo much. She promised to try to learn to swim. We told her that hopefully we will be checking up on her in a year or so.

We sadly said “Good-bye” to a truly spectacular place!

Tropic Tours were pretty much on schedule and we had to pick up fellow passengers at Wyndham. So, it was kind of neat to see the other side of the island. We were surprised to pass some pretty impressive little shopping plazas. What a diverse island St. Thomas is.

We won’t bore you any longer with the details of the return home. Suffice it to say that all went well and way too soon we were back in lovely old Massachusetts – with just our memories to keep us warm.

Thank you to all who wrote into these forums and shared their stories and information. It not only gave us useful advice – but, also, fueled the emotions and helped the days ticking away to take-off go by even faster. Before we even arrived on the island, we knew that this would only be our “1st” visit to the Virgin Islands.

The only advice that we would have for all who are planning their trips is “Realize that there is not just one perfect place to stay or just one restaurant not to miss or just one beach that you must see”. This place has so, so many lovely treasures that you could virtually go mad trying to do it up “just right”. So, start your chillin’ and limin’ early. Don’t lament about all that you might not have time to take in. Just know that “your” vacation will be unique to you. That you are about to experience a true paradise - your very own special way!

Hope you enjoyed "joining us" on our "most excellent adventure". Happy limin’ to you all!!

Sue & Jim