This is a little delayed, but there was a request for trip reports. Whenever I've tried one before, they were pretty boring, so bear with me.

My husband arrived on STJ Thursday night after an uneventful flight. Got the 10:00 ferry and went straight to the Beach Bar, suitcases and all, and watched our University of Louisville Cardinals get spanked by Utah. (Bad, bad season for the Cards, but that's an entirely different topic.) But at least we were on St. John, so life was good.

Around midnight, we took a taxi to the Inn at Tamarind Court. Not very far, but we had our bags, so we didn't want to walk. I think it was $15, which seemed expensive for about three blocks. As promised, our key was hanging by the door, and we got to our room with no problem.

We stayed at the Inn for two days before our friends another couple arrived and we relocated to a villa. The Inn was fine - nothing fancy, but clean and convenient. It suited our purposes.

We weren't sure what to do with our Friday, maybe go to one of the BVIs or take a taxi to a beach. But it rained all day, so we just puttered around town. The best thing was that we took the trail from the U.S. Park Service facility to the point above Cruz Bay. This was our fifth trip to the island, but we never had gone on the trail. We're not much into hiking for hiking's sake, and we'd much rather be at the beach. Plus, as a smoker, I figured I'd be huffing and puffing the whole way. But I was fine, and it was a good thing to do. I highly recommend it - especially on a gray day. (It had stopped raining when we went on the trail.)

Friday night, and many of the nights on the trip, were spent looking for a place for my husband to watch the Red Sox in the playoffs. Found one bar, can't remember the name, that was dark and smoky (and remember, I'm a smoker!) where they had it on ESPN Deportes. Turns out that TBS or whoever had the rights only for the continental U.S., which, of course, doesn't include the islands. So that was the only place to go, other than that sports bar above the Beach Bar, sort of, which didn't really appeal to us for some reason. So that's where we went Friday night, although we went back to the Beach Bar for a quick dinner.

Saturday, we got our jeep, got our villa (Perelandra - more on that later), stocked up at the grocery and then met our friends at the ferry with a cooler of Bud and a cold gin-and-tonic. They had never been to the Caribbean and hadn't even been on vacation without kids for about four years. The wife had finished law school in the spring and was waiting to find out whether she passed the bar. So they would have been happy with just about anything, and we were looking forward to showing them the glory of St. John. We went to the house and changed and then went to Trunk Bay. We always wait until after 4 to go to Trunk Bay - not only so we don't have to pay, but also because the crowds are gone. Of course, they were mightily impressed by the beach, the water, the total package.

Then we went back to the house - which I would highly recommend, by the way. This was the second time we stayed there. The first time was a few years ago with kids. It's great for kids because the stairs to the lower bedroom are in the house. So if the kids wake up in the middle of the night, they don't have to go outside to come climb in your bed. It's also very close to town, great view, etc. I've never been interested in staying on the Coral Bay side - too far to drive after a night out. And we've stayed in gorgeous houses around Chocolate Hole and farther out that way, but we had more people to share the costs. For a small group - two couples or a couple with kids, Perelandra was just right. Nice house, not super fancy, but nicely furnished. It has a pool, no hot tub. Nice deck with a view of Cruz Bay and St. Thomas.

After changing and refreshing ourselves, we went out in search of dinner and, perhaps, the Red Sox. I can't recall now which nights they played. This might have been the night we went to Margarita Phil's, of which I am a big fan.

After that, our days were pretty much the same. Sleep in or laze about, head out to a beach, come home, clean up, go out to eat. We weren't very adventurous restaurant-wise. We went to the Beach Bar (again), Woody's, and cooked at the villa. If there was anyplace else, I can't recall it now. Beaches included Maho, Cinnamon, Leinster (where I promised our friends we would see starfish and, of course, we didn't), Francis, Hawksnest, and, my new favorite, Honeymoon.

No problems on the way back. We switched planes in Miami but weren't there long enough even to have a seat - just got right in line for our next flight. Our friends flew back later that day, and while they were in Charlotte Amalie for a few hours before catching their plane, they found out that the wife passed the bar.

So that's it - not as much detail as many reports, but I guess it still counts as a trip report.