My family is and always has been pretty amazing. I got amazing birthday packages from all of them. This one really made me laugh though. My sister, Chelsea, had been so overwhelmed with taking her board exams for medical school yet she still made an effort to send me an awesome package of spices and cooking materials. Her schedule and the US postal service made this gift arrive way after my birthday, but the thought is still incredible.
Jodelcia and I have been making the rounds to all of the properties that we represent to make sure that we can accurately describe them to perspective guests. One thing that is a selling point of nearly every villa is the view. Sunset Vista is no exception, this villa overlooks Great Cruz Bay and St. Thomas. It makes the little town of Cruz Bay look pretty impressive. I really love all the boats you can see in the distance as well.
I have never been much of a car person. I have avoided driving as much as possible in the past decade since I got my driver's license. Unfortunately, there is not much of a choice on this island. Everything is quite literally uphill both ways. I watch in envy as other people drive faster and more accurately backwards up a hill than I attempt to drive forwards. It also does not help that my new car needs a repair for the gauges to work correctly. We call that "an island car!" It does however lead to this rather hilarious picture. I ran out of gas when I stopped at the dumpster and Lewis had to come rescue me. Don't worry, I already know I'll never hear the end of this.
I attend sunset yoga at Maho Campgrounds when I have time. Which has not been very often in the past few months. I really need to make an effort to go more often though, because it is incredible. After yoga today, we stood at the pavilion and waited for a glimpse of the "green flash." This is a phenomenon when the sun sets over water and you see a green flash right before it descends. It is a sailor thing, and something we spend some time trying to spot. There is even an energy drink the St. John Brewers make with the same name. I think you may have to be on a boat to really see it, as I once again did not see it today. It still was a beautiful sunset however.
St. John has stayed relatively unspoiled by over development. The reason for this is that one of the Rockefellers decided that St. John was the most beautiful place he had ever been and he helped make around 2/3 of the island into National Park. At the end of the North Shore beaches you find Francis Bay, which is one of my favorite beaches. It has a walking trail that surrounds it. I went on that walk for the first time this day and found it to be really easy and a fairly interesting walk. At the end of the trail, there are some ruins that reminded me that everywhere has a history, even paradise.
When you no longer have drastically different temperatures to distinguish one day from another, holidays (especially fake ones) warrant a little more celebration. I made a decision that we were celebrating Cinco de Mayo, because it is a wonderful holiday. My new friend Jen wanted to find sombreros. Unfortunately, there is nowhere on the island to get something like that! We did however, finally get one from a tourist when we got into town, at least for a picture. Sauld!
