For Rachel's 30th birthday, I planned a trip to St. John. It was the first time either of us had been to the Caribbean. I decided on St. John because the majority of the island is a national park. Also, there aren't any casinos, high-rise hotels, or even an airport. Most of the beaches are public, and they are both beautiful and not crowded.
This was one of the first trips where we just relaxed as opposed to rushing around trying to do everything possible. I dream of coming back here.
We rented a house called "Villa Capiz" and it was amazing. As soon as I walked in I went out to the deck and stood there for about 20 minutes.
02 Sunrise from our bedroom. I could get used to this.
First things first, find a quiet beach.
04 I've never had a vacation where I didn't want to leave the "hotel."
We took a boat to see The Baths on the British Virgin Islands.
Giant rocks!
A prehistoric landscape.
We went out with Kekoa Sailing for drinks, snacks and snorkeling.
I enjoyed snorkeling a bit more than Rachel did.
Post snorkel, post snacks, post drink.
11 Just around the corner from the dock is another quiet beach.
The east side of the island is primarily residential, with goats.
13 Ram Head trail is an short and easy trail that I recommend.
Vie's snack shack is as good as anything on the island. Maybe it's the combination of sun and beach, but her fried chicken and johnny cakes are the things dreams are made of.
Across from Vie's snack shack is Vie's private beach that costs $2.50 to get into. After eating fried chicken, it's worth it.
On Cinnamon Bay you can rent kayaks. It was surreal looking back to the island and only seeing forest, as opposed to fancy hotels.
The drink of the Virgin Islands is called the Pain Killer. It's rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut and orange juice with fresh nutmeg. They go down a little too easy.