Last day in paradise...

Sadly, the day came that we would leave our ocean-view room, blue skies, fruity drinks and lush rain forests. We knew the day would come, but didn't want it to!!

We were still exhausted from our Puerto Rico trip, so we had a lazy morning. We went to breakfast and then returned to our room to pack up. We decided to check-out, leave our bags with the hotel and spend our last day on the only USVI island we hadn't yet visited- St. John.

After a short cab ride from the hotel, we took the Red Hook Ferry over to St. John. It is very close to St. Thomas (could be seen from our hotel) so the ferry ride was only about 15 minutes. St. John is an entirely different pace than the other islands. It is not as populated and is very laid back. It reminded me of a surfer town. Everyone took things a bit slower and enjoyed life. I can see why Kenny Chesney has a house there. Its a great retreat and we barely saw ANY of the island, so I can only imagine what the quieter areas are like!

We shopped and wandered around the area near the ferry dock. It began raining on us when we arrived, so that made for a wet walk! Also, rain + tropics= humidity. WHEW!

We asked a local tour guide for a suggestion of a good lunch spot. We were directed to Woody's... its an island favorite and a local hang out which was just what we wanted. It is a hole-in-the-wall place with about 6 tables inside... no A/C but good seafood!

As we are eating, Jason's head pops up because he saw two familiar faces getting out of a cab outside... Shaunna and Heath!! The Newlyweds were honeymooning on St. John. They too were told of Woody's and came by for lunch! It was an unexpected surprise and we enjoyed a casual lunch with them. They were relaxed and happy.

After we ate, we said our goodbyes and caught the ferry back to St. Thomas. We could have spent so much more time there, but at least we can say we went to all 3 of the islands.

We loaded up, took a cab to airport and began the long trip home. The entire trip we had wonderful travel experiences. That is AMAZING considering we traveled a LOT during our 5 day vacation. Wouldn't you know it... we ran into weather in Atlanta that night. There was bad lightening that caused all planes to be grounded. Even after we finally got on the plane, we sat on the runway for an eternity. Luckily, Jason and I were so exhausted we slept through most of it. However, it caused us to get home around 2AM, instead of our expected midnight. UGH. Thankfully, all of our luggage made it fine- including the 6 bottles of Cruzan Rum we checked!

Overall, it was a FANTASTIC trip. We would do it all over again if possible. We were busy, but still had some down time and relaxed some. Shaunna and Heath were the best hosts and really did everything to make us happy and feel welcomed. We thank them for choosing such an amazing location and inviting us to be a part of their special day. It also allowed us a wonderful vacation that we dubbed our "Second Honeymoon".

We have laughed (halfway seriously) that for our 10 year anniversary, we would like to go spend more time on St. John and then explore the British Virgin Islands. Throw in a couple of days in Puerto Rico and it sounds awesome! That gives me about 6 1/2 years to plan... :o)