Day 9 - Trunk Bay

Olivia and Anna at Trunk Bay, US Virgin Islands.

It was all about Trunk Bay today. Trunk Bay is located within the St. John Virgin Island National Park and has been the most beautiful beach we have been to thus far. Silky white sand, unbelievably crystal clear water and mangroves to shade the world. What makes it so unique is that it has a small island only about one hundred yards from the beach. The rock formations from that island rock make for a fantastic underwater habitat.

Wonderful little guy attached to some fan coral. Look at it closely.

We woke up this morning around 7:30am to make sure we could get on the 9am ferry. Everyone was somewhat hungry and really were hoping to eat before we got on the ferry, but the time got away from us. So, we managed to belly up to an overlook bar table at Jake's on St. John.

Eating breakfast at Jake's

I believe this is a type of grouper.

Breakfast was very very good and we would definitely recommend the place. Olivia and I both had a burrito, Thomas had French toast and Anna end up eating corn beef hash.

Right after breakfast we headed back down to the ferry dock and grabbed a cab. Off to Trunk Bay!!

This funny looking little guy is apparently pretty poisonous. He is about 4 inches long.

 After we left Trunk Bay we went back to Cruz Bay, the main part of St. John, and stopped in at Mongoose Junction. MJ is a shopping and restaurant area about a 1/4 mile away from the ferry port. We figured we would look around a bit and than grab something to eat before heading back to St. Thomas. Being the Schiffers we are, the masses we calling for food. The matriarch of the clan was more into shopping and finally subdued to the will of the people. We ate a a place called "The Coal Pot." Local cuisine in both flare and food. We order Curry Goat and Stew Oxtail. The meals came with plenty of sides and needless to say - We demolished the food!!!

Thomas and I decided to leave the women and let them do their shopping. We got on the 4pm ferry and the ladies came back a little later and grabbed the 6pm ferry. I drove back to town and pick them up at the dock.

Gray Snapper taking shelter in some elkhorn coral.

Day 8 - Snorkeling is the task of the day!

Not much was planned for the day today. We simply lounged around and enjoyed our beach for the day.

Here's looking at you kid!

These guys were all over the reef. However, they did not want their picture taken. Caught this guy off-guard!

Stingray being followed by a blue runner. This ray was pretty large, just hard to tell by the picture.

I believe this fish is a parrot type fish.

This is the only one I saw. He was definitely a poser.

Anna enjoying the afternoon looking across the bay.

Mama and I heading to town to grab some essentials from Moe's Farmers Market - aka "Beer".

This was a shot I took from the opposite side of our resort. It was a very rock point as you can tell - but beautiful.

A view looking out at the bay from in front of our condo. Not too shabby!!!

This crab was playing invisible. Fortunately, I wash able to see him amidst the rocks.

Day 7 - Dive! Dive! Dive!

Olivia giving her visual excitement!

Big Lobster I wish I could have kept!

Olivia and I had a dive scheduled with Red Hook Dive Center this morning at 8:30. We had booked the dive several days earlier and were really looking forward to getting into the water offshore.

It was great! We had a small group of people we were diving with today. Basically beside Olivia and I, there were only four more visiting divers. The rest of the people on the boat were the crew, along with one Master Diver who was completing her certification.

Olivia captured on our 2nd dive.

We dove two sites. The first was a site close to the main island and was at a depth of about 60 feet. It was a reef area and a minor amount of rock formations. The second site was much different with the deepest being around 40 feet. We swam through arches, tunnels and deeper caverns. The second site was by far our favorite because it had much more diversity of corals, structure, fish and plant life.

We managed to get back to the dive shop around 12:20pm and stopped by the store to pick up some drinks and snacks. We tried to go to a restaurant called Raw - you guessed it - a Sushi place, but it didn't open until 5pm. We decided to head back to the condo and see if Anna and Thomas had eaten lunch. 

Mom, Liv and I did go out to eat to Sushi Thai and had some munchies there at around 2pm and ended up heading back to the place only to Mac-Out for the rest of the day.

Not sure of the proper fish name, but these guys were pecking at the reef like it was a free buffet at Quincy's.

Beautiful ray we encounter on our first dive.

Gorgeous small fan like coral. Olivia pointed them out to me on our 2nd dive. 

Vibrant purple little ???? These guys were located all over the coral. 

Day 6 - It's All About Magens Bay!

Olivia and Thomas getting ready to paddleboard.

We awoke to another lazy day here in St. Thomas. Undecided for the first few hours, we rustled the troops and meandered over to Magens Bay. Magens Bay is on the north side of the island and is popular due to its one mile long pristine white sandy beach. It is the local's and tourist's beach of choice.

Anna and her favorite husband.

The beach has all the amenities. Plus, it also has a great beach side restaurant and bar, gift shop and kayak/paddleboard rental facility.

Beautiful crab on the ocean floor blending perfectly with the sand.

We pulled up to Magens Bay around 11am. Being a Monday, I figured the place would be packed due to the tour boats, but to our surprise it was relatively empty. They have picnic tables all along the beach and near the restaurant they have some squared high bench seated tables that were perfect for us. We planted our rumps and staked our ground. It was to be our Schiffers’ island for the next 5 hours. 

The kids got in the water right away to cool off. I looked around a bit and then decided to rent the kids paddleboards for an hour. Olivia and Thomas grabbed the boards and hopped in the water immediately. These kids are surely water babies, because they take to the water like fish. After the kids returned to beach with the boards, Anna managed to wrangle the board away from Thomas and took it out for a bit. Olivia and Thomas both mentioned they saw sea turtles and a whole array of marine life from atop the paddleboard.

Anna feeding one of the locals a fry.

A little marketing!

After paddleboarding the whole family went back to snorkeling for the remainder of our stay. We ended up leaving Magens Bay around 4:30pm and drove to Brook’s Restaurant & Bar. Recommend by one of the locals and praised for its great local cuisine.

Recommendations – APPROVED! Brook’s was amazing. We ended up getting two fish plates – triggerfish. One course was definitely enough for two. It came with rice, beans, pasta salad and a salad. All of the sides were a very healthy portion. I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND this as must stop during your visit on St. Thomas. The place would be overlooked by most as it is not your usual restaurant, but that is what makes it so special.

Triggerfish  - Amazing!!!

Side view of the triggerfish mouth

This sign was strange because it was no where near the water.

We finished dinner and headed back to the condo. Thomas and I grabbed our rods & bait and headed over to the marina. Thomas quickly caught a yellow snapper and rigged up the big pole for a little tarpon fun. He casted only about three times, before the tarpon took hold. This guys was a beauty and Thomas fought him for about 10-15 minutes until he broke the line. What fun!!!!

Not a sign we see very often.. or at all.

Thomas and I stayed at the dock for a little longer until we headed back in to call it a night.

Day 5 - Caneel Bay

 Looking at Honeymoon Beach from under the mangroves

The adventure started around 10am as we headed out to catch the ferry for St. John. St. John is very visible from Sapphire Beach and is only 20 minutes away via the ferry.

A little history lesson:

In 1950, Lawrence Rockefeller purchased more than half of the island from the Dutch West Indies Company. He was some impressed by the sheer beauty and raw nature, he wanted to make sure it would not be spoiled by further development. He constructed Caneel Bay Resort and then donated the rest of the property to the federal government for the explicit use of park land.  Since then, the USVI has purchased additional land and now the national park makes up more than two-thirds of the island.

Can anyone say, "Taco Hell"?

Anna at the Sugar Cane House.

Prior to the ferry ride, we stopped at Taco Hell. Great little walk-up-to-shack and get-a-taco-to-go place. All of us had at least one. As we gobbled down tacos, the sprinkles turned to a downright down pour. Thomas and I darted over to the ferry terminal before getting completely drenched. The girls were a bit smarter and sought shelter nearby and came to the terminal when the rain stopped.

Olivia's tuna salad at Longboards.

Upon arriving at St. John, we hopped in a taxi and headed over to Caneel Bay. It was a short five minute ride. Entering the resort you are greeted by absolutely beautiful grounds. We were drop off by the taxi right next to an old sugar cane house, now converted to a restaurant. They left the sugar cane house ruins intact as it gives the whole area an old Dutch trading colony vibe. 

Caneel Bay Beach 

After a little exploration of the house, we made are way to the main area of Caneel Bay and it opened to a gorgeous view overlooking the bay. Sitting in front of the beach bay are all the main buildings and cabins. The main buildings are built in an open frame construction style with high-vaulted ceilings and roofed with cedar shingles. The cabins are more of a 1960’s look and feel – more metal and block. It all looks perfectly nestled in this truly tranquil paradise.

Mama and LT in the main beach lounge area of Caneel Bay.

The resort and park have more than seven beaches. We made it only to Honeymoon Beach. Wouldn’t you guess – we had the beach to our entire selves!!! It was phenomenal. The beach sand was white as a snow and silky soft. Apparently the early rain had kept everyone away. Kudos for us!!! We snorkeled for about 45 minutes and then just hung out at the beach.

It wasn’t long until we headed back to the main resort for some drinks. We didn’t stay too long. We paid the tab and grabbed a cab. Headed back to Cruz Bay, where all the shops restaurants and the ferry terminal was at. We had the cabbie drop us off at Longboard, a local well known restaurant and bar.

Stingray Thomas pointed out to me.

Not sure what these are yet?

You guessed it – more snack’n! Thumbs up to the chef! I think everyone enjoyed there appetizers. 

Before we know it,  night was upon us. We made arrangements to head back to St. Thomas via the ferry at 7pm. The sun starts to go down here a little after 6:30pm. Somewhat plays tricks on your inner clock. Come 9pm we are all tired and ready for bed. Some of us struggle through on fight on to see 11 or midnight.

We got back to the resort at around 7:35 and mellowed out for the remainder of the evening. The kids ended up going to hang out with some kids they met the night prior and hung out at the pool.

Giant Sea Urchin with spikes at least two feet wide at Caneel Bay.

Day 4 - Our first Fishing Charter

Female Iguana with Awesome Neon Green

The Fam waiting for lunch at Molly's

So we slept in pretty late this morning and finally rose out of bed around 9am. I guess the sun, water and did I say sun, must have taken it out of all of us yesterday.

We scheduled a fishing charter with Ocean Surfari today at 2pm. It was to be a four hour offshore charter. Unfortunately the weather did not make the trip possible today. Winds this afternoon were around 25-30 mph. Needless to say, it would not have been pretty on the boat. We rescheduled for later next week Friday.

Baby Pampano just in arms reach.

We ended up eating lunch at Molly’s, an Irish themed restaurant located in Red Hook. The local roosters and iguanas hung around like bar hags waiting for us to drop some food. These guys had zero fear factor. They had become well accustomed to the visiting human tourist. Olivia and Thomas managed to feed a couple of the iguanas.

Baby Yellow Snappers about 4in. long.

After lunch we drove around a bit to check out the island, only to cut it short so we could get back to the place. Before heading back to the resort though, we stop back into Moe’s Market and picked up some groceries.The remainder of the day was filled with snorkeling, eating and a little bit of fishing.

Day 3 - Tidbits of St. Thomas Info

The US Virgin Islands consist of four large islands – St. Thomas, St. John, Water Island and St. Croix. We are staying on St. Thomas.

Where exactly are we staying?  If you look at the map below look for Sapphire Beach. It’s on the very eastern side of the island. Look are Red Hook and you will find us. Red Hook is the place where all the marines and ferries go out of.

Here are some great facts and information to get you a little more familiarize with the island.

• Christopher Columbus first sighted the island in 1493, his second voyage to the New World.
• The island is 13 long & 4 miles wide and has a land mass of roughly 31 square miles.
• First settled by the Danish in 1657 and controlled for most of its occupancy, it was sold to the US in 1917 for a small price of $25 million in gold.
• Charlotte Amalie is the largest city/population and is the commerce heart of the island.
• St. Thomas is the capital of the US Virgin Islands.
• Due to its accessibility & location – Food, supplies and general merchandise are very expensive.
• The island has a population of a little of 51,000.
• Recent disappearance of game fish has been record by local fisherman. Along with government officials, they believe it may be due to the arrival of LT aka-"Loving Tuna" Schiffers.