Back HomeSt Thomas Trip – Jordan and Kristin’s Wedding
June 11th, 2011 by keithandkinseyFirst let me say Thank you to Stan, Sue, Kristin, and Jordan for the accommodations. This wedding and trip is far more extravagant than anything I’ve been to in my life! Congratulations Kristin and Jordon. I hope your marriage is wonderful.
Day 1:
After 15 hours of traveling we landed on St Thomas, and quickly learned that the only way around the island is by cab. The roads are very narrow, curvy, hilly, and there’s no sidewalks (not to mention they drive on the left side of the road). To walk anywhere by road could be deadly. We got to our hotel, The Ritz Carlton, and met Kristin and Jordon’s family for dinner.
Day 2:
Since this was our only completely free day without any wedding events, we headed over to St John via ferry. This turned out to be a good adventure, since neither of us had done any research. We knew most of the island of St John was national park though, and that’s why we chose to go. We docked in Cruz Bay and then had no clue where to go from there. So, we walked thru a couple shops, and stopped in the national park center to get some advice from the locals. We decided to take the one public bus on the island up to the peak in the middle of the island and hike down the Cinnamon Trail to Cinnamon beach.
Cinnamon Trail was great, except neither of us had thought about bug spray (we got eaten alive). Anyway, along the trail we took a detour up to some ruins, and then back down towards the beach. Along the trail we saw some amazing views, walked across some flowing streams and waterfalls, and saw some interesting birds and critters. We finally made our way down to the bottom of the trail and saw some more ruins. Although, by that point we were in desperate need to ease our itching mosquito bites and cool off. So, we headed straight for a swim in the ocean.
After that we stopped for some lunch then took a cab over to Trunk Bay, which is known as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It truly was an amazing beach. The waters were crystal clear and there is a coral reef just 40 yards off the beach. Unfortunately we were too late for renting snorkel gear but we took a swim over the coral area anyway.
Finally we headed back to the port did a little shopping and headed back to St Thomas. We hit up a local bar for a drink and had some good conversations with the locals before heading back to our hotel.
Day 3:
Kinsey went for a manicure and massage with the girls in the morning. So, I attempted a paddle surfboard. I’m not sure what the real name of this board is, but you stand on it and paddle with an ore. It was a little tricky to balance, but I got the hang of it and paddled around the bay. I did fall off twice in the deep water though (a little freaky).
Later, Kinsey and I took a couple of glass bottom Kayaks out and kayaked over a near-by reef. We saw some pretty cool coral and fish. Then Kinsey wanted to attempt snorkeling for her first time ever (prior to going on a snorkel tour the following day). So, we got some snorkel gear and swam around the shallow areas of the hotel beach. Quickly we discovered that the reef near the hotel beach was full of interesting fish. We ended up seeing two sting rays, a barracuda, and plenty of colorful fish. By this time Kinsey had overcome her fear of snorkeling and was excited for the next day’s adventure. Again we ended the day with dinner with the wedding family and retired early (we were wiped out).
Day 4:
I woke up early and couldn’t sleep. So, I wandered out hoping to see the sunrise, and went for a 2.5 mile barefoot run on the beach (back and forth 25 times). The sun had a nice orange glow while rising across the bay, but it was mostly hidden by cloud cover.
We headed out on a morning snorkel tour. The boat took us out to Christmas Cove off of Great St James Island. They gave us snorkel gear and we jumped in the water. There was an abundance of colorful fish in this area. I was hoping to see some large underwater creatures, but most of what we saw was smaller fish. The largest was maybe 40 lbs. It was beautiful scenery though and amazing to see all this in its natural habitat.
In the evening we went to the wedding rehearsal, and they had a beach bonfire, dinner, and band. It was amazing what the hotel did to set up this rehearsal dinner. They separated off part of the beach for a private party, and set up bars, picnic tables, serving areas etc. There were entertainers dancing around on stilts, and a guy chopping coconuts with a machete to serve drinks of.
Day 5:
There were separate bride and groom luncheons. So, we attended those, and then did a little more beach snorkeling. Although, I’m so sunburnt and warn out, I’m now sitting in the air conditioned hotel room typing this. Kinsey is getting ready for the big event tonight with the bride and all the other bridesmaid’s.
The area where the actual wedding will be is amazing. It’s in a gazebo that’s about 30’ above the water overlooking the ocean. They have been decorating it all day. Then the reception will be on the other side of the resort in a big reception hall that also overlooks the ocean. Simply amazing.
Summary thus far:
Anyway, we are looking forward to the wedding tonight and one more partially free day tomorrow before we head back home. It’s been a great trip so far. We’ve had a little real estate work to do. …but honestly its great sitting on the balcony doing a little work with an ocean view on a tropical island. The hotel staff and all the friends and family around have been great. My only complaint would be that this island isn’t too walkable. I don’t really enjoy the feeling of being stuck on the resort or an island without easy transportation. In any case, that’s a minor detail, just my personality of wanting to go places and see things when I’m on vacation. …but really, how can I have any complaints about this trip. It’s been incredible.
Oh, and to tie into the real estate theme… properties down here are price. A one bedroom studio rents for $1000 per month. There are house’s that can be found for less than $200,000, but they aren’t very nice. A decent ocean view house goes for about $500,000. …and you can buy a private island for $35,000,000!
Lastly, I did forget to mention the really cool iguanas running around. Here’s a pic. That’s all for now.
[…] party. Then in June we went to St Thomas for their wedding, which Kinsey was a bridesmaid in. This trip was an amazing much needed get away! In addition to the wedding we enjoyed some hiking on St John […]