Back to Nature

We don’t have too much excitement to report on our past weekend. We had a good mix of work and play. We are trying to fit in some trips that we’ve marked as “must dos” before we leave the island. We can’t believe we only have 3 weekends left. Yikes!

So, this weekend we decided to go hike the Reef Bay Trail in St. John (http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Reef%20Bay%20Trail.htm). It’s a hike I have wanted to do for a while. It starts as a 2.4 mile hike downhill, so that you have to hike uphill on the way back. Not my first choice in hiking, but no biggee. A short hike off of this trail also takes you to petroglyphs, which are ancient Taino rock carvings. We had a great hike and I look forward to getting some more hiking in over the summer. Some of the highlights, other than the petroglyphs, were seeing deer, bats, and wild pineapple (not yet edible, darn it). I can understand the desire to do 10 + miles hikes, since I felt it all ended too soon.

I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend and is enjoying the week. I will touch base next time I have something post-worthy.

XOXO until next time!


Petroglyphs! Can you see them? Some kind hikers had to point them out to us.


A big ol' nest of termites. I don't ever want to be within 700ft of one of those if falls...


Wild pineapple-yum


Bats! They are kind of cute upclose...


Bambi- who knew there were deer in St. John? That was news to us.

Tile Time!

In a decision that really could have gone either way (to re-tile or not to), we decided to bite the bullet and go through with updating the rest of the tile in the condo to match our bathroom.

With all the visitors, the time for tiling came faster than we ever expected. Our place has been in chaos ever since. It was not as terrible of a process as I’d anticipated, but we first had to live almost a week with all the stuff from our bedroom (including all clothes and misc. things in closets) piled in the living room. I couldn’t believe how much it all adds up! The second week was everything from the living room piled up into the bedroom. It gives me an inkling of how pack rats may live. I have no fear of ever becoming a pack rat, since my level of discomfort rises in direct relation to the clutter that surrounds me.

But, the good new is, we are in the home stretch! While we were pretty much homeless during the days when the tile workers were here, and homeless one night in order to get the tiles done quicker, we managed quite well. Now that everything is out of the living room area, though, Chris thinks it’s a great time (and it really is) to paint the ceilings and the walls. But first, we need to have an electrician look at some ghost switches that run to nowhere. Dad- thank your lucky stars we realize we needed to address this issue a few weeks ago! So, sounds like we might be living la vida loca for a week or more until we manage to snag an electrician that will come to his appointment (unlike the one that was supposed to be here last Thursday and then again last Friday). No fun photos on this one. But we’re moving right along…

Family Fun 2 continued!

Okay, here we go again!!! Now, where did I leave off? Oh, yea...

The fourth day in, my parent decided they had enough of us and went off on their own. Just kidding! We had to work and then I was off to pick up Chris' parents from the airport. My parents figured they would give us the night to catch up with Susan and Bruce and they'd have a little fun on their own. Once we got Susan and Bruce settled in at their hotel, we headed back to our place to watch the sunset and eat nearby at Iggy's. I know we lack creativity, as we did a similar night with my parents the first day, but why reinvent the wheel?

The next day, it was a family affair! After hearing about Bruce and Susan's unsettling account of a break-in at the place across from where they were sleeping, (no people were staying there, but a flat screen TV was taken) all of us headed over for a visit to St. John. We had some delicious lunch, toured the island and showed the parents some highlights. Susan and Bruce knew what to expect, as they have been there before, but it was new to Betty and Dave. All in all, it was a lovely day.

The following morning saw myself and the Padres on a tour of Blackbeard's castle. We learned some interesting tales of piratry (is that a word?) and tasted some new-to-us flavors of rum (pineapple and banana). Yum! The tour ended with a bit of history on amber (I know- a bit of a jump from pirates) and directly in a jewelry store. Bruce and Dave had more patience than I anticipated and gave us almost 7 minutes to look at jewelry before hinting to get the show on the road. It was a parting of the families at this juncture- the Walshes were heading to the airport and the Edwardses were going to canvas the town of Charlotte Amailie and take in a bit of scenary. After sharing one last delectable BBC with my parents, I bid them a fond farewell and promised I'd see them in just a few short weeks.

We had one last full day of Susan and Bruce to ourselves, so we made it action packed! We started the day with an eco-tour that included kayaking, hiking and snorkeling. This kayak trip marked a milestone of the first one Chris and I ever went on where we shared the kayak and didn't question our relationship by the end. The weather was perfect and once we reached the small island that was our destination (after some valuable lessons on mangroves and the surrounding nature), we all participated in a hermit crab race. I am sorry to say that none of our crabs even made it close to winning. Snorkling was fun- Bruce pointed out some jouvenile baracuda, a puffer fish and other wonders of nature. We kayaked back after that and were on to our next adventure.

After quickly showering/rinsing off and some quick snacks, it was on to Coral World, the island's aquarium. In addition to checking out the cool exhibits, we were there for inspiration. Bruce is what you might call a carving wizard and has won 1st place awards and best in show after just one year of carving. He's got the bug and wants to study different species of fish to clean up house at next year's competition. We had a lot of up close encounters, so we hope he's got some ideas to run with.

Finally, we went back to our place for some famous Edwardian BBQ and, once we were all tuckered out, got Susan and Bruce back to their hotel.

Alas, all good things must come to an end and we had a farewell brunch with Susan and Bruce that next morning. After stuffing ourselves full of eggs and all other breakfast related things, we gave B&S a brief tour of the island and stopped at the best of the best scenic vistas. Once we had enough of beautiful views, we headed on over to the airport to send them off with hugs and promises of seeing them soon enough. It was a whirlwind week, but, for the second time that week, it was sad to see our parents go. But more to look forward to for next year!

Thank you, Moms and Dads, for our wonderful and fun-filled week! You were overly generous in not letting us pay for much (and with the only things we got away with paying for having to be done quite sneakily!). We love you very much and look forward to seeing you soon!

Many hugs and kisses!


Walshes and Edwardses' bonding over apps


Edwardses in Annaberg


Scary pirate!


Betty and Dave testing "spirits". Well, okay, rum.


Farewell family brunch!

Family Fun 2!!

What a fun and eventful week we had with our parents! It had been a long time since we saw their smiling faces and it was wonderful to have them here to get a taste of the island life. Bear with me- with so much action, this is a long post! Actually, I will split this up into two posts, as I am sure your attention span might waver a bit...

Upon picking my parents up at the airport, I took them to get settled in at their hotel and enjoyed some appetizers and a drink before heading out to Casa de Edwards to show my parents where we live. After a very early morning flight and a long day, we decided to go to dinner nearby at Mim’s (very yummy!) and get those two home for some much needed sleep.

The next day, while Chris had to slave away at the desk, I met up with my parents around 11am to take them snorkeling and beaching at the most recommended beach for snorkeling, Coki beach. They very much enjoyed having the early morning for some breakfast and pool time and this became the norm for the rest of their stay. This was lovely for them and great for me to have the morning for my own errands. The snorkeling was amazing!!! Since this beach is right next to the aquarium, there is an overflow of fish who get fed regularly with snuba and snorkeling offered by the aquarium. My dad was handed some bread to feed the fish by a generous bystander and we were quite entertained (and, admittedly, a little skittish) by the vast numbers of fish willing to swarm around you to get to the food. The beach, itself, was action packed and kind of busy- not recommended for relaxing, but great for people watching.

We then headed back to the Marriott for some pool time and to introduce my parents to a “BBC” (Baily’s, Banana Colada). It was a hit and a regular indulgence for the rest of the trip. Yum! After that and showering up, it was back to Casa de Edwards for some home BBQing and watching the sunset (never gets old).

Day 3 saw Chris playing hooky from work and joining us on the golf course. It was girls (Team Pink) vs. boys (Team Stripe) on a highly competitive, show-no-mercy 18 holes. Okay, well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. With Chris and I being very novice golf players, we were giving a lot of patience and encouragement. With the teams also splitting up Betty and Dave as teammates, the Bickersons did not join us for the day. :P

The game was fun and we thankfully switched to Best Ball by the 9th hole, to go a bit easy on the amateurs and to get the rather overbearing team behind us off our backs, even though we were keeping up with the people in front of us). We determined over dinner that evening that Team Pink may have won, but we may not have been terribly diligent in counting our scores. So, really, we determined a rematch was needed when we’re back home for the summer.

Okay, kiddos, that’s it for now. For the exciting conclusion of the parental visits, check in with me again tomorrow. :)


Action shot of dad after he had enough of those crazy fish


The happy couple on the golf course


Mother and daughter enjoying the sunset

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday Boo!

We are back again and thinking of our friends and family on this Easter day. We love you all very much and wish we could share the holiday with you. Also, it is my good friend, Isabella Maffa’s, first birthday. Happy Birthday Boo! In honor of her birthday, I will start this blog a few weeks back and tell you all about our trip with her parents, Monique and Jimmy. To make up for my lull in blogging, expect this week to be quite active!

M&J were only here for a few short days, so we had to make the most of it! On day 1, we took them to, surprise, surprise…Iggie’s! It’s not only easy, it’s a guest must see. Chris was very excited to see that they had all you could eat king crab legs that night and set out to break the record. He didn’t, but he made a valiant effort! We retired fairly early that night (after a bit of the celebrity name game that Mike and Greg had taught us- Monique and I won) since the next day was a big day with a chartered boat and Jost Van Dyke.

Bright and early the next day we found our boat and met “Captain Chris”. No, it was not my husband, no matter how much he wished to captain the boat. We celebrated our maiden voyage to Jost with mimosas and beers first thing, since the spirit of that island is fun and partying and us four do like to get in the spirit!

Captain Chris took us to see some sights on the way to Jost so that we had some beauty to photograph before getting our groove on. The day was quite fun and we made sure to visit the Soggy Dollar and Foxy’s- two of the more widely known bars on the island.

At the end of our voyage, Captain Chris dropped off his slightly tire and extremely well behaved crew and we set on our way to go home and bbq and an early night to bed. We were all tuckered out!

The next day, I took M&J to Magan’s bay and then off to some shopping downtown. After we were done soaking up the sun, fighting the crowds and picking up some gifts, we came back for some downtime. That night, we decided to have a Celebrity name game rematch. Chris and Jimmy won. They also cheated. :P

The last day came too soon, although we covered a lot of ground in the couple of days that the Maffa’s were here. Their last morning here the weather disagreed with us and decided to rain. With little to do when it’s raining in St. Thomas, we went to an early lunch at the Fat Turtle and then got J & M to the airport with only a few minutes to spare. We had a lot of fun together and were sorry to see them go. But, we can’t wait to be reconnected again in Newburyport in just a few weeks. Yay!

Well, I think that’s enough for now. I will update y’all on our parent visits and our retiling of the place in the next few days. We are just starting to put our house back together after the tiling and then I am off to cook my hubby an Easter dinner.

Miss you, Love you, and Thinking of you this Easter Sunday!


Happy Birthday Isabella!

Monique and Jimmy- Limin' it up at Iggies


Chris and second favorite KC- King Crab!


Love Jost!


We could get used to this private boating!


Scenic stop in the BVIs