Beyond the ordinary
My family and I have been traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands for more than 20 years now. It truly has a special place in my heart and I will cherish every moment I get to spend in the warm, turquoise blue waters off of these islands looking for treasures.
My two oldest granddaughters have learned what I mean when I say I want to find "treasures". I love to walk along a beach or snorkel and look for sea shells, sea glass and my newest obsession - sea pottery. I didn't realize that there was any of this lovely gift from the sea on these islands until just recently. I missed out finding this treasure for so many years!
My favorite place to stay is on the island of St. Thomas is at the Marriott's Frenchman's Cove. The moment we drive around the corner on the road and see the sign at the entrance of the property announcing we made it, I say, "I am home!" because that is how I truly feel when I am there. The property is perched on a hillside overlooking Pacquereau Bay and the harbor of Charlotte Amalie. It feels like you are staying in quaint village with a secluded beach where you can sit and watch the cruise ships and multi million dollar yachts float by. I think it has one of the best snorkeling beaches on the islands. We have seen turtles, flying fish, tons of colorful fish and a ton of corals there. Every villa has a furnished balcony with a view and the sunsets are absolutely spectacular! These units offer home comforts rather than just a hotel room. They have full kitchens and laundry with two or three bedrooms sleeping from 8 to 12 people. At night, I love to sit out on the balcony and smell the salty ocean, while listening to the Coqui frogs singing their "ko-kee" calls and watching the lights of Charlotte Amalia. It reminds me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland for some reason. It is such a charming atmosphere where all of your worries and troubles fade away.
One of the adventures we like to take when we go to St. Thomas is to take the car ferry to the island of St. John. It is the smallest of the three main U.S. Virgin Islands but it is by far the prettiest. There are lots of fun little shops and restaurants in Cruz Bay near where the car ferry unloads. Make sure you visit one of the Vibe Jewelry stores and get a Caribbean hook bracelet. If you turn the hook to face your heart, then that means it is taken. If the hook is facing away from your heart, you are available and ready for love. These bracelets are truly are a treasure and a fun way to remember your memorable trip to the island. You can buy hook bracelets at the little stands and shops all over the Virgin Islands, but the Vibe shops which are only on St. John, make the best quality, most beautiful treasures.
Driving around the island is fun too! First of all, you are driving on the wrong side, which makes an adventure in itself! My friends and family constantly have to remind me - to keep right! We have so many memories of driving around this island. One time we were in a filled, two wheel drive mini van trying to go up some of the steep hills after a rain storm and our tires were squealing trying to make it to the top of the hill. The animals on this island help add to it's charm. Roaming all over are wild donkeys that love to be fed a treat from the car window. One day we even saw a lone pig eating garbage with a piece of baloney stuck on it's side! You don't see that everyday!
My favorite spot to stop and take pictures on St. John is the pull out point above Maho Bay. The beautiful clear, blue water with the white sand beach is absolutely breathtaking. This beach is calm and clear with paddle board rentals and food trucks across the road. Trunk Bay, is the most famous beach on the island. It was voted #1 by The World's 50 Best Beaches in 2024. You can see why it earned this ranking with it's pristine white sand, and crystal clear turquoise water. It has bright coral reefs which make it fun to snorkel in because it has an underwater snorkeling trail marked by buoys. Many leatherback turtles call this bay home and you can regularly see them poking their heads out of the water as they come up for a breath of air. This popular beach gets packed so don't be surprised if you can't find a parking spot and have to move on to another beach.
I love St. John, but I haven't found many treasures there, other than my hook bracelet. When I want to find true sea treasures, I go to my secret spot on St. Thomas. It is by far my most favorite place in the whole world. It is more of a local beach, so it is a little more dirty and sometimes you get a whiff of weed being smoked under a big tree near the food trucks, but there is lots of shade, turtles, and tons of treasures to find. My favorite thing to do is to put my snorkel on and float right at the break line with the waves sifting through the shells and sand to find sea glass, and broken pottery pieces. The pottery isn't always easy to spot - but that is what makes it fun to find because it is a treasure! The water is warm, calm and crystal clear so it is easy to spot the turtles and maybe even an occasional sea ray or star fish. There are tons of little fish that swim right at the break line. I love when one decides to hang out with you right in front of your snorkel and watch you while you look to find treasures!
On our last trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands, we took a short flight from St. Thomas over to St. Croix, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, on an airline called, "Fly the Whale". We rented a car at the airport for the day and drove to Frederiksted. There, we walked along the beach next to the cruise ship dock. Luckily we went on a day when the cruise ships weren't in so we had the beach to ourselves, but I have seen it packed with tourists when I stopped there during a cruise. A couple of local ladies were also on this beach. One was finding amazing treasures like sea glass and even a porcelain dolls arm - she said the day before she found a porcelain dolls head. She taught us the difference between real sea glass and glass. Sea Glass has rounded edges and after being tumbled by waves and the sand, it won't have sharp edges like regular glass. The surface will have a frosted, cloudy or patina look from years of weathering.
Another lady invited us to go out and snorkel with her to find treasures. I was blown away! This was on of the best snorkeling spots I have ever been to! There was such a diverse assortment of fish and sea creatures. We found sand dollars, starfish AND lots of broken sea pottery, or "chaney". The word "chaney" is a local name for these pottery pieces, derived from the words "money" and "china". Historically, children used the broken pieces of china as play money or tokens for games. Ocean Chaney is smooth and has naturally rounded edges from years of rolling around in the sand and rocks. Our new friend told us that when the ships used to come in during the colonial era, broken dishes and pottery were sometimes used as the ship's ballast to maintain balance while they were at sea. When the ships came into port, they needed to empty their hulls because they were taxed by the weight of the ship, so they could be filled with sugar, rum and molasses which they purchased on the island, the ballast, or broken china, would be thrown into the waters off St. Croix. She told us that as we floated along the surface, to look for anything that was white. Then we would dive down and sometimes find beautiful pieces of chany with beautiful blue and white decorations. None of us wanted to leave our magical spot! We loved being treasure hunters!
After hours of snorkeling and treasure hunting, we were tired and hungry so we drove to Christiansted to find some lunch. Many of the charming little shops there were selling beautiful pieces of chaney jewelry and some had sea glass jewelry. As we flew back to St. Thomas, the sun was setting. It was absolutely gorgeous! It was such an amazing adventure, one none of us will ever forget!
Exploring new places, finding treasures, making memories and laughing all while in a tropical paradise filled with sand, warm ocean water and turtles is truly my happy place. Contact me and I will help you discover your happy place!
Every adventure tells a story - thanks for being part of mine.
Always exploring,
