It was so good to hear Amy's voice. Her talking woke up her sisters a little early, but I was happy to talk to both of them as well. I also talked to my mom who seemed to be doing just fine. She still offered glowing reports about how wonderful my girls were.
After talking, we didn't have quite as much time as we had originally planned to be in town. When one of the bus drivers told us that the walk into St. Thomas was 2 1/2 miles, we should have believed him. Oh well, we were fast walkers. Our first exciting find in St. Thomas was Chris' mojo. I saw this restaurant and commented, "Chris, it's your mojo. We found it!" (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)
We found some fun gifts for the girls. For our return trip, we opted for the ride back to the pier in order to get lunch and meet our group at 1:05.
We boarded a mid-size boat to tender to St. John island about 45 minutes away. Chris and I began by sitting on a bench along the railing. Not too long after leaving, we were drenched with the spray from the waves. Some opted to stay outside, but Chris and I headed inside with the rest of the group. After arriving on St. John, we had to transfer to open-air buses to get to the beach. A lot of time spent getting there and not so much actual time on the beach. Chris and I brought our own snorkel equipment and were given quick instruction on the fine art of snorkeling. The basics suggest that you forget about breathing through your nose. Forget about the small amount of water gathering around your nostrils. Certainly don't breath that water in. Concentrate on breathing through your mouth. Don't smile or you'll break the seal around your mouth. Chris was a natural and was off exploring in no time. I was too aware of the water gathering around my nose. Practice makes perfect right? I was better at it the next day for sure.
Before leaving for our cruise, I suggested to Chris that we should buy an underwater camera. Since I had just received a new camera for Christmas, he scoffed at me. But he ordered it through an employee incentive program anyway after a little encouragement. It was so cool for taking underwater pictures and movies. He loved it. I loved it. I highly, highly, highly recommend the Canon Powershot D10.
By the end of our time at St. John, I was getting the hang of breathing through the snorkel, but it was still disappointing to have so little time there. We loaded back on to the buses and began the return trip to the boat. Chris with Nathan and Polly.
After showering, we had dinner on our own, but followed that by meeting with others from our group for "Oh What A Night! Tribute to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons." It was okay. The older crowd loved it, but after a few songs, they all started to sound the same.