As a gift for my son Tylers 16th birthday, my Mom paid for airfare for us to visit the US Virgin islands. Thanks, Mom! Visiting my sister in St Thomas, Camping on St John, snorkeling and hiking every day, saving hermit crabs, and a boat trip to the British Virgin Islands, The Baths at Virgin Gorda, swimming with sharks, Jost Van Dyke, and the Soggy Dollar Bar!
After Laura paid her ticket, we followed her back to the Marriott Hotel where she works as an events coordinator. We would not be staying here, but we would be hanging out at the hotel pool and beach until Laura got off work, and tonight we will be staying at her place. Frenchmans Reef Marriott is a large, beautiful hotel, probably the biggest on the island. Laura led us to her office, introduced us to her co workers, then showed us to the locker room where we could change into our swimsuits. She then went back to work, while we explored around the hotel a little. Tyler was impressed by the large number of lizards, especially the large iguanas, that were all around the property. We headed down towards the beach, and went for a swim in the lower pool / hot tub area, near the beach and just past some tennis courts.
Steel drum player and feathered dancers at the rum punch party at Marriot Frenchman's Reef, Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands
We spend a few hours hanging out there, then went back up to the hotel to wait for Laura to get off work.
Because it was Tuesday, they were having a rum punch party up in a courtyard area just past the hotel entrance. ( I guess they do this every Tuesday? I remember something like this the last time I was here!) They had a guy playing steel drums, and some dancers dressed up in feathered garb, entertaining the guests. I enjoyed a few of the complimentary rum punches (Tyler stuck to punch only!) and some snacks, and we watched the show.
Shortly after it was over, Laura was off for the evening, and we followed her to the restaurant where we would be having dinner. I believe it was called East End? It was a nice Italian place, Tyler and I both had ravioli.
Waterfall behind the hotel
We were joined by one of Laura's friends. (She's queen of the island, one of those people who knows everybody!) After dinner, we walked down to the Marina, which was not far from the restaurant. We met up with Laura's friend Robert, who works on a boat called the "Reel Tight". This is a rather large pleasure craft, used mainly for fishing excursions. The boats owner had passed away a few months ago, he was a multi millionaire who invented the concept of time shares. Robert was his first mate, and lived on the boat, taking care of it until the family decides what to do with it. We interrupted Robert during dinner, but he was very cordial, gave us drinks and a tour of the boat. We hung out there for awhile, then headed back to Laura's house. We would spend one night at her place, crashing on her couches. Tomorrow, we would be off to St John!
Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort is the largest hotel on St Thomas. With almost 500 rooms overlooking Charlotte Amalie Harbor in St. Thomas, this is probably the premier place to stay. A non-smoking facility, they have 5 restaurants, 6 bars, and 3 swimming pools, tennis courts, and a nice beach. They also have a kiosk in the lobby, called the Adventure Center, where you can book all kinds of activities like snorkeling, sailing, scuba diving, catamaran tours, etc. if you are there for a week or just a day. They also have large rooms for events, such as weddings and business conventions. This is the largest, and probably nicest place to stay in St Thomas!
