updated 3/19/13
ST. JOHN & ST. THOMAS PART 2
back to our "Tour of St. John" excursion....
next to the beach was an old sugar cane factory. we were allowed to explore the area & then were told to make our way down to the rocky beach.
there is a pretty steep incline up towards the sugar cane factory. again, if you are unable to physically make it or have no interest, you could hang out in the tour van with the driver. some people skipped out on the sugar cane factory & just made their way to the beach.
emme collected leaves along the way to make a bouquet.
grandma & emme.
the ruins were pretty fascinating. there was also a fabulous view of the gorgeous water too.
lovely view.
emme catching up with her reading.
pretty small flower.
there was a surprise treat at the sugar cane factory ruins. in a small room, a native was preparing home made bread & was offering all tourists the bread, cheese (it looked & tasted like good ole cheddar cheese) in addition to a local non-alcoholic drink. very nice!
the bread was a bit dry but was warm from the hearth oven she was using. the cheese was ok but i didn't eat much of it as it looked as if it had sat out for awhile. the drink was very very sweet.
we did a little more exploring and made or way down to the beach. but look what we randomly saw in a tree.
cotton!
i thought that was pretty neat to see cotton. i've never seen cotton before just blooming in a tree. i guess it's the little things, right?
my mom loves loves loves flowers & anything green.
we made it to the beach and came across this sign:
here are some more views from the excursion:
super gorgeous st. john.
my mom on top of the world!
self portrait.
overall, i really enjoyed the excursion. we left early enough to make it back onto the boat & it was something all three of us could do. our driver was excellent & the island was breathtakingly beautiful.
while waiting for our boat to take us back to st. thomas, it did begin to drizzle on and off.
waiting for our boat.
vanilla ice cream from a local shop. it was pretty bad & made her tummy hurt.
we made our way back to the boat to have some lunch & unwind.
view from our balcony.
i loved our balcony so much.
and a pirate ship...ARGH!
after dropping off emme & the oceaneer lab, my mom & i decided to go shopping in st. thomas.
hello st. thomas!
we headed to yacht haven grande which was literally right next to the boat. there were lots of shops including some high end stores. it wasn't as busy as i thought it would be but there were so many things to look at.
my mom & i both bought purses for ourselves at the gucci store. our purses were 20% cheaper than in the states and there is
NO SALES TAX! that was exciting.
we rushed back on board the ship as we were set to sail at 430. it was pirate night this evening at animators palate. i was pretty tired & wanted to unwind a bit in my room before dinner.
yummy bubbly from the concierge lounge.
we had a great day in st. thomas & st. john. i will never forget the spectacular views that st. john provided. i loved that the excursion was 4 hours and began early which still gave us time to enjoy the boat & not feel so "rushed". two thumbs up from me.
up next,
PIRATE NIGHT!
That beach you were looking down on was Trunk Bay- if you ever go back, the snorkeling there is very cool- there are actually signs in the water describing the coral and fish- it's an underwater trail. 
So awesome!
What a cutie!
