SSWBN – St. Thomas review with pictures
In January, SSWBN President of the Board, Janet LaBerge greeted trip winners Elizabeth & Steve Pineault in St. Thomas to begin the ‘Trip with the Prez”. Ticket sales for the trip raffle benefited SSWBN’s programs and events.
Janet’s recap….
The weather was just perfect…84 degrees every day with a cooling trade winds breeze. St Thomas is a US Territory, one of the four islands (St John, St Croix and Water Island being the other three) that makes up the US Virgin Islands. It is a short four hour direct flight from Boston. I had the first week to myself and followed a basic routine: Drink rum, fall down on beach, tan, repeat. While in St Thomas, you quickly learn to get on “island time”, which means that you go at a much slower pace and don’t expect that anything will happen quickly. It is customary to say, “good morning or good afternoon” when you see someone and usually stay for a chat before moving on.
We stayed at Megan’s Point Villas, a resort on the north side of the island, overlooking Megan’s Beach, which is considered one of the ten best beaches in the world. I prefer Coki Beach, which is on the East side of the island. It is a favorite with locals and also a popular spot for cruise ship travelers. Elizabeth Pineault and her husband Steve arrived on a Sunday afternoon and were able to pick me out of the crowd at the airport . 
You drive on the left side of the road on the island, so they were happy to have someone else do the driving. Megan’s Villas is a cat sanctuary, meaning they catch the stray cats and spay them. They also feed all the cats there. We were happy having animal companionship as all three of us are cat and dog owers/lovers. A very friendly gray cat adopted us for the week.
Elizabeth and Steve enjoyed Coki beach as much as I did. I admit it is a bit of a quirky place. You park your car in a small parking lot right next to a small cemetery (the graves are above ground). There is the occasional chicken walking past you on the beach. There is a pool table at the open beach bar, surrounded by men with beautiful Rastafarian braids. Nicknames are popular. My friends there are: Webb, Africa, Fire and Troll. The water is clear and warm and the snorkeling is excellent. 
St Thomas is known to have many fine dining establishments, but I’ve never been to any of them, preferring to eat where the locals eat. I like a nice Patty for lunch (Johnny cake filled with conch or chicken or beef) for only $5. For dinner, chicken or ribs off the truck with two sides for $11. There is a small van with a huge bbq grill attached to the back of it and that’s where you purchase your meal. Our al fresco dining experience was completed by a folding table and three plastic chairs, provided by the cook. 
I took my guests to Mountain Top/Paradise Point, where you get an amazing view of Charlotte Amalie harbor and the surrounding islands. (see pic) We were treated to steel band music and dancing with a man named Israel, who danced on stilts in a colorful costume. This definitely isn’t Kansas.
It always seems like the time goes way too quickly there, but we had such a good time. I know I’ll be there again next January and hope that another SSWBN member will be able to join me!
Janet LaBerge
dirtydeedsddc04@hotmail.com
