Traveling Team Fischer

While we were still in the Keys, we were visited by some family and friends. We loved showing them our favorite places, and sometimes took them out for a short sail if the status of boat repairs allowed it. Now, for the first time, we had both family and friends join us during our full time cruising journey. Their adventure was starting during Carnival on St. Thomas before a loop through the rest of the US and British Virgin Islands. With so many of us taking pictures on this trip, it is difficult to narrow them down for this little blog. Just pretend it is a slide show from your crazy cousins and enjoy. I am loving this little trip down memory lane.

The day of the adult parade and related festivities, we walked down to the parade route early, and grabbed a yummy local breakfast. We talked about our plans for the next two weeks, hoping we could fit everything in before they had to leave. Once we found a prime viewing spot for the parade, we waited for it to kick off… and we waited… and waited some more… then we overheard the official parade people discussing some technical issues the broadcasters were having with their audio, and the parade couldn’t start until it was sorted out.

Finally, after about a 4 hour delay, things started to get moving. At this point, we were hot, tired, and thirsty, so we decided to walk against the flow of the parade, to see it all at a faster pace. We would also be moving in a direction to take us back to the marina, so we all agreed this was a good plan. There were so many people dancing with beautiful costumes, trucks hauling speakers stacked sky high with bass that could change the rhythm of your heart, and everyone having a great time as far as the eye could see.

As we got closer to the beginning of the parade and the different staging areas, we found ourselves in a sea of color. It was an amazing day, and a great way to kick off our trip.

The next day, we took our rental car around the island. Since we no longer own a car, we dont have car insurance, and we could not rent a vehicle ourselves. So our friends had to take the wheel. I’m pretty sure they will be happy to never drive on the left again, but they did an excellent job. We went up to the “World Famous Mountain Top” to enjoy a refreshing banana drink while we took in the amazing view. My personal favorite was looking at Magen’s Bay, and knowing we’d be anchored there soon. We bounced around the island a bit, checking out different beaches and beach bars, finally making to Sapphire Beach, where we had the best fish tacos in the world.

One of the best things about having other adults on board is they can take a shift at the helm. (Plus, look at the adorableness that is my sister). So during our meander around St. Thomas, we were happy to share the responsibility. We spent some time on St. John, mooring in Mahoe Bay, after checking out and waving at Kenny Chesney’s house. We never saw him, but we were content seeing his gorgeous home.

From our little base in the bay, we enjoyed swimming, snorkeling, and open air taxi rides into Cruz Bay. We had fun exploring town and having lunch at The Beach Bar, one of our favorite stops. This restaurant is one with a live webcam, so during the initial planning stages of this trip, everyone would log in and watch the happy people on vacation. Now we were some of the people on the live feed. Silly, I know, but it made us happy.

Next up on our it was the British Virgin Islands, so until next month, have a fabulous day!