Greetings from St. John

Since last weekend, I've been relaxing in the U.S. Virgin Islands with my mom. It's just the two of us here at the Westin time share she and my step-dad have had for quite a few years now, this being my first year since it's always in the middle of school. While the first couple days made me feel like I was truly submersed in a rain forest from the on-and-off showers, yesterday and today have been nothing but blue skies and sunshine. It's absolutely beautiful here, and I feel like I'm truly away from all the worries of life back in the states (I mean it did take a plane, taxi, and water ferry to get here). It's also one of the first times I've really been to an island that is quite mountainous (St. John was formed from a volcano) and much of it is preserved as a National Park so it remains incredibly green and uninhabited. The locals are all very friendly and laid back, on "island time" as they say, and the little towns are full of souvenir shops and local bars/restaurants.

On our first day, my mom took me for a tour of the island by taxi with our local tour-guide Richard who has lived here most his life and knows so much of the island's history. As I spent most of the ride snapping pictures and taking in all the beauty, my mom turns to me at one point and asks, "So, whatcha think?" and my initial impression of it all was: "I kind of feel like I'm in Jurassic Park." She found this hilarious as the only thing I could manage to articulate but when I thought about it, it really was an accurate assessment! The island is full of greenery and forest, has not too many people, everyone drives Jeeps around the winding roads, it's so mountainous, and full of wildlife. I was ready at any minute for our guide to say through his speakerphone "and on your left you'll see the Stegosaurus..." as we rode around in the open-air taxi. While the closest thing to a dino I've seen here are the iguanas that roam the resort grounds, there are also wild donkeys, roosters, stray cats, and mongoose among others.

Yesterday we went snorkeling at Trunk Bay-named one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world, and indeed it is gorgeous. Though most all the beaches here are beautiful so I'm not too hard to please. The snorkeling there was kind of lacking in aquatic life, so tomorrow we're off to one of the many other bays to explore. I can't believe tomorrow's my last day, but I guess that's how vacations go. I'll be posting more pictures when I get back and can upload from my camera. For now, these are from my handy dandy iPhone.