No need to get up early. Somebody has a 16th birthday today and he wanted to rent a dinghy and visit some of the beaches on the north shore. Great idea of course and something new to do.
We had reserved a dinghy through the Westin, but they called first thing that morning and said they would not be letting their dinghys out due to high winds and seas. Bummer. Called a couple of the other companies, but all were booked for the day. So what should we do? Let the boy sleep in, it’s one of his favorite things to do.



Since he was sleeping in and decorations had already been set up, I took off on a run. Every year the shoes come, but they never get used, too much relaxing to be done, but I always enjoy exploring on runs in new places, so let’s go look around the neighborhood. Out of the villa, the first steps were downhill on Rock Ridge, across to Roman Road for a few turns around that circle. It was flat and had couple nice views to enjoy, along with shade and solid breeze.
Similar to a view from the villa



From Roman Road



After a completing the circle, a bright idea (not really <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />) occurred. Run on down to the Westin. All I can say is WOW! That is one heck of a hill and I still have to go back up. I enter the Westin behind another runner and I’m happy to be on flat ground. This is my first time on the property and it’s really impressive. A lot construction going on and numerous other runners out on the flat course. A few loops around the property, a refill of my water bottle, quick photo at the beach and then it’s back up the hill. Ugh….what was I thinking.



Half way up the hill, I decide a break is in order, so I take a right onto Great Cruz Bay. No traffic, shade and flat. I thought we had hills here in Tallahassee. I thought one day I might like to try 8 Tuff miles. I think that thought has passed. Time to finish up and see what the birthday boy has in mind, since the dinghy is out.
When I get back, L.B. is still sleeping, guess it’s still early. When he wakes up, we give him the news and tell him we’ve already re-booked with Noah’s Little Arks for tomorrow. He’s satisfied with this and decides he wants to go to St. Thomas for the day, so that’s what we do. We take the ferry to Charlotte Amalie and walk around the old town until he decides where he would like to eat lunch. He picked the Fat Turtle in Havensight. It looks over the yacht club and we’ve eaten there before when we were stranded in St. Thomas after the MIA fuel depot explosion a few years back. The open air deck and great breeze made for an enjoyable meal. Then we sat and relaxed.
The birthday boy on his first trip to the islands at Cooper Island



And now a 16 y.o.



Man he has grown up!

Back to St. John on the Red Hook ferry. Great boat ride, albeit still really rough and wet, even on the upper deck. Love it!

When we get back, no one is ready to head back to the villa, so we decide to explore some more, maybe a look at Caneel Bay. Once again, a place we have never been. At the entrance we are met by a large greeting party.







The grounds at Caneel are beautiful and we really enjoyed spending time exploring.



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The Boy’s birthday concluded with a special dinner. He chose pizza! The rescheduled dinghy day was on for tomorrow, hopefully the winds and seas cooperate.