Coral reefs, clear blue sea, West Indies grub

That night we tried some local cuisine. Even though we live in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, with its West Indian culture, couldn't be more different from its Spanish-speaking Latino neighbor.

We stopped in at a well-known locale, Cuzzin's, for some grub. I had curried conch (tasty), but the real show stopper was the yummy rum cake, which was pretty alcoholic - if we had put a match to it, it would have caught on fire!

Next stop was Frenchtown, which you can walk to (though it is long) from downtown. The "Frenchies," as they are called, are descendants of Huguenots who left St. Barts in the 1800s. I thought it would be great if we could speak French here, but it turned out no one we met did.

Frenchtown was lined with houses that appeared to have the same design but were painted in different colors: pink, sea green. We went to Betsy's Bar where one of the highlights appeared to be a Frenchie who had nabbed a land crab and given a beer can to the poor creature, which it crushed. The atmosphere was certainly one of a small town.

The next day we trotted down to Charlotte Amalie's port to catch a ferry to St. John - an island that's part of the U.S. territory and is home to a more than 7,000-acre national park that includes coral reefs and mangroves.

We walked through the forest on a well-marked path, passing by several beaches (Honeymoon Beach, Solomon Beach and Caneel Bay). The hike was great - the foliage was abundant and little critters slithered by - but be sure to bring your own drinking water and wear sturdy hiking shoes. Though it was only 30 minutes to the first beach, it can get hot under the canopy and the ground may be slick from recent rains.

We settled on a beach that was less crowded than the others (that said, "crowded" was about 15 people). There were no food stands or rental places here, so you had to bring what you needed - but that made it even more peaceful.

Our stroll through downtown St. John showed us another slice of small-town Caribbean life: Posters for political office had a somewhat Norman Rockwell-feel to them (some read "The Future Is Now" and "Together We Can" accompanied by politicians sporting big grins). In St. John, a stop sign read: "Thou Shalt Stop" and for parking: "Thou Shalt Not Park Here." There were also a few open-air food stands where locals gathered to hang out, and at one, play music.

The ferry ride back to St. Thomas as the sun set provided more breathtaking views of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. For my birthday dinner, we settled on Herve, a restaurant specializing in French and American cuisine located next door to Galleon House.

With ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking the hills of St. Thomas, the atmosphere was sublime. And the food ... a meeting with the divine. We tucked away Kir Royals, stuffed mushrooms, a vine-ripened tomato salad, a seafood bouillabaise (cooked with saffron) and the aptly named berries and chocolate nirvana (chocolate cups filled with berries and a touch of Chambord, raspberry liqueur).

For our last day, we chose the stunning Sapphire Beach on St. Thomas' east end. Set in a resort open to the public, it was the best: not crowded, lounge chairs, snorkel gear for hire. In the distance, we could see the British Virgin Islands and other U.S. islets dotting the horizon one after the other - a display of majestic green jutting out of the water.

I went snorkeling and saw two stingrays cruising through the coral - such a lovely sight. Sadly, much of the coral was dying - its beautiful colors gone - suffering from a mystery disease affecting coral worldwide that scientists are studying.

It was a great break from Puerto Rico and an easy getaway that may be especially appealing to Americans who don't have passports. And yet, while these islands are part of the United States, they have a lot to offer that's different from home.

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