Connect in St. John

By Santa Choplin Bogdon

“Mom, I want to buy a house here.” This pronouncement comes from my 4-year-old son, Marlie, as we’re sitting poolside at The Westin Resort St. John, overlooking the sparkling blues of Great Cruz Bay. We’ve been on the island all of 24 hours, but Marlie already has big plans.

“How much do you think a house here would cost?” I ask. With most of St. John designated as national parkland, the remaining acres are precious.

“Two dollars,” he says, then thinks a moment. “And 75 cents.”

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If only. I take in the stunning villas dotting the emerald slopes above the bay. The views from those perches must be breathtaking, as are the property values. Until Marlie and his brother become famous surgeons and can buy us a nice Mediterranean-style hillside retreat, we’ll have to settle for just vacationing here. “Honey, wouldn’t you miss all your friends if we moved to St. John?”

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Marlie surveys the scene once more. “Mom, we could make new friends.”

We chose to visit St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands to give our kids — and ourselves — the opportunity to experience the untouched beauty of the Caribbean. The Virgin Islands National Park has kept the beaches here pristine, the reefs protected, the forests full of wildlife and exotic plants, and many vistas nearly as pure as when the first Amerindians lived here more than 3,000 years ago. The island is clean, safe and friendly — perfect for a family vacation.

Our first challenge, however, is to persuade the kids to leave the resort. The Westin, with its kids’ club, water trampoline, beach toys and huge pool complete with palm tree islands, is Fun Central. We carefully plan our off-property adventures around Marlie and his older brother Alex’s must-do list: “Mom! Iguana feeding at 4 o’clock!”

Strapped into a rental Jeep, we set out to explore the beaches on the north side of the island. Our Florida-born boys have never seen a mountain and get very quiet as we wind our way up into the hills on cliff-clinging roads. From an overlook atop one peak, we’re all struck speechless at the sight of the glittering blue-green sea gently breaking on a strip of spotless white sand. “Mom, can we go swim down there?”

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At every turn we’re rewarded with another unbelievable view. We stop at Hawksnest Beach, part of the national park, where 8-year-old Alex snorkels like a jack-in-the-box, his head popping up every few moments to announce a new discovery. Trunk Bay, with its rest rooms, showers and snack bar, is particularly family friendly. We spend the afternoon here, swimming and snorkeling out to a tiny island surrounded by coral and sea life.

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