By K.J. Cardinal
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| Sapphire Beach (St. Thomas, USVI) |
This is without a doubt the most amount of time I've ever spent on one single post for The Cardinal Blog, and I guess it's only fitting because it's the first real vacation we've taken to an exotic destination since I launched the blog back in 2007. Needless to say, the vacation was a long-time coming and it didn't disappoint for a second.
I don't blame you if you don't read this entire post, but I had to do it so we will always be able to look back on what an amazing week we had. So, if you're not interested in the daily run down of our trip, then just be sure to scroll through to see the pics and most importantly the videos. Definitely some really cool stuff. Anyway, here goes...
Sunday, April 15: Coney Island
By flying out of JFK instead of Logan, we were able to save over $200/ticket on our direct flights to St. Thomas. This was obviously a no-brainer, which meant we would head down to NYC the day before our flights to enjoy a day at Coney Island.
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| Sad way to start the trip... a sniper took out all three kids on the Merritt Parkway. |
The only thing I really knew about Coney Island was that it annually plays host to the Nathan's hot dog eating contest... and quite frankly (pun intended) that was really all that Leo and I needed to know about the place.
We arrived around 11:30 a.m. and were able to get free on-street parking as it was pretty early for a spring beach crowd. [
As an aside, Sunday trips to NY will be in our future as free on-street parking and a late-awaking city was a treat.]
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| This dog didn't stand a chance. |
First things first, we did what every red-blooded American should do immediately when they get to Coney Island... and that's grab a hot dog from Nathan's.
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| Nathan's (Coney Island) |
The hot dog's didn't disappoint, but the cheese fries were a surprise hit with the ladies and I was pretty psyched to get a 32 ounce draft beer in a paper cup. Kinda made me feel like I was sneaking beers in a movie theatre and pouring them into an empty soda cup... not that I'd ever do that, of course.
After fueling up, we ventured over to Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, located directly on the boardwalk. I was rather surprised by the number of rides, especially for little kids, which were right in Anna's wheelhouse. We bought a bunch of tickets and off we went.
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| Sammy can't contain her excitement. |
Leo was enjoying his time on my back in the MacPac, which meant that Anna could really dominate some rides. For the first of a million times on our vacation, Sammy proved to be the MVP of the trip as she hopped on the whales with Anna to get the festivities started.
Anna was in her glory as she bounced from ride to ride. First the whales, then the dragon coaster, then the train and the ducks with Leo and so on and so forth.
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| Photo op on the Wonder Wheel. |
She really showed how she's getting older and more daring with ride selection. First, Anna opted to go on the big Wonder Wheel with Sammy and I. This isn't your traditional Ferris Wheel. Sure it goes super high, around in a circle, but the cart that we were in was on this free-flowing track that enabled the cart to roll and swing and sway while way up in the air. It was pretty scary for Anna, but she was unfazed by it all.
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| Deno's Free Fall. |
After the Wonder Wheel, Anna mustered up the courage to go on Deno's Free Fall. This was a kids' version of the Tower of Terror, but still went pretty high and was the maiden voyage for Anna on a ride that "really got my belly" as she told me.
The very first "fall" that the ride took, caused Anna to have a brief look of panic on her face, but that quickly turned to elation as she loved the ride so much that she wanted to "do it again" immediately after the first run ended.
There's nothing in the world quite like seeing the look of pure joy on your child's face. Anna always lets her emotions show (for better or worse) and when it's for the better, her energetic personality just infects everyone around her.
Watching her on the Free Fall was not only a treat for us, but for all the other park-goers as well. I mean, her screams did tend to draw some attention...
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| This is one of my favorite photos that I've ever taken. I really outdid myself. |
While Coney Island on a Sunday in April didn't have much more to offer than hot dogs and the amusement parks, the place was pretty cool and the kids definitely enjoyed themselves.
We piled back in the Xterra and headed to check into our hotel. After checking in, Sammy and I did some solid research on Yelp! and came across a dinner and dessert destination.
For dinner, we headed to Flushing and visited this Chinese joint called
Sifu Chio. It was amazing. Without a doubt one of the best hole in the wall restaurants I've ever been to. For dessert, we hit up a place Sammy had heard of called
Max and Mina's for ice cream. They didn't have as many off-the-wall flavors as we had hoped for, but they made a killer Black Raspberry that definitely rivaled
Lone Oak... which is saying something.
We decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel as we had a 8 a.m. flight in the morning. Overall a fun, but relatively low-key, low-stress way to start our vacation. Now, off to paradise...
Monday, April 16: JFK to Paradise
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| Gratuitous tourist photo #1. |
My 5:30 a.m. alarm came VERY early as we had to shower and pack up the car to head to
JFK Long Term Parking. The kids were somewhat out of it initially, but the talks of taking a shuttle bus and an airplane definitely put a little pep in their step.
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| Leo & Pluto just chillin. |
I was a little worried about the process of getting the kids through the airport and security, but Angie had picked up this luggage cart that we strapped Leo's car seat to and he was perfectly content just cruising through the whole process.
Angie really made a big push for 2012 Mother of the Year as she had prepared and pulled out all the stops for the first flight of Anna and Leo's lives.
Fully charged iPhones, iPads, MacBooks. Snacks. Toys. Candy. Gum. Lollipops. You name it, she had it. And boy-oh-boy, did it work like a charm. The kids were good as gold on the four-hour direct flight.
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| Flying in style. |
Of course Anna didn't nap, and therefore wouldn't let me nap, but she was pretty psyched to have a window seat with her plethora of goodies, including noise-cancelling headphones and Puss and Boots.
Daddy was extra happy as the credit card machine on the airplane wasn't functioning properly so this meant that food and drinks were on the house. This type of stuff never happens... well, not to me at least.
As the plane was landing, Anna couldn't have been any cuter. She was looking out the window excitedly and was giving pretty loud commentary to every thought that was running through her head. The plane would dip with a little turbulence, and she'd giggle and say "it tickles my tummy". Then as we got close to the ground, she said, "This is cool... I'm a little scared... but it's OK." Her inner monologue was coming out of her mouth and everyone within ear shot was in hysterics.
I so wish that I had video footage of that. It was priceless.
We landed in 84 degree weather and vacation was officially on. Adam had warned us to be patient as everyone operates on "island time" and that was apparent the minute we tried to get our rental car. It was a rather lengthy process and the kids had so much pent up excitement and energy that the time from baggage claim to lunch seemed like an eternity.
Anyway, we got our white Ford Fusion from Budget and grabbed some lunch in Charlotte Amalie at the Fat Turtle. The waterfront restaurant was a great starter as not only was the service and food great, but the waitress was throwing some food scraps in the water feed the fish and it was quite a spectacle. Baracudas and other tropical fish came out to feast, while crabs and iguanas on the rocks were basking in the sun.
Needless to say, we were all psyched to be in the Caribbean and couldn't wait to hit the beach.
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| View from the living room balcony. |
Before we did that though, we had to go check into our condo for the week. We stayed at the Elysian Resort in Cowpet Bay. We found one of
Nancy's Condos through VRBO.com and the place was awesome.
Two bedrooms. Three baths. Open concept kitchen, dining room, living room. Ceiling fans and ACs in all rooms. Three separate balconies... one off of each bedroom and the living room. A wine rack stocked with wine and alcohol?!?! It was amazing... better than advertised.
We headed down to the beach at Cowpet Bay, less than 100 yards away, and then hit up the amazing Elysian Resort pool.
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| Cowpet Bay (St. Thomas, USVI) |
Cowpet Bay was calm waters and completely empty in the late afternoon when we first ventured there, which was a pleasant surprise. A solid beach for the kids, but an average beach for the Caribbean.
Now, the pool on the other hand was spectacular. I knew the kids would love the pool, but I didn't realize how much I would love it as well. Every day we'd hit up a beach or two in the morning and then come back to the hotel to regroup, hit the pool, have dinner and then go night swimming.
There is this grotto area in the pool that has two entrances with little waterfalls over each. The kids were in love. We spent countless hours by the pool and ended up being a HUGE hit of the trip... as you can see...
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| She can sleep anywhere. |
Day one in St. Thomas was so perfect that I didn't want it to come to an end. So, we went all out and hit up the fancy resort restaurant to treat ourselves to a high class dinner.
Delicious food, a friendly server, live steel drums playing in the background, open air seating. It was heavenly. Anna felt so comfortable in fact, she put her head on my lap and fell asleep :)
Our first day in the islands was complete and I couldn't wait for more.
Tuesday, April 17: Coki Beach
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| Morning cartoons. |
The sound of waves on the beach was a blessing to wake up to each morning. Just a perfect way to start the day... well that and having Leo come into bed to snuggle and watch a morning cartoon... couldn't get any better for Angie and I.
Our plan of attack was to get up early in the morning each day as the kids are definitely at their best before the late afternoon. So, we had breakfast and were out the door around 9 a.m. with Coki Beach as our destination.
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| Anna was convinced she'd catch him. |
Coki Beach is the home of
Coral World Sea Park, so it's kind of touristy, but I thought it had a cool local vibe to it. We didn't visit Coral World, but rather went to the opposite end of the beach and got a prime spot next to the rocks.
Friendly local vendors coming by to offer up lounge chairs, drinks, food, etc. wasn't entirely what I was expecting out of St. Thomas, but I also surprisingly didn't mind it... actually, I enjoyed it.
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| Snugglin' on the beach. |
The kids explored the rocks, experienced snorkeling for the first time (on their cool
snorkel rafts), Anna tried to catch a pelican, I had a bucket or two of beers, Sammy lounged in the sun, Angie enjoyed some local smoothies and the Caribbean jerk chicken for lunch was legit. Coki had a little bit of something for everyone.
Leo had a good time, but little did we know that he had some major chaffing going on with his swim shorts and inner thighs. It was a slight problem that left him a little gun shy with the salt water for the next day, but he battled back and finished strong.
We left Coki and headed back to the Elysian for more pool action and a much more casual dinner... pizza.
Angie and I decided that Wednesday would be our day in St. John... so early to bed and early to rise was once again the plan.
Wednesday, April 18: St. John
I think I must've been pretty excited to go to St. John because I woke up around 5 a.m. and started packing up things for our day trip. We decided to take the car ferry over and it turned out to be a great plan.
By taking the car ferry, we could really explore the island faster and cheaper in one day and also got to experience some
kamikaze driving. After the quick 15-minute ferry ride over, we hit the roads for Trunk Bay.
Along the way, I had to stop to capture this amazing view...
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| St. John (USVI) |
Our early departure from St. Thomas meant an early 8:45 a.m. arrival at Trunk Bay... or as I like to call it... Paradise.
There were only probably a dozen other people on the beach for the first two hours we were there and it was my favorite two hours of the trip.
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| Trunk Bay (St. John, USVI) |
Just a picture perfect setting. Pristine sandy beaches. Impossibly blue water. Green mountain ranges.
The waves were strong enough to knock me over if I was sitting chest-deep in water, but the sand was so soft, with no rocks at all, that Anna and I must've spent hours letting the waves have their way with us.
We positioned ourselves in the shade of a big tree that the kids ended up playing under and the whole time there was just something that I will never forget.
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| Anna lovin' life at Miss Lucy's. |
After a long morning of playing on the beach, we took a drive and had lunch at this cool local restaurant, Miss Lucy's. It was kinda pricey for lunch and super slow service, but I'd eat there everyday for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
It's right on the water in a rocky cove and the property that abuts the parking lot is full of goats. So, the long wait for lunch didn't seem so bad as the kids took turns roaming the area and enjoyed their smoothies at our table in the shade.
After lunch, we drove around to check out the other beaches. Angie and I were plotting our return trip already :)
Words simply can't do the scenery on St. John justice. I am so glad that we took a day trip over there and I will be dreaming about a return trip there until the day when we are fortunate enough to go back.
Our day in St. John was perfect.
Thursday, April 19: Magen's Bay & Sapphire Beach
Our last full day on St. Thomas started with a long trip up to Magen's Bay.
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| Magen's Bay (St. Thomas, USVI) |
I'm not sure if Trunk Bay left me with high expectations, but I was less than impressed with Magen's Bay. It was touristy and crowded and didn't offer much in the way of snorkeling or waves and I was just bored.
We stayed only a few hours before deciding to head out to find another spot.
[
As an aside, that's the beauty of the Virgin Islands. If you are bored with a beach or if it's overrun with people, you can simply pack up shop and drive 15 minutes to another amazing location... which we did.]
We ended up at Sapphire Beach and it was awesome... definitely my favorite beach on St. Thomas that we visited.
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| Sapphire Beach (St. Thomas, USVI) |
Sapphire had everything that I was looking for and it was a great way to cap off our last beach of the trip.
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| Boo! |
After a late afternoon at the beach (we clearly didn't want our vacation to end), we headed back to the resort for dinner.
I was completely exhausted after dinner, but Anna, the Energizer bunny, wanted to go night swimming one last time. I knew that my dad would've taken me on the last day of vacation, so I took one for the team and took Anna out for one last dip.
I'm so glad that I did because we were the only ones in the pool and we had a moment that I will never forget. This was our conversation...
Me: So, did you have fun on our trip to St. Thomas and St. John?
Anna: Yeah, dad. Thanks so much for taking me to cool places.
Me: Awww. You're welcome, Anna. Isn't it great here?
Anna: Yeah, but not as great as you, Daddy.
I can't make stuff like that up and it seriously caught me so off guard that I got all teary-eyed. It was without a doubt the perfect thing to say at the perfect time. Anna has the biggest heart of any kid I've ever met and I'm so glad she's mine :)
The entire trip she didn't nap once. She'd dose off for 10 minutes or so when we were in the car, but never a full blown nap. She was an absolute warrior and had a great week.
Leo continued to steal the show everywhere we went... just be being himself. The locals absolutely loved him. From our server at the Fat Turtle to the parking attendant at Coki Beach to our server at the nice restaurant at the resort, Leo had everyone eating out of his hand and made me smile at every turn... like he always does.
It was also so special to be able to take Sammy on an awesome trip for the final high school vacation. We ask a lot out of Sammy, so it was great to be able to reward her for doing well in school and being a great big sister to Anna and Leo.
Lastly, the person that deserved this trip more than the rest of us combined was Angie. As a stay-at-home mom for nearly a year, Angie is the glue that keeps our family running and she needed a break. Sure we had the kids along with us, so it wasn't a break from them, but we prefer to do things together anyway. The change of scenery couldn't have been any better and the kids were great, so I know the vacation was special for her.
On Friday, we flew back to JFK and drove home to Hudson. Nothing too eventful.
Well, that's our trip in a very, very long story. Anyway, here's a video of our travels. Enjoy...
Angie has put a lot of work in trying to figure out the best plan of attack for Disney, but having "planned" vacations, really isn't entirely our speed. She booked our three fast past trips for the day and a dress up experience for the kids, but other than that, we wanted to shoot from the hip, go with the flow and react to what the kids wanted to do. It turned out to be the perfect plan for us.
We walked around, letting the kids soak in all that is magical about this place. We hit up rides like It's a Small World (had to do this first because, let's face it, this ride pretty much sucks in comparison to everything else Disney has to offer, but it's a staple and we had to do it), the haunted house, the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse and more early on, but the first big highlight of our day came at The Pirates League where Angie scheduled the kids to get made up like a pirate and a mermaid.
I got the crazy idea to just head right back to Magic Kingdom and saying heck with the hotel and naps. Everyone was on board... and pumped! So, us crazy folks were headed right back into the lion's den.
The kids were blown away by the light show on Cinderella's castle... and I have to admit, I was too. Just such an amazing idea that's executed to perfection and has everyone in attendance feeling like a kid again. It truly is a magical place in that regard.
