#asolare

So when my boyfriend invited me to his family home in St Thomas for a weekend, I didn’t hesitate to book a flight! I flew down to St Thomas on an American Airlines direct flight one Thursday morning at 8:35 a.m. which had me in the sun by 2:30!

St. Thomas if the perfect place to go if your goal is eat, sleep, sunbathe, repeat!

Where We Ate:

Asolare

Our first night we took about a 20 minute ferry over to St. John and had dinner at Asolare, a beautiful restaurant overlooking the islands with a perfect view of the sunset. If you’re looking for a place to have dinner with a view, this is your place to do it! Definitely worth the price.

The view outside Asolare.

Inside Asolare

Sunset Grill

For lunch, we ate at the Sunset Grill at Secret Harbor. This is a laid-back lunch and dinner spot right on the beach. We had the most amazing ahi tuna wonton chip nachos! I could probably eat them every day.

Pizza Pi Boat

Shout out to anyone who goes to an ivy league school, quits to pursue something much cooler and now lives the dream life! While in St. Thomas, we made a stop at the Pizza Pi Boat. It was started by former Wall Street/Ivy Leaguers who decided they would rather move to the islands and sell pizza than sit at a desk all day. Basically, they’re geniuses! It was expensive but really good pizza. And it’s fun that boats pull up to it all day long, grab their pies and go on their way. Really wish I had come up with this idea…or could at least make pizza from scratch!

The Pizza Pi Boat!

The Beaches:

Secret Harbor

We spent a lot of time at Secret Harbor as it was only a 10 minute walk from the house. This is a small beach with a hotel, restaurant (Sunset Grill) and several shops where you can rent sports equipment. It’s a fairly quiet beach so it’s good for swimming and sunbathing. It also has great sunset views.

Ritz Carlton Beach

We also had the opportunity to spend time at the beach at the Ritz Carlton resort. This beach was larger than Secret Harbor and much busier as the Ritz is a pretty large resort on the island. It was also a bit windier as it wasn’t as protected by a cove like Secret Harbor. But at this beach we were also able to have access to a pool, hot tub, bar and restaurant so it had a bit more to do than just sitting on the beach.

Lindquist aka Smith Bay

This was my favorite beach we went to on the island. It is one of those perfectly white sand beaches you see on Instagram. It’s much more secluded than the other beaches and had a lot less people. It’s pretty perfect and of course I don’t have a single photo of it! (face palm)

Activities:

One morning we chartered a boat that we took around the island to go snorkeling, cliff jumping and exploring. The captain of the boat took us cliff jumping, snorkeling and to a couple secluded beaches. We were out on the boat for about three and a half hours and we felt it was just enough time to do some exploring while also getting the afternoon to relax. The captain was also the one to introduce us to the Pizza Pi Boat!

Cliff jumping

The House

My boyfriend’s family’s house is available on Airbnb! And it’s pretty fantastic…if I do say so myself. Beautiful views, lots of space, a dreamlike island getaway. ;-)

I have to say, St. Thomas is an easy escape from the U.S. You don’t need a passport as it’s one of the U.S. Virgin Islands and you can almost always guarantee it will be warm enough for you to get a tan. There are great beaches, restaurants and perfect sunsets…which is ultimately what we’re all chasing, right?

New Post has been published on http://boatsjournal.com/2016/02/11/refit-of-the-47-15m-superyacht-asolare-completed/amp/

Refit of the 47.15m superyacht Asolare completed

Beaches of St John

 Every beach we went to in St John was like a slice of paradise...  great snorkeling, shimmery clear blue waters,  and just pure luxury.  Each beach has its own character and there are so many more we just did not have the time to explore.  Love the feel of being in such pristine waters and I would return in a heartbeat because we just got a glimpse of all that St John has to offer.

  Maho Bay – this quiet smaller beach is right off the main road and has limited parking but ended up being one of our favorite beaches.  It was beautiful with calm waters that were perfect for our young kiddos.  To the right in the darker areas of the waters you will be rewarded with some big beautiful sea turtles if you are patient while snorkeling.  Get there early to enjoy this place because there is limited street parking!  Perfect for kids and turtle hunting.

  Cinnamon Bay – this beach was bigger and beautiful but the waves are strong and I felt I had to monitor the kids closely because of the waves and undertow.   Unlike Maho Bay, this place had some basic facilities with small food shop/bathrooms/vending machine.  There are campgrounds near the beach and a parking area.  Right across the street is the entry point to do a hike of the Cinnamon Bay Trail and a sugar mill and rum ruins area to explore.  We parked and spent some time exploring the ruins and caught a brief tropical rain shower while exploring the area (loved it!).  The boys enjoyed the time to explore the old  fort, large spiders, creepy cemetery, and beautiful trees.  It was a great addition to our trip and a chance to see a piece of the USVI National Park before entering amazing beaches.   As the kids get older, we hope to return and do much longer hikes.

   Trunk’s Bay – there is a reason this is named one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.  Even before you stumble upon this piece of paradise the drive over offers a glimpse from the  hilltop of the breathtaking beach you are about to enter.  There is a parking area, small entry fee, bathrooms, showers, restaurants and rentals shops.  This place gets busy in the afternoon because it’s the most famous beach on St John and in the Caribbean but that reputation is well deserved.  It was beautiful and we enjoyed our time snorkeling and relaxing.

  Great Cruz Bay Beach at the Westin – a small beach on the resort with some boats docked.  If you decide to take the Westin Ferry this is where you will enter the resort.  The water/snorkeling is not nice here compared to the rest of the island but it has the facilities for use from the Westin.  Floats, kayaks and water inflatables such as the trampoline make for a good day with the kids. The beach had hammocks and beach chairs so you can run between here, the bar and the pool to enjoy a nice afternoon.