ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS

My friend Val was invited to a wedding in ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS and she asked if I wanted to tag along. I didn’t know the bride and groom, but who turns down a trip to the Caribbean. I mean, tickets are super cheap right now (mine was under $300 round trip) and the wedding rate at the hotel was beyond reasonable. I love the sun. I love the sand and I love to travel, so I booked my trip and I was off.

I’m usually opposed to red eye flights because you never get enough sleep to function like a normal human being the next day. Val, however, thought it was the best idea to make the most of the short trip, so off we flew from LA at 10:30pm on Spirit Airlines. We landed at the crack of dawn in Ft. Lauderdale for a hellish 5-hour layover (so much for making the most of the day). I had made a plan to take a cab to a nearby hotel pool and bask in the sun for a couple hours before my connecting flight. But, I only made it as far as the floor outside the gate we were going to depart out of (No shnazzy lounge when your traveling economy). I slept for a good couple hours on the nasty airport carpet till I was woken by a pigeon hopping by (No joke! There was a bird stuck in the terminal). I did some writing, ate some breakfast and read trashy magazines till it was time to board. OFF TO ST. THOMAS! YAY!

We arrived at the Wyndham Resort at Sugar Bay, checked in and immediately hit the pool. A dip in the cool water with clear blue skies overhead made the hellish journey worthwhile. We showered and had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant then hit the hay to prep for the weekend ahead.

Friday morning, we spent the whole day on the beach. I worked on my bronzed tan between dips in the ocean and pool. Poor Val got a serious sunburn and had to spend the afternoon hiding from the sun. That evening, we met up with the wedding party. I was introduced to the bride and groom, Katie and Andy, who are super fun, extremely nice and very generous. I expressed profusely that I didn’t want to be a wedding crasher and that I was more than fine doing my own thing, but they insisted. So for the rest of the weekend I tagged along and made some amazing new friends.

Friday night, we headed into Red Hook to Duffy’s Love Shack for some dinner and cocktails. Duffy’s is a rockin, wild bar. We ate and sipped novelty cocktails from big fancy glasses (my glass had a bikini clad lady laying across it and Val’s was shaped like a skull). We danced until the wee hours of the morning.

The next day, we hopped on a ferry to St. John, a neighboring island just 20 minutes away. We took an open air taxi over to the beautiful Trunk Bay beach. The sun wasn’t really out, but we played in the sand and swam in the ocean (watching out for the big sting ray that was lingering by the shore line). After a couple hours of serious relaxing on the beach, we headed into downtown St. John to check out the shops and grab some food before it was time to catch the ferry back to ST. THOMAS.

That night was the rehearsal dinner (which no matter how bad I felt crashing, everyone insisted I join). We dined on yummy food as friends and family made speeches about the bride and groom. God, I love weddings! There was so much love and happiness in that room. After dinner, we had a couple of cocktails at the pool bar before it was time for bed.

Sunday was the wedding. We spent the morning basking in the sun, then hit the showers for the 5:30pm nuptials on the beach. The sky was a mix of blues and pinks as the sun set and Katie and Andy said their “I do’s” (which both of then actually responded with a, “hell’s yes!”) The reception was by the pool. We ate, drank and danced under the stars (The groom even busted out the worm)! As the beautiful evening came to a close someone got the bright idea to throw the groom in the pool. He laughed and chased his new bride till she took a flying leap into the pool herself. The rest of the party (minus me and a handful of other girls who hid on the hotel stairs) either jumped in themselves, were thrown in or eventually coerced. I don’t know the bride and groom very well, but this does seem like the perfect end to the evening for this fun loving couple.

Monday, we were worn out from all the festivities. We spent a mellow day on the beach, then checked out downtown Charlotte Amalie and the high end shopping area by the cruise docks and yachting bay. We grabbed some dinner at sunset over looking the ocean, then watched TV in the room until we drifted off to sleep.

Tuesday was departure day, but luckily we had a bit of time to soak up some last rays of sun before boarding our 4:30pm plane home. The flight was long and arduous (and full of screaming babies) and I was more than excited to make it back to LA.

I had an amazing couple of days in ST. THOMAS and I am so happy that I was able to be a part of the wedding festivities for Andy and Katie, who are the sweetest, most loving couple. My trip was FABULOUS!!