The last full week of May our family dropped in on the Jones family. In the middle of the Virgin Islands.
Yes, you read that correctly. Our family of four traveled to St.Thomas, then ferried to Road Town, BVI, and thought we would have a few hours to tour around Road Town before meeting up with the Jones. We walked 100 yards and see Kaylee coming out of a store with her grandparents. It was quite funny.
The next day we sailed from Road Town to Leverick Bay in a wind that had the boat heeling in rough waters, which made me thankful for Dramamine almost immediately. We did stop for a snorkel on Salt Island, which was the first of several “jump in and swim” opportunities that were delightful and amazing. Fish with colors I could only dream of seeing in my lifetime. Coral that National Geographic had covered in pictures. A barracuda under a dilapidated dock, seemingly uninterested in our party of seven. Welcome to your vacation.
Yes, you read that correctly. Our family of four traveled to St.Thomas, then ferried to Road Town, BVI, and thought we would have a few hours to tour around Road Town before meeting up with the Jones. We walked 100 yards and see Kaylee coming out of a store with her grandparents. It was quite funny.
The next day we sailed from Road Town to Leverick Bay in a wind that had the boat heeling in rough waters, which made me thankful for Dramamine almost immediately. We did stop for a snorkel on Salt Island, which was the first of several “jump in and swim” opportunities that were delightful and amazing. Fish with colors I could only dream of seeing in my lifetime. Coral that National Geographic had covered in pictures. A barracuda under a dilapidated dock, seemingly uninterested in our party of seven. Welcome to your vacation.
Leverick Bay provided a much-needed shower, a swimming pool for the kids, laundry services, and a day to turn rocking back and forth into sea legs. After a relaxing day, it was off to Saba Rock for a happy hour, Tarpon fish (4 to 5 feet long) feeding, an introduction to Elvis the Morey Eel (4 feet long) in a tank, and a date night for my husband and myself. So, picture if you will, being in one of the most beautiful places in the world, traveling with family (fun), then people who invited you on their boat offer to give you and the hubby a few hours for a really nice dinner for just the two of you, with an open-ended return time. Be still my soul. That’s a date that we won’t easily forget nor be able to replicate for a long time. What a gift!
The next day was a hike for the Jones adults and the hubby, which ended up with them finding a wonderful, local Indian restaurant about halfway down the 2 mile hiking path. Little did the rest of us by the pool know that dinner reservations would be made, complete with a back of pick-up truck ride before and after dinner by the owner’s daughter’s boyfriend? Quite the adventure, and the best roti I have ever had.
The next day was a sailing excursion to The Baths, which proved to be really neat to climb, swim in tide pools, and snorkel. Post-Baths, it was a sail to Savannah Bay, which was almost totally untouched beach and coral everywhere. Savannah Bay also provided our first experience with a 30 knot wind gust that left almost all of us gasping for air and grabbing our spaghetti plates with cat-like reflexes. The girls were to scrape dishes that night, and it took a lot more convincing after the blast of air that sent everything flying.
We stayed in the bay 2 nights, then sailed to Soper’s Hole to catch a ferry back to Road Town, a cab to Emerald Coast Resort, and a night’s sleep before boarding a plane early the next morning for the continental 48.
Sure, we had issues. A child sick in the back seat of our car due to a nervous stomach. Another child who was sick to her stomach around day 4 due to heat and motion. Moments of nausea and frustration with kiddos. Sleeping on a rocking surface for a week. 3 days without a shower and the smells that ensued.
However, overshadowing all of those issues was the graciousness of our hosts. They fed us, and fed us, and fed us. They warned of waves the night before our first sail and recommended to “pre-game” the Dramamine. Ken jumped in for lost glasses and a lost plate. (Proud moment: I did beat him to jumping in for a hat that was lifted by a wind gust off of my head.) Their flexibility and inclusion of our family in theirs immediately. We invaded their space for a week, and they acted like it was just a normal day on the boat. Kaylee shared everything, and our girls played their hearts out daily.
Sure, we had issues. A child sick in the back seat of our car due to a nervous stomach. Another child who was sick to her stomach around day 4 due to heat and motion. Moments of nausea and frustration with kiddos. Sleeping on a rocking surface for a week. 3 days without a shower and the smells that ensued.
However, overshadowing all of those issues was the graciousness of our hosts. They fed us, and fed us, and fed us. They warned of waves the night before our first sail and recommended to “pre-game” the Dramamine. Ken jumped in for lost glasses and a lost plate. (Proud moment: I did beat him to jumping in for a hat that was lifted by a wind gust off of my head.) Their flexibility and inclusion of our family in theirs immediately. We invaded their space for a week, and they acted like it was just a normal day on the boat. Kaylee shared everything, and our girls played their hearts out daily.
In addition, Danielle’s parents had been at a resort in Leverick Bay for several days prior to our arrival. What a joy to get to know them and share their adventure and ours also. New opportunities brought new friends.
The Jones’ graciousness was matched by the others sailing around them. Everywhere we went we happened to start up conversations with various boats who were doing the same thing the Jones family is doing. Each boat has a different story on a similar, but unprecedented adventure that is as individualistic as the captains themselves. We so enjoyed getting to chat with those who are sailing on Vagabond, Pepper, and Abby Singer. Each crew had a different tale to tell of how they decided to embark on an adventure like this, where they had been, and where they were headed. It seemed as though we had been brought into not only the life of the Aqua Vida, but also a bigger community of sailors with a desire to enjoy the adventure and whatever it brings, whether positive or negative. Immediate acceptance, immediate trust, immediate care.
I also didn’t realize how much of the sailing life had been engrained in my vocabulary until I told my mom on the phone earlier last week that we had to get the cat “out of stowage”. Now rolling up car windows is “closing the hatches”. I also know now that anchoring, docking, and mooring are all very different.
I am so thankful to my hubby (who organized all of the details and made the journey happen), the Jones family on Aqua Vida for their graciousness, and to our girls who took everything in and enjoyed the ride. I could not be more proud of our girls stepping out of their comfort zones to tackle a journey that isn’t your average trip, yet would prove stretching and challenging in lots of great ways. They practiced flexibility, which is what we’ve been talking about for years. I don’t know yet if they quite understand just how unique this trip was, and yet I think we will be telling and retelling stories for a very long time.
As for me, I will eternally be grateful for the Jones’ willingness to have us and will remember the journey for a very long time. Once my sea legs go away, I will remember it even more fondly as the trip that stretched me too.
To Aqua Vida, Pepper, Vagabond, and Abby Singer: May the winds carry you all to your next destination safely, and may you continue to enjoy the adventure. When you arrive back on land, you all have a place to stay and rest with us.
And who knows, we may drop in again in the future…..
I also didn’t realize how much of the sailing life had been engrained in my vocabulary until I told my mom on the phone earlier last week that we had to get the cat “out of stowage”. Now rolling up car windows is “closing the hatches”. I also know now that anchoring, docking, and mooring are all very different.
I am so thankful to my hubby (who organized all of the details and made the journey happen), the Jones family on Aqua Vida for their graciousness, and to our girls who took everything in and enjoyed the ride. I could not be more proud of our girls stepping out of their comfort zones to tackle a journey that isn’t your average trip, yet would prove stretching and challenging in lots of great ways. They practiced flexibility, which is what we’ve been talking about for years. I don’t know yet if they quite understand just how unique this trip was, and yet I think we will be telling and retelling stories for a very long time.
As for me, I will eternally be grateful for the Jones’ willingness to have us and will remember the journey for a very long time. Once my sea legs go away, I will remember it even more fondly as the trip that stretched me too.
To Aqua Vida, Pepper, Vagabond, and Abby Singer: May the winds carry you all to your next destination safely, and may you continue to enjoy the adventure. When you arrive back on land, you all have a place to stay and rest with us.
And who knows, we may drop in again in the future…..
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