The "If Only I Would Have Had $2.5 Million Back Then" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Beginning to unpack the few items I had packed in anticipation of our trip to St. Martin in about two months.  I have come to the realization that it just isn't going to happen when we had planned it to happen in the spring.  Began to get emails from friends in St. Martin/Sint Maarten telling us about what is happening on the island at present.  Not much different than what it is like in our home town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, except for the fact that the beaches on the French side of the island are closed and we don't have any beaches outside our door.  

Two hats from my collection.

As I began to return items already packed to their proper place in our house, I grabbed a few of my hats I had planned on taking with me this year.  One was a pink cap which had the name of one of the restaurants on the island of St. John known as "Woody's Seafood Saloon" while the other hat was blue and gray with the logo "Skinny Legs - A Pretty OK Place."  Both places were located on the island of St. John with Skinny Legs being found in Coral Bay while Woodys is located in Cruz Bay.  On our first trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands with our friends Jere and Just Sue we went to the island of St. Thomas.  Great place to visit and we totally enjoyed our week long trip.  One day we headed to the nearby town of Red Hook where we drove the car onto the ferry to head across the water to the island of St. John.  That was an experience in itself, but exploring St. John was one of the highlights of our vacation.  We unloaded the car in Cruz Bay and began a self-guided tour of St. John.  Stops at a few different areas to snorkel finally led us to Trunk Bay Beach on the west side of the island.  

Beautiful Trunk Bay Beach on St. John.

The island was discovered in 1493 by Christopher Columbus and why he every left those lucious green hills and pure white beaches is a mystery to me.  Actually, why the four of us ever left is still a mystery to me, also.  The island changed hands quite frequently between the French, Spanish, English and Dutch with the Dutch owning the island rights before they sold it to the United States in 1917 for $2.5 million.  A few decades later, a generous donation of 5,000 acres by conservationist Laurance S. Rockefeller was dedicated to creating a national park on the island in 1956.  The 5,000 acres name was changed to the Virgin Islands National Park and before long some 5,659 underwater acres were added.  Today, the park stretches an extensive 12,000-plus acres and occupies nearly two-thirds of St. John Island, plus a portion of nearby Hassel Island.  While on the island we spent part of our day exploring the park as well as snorkeling in the waters of the park.  After leaving we continued to circle the island and happened past this small bar with a funny name.  

Sue took our photo high above Trunk Bay on St. John.

Just had to make a stop and that is where I got my "Skinny Legs" hat.  We had something to eat and watched the boat life in nearby Coral Bay.  A second trip to St. Thomas with another ferry ride to St. John happened about half a dozen years later.  It was during that trip that we spent more time at Virgin Islands National Park as well as visiting Cruz Bay where we stopped for a drink at "Woody's."  St. John's is more than just beautiful beaches.  You can hike to plantation ruins and learn about life of those who worked the plantations years ago.  You can also visit petroglyphs carved by the Taino Indians.  Two-thirds of the island of St. John is now a National Park, making it a unique destination for visitors from around the world.  If you have ever watched a television show about purchasing land or a home on the island, you will realize just how few homes there are on the island.  And, the small villages, such as the few we visited, are filled with the beautiful people who call the island home.  Wouldn't take much for me to call St. John home.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.