Thursday in St. John

Day 8

We got off to an early start today- had to set the alarm to wake up in time to get Becky to Cruz Bay for her 7AM dive trip departure (to see the wreck of the R.M.S. Rhone). There was a beautiful sunrise from Luna Vista. After we dropped Becky off Grace and I set off to find a place for breakfast in Cruz Bay. We ended up at Mojo's Cafe and had french toast and scrambled eggs. We were visited by a cute young golden retriever named Cooper- we fed him the crust of our toast. Afterwards we went to a mini mart and bought some laundry detergent and went in search of a laundromat (we were told it was behind 'fashion palace'!). After we circled around the block twice we found parking and started two loads of laundry. While our laundry was doing it's thing we walked to the Starfish Market and bought Grace some Pediasure a.k.a. 'Milky' (at the beginning of the trip she said she didn't need any more milky.. but now she has changed her mind) and some juice boxes. Then we walked up the street and discovered the animal shelter. We went inside and were greeted by about 20 cats of varying ages- mostly young thin black cats, and most of them with herpes conjunctivitis. They were very friendly and playful and if we could we would have taken some home. Grace had fun playing with them even though their little claws were getting caught in the fabric of her new dress and snagging it.. When the laundry was finished we went to the post office for postcard stamps and did a little shopping.. We bought handmade soaps, bath salts, jams, and presents for Grace's cousins, Savannah and Maddie. At this point I was shopped out so we hopped back in the Jeep and went for a ride. We headed out towards the Westin and looked for 'Chocolate Hole' but unfortunately we didn't find it. This was my first day getting to drive the Jeep since Becky was out on a dive- pretty fun trying to remember to stay on the left side on the windy hilly roads..Ultimately we ended up at Hawksnest Bay for a few hours of beach time before we had to pick up Becky again. There were bigger 'waves' than at the other beaches but Grace had fun trying to body surf where the waves crashed on the shore. Later we walked to the visitor center of the National Park and ran into our ranger Laurel. Her son was being dropped off after daycare and Grace got to play at the adjacent playground with him and a few other kids. Then we walked across the street to Margarita Phils for (expensive) Mexican food and $15 fishbowl margaritas.. I got conch and shrimp fajitas and Becky ordered her standard chicken quesadilla. (no, we didn't let Grace drink any of the margarita.. we just thought it would make a funny pic!)
We are now watching 'Father of the Bride' and plan to call it an early night. Tomorrow we go on a sailboat ride with Captain Phil, the wayward sailor.. Should be a great way to cap off our week in St. John!