Every year my family and I go on a big summer vacation to a place more extravagant than Destin, Florida. Do not get me wrong, Destin is like our home away from home, but I'm talking exotic, two week vacations. The past couple of years we have traveled to many amazing places, sometimes twice, such as France, Italy, Greece, Hawaii, St. Thomas and St. John. This past summer my family and I traveled to St. Thomas and St. John and took a day trip to the British Virgin Islands. I have a hard time deciding which trip was my favorite, but I can say that I enjoyed this trip in particular mostly because it was tropical and super relaxing, yet fun and adventurous along the way. Also my grandma and great aunt traveled with us and I always cherish my time spent with them and experiencing new things with my family.

I remember the first day when we arrived at the airport in St. Thomas. It was dreary and raining lightly as we landed. I remember thinking, "out of all of the weeks in a year, why does it have to be raining the week we are going to be here?" We pull in to the gate and people departed the plane on moveable stairs. It was finally my turn to file down the narrow walkway of the aircraft and as soon as soon as I stepped onto the staircase, the rain pours on top of my mom and brother who exited only 30 seconds before I did. It was so bad that the flight crew had to close the door of the plane and wait for the rain to lighten up. Just our luck, the rain never did lighten up and my dad and I decided to make a run for it. Next, my great aunt comes running towards the overhang and is drenched by the time she reaches us. Following her is my grandma, in a wheelchair with three people holding umbrellas over her so that she did not get wet which was pointless because we were all soaking wet in the end and all laughing at our attempts to stay dry in what was supposed to be a beautiful, sunny paradise.

We stayed at Frenchman's Reef and Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort in a room with a balcony that overlooked both the ocean and the port, Charlotte Amalie. Chilling on the balcony in the mornings was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful and relaxing. Some days, if you were up early enough, you could watch the cruise ship coming into the port that day. I'm obsessed with cruise ships and loved looking at all of the fun things onboard like the watersides, rock walls and mini golf courses.

I cannot exactly remember on what days we did what, but I do remember all of our exciting adventures on the islands. On the first day we traveled to the Ritz Carlton. The resort was beautiful and their infinity pool was enormous and ice blue. We ate lunch at the Ritz and it was the first time I realized that the food in the Virgin Islands was going to be super expensive and overpriced along with everything else. Also, that day we traveled to the town of Charlotte Amalie which was conveniently only seven minuets from out hotel where we walked up and down the main street lined with one jewelry store after another. On Sunday, we went to the Catholic Church in town and they wanted to know where all the visitors were from; of course we said New Orleans, Louisiana. Have to represent! The next day my family and I traveled to the other side of the mountain on St. Thomas to Magen's Bay which was absolutely gorgeous. It was kind of like a huge cove where sailboats, YOLO boards, kayaks and paddle boats could maneuver in the water. Later that day the native children came out to play in the water and it was so fun to watch them splash in the beautiful, clear, blue green water. Another day we jumped in the car and went to all of the well known beaches on the island. This day was really fun to see all of the different landscapes and scenery at each beach.

The the best meal I ate in St. Thomas, and maybe even in my entire life, was at the Old Stone Farmhouse. My mom was reading her Fromer's book and they said that it was the best place on the island to eat and I was not too convinced. When we pulled up it was really dark so we did not get to see the outside of the restaurant well. When we walked in the front doors after valet took our car, we walked into the restaurant was very warm and cozy, but also classy and sophisticated. The hostess showed us to our table and we sat down for about a minute when the chef came up to our table and invited us into the kitchen to see the fresh meat and fish that they were serving that night. When we walked into the kitchen, there was extravagant platters of lobster, numerous kinds of fish and various kinds of meats laid out for us to view and help make our decision on what we wanted to eat that night for dinner. The menu was printed on worn paper and sealed with red wax with the emblem of the restaurant. Our table sat in front of two barn doors opening up to the valley and the ocean breeze flowing though the restaurant. The caesar salad was presented on a long plate. It was different to us, but delicious. For my entrée I ordered a plate that included a small, but thick, juicy steak, a lobster tail and mashed potatoes. That entire meal was literally some of the most amazing food I have ever eaten.

The night we ate at the Old Stone Farmhouse was our last night on St. Thomas. The next day we traveled to St. John by ferry. The ride over offered beautiful views from the top deck. As we arrived at St. John the sun was out, the water was blue, the foliage was bright green and the wind was blowing lightly through my hair. I could not wait to stay at the next resort! St. John is known to be more quiet and tranquil than St. Thomas and it definitely stood true to its reputation. My family stayed at The Westin St. John Resort and Villas. This was one of the most beautiful places I have been in my entire life. The resort in its entirety was so peaceful. The pool area and beach was beautiful and was relaxing to just lay there and bask in the sun. The beach looked out on a body of water that came in and provided a place where motorized boats and sail boats could anchor. They looked beautiful shining in the sunlight and bobbing up and down on the crystal blue water surrounded by lush green landscapes on both sides. It was fun to swim out to the sunning deck and water trampoline with my brother and try to see who could make it from one trampoline to the next on the moving logs.

One day while in St. John we rented a dinghy from the Westin and took it all around St. John to different beach. Each beach was special in their own way and all had something different to offer. At all of the beaches we had to hook the dinghy up to a buoy and swim to shore. At one of the beaches we snorkeled in the greenish blue water and it was so neat to see everything underneath the surface. Another day we went on a speed boat to the Baths at Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. It was neat walking though the rocks at The Baths and the water there was the most clear and blue I have ever seen it. Also in the town of Cruise Bay there were many shops, especially jewelry shops. My dad bought me a silver hook bracelet with a thin gold chord on it. The hook bracelets are only made on St. John and when the hook is facing out it means that your heart is not taken and you are still looking for love, but when it is turned in towards you it means your heart is already taken by someone.

One thing I will never forget about St. Thomas and St. John were the iguanas. Everywhere you looked, there was a iguana if not five more around him. They were all around both resorts, just chilling next to you in your pool chair. The resort staffs often had to shoo iguanas away from the guests and back into the foliage. If you did not realize this before, iguanas are not very attractive reptiles. They were super creepy and I did not like being surrounded by them.

I will never forget any of my family vacations. They are all very special to me in their own ways. Seeing the Acropolis in Greece, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Leaning Tower in Pisa in Italy, surfing in Hawaii and traveling to the Virgin Islands makes me feel so lucky to be a part of my family. Not only do I get to grow closer to my family, but also I am able to learn about different cultures and experience new things. I feel so blessed to have the parents I do and for them being able to take my brother and I on memorable vacations. I feel very fortunate and thankful for them and for the memories I have made on the many summer vacations we have been on together.