St. John, Steamboat, Imperial Beach, and Back to the Snow!

A week on the boat was enough for us landlubbers.  We spent the last few days of our vacation touring the amazing US protectorate of St. John, one of the US Virgin Islands.  Most of it is a National Park, and to take advantage of it, we stayed in Concordia Eco-Resort.

The turquoise waters of Salt Pond Bay

Perched high on the hills above Salt Pond Bay, this “resort” was bare-bones: no A/C, no elevators, no made-up beds, no drinking water.  The tents were canvas on wooden 2x4s, with zippered net “windows.”  You hauled your own water in a plastic container, and walked the wooden stairs and tree-top-high gangplanks to your tent, lugging your suitcase with you.

Sunset from the eco-balcony

For all that, you got the sound of crickets and frogs, wind, and spectacular views of the island and bay, with intense sunsets.  It was a sort of combination camping and cabin living.  I was enchanted, Todd was indifferent, Tia was bravely enthusiastic, and Sasha was horrified. 

This was our eco-home for four days

We hiked the island trails and swam with the turtles, finding many turtles by going out early to snorkel the gorgeous coral beds.  It was a lovely way to end our Caribbean dream…despite the eco-resort!

Our own private little beach, turtles included!

Hiking and swimming

Beauty everywhere

As if it weren’t enough to spend 5 weeks carousing through the Caribbean on boats, planes, cars, and taxis, we booked a week at Steamboat Springs, Colorado on our way home.  Todd’s brother Mark and his family go there every year, and we wanted in on the action.  Having prepared well ahead of time, we picked up the ski clothes and gear we had shipped when leaving California and were ready for snow, despite the fact that our suitcases were full of summer gear.

Hauling the ski gear out of GRK Valley

Steamboat Springs is a lovely little old-west Colorado town, still funky and sweet and distinctly local, but with all the amenities of a high-powered ski resort.  Prices were surprisingly cheap except for lift tickets, which made the 50-euro tickets in Spain’s Sierra Nevada seem like bargain-basement prices.  

Stupendous Steamboat Springs

The kids all had a blast skiing together for the first time ever.  Sasha learned to snowboard, showing true perseverance and dominating the board by the third day.  We took a day off and went to the local hot springs on a cold and snowy day, and had two incredible powder days.  Tia and Sasha are already asking for a repeat next year!

Then it was back to reality…or as close as we get this year.  Our long-term renters for our house in Imperial Beach broke their lease for multiple reasons, and we had to furnish the house and try to rent it short-term.  (Still looking for someone for May, if you know of someone who is interested!!)  It was surprisingly delightful to be back in IB: there’s a fancy new hotel, some upscale restaurants, and all the old favorite places have upped their game.  We loved being in our house for 10 days!

Our lovely modern beach house just south of San Diego

View from our balcony, to the dunes, ocean, and downtown San Diego!

Then back up to the cabin.  So far we’ve experienced a good part of the autumn, and of course the winter there this year has been epic, with record 200% snowfall in the Sierra Nevada.  We trekked back in down the 8-foot-high snowbanks with the help (again!) of cousin Royce and his friend Zack, which made it much easier (although the cats did not appreciate the snowmobile ride nearly as much). 

Hauling the ski gear back in to the cabin

And lugging the groceries in the backpack!

Despite all the snow, spring has certainly arrived in the Sierras, albeit haltingly and with much rain and sleet.  The creeks are running strongly with the meltoff in the lower elevations, and our meadow is nearly clear of snow.  

The snow is melting fast

Within just a few days, shoots of meadow grass and reeds were clearly visible through the brown dead stems of last year, and you could see a sheen of light green across the whole valley.  Never mind that it snowed ANOTHER FOOT at the beginning of April!  The strengthening sun melted things down quickly, and we even sunbathed on our deck!

April, April...it can't decide what it will!  Snow, then sunshine, more snow, more sunshine...

And then we got to initiate the first friend of Tia and Sasha to visit: Welcome, Frances Killian!  I am proud to announce that she passed the GRK test, walking in through the snow with flashlights at 2 am (her plane was delayed), and taking on blue diamond runs in her second day of skiing (thanks to Bill Kelly for taking us to Sierra at Tahoe!).  They all had a great time sunbathing up on Granite Dome and catching up on the latest in makeup application techniques. 

Sking with Frances and Bill Kelly, what a blast!

And then it was time to gear up for our first-ever Recreational Vehicle trip through the national parks of the West!  Yep, we’d rented an RV through rvshare.com, the airbnb of RVs.  The Tardis Roadtripper is a whopping 29 feet long with a pop-out and plenty of space for the four of us…we hope…

Hanging in front of the fire with laptop and three cats...