St. John, USVI - Why STJ Is Our Favorite Place in the World!

Some call it, "America's National Treasure." Or maybe you've heard of, "The Love City." 1956, Rockefeller bought and donated 75% of it to the US National Park Service so it could be kept, “a thing of joy forever.” And a thing of joy it is!

Of course, we're talking about St. John, in the US Virgin Islands... Our paradise, and our absolute favorite place in the whole world, but not for the reasons you might think.

Wanderlust and crew moored off of St. John's Cruz Bay in late summer after an absolutely terrible sail (involving an unprecedented amount of seasickness - ugh!) from Puerto Rico, and were immediately calmed as we stared out at the mountains and electric blue sea along the anchorage. After one of our worst sails, ever, there was nothing better to calm the nerves than a breathtaking Caribbean view.

Ok, maybe some wine, too.

But, the absolute BEST part about St. John isn't the gorgeous beaches, the clear water, or the green rolling mountains... Ben and I love this island for a few different reasons, that you might not know about us.

The first is that Quinn's twin sister, Whitney moved to St. John over seven years ago. Now, Whitney lives on the island full time, works part time as a child birth educator (studying to be a badass island doula) , and raises two adorable boys, Jayden (18 months) and Quintin (3) with their dad, Jarrod. They've made island living their full time reality. Ben and I have visited over the years in the past, but never gotten the chance to spend real quality time with this little island family, especially during our 9-5 lives and 2 measly weeks of vacation per year.

Our sailing sabbatical was the PERFECT opportunity to get some quality time with these islanders. We absolutely LOVED having unlimited time to spend with Whitney, Jarrod, and the boys, and letting them finally get to know "Aunt Quinn" and "Captain Uncle Ben."

Quinn and Family in StJ

Sailing with Kids in the US Virgins

Dinghy Ride with the Kids STJ

Jayden enjoying a Coco

Island Friends

Ben and Quinn Playing Hat

Ben and Jay Matching

Ben Swnging with Q and J

Jay in a dinghy

Quin and Teak Climbing Hansen Bay

Jayden with Coco

Quinn Playing in Dirt Hansen Bay

Junior Captain Quintin

Quinn and Ben playing Frisbee

Not only do we love "The Love City" because we adore the people who reside there, but this island also happens to hold a special place in Ben's and my life.

Almost five years ago, after three years of dating, Ben popped the question, on a full moon lit beach in Florida. We almost immediately decided instead of the traditional large family wedding in Kansas City, we wanted an intimate, chill, totally Caribbean destination wedding to celebrate our love.

Just under four years ago, Ben and I celebrated our marriage on Trunk Bay, in the heart of St. John, with 20 or so of our best friends and closest family, It was one of the best days of our lives. It was a perfect island wedding day, complete with coconut walkway, acoustic guitarist, and open bar. We didn't even mind the no-see-ums that swarmed during the sunset ceremony! <3

Cue the nostalgia! And check out clean-shaven Ben!

Although we've loved STJ from afar in years past, taking short stints and vacations whenever we could, it is a totally different and more intimate experience to sail there. We got to know each beach, religiously watched every sunset, dove each anchorage, and even made some local friends this time around. We truly feel connected to this island and are refreshed and re-energized every time we visit.

"If we love it so much, why don't we live there?" you might ask?! Well, the truth is, we'd love to! But the logistics are tough, like living in any remote place. That there's no airport on STJ, which means traveling for corporate work is almost impossible. Not to mention, the US Virgins are inside the hurricane belt, and although there's some protected bays, the STJ hurricane hole is totally "full up," and regulated by the National Park Service. Protection during storms isn't guaranteed.

Although logistics say we can't live full time aboard Wanderlust right now, it will always have a special place in our hearts! And who knows what our future holds?

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Stay tuned as we continue to cruise St. John, get some new crew, hit up all the anchorages we can on the island, and explore the British Virgin Islands!

Thanks for Reading,

Ben, Quinn and Ruca

#destinations #aboutus #USVI