We were thrilled to have the opportunity to host my parents onboard for a week in the US Virgin Islands.

Excitement filled the air as we prepared for their arrival. I don’t think the kids have ever done chores so willingly! We arrived in St Thomas early and were able to spend a few days hanging out in Christmas Cove with our friends on Kaia and Alliance, who were both also waiting for family to arrive. There were lots of swimming and snorkeling kids between boats, ladies’ morning paddle boards, beach hangouts, and the famed Pizza Pi floating pizza restaurant. After spending so long apart, this time with friends was perfection!

When it was time to pick up my parents we decided to let them dive headfirst into cruising life and picked them up on the beach via dinghy. They sounded a little nervous when I told them to wear shoes that could get wet to the airport, but everyone made it to the boat without incident! We headed immediately back to Christmas Cove for the night to set up for St John the following morning.

The next day we made the quick hop to St John, which is one of my favorite islands so far in the Caribbean. We spent most of the week hopping around different anchorages on this gorgeous island. We visited the national park office, had delicious cheeseburgers, enjoyed stunning sunsets, played board games, hiked, snorkeled, and celebrated a friend’s birthday.

I also fell one day while stepping from the dinghy to the boat in a rolly anchorage and suffered my first boat injury. It has now been 3 weeks and I’m still not fully healed! I am very thankful that it happened to me though and not one of my parents.

Adding visitors to an already small space definitely comes with complications, but we are so happy my parents were able to take the time to come visit us and experience a taste of the life we’re living right now. Our doors are always open if anyone else would like to come visit!