By Popular Demand: A Caribbean Sampler

More complete photoblogging to come, but since I had a request to quikly throw a few photos from last week's trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands up on the blog, here goes:

We'll start with a favorite activity: sipping fruity rum drinks on the balcony of the condo at Bluebeard's Beach Club resort on the South shore of St. Thomas. This also gives you a pretty good sense of the view from our room, which was filled with white sand, blue Caribbean water, palm trees, and the occasional humongous cruise ship.

Monique at the resort.

John sailing with friends in the Sir Francis Drake Channel during a brief trip to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

Unfortunately, the cruise came to a short, sudden stop after John took the helm. Sadly, due to an obscure bit of 18th-Century British maritime law he's now forbidden to set foot in the United Kingdom or its territories for the next ten years.

Monique and Dick snorkeling at Coki Point Beach.

A view of our resort's beach and our rooms.

Dick, Mom, John, and Monique having -- Surprise! Surprise! -- fruity rum drinks. This time at the resort's beachside bar during sunset.

Monique high above Charlotte Amalie harbor.

And finally, Monique's favorite photo: a FedEx truck driving onto a ferry. Why does she especially like this? I'll leave it to her to explain, but my theory is that she wants to pack herself in a box and ship herself back to St. Thomas next winter.