Just another day at the office--St. John VI

Son, Tom, actually has a real job.  He owns and captains a tour boat named Sadie Sea.  Sometimes he has a paid crew member and other times he has a first mate--Amy.

Two or three times each week the National Park conducts a three hour hike from the top of one of the mountains,  down a densely wooded trail to the beach.  The Park service has contracted with the Sadie Sea to have their hikers picked up on the beach and delivered back to Cruz Bay.  It is one of the most popular things for the visitors to St. John to do--a guided mountain hike, a nature talk along the way, a swim on the beach and a 45 minute boat trip, all in one experience.

I joined the boat trip twice in my week there.  Tom picked me up here at the dinghy dock.

The Sadie Sea is moored in Cruz Bay and is available for charter for up to 31 people.  (An interesting side note--The boat was originally licensed for 35 people but this year the Coast Guard has reduced that number to 31.  Why? Because the 'average' American is no longer 165 lbs but is now 185 lbs!  Folks, we need to go on a diet!)

The boat is comfortable, safe,  and well equipped.  Tom's Coast Guard experience has helped him a lot.

The 1/2 hour trip along the coast is beautiful and very interesting.  Most of these homes are valued at a million or more.

The island is very rocky and not at all level--so....

Some homes are built in sections.  The one above has living room in one, kitchen & dining in another and bedrooms in a third (I  am not sure I could comfortably sleep in that third building and sleep-walking is out of the question).

As soon as we arrived at the pick-up point we could see hikers emerging from the trees.

Tom took off to pick them up...

Some were diving into the water while they waited for pick up--what a great way to end a hike.

Whew!  Just another tough day at the office.

(For more information on Sadie Sea Charters check out Trip Advisor on the Internet.  Tom and Amy have some truly wonderful write ups and are second in ratings for charter boats in the area.  Okay, so I'm a proud Mom. And a link to their website is on this blog)