Tag Archives: virgin islands

Educational Adventures, Fall Family Adventure, Summer Adventure, Travel

Getting Your Kids Scuba Certified

Image Leave a comment

So before I my daughter I had been scuba diving for years. I couldn’t wait to get her certified one day as I envisioned being under the sea with exploring fish and seeing turtles and finding big Caribbean lobsters together. It took me awhile to get around to it, but after Covid I said that’s it. Let’s go live!

Getting Started in Scuba

We had done one recreational walk in dive at Cokie Beack with Cokie Beach divers, which was so much fun. They gave us a dog biscuit in the water and we watched the little fish go nuts. Got some great shots. That got Morgan comfortable with the idea and ready to go for more.

Getting an Open Water Certification

We made an appt with the local dive shop up on 90th street. Met a really nice man who walked us through the paperwork, and then fit my daughter for gear. He found her a great mask that fit her eyesight. He walked her through the program and gave her her new PADI book.

When I took scuba you had to do all the lessons in a classroom and then do the other half in the pool. Now you’re able to do it online. So she went through all the online lessons with PADI and once she had passed everything she was ready to go to the pool. They had two nights of pool training and she loved it. As I sat up in the bleachers I was so proud watching her work with her group. Since it’s NYC, we walk everywhere, so we walked home smelling like chlorine and hungry. We had some great conversations talking about everything she learned.

Certification Dives in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands

So while the dive shop offered local cert dives out in Dutch Springs, PA, we decided to do something a little more exotic. So I booked a trip to St Thomas and her cert dive with the Red Hook Dive shop.

I could not have been happier with the owners and the instructors. They really made us feel like home. We still had to wear masks inside the store and on the boat (unless we were eating or drinking) so we did so that we’d not get anyone in trouble. I went on three dives with another group while Morgan went off with the cutest scuba instructor and he put her through her paces.

Last Certification Dive

Her instructor invited me along for the last dive and we had a great time. He gave her his dive watch so that she could do orienteering. She led the dive and I got to watch her take us around the coral reef. She was a little fast and we had to keep up and very excited. I learned that it’s different to dive with an excited teenager. Twice she bumped me with her fins and banged in me and she almost lost her mask. So I learned I have to give a new diver a bit more leeway and also keep a close eye.

After that we had a great rest of the trip, sitting back in our room and looking through the GoPro videos. It was something I’ll never forget. Our hotel was up on a hill that had a million steps, but it was fun because there were iguanas all over the place.

Here’s our favorite Dive shops. Highly recommend. And Adventure Scuba does all their training at Asphalt Green in NYC, which has a beautiful, huge pool.

Here Are Our Dive Centers that We Highly Recommend

Contact

Adventure Scuba in New York City

Cokie Beach Dive Center in St. Thomas, VI

Anytime Fun, Educational Adventures, Fall Family Adventure, Summer Adventure, Summer Travel, Travel, Winter Adventure, Winter Travel

Crystal Cove Resort, St. Thomas, Virgin ISlands

Image Leave a comment
crystal cove beach st thomas
The beach

My daughter and I went to the US Virgin Islands for Spring Break and I managed to find this nice resort at the last minute. It’s about a half hour away from the airport on a quiet side of the island and right near the ferry.

When we got to the Crystal Cove Resort we missed the entrance at first and had to drive back. There’s a little building in the front of a gate where you pick up the keys. The lady was very nice and gave us our keys and some beach towels and explained how the gate worked. Make sure you keep the gate number. I just put it on my phone and that’s all I needed.

Our Unit

Our unit was clean but I have a feeling this was probably the last one available because of the decor. They are privately owned units that the resort handles renting out. They are condos and you can either get a studio style place or a larger one with a master bedroom. The studio though is actually a Murphy bed with two single beds that come down. Not as comfortable as a full bed. The condo was dated and while it was great to have a kitchen, the utensils were a little cheap and the stove was old and the whole thing would get super hot.

view from kitchen crystal cove
The Twin Murphy Beds We Slept on For a Week. View from the Kitchen

I joked to my daughter that the Ropers must have left this to us for the weekend, but she didn’t get it. I had to explain Three’s Company to her but she didn’t get it. Anyway, totally Mr’s Roper’s kitchen. The porch was also not usable and clearly where they stored some things. But the price was reasonable and the place was clean and everything worked. The resort itself was very nice and right on the beach. I think we’d be happy to go back, but just be a little more discerning about which unit I’d get. I spoke with some other guests who talked about how beautiful their units were.

Mrs Ropers couch, Crystal Cove Resort St Thomas Virgin Islands
Hey, Mrs. Roper called and she wants her couch back!

The Caribbean Vibe

When we arrived it was Sunday and there was a great party vibe going on down by the bar and restaurant. We went and got something to eat and I had my first Pina Colada in awhile. It was great. The beach was beautiful and it has some great views. The only downside was that the bar closes at sundown, so I had thought I’d go home, take a nap and come back out. However, when I got there it was all closed down and each day it closed early. I had envisioned making dinner for my daughter, and then walking down the walkway and grabbing a Mai Tai in the evening with the adults but it was completely quiet by 7pm. Oh well. It was still relaxing.

The Wildlife

One of the first things we noticed was the free range chickens. It’s a thing in the Virgin Islands. It’s not like pigeons but these chickens just roam around freely and the chicks are so cute. Also, iguanas are fairly common so my daughter was in her glory. My daughter told me on the plane she’d love to see an iguana close up so mission ACCOMPLISHED!

free range chickens, St Thomas, Virgin Islands
Talk about free-range, cage-free chickens. If I were a chicken this is where I would want to be.

The Beach

Each morning I got up early and went out to the beach to watch the sun rise. It was so relaxing and of course, I would have brought my daughter along but you just try to get a teenager up at dawn to sit on a beach on their week off. So one of our days there I just got to the beach in the morning, took a swim and when I came out of the water there was a woman hanging dresses in a tree. So for $20 I got the loveliest tie-dyed beach coverup/dress. I wish I had bought a few more.

You can tell that the resort got hit hard during the Hurricane but they have done a lot of work to restore everything and focused on the areas where people would use most. There’s also another resort next store that shared Sapphire Beach with us that has a nice pool and also looks really nice. So when booking I’d take a look at both of them.

Crystal Cove Unit kitchen, St Thomas Virgin Islands
The Kitchen in Our Unit at Crystal Cove Resorts

Either way if you are looking for a clean, chill, quiet beachfront condo, this is the place for you. But make sure you know the specific unit you are getting and what it looks like so you can avoid the dated rooms with the ancient VCRs and resin utensils.

However, no matter what condo you get you absolutely can’t beat the sun rises. Check out my pics and also go here for more info about Crystal Cove Resort