St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

1999 Family Diary (While we were living in New Jersey.)

Sunday March 28th: I made pancakes for tea. After their baths, the children went to bed in their travelling clothes. They were so excited!

Monday: Woke 3:30, left house at 4:00 am.
Drove to Newark and parked in long term parking. Monorail to airport. Checked in 5:30.
Boarded plane, all going well. Taxied to runway, then returned to gate because pilot felt sick!
Delayed 3 hours. Phoned and sorted out connecting flight.
Finally flew to San Juan. Airport felt dirty and I was worried about eating anything there.
Got a tiny plane to St Croix. No bags.

David left me and children in a nearby Pizza Hut while he went to find our cases. Was suddenly aware that I was on my own, in a strange country, with three small children, no money (left purse in car) or phone and a food bill. Hoped David hadn’t done a runner.

David returned and we drove to Colony Cove (800-828-0746) Our condo nice. It had tiled floors (good for sweeping up sand), three bedrooms and two bathrooms , a sitting area and a little kitchen. You opened the curtains and there was the beach, right there. Breath taking.

Thank you for reading this extract. The rest of the diary has been removed, and is included in my new book:

The Sarcastic Mother’s Holiday Diary.