What a week. I barely had time to unpack from Puerto Rico before heading back to the Caribbean the following weekend with friends. This trip has become a biennial soirée started by my friend Liza whose family has been coming to St. John for years and deemed it one of the perfect places to travel with friends. Nine of us were able to make it this year and we were more than happy to leave the dropping temps and forecasted weather behind us as we packed our suits, shorts, and SPF and boarded the plane.

The villa that we stay in overlooks Hart Bay and comes with the most gorgeous sweeping views of an unspoiled St. John. Much of the island is protected by National Park status and every beach we went to was a coastal idyll with fine white sand, clear blue waters and vibrant greenery in the background. First beach up was Trunk Bay and it was the epitome of that. Sometimes I would look at my camera at the photos I had just taken in awe of how much the glassy sea looks like an infinity pool. And with the few people around us that day, that infinity pool was our own.

Our routine on island is a satisfying one of Eat, Sleep, Beach, Booze, and Repeat. And I’m confident that we consumed our weight in conch fritters and Painkillers over the course of the eight days we were there. Since a lot of the bars and restaurants serve similar dishes, my favorite meals were actually the ones that we made at home. After all, nothing comes together faster than a dinner thrown together by nine hungry chicks.