Pool Paradise…and Dinosaurs

After such a strenuous first day in St. Thomas, I felt deserving of a lounge day by the pool. I had a great view of the hotel from my chair. I hand-picked  a lounge area away from the throngs of people who were at the pool today.

We must have all earned it. Relaxation doesn’t come easy, you know.

The Marriott Frenchmen’s Reef has three pools, from what I could see. This is the main pool area. Over to the left of the bar cabana is another infinity pool. It was always full of college-age kids, so I left them to their party undisturbed.

To the far left of the stairs is the spa pool, reserved for the hotel’s spa clients. As much as I would have loved to use this barely-used pool, I wasn’t about to drop the money required to become a “spa client.”

Here is my umbrella. And my view. Sheesh.

I ordered a virgin pina colada from the bar waitress, who exists simply to fulfill pool people’s every need. It was delicious, and I loved eating the maraschino cherry before slurping commenced. The executive decision was made to save the pineapple slice for my post-drink celebration.

Little did I know what a tragic decision this would be.

The pool area, like my room patio, is crawling with giant dinosaurs iguanas. They get chased away by the waitress, but they eventually show up again and can be seen cruising the pool area like they own the place (What? Were they here first or something?!). I must admit, their presence led to more paranoia than relaxation on my part. I was convinced that every time I turned around, I would see a Jurassic-period monster.

Did you know that dinosaurs can jump? I certainly didn’t know that. They should be required to put that in a brochure somewhere.

After he pretty much won the stare-down competition, I got up from my lounge chair. The now two-foot distance gave him enough courage to jump ONTO the lounge table, which was holding my beloved drink.

And he ate my pineapple. Without spilling my drink. He just slurped it off the top and stood there eating it, with all of us watching in sheer terror. And awe.

I won’t even give this visitor the consideration of a name. He is my numero uno enemy-o. He ate my pineapple slice. From my drink. While I was right next to it.

The waitress ran over with her trusty tray to chase him away. In the heat of his escape, his gigantic tail hit my drink and sent it sprawling. I was too emotionally distraught from my near-death iguana attack to care.

I just stood there in shock. The girls behind me started talking about how dinosaurs are color blind, but I’m pretty sure that he liked my bright red t-shirt. Silly me for selecting such a color to wear today. Of all days!

The waitress showed up with a drink replacement. Sans pineapple slice, per my request. I slurped it nervously, watching my back the entire time. If that T-Rex had the guts to jump my drink once, I could see him doing it again.

When his cousin arrived and started to make himself comfortable under my umbrella, I decided that was my cue to leave my “relaxing” afternoon. Am I being selfish for not wanting to share my umbrella? With a killer iguana?

Does this view of the spa pool make you feel any better? Yeah, me neither. The free replacement virgin pina colada helped, but I was still a little surprised at how the afternoon panned out!

Maybe a sunset will cheer me up? We’re getting warmer…

Ahhhhh. I feel better already. Of course, it helps that I am safely away from the pool while taking this picture. The ground shakes with the steps of iguanas all over the place.

Isn’t this view of St. Thomas so pretty? I am feeling almost back to normal now. Almost.

Dinosaur – 1            Micah – 0