Point Udall is the easternmost point of the United States, a rocky headland at St. Croix's eastern tip where the day begins for the entire country. The drive out along the southeastern shore is rewarding in itself — the road narrows as it climbs through dry scrub forest and cactus, with the Caribbean opening up on both sides, and the light at the point on a clear morning is brilliant and sharp.
The monument at the tip is a millennium sundial, a wedge of concrete and bronze that was the official American welcome to the year 2000. It's a modest structure but the location is extraordinary — sitting at the knife-edge of the island with views north toward Buck Island and south toward the open Atlantic. When the trade winds are up, the spray off the rocks below can reach the path. If you're already driving the east end of the island — which you should be — the point adds fifteen minutes and is worth every one of them.