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Lost luggage, earthquakes, hurricanes and more -Day 4 and 5
Lost luggage, earthquakes, hurricanes and more -Day 4 and 5
Day 4 and 5 - 10/13 - 10/14 (Monday and Tuesday)
Well being this was our last "full day" at the Westin we figured that we would keep the rental for one more day. I told my husband that I wanted to try Jake's for breakfast. We found a parking spot and headed up to Jake's. I decided to go with the california omelet. It was delicious. I was a little hesitant on the combination, but all the flavors blended very well together. My husband just had the standard two eggs for breakfast. We sat at the far end where you can look out and see the views of Cruz Bay and St. Thomas. By the end of breakfast, the skies got very dark. A few minutes later the rain came again. We had to stay a little longer to let it subside but it didn't. We had to run to the car. When we get back to the car I see my husband putting some cash on the console. I asked him what was that? He said it was change. I said no its the tip for our server?? He said ooops. I felt bad but he rain back up the stairs in the pouring rain to give her the tip. At least he was wearing swim trunks. After that we went back to the Westin to meet our friends and contemplate our next move.
View from Jake's:
Being that we still had the rental we figured that we would drive back to town and do some shopping. We walked around a bit and I checked to see if my bracelet was ready but it wouldn't be until 5pm. We even walked to Mongoose Junction to check out some shops. I was kind of disappointed that the Body Deli isn't there anymore. I think it wasn't there last year either all well. Pretty soon it was time for a drink so we went to the Beach Bar, then Joe's Rum Hut for a few, followed by High Tide. It was still raining on and off all afternoon. So much for going to the beach.
For dinner we decided on Rhumblines. We noticed that in order to walk to this restaurant, you have to walk "through" a convenient store. Interesting I never noticed this last year. For dinner my husband and I enjoyed the Pad Thai and our friends had the Pork and Tuna entree. The rains began again and we had to move our table to a "drier" location. Luckily we were done with dinner so there wasn't too much to move. It was getting later in the evening and my husband and I were curious about the Giants/Browns game. There was a tv on at the bar so they turned on the game for us. At that point the Giants didn't look too bad. We all got up and grabbed some beer and cigarettes at the convenient store just out front. Headed back to the room to watch the game. I wound up falling asleep and wasn't upset that I missed the Giants loss.
A shot of the Westin pool at night:
Day 5 - 10/14 (Tuesday)
After a rough sleep of waking up to itchy bites and so fourth our phone rang. It was Captain Joe from the Scubadu calling. He said that the weather looks "iffy" but he would give it a try if we wanted. Technically it was our friend's anniversary and they were the ones who booked this trip originally. We then gave them a call to see what they wanted to do. (I thought that we should try at least because the weather didn't look like it was going to get better - still no idea about the hurricane) Well after a call to our friends we decided to try again Thursday.
We figured we would meet our friends at the Beach Bar and Grill at the Westin for breakfast. Service was very slow (I know island time) but this was ridiculous. There weren't even many people dining. Anyway, after a pretty good eggs benedict (a little on the cool side) we headed back to the room to pack our things.
Check in time at Caneel wasn't until 3pm so we didn't want to get there too early and wait around. So we had the Westin check us out and store our luggage near the lobby. We then headed to the pool. It was kind of overcast with some sun but good enough to lay out. As we are hanging out at the pool I hear someone mention about a "hurricane that is on its way and is supposed to hit tomorrow night". I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I didn't want to tell my husband or friends about it so I waited. After about a half hour at the pool it began to rain again. Off to the pool bar for some cover and some drinks. I then told them about what I heard. We kind of all shrugged it off as if maybe he was wrong. But he wasn't.
Around 1:30 we figured that we would head to Caneel, hoping that we could get into our room. When we got to Caneel, everyone was very pleasant and welcoming. Our room wasn't ready yet so we went to the bar and had a couple of rum punches. About an hour had passed and our room was all set. I couldn't wait to finally be back here. After we were all settled in we figured we would relax and have a few cocktails. It was raining again so we didn't want to go on the beach. Soon it was time to go to dinner.
Our room:
Our view (we had to leave):
Another image my husband took (calm before the storm):
We made reservations for the Equator. I had the rack of lamb and my husband had the caribbean lobster. While we were finishing our dinner we noticed a lady walking around to each table. I just thought she wanted to check on everyone to see how our dinner was. When she approached our table she asked us if we had concerns about what was happening? I thought "what do you mean? what's happening with dinner?" No - she then began to tell us how Caneel was strongly urging people to evacuate Caneel due to the threat of a hurricane that is supposed to hit at some point the following day/evening. Okay. At this point I had a lot to drink and all of a sudden it hit me. I started to get upset and my husband tried to reassure me that everything was going to be fine and that we would check with the front desk to get more information.
We walked down to the front desk and noticed a lot of people doing the same thing. The front desk manager told my husband that they are urging people to take the last ferry which was at 10pm over to St. Thomas. They are a better equipped island as far as hospitals, etc. Again I started to get upset again. My husband asked about our room. Well we were in Cottage 7, and he said that's one of the first rooms they evacuate due to its vulnerability. He said that once we checked out we wouldn't be charged and that we could return if conditions allow within a few days. However, I didn't want to go to St. Thomas and stay at the Wyndam. That's where they were telling people to go. Then we remembered that our friends recently got upgraded to a two bedroom suite at the Westin. Their original beachfront room had a bad leaking problem after all of the rain the island was experiencing so they moved them.
We gave them a call and they were having their anniversary dinner at the Waterfront Bistro. They had no idea about what was going and said that everyone in town was acting as if everything was normal. We really didn't have a choice at this point and had to go back to our room and get our things. It was really hard for me to give up staying at Caneel but we really couldn't stay. There wasn't going to be any staff there or restaurants open, etc. (plus we were on the meal plan)
After grabbing most of our things we rolled our luggage from Cottage 7, all the way to the taxi stop at Caneel. Our friends meanwhile got a taxi ride back from Cruz Bay to the Westin. We didn't realize this but they told the taxi driver our situation. When we got to the taxi stop there was no one there. They had a phone and my husband began calling for a taxi. A few minutes later one appears. It turns out to be the driver that our friends talked to. He came all the way to get us. I was pretty relieved.
Picture of me rolling my luggage:
We got to the Westin and finally made it to our friends room. There wasn't anything about hurricane mentioned at the Westin when got there. I thought it was a little odd, but then again the Westin is better protected then Caneel. I was still upset about leaving Caneel, but thankfully we were still able to stay on St. John.
It was a long day and we all headed to bed.
Day 6 - Hurricane Omar
Well being this was our last "full day" at the Westin we figured that we would keep the rental for one more day. I told my husband that I wanted to try Jake's for breakfast. We found a parking spot and headed up to Jake's. I decided to go with the california omelet. It was delicious. I was a little hesitant on the combination, but all the flavors blended very well together. My husband just had the standard two eggs for breakfast. We sat at the far end where you can look out and see the views of Cruz Bay and St. Thomas. By the end of breakfast, the skies got very dark. A few minutes later the rain came again. We had to stay a little longer to let it subside but it didn't. We had to run to the car. When we get back to the car I see my husband putting some cash on the console. I asked him what was that? He said it was change. I said no its the tip for our server?? He said ooops. I felt bad but he rain back up the stairs in the pouring rain to give her the tip. At least he was wearing swim trunks. After that we went back to the Westin to meet our friends and contemplate our next move.
View from Jake's:
Being that we still had the rental we figured that we would drive back to town and do some shopping. We walked around a bit and I checked to see if my bracelet was ready but it wouldn't be until 5pm. We even walked to Mongoose Junction to check out some shops. I was kind of disappointed that the Body Deli isn't there anymore. I think it wasn't there last year either all well. Pretty soon it was time for a drink so we went to the Beach Bar, then Joe's Rum Hut for a few, followed by High Tide. It was still raining on and off all afternoon. So much for going to the beach.
For dinner we decided on Rhumblines. We noticed that in order to walk to this restaurant, you have to walk "through" a convenient store. Interesting I never noticed this last year. For dinner my husband and I enjoyed the Pad Thai and our friends had the Pork and Tuna entree. The rains began again and we had to move our table to a "drier" location. Luckily we were done with dinner so there wasn't too much to move. It was getting later in the evening and my husband and I were curious about the Giants/Browns game. There was a tv on at the bar so they turned on the game for us. At that point the Giants didn't look too bad. We all got up and grabbed some beer and cigarettes at the convenient store just out front. Headed back to the room to watch the game. I wound up falling asleep and wasn't upset that I missed the Giants loss.
A shot of the Westin pool at night:
Day 5 - 10/14 (Tuesday)
After a rough sleep of waking up to itchy bites and so fourth our phone rang. It was Captain Joe from the Scubadu calling. He said that the weather looks "iffy" but he would give it a try if we wanted. Technically it was our friend's anniversary and they were the ones who booked this trip originally. We then gave them a call to see what they wanted to do. (I thought that we should try at least because the weather didn't look like it was going to get better - still no idea about the hurricane) Well after a call to our friends we decided to try again Thursday.
We figured we would meet our friends at the Beach Bar and Grill at the Westin for breakfast. Service was very slow (I know island time) but this was ridiculous. There weren't even many people dining. Anyway, after a pretty good eggs benedict (a little on the cool side) we headed back to the room to pack our things.
Check in time at Caneel wasn't until 3pm so we didn't want to get there too early and wait around. So we had the Westin check us out and store our luggage near the lobby. We then headed to the pool. It was kind of overcast with some sun but good enough to lay out. As we are hanging out at the pool I hear someone mention about a "hurricane that is on its way and is supposed to hit tomorrow night". I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I didn't want to tell my husband or friends about it so I waited. After about a half hour at the pool it began to rain again. Off to the pool bar for some cover and some drinks. I then told them about what I heard. We kind of all shrugged it off as if maybe he was wrong. But he wasn't.
Around 1:30 we figured that we would head to Caneel, hoping that we could get into our room. When we got to Caneel, everyone was very pleasant and welcoming. Our room wasn't ready yet so we went to the bar and had a couple of rum punches. About an hour had passed and our room was all set. I couldn't wait to finally be back here. After we were all settled in we figured we would relax and have a few cocktails. It was raining again so we didn't want to go on the beach. Soon it was time to go to dinner.
Our room:
Our view (we had to leave):
Another image my husband took (calm before the storm):
We made reservations for the Equator. I had the rack of lamb and my husband had the caribbean lobster. While we were finishing our dinner we noticed a lady walking around to each table. I just thought she wanted to check on everyone to see how our dinner was. When she approached our table she asked us if we had concerns about what was happening? I thought "what do you mean? what's happening with dinner?" No - she then began to tell us how Caneel was strongly urging people to evacuate Caneel due to the threat of a hurricane that is supposed to hit at some point the following day/evening. Okay. At this point I had a lot to drink and all of a sudden it hit me. I started to get upset and my husband tried to reassure me that everything was going to be fine and that we would check with the front desk to get more information.
We walked down to the front desk and noticed a lot of people doing the same thing. The front desk manager told my husband that they are urging people to take the last ferry which was at 10pm over to St. Thomas. They are a better equipped island as far as hospitals, etc. Again I started to get upset again. My husband asked about our room. Well we were in Cottage 7, and he said that's one of the first rooms they evacuate due to its vulnerability. He said that once we checked out we wouldn't be charged and that we could return if conditions allow within a few days. However, I didn't want to go to St. Thomas and stay at the Wyndam. That's where they were telling people to go. Then we remembered that our friends recently got upgraded to a two bedroom suite at the Westin. Their original beachfront room had a bad leaking problem after all of the rain the island was experiencing so they moved them.
We gave them a call and they were having their anniversary dinner at the Waterfront Bistro. They had no idea about what was going and said that everyone in town was acting as if everything was normal. We really didn't have a choice at this point and had to go back to our room and get our things. It was really hard for me to give up staying at Caneel but we really couldn't stay. There wasn't going to be any staff there or restaurants open, etc. (plus we were on the meal plan)
After grabbing most of our things we rolled our luggage from Cottage 7, all the way to the taxi stop at Caneel. Our friends meanwhile got a taxi ride back from Cruz Bay to the Westin. We didn't realize this but they told the taxi driver our situation. When we got to the taxi stop there was no one there. They had a phone and my husband began calling for a taxi. A few minutes later one appears. It turns out to be the driver that our friends talked to. He came all the way to get us. I was pretty relieved.
Picture of me rolling my luggage:
We got to the Westin and finally made it to our friends room. There wasn't anything about hurricane mentioned at the Westin when got there. I thought it was a little odd, but then again the Westin is better protected then Caneel. I was still upset about leaving Caneel, but thankfully we were still able to stay on St. John.
It was a long day and we all headed to bed.
Day 6 - Hurricane Omar
Susan, I'm so sorry you had to leave Caneel! What a beautiful view! No worries, you'll get back.
It is interesting to read/see the different vacations that folks had that week -yours v. JC v. Chet. Amazing that you were so 'insulated' from the storm where JC was in the thick of it. Thankfully, all were safe!
It is interesting to read/see the different vacations that folks had that week -yours v. JC v. Chet. Amazing that you were so 'insulated' from the storm where JC was in the thick of it. Thankfully, all were safe!
NancyB
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gymnastika
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:01 pm
- Location: texas
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msgcolleen
- Posts: 1497
- Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:33 am
- Location: Allen, Texas
What an adventure! At least you are smiling (kinda)as you drag your luggage away from the hurricane zone!
Funny how you never heard about what was coming! Back in the states it was headline news!
Omar. . .oh my!
Funny how you never heard about what was coming! Back in the states it was headline news!
Omar. . .oh my!
I've got 2 tickets to paradise~Pack your bags we'll leave tonight!
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