usvi-on-line
Lost luggage, earthquakes, hurricanes and more -Day 6 and Da
Lost luggage, earthquakes, hurricanes and more -Day 6 and Da
Day 6 - 10/15 Wed. (Hurricane Omar)
After a rough night of sleep (the bites were itching again) we got up around 8:30. The spare bedroom that we staying in was surprisingly comfortable. Our friends had the master suite which included their own private bathroom, large flatscreen tv, jacuzzi bathtub (which was outside of the bathroom, in their room) and a king size bed. The room we had was across from them with two double beds, flatscreen tv and our own private bathroom as well. Both bedrooms were upstairs. Downstairs was the living room area, very large flatscreen tv and a dining set. I have never been in the two bedroom suites but it was very nice. High season said they can run around $1500/a night! That s crazy! Anyway, we all got up to cloudy skies and some rain. There was a notice under the door about a tropical storm advisory (this was left during the night and we never noticed it). Basically the Westin stated that they will have limited service and that they are monitoring the storm. We thought that we would go into town and grab some breakfast. We figured that if we are stuck in the room we should probably get some supplies.
For breakfast, we headed back to JJ s. We ran into a few people that were staying at the Westin as well and they said that as of 6pm you could not get back into the Westin. The shops around Cruz Bay were preparing to close around 2pm. After breakfast we walked up to the Dolphin Market in the rain. There we got all of our necessary supplies, vodka, wine, beer, cigarettes, etc. Ha-ha, yes we also got bottles of water, snacks, bread and lunchmeat for sandwiches. We got into a taxi and headed back to the Westin. The guests were laughing at us carrying all of our groceries back to the room saying how we have all of the necessities for a hurricane (referring to all of the alcohol). When we get back to the room, there was another notice by the door. Basically saying that the storm had been upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane and could become a possible 2. The letter advised the guests to stay in their rooms after 6pm. They would have their on-site deli, The Mango Deli, open until then if you need food, etc. Again stating that services would be limited - housekeeping, etc.
A shot from the room:
We all got settled in with our supplies and figured that we would have a Hurricane Party . What else is there to do in a situation such as this? Drink! It was round noon/1pm and we all started with a couple of beers. Luckily our friends brought cards so we were all set. We had the tv on to see updates on Hurricane Omar on the weather channel and they were calling for a direct hit in the USVI and BVIs. That s great news so we turned it off. We kept looking outside and noticing how Great Cruz Bay began to fill with muddy water from all of the run off. After a few hours the entire bay was brown. Still the winds were slightly stronger and the rains were coming down steady, but not any worse then the other days of rain.
Great Cruz Bay:
Hurricane Party:
After a few hours we realized we were getting low on supplies. It was around 5:45 and we had about 15 minutes to get to Mango Deli and get some more things. We took our umbrellas and made it just in time. Besides alcohol, sandwiches and snacks, the Mango Deli also had pizza available. We figured we had enough food and just grabbed some chips and beer. We got back to the room and there was another notice on the door. This notice stated that St. John was already feeling the affects of Hurricane Omar and that it would most likely nit at some point in the night/early morning. We were advised again to stay in our rooms and not to leave. A breakfast would be provided for all guests in one of their ballrooms between 9am - 11am the next morning.
People walking around in ponchos (looked funny):
It was getting later in the evening and around 11pm we were pretty tired. We looked outside and the winds were really starting to pick up at this point. We went outside of our balcony and it was kind of intriguing to be experiencing a hurricane. At the same time though it was kind of scary not knowing what to expect during the night or what we would wake up to. With that, we all thought it was a good idea to try and get some sleep.
Day 7 - 10/16 Thurs. (Hurricane Omar aftermath)
A tree that didn't survive the storm:
Around 7am I awoke to our one friend saying that its over . I thought what is he talking about? We should be waking up to strong winds, rain, etc. Well it was over. Around 7am the skies were clearing. We couldn t believe it. It was still kind of early and we couldn t really have breakfast until a couple of hours so we went back to sleep. It was 9am now and we all got up to walk to the ballroom for the provided breakfast. However, I first wanted to call Caneel and see how they fared and if we could return perhaps later on in the afternoon. I couldn t bare to hear any bad news so I had my husband call. After he got off the phone with them he told me that there wasn t any staff at the resort at that time and the earliest they could resume taking in guests wouldn t be until the following afternoon - Friday. We leave Saturday I though. I was so disappointed, but thought that at least we could get one afternoon/evening at Caneel. They took our cell # and told us they would call us back with more information later on.
When we left the room there was another letter by the room. This letter stated that Omar had passed St. John and that it was not a direct hit. The island was still currently under curfew and would be until 2pm that day. So we walked to the ballroom and there was a long line. I couldn t believe how many people were at the resort. Later on we found out that a lot of villas around the Westin were evacuated and that they moved them to the Westin. The Westin provided a buffet style breakfast. There was scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and assorted pastries/bread. In addition there was orange juice, water and coffee. All of this was at no cost to the guests. I was pretty impressed with how well the resort handled everything. After a hot meal for breakfast we walked back to the room. The sun was coming out so we thought that we would go to the beach.
Well we got to the beach and the water was still on the rough side. To us, being from NJ, the water didn t look rough at all but in caribbean standards it was. The Westin told guests not to go in the water at this time. Okay. So we went to the pool and so did everyone else. I guess this is what high season is like. It was so hard to find a chair or an area to move a chair to. I think we found the last 4 chairs available. We were just thankful that it appeared that St. John had survived the hurricane fairly well that we were all okay. Apparently St. Croix didn t so much (the east end). We talked to other guests and found out that the curfew was lifted. Yay! We also noticed a US coast guard helicopter going over us. Then we saw the Westin Ferry appear. Things were getting back to normal. It was a relief.
Packed pool:
Helicopter:
When we got back to the room I had a message on my cell phone. It was Caneel! They called to tell us we could return the next day (Friday) and our room would be ready by 11:30. I was so happy that at least we could get in at that time then the regular check in at 3pm.
It was still kind of sunny so we celebrated with a couple of more drinks:
Looking more like normal:
Beautiful sunset that night too:
For dinner we decided on Morgan Mangoes. Morgan Mangoes was packed. We had reservations but had to wait for our table. We didn t realize it was margarita night and you could get 2 for 1. We all took advantage of this and they were very good. They were made the real way not with sour mix - yuck.
Waiting for our table at the bar:
When we got to our table they informed us that they were out of all beef and chicken. I guess the hurricane did affect some things. My husband and our friend each had the pork. I had the voodoo snapper and our friend Lori had the fish pot. For an appetizer I had the calamari. It was very good. The snapper on the other hand was a little tough. Considering the situation it was still a good dining experience. I tried the pork and it was very good (should have ordered that).
My calamari:
After dinner we went walked to the Beach Bar for a drink. We were so stuffed from dinner that this wasn t a good idea. It was very hard for us to get one more drink down. After struggling with our drinks we took a taxi back to the Westin. It was time for bed.
Next - Day 8 - Caneel FINALLY!
After a rough night of sleep (the bites were itching again) we got up around 8:30. The spare bedroom that we staying in was surprisingly comfortable. Our friends had the master suite which included their own private bathroom, large flatscreen tv, jacuzzi bathtub (which was outside of the bathroom, in their room) and a king size bed. The room we had was across from them with two double beds, flatscreen tv and our own private bathroom as well. Both bedrooms were upstairs. Downstairs was the living room area, very large flatscreen tv and a dining set. I have never been in the two bedroom suites but it was very nice. High season said they can run around $1500/a night! That s crazy! Anyway, we all got up to cloudy skies and some rain. There was a notice under the door about a tropical storm advisory (this was left during the night and we never noticed it). Basically the Westin stated that they will have limited service and that they are monitoring the storm. We thought that we would go into town and grab some breakfast. We figured that if we are stuck in the room we should probably get some supplies.
For breakfast, we headed back to JJ s. We ran into a few people that were staying at the Westin as well and they said that as of 6pm you could not get back into the Westin. The shops around Cruz Bay were preparing to close around 2pm. After breakfast we walked up to the Dolphin Market in the rain. There we got all of our necessary supplies, vodka, wine, beer, cigarettes, etc. Ha-ha, yes we also got bottles of water, snacks, bread and lunchmeat for sandwiches. We got into a taxi and headed back to the Westin. The guests were laughing at us carrying all of our groceries back to the room saying how we have all of the necessities for a hurricane (referring to all of the alcohol). When we get back to the room, there was another notice by the door. Basically saying that the storm had been upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane and could become a possible 2. The letter advised the guests to stay in their rooms after 6pm. They would have their on-site deli, The Mango Deli, open until then if you need food, etc. Again stating that services would be limited - housekeeping, etc.
A shot from the room:
We all got settled in with our supplies and figured that we would have a Hurricane Party . What else is there to do in a situation such as this? Drink! It was round noon/1pm and we all started with a couple of beers. Luckily our friends brought cards so we were all set. We had the tv on to see updates on Hurricane Omar on the weather channel and they were calling for a direct hit in the USVI and BVIs. That s great news so we turned it off. We kept looking outside and noticing how Great Cruz Bay began to fill with muddy water from all of the run off. After a few hours the entire bay was brown. Still the winds were slightly stronger and the rains were coming down steady, but not any worse then the other days of rain.
Great Cruz Bay:
Hurricane Party:
After a few hours we realized we were getting low on supplies. It was around 5:45 and we had about 15 minutes to get to Mango Deli and get some more things. We took our umbrellas and made it just in time. Besides alcohol, sandwiches and snacks, the Mango Deli also had pizza available. We figured we had enough food and just grabbed some chips and beer. We got back to the room and there was another notice on the door. This notice stated that St. John was already feeling the affects of Hurricane Omar and that it would most likely nit at some point in the night/early morning. We were advised again to stay in our rooms and not to leave. A breakfast would be provided for all guests in one of their ballrooms between 9am - 11am the next morning.
People walking around in ponchos (looked funny):
It was getting later in the evening and around 11pm we were pretty tired. We looked outside and the winds were really starting to pick up at this point. We went outside of our balcony and it was kind of intriguing to be experiencing a hurricane. At the same time though it was kind of scary not knowing what to expect during the night or what we would wake up to. With that, we all thought it was a good idea to try and get some sleep.
Day 7 - 10/16 Thurs. (Hurricane Omar aftermath)
A tree that didn't survive the storm:
Around 7am I awoke to our one friend saying that its over . I thought what is he talking about? We should be waking up to strong winds, rain, etc. Well it was over. Around 7am the skies were clearing. We couldn t believe it. It was still kind of early and we couldn t really have breakfast until a couple of hours so we went back to sleep. It was 9am now and we all got up to walk to the ballroom for the provided breakfast. However, I first wanted to call Caneel and see how they fared and if we could return perhaps later on in the afternoon. I couldn t bare to hear any bad news so I had my husband call. After he got off the phone with them he told me that there wasn t any staff at the resort at that time and the earliest they could resume taking in guests wouldn t be until the following afternoon - Friday. We leave Saturday I though. I was so disappointed, but thought that at least we could get one afternoon/evening at Caneel. They took our cell # and told us they would call us back with more information later on.
When we left the room there was another letter by the room. This letter stated that Omar had passed St. John and that it was not a direct hit. The island was still currently under curfew and would be until 2pm that day. So we walked to the ballroom and there was a long line. I couldn t believe how many people were at the resort. Later on we found out that a lot of villas around the Westin were evacuated and that they moved them to the Westin. The Westin provided a buffet style breakfast. There was scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and assorted pastries/bread. In addition there was orange juice, water and coffee. All of this was at no cost to the guests. I was pretty impressed with how well the resort handled everything. After a hot meal for breakfast we walked back to the room. The sun was coming out so we thought that we would go to the beach.
Well we got to the beach and the water was still on the rough side. To us, being from NJ, the water didn t look rough at all but in caribbean standards it was. The Westin told guests not to go in the water at this time. Okay. So we went to the pool and so did everyone else. I guess this is what high season is like. It was so hard to find a chair or an area to move a chair to. I think we found the last 4 chairs available. We were just thankful that it appeared that St. John had survived the hurricane fairly well that we were all okay. Apparently St. Croix didn t so much (the east end). We talked to other guests and found out that the curfew was lifted. Yay! We also noticed a US coast guard helicopter going over us. Then we saw the Westin Ferry appear. Things were getting back to normal. It was a relief.
Packed pool:
Helicopter:
When we got back to the room I had a message on my cell phone. It was Caneel! They called to tell us we could return the next day (Friday) and our room would be ready by 11:30. I was so happy that at least we could get in at that time then the regular check in at 3pm.
It was still kind of sunny so we celebrated with a couple of more drinks:
Looking more like normal:
Beautiful sunset that night too:
For dinner we decided on Morgan Mangoes. Morgan Mangoes was packed. We had reservations but had to wait for our table. We didn t realize it was margarita night and you could get 2 for 1. We all took advantage of this and they were very good. They were made the real way not with sour mix - yuck.
Waiting for our table at the bar:
When we got to our table they informed us that they were out of all beef and chicken. I guess the hurricane did affect some things. My husband and our friend each had the pork. I had the voodoo snapper and our friend Lori had the fish pot. For an appetizer I had the calamari. It was very good. The snapper on the other hand was a little tough. Considering the situation it was still a good dining experience. I tried the pork and it was very good (should have ordered that).
My calamari:
After dinner we went walked to the Beach Bar for a drink. We were so stuffed from dinner that this wasn t a good idea. It was very hard for us to get one more drink down. After struggling with our drinks we took a taxi back to the Westin. It was time for bed.
Next - Day 8 - Caneel FINALLY!
-
msgcolleen
- Posts: 1497
- Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:33 am
- Location: Allen, Texas
What a difference a day makes! Especially around the Westin pool the next day. Blue, blue skies!
Glad you could make the most of it with friends & lots of liquid groceries!
Thanks for the great pics & sharing your soggy experience with us! Hope your last day at Caneel is relaxing~~~~~
Glad you could make the most of it with friends & lots of liquid groceries!
Thanks for the great pics & sharing your soggy experience with us! Hope your last day at Caneel is relaxing~~~~~
I've got 2 tickets to paradise~Pack your bags we'll leave tonight!
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]
Having been through two major hurricanes stateside (Hugo and Fran), be glad you were at a nice hotel with a generator. It looks like the Westin handled this situation well. The Westin pool is nice, if a little crowded, even during normal times.
If you ever find yourself itchy again due to bug bites, buy some benadryl. It helps it itching. Our group was taking those before bedtime and we all slept better as a result.
If you ever find yourself itchy again due to bug bites, buy some benadryl. It helps it itching. Our group was taking those before bedtime and we all slept better as a result.
Funny I did take benadryl too before I went to sleep. It did help for about 4 hours or so and then they would start to itch again. The only thing unfortunately that makes them stop itch is when I come home back here to NJ to the cold and dry autumn air. I think the humidity adds to it for some reason. Maybe the whole open pores thing -
The weather did turn out pretty well after all. There were some on and off showers but nothing like before. I definitely give props to the Westin though. They did handle everything very well.
The weather did turn out pretty well after all. There were some on and off showers but nothing like before. I definitely give props to the Westin though. They did handle everything very well.
Man, you know it's bad when Benadryl won't kill the itch. I had one miserable night with my bites, but thankfully I always travel with a few prescription sleep aids just in case. I took those for a couple of nights and it helped. Our party had the same problem though with the itching. Those mosquitos are vicious!