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trip report/photos
trip report/photos
I was able to take off early today and decided to “rewrite” my trip report.
We left home and St Louis early 1/18/07 and had only one problem getting out of the airport. I had told my wife how she had to pack her cosmetics but told me she had gone to New York a month earlier and had no problem with her junk in her cosmetic bag in her carry on and so she packed it. Well, she got caught and as they took her bag completely apart she was just laughing and I knew for sure she was going to jail. Before it was all over the TSA guy took some things out of a 1 qt zip lock she had and put her cosmetics in that bag and let her go on thru.
We arrived in St Thomas and spent the first 2 nights at Secret Harbor. We had a beach front suite on the first floor. The room was clean and very nice. The beach and all were wonderful but the snorkeling was a little disappointing . But in general everything was fine, but I thought Blue Moon dinners were over priced, even for the island rates.
We took the Red Hook ferry to St John on Sat 1/20 and rented a Jeep at Conrad Sutton. Nice clean rig and looked like new but had 11,000 miles on it. It ran good all week and the staff was always friendly and helpful. I give them 5 stars.
We drove on over to Coral Bay and stopped at Skinny Legs for a burger. As I reached into my pocket for my billfold my chair broke and I went on my back on the floor. On the way down my legs flew up and into the bottom of the table and it cut a 2” gash across my shin. They offered me 2 small bandages and first aid cream, took my money and no offer of a free drink, nothing. 2 days later we returned and as we checked out the waitress dropped my credit card through the cracks in the floor. I wasn’t leaving without it and if they had to take the floor apart I was going to get it back. Some young man volunteered to crawl into the crawl space and return it. He said it was nasty under there.
This was my first real experience driving on the “LEFT” side and I was wondering how it would be. It is a little bit challenging at first but you kind of fall into it after the 5th day. However, you always have to be prepared to stop suddenly and watch for the large trucks who have no idea what a lane line is and if they did they could never negotiate the narrow roads. We only used 4 wheel drive for a short time the first day going up a steep ( there all steep) road after a shower and trying to make the hard left turn from the North Rd onto Centerline Rd.
We checked into Horizons Cottage, our home for the next 8 days. It’s a wonderful, clean place with one of the best views off of St John. Its right up the road where you turn off at Concordia. From our deck and windows we had a great view of Tortola, the east end, Peter, and Norman islands. And right below us was John Folly’s Bay which was beautiful with all the colors of blue plus a rolling surf which made for great music all night. It’s has a very easy drive to access and has everything you need for your stay. It is not air conditioned nor does it have a pool but we came to swim at the beaches and the cottage was always comfortable with a nice breeze blowing through.
I won’t get into all of the dozen beaches we visited because everyone else has done a good job of that with there reports. But when the North swells are up the north shore is rough and you need to hit Salt Pond and Little Lameshure, both are great for beach and snorkeling. I saw turtles 3 times in one day at Salt Pond and a large grooper at the large boulders at west side of Little Lameshure.
Vie’s has a nice little beach and here I had an encounter with a spotted eagle ray which was wonderful. See my photos of him and our trip photos at: http://travel.webshots.com/album/557295534EplXyc
We also had a wonderful day sail on the SAKTI out of Coral Bay with our landlords to Waterlemon Caye. It again was a windy cloudy day at times and the snorkeling was good but I was a little disappointed. We did see a Queen Anglefish and Puffer. But, no turtles or rays.
We ate at Lucy’s Sunday Brunch, Skinny Legs, Aqua Bistro, Shipwreck Landing, Island Blues, Vie’s and Woody’s. Our favorite was Shipwreck Landing. Great food and the best prices. We shopped for our own food at Lily’s but they really don’t offer fresh meats.
We saw a lot of wildlife including the various fish, turtles, mongoose about 10 times, deer twice at Lamashure, banana quits at Vie’s and donkeys and goats everywhere.
On our way home on Sunday 1/28 we took the Amalie ferry and left our luggage with a cabby and he returned at the predetermined time and was wonderful. It worked out great and we shopped for 5 hours before heading to the airport.
I have stong opinions about the cruise ships and their visits to St John but I’ll not mention them on this forum. Trunk Bay is beautiful early until about 11:00, then it’s a mob scene. That’s all I’ll say.
Another personal hint I would like to pass on is to take a Visene bottle and fill it 50/50 with baby shampoo and alcohol and use 4-5 drops in your mask. Smear it around, rinse it and your ready to go for next to no cost. I could snorkel an hour plus and never fog up my mask.
We had a great time and hope to return soon.
Don from Illinois near St Louis
We left home and St Louis early 1/18/07 and had only one problem getting out of the airport. I had told my wife how she had to pack her cosmetics but told me she had gone to New York a month earlier and had no problem with her junk in her cosmetic bag in her carry on and so she packed it. Well, she got caught and as they took her bag completely apart she was just laughing and I knew for sure she was going to jail. Before it was all over the TSA guy took some things out of a 1 qt zip lock she had and put her cosmetics in that bag and let her go on thru.
We arrived in St Thomas and spent the first 2 nights at Secret Harbor. We had a beach front suite on the first floor. The room was clean and very nice. The beach and all were wonderful but the snorkeling was a little disappointing . But in general everything was fine, but I thought Blue Moon dinners were over priced, even for the island rates.
We took the Red Hook ferry to St John on Sat 1/20 and rented a Jeep at Conrad Sutton. Nice clean rig and looked like new but had 11,000 miles on it. It ran good all week and the staff was always friendly and helpful. I give them 5 stars.
We drove on over to Coral Bay and stopped at Skinny Legs for a burger. As I reached into my pocket for my billfold my chair broke and I went on my back on the floor. On the way down my legs flew up and into the bottom of the table and it cut a 2” gash across my shin. They offered me 2 small bandages and first aid cream, took my money and no offer of a free drink, nothing. 2 days later we returned and as we checked out the waitress dropped my credit card through the cracks in the floor. I wasn’t leaving without it and if they had to take the floor apart I was going to get it back. Some young man volunteered to crawl into the crawl space and return it. He said it was nasty under there.
This was my first real experience driving on the “LEFT” side and I was wondering how it would be. It is a little bit challenging at first but you kind of fall into it after the 5th day. However, you always have to be prepared to stop suddenly and watch for the large trucks who have no idea what a lane line is and if they did they could never negotiate the narrow roads. We only used 4 wheel drive for a short time the first day going up a steep ( there all steep) road after a shower and trying to make the hard left turn from the North Rd onto Centerline Rd.
We checked into Horizons Cottage, our home for the next 8 days. It’s a wonderful, clean place with one of the best views off of St John. Its right up the road where you turn off at Concordia. From our deck and windows we had a great view of Tortola, the east end, Peter, and Norman islands. And right below us was John Folly’s Bay which was beautiful with all the colors of blue plus a rolling surf which made for great music all night. It’s has a very easy drive to access and has everything you need for your stay. It is not air conditioned nor does it have a pool but we came to swim at the beaches and the cottage was always comfortable with a nice breeze blowing through.
I won’t get into all of the dozen beaches we visited because everyone else has done a good job of that with there reports. But when the North swells are up the north shore is rough and you need to hit Salt Pond and Little Lameshure, both are great for beach and snorkeling. I saw turtles 3 times in one day at Salt Pond and a large grooper at the large boulders at west side of Little Lameshure.
Vie’s has a nice little beach and here I had an encounter with a spotted eagle ray which was wonderful. See my photos of him and our trip photos at: http://travel.webshots.com/album/557295534EplXyc
We also had a wonderful day sail on the SAKTI out of Coral Bay with our landlords to Waterlemon Caye. It again was a windy cloudy day at times and the snorkeling was good but I was a little disappointed. We did see a Queen Anglefish and Puffer. But, no turtles or rays.
We ate at Lucy’s Sunday Brunch, Skinny Legs, Aqua Bistro, Shipwreck Landing, Island Blues, Vie’s and Woody’s. Our favorite was Shipwreck Landing. Great food and the best prices. We shopped for our own food at Lily’s but they really don’t offer fresh meats.
We saw a lot of wildlife including the various fish, turtles, mongoose about 10 times, deer twice at Lamashure, banana quits at Vie’s and donkeys and goats everywhere.
On our way home on Sunday 1/28 we took the Amalie ferry and left our luggage with a cabby and he returned at the predetermined time and was wonderful. It worked out great and we shopped for 5 hours before heading to the airport.
I have stong opinions about the cruise ships and their visits to St John but I’ll not mention them on this forum. Trunk Bay is beautiful early until about 11:00, then it’s a mob scene. That’s all I’ll say.
Another personal hint I would like to pass on is to take a Visene bottle and fill it 50/50 with baby shampoo and alcohol and use 4-5 drops in your mask. Smear it around, rinse it and your ready to go for next to no cost. I could snorkel an hour plus and never fog up my mask.
We had a great time and hope to return soon.
Don from Illinois near St Louis
Hi Don,
I laughed at your Skinny Legs story, although I am sure it was not funny at the time. I cannot BELIEVE they didn't give you your lunch for free!
When we were there in December it was very,very busy and we waited a looooong time, even for island time, and they gave us free drinks. And we were neither one injured.
I am also from the STL area, where in Illinois are you?
I laughed at your Skinny Legs story, although I am sure it was not funny at the time. I cannot BELIEVE they didn't give you your lunch for free!
When we were there in December it was very,very busy and we waited a looooong time, even for island time, and they gave us free drinks. And we were neither one injured.I am also from the STL area, where in Illinois are you?
Patr
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
reply
Patr, we live north of Edwarsville about 6 miles.
Betty, if your out there, we paid our fee at Trunk Bay right in front of you and we were at Caneel Bay on the beach during that 45 min rain shower while you were pulling into the bay in your dinghy. I remember your conversation with the gal at the counter.
Betty, if your out there, we paid our fee at Trunk Bay right in front of you and we were at Caneel Bay on the beach during that 45 min rain shower while you were pulling into the bay in your dinghy. I remember your conversation with the gal at the counter.
Thanx for the report!
Thank you for writing your report (again)!
I looked at your gorgeous photos last night & was wondering where you saw your spotted eagle ray. Thank you for answering that little question for me. We have never snorkelled off of Vie's beach - but, saw "our" spotted eagle ray at Waterlemon.
So sorry to hear that you were disappointed with the snorkelling at both Waterlemon & Secret Harbour (we have had good luck with both). But, sure looks like you did have some good sightings at other locations - based on your really nice underwater shots.
Loved so many of your other photos, as well.
Sounds like you had quite an "eventful" trip!
I looked at your gorgeous photos last night & was wondering where you saw your spotted eagle ray. Thank you for answering that little question for me. We have never snorkelled off of Vie's beach - but, saw "our" spotted eagle ray at Waterlemon.
So sorry to hear that you were disappointed with the snorkelling at both Waterlemon & Secret Harbour (we have had good luck with both). But, sure looks like you did have some good sightings at other locations - based on your really nice underwater shots.
Loved so many of your other photos, as well.
Sounds like you had quite an "eventful" trip!
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
Thanks for taking the time to retype your report! That was nice of you.
Sorry to hear about your experience at Skinny Legs. They should have at least given you a free drink to make up for the imploding chair!! I've read others that said the food was bad there or it smelled like sewage. I guess we've been lucky--every time we've gone we've had a fun time with decent food and no bad smells. I did notice from your picture that the prices have gone up though!
I'm glad you got to see the eagle rays--they are on of my favorite sightings.
Thanks for sharing!
Sorry to hear about your experience at Skinny Legs. They should have at least given you a free drink to make up for the imploding chair!! I've read others that said the food was bad there or it smelled like sewage. I guess we've been lucky--every time we've gone we've had a fun time with decent food and no bad smells. I did notice from your picture that the prices have gone up though!
I'm glad you got to see the eagle rays--they are on of my favorite sightings.
Thanks for sharing!
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Very very nice photos Don. I see that the 12x zoom on the Canon S2IS came in very handy - most probably on the shots of the sunrise and the Bananaquit at Vie's.
What were your settings of choice most times and did you switch over to like sports mode or something for the pelican in flight shot?
Did you use any filters i.e. polarizer?
Nice work also on the color corrections in the underwater shots.
I got the Canon S3IS a few months ago and wish I had it for our trip last spring. Certainly another reason to go back and reshoot some of my favorite locales.
JMQ
What were your settings of choice most times and did you switch over to like sports mode or something for the pelican in flight shot?
Did you use any filters i.e. polarizer?
Nice work also on the color corrections in the underwater shots.
I got the Canon S3IS a few months ago and wish I had it for our trip last spring. Certainly another reason to go back and reshoot some of my favorite locales.
JMQ
When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
answers
First of all, thankyou for the photo compliments.
JMQ, to be real honest, I use the automatic setting most all the time and have had good luck. No, I don't use any filters and I try not to use a flash. Also, I do not use any programs to clean up my photos except for the underwater photos. For all my underwater shots I use adobe photoshop and it works great. If you go back to my webshots, go to my home page and I have a couple of albums that have a lot of underwater photos of Belize. I like St John but Belize is wonderful underwater. Look in my "Belize underwater" album and "Laughing Bird Caye" album.
Thanks again, I just wish I were a better writer
Don, Moro, Illinois
JMQ, to be real honest, I use the automatic setting most all the time and have had good luck. No, I don't use any filters and I try not to use a flash. Also, I do not use any programs to clean up my photos except for the underwater photos. For all my underwater shots I use adobe photoshop and it works great. If you go back to my webshots, go to my home page and I have a couple of albums that have a lot of underwater photos of Belize. I like St John but Belize is wonderful underwater. Look in my "Belize underwater" album and "Laughing Bird Caye" album.
Thanks again, I just wish I were a better writer
Don, Moro, Illinois
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Bob & Anita
- Posts: 611
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:20 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC