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First Visit Trip Report 1/10-1/17/09 Days 1 & 2
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turtlegirl
- Posts: 154
- Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2008 8:54 pm
- Location: Massachusetts
First Visit Trip Report 1/10-1/17/09 Days 1 & 2
We had a fabulous time on St. John-it was so great to experience what I've been reading and dreaming about over the last year. I'm gonna bore you with all the details as they are a large part of a first time trip.
We flew out of Bos on Saturday morning, luckily missing a snow storm the next day. The good price on airfare and direct flight were actually what prompted me to book the trip (299+ tax rt). After boarding on time, the flight was delayed for 1 hour due to nitrous leaking from the landing gear-the pilot told us it was especially hard to fix the leak as the mechanic's hands were freezing...so we landed STT at 2:45 rather than 1:55. Ok so we'll take the 4 pm RH ferry rather than the 3 p.m. We had plenty of time to get there but had already booked Rachel. A nice man was waiting for us instead of Rachel and got us to RH in plenty of time. In retrospect, i would not do this again. especially for only 2 people, as it cost quite a bit more and I booked the private taxi based on our landing time as I wanted to insure enought time to make the ferry, but the best laid plans...I realize you can't truly know what time you're gonna get there so you gotta go with the flow. I'd also take the CA ferry provided it's running due to the number of shops and restaurants surrounding because even if you have to wait, you have something to do while you're waiting.
The ferry ride was fun, it was so great to be on the ocean with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair...Our villa greeter met us in Cruz Bay to bring us to Courtesy's new location. We had a carry on suitcase and a backpack each and she wanted one of us to wait at the dock while she brought the luggage and one person to get the jeep but we didn't want to split up so we crammed in her Suzuki no problem. Greg at Courtesy was very nice and professional but when we went to get our jeep Liberty-it wasn't there! Someone had taken it to pick up customers at the the ferry dock so we had to wait a little while. The jeep had a broken tail light and other minor damage but the brakes really sucked-they were wicked pumpy and shaky-probably because the jeep had 40,000 miles on it.
We followed our greeter to Caneel Trailside cottage-our first experience with an infamous STJ driveway-steep but manageable. We chose this villa due to it's proximity to Cruz Bay and the Caneel hill trail. The villa is newer, clean, and nicely appointed. The kitchen and bathrooms have green corian counters and nice cherry wood throughout. The showers were very cool without doors or curtains and really nice tile work, the water pressure was VERY low. The distant ocean view was really nice and the proximity to the trail was fun. After dinner at the Banana Deck (awesome!including the vodka and Tings) and a stop at Dolphin Market, we climbed to the observation tower with flashlights in the dark-St. Thomas was twinkling in the night. We had alredy decided not to drive to Coral Bay for Miss Lucy's full moon party as we were tired from traveling and the roads were a bit intimidating in the dark!
At this point it became not so awesome as the people at Villa Tamarindo next door began playing bocce ball around midnight and their dog liked to bark-alot...ah well let's just say that the villa was not quite as private as I hoped and the pool was VERY small as was the pool area off to the side. There was not a gas grill, just a small Smokey Joe Weber and the beds were queens, not kings...I liked the villa but probably would not stay there again, but I realize as a first timer my expectations may have been too high. I did feel very safe here, though, as I went into the trip with some trepidation as Juan Ayala, the owner of Caps had just been murdered in lower Pastory.
After a fitfull night's sleep we awoke to rain so we leisurely had coffee and after several times of clearing and raining and clearing we hiked the Margret Hill trail down through Caneel Bay then the Lind Point trail to Cruz Bay where we stopped at the NPS visitor center and had a delicious lunch at Sun Dog Cafe. We then hiked back up the Caneel Hill trail in the pouring rain but then sat by the pool in the late afternoon sun. We had dinner at Cafe Roma that night (delicious!) sitting right by the window while the people on the street put on a great show for us below. We then went in to Crazy Crackers across the street for some football and $2 margaritas-a very good time in a pleasant atmosphere.
The rest of the week to follow..but I better do a little work first...
We flew out of Bos on Saturday morning, luckily missing a snow storm the next day. The good price on airfare and direct flight were actually what prompted me to book the trip (299+ tax rt). After boarding on time, the flight was delayed for 1 hour due to nitrous leaking from the landing gear-the pilot told us it was especially hard to fix the leak as the mechanic's hands were freezing...so we landed STT at 2:45 rather than 1:55. Ok so we'll take the 4 pm RH ferry rather than the 3 p.m. We had plenty of time to get there but had already booked Rachel. A nice man was waiting for us instead of Rachel and got us to RH in plenty of time. In retrospect, i would not do this again. especially for only 2 people, as it cost quite a bit more and I booked the private taxi based on our landing time as I wanted to insure enought time to make the ferry, but the best laid plans...I realize you can't truly know what time you're gonna get there so you gotta go with the flow. I'd also take the CA ferry provided it's running due to the number of shops and restaurants surrounding because even if you have to wait, you have something to do while you're waiting.
The ferry ride was fun, it was so great to be on the ocean with the sun on your face and the wind in your hair...Our villa greeter met us in Cruz Bay to bring us to Courtesy's new location. We had a carry on suitcase and a backpack each and she wanted one of us to wait at the dock while she brought the luggage and one person to get the jeep but we didn't want to split up so we crammed in her Suzuki no problem. Greg at Courtesy was very nice and professional but when we went to get our jeep Liberty-it wasn't there! Someone had taken it to pick up customers at the the ferry dock so we had to wait a little while. The jeep had a broken tail light and other minor damage but the brakes really sucked-they were wicked pumpy and shaky-probably because the jeep had 40,000 miles on it.
We followed our greeter to Caneel Trailside cottage-our first experience with an infamous STJ driveway-steep but manageable. We chose this villa due to it's proximity to Cruz Bay and the Caneel hill trail. The villa is newer, clean, and nicely appointed. The kitchen and bathrooms have green corian counters and nice cherry wood throughout. The showers were very cool without doors or curtains and really nice tile work, the water pressure was VERY low. The distant ocean view was really nice and the proximity to the trail was fun. After dinner at the Banana Deck (awesome!including the vodka and Tings) and a stop at Dolphin Market, we climbed to the observation tower with flashlights in the dark-St. Thomas was twinkling in the night. We had alredy decided not to drive to Coral Bay for Miss Lucy's full moon party as we were tired from traveling and the roads were a bit intimidating in the dark!
At this point it became not so awesome as the people at Villa Tamarindo next door began playing bocce ball around midnight and their dog liked to bark-alot...ah well let's just say that the villa was not quite as private as I hoped and the pool was VERY small as was the pool area off to the side. There was not a gas grill, just a small Smokey Joe Weber and the beds were queens, not kings...I liked the villa but probably would not stay there again, but I realize as a first timer my expectations may have been too high. I did feel very safe here, though, as I went into the trip with some trepidation as Juan Ayala, the owner of Caps had just been murdered in lower Pastory.
After a fitfull night's sleep we awoke to rain so we leisurely had coffee and after several times of clearing and raining and clearing we hiked the Margret Hill trail down through Caneel Bay then the Lind Point trail to Cruz Bay where we stopped at the NPS visitor center and had a delicious lunch at Sun Dog Cafe. We then hiked back up the Caneel Hill trail in the pouring rain but then sat by the pool in the late afternoon sun. We had dinner at Cafe Roma that night (delicious!) sitting right by the window while the people on the street put on a great show for us below. We then went in to Crazy Crackers across the street for some football and $2 margaritas-a very good time in a pleasant atmosphere.
The rest of the week to follow..but I better do a little work first...
turtlegirl,
It's great to get a TR from a first-timer.
I was happy to hear about Caneel Trailside Villa as I often look at and comtemplate renting it.
I empathize with your brake situation. We usually have to add brake fluid to our vehicles while there. My husband always says a great business would be brakes and tires on the island.
I'm going to catch up on the other installments . . .
It's great to get a TR from a first-timer.
I was happy to hear about Caneel Trailside Villa as I often look at and comtemplate renting it.
I empathize with your brake situation. We usually have to add brake fluid to our vehicles while there. My husband always says a great business would be brakes and tires on the island.
I'm going to catch up on the other installments . . .
Patr
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~