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Trip Report - Days 1 and 2
Trip Report - Days 1 and 2
Background
My husband and I have been going to St. John annually since we discovered it in 2002. All of our past trips have been in the off-season (Oct, Nov, Dec and May), so this was our first experience in busy season. We are usually too cheap (or as we like to say "fiscally responsible"?) to want to shell out the additional cost for the villa during the high season. This year, however, we made an exception. In 2006, I had two miscarriages, the second being in December, and we needed a vacation sooner rather than later. While, we really liked getting away from the miserably cold weather in Chicago in February, we did find that we like St. John better in the quieter, off-season.
February 24, 2007 Travel to St. John
We traveled uneventfully from Chicago, through Charlotte, to St. Thomas on Saturday, February 24th. United upgraded our flight to Charlotte - a nice perk. We arrived in time to take the 5:30 ferry from Charlotte Amalie, which we prefer. I have never been a big fan of sitting in the cramped cab winding our way across the island to Red Hook (I nearly always end up with a bit of motion sickness). Our villa agent from Private Homes was waiting for us at the ferry dock.
We picked up our car from Conrad Sutton - a bright yellow Jeep Wrangler with 5,985 miles on it and in generally good condition. The Jeep had open windows, which was only a mild inconvenience. Since we couldn't lock up the car at all, we were always reluctant to leave anything in our car while out and about. Luckily, the few times we did, nothing was taken.
Finally, we made a quick stop at Starfish for beer, soda and water and headed to our villa.
Getting Settled in Our Villa
We stayed in Meridian, which was not too far past the Westin. Meridian was not our favorite villa (I will post a villa review). It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't - in our opinion - up to par with other villas we have rented in this price range. There was really nothing special about it and a few annoyances. The view from the front deck was just okay - the late afternoon soon made sitting on the deck, however, uncomfortable and by the time the sun set the mosquitoes were out in full force. The pool was nice and very private, but no view. The villa did not have AC and boy was it needed. We couldn't really open up the house too much because of the mosquitoes. The kitchen was small, but well stocked. We don't cook at all on vacation (unless toast counts as cooking?), so all we really care about is a refrigerator to keep our beverages cold.
That night we relaxed at the villa - some cheese and crackers and other light snacks brought from home.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
First of all, please be forewarned. If any of you will be disturbed by a vacation that slightly resembles a boot camp, please stop reading now. We did a lot of swimming and hiking. By the end of the week, I can honestly say, I was exhausted! But it was a lot of fun, too (and we sure as heck didn't' need to worry about calorie counting at dinner!).
Sunday morning, we headed to Waterlemon. While there were two cars in the parking lot, we were the only ones on the beach. We relaxed for about a half hour, enjoying the peacefulness of our private beach. We then swam/snorkeled out from the beach and around the cay. We saw a lot of ocean life on this venture, including two turtles. We also saw some type of stingray - not the usual gray stingray that I have seen before, but one that had beautiful markings and somewhat of a purple color. We saw lots of interesting fish and such out by the cay. We swam back (this is where the boot camp starts) from the cay at a good pace - not really "snorkeling" anymore. On the way back, I swear I saw a shark pass under me on the floor of the ocean. My husband was too far ahead of me and didn't' see it. He is convinced I saw a barracuda or tarpon - maybe I did, but it looked awfully like a shark to me. I was moving pretty fast when I saw it (and even faster after I saw it!).
Back at the beach we dried off and relaxed a bit. We then left our gear on the beach and hiked over to Brown Bay. We did not see a soul on the hike or at the beach. We didn't stay long when we got there... last year we hiked out there and snorkeled a bit - not bad snorkeling actually. Back at Waterlemon, we went for another swim then headed out. We stopped at the smoothie stand for "lunch" and then back to the villa. Spent what was left of the afternoon relaxing by the pool.
Around 5:00, we headed to the Beach Bar - had our first painkiller and listened to some music for a while. Dinner was at Morgan's Mango. Conch fritters for an appetizer. I had a the mahi mahi special and my husband had the voodoo snapper. The mahi mahi was better than the snapper, but everything was very good. Service was excellent. Morgan's Mango is one place that we have been to at nearly every visit to St. John and we have had a consistently good experience.
More later...
My husband and I have been going to St. John annually since we discovered it in 2002. All of our past trips have been in the off-season (Oct, Nov, Dec and May), so this was our first experience in busy season. We are usually too cheap (or as we like to say "fiscally responsible"?) to want to shell out the additional cost for the villa during the high season. This year, however, we made an exception. In 2006, I had two miscarriages, the second being in December, and we needed a vacation sooner rather than later. While, we really liked getting away from the miserably cold weather in Chicago in February, we did find that we like St. John better in the quieter, off-season.
February 24, 2007 Travel to St. John
We traveled uneventfully from Chicago, through Charlotte, to St. Thomas on Saturday, February 24th. United upgraded our flight to Charlotte - a nice perk. We arrived in time to take the 5:30 ferry from Charlotte Amalie, which we prefer. I have never been a big fan of sitting in the cramped cab winding our way across the island to Red Hook (I nearly always end up with a bit of motion sickness). Our villa agent from Private Homes was waiting for us at the ferry dock.
We picked up our car from Conrad Sutton - a bright yellow Jeep Wrangler with 5,985 miles on it and in generally good condition. The Jeep had open windows, which was only a mild inconvenience. Since we couldn't lock up the car at all, we were always reluctant to leave anything in our car while out and about. Luckily, the few times we did, nothing was taken.
Finally, we made a quick stop at Starfish for beer, soda and water and headed to our villa.
Getting Settled in Our Villa
We stayed in Meridian, which was not too far past the Westin. Meridian was not our favorite villa (I will post a villa review). It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't - in our opinion - up to par with other villas we have rented in this price range. There was really nothing special about it and a few annoyances. The view from the front deck was just okay - the late afternoon soon made sitting on the deck, however, uncomfortable and by the time the sun set the mosquitoes were out in full force. The pool was nice and very private, but no view. The villa did not have AC and boy was it needed. We couldn't really open up the house too much because of the mosquitoes. The kitchen was small, but well stocked. We don't cook at all on vacation (unless toast counts as cooking?), so all we really care about is a refrigerator to keep our beverages cold.
That night we relaxed at the villa - some cheese and crackers and other light snacks brought from home.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
First of all, please be forewarned. If any of you will be disturbed by a vacation that slightly resembles a boot camp, please stop reading now. We did a lot of swimming and hiking. By the end of the week, I can honestly say, I was exhausted! But it was a lot of fun, too (and we sure as heck didn't' need to worry about calorie counting at dinner!).
Sunday morning, we headed to Waterlemon. While there were two cars in the parking lot, we were the only ones on the beach. We relaxed for about a half hour, enjoying the peacefulness of our private beach. We then swam/snorkeled out from the beach and around the cay. We saw a lot of ocean life on this venture, including two turtles. We also saw some type of stingray - not the usual gray stingray that I have seen before, but one that had beautiful markings and somewhat of a purple color. We saw lots of interesting fish and such out by the cay. We swam back (this is where the boot camp starts) from the cay at a good pace - not really "snorkeling" anymore. On the way back, I swear I saw a shark pass under me on the floor of the ocean. My husband was too far ahead of me and didn't' see it. He is convinced I saw a barracuda or tarpon - maybe I did, but it looked awfully like a shark to me. I was moving pretty fast when I saw it (and even faster after I saw it!).
Back at the beach we dried off and relaxed a bit. We then left our gear on the beach and hiked over to Brown Bay. We did not see a soul on the hike or at the beach. We didn't stay long when we got there... last year we hiked out there and snorkeled a bit - not bad snorkeling actually. Back at Waterlemon, we went for another swim then headed out. We stopped at the smoothie stand for "lunch" and then back to the villa. Spent what was left of the afternoon relaxing by the pool.
Around 5:00, we headed to the Beach Bar - had our first painkiller and listened to some music for a while. Dinner was at Morgan's Mango. Conch fritters for an appetizer. I had a the mahi mahi special and my husband had the voodoo snapper. The mahi mahi was better than the snapper, but everything was very good. Service was excellent. Morgan's Mango is one place that we have been to at nearly every visit to St. John and we have had a consistently good experience.
More later...
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cypressgirl
- Posts: 2178
- Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:42 pm
- Location: houston
Thanks for the great report so far. I am so glad to see that someone agrees with me about the airconditioning. I'm from Houston, where it is 90 or above for 6 months, but we know how to air condition. I can't stand heat and humidity after a day at the beach. It also keeps the bugs out a little better. The "cool trade winds" don't seem to be enough on the west side of island for me. If you ever stay on the north shore, ac in bedroom is fine.
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mountaineer girl
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:40 am
- Location: West (by God) Virginia
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
Laura -
Thanks for the first installment. Sounds like you needed a vacation for sure.
As far as that shark goes, I bet it was! If you read my report a while back, I saw a Lemon shark at Waterlemon on the way back to the beach in January. Here is the link to the picture...
http://picasaweb.google.com/gofishtlp/S ... 1281186418
Others have reported seeing it there as well.
Looking forward to the rest of your report!
Tracy
P.S.(Chicago isn't too far for our Wisconsin forum party on July 14th! Come join us!)
Thanks for the first installment. Sounds like you needed a vacation for sure.
As far as that shark goes, I bet it was! If you read my report a while back, I saw a Lemon shark at Waterlemon on the way back to the beach in January. Here is the link to the picture...
http://picasaweb.google.com/gofishtlp/S ... 1281186418
Others have reported seeing it there as well.
Looking forward to the rest of your report!
Tracy
P.S.(Chicago isn't too far for our Wisconsin forum party on July 14th! Come join us!)
Tracy, Seaside Properties at Grande Bay
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Xislandgirl
- Posts: 4163
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:03 pm
- Location: Slightly left of center
Thanks for taking the time to post. I enjoyed reading about your "boot camp" type of activities. We enjoy being active - hike, snorkel and swim. Swimming in the nice warm clear water is such a treat that I love to do laps at some point each day. Of course, we have lots of lazing around too, so it balances out.
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MrsCARolph
- Posts: 155
- Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:57 pm
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
Re: Trip Report - Days 1 and 2
Thanks for the report--my fiance is a "bootcamp traveler" as well. I had a hard time adjusting at first, but I've started to come around. Life is too short, and so are vacations! Might as well pack all the fun you can into it!
Looking forward to the rest of the trip report...
Looking forward to the rest of the trip report...
Sounds like a fun start to the vacation. I too would like to know more about Brown Bay. I don't know if we'll get over there (John is not really into hiking--he did the Ram Head trail with me--once. We haven't even done the Reef Bay hike yet!).
I bet the ray you saw was a spotted eagle ray. I've seen them a couple of times at Waterlemon, in the deep water as you are swimming towards shore from the Cay. They are beautiful, with whitish bellies, a black top covered in white spots, and a very long thin tail. Does that sound like what you saw?
I bet the ray you saw was a spotted eagle ray. I've seen them a couple of times at Waterlemon, in the deep water as you are swimming towards shore from the Cay. They are beautiful, with whitish bellies, a black top covered in white spots, and a very long thin tail. Does that sound like what you saw?
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
How long was the hike to Brown Bay...hmmm I have almost no concept of time while on St. John! My best guess is that from the beach at Waterlemon to Brown Bay is 45 minutes. From Waterlemon, you will come across a sign that directs you either to the Johnny Horn Trail which will take you to Coral Bay or the Brown Bay Trail. There are some okay views on the trail, but once you hit the intersection of the Johnny Horn and Brown Bay it is pretty much all down hill and the not many views.
The trail continues on from Brown Bay to the East End, which we have never done (but I think that is the easier way to hike to Brown Bay). We have also (on a past trip) hiked from Coral Bay and the Johnny Horn Trail. That was tough with the uphill at the beginning (and actually pretty tough to walk down at the end).
I think it is worth the trip out there. You will see piles of conch shells around. On the left side of the beach, the water is only 12 to 18 inches and very warm. I like wading around.
The trail continues on from Brown Bay to the East End, which we have never done (but I think that is the easier way to hike to Brown Bay). We have also (on a past trip) hiked from Coral Bay and the Johnny Horn Trail. That was tough with the uphill at the beginning (and actually pretty tough to walk down at the end).
I think it is worth the trip out there. You will see piles of conch shells around. On the left side of the beach, the water is only 12 to 18 inches and very warm. I like wading around.