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Trip Report 4/23 - 5/3/09, Part 5
Trip Report 4/23 - 5/3/09, Part 5
Trip Report 4/23 – 5/3/09, Part 5
Day 6 – Tuesday, 4/28
Awoke to a glorious day. Had a nice little breakfast of pumpkin bread from Deli Grotto with cream cheese for Jim. Cinnamon muffin from the Bakery at the Lumberyard for me. Both very good. As well as yummy coffee from St. John Spice!
Headed off to Francis. We really like going to Francis. It is never as populated as many of the other beaches & we always see pretty good underwater life. This time we saw a large barracuda, sergeant majors, damselfish, juvenile squirrelfish, French grunts, grouper, yellowtails, blue-headed wrasse (my favorite), trunkfish, and tang. We saw something that we haven’t been able to identify. It was the shape of a yellowtail snapper, but had a big spot toward the tail.
Here is a shot of a Nassau Grouper:
This is a shot of a Sand Diver. We were pretty excited, as we had never seen one before.
Francis is such a nice beach – with a great view, too – and like I said, hardly any people. After a couple of hours, it started clouding up. So, we left before the rain hit.
Back to the villa for a quick lunch of a turkey & swiss club from Starfish. We are always very pleased with the quality of the fresh food that we purchase from Starfish. Super handy that we passed by the market every time we headed to or from our villa.
After lunch, we pretty much took it easy. One thing that was on my mind before our trip this year was that Mother’s Day was coming up quickly and would be upon us soon after our return. So, I thought, gee - it would be fun to buy my mom something from St. John.
Well, Mom lives in Florida & always wears what she calls her “nothing” dresses around the house when it is hot & humid & she is just lounging around. So, easy call this trip. We headed right back to the Turquoise Turtle to grab a cover up dress for her, just like mine. Of course, I bought her a different color. But, she got the biggest kick out of the fact that we have “matching” dresses – like we did every now and then when I was little.
We had early reservations for Asolare at 5:30. So, again, just had a quiet afternoon. We started to get ready for our big “date night” and the phone rang. It was Cynthia the owner of Perelandra. She called to check in on things & be sure that we didn’t have any issues. Honest to goodness, she probably stayed on the phone for close to 30 minutes. She was truly a joy to speak with – but, we did finally need to push her off so that we could finish getting ready.
We know that Asolare hasn’t always gotten consistent reviews with others. But, it has always been a hit for us. Once again, we had a great night! Of course, we always make a reservation well in advance so that we can be seated at the rail. Always need to take a picture of the lights of Cruz Bay as they start to come on.
On this particular night, we were not blessed with a fantastic sunset – but, still - it is truly a magical spot. Enjoying a meal at Asolare is one of the most relaxing ways to spend a special evening. We were happy that we were able to request and get a waitress that had waited on us before. Her name is Jodi – and she is not only a fantastic waitress, she is just a very interesting and nice person. It was so nice to see her again – she is the best!
Oh – our menu for the evening: Drinks were a Gina Colada-tini for me and a Sunset Punch Martini for Jim. Appetizer was a Thai Chicken dish. Main entrée: Tuna for Jim, Kobe Ribeye for me. Dare I say dessert: chocolate/coconut tiramisu and a chocolate hazelnut dacquoise. We shared both. Also, they serve great coffee. The entire meal was heavenly. Yes – we could barely walk back to the jeep… But, oh so satisfied!
Throwing in this little - photo not because we are in it – but, because it is a nice shot for folks who might like a little better idea of what a seat at the rail at Asolare is like. Also, had to add a little drink & food porn.
Back to Perelandra to watch the Celtics beat the Bulls in Overtime. Great to have a place with Satellite TV during the playoffs. WooHoo! (Of course, these are my notes from a year ago. We all know now that the Celts didn’t advance to the finals. But, at least for that time being – hope still lived for awhile longer.)
We mixed it up a little and slept in the downstairs bedroom tonight. The room is a little darker, with fewer windows and no skylights. Strange thing that there are no curtains or shades on any of the bedroom windows. Takes a little getting use to.
Here is a shot of the downstairs bedroom:
Day 7 – Wednesday, 4/29
Called the property manager this AM with a couple of small maintenance issues. This morning we received some very sad news. My husband works in a school system and received an urgent message that morning to call his administration office. He learned that 3 students were involved in an automobile accident, in which 2 did not survive and the surviving student was in critical condition. The administration wanted the staff to be aware of the events before they returned from the vacation break. Very upsetting news. Our hearts broke for the families involved.
We continued with our plans for the day. Breakfast of Cream Cheese Danish from Dolphin Market and Cinnamon Roll from Baked in the Sun.
Our beach of the day was Honeymoon. We love the solitude and tranquility there – as well as the soft, soft sand & lovely shade. We really enjoy the walk to Honeymoon from the Caneel parking lot. It is just a 15 minute walk and the path is very easy & pretty along the water’s edge. When we arrived, there were only 2 catamarans off of the shore and 1 sailboat. So, all-in-all, not too many “others”.
We found a gorgeous spot under some trees to put down our beach chairs and grab a book. In my case, I grabbed some sheets of paper to catch up on my “diary”. Thank goodness I did, as here I am MONTHS later – transcribing. I don’t think that my memory would have served me too well at all.
After a bit, we decided to snorkel over to Solomon. The year before last, we took the walk through the woods over there. We made the big mistake of hauling all of our gear with us that day. We vowed to never do that again. So, again, we decided to make the swim over.
Solomon is really pretty, with nice soft sand and is a really beautiful beach to swim off of. Our swim over to Solomon was pretty easy. But, I came across some weird little jellyfish type things. I didn’t have the camera, so I couldn’t take a photo. But, the best way to describe them is that they were like transparent half discs. Curved like a contact lens – with the opening pointing down. I don’t remember noticing any tentacles – also, they were fairly small in size. From the little research I have done, they might have been moon jellyfish. Quite a lot of them. I did get a little spooked and just swam around them quickly.
We took off our snorkel fins & just had a lot of fun swimming off of Solomon for quite awhile. We then decided to snorkel back to Honeymoon. This is when things started going from bad to worse pretty quickly. Before we even got to the point, the surf & current picked up & we were making absolutely no progress AT ALL. We were kicking away like crazy & not moving forward an inch. We decided to switch over to laying on our backs & try to just propel that way. We have never come across a current as strong as this one was.
I am telling you, it was the worse experience either one of us has ever had. There was literally moments when we looked at each other & thought “Are we ever going to make it around this point?” It was, needless to say, exhausting and frightening. When we finally made it back over to Honeymoon, we got some loving words of support and encouragement from friendly strangers on the beach. Unfortunately, after that event, we just chilled on the beach for awhile - wishing that we had brought a “stocked” cooler!!
It was a freaky time. We didn’t even feel like snorkeling after that. Just happily played in the water a bit & tried to keep settling our nerves. Also, it was kind of one of those “get back on the horse moments” – so, we knew we had to get right back in the water. On the bright side – I think we must have burned off some calories from those breakfast muffins and danish!
After a bit, we headed back to our Jeep. Can’t pass Caneel ruins without taking some shots.
Home to the villa for leftover pizza for lunch. After our “eventful” morning, we decided to do a “villa gravity” afternoon. So, threw the bathing suits on & enjoyed some time in our pool. “Yes” – enjoyed an afternoon cocktail, as well. The pool here at Perelandra is really neat. It is on the fairly small side – but, one really cool feature is that it has bench-type seat. So, you can actually sit emerged in the water – and yet still have the support of an actual seat behind & underneath you. Comes in handy when you have a drink in your hand.
Taking those couple of hours to just “chill” was one of the best decisions of the day. So often on vacation you spend so much time running from point A to point B that you forget that one of the reasons for going on vacation is to “slow down” and smell the roses.
Another simple night ahead. We decided to try Candi’s BBQ. Lived up to the “press”. Good ribs and chicken. Good cole slaw. Great French fries. Looks like a little hole in wall – but, the people there were the nicest people you could ever meet. So glad that we went there.
Spent a really quiet night at home – just enjoying our view.
This day didn’t end up being “that special day in paradise”. But, it did take the prize for the one that we will never forget!!
Day 6 – Tuesday, 4/28
Awoke to a glorious day. Had a nice little breakfast of pumpkin bread from Deli Grotto with cream cheese for Jim. Cinnamon muffin from the Bakery at the Lumberyard for me. Both very good. As well as yummy coffee from St. John Spice!
Headed off to Francis. We really like going to Francis. It is never as populated as many of the other beaches & we always see pretty good underwater life. This time we saw a large barracuda, sergeant majors, damselfish, juvenile squirrelfish, French grunts, grouper, yellowtails, blue-headed wrasse (my favorite), trunkfish, and tang. We saw something that we haven’t been able to identify. It was the shape of a yellowtail snapper, but had a big spot toward the tail.
Here is a shot of a Nassau Grouper:
This is a shot of a Sand Diver. We were pretty excited, as we had never seen one before.
Francis is such a nice beach – with a great view, too – and like I said, hardly any people. After a couple of hours, it started clouding up. So, we left before the rain hit.
Back to the villa for a quick lunch of a turkey & swiss club from Starfish. We are always very pleased with the quality of the fresh food that we purchase from Starfish. Super handy that we passed by the market every time we headed to or from our villa.
After lunch, we pretty much took it easy. One thing that was on my mind before our trip this year was that Mother’s Day was coming up quickly and would be upon us soon after our return. So, I thought, gee - it would be fun to buy my mom something from St. John.
Well, Mom lives in Florida & always wears what she calls her “nothing” dresses around the house when it is hot & humid & she is just lounging around. So, easy call this trip. We headed right back to the Turquoise Turtle to grab a cover up dress for her, just like mine. Of course, I bought her a different color. But, she got the biggest kick out of the fact that we have “matching” dresses – like we did every now and then when I was little.
We had early reservations for Asolare at 5:30. So, again, just had a quiet afternoon. We started to get ready for our big “date night” and the phone rang. It was Cynthia the owner of Perelandra. She called to check in on things & be sure that we didn’t have any issues. Honest to goodness, she probably stayed on the phone for close to 30 minutes. She was truly a joy to speak with – but, we did finally need to push her off so that we could finish getting ready.
We know that Asolare hasn’t always gotten consistent reviews with others. But, it has always been a hit for us. Once again, we had a great night! Of course, we always make a reservation well in advance so that we can be seated at the rail. Always need to take a picture of the lights of Cruz Bay as they start to come on.
On this particular night, we were not blessed with a fantastic sunset – but, still - it is truly a magical spot. Enjoying a meal at Asolare is one of the most relaxing ways to spend a special evening. We were happy that we were able to request and get a waitress that had waited on us before. Her name is Jodi – and she is not only a fantastic waitress, she is just a very interesting and nice person. It was so nice to see her again – she is the best!
Oh – our menu for the evening: Drinks were a Gina Colada-tini for me and a Sunset Punch Martini for Jim. Appetizer was a Thai Chicken dish. Main entrée: Tuna for Jim, Kobe Ribeye for me. Dare I say dessert: chocolate/coconut tiramisu and a chocolate hazelnut dacquoise. We shared both. Also, they serve great coffee. The entire meal was heavenly. Yes – we could barely walk back to the jeep… But, oh so satisfied!
Throwing in this little - photo not because we are in it – but, because it is a nice shot for folks who might like a little better idea of what a seat at the rail at Asolare is like. Also, had to add a little drink & food porn.
Back to Perelandra to watch the Celtics beat the Bulls in Overtime. Great to have a place with Satellite TV during the playoffs. WooHoo! (Of course, these are my notes from a year ago. We all know now that the Celts didn’t advance to the finals. But, at least for that time being – hope still lived for awhile longer.)
We mixed it up a little and slept in the downstairs bedroom tonight. The room is a little darker, with fewer windows and no skylights. Strange thing that there are no curtains or shades on any of the bedroom windows. Takes a little getting use to.
Here is a shot of the downstairs bedroom:
Day 7 – Wednesday, 4/29
Called the property manager this AM with a couple of small maintenance issues. This morning we received some very sad news. My husband works in a school system and received an urgent message that morning to call his administration office. He learned that 3 students were involved in an automobile accident, in which 2 did not survive and the surviving student was in critical condition. The administration wanted the staff to be aware of the events before they returned from the vacation break. Very upsetting news. Our hearts broke for the families involved.
We continued with our plans for the day. Breakfast of Cream Cheese Danish from Dolphin Market and Cinnamon Roll from Baked in the Sun.
Our beach of the day was Honeymoon. We love the solitude and tranquility there – as well as the soft, soft sand & lovely shade. We really enjoy the walk to Honeymoon from the Caneel parking lot. It is just a 15 minute walk and the path is very easy & pretty along the water’s edge. When we arrived, there were only 2 catamarans off of the shore and 1 sailboat. So, all-in-all, not too many “others”.
We found a gorgeous spot under some trees to put down our beach chairs and grab a book. In my case, I grabbed some sheets of paper to catch up on my “diary”. Thank goodness I did, as here I am MONTHS later – transcribing. I don’t think that my memory would have served me too well at all.
After a bit, we decided to snorkel over to Solomon. The year before last, we took the walk through the woods over there. We made the big mistake of hauling all of our gear with us that day. We vowed to never do that again. So, again, we decided to make the swim over.
Solomon is really pretty, with nice soft sand and is a really beautiful beach to swim off of. Our swim over to Solomon was pretty easy. But, I came across some weird little jellyfish type things. I didn’t have the camera, so I couldn’t take a photo. But, the best way to describe them is that they were like transparent half discs. Curved like a contact lens – with the opening pointing down. I don’t remember noticing any tentacles – also, they were fairly small in size. From the little research I have done, they might have been moon jellyfish. Quite a lot of them. I did get a little spooked and just swam around them quickly.
We took off our snorkel fins & just had a lot of fun swimming off of Solomon for quite awhile. We then decided to snorkel back to Honeymoon. This is when things started going from bad to worse pretty quickly. Before we even got to the point, the surf & current picked up & we were making absolutely no progress AT ALL. We were kicking away like crazy & not moving forward an inch. We decided to switch over to laying on our backs & try to just propel that way. We have never come across a current as strong as this one was.
I am telling you, it was the worse experience either one of us has ever had. There was literally moments when we looked at each other & thought “Are we ever going to make it around this point?” It was, needless to say, exhausting and frightening. When we finally made it back over to Honeymoon, we got some loving words of support and encouragement from friendly strangers on the beach. Unfortunately, after that event, we just chilled on the beach for awhile - wishing that we had brought a “stocked” cooler!!
It was a freaky time. We didn’t even feel like snorkeling after that. Just happily played in the water a bit & tried to keep settling our nerves. Also, it was kind of one of those “get back on the horse moments” – so, we knew we had to get right back in the water. On the bright side – I think we must have burned off some calories from those breakfast muffins and danish!
After a bit, we headed back to our Jeep. Can’t pass Caneel ruins without taking some shots.
Home to the villa for leftover pizza for lunch. After our “eventful” morning, we decided to do a “villa gravity” afternoon. So, threw the bathing suits on & enjoyed some time in our pool. “Yes” – enjoyed an afternoon cocktail, as well. The pool here at Perelandra is really neat. It is on the fairly small side – but, one really cool feature is that it has bench-type seat. So, you can actually sit emerged in the water – and yet still have the support of an actual seat behind & underneath you. Comes in handy when you have a drink in your hand.
Taking those couple of hours to just “chill” was one of the best decisions of the day. So often on vacation you spend so much time running from point A to point B that you forget that one of the reasons for going on vacation is to “slow down” and smell the roses.
Another simple night ahead. We decided to try Candi’s BBQ. Lived up to the “press”. Good ribs and chicken. Good cole slaw. Great French fries. Looks like a little hole in wall – but, the people there were the nicest people you could ever meet. So glad that we went there.
Spent a really quiet night at home – just enjoying our view.
This day didn’t end up being “that special day in paradise”. But, it did take the prize for the one that we will never forget!!
trip
Glad you guys had so much fun! We are sorry to hear about the kids at school. We're teachers. We had the unfortunate experience of losing one of our kids to a house fire while we were on island last Christmas. It's truly excruciating. Prayers to the families.
On a lighter note - looks like you guys had a terrific vacation. Any plans for another trip down? St. John seems to agree with you! Thanks for the reports!
Best regards,
Seagrape
On a lighter note - looks like you guys had a terrific vacation. Any plans for another trip down? St. John seems to agree with you! Thanks for the reports!
Best regards,
Seagrape
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St. John Lover
- Posts: 245
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:14 pm
- Location: Chicago
What a wonderful trip report--especially with the embedded pictures amplifying your day-by-day joys.
I had to chuckle while reading your 'against-the-current' escapade. I had a similar experience snorkeling to Jumbie beach from Trunk by myself one afternoon. I had always wanted to do that--I'm a strong swimmer and it seemed like a nice calm day. Well, getting there took about twice as long as I thought it would since the reef, while great for snorkeling, sticks out quite a bit further than it appears to from the beach. So the trip back and forth is much, much longer than it first appears.
Well, I rested on Jumbie for a bit to catch my breath before setting out to come back. You guessed it--it was definitely AGAINST the current and a LONG, LONG way. Of course my husband--who was supposed to keep his eye out for me--was totally absorbed by his book. Waving did nothing to get his attention. So I, like you, rolled over on my back and just kept on working at getting back to the beach--slowly but surely. Thought I'd never get there.
Enjoyed the Perelandra pics as well. We've stayed there before and really liked its location, views, private garden pool area and comfortable feel. In fact we're going back this fall. As an avid gardener up here in the north, I really love all the tropical plants. Last time we were there, there was a big jasmine plant by the pool & deck blooming as well as the one by the front door and the scent was just heavenly. Wish I knew when they bloomed so I could schedule my trips around that as I think the beaches are great ANY time of year
.
I think my favorite picture though was the one of you and your husband by the rail at Asolare. The look on your faces just so reminded me of that "easy, peaceful feeling" whenever we manage to escape there.
thanks again for your trip report--it brought a bit of paradise to me on a cold, wintry night.
I had to chuckle while reading your 'against-the-current' escapade. I had a similar experience snorkeling to Jumbie beach from Trunk by myself one afternoon. I had always wanted to do that--I'm a strong swimmer and it seemed like a nice calm day. Well, getting there took about twice as long as I thought it would since the reef, while great for snorkeling, sticks out quite a bit further than it appears to from the beach. So the trip back and forth is much, much longer than it first appears.
Well, I rested on Jumbie for a bit to catch my breath before setting out to come back. You guessed it--it was definitely AGAINST the current and a LONG, LONG way. Of course my husband--who was supposed to keep his eye out for me--was totally absorbed by his book. Waving did nothing to get his attention. So I, like you, rolled over on my back and just kept on working at getting back to the beach--slowly but surely. Thought I'd never get there.
Enjoyed the Perelandra pics as well. We've stayed there before and really liked its location, views, private garden pool area and comfortable feel. In fact we're going back this fall. As an avid gardener up here in the north, I really love all the tropical plants. Last time we were there, there was a big jasmine plant by the pool & deck blooming as well as the one by the front door and the scent was just heavenly. Wish I knew when they bloomed so I could schedule my trips around that as I think the beaches are great ANY time of year
.I think my favorite picture though was the one of you and your husband by the rail at Asolare. The look on your faces just so reminded me of that "easy, peaceful feeling" whenever we manage to escape there.
thanks again for your trip report--it brought a bit of paradise to me on a cold, wintry night.
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shelli0001
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:03 pm
- Location: Indiana
Thanks for the nice report!
Sherb
Sherb
STJ Villa Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... 2&t=h&z=14
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... 2&t=h&z=14