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Trip Report 4/23 - 5/3/09, Part 6
Trip Report 4/23 - 5/3/09, Part 6
Trip Report 4/23 – 5/3/09, Part 6
Day 7 – Thursday, 4/30
On and off showers all day with a little breeze, as well. After breakfast at Perelandra, we decided to hold off on beach time ‘til the weather improved a bit. So, we headed to a site that had been on our St. John “to do list” for quite some time and had just never made it there during previous trips.
Off to the Catherineberg Ruins. We had been to the Annaberg Ruins, Peace Hill Ruins and of course seen the Caneel Ruins. But, had never made it to Catherineberg. Really easy to get to – just follow Centerline Rd. (Rt. 10) out of town (away from Cruz Bay) keep your eyes out for the big Virgin Island National Park sign – on the left. Take that road and just go a little ways. You will be GLAD that you made the trip.
What a fantastic site! So much fun walking around these old sugar mill ruins. What is nice is that there is literally an upstairs and a downstairs & the inside cavern is amazing!
Again, if you have never made it there before – definitely put it on your “must see” list. We met a very nice family – mom, dad, 2 kids and 2 grandmas. The kids were having SO much fun climbing through the windows and having fun in the big downstairs room. Really great place for young (and old) to explore.
It was still drizzling a bit when we left. So, we just decided to drive around. We headed up to Bordeaux Overlook. So sad seeing this place totally abandoned. We regret that we had never dined there when it was open.
But, what a lovely location. The view to Coral Bay always takes our breath away.
We spent some time in the amazing gift shop - Colorful Corner.
We bought a lovely cutting board, a beautiful bracelet for me and little “light up” key rings for the grandkids – one sea horse, one shark and a couple of turtles. Too cute – and only $5 each! We really enjoyed our time chatting with the owners. As we were heading into Coral Bay for lunch – they highly recommended Island Blues. So, off we went.
What a great place! Beautiful setting. Right on the water.
Jim had the mahi mahi fish & chips and LOVED it. To this day, he still remembers that that was probably one of the best fish and chips he has ever had. I had the burger & onion rings. Onion rings were excellent. Burger a little peppery for my taste. Service VERY slow. Only one waitress who had both serving and bartender duties. But, again, when on the “island” – you better be prepared for “island-time” wherever you go. Oh – almost forgot to mention, yummo Mudslides!!
We headed out on East End road. We were thinking that we wanted to try Haulover for snorkeling. We walked out – but, really couldn’t see a spot to enter the water safely. Plus, it was quite breezy and the water a bit choppy.
Saw this cute little pair on our drive. No matter how many you come across – you still marvel at seeing these lovely animals just strolling along as if they owned the place.
By now it was nearing 4:00. We HAD to get in the water somewhere. So, we headed to Trunk. No rain when we got there. We enjoyed a lovely hour and a half. Hardly any people. Of course, saw a wedding. This place is truly gorgeous!! Lovely beach to walk on – wonderful soft sand. The clearest, calmest water anywhere to swim in!
Back home to get changed. We had 7:00 reservations for Rhumb Lines. We are often creatures of habit – and I must admit – I am not too adventurous in my culinary tastes. In other words, I am often hesitant to try new things. BUT, due to all the glowing reviews – we decided that this would be the trip to go to Rhumb Lines!
We parked in the St. John Car Rental lot, as always. We were SO lucky to catch this gorgeous sunset. Our BEST sunset shots ALWAYS seem to be the ones that we take in Cruz Bay with all of the gorgeous boats in the forefront - with the amazing colors of nightfall behind.
Rhumb Lines has a cute little setting. We had a wonderful waitress named Sunny – who actually was from Stoneham, MA. She even shared that she misses her mom – how cute was that? Any girl who misses her mom is okay in my book! Well, are you ready for the verdict??? How is this? – Rhumb Lines is now our close second to Asolare! You don’t get a much higher recommendation than that!
We started with a couple of Margarita’s – expensive – but, good. Then on to the much recommended Bliss Salad. Food Porn Alert!
Baby greens, steak, pistachio-encrusted goat cheese – nice balsamic vinaigrette. Absolutely delish!!
For an entrée, Jim had the Banana Mahi Mahi – very good. As I am not too out there – I ordered the Cuban Mojo Pork. Lovely presentation, great flavor – and generous size, as well. Fantastic!!
And even though we were full – we HAD to share a peanut butter pie dessert. Yummo!
We loved the setting at Rhumb Lines. We had a wonderful night & would not hesitate to recommend it and will no doubt return one day.
In my notes – we returned home to watch the Celtics lose in triple OT by 1 point. URGH! Again, sometimes on vacation it would be better to be somewhere without Satellite TV reception. Oh well, drowned our sorrows with a drink among the stars, gazing at the lights of St. Thomas.
Day 8 – Friday, 5/1
As this was our last full day on St. John, we headed right out after breakfast to Waterlemon. We really like the walk along the water’s edge to Leinster Bay. We just did off beach snorkeling this time. We saw a stingray right away. Then we, at a respectable distance, followed a turtle around for quite awhile. He was just nibbling away forever, then rising to the top of the water to break for about 6 breaths of air, then down again. So cute when they poke their little heads above water.
Not our best shots – but, this shows a stingray with his tail curled. Never a really good sign. Needless to say, we cleared away quite quickly after that!
We saw 2-3 more stingrays – and another turtle. At Waterlemon, we always see trunkfish in the shallows. They are one of my favorites! I love their shape & I love the way that they just kind of hover about.
There were tons of goats at Waterlemon today. Also, on the trail, we saw the cutest baby donkey that we have ever seen! Isn’t he/she adorable??!!??
We then headed off to Cinnamon. Had a quick little lunch there, before hitting the beach. We always forget that we are “out of the country” and not everything translates easily and accurately. We order 2 grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Thought we were pretty clear. Anyway, as we were watching, we saw the girl put a couple of pieces of ham on the grill. It was pretty funny. But, I guess she thought that a “grilled ham” and cheese sandwich meant that you grill the ham and put it in a cold sandwich with cheese. Got to love the language barrier. Too funny! But, actually, the sandwiches were fine.
We really love Cinnamon. It is always one of our favorite stops. Gorgeous colors of the water. SO MUCH FUN to play in the surf. We sat under a nice shade tree and just read & limed out. A perfect afternoon in the Caribbean. I took this shot of a windsurfer. So pretty.
As has become our custom, our last moments on St. John beaches have become moments on Trunk. So, we headed off to Trunk at about 3:30. In case you haven’t seen enough photos of Trunk from the overlook, here is one more!
What more can anyone say about Trunk? From the moment you walk down the landing to the beach, you are in heaven!
This afternoon, the surf was picking up a bit. Great for swimming, but, not so great for snorkeling. As we end our vacations on St. Thomas at an amazing snorkeling wonderland, we were not too disappointed to just enjoy swimming, reading & gazing at the beautiful views. Also, great time for me to catch up on my vacation notes.
As usual, saw 2 small little weddings. Always brings out the romantic feelings in us and makes us remember how blessed we are to have already found and married our “soul mates”. Lucky us!
A couple of last parting shots of Trunk. So, sad to be leaving this incredibly special place!
We headed home – got cleaned up. Enjoyed our last supper on St. John at Banana Deck. We really enjoy their food, drinks and atmosphere. I enjoyed the Caribbean Chicken – Jim the Seafood Platter. Cute setting, nice wait staff.
Home to Perelandra to finish packing and get ready for our trip over to St. Thomas tomorrow AM.
Til tomorrow….
Day 7 – Thursday, 4/30
On and off showers all day with a little breeze, as well. After breakfast at Perelandra, we decided to hold off on beach time ‘til the weather improved a bit. So, we headed to a site that had been on our St. John “to do list” for quite some time and had just never made it there during previous trips.
Off to the Catherineberg Ruins. We had been to the Annaberg Ruins, Peace Hill Ruins and of course seen the Caneel Ruins. But, had never made it to Catherineberg. Really easy to get to – just follow Centerline Rd. (Rt. 10) out of town (away from Cruz Bay) keep your eyes out for the big Virgin Island National Park sign – on the left. Take that road and just go a little ways. You will be GLAD that you made the trip.
What a fantastic site! So much fun walking around these old sugar mill ruins. What is nice is that there is literally an upstairs and a downstairs & the inside cavern is amazing!
Again, if you have never made it there before – definitely put it on your “must see” list. We met a very nice family – mom, dad, 2 kids and 2 grandmas. The kids were having SO much fun climbing through the windows and having fun in the big downstairs room. Really great place for young (and old) to explore.
It was still drizzling a bit when we left. So, we just decided to drive around. We headed up to Bordeaux Overlook. So sad seeing this place totally abandoned. We regret that we had never dined there when it was open.
But, what a lovely location. The view to Coral Bay always takes our breath away.
We spent some time in the amazing gift shop - Colorful Corner.
We bought a lovely cutting board, a beautiful bracelet for me and little “light up” key rings for the grandkids – one sea horse, one shark and a couple of turtles. Too cute – and only $5 each! We really enjoyed our time chatting with the owners. As we were heading into Coral Bay for lunch – they highly recommended Island Blues. So, off we went.
What a great place! Beautiful setting. Right on the water.
Jim had the mahi mahi fish & chips and LOVED it. To this day, he still remembers that that was probably one of the best fish and chips he has ever had. I had the burger & onion rings. Onion rings were excellent. Burger a little peppery for my taste. Service VERY slow. Only one waitress who had both serving and bartender duties. But, again, when on the “island” – you better be prepared for “island-time” wherever you go. Oh – almost forgot to mention, yummo Mudslides!!
We headed out on East End road. We were thinking that we wanted to try Haulover for snorkeling. We walked out – but, really couldn’t see a spot to enter the water safely. Plus, it was quite breezy and the water a bit choppy.
Saw this cute little pair on our drive. No matter how many you come across – you still marvel at seeing these lovely animals just strolling along as if they owned the place.
By now it was nearing 4:00. We HAD to get in the water somewhere. So, we headed to Trunk. No rain when we got there. We enjoyed a lovely hour and a half. Hardly any people. Of course, saw a wedding. This place is truly gorgeous!! Lovely beach to walk on – wonderful soft sand. The clearest, calmest water anywhere to swim in!
Back home to get changed. We had 7:00 reservations for Rhumb Lines. We are often creatures of habit – and I must admit – I am not too adventurous in my culinary tastes. In other words, I am often hesitant to try new things. BUT, due to all the glowing reviews – we decided that this would be the trip to go to Rhumb Lines!
We parked in the St. John Car Rental lot, as always. We were SO lucky to catch this gorgeous sunset. Our BEST sunset shots ALWAYS seem to be the ones that we take in Cruz Bay with all of the gorgeous boats in the forefront - with the amazing colors of nightfall behind.
Rhumb Lines has a cute little setting. We had a wonderful waitress named Sunny – who actually was from Stoneham, MA. She even shared that she misses her mom – how cute was that? Any girl who misses her mom is okay in my book! Well, are you ready for the verdict??? How is this? – Rhumb Lines is now our close second to Asolare! You don’t get a much higher recommendation than that!
We started with a couple of Margarita’s – expensive – but, good. Then on to the much recommended Bliss Salad. Food Porn Alert!
Baby greens, steak, pistachio-encrusted goat cheese – nice balsamic vinaigrette. Absolutely delish!!
For an entrée, Jim had the Banana Mahi Mahi – very good. As I am not too out there – I ordered the Cuban Mojo Pork. Lovely presentation, great flavor – and generous size, as well. Fantastic!!
And even though we were full – we HAD to share a peanut butter pie dessert. Yummo!
We loved the setting at Rhumb Lines. We had a wonderful night & would not hesitate to recommend it and will no doubt return one day.
In my notes – we returned home to watch the Celtics lose in triple OT by 1 point. URGH! Again, sometimes on vacation it would be better to be somewhere without Satellite TV reception. Oh well, drowned our sorrows with a drink among the stars, gazing at the lights of St. Thomas.
Day 8 – Friday, 5/1
As this was our last full day on St. John, we headed right out after breakfast to Waterlemon. We really like the walk along the water’s edge to Leinster Bay. We just did off beach snorkeling this time. We saw a stingray right away. Then we, at a respectable distance, followed a turtle around for quite awhile. He was just nibbling away forever, then rising to the top of the water to break for about 6 breaths of air, then down again. So cute when they poke their little heads above water.
Not our best shots – but, this shows a stingray with his tail curled. Never a really good sign. Needless to say, we cleared away quite quickly after that!
We saw 2-3 more stingrays – and another turtle. At Waterlemon, we always see trunkfish in the shallows. They are one of my favorites! I love their shape & I love the way that they just kind of hover about.
There were tons of goats at Waterlemon today. Also, on the trail, we saw the cutest baby donkey that we have ever seen! Isn’t he/she adorable??!!??
We then headed off to Cinnamon. Had a quick little lunch there, before hitting the beach. We always forget that we are “out of the country” and not everything translates easily and accurately. We order 2 grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Thought we were pretty clear. Anyway, as we were watching, we saw the girl put a couple of pieces of ham on the grill. It was pretty funny. But, I guess she thought that a “grilled ham” and cheese sandwich meant that you grill the ham and put it in a cold sandwich with cheese. Got to love the language barrier. Too funny! But, actually, the sandwiches were fine.
We really love Cinnamon. It is always one of our favorite stops. Gorgeous colors of the water. SO MUCH FUN to play in the surf. We sat under a nice shade tree and just read & limed out. A perfect afternoon in the Caribbean. I took this shot of a windsurfer. So pretty.
As has become our custom, our last moments on St. John beaches have become moments on Trunk. So, we headed off to Trunk at about 3:30. In case you haven’t seen enough photos of Trunk from the overlook, here is one more!
What more can anyone say about Trunk? From the moment you walk down the landing to the beach, you are in heaven!
This afternoon, the surf was picking up a bit. Great for swimming, but, not so great for snorkeling. As we end our vacations on St. Thomas at an amazing snorkeling wonderland, we were not too disappointed to just enjoy swimming, reading & gazing at the beautiful views. Also, great time for me to catch up on my vacation notes.
As usual, saw 2 small little weddings. Always brings out the romantic feelings in us and makes us remember how blessed we are to have already found and married our “soul mates”. Lucky us!
A couple of last parting shots of Trunk. So, sad to be leaving this incredibly special place!
We headed home – got cleaned up. Enjoyed our last supper on St. John at Banana Deck. We really enjoy their food, drinks and atmosphere. I enjoyed the Caribbean Chicken – Jim the Seafood Platter. Cute setting, nice wait staff.
Home to Perelandra to finish packing and get ready for our trip over to St. Thomas tomorrow AM.
Til tomorrow….
Nice report, wonderful pictures, thanks for sharing!
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
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shelli0001
- Posts: 69
- Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:03 pm
- Location: Indiana
thanks for the great report!
Great report.
Did you chat with Robin at Colorful Corner? We had bought a tie tac for Don when there and it got lost amidst all the other souveneirs. I called to get him another and they sent it to me at no charge. Nice, nice people.
You may be able to eat up there the next trip as the restaurant has re-opened.
Also a big Trunk fan.
Did you chat with Robin at Colorful Corner? We had bought a tie tac for Don when there and it got lost amidst all the other souveneirs. I called to get him another and they sent it to me at no charge. Nice, nice people.
You may be able to eat up there the next trip as the restaurant has re-opened.
Also a big Trunk fan.
janet
-
St. John Lover
- Posts: 245
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:14 pm
- Location: Chicago
Loved your pics--that baby donkey was unbelievably cute! I too wonder if a curled stingray tail means danger? I'm usually never concerned when I'm around stingrays.
You, like us, really packed a lot into your last day! I always think "I want to come back here LOTS" but, knowing how life can take strange & unpredictable turns, I also think "if this is my last time here, by golly, I'm going to see and do it all and not miss one moment of being out in that beauty."
You, like us, really packed a lot into your last day! I always think "I want to come back here LOTS" but, knowing how life can take strange & unpredictable turns, I also think "if this is my last time here, by golly, I'm going to see and do it all and not miss one moment of being out in that beauty."
Thanks for sharing your trip Sue. I'm just chatching up ....backwards.
Trip report 2009
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
Trip report 2008
So good, so good, so good!
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
Trip report 2008
So good, so good, so good!
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
