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The Much Anticipated Trip Report Octology, Part Six
The Much Anticipated Trip Report Octology, Part Six
Trip Report - Day 6
Ruth! and a few other places
...
Executive Summary
Friday morning started out drizzly and overcast. The girls wanted to sleep in so Amy and I went into town to visit St. John Spice and a few other shops. We parked at Slimman's and went to see Ruth first. As i walked into the shop I saw Ruth behind the counter and she said "I know you!". We chatted for a while as Amy and I looked around the shop. We picked out some stuff to take home as well as a selection of hot sauces that Ron would ship to me. We had a chance to meet Ron and Regina, who was working behind the counter with Ruth. After ST. John SPice we hit a few other stores where Amy picked up things that had been flagged earlier in the trip. We went back to the villa to get the girls and headed out towards Skinny Legs. We had a great lunch at Skinny's and looked around at the shops in the area and then drove out to Shipwreck Landing, Jolly Dog and a few other shops out that way. Then we went back past Skinny Legs and drove out to Vie's. It was still drizzling on and off so we didn't go down to her beach, but I had to stop for some conch fritters. We got back to the villa at about 5:00 and made arrangements to meet another couple at Morgan's Mango for dinner at 7:00. The girls were on their own for dinner and they ended up having a burger at the Beach Bar. They were jonesing for fresh fries and they had asked someone in one of the Wharfside shops where they could get fries and the answer was the Beach Bar. We met back at the car after dinner and went back to the villa.
The details for the non-executive
The girls wanted to sleep in for a while so Amy and I had planned on going to JJs for breakfast and then doing some shopping. Then we were planning on collecting the girls and going out to Skinny Leg's for lunch. As we drove to town we realized that if we had breakfast then we wouldn't be hungry again for lunch, so we skipped the breakfast and went straight to the shopping. Our first stop was St. John Spice to see if Ruth was there. She was and she recognized me right away (I guess having a picture on the forum works ). As we looked around the shop we talked with Ruth about all sorts of things. I bought some Cruz Bay Grill Rub, some St. John Jerk Spice and a seasoning sampler to take home. Amy picked out a couple of different rum cakes for our dog sitters and a pack of tropical fruit doggy smoothies for Sable. Sable enjoyed her first smoothie yesterday.
I also picked out an assortment of hot sauces including two ro three to give to some of my BBQ buddies. Ruth told us that Ron could get 10 bottle into a flat rate Priority Mail box so I had those shipped to me. They arrived this past Thursday very well packed and intact.
During our conversation we mentioned that we were thinking of having dinner at Morgan's Mango that night. Regina, who was working in the shop with Ruth, mentioned that her boyfriend was a waiter at Morgan's. We got his name and description and planned on getting seated in his section. As we were getting ready to leave Ron walked in so we were able to meet him as well. It was great to meet you guys, Ruth and Ron, as well as Regina.
After St. John Spice we walked around Wharfside and Mongoose Junction to pick up a couple of items that Amy had wanted including a "I'm On Island Time" t-shirt for Amy. Then we went back to the villa to wake the girls.
We left the villa at about 12:30 to drive out to Skinny Legs. There really wasn't much traffic on Centerline so we navigated the various switcbacks without problems. When we arrived at Skinny's a table had just opened up so we were seated immediately. We all ordered burgers (of course). I tried the special burger for the day which had BBQ sauce, swiss cheese and horseradish pickles on it. We each had ordered our burgers cooked to a different temperature and all of them were done perfectly. Since the girls had ordered burgers at Taboo I asked them which was better, Taboo or Skinny's and I received a mixed decision. KK thought that Taboo was better and KP thought that Skinny's was better. I've had a better burger, but the combination of a very good burger and the setting made it like no other. Amy also sampled a Painkiller in her quest to try painkillers from as many places as possible. The results of this quest will be announced in the final installment (soon!).
After Skinny's we looked around in the shops. The hats in the Jolly Dog shop were "buy two, get one free" so I bought two for me and a third for my father. KK bought some Jolly Dog boxers for pajamas. Then we headed out towards Shipwreck Landing and the shops there. At the larger Jolly Dog shop out that way I was talking to the lady in the shop and I commented that I had been unable to find any T-shirts on the island in my size (4XL). She went to the rack of shirts and pulled out a certain shirt in 2XL and held it up. She told me that that manufacturer's shirts ran large so i tried it on and it fit! They only had two designs from that manufacturer in 2XL so i bought one of each. One of them has a dog skeleton with a peg leg and it says "Dog is my Pirate" on it. The other has all of the modified DIP signs from around the island on the front and back. The lady in the shop pointed out one of the DIP signs and told me that she had modified that one along with her sister but the sign had since been knocked down and never replaced. After Jolly Dog we went to another group of shops (Cocolobo shops, I think) and looked around there. Then we went back past Skinny's and out to Vie's. We weren't hungry but I HAD to see Vie's. She was open so I had to stop.
I ordered some conch fritters and sat and ate them with Amy and a rooster watching. The girls waited in the car
.
While we were sitting at Vie's a cement ruck pulled up and the driver came over and ordered a beer. he drank his beer and headed off towards Coral Bay. We ended up getting behind him almost all of the way back to Crua Bay. The drive back took much longer than the drive out there. When we passed the smoothie truck i offered to buy but no one wanted to stop! Since i had already made them all stop at Vie's I decided to bypass the smoothie truck. Now I have a reason to go back! 
When we arrived back at Moonsong we had a phone message from a gentleman that I met on another forum. We and his wife had arrived on STJ on Wednesday and we had exchanged contact info to see if we wanted to get together for dinner. I called him back and we agreed to meet at Morgan's Mango at 7:00 for dinner. The girls were anxious for some time away from the adults so they were fine with being on their own for dinner. Since it was Friday night I called Morgan's for reservations and was able to get us in at 7:30. We headed into town early to walk around. The girls split off to head to Freebird at Wharfside. Earlier in the trip KP had bought a puzzle ring there and promptly took it apart and couldn't figure out how to get it back together
. They were hoping that someone at Freebird would be able to help them. No one there knew how to put the ring together either. I'm not sure if they have gotten it reassembled yet . They had wanted fries at Skinny Legs but they don't have a fryer there so they wanted to find fries with their dinner. The guy at Freebird told them to go to the Beach Bar so they had burgers and fries there for dinner.
Amy and I met John (nyestreet from the other forum) and his wife Ellen at Morgan's at 7:00. While we were sitting at the bar waiting for our table we saw Regina from St. John Spice walk in. We said hello to her and she pointed out her boyfriend. His section was full so we didn't have him as our server. The server we did have did a very good job. Amy sampled Morgan's Painkiller while I had a Mango Colada, John had a beer and Ellen had a Margarita. We ordered dinner and sat and talked about everything from the island to our lives at home. John and Ellen have been to STJ five times so they told us about their experiences. They stay at Estate Lindholm and really like it there. For dinner I ordered the Lobster Bisque which was a little thinner than I am used to but had great flavor and a seared tuna steak, Voodoo style. The tuna was cooked perfectly and the Voodoo seasoning had a slight heat to it. John and Ellen also had the lobster bisque and John ordered Coconut Shrimp and Ellen ordered the PickaPeppa steak. Amy had roasted red pepper soup that was very good and Citrus Chicken, which was half of a chicken and very tasty. Everyone enjoyed their meals. Here's John and Ellen at Morgan's.
Earlier in these reports someone had mentioned that I should get out from behind the camera. John took a picture of Amy and I at Morgan's...
We took our time over dinner and the girls had stopped by in between courses. Ellen had gone out to the street to smoke and had met the girls by accident. When she came back we mentioned that they had been there and she told us that she had met them out front and that they were both very polite to a total stranger. Whew! They called a second time as we were finishing our meal and came to get the car keys. They told us that they felt a little uncomfortable waking back and forth between Mongoose and Wharfside so they were just going to wait by the car (which was parked across the street from Mongoose. We asked them why they felt uncomfortable since they had walked that same area several times before and they mentioned that there was a bar across from Uncle Joe's (I don't know the name but it has bars on the window openings and slot machines inside) and they felt that the men in the bar were watching them a little too closely. They didn't have any problems but it made them uneasy. I doubt that anything would have happened, but I'm glad that they were smart enough to avoid a possible situation. We finished dinner and said good night to John and Ellen at about 10:00. They were going to catch the early ferry to JVD the next morning so they were going to get some sleep. We were all pretty tired so we went back to the villa to relax for a bit and then crash.
Tomorrow: The last full day
Complete STJ Photo Album
Ruth! and a few other places
...Executive Summary
Friday morning started out drizzly and overcast. The girls wanted to sleep in so Amy and I went into town to visit St. John Spice and a few other shops. We parked at Slimman's and went to see Ruth first. As i walked into the shop I saw Ruth behind the counter and she said "I know you!". We chatted for a while as Amy and I looked around the shop. We picked out some stuff to take home as well as a selection of hot sauces that Ron would ship to me. We had a chance to meet Ron and Regina, who was working behind the counter with Ruth. After ST. John SPice we hit a few other stores where Amy picked up things that had been flagged earlier in the trip. We went back to the villa to get the girls and headed out towards Skinny Legs. We had a great lunch at Skinny's and looked around at the shops in the area and then drove out to Shipwreck Landing, Jolly Dog and a few other shops out that way. Then we went back past Skinny Legs and drove out to Vie's. It was still drizzling on and off so we didn't go down to her beach, but I had to stop for some conch fritters. We got back to the villa at about 5:00 and made arrangements to meet another couple at Morgan's Mango for dinner at 7:00. The girls were on their own for dinner and they ended up having a burger at the Beach Bar. They were jonesing for fresh fries and they had asked someone in one of the Wharfside shops where they could get fries and the answer was the Beach Bar. We met back at the car after dinner and went back to the villa.
The details for the non-executive
The girls wanted to sleep in for a while so Amy and I had planned on going to JJs for breakfast and then doing some shopping. Then we were planning on collecting the girls and going out to Skinny Leg's for lunch. As we drove to town we realized that if we had breakfast then we wouldn't be hungry again for lunch, so we skipped the breakfast and went straight to the shopping. Our first stop was St. John Spice to see if Ruth was there. She was and she recognized me right away (I guess having a picture on the forum works
). As we looked around the shop we talked with Ruth about all sorts of things. I bought some Cruz Bay Grill Rub, some St. John Jerk Spice and a seasoning sampler to take home. Amy picked out a couple of different rum cakes for our dog sitters and a pack of tropical fruit doggy smoothies for Sable. Sable enjoyed her first smoothie yesterday.I also picked out an assortment of hot sauces including two ro three to give to some of my BBQ buddies. Ruth told us that Ron could get 10 bottle into a flat rate Priority Mail box so I had those shipped to me. They arrived this past Thursday very well packed and intact.
During our conversation we mentioned that we were thinking of having dinner at Morgan's Mango that night. Regina, who was working in the shop with Ruth, mentioned that her boyfriend was a waiter at Morgan's. We got his name and description and planned on getting seated in his section. As we were getting ready to leave Ron walked in so we were able to meet him as well. It was great to meet you guys, Ruth and Ron, as well as Regina.
After St. John Spice we walked around Wharfside and Mongoose Junction to pick up a couple of items that Amy had wanted including a "I'm On Island Time" t-shirt for Amy. Then we went back to the villa to wake the girls.
We left the villa at about 12:30 to drive out to Skinny Legs. There really wasn't much traffic on Centerline so we navigated the various switcbacks without problems. When we arrived at Skinny's a table had just opened up so we were seated immediately. We all ordered burgers (of course). I tried the special burger for the day which had BBQ sauce, swiss cheese and horseradish pickles on it. We each had ordered our burgers cooked to a different temperature and all of them were done perfectly. Since the girls had ordered burgers at Taboo I asked them which was better, Taboo or Skinny's and I received a mixed decision. KK thought that Taboo was better and KP thought that Skinny's was better. I've had a better burger, but the combination of a very good burger and the setting made it like no other. Amy also sampled a Painkiller in her quest to try painkillers from as many places as possible
. The results of this quest will be announced in the final installment (soon!).After Skinny's we looked around in the shops. The hats in the Jolly Dog shop were "buy two, get one free" so I bought two for me and a third for my father. KK bought some Jolly Dog boxers for pajamas. Then we headed out towards Shipwreck Landing and the shops there. At the larger Jolly Dog shop out that way I was talking to the lady in the shop and I commented that I had been unable to find any T-shirts on the island in my size (4XL). She went to the rack of shirts and pulled out a certain shirt in 2XL and held it up. She told me that that manufacturer's shirts ran large so i tried it on and it fit! They only had two designs from that manufacturer in 2XL so i bought one of each. One of them has a dog skeleton with a peg leg and it says "Dog is my Pirate" on it. The other has all of the modified DIP signs from around the island on the front and back. The lady in the shop pointed out one of the DIP signs and told me that she had modified that one along with her sister but the sign had since been knocked down and never replaced. After Jolly Dog we went to another group of shops (Cocolobo shops, I think) and looked around there. Then we went back past Skinny's and out to Vie's. We weren't hungry but I HAD to see Vie's. She was open so I had to stop.
I ordered some conch fritters and sat and ate them with Amy and a rooster watching. The girls waited in the car
.While we were sitting at Vie's a cement ruck pulled up and the driver came over and ordered a beer. he drank his beer and headed off towards Coral Bay. We ended up getting behind him almost all of the way back to Crua Bay. The drive back took much longer than the drive out there
. When we passed the smoothie truck i offered to buy but no one wanted to stop! Since i had already made them all stop at Vie's I decided to bypass the smoothie truck. Now I have a reason to go back! When we arrived back at Moonsong we had a phone message from a gentleman that I met on another forum. We and his wife had arrived on STJ on Wednesday and we had exchanged contact info to see if we wanted to get together for dinner. I called him back and we agreed to meet at Morgan's Mango at 7:00 for dinner. The girls were anxious for some time away from the adults so they were fine with being on their own for dinner. Since it was Friday night I called Morgan's for reservations and was able to get us in at 7:30. We headed into town early to walk around. The girls split off to head to Freebird at Wharfside. Earlier in the trip KP had bought a puzzle ring there and promptly took it apart and couldn't figure out how to get it back together
. They were hoping that someone at Freebird would be able to help them. No one there knew how to put the ring together either. I'm not sure if they have gotten it reassembled yet . They had wanted fries at Skinny Legs but they don't have a fryer there so they wanted to find fries with their dinner. The guy at Freebird told them to go to the Beach Bar so they had burgers and fries there for dinner. Amy and I met John (nyestreet from the other forum) and his wife Ellen at Morgan's at 7:00. While we were sitting at the bar waiting for our table we saw Regina from St. John Spice walk in. We said hello to her and she pointed out her boyfriend. His section was full so we didn't have him as our server. The server we did have did a very good job. Amy sampled Morgan's Painkiller while I had a Mango Colada, John had a beer and Ellen had a Margarita. We ordered dinner and sat and talked about everything from the island to our lives at home. John and Ellen have been to STJ five times so they told us about their experiences. They stay at Estate Lindholm and really like it there. For dinner I ordered the Lobster Bisque which was a little thinner than I am used to but had great flavor and a seared tuna steak, Voodoo style. The tuna was cooked perfectly and the Voodoo seasoning had a slight heat to it. John and Ellen also had the lobster bisque and John ordered Coconut Shrimp and Ellen ordered the PickaPeppa steak. Amy had roasted red pepper soup that was very good and Citrus Chicken, which was half of a chicken and very tasty. Everyone enjoyed their meals. Here's John and Ellen at Morgan's.
Earlier in these reports someone had mentioned that I should get out from behind the camera. John took a picture of Amy and I at Morgan's...
We took our time over dinner and the girls had stopped by in between courses. Ellen had gone out to the street to smoke and had met the girls by accident. When she came back we mentioned that they had been there and she told us that she had met them out front and that they were both very polite to a total stranger. Whew!
They called a second time as we were finishing our meal and came to get the car keys. They told us that they felt a little uncomfortable waking back and forth between Mongoose and Wharfside so they were just going to wait by the car (which was parked across the street from Mongoose. We asked them why they felt uncomfortable since they had walked that same area several times before and they mentioned that there was a bar across from Uncle Joe's (I don't know the name but it has bars on the window openings and slot machines inside) and they felt that the men in the bar were watching them a little too closely. They didn't have any problems but it made them uneasy. I doubt that anything would have happened, but I'm glad that they were smart enough to avoid a possible situation. We finished dinner and said good night to John and Ellen at about 10:00. They were going to catch the early ferry to JVD the next morning so they were going to get some sleep. We were all pretty tired so we went back to the villa to relax for a bit and then crash.Tomorrow: The last full day
Complete STJ Photo Album
...ron
Time to start working on convincing the wife that we have to go back soon!
Time to start working on convincing the wife that we have to go back soon!
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
Ron -
Thank you for your great reports. I have been out of town and am just now catching up. I love that you saw a spotted eagle ray and your quest for a turtle sighting is not unlike my own! What a thrill to see one and to be able to float above as it does what it does naturally!
I'm looking forward to your next installment!
P.S.(Great shirt!!)
Tracy
Thank you for your great reports. I have been out of town and am just now catching up. I love that you saw a spotted eagle ray and your quest for a turtle sighting is not unlike my own! What a thrill to see one and to be able to float above as it does what it does naturally!
I'm looking forward to your next installment!
P.S.(Great shirt!!)
Tracy
Tracy, Seaside Properties at Grande Bay
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obsessedmuch
Thanks... I tried to find a sign on the place but I didn't see one. I can understand their concern. It is a dark place and the crowd on Friday night was almost entirely men.waterguy wrote:That bar they were worried about was Caps it is alway pretty intimadating but this last trip we went in there and had a good time Great report
...ron
Time to start working on convincing the wife that we have to go back soon!
Time to start working on convincing the wife that we have to go back soon!
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Bob & Anita
- Posts: 611
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:20 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC
We are really enjoying your trip reports; especially the "Executive Summaries" and the pictures. We just got back from a fantasic family vacation at the Grand Canyon and northeastern AZ and are in a catch-up mode, so the summary is much appreciated.
Liked the report and pictures of the Bubbly Pool; we wanted to go last year but the timing didn't work out.
Liked the report and pictures of the Bubbly Pool; we wanted to go last year but the timing didn't work out.
Bob & Anita
