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The PA's trip report part 1 - St. Thomas
The PA's trip report part 1 - St. Thomas
We just returned from our 15th anniversary trip to STJ. Mr. PA and I can’t agree on how many times we visited STJ but 9 or 10 times is a safe guess.
We switched things up this time by spending some time of STT and returning to Caneel after many villa (on STJ and other places) trips.
Cast of characters - PA Girl, Mr. PA and Little PA, our 4 year old son.
Initially, the crappy flight times started us thinking about spending our first night on STT. Then, as I started checking out things to do, I found Blackbeard’s Castle and thought that would be a perfect activity to do with our pirate-obsessed son. Our Delta flight was to land (and did) around 2pm so we would have an entire afternoon to poke around. I booked a room on STT and we made plans for our first day and a half of vacation.
For years, we have flown USAir. When planning this trip, prices and times were just insane so we switched to Delta. All and all, it was just fine. We chilled in the ATL Delta lounge, which was a v. nice break - Nothing wrong with free booze to ease my travel day!
We were absolutely tickled with the individual TVs on the ATL-STT leg. All three of us watched the progress map like it was the most fascinating thing ever. After seeing the Bahamas Out Islands from 35,000 feet, we are definitely moving that destination up on the must-do list.
We used Christopher Taxi (again) for land transfers and we checked into the Green Iguana around 3pm.
This is a decent place to spend a short stay. I booked it for its location next to Blackbeard’s Castle. It was very, very clean and our room was large. It is an older, sort of cobbled together property. There is an older, strip of rooms where we stayed and then a multi-story, newer looking block of rooms across the courtyard.
The rooms vary in size and type. Ours didn’t have a balcony or outdoor sitting area, something we missed, but others did. It was perfectly fine for a one or two night stay. The innkeepers have a decent selection of snacks and drink available for purchase, which is a nice touch. We grabbed some beers and relaxed in the garden for a while before heading out to do the walking tour.
Scenes from the walking tour –
Going down the 99 Steps
We ate dinner at the Greenhouse. We weren’t impressed. It didn’t live up to the hype; very pricey for the quality of food and service. I think our bill was over $125 and we had one drink each.
The next morning we had breakfast at Bumpa’s. It was good but sort of expensive, $37 for two egg sandwiches and one plate of scrambled eggs and toast. We did enjoy the view and watching the cruise ships arrive.
Lunch was at Gladys’s, which we LOVED. I wish we would have eaten the prior night’s dinner and that day’s lunch at Gladys’s, it was that good. I had the stewed conch. Mr. PA had a lobster salad plate.
Blackbeard’s Castle did not turn out as planned. As anyone with kids has likely experienced, plans can go sideways rather quickly.
Leading up to our trip, we read pirate books, looked at the USVI maps, talked about going to the beach, snorkeling, etc. with Little PA. He was very excited about Blackbeard's.
Sideways #1 – we show up at Blackbeard’s, pay our fee ($12 pp, little kids free) get the spiel from the guides and off we go. We didn’t follow the guide, opting to do it on our own.
Blackbeard’s is set up to cater to the cruise ship crowd. There are small shops, a few bars, lots of statues and several historic homes to tour. You start at the top of the hill and work your way down to the bottom.
There are not one but two pools within the complex. The tour guide at the top kept saying to Little PA “you want to go into the pool don’t you; it is so hot today, the pool with feel great, blah, blah, blah…” See where this is going? Guess who now wants to do nothing but go in the pool?
The Pool Of Trouble –
We had to drag him down the hill as he is whining the whole way about how hot is he is, he MUST go in the pool and so on. NO, NO, NO, absolutely not, no way you are getting in that pool! (He gets to swim all the time at home.)
I am guessing that Blackbeard’s is a shore excursion destination where people spend the entire day shopping, tasting rum and sitting by the pool.
At each stop, we were asked which ship we were from and all employees expressed surprise when they learned we were on our own.
We calmed things down and go on to enjoy the old houses. The owner really did a good job in hiring the docents. They are so knowledgeable about the houses, architecture and the furniture. Mr. PA and I really enjoyed this part of it. Little PA tolerated it and was a good sport. Since we struck out ahead of the crowds, we had the place to ourselves.
Little PA brushing up on colonial furniture
Beautiful old tile floor -
Sideways #2 – In house #3, the docent talks up a dinosaur at the end of the tour (why a dinosaur I wonder?) and tells Little PA how neat it will be to see, this dinosaur is so great and so on. Off we go to see the dinosaur with Little PA happily leading the parade!
This is where things go bad, very bad…..
There is an amber museum at the bottom of the tour and in order to enter the museum (and conveniently located jewelry store) you need to walk through this pitch black tunnel with fake jungle vines and such hanging down and……an insanely loud, huge, scary, shrieking dinosaur.
It scared me a lot and scared the absolute be-Jesus out of Little PA. He clawed at Mr. PA and screamed like a wild animal. He was absolutely hysterical with fear and shock. Tour guides came running and hustled us outside. Someone may have turned the lights also, I can’t remember with all the commotion.
When everyone finally calmed down, Little PA insisted on going back up the hill to “tell that Lady that I HATE that dinosaur!” We didn’t but everyone got a good laugh out of his threat and I am sure the one guides did rely the message. Little PA was outraged that the hyped dinosaur was nothing like the Dinosaur Train friends on PBS Kids.
Little PA told anyone who would listen about the horrible dinosaur. The girl working in the jewelry store said they get multiple complaints everyday about the dinosaur from hell and that she can’t believe the owner won’t turn it off, that he has some unexplainable attachment to it.
Thank goodness, the tour ends at a lovely little bar and we could all sit down and calm our nerves before we walked down to the waterfront to catch our ride.
(I drank two of these to erase the dino memory)
We enjoyed our stop on STT. It was a good way to ease into the vacation and we will likely do it again for the next STJ trip.
Next stop, STJ and Caneel….
We switched things up this time by spending some time of STT and returning to Caneel after many villa (on STJ and other places) trips.
Cast of characters - PA Girl, Mr. PA and Little PA, our 4 year old son.
Initially, the crappy flight times started us thinking about spending our first night on STT. Then, as I started checking out things to do, I found Blackbeard’s Castle and thought that would be a perfect activity to do with our pirate-obsessed son. Our Delta flight was to land (and did) around 2pm so we would have an entire afternoon to poke around. I booked a room on STT and we made plans for our first day and a half of vacation.
For years, we have flown USAir. When planning this trip, prices and times were just insane so we switched to Delta. All and all, it was just fine. We chilled in the ATL Delta lounge, which was a v. nice break - Nothing wrong with free booze to ease my travel day!
We were absolutely tickled with the individual TVs on the ATL-STT leg. All three of us watched the progress map like it was the most fascinating thing ever. After seeing the Bahamas Out Islands from 35,000 feet, we are definitely moving that destination up on the must-do list.
We used Christopher Taxi (again) for land transfers and we checked into the Green Iguana around 3pm.
This is a decent place to spend a short stay. I booked it for its location next to Blackbeard’s Castle. It was very, very clean and our room was large. It is an older, sort of cobbled together property. There is an older, strip of rooms where we stayed and then a multi-story, newer looking block of rooms across the courtyard.
The rooms vary in size and type. Ours didn’t have a balcony or outdoor sitting area, something we missed, but others did. It was perfectly fine for a one or two night stay. The innkeepers have a decent selection of snacks and drink available for purchase, which is a nice touch. We grabbed some beers and relaxed in the garden for a while before heading out to do the walking tour.
Scenes from the walking tour –
Going down the 99 Steps
We ate dinner at the Greenhouse. We weren’t impressed. It didn’t live up to the hype; very pricey for the quality of food and service. I think our bill was over $125 and we had one drink each.
The next morning we had breakfast at Bumpa’s. It was good but sort of expensive, $37 for two egg sandwiches and one plate of scrambled eggs and toast. We did enjoy the view and watching the cruise ships arrive.
Lunch was at Gladys’s, which we LOVED. I wish we would have eaten the prior night’s dinner and that day’s lunch at Gladys’s, it was that good. I had the stewed conch. Mr. PA had a lobster salad plate.
Blackbeard’s Castle did not turn out as planned. As anyone with kids has likely experienced, plans can go sideways rather quickly.
Leading up to our trip, we read pirate books, looked at the USVI maps, talked about going to the beach, snorkeling, etc. with Little PA. He was very excited about Blackbeard's.
Sideways #1 – we show up at Blackbeard’s, pay our fee ($12 pp, little kids free) get the spiel from the guides and off we go. We didn’t follow the guide, opting to do it on our own.
Blackbeard’s is set up to cater to the cruise ship crowd. There are small shops, a few bars, lots of statues and several historic homes to tour. You start at the top of the hill and work your way down to the bottom.
There are not one but two pools within the complex. The tour guide at the top kept saying to Little PA “you want to go into the pool don’t you; it is so hot today, the pool with feel great, blah, blah, blah…” See where this is going? Guess who now wants to do nothing but go in the pool?
The Pool Of Trouble –
We had to drag him down the hill as he is whining the whole way about how hot is he is, he MUST go in the pool and so on. NO, NO, NO, absolutely not, no way you are getting in that pool! (He gets to swim all the time at home.)
I am guessing that Blackbeard’s is a shore excursion destination where people spend the entire day shopping, tasting rum and sitting by the pool.
At each stop, we were asked which ship we were from and all employees expressed surprise when they learned we were on our own.
We calmed things down and go on to enjoy the old houses. The owner really did a good job in hiring the docents. They are so knowledgeable about the houses, architecture and the furniture. Mr. PA and I really enjoyed this part of it. Little PA tolerated it and was a good sport. Since we struck out ahead of the crowds, we had the place to ourselves.
Little PA brushing up on colonial furniture
Beautiful old tile floor -
Sideways #2 – In house #3, the docent talks up a dinosaur at the end of the tour (why a dinosaur I wonder?) and tells Little PA how neat it will be to see, this dinosaur is so great and so on. Off we go to see the dinosaur with Little PA happily leading the parade!
This is where things go bad, very bad…..
There is an amber museum at the bottom of the tour and in order to enter the museum (and conveniently located jewelry store) you need to walk through this pitch black tunnel with fake jungle vines and such hanging down and……an insanely loud, huge, scary, shrieking dinosaur.
It scared me a lot and scared the absolute be-Jesus out of Little PA. He clawed at Mr. PA and screamed like a wild animal. He was absolutely hysterical with fear and shock. Tour guides came running and hustled us outside. Someone may have turned the lights also, I can’t remember with all the commotion.
When everyone finally calmed down, Little PA insisted on going back up the hill to “tell that Lady that I HATE that dinosaur!” We didn’t but everyone got a good laugh out of his threat and I am sure the one guides did rely the message. Little PA was outraged that the hyped dinosaur was nothing like the Dinosaur Train friends on PBS Kids.
Little PA told anyone who would listen about the horrible dinosaur. The girl working in the jewelry store said they get multiple complaints everyday about the dinosaur from hell and that she can’t believe the owner won’t turn it off, that he has some unexplainable attachment to it.
Thank goodness, the tour ends at a lovely little bar and we could all sit down and calm our nerves before we walked down to the waterfront to catch our ride.
(I drank two of these to erase the dino memory)
We enjoyed our stop on STT. It was a good way to ease into the vacation and we will likely do it again for the next STJ trip.
Next stop, STJ and Caneel….
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msgcolleen
- Posts: 1497
- Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:33 am
- Location: Allen, Texas
What an adventure so far!! Bad dinosaur! 
I've got 2 tickets to paradise~Pack your bags we'll leave tonight!
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]
[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/]
Gladys's Cafe is the best. I always keep it in mind when picking flight times to see if we can lunch there coming or going.
Ahh yes - the unintended fallout of well intentioned adults throwing your little one a series of curveballs by assuming they know what they want. Gee, thanks! Was it easier to roll with it just knowing you were getting on that Caneel ferry soon?
Ahh yes - the unintended fallout of well intentioned adults throwing your little one a series of curveballs by assuming they know what they want. Gee, thanks! Was it easier to roll with it just knowing you were getting on that Caneel ferry soon?
When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Love the report!
Great report! I have three kids ages 14,12,and 7.Our boys, 12 and 7 yrs. have visited the islands when they were around 4 yrs in age.I know what your going though!It's a fun age but you never know what to expect from them! Thanks for the report and the laughs.Parafins
HELLO FROM MICHIGAN...
H@ll yes!jmq wrote:Gladys's Cafe is the best. I always keep it in mind when picking flight times to see if we can lunch there coming or going.
Ahh yes - the unintended fallout of well intentioned adults throwing your little one a series of curveballs by assuming they know what they want. Gee, thanks! Was it easier to roll with it just knowing you were getting on that Caneel ferry soon?
Christopher (Taxi driver) insisted we go to Gladys's. I assured him that was already the plan. I am certain we were the only tourists there when we first sat down. I got the impression everyone else was there on their lunch break. As they finished up, the cruisers started showing up.
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California Girl
Re: The PA's trip report part 1 - St. Thomas
There's the answer to why the guy won't get rid of the dinosaur! It probably sells a lot of booze for him! LOL!PA Girl wrote:
(I drank two of these to erase the dino memory)
He was and was pissed off with a capital P. The one employee laughed so hard at his furry and it broke the ice. It was at that point Little PA started to laugh about it.XOXO wrote:I loved your stt trip report. My favorite part is that little PA wanted to go back and let the lady know that he hated her dinosaur. Poor baby must have been terrified..
xoxo
When we progressed to the store, it all started up again (because we could hear the dinosaur) and the clerk ribbed him in a good natured way. He really got rolling then with his opinion about the dino issues.....
I had a similar conclusion as you...Greenhouse was over-rated and Glady's was worth more than one trip. We also liked Cuzzins.
Cheers
Cheers
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
Love Gladys's, but think we concurr with little PA on the dinosaur!
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=
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Berlingirl
- Posts: 499
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:09 pm
- Location: New England
Nice report and pictures. Thanks!
We like Gladys Cafe, too. Our flight doesn't usually leave STT until late in the afternoon and we like to have lunch there. The food and service are good and the prices is very reasonable. She has the best fried plantains.
We like Gladys Cafe, too. Our flight doesn't usually leave STT until late in the afternoon and we like to have lunch there. The food and service are good and the prices is very reasonable. She has the best fried plantains.
When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentucky, because everything there happens 20 years after it happens anywhere else. – Mark Twain