usvi-on-line
Umbrellas? We don't need no stinkin' umbrellas!(Pt. V)
Umbrellas? We don't need no stinkin' umbrellas!(Pt. V)
Link to Pt. I - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... 206#205206
Link to Pt. II - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17483
Link to Pt. III - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17487
Link to Pt. IV - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17493
Saturday, July 18 - Really? It's Saturday already? But we just GOT here! Oh well...
Today was a little bit different, or at least started out a little bit different than they had been. For one thing, the coffee filters Ruth gave me yesterday made it possible to bypass the walk down/back up the driveway to Big Ben's Deli, so I was able to brew some myself and drink it out of a real coffee cup on the porch at Harbor Place Too. And I had time to relax and enjoy it this morning.
We had made plans to meet our "landlords" from our most recent trip, Anne and Bob, for breakfast at the Donkey Diner this morning. They had suggested 9AM, which is a bit later than we usually get started, but since it was rainy and windy (big surprise) we just took the opportunity to move at a slower pace than normal. Jason probably enjoyed the extra sleep also!
Eating at the Donkey Diner was a first for us. The breakfasts were really good (I had the Greek omelet) and it was nice catching up with Anne and Bob. They confirmed that after living on the island for the last ten plus years, that they were looking to move on to the next chapter in their lives. I think that was a hint to us that their place is/will be for sale! We certainly would love to live up there on Ajax Peak, but I don't think it's in the cards for us - not right now anyway.
After finishing breakfast and saying our goodbyes, it was time to snorkel! Since we were out towards the east end anyway, we decided to try once more at Haulover North. Unfortunately, the conditions were still prohibitive, so we had to come up with a plan B. Amazingly enough, we'd never snorkeled in Francis Bay, so we headed in that direction. We went to the parking lot at the head of the trail to the beach and made our way towards the water. Don't forget your bug spray if you're going to take this path to the beach!
Once we got to the water, we walked down to the right and found a suitable place to get in.
Not surprisingly, the water wasn't crystal clear, but we slowly worked our way out towards the point. Despite the less than ideal conditions we had a good time floating around, in relative privacy, seeing all of the cool sea life.
We had a nice long snorkel. Before we left, we checked out some of the topside flora;
The clock said it was now lunch time, but the late, big breakfast was still hanging in there, so we decided to give Maho a try. After all, this is where Leslie *almost* saw an eagle ray on our last trip (one of our friends took several pictures of one, but by the time he was able to get her attention and she made it over to where he was, the ray was gone).
We were able to snag a place to park just around the corner from where North Shore Road veers away from the beach. We walked to the right side of the beach and entered the water not far from the rocks along the right side of the bay. We made our way out towards the point. There were some local kids fishing from the rocks about two thirds of the way out. I paused to unsnag a fish hook from the line for one of them. We saw a lot of the usual Maho suspects.
Around the point we saw a good number of angelfish, and spent some time trying to capture them on camera, but the depth and their unwillingness to pose for us limited our success. Jason used Leslie's camera and repeatedly free dove towards them and was eventually rewarded with a decent shot of this queen:
It just had a nice lazy Saturday afternoon feel to the day. We spent a good deal of time crisscrossing the sandy mouth of the bay looking for that elusive eagle. I did see a decent sized nurse shark. When I called that out a couple of kids jumped off of a boat that was moored out there, and I think they were able to get a glimpse of it. I managed to get a picture that would allow you to identify it as such, but it was fairly deep, the water was murky, and it didn't want to hang out and let me get too close, so it isn't really a picture worth keeping.
Someone on the beach backed a vehicle up and had the radio on loud enough that it was the predominant sound, even as far away from the beach as we were. I didn't particularly mind the music that was playing, but empathized with the folks that came to the beach for a nice, quiet experience.
Eventually we were waterlogged enough (and convinced that today wasn't eagle ray day) that we headed for shore and for home. We stopped at the smoothie stand (another first for us!) and enjoyed some really tasty fruit/yogurt/rum concoctions!
Back at the condo, while I rinsed the gear Leslie made up a snack tray and mixed some drinks, and we spent some good quality limin' time! Eventually I mustered up the energy to make dinner - grilled pork tenderloin, rice, and veggies.
Another boring - I mean relaxing, ending to another great day!
Link to Pt. II - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17483
Link to Pt. III - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=17487
Link to Pt. IV - http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=17493
Saturday, July 18 - Really? It's Saturday already? But we just GOT here! Oh well...
Today was a little bit different, or at least started out a little bit different than they had been. For one thing, the coffee filters Ruth gave me yesterday made it possible to bypass the walk down/back up the driveway to Big Ben's Deli, so I was able to brew some myself and drink it out of a real coffee cup on the porch at Harbor Place Too. And I had time to relax and enjoy it this morning.
We had made plans to meet our "landlords" from our most recent trip, Anne and Bob, for breakfast at the Donkey Diner this morning. They had suggested 9AM, which is a bit later than we usually get started, but since it was rainy and windy (big surprise) we just took the opportunity to move at a slower pace than normal. Jason probably enjoyed the extra sleep also!
Eating at the Donkey Diner was a first for us. The breakfasts were really good (I had the Greek omelet) and it was nice catching up with Anne and Bob. They confirmed that after living on the island for the last ten plus years, that they were looking to move on to the next chapter in their lives. I think that was a hint to us that their place is/will be for sale! We certainly would love to live up there on Ajax Peak, but I don't think it's in the cards for us - not right now anyway.
After finishing breakfast and saying our goodbyes, it was time to snorkel! Since we were out towards the east end anyway, we decided to try once more at Haulover North. Unfortunately, the conditions were still prohibitive, so we had to come up with a plan B. Amazingly enough, we'd never snorkeled in Francis Bay, so we headed in that direction. We went to the parking lot at the head of the trail to the beach and made our way towards the water. Don't forget your bug spray if you're going to take this path to the beach!
Once we got to the water, we walked down to the right and found a suitable place to get in.
Not surprisingly, the water wasn't crystal clear, but we slowly worked our way out towards the point. Despite the less than ideal conditions we had a good time floating around, in relative privacy, seeing all of the cool sea life.
We had a nice long snorkel. Before we left, we checked out some of the topside flora;
The clock said it was now lunch time, but the late, big breakfast was still hanging in there, so we decided to give Maho a try. After all, this is where Leslie *almost* saw an eagle ray on our last trip (one of our friends took several pictures of one, but by the time he was able to get her attention and she made it over to where he was, the ray was gone).
We were able to snag a place to park just around the corner from where North Shore Road veers away from the beach. We walked to the right side of the beach and entered the water not far from the rocks along the right side of the bay. We made our way out towards the point. There were some local kids fishing from the rocks about two thirds of the way out. I paused to unsnag a fish hook from the line for one of them. We saw a lot of the usual Maho suspects.
Around the point we saw a good number of angelfish, and spent some time trying to capture them on camera, but the depth and their unwillingness to pose for us limited our success. Jason used Leslie's camera and repeatedly free dove towards them and was eventually rewarded with a decent shot of this queen:
It just had a nice lazy Saturday afternoon feel to the day. We spent a good deal of time crisscrossing the sandy mouth of the bay looking for that elusive eagle. I did see a decent sized nurse shark. When I called that out a couple of kids jumped off of a boat that was moored out there, and I think they were able to get a glimpse of it. I managed to get a picture that would allow you to identify it as such, but it was fairly deep, the water was murky, and it didn't want to hang out and let me get too close, so it isn't really a picture worth keeping.
Someone on the beach backed a vehicle up and had the radio on loud enough that it was the predominant sound, even as far away from the beach as we were. I didn't particularly mind the music that was playing, but empathized with the folks that came to the beach for a nice, quiet experience.
Eventually we were waterlogged enough (and convinced that today wasn't eagle ray day) that we headed for shore and for home. We stopped at the smoothie stand (another first for us!) and enjoyed some really tasty fruit/yogurt/rum concoctions!
Back at the condo, while I rinsed the gear Leslie made up a snack tray and mixed some drinks, and we spent some good quality limin' time! Eventually I mustered up the energy to make dinner - grilled pork tenderloin, rice, and veggies.
Another boring - I mean relaxing, ending to another great day!
Come see us!
-
SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
Right. Only 2 months & 2 weeks+ until your return to St. John... how can that be? You are so fortunate, Steve.augie wrote:Not trying to, but it might turn out that way!mbw1024 wrote:great pics! are you trying to drag this report out until you return to the island?
I kid .. .I jest.....all reports are good reports whenever they arrive!
Although I look for certain creatures underwater, I much more enjoy the element of surprise while snorkeling. One of these days, a Spotted Eagle Ray will likely swim right by you when you are expecting it the least. Hope that will happen during your next trip!
Generally I try and get as close as possible to the subject. My camera has a 3x optical zoom I think, and my default position is to have it set at full zoom.djmom wrote:Wow, great pictures! Are you cropping the images or did you zoom or did you get really close? Just curious because our pictures seem so distant.
Some of the pictures I post have been cropped, but not all of them.
Come see us!