SOTB Ladies - need some tips!

[Tracy in WI]

I am bringing down a group of ladies in late October to celebrate the purchase of our condo. Many of them don't know each other as they are my friends from different places/stages in life.

I will forward on Rick G's list to each of them, but I am wondering if you have any additional tips to share that would help make our trip more enjoyable and more successful.

Can't wait!!

(of course after searching, I now can't find RickG's list - can someone post a link for me??)

[lprof]

Fun times! Congratulations on becoming a St John property owner!

http://www.garvin.us/STJ/New_Visitors_G ... Guide.html

[Jo Ann - VA]

I went with the SOTB gang last year and had great time! To me these were a few of the things that made the trip enjoyable with that many different people and different personalities.

1-Rent enough vehicles so you all don't have to go to the same place if you don't want to. There were 8 of us and we rented 3 vehicles.

2-Plan out who is going to bring what for snacks, sunscreen, etc so there is little duplication.

3-We ate in most of our meals in and 2 or 3 people took a night and planned the menu and prepared the meal. This turned out to be a lot of fun! Those 2 or 3 people emailed back and forth before the trip to decide who would bring what from home for that meal or decide what needed to be bought on island.

4-A grocery list was made a couple of weeks before the trip and everyone was asked if they wanted to add anything to it. That is when the stuff from the planned meals in the villa was added to the list. We found last year that we bought things we really didn't want/need so this year the list has been altereed to make it more cost effective.

5-We got groceries right after we picked up the vehicles and then headed to the villa so we could immediately start limin.

I'll add to this list as I think of stuff.

You and your friends are going to have a blast!!!

[Maggy]

Bring an open mind and the right attitude helps a lot. This kind of trip is not one when you should be headstrong and not willing to compromise. Like Jo Ann said, rent enough cars and you can split the group and meet up later.

I never imagine how fun this could be and have got friends for life.

Good luck! You are going to have a great time! Maybe we'll see you there if your trip lasts a bit into November.

[waterguy]

Hire me to be pool boy/cook/ bartender

[Tracy in WI]

Hire me to be pool boy/cook/ bartender

Best advice yet!

[PA Girl]

Over the years we travelled with groups of different friends.

Hands down, sleeping arrangements have been the biggest source of trouble.

I would tell everyone ahead of time where and how the sleeping arrangements work.

Some people don't mind sharing a room or bed. Others mind very much, even if it is a free vacation.

We have friends that own a lovely beach house. They are so generous with invitations and would never accept a dime towards expenses.

A problem developed when they would invite more people than the house had beds (and bedrooms) and operated under the attitude of "you are staying for free, just sleep on the couch." That didn't fly with most in the group (including the PAs) and we decided not to continue the house parties.

The wife half of our STJ travelling friends will not even share a bedroom with anyone besides her husband. (not even her twin sister who she is extremely close to) When doing family vacation house trips, she puts herself up in a hotel if she isn't guaranteed her own room.

[Kealani]

I am always the person who heads up the girls trip. Rick's advice is spot on. I also agree that you need a few jeeps. We all have people in our lives that are more difficult then others. Often we make exception for them- my best advice is to make sure that your group will be tolerate each other with no drama. STJ has no place for drama. This sounds harsh but the members of our group also know at the end of the trip if someone caused to much trouble they are not invited back. We have always had wonderful trips but some people have been dropped. Have a great trip and congrats on the STJ property.

[sea-nile]

Hire me to be pool boy/cook/ bartender

Just stay until we get there! We need a pool boy/cook/bartender too!

[sea-nile]

Maggy and JoAnn have given good advice. We are all very different in many ways but we all love St. John so that makes us all good friends. Attitude is VERY important.
I hope you have a great trip Tracy! Can I go with and then just stay until the SOTB women get there?

[waterguy]

I'm open any sleeping arrangements

[Nancie-Pa]

OK, I'm gonna show my ignorance here...what/who are the SOTB women? What do the initials stand for? And lastly, how do I get in on this!

Have fun everyone...it's Friday!

Nancie

[PA Girl]

My memory is tested by time and tonight's wine but I think it stands for something like six on the beach, which was a group of forum girlfriends that got together for a gals trip. It is going on its 3rd or so year.

[b-as-u-r]

SOTB does stand for Six On The Beach, as the first year there were 6 forum ladies. The second year, three of the six keep the trip going and then there were 9, but the SOTB name remained. The third year we had 9 but one lady had to cancel last minute, so we had 8. This year we have 10. Since I didn't go on the first trip, I can't say how the sleeping arrangements were worked out. Typically we get villas with either Queens or Kings and most of us are not opposed to sleeping together. We pretty much keep our same sleeping companion from year to year. Sometimes there are some that prefer not to to do this, so we make sure our villa has at least 1 bedroom with twins. Most of the villas that we've chosen have had fairly equal bedrooms. Because the group is larger than the original group of six, we have started doing the cook-in thing (as noted above by Jo Ann) a few nights a week, just because it's just such a hassle to go to restaurants in such a large group. During nights of unplanned meals, some grab leftovers, some get take out barbeque, sometimes we order pizza in and sometimes some or all choose to go out. Last year several of us did the grocery shopping (food & alcohol), with pre-made lists. I think it's hard not to be easy-going on vacation and I agree that everyone is very mindful of not being too opinionated about a particular thing and it is important to look out for one another. I hope your trip is as successful and as fun as ours have become. I think we all look forward to our annual trip. We do keep in touch throughout the year, so its not just like we see each other once a year and that's it. What Maggy said....friends for life!! Ali~

[FinsUp]

Sounds like fun!! Tracey, Congrats!! on your purchase of a piece of the island!!