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10 more days in paradise, part one
10 more days in paradise, part one
Day one
Escape from the tundra for our last minute vacation in paradise! Despite my application of about 20 lbs. of ice melt, the driveway was solid ice as we made our cautious way out to the car service. We had to hold onto the trees on the side of the driveway to keep from falling. Getting the luggage to the car was another complicated issue altogether. But no worries, we were off and made it to the airport on time. Upgraded at the airport to business class, I got to sample the most vile airplane food ever—if you are flying American, do NOT order the tortellini in cream sauce, truly inedible. But the wine was flowing and all was good. Flight was totally smooth.
Met Gallows at the dock and headed off to our unit, 2D. This is a “gold” unit, which has a $50/day surcharge on top of the usual rate. It has an updated kitchen and main bath, so I guess that is what made it “gold.” It was what was available, so we took it! It was a very nice condo with absolutely terrific views of the sunset, nicely decorated with a big canopy king sized bed. We have stayed at Gallows before and I really like it—good location, friendly staff, and I love the layout of the upper units.
Gallows first night sunset:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5451279768/" title="last night sunset gallows by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/545 ... cc6eee.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="last night sunset gallows"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450834104/" title="sunset 1-7 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/545 ... a4224f.jpg" width="500" height="308" alt="sunset 1-7 2"></a>
After sunset, walked into town and had a really great meal at Rhumblines. The food was spicy and fun. I forgot my camera so no pictures. We ordered some pupu stuff to start—my favorite by far was the blackened shrimp. Then we had the tuna, perfectly cooked and nicely spicy, and the ultimate pad thai hold the steak. Really good and lots of leftovers for the beach later.
Day two:
We headed into town and picked up our rental car at Denzil Clyne—a suggestion from the “last minute car rental thread that surfaced the week before we booked this trip. I think it was Puddlejumper from this forum that suggested Denzil Clyne for a last minute rental—if so, thanks! They were the first place I called and after much hemming and hawing, and conversation amongst themselves, they said they would have something for us. I was really grateful to have found a car because I just love tooling around the island taking in all the gorgeous views. I think the one they gave us had been retired from the fleet—the rental sticker had been scraped off, and it was all dented up and cracked. Who cares, it ran and we had a car!
Got sandwiches at Deli Grotto and headed to the beach!
First beach of the trip: Maho Bay.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450234173/" title="maho by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5018/545 ... 05ed1f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="maho"></a>
After lunch on the beach we headed in to snorkel. We swam across the bay and found five turtles (here are two):
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450836218/" title="turtle remora 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/545 ... 8353de.jpg" width="500" height="455" alt="turtle remora 2"></a>
Turtle with starfish:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450836122/" title="turtle starfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/545 ... 2104e9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="turtle starfish"></a>
an octopus:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450835856/" title="maho octopus by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/545 ... bc4bbc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="maho octopus"></a>
a queen helmet:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450227109/" title="queen helmet by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/545 ... df12fb.jpg" width="500" height="410" alt="queen helmet"></a>
We swam the right side along the rocks around the point to Little Maho. It was not as good as when we were here in the summer, when we saw large queen angelfish and a huge permit, but we did find many smaller fish, as well as another nurse shark.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450836860/" title="nurse shark by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5211/545 ... 61ed0f.jpg" width="500" height="254" alt="nurse shark"></a>
We spent the entire day at Maho and then headed back to Gallows to watch the sunset with our companion bird. Every time we came outside this bird would head over to see what was happening. If we were inside the unit with the doors open, the bird would just walk right inside. We never fed it, but I guess it kept hoping we would.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450227775/" title="mourning dove by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5059/545 ... d3390e.jpg" width="500" height="360" alt="mourning dove"></a>
Second night sunset:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450837062/" title="Monday sunset by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/545 ... 9ca7ca.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Monday sunset"></a>
Dinner tonight was at La Tapa. I forgot my camera again so no pictures (I do have some food photos later!). This is one of my favorite places to eat on St. John, and as usual it did not disappoint. The menu changes frequently. I always get whatever they have for local fish. Their wine list is good too. A very enjoyable evening.
Day three:
We had originally planned to go to the Haulovers, but when we drove by Gibney nobody was there! We were not about to let an opportunity like that pass us by.
Gibney beach:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450837412/" title="gibney (2) by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/545 ... 4236f3.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="gibney (2)"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450832820/" title="gibney by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/545 ... 0fd49a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="gibney"></a>
We are not used to the on-season water temperatures, and the water at Gibney felt particularly cold (actually, I feel that way about Gibney even in the summer, I wonder why it feels so much colder there?). We decided not to snorkel and just spent the morning hanging out and reading. When we got hungry we headed over to Coral Bay to go to one of our favorites, Shipwreck Landing.
Conch fritters:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450837940/" title="shipwreck conch fritters by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/545 ... 12dde8.jpg" width="500" height="346" alt="shipwreck conch fritters"></a>
Mahi sandwich:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450228243/" title="shipwreck mahi sandwich by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/545 ... 699175.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="shipwreck mahi sandwich"></a>
Really good as always.
I was amazed to see the extent of the damage to the road into Coral Bay from all the rains and mudslides last fall, wow. It must be going to take a very long time to completely fix the road.
Back to Gallows, where we went out and snorkeled Frank Bay. I was disappointed. We have had some good sightings here in the past, but there was basically nothing around. The only thing of note that we sighted was a moray eel swimming around. We headed back to 2D for a glass of wine and the beautiful sunset
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450229539/" title="tuesday sunset closeup by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/545 ... 2ff787.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="tuesday sunset closeup"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450839236/" title="tuesday sunset finale by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/545 ... e9af94.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="tuesday sunset finale"></a>
We did not feel like going out, so I just made some pasta carbonara and we hung out on the deck watching the lights of St. Thomas.
St. Thomas at night:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450227907/" title="stt night by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/545 ... 381c8c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="stt night"></a>
Escape from the tundra for our last minute vacation in paradise! Despite my application of about 20 lbs. of ice melt, the driveway was solid ice as we made our cautious way out to the car service. We had to hold onto the trees on the side of the driveway to keep from falling. Getting the luggage to the car was another complicated issue altogether. But no worries, we were off and made it to the airport on time. Upgraded at the airport to business class, I got to sample the most vile airplane food ever—if you are flying American, do NOT order the tortellini in cream sauce, truly inedible. But the wine was flowing and all was good. Flight was totally smooth.
Met Gallows at the dock and headed off to our unit, 2D. This is a “gold” unit, which has a $50/day surcharge on top of the usual rate. It has an updated kitchen and main bath, so I guess that is what made it “gold.” It was what was available, so we took it! It was a very nice condo with absolutely terrific views of the sunset, nicely decorated with a big canopy king sized bed. We have stayed at Gallows before and I really like it—good location, friendly staff, and I love the layout of the upper units.
Gallows first night sunset:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5451279768/" title="last night sunset gallows by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/545 ... cc6eee.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="last night sunset gallows"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450834104/" title="sunset 1-7 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/545 ... a4224f.jpg" width="500" height="308" alt="sunset 1-7 2"></a>
After sunset, walked into town and had a really great meal at Rhumblines. The food was spicy and fun. I forgot my camera so no pictures. We ordered some pupu stuff to start—my favorite by far was the blackened shrimp. Then we had the tuna, perfectly cooked and nicely spicy, and the ultimate pad thai hold the steak. Really good and lots of leftovers for the beach later.
Day two:
We headed into town and picked up our rental car at Denzil Clyne—a suggestion from the “last minute car rental thread that surfaced the week before we booked this trip. I think it was Puddlejumper from this forum that suggested Denzil Clyne for a last minute rental—if so, thanks! They were the first place I called and after much hemming and hawing, and conversation amongst themselves, they said they would have something for us. I was really grateful to have found a car because I just love tooling around the island taking in all the gorgeous views. I think the one they gave us had been retired from the fleet—the rental sticker had been scraped off, and it was all dented up and cracked. Who cares, it ran and we had a car!
Got sandwiches at Deli Grotto and headed to the beach!
First beach of the trip: Maho Bay.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450234173/" title="maho by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5018/545 ... 05ed1f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="maho"></a>
After lunch on the beach we headed in to snorkel. We swam across the bay and found five turtles (here are two):
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450836218/" title="turtle remora 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/545 ... 8353de.jpg" width="500" height="455" alt="turtle remora 2"></a>
Turtle with starfish:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450836122/" title="turtle starfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/545 ... 2104e9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="turtle starfish"></a>
an octopus:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450835856/" title="maho octopus by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/545 ... bc4bbc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="maho octopus"></a>
a queen helmet:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450227109/" title="queen helmet by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/545 ... df12fb.jpg" width="500" height="410" alt="queen helmet"></a>
We swam the right side along the rocks around the point to Little Maho. It was not as good as when we were here in the summer, when we saw large queen angelfish and a huge permit, but we did find many smaller fish, as well as another nurse shark.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450836860/" title="nurse shark by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5211/545 ... 61ed0f.jpg" width="500" height="254" alt="nurse shark"></a>
We spent the entire day at Maho and then headed back to Gallows to watch the sunset with our companion bird. Every time we came outside this bird would head over to see what was happening. If we were inside the unit with the doors open, the bird would just walk right inside. We never fed it, but I guess it kept hoping we would.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450227775/" title="mourning dove by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5059/545 ... d3390e.jpg" width="500" height="360" alt="mourning dove"></a>
Second night sunset:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450837062/" title="Monday sunset by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/545 ... 9ca7ca.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Monday sunset"></a>
Dinner tonight was at La Tapa. I forgot my camera again so no pictures (I do have some food photos later!). This is one of my favorite places to eat on St. John, and as usual it did not disappoint. The menu changes frequently. I always get whatever they have for local fish. Their wine list is good too. A very enjoyable evening.
Day three:
We had originally planned to go to the Haulovers, but when we drove by Gibney nobody was there! We were not about to let an opportunity like that pass us by.
Gibney beach:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450837412/" title="gibney (2) by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/545 ... 4236f3.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="gibney (2)"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450832820/" title="gibney by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/545 ... 0fd49a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="gibney"></a>
We are not used to the on-season water temperatures, and the water at Gibney felt particularly cold (actually, I feel that way about Gibney even in the summer, I wonder why it feels so much colder there?). We decided not to snorkel and just spent the morning hanging out and reading. When we got hungry we headed over to Coral Bay to go to one of our favorites, Shipwreck Landing.
Conch fritters:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450837940/" title="shipwreck conch fritters by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/545 ... 12dde8.jpg" width="500" height="346" alt="shipwreck conch fritters"></a>
Mahi sandwich:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450228243/" title="shipwreck mahi sandwich by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/545 ... 699175.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="shipwreck mahi sandwich"></a>
Really good as always.
I was amazed to see the extent of the damage to the road into Coral Bay from all the rains and mudslides last fall, wow. It must be going to take a very long time to completely fix the road.
Back to Gallows, where we went out and snorkeled Frank Bay. I was disappointed. We have had some good sightings here in the past, but there was basically nothing around. The only thing of note that we sighted was a moray eel swimming around. We headed back to 2D for a glass of wine and the beautiful sunset
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450229539/" title="tuesday sunset closeup by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/545 ... 2ff787.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="tuesday sunset closeup"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450839236/" title="tuesday sunset finale by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/545 ... e9af94.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="tuesday sunset finale"></a>
We did not feel like going out, so I just made some pasta carbonara and we hung out on the deck watching the lights of St. Thomas.
St. Thomas at night:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450227907/" title="stt night by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/545 ... 381c8c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="stt night"></a>
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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EagleRayLover
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Always love your reports.
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Tracy in WI
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