Our trip Part 1:Travel, no rum punch and a slow ride to RH!

[lavender]

We were up at 5AM on Thursday April 19th, for trip to Rochester NY airport where our flight left at 8AM to JFK. No problems on that leg - then we were flying American from JFK to STT. I liked the time of the flight and the fact that it was direct and had to fly Jet Blue on the first leg in order to accomplish my goals regarding timing/and dollars for each ticket! Looking back I would not fly two different airlines again but it all worked out (mostly because we carried on our luggage) and we did arrive! When we got to JFK we found out our flight was delayed to STT so we decided to check our luggage so we wouldn't have to drag it around. Talk about pandemonium. I have never seen a more bizarre, chaotic check in process. We used the kiosk, then we were all herding in this area while agents barked out names in no order whatsoever and then tagged our bags. It was unorganized, bizarre and I have NEVER experienced such rude ticket agents. We left our luggage and decided to have a leisurely breakfast. Soon enough we departed to STT with a small pizza and drinks as our carryon so we would be sure and be able to have lunch and not be at the mercy of AA. Arrived in STT at 5:05 and lo and behold NO WELCOME RUM PUNCHES! They were closed down tight as a drum. My hubby suggested we go to the bar and get a cold drink while our luggage was coming. We had delicious tropical drinks, collected our luggage and then had the SLOWEST (I know you didn't think it was possible) taxi driver ever. Had to go to Red Hook as CA was still closed and missed the 6PM ferry - waited till 7PM and soon enough ST John was in sight! Met Lauren from Estate Lindholm and headed up to our accommodations in the blink of an eye. Estate Lindholm is beautiful, the grounds are gorgeous, the room was very clean, appealing and well laid out. We were in Hawksnest which had a great view of the harbour and STT. We weren't there more than 15 mins and decided to head to the Beach Bar for drinks and a bite to eat. Met "Jimmy" there a very harmless guy who lives on a boat in the harbour. He had lots of stories to share and he was very entertaining. Met a young couple from Wisconsin and a couple who said that the husband was "building" the Grande Bay project. Had some lovely drinks, some food and relaxed and unwound. As we didn't rent a car we grabbed a cab and were back up to our room by 10:30 and in bed! We woke up to HARD HARD RAIN. It rained for hours in the middle of the night and kept me up a lot. I probably got back to sleep by 5AM and then woke fell asleep till 7:30 or so (late for us!).

[waterguy]

Glad to hear that things are starting out ok

[StJohnRuth]

Was the couple at The Beach Bar "Bill and Judy"? If so, NICEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, lucky you!

Jimmy certainly has some stories to tell. For some reason he calls Ron and I are "Laura and Brian". No idea why. One night he lost his dinghy oars on the way to his boat in Cruz Bay and drifted in his tiny barely-floating dinghy to Red Hook in St. Thomas. I think it took all night. Then, I think he didn't have any money for the ferry ride back. I forget how he got back here....
-Ruth

[lavender]

Ruth - yes it was Bill and Judy - very sweet people and yes we heard the story about Jimmy floating too Red Hook - it was hilarious - Jimmy shared quite a few stories that night along with additions from Bill and Judy who laughed and said they claimed him on their taxes as a dependent as they provide for his food and beverage needs at the local watering holes! An entertaining evening. Caroline

ps. Enjoy Cooper Island!

[Pete (Mr. Marcia)]

Ruth, as I recall you originally telling it, he floated to Red Hook on a TV...at least that's what I heard you say.

[StJohnRuth]

Not a TV, a dinghy, Pete!
It's kind of funnier if it was TV, though.
-Ruth

[CShell1019]

guess it would have to be a tv that got the travel channel

(sorry, just couldn't resist!)

karen