Trip report: 17 more days in paradise, final

[sherban]

Great report, thanks for sharing!

[dreamshark]

Fantastic pictures! But would you guys please just stop taking pictures of your food? You're making me really hungry!

OMG, July 18, when you cancelled your sailing trip because huge storms were slamming into the south side? That's the day we went out with Capt. Phil! Actually the weather was a lot better where were, on the lee side of Greater St. James Island. It was grey and threatening, but only rained a little, and the snorkeling was spectacular. But we definitely ran into some weather as we headed back into Cruz Bay Harbor at around 4pm. We probably should have been more worried than we were, but we had so much faith in Capt. Phil that our biggest concern was whether my poor seasick daughter was going to throw up. She didn't, and the good captain brought us straight through the virtual whiteout without incident. But looking back on it, the first mate looked more than a little bit worried.

How do you get such great fish pictures? You must be diving fairly deep to get such good shots.

[liamsaunt]

Hmmm, don't know why I haven't got your messages. I just pm-Ed you. We were with our friends tonight talking about our next STJ trip.

I can see your pm but can't reply to it. I get the "white screen of doom." GAH. The forum is buggy lately! I would pm Anthony about it, but... I can't because I can't pm anybody!

Dreamshark, you went out with Captain Phil that day? I would have been sooo sick! I have been out on his boat and it is so small. I am surprised he went out...that storm was nuts. I am glad you were not hit by lightning

[dreamshark]

I turned my Jeep in at St. John Car Rental with no issues, but the oddness continued for John over at Denzil Clyne. Those of you who have rented from them before (as we have) know that they have a $100 “sand fee” if you bring the car back with sand in it. Knowing this, John and Sean took all of the mats out of the car and rinsed them off. But when John brought the Jeep back the man working said that despite the mats being rinsed, there was still sand in the Jeep and he would have to charge him the fee. Then he offered to waive the fee…if John gave him $40 cash. John was just laughing at this point because the whole thing was so bizarre. John opened his wallet but only had $14 in it because I had all the cash with me over at St. John Car Rental. He offered the $14 to the man and after some grumbling, the guy took it. What that is all about we just don’t know. Last time we rented from them they said they were going to charge the “sand fee” too but never did.

Um. Wow. "Bizarre" is not exactly the word I would use for an employee demanding a bribe to stop him from charging you an undeserved fee. You folks are a lot more easy-going than I am, I guess. I'm glad you didn't let it spoil your vacation. I would have been furious.

[stjchica]

So glad you guys had a great time! Loved the trip report and those sunsets look awesome!

[liamsaunt]

[Um. Wow. "Bizarre" is not exactly the word I would use for an employee demanding a bribe to stop him from charging you an undeserved fee. You folks are a lot more easy-going than I am, I guess. I'm glad you didn't let it spoil your vacation. I would have been furious.

Well the thing is that there was really nothing we could do about it. Same scenario when we picked up the car and they charged us more than what we had contracted with SJCR...that ended up being another $200 or so. But it was pay or have no car, so...

If they had actually charged the $100 sand fee John would have disputed it with the credit card company. My guess is that many people do the same and perhaps it is more profitable to ask for a "cash donation."

PAGirl, pm is still not working, so check your email for the villa info.

[mindehankins]

Thanks for the awesome report, Becky! I just love following vacations
It was all fun until the creepy part - I didn't like that at all. I feel really safe with Courtesy and will remember SJCR just in case.

[54b]

Always enjoyable and appreciated...thanks for your great pics and trip reports.

And wow, that "sand fee" is disturbing. I'm assuming that's nothing new, but I saw where someone on another forum complained about it happening at another car rental place recently. Sounds like the sand racket is becoming a bit more aggressive, especially when you consider there probably isn't a way to truly avoid getting a least a little bit of sand in the car and some employees are apparently willing to "take cash" in lieu of the actual fee.

[PA Girl]

PAGirl, pm is still not working, so check your email for the villa info.

Got it and responded, thanks so much!

[cindygad]

Loved your trip report! I always get excited to see your pictures. Thank you for taking the time to take pictures of your food. It gives me ideas for future trips. I disagree when you say the lighting is not good enough to take pictures of the food you cook at the villa. Any picture you take is better than mine. I missed those pictures of food in villa because it also gives my ideas of what to make in villa.

Best of luck with new house and kitchen!

[Pickle]

As always, I truly enjoy reading your trip reports, especially with Liam and Caili having such great times on St. John. They grow up fast, don't they? It's always just the two of us when we visit St. John and it is my dream to take my other family members there. You have such a wonderful family, Becky.

Congratulations on your new house!

[SusanNJ]

Great trip report!! How did you like Kalorama as compared to the other villas you have stayed at? Would you stay there again?

[Cecile]

Wow this is soooo wonderfull to read your report thank you so much for all the time you took to do this.I sure know from annother Forum what time it takes....my question could you pls tell me where to get that bag for the beach ? This looks very safe!
Thanks for a swerring, also my pm is not working but maybe others may want to know..
Cecile

[shoemak38]

Part one: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=25820


We established base camp. There has been some discussion on this forum about what to do with your stuff on the beach. This time we brought down a pac safe bag. It’s wire mesh lined and then the top locks shut and your run a cable around something to secure it in place. Here’s what it looks like:

John and Becky

what a great idea

[liamsaunt]

Great trip report!! How did you like Kalorama as compared to the other villas you have stayed at? Would you stay there again?

I will be putting a very detailed review in the villa section soon.

my question could you pls tell me where to get that bag for the beach ? This looks very safe!

I bought mine on amazon.com. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VB ... UTF8&psc=1

It looks like it's out of stock right now but some of the other sizes are in stock. The bafg we bought was much larger than we really needed.

I missed those pictures of food in villa because it also gives my ideas of what to make in villa.

Aw, thanks. I kept it very casual this trip too, which is another reason I didn't bother taking photos. Here is some of the stuff I made, in case you can get any ideas:

grilled pizzas using dough from Sam and Jacks
meatball sandwiches (using meatballs and sauce from Sam and Jacks)
pasta using up the leftovers from Cruz Bay Prime (roasted asparagus, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, steak)
pasta carbonara
grilled sausages and peppers (sausages from...yep, Sam and Jacks!)
breakfast for dinner
grilled tuna on Josephine's greens with a soy-sesame dressing

Here is a food photo for you, one of the only ones I took...homemade key lime pie