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Trip Report June 13 - 22
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Captain Scott
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Fri May 04, 2007 9:59 pm
- Location: Indiana
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Trip Report June 13 - 22
Well here's my first attempt at a trip report. Let me just start by saying the trip was perfect......
Travel: Delta from Louisville to Atlanta to STT. We booked first class which made the travel much more relaxing. On the trip down we hit some rough turbulence to the point that the guy in front of us splashed his beer on the luggage storage area over his head. The turbulence didn't last long but it was most definitely bouncy, bouncy, while it lasted.
Arrived STT grabbed our luggage and headed for Red Hook. Wanted to try the CA ferry on this trip but once again it was not operational. Our driver poured on the gas and we were able to just make the 3:00 pm ferry. If there is a worse taxi ride than the one from the STT airport to Red Hook I've yet to find it. Those winding roads in the back of a van are miserable; of course the pay off of being on STJ is well worth it. We're thinking there has to be a better way to get there than the red hook ferry. Next trip we'll try the water taxi service. Can you get a water taxi to pick you up in CA?
Car rental: The villa rep met us at the Ferry and took us up the hill to pick up our rental car. We rented from Don Schnell's place. Eric handled our rental and he pleasant to work with. We got to know him well before the week was out. We were on the Island for 10 days and had a total of 5 rental cars. The first had no brakes. I really don't blame the rental place; they had just put new brakes on the Jeep Liberty that day but apparently the repairs were faulty. Nothing like no brakes on St. John roads ! They immediately delivered a Jeep Wrangler until another Liberty became available. The next day they delivered another Liberty, this one belonged to Don Schnell's wife and he went on and on about not damaging this car. Apparently they were short on rental cars and she wasn't crazy about giving up her personal car. We kept that car a couple of days and they gave us another Liberty, then we exchanged cars again but honestly I've forgotten why we did so the last time. All in all they were good to work with even if we did play musical cars all week.
Villa: We rented Sea Stone Villa which is located between Chocolate Hole and Great Cruz Bay. This villa has a great location. Very quiet part of the Island. The villa sits on a cliff directly above the ocean. The sound of the waves pounding on the rocks below was heavenly. The house is very nice but not what I would consider high end but the location is perfect. The house has 2 masters, one at each end of the house. A lap pool that stretches out toward the ocean. The pool is probably about 8' x 25'. Lots of covered sitting areas and sunning areas. The house is completely private on one side but the other side is very visible from the house next door however we didn't find it uncomfortable. Sea Stone has regular visitors from the local Iguanas. Daily we would have visits from 4 or 5 Iguanas sunning on the deck and sides of the pool. They didn't bother us and we didn't bother them. This area of the Island is very quiet. In the evenings it is very dark and we had great views of the night sky and enjoyed watching the shooting stars in the evening. The cliff side location provided for great breezes. I would highly recommend this villa.
The trip: The first day we arrived was Wednesday and forumites what do we do on Wednesdays in STJ? All you can eat shrimp at the Lime Inn of course! I had the shrimp and Kate had a pineapple glazed Mahi Mahi, which she went on and on about. Sorry, no food porn on this trip. For the next two days we didn't leave the house. We wanted to get into Island time as quickly as possible. This was not meant to be a do a lot of stuff a lot of the time type of vacation. We wanted to lay back, read, nap, watch the shooting stars and just not do a thing kind of trip. We succeed nicely.
On the 3rd day we ventured over to Jumbie for some snorkeling. On the way back we had lunch at the restaurant in Mongoose Junction, I wouldn't recommend it, we both had mahi mahi blackened fish and it was very mediocre and the service was slow. Don't recall the name of the restaurant but it is the place in the back of Mongoose on the lower floor.
We spent the next couple of days around the house again. One of the nice things about frequent travel is not feeling like you have to squeeze a ton of activity in during a short stay. We got take out from Café Roma. Veggie Pizza and a couple of salads. It was very good and we were able to stretch 3 meals out of the pizza, ended up being quite a bargain. We really like take out from Cafe Loma and have never had a bad experience there. We just prefer to bring something to the house and eat in that atmosphere cliff side rather than eat in a restaurant.
Next day was a trip to Waterlemon Cay for snorkeling. This was our 7th trip to STJ but we had never snorkeled out to the Island before. The coral was nice on the far end of the Island. I saw what I believe was a small shark but really not much else, just not our day. We were really hoping to see a starfish bed but no luck. Water visibility was good and the color of the water as you walk back toward Waterlemon just takes your breath away.
Back to the house for more reading, napping and relaxing. We got take out Chinese from the place on the 2nd level of the Starfish Grocery. The food was fair but expensive. $42 for Chinese for two people just seems high for Chinese take out.
Next day we went over to do some snorkeling at Maho and Francis Bay. Water clarity was not great and we didn't see much. We were really hoping to see turtles, as this area is usually pretty good in that regard. However there wasn't a lot of sea life in the area when we were there.
Next up was lunch at Skinney Legs. The food was good and the atmosphere was pleasant as usual. Spent the next couple of days around the house again.
As some of you read in my message when we first returned from STJ we really screwed up on the return portion of our trip. We lost track of the days and we packed up all of our stuff, dropped off the car and went to the ferry, A DAY EARLY! We've been traveling to one Island or another for the last 25 years and we've never done that before. The only thing that saved us from getting on the ferry was a sign on the church in the square by the STJ ferry that listed the dates for vacation bible school. If we hadn't seen that sign we wouldn't have figured out our mistake until we got to the STT airport. As it was we went back and picked up the rental car went back to the Villa and had one more day of vacation than we had planned on. It was great. We stayed around the pool all day and just relished the feeling of one extra day in paradise.
We'll that is our shot at a trip report. Not sure when we'll get back but I've been looking at some October dates. In the mean time I'll enjoy reading each of your trip
Travel: Delta from Louisville to Atlanta to STT. We booked first class which made the travel much more relaxing. On the trip down we hit some rough turbulence to the point that the guy in front of us splashed his beer on the luggage storage area over his head. The turbulence didn't last long but it was most definitely bouncy, bouncy, while it lasted.
Arrived STT grabbed our luggage and headed for Red Hook. Wanted to try the CA ferry on this trip but once again it was not operational. Our driver poured on the gas and we were able to just make the 3:00 pm ferry. If there is a worse taxi ride than the one from the STT airport to Red Hook I've yet to find it. Those winding roads in the back of a van are miserable; of course the pay off of being on STJ is well worth it. We're thinking there has to be a better way to get there than the red hook ferry. Next trip we'll try the water taxi service. Can you get a water taxi to pick you up in CA?
Car rental: The villa rep met us at the Ferry and took us up the hill to pick up our rental car. We rented from Don Schnell's place. Eric handled our rental and he pleasant to work with. We got to know him well before the week was out. We were on the Island for 10 days and had a total of 5 rental cars. The first had no brakes. I really don't blame the rental place; they had just put new brakes on the Jeep Liberty that day but apparently the repairs were faulty. Nothing like no brakes on St. John roads ! They immediately delivered a Jeep Wrangler until another Liberty became available. The next day they delivered another Liberty, this one belonged to Don Schnell's wife and he went on and on about not damaging this car. Apparently they were short on rental cars and she wasn't crazy about giving up her personal car. We kept that car a couple of days and they gave us another Liberty, then we exchanged cars again but honestly I've forgotten why we did so the last time. All in all they were good to work with even if we did play musical cars all week.
Villa: We rented Sea Stone Villa which is located between Chocolate Hole and Great Cruz Bay. This villa has a great location. Very quiet part of the Island. The villa sits on a cliff directly above the ocean. The sound of the waves pounding on the rocks below was heavenly. The house is very nice but not what I would consider high end but the location is perfect. The house has 2 masters, one at each end of the house. A lap pool that stretches out toward the ocean. The pool is probably about 8' x 25'. Lots of covered sitting areas and sunning areas. The house is completely private on one side but the other side is very visible from the house next door however we didn't find it uncomfortable. Sea Stone has regular visitors from the local Iguanas. Daily we would have visits from 4 or 5 Iguanas sunning on the deck and sides of the pool. They didn't bother us and we didn't bother them. This area of the Island is very quiet. In the evenings it is very dark and we had great views of the night sky and enjoyed watching the shooting stars in the evening. The cliff side location provided for great breezes. I would highly recommend this villa.
The trip: The first day we arrived was Wednesday and forumites what do we do on Wednesdays in STJ? All you can eat shrimp at the Lime Inn of course! I had the shrimp and Kate had a pineapple glazed Mahi Mahi, which she went on and on about. Sorry, no food porn on this trip. For the next two days we didn't leave the house. We wanted to get into Island time as quickly as possible. This was not meant to be a do a lot of stuff a lot of the time type of vacation. We wanted to lay back, read, nap, watch the shooting stars and just not do a thing kind of trip. We succeed nicely.
On the 3rd day we ventured over to Jumbie for some snorkeling. On the way back we had lunch at the restaurant in Mongoose Junction, I wouldn't recommend it, we both had mahi mahi blackened fish and it was very mediocre and the service was slow. Don't recall the name of the restaurant but it is the place in the back of Mongoose on the lower floor.
We spent the next couple of days around the house again. One of the nice things about frequent travel is not feeling like you have to squeeze a ton of activity in during a short stay. We got take out from Café Roma. Veggie Pizza and a couple of salads. It was very good and we were able to stretch 3 meals out of the pizza, ended up being quite a bargain. We really like take out from Cafe Loma and have never had a bad experience there. We just prefer to bring something to the house and eat in that atmosphere cliff side rather than eat in a restaurant.
Next day was a trip to Waterlemon Cay for snorkeling. This was our 7th trip to STJ but we had never snorkeled out to the Island before. The coral was nice on the far end of the Island. I saw what I believe was a small shark but really not much else, just not our day. We were really hoping to see a starfish bed but no luck. Water visibility was good and the color of the water as you walk back toward Waterlemon just takes your breath away.
Back to the house for more reading, napping and relaxing. We got take out Chinese from the place on the 2nd level of the Starfish Grocery. The food was fair but expensive. $42 for Chinese for two people just seems high for Chinese take out.
Next day we went over to do some snorkeling at Maho and Francis Bay. Water clarity was not great and we didn't see much. We were really hoping to see turtles, as this area is usually pretty good in that regard. However there wasn't a lot of sea life in the area when we were there.
Next up was lunch at Skinney Legs. The food was good and the atmosphere was pleasant as usual. Spent the next couple of days around the house again.
As some of you read in my message when we first returned from STJ we really screwed up on the return portion of our trip. We lost track of the days and we packed up all of our stuff, dropped off the car and went to the ferry, A DAY EARLY! We've been traveling to one Island or another for the last 25 years and we've never done that before. The only thing that saved us from getting on the ferry was a sign on the church in the square by the STJ ferry that listed the dates for vacation bible school. If we hadn't seen that sign we wouldn't have figured out our mistake until we got to the STT airport. As it was we went back and picked up the rental car went back to the Villa and had one more day of vacation than we had planned on. It was great. We stayed around the pool all day and just relished the feeling of one extra day in paradise.
We'll that is our shot at a trip report. Not sure when we'll get back but I've been looking at some October dates. In the mean time I'll enjoy reading each of your trip
"If your attitude is appaling there is a latitude calling"
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traveler22
- Posts: 853
- Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:17 pm
- Location: New Jersey
trip report
Captain Scott
Thanks for your trip report, sounds like you had a nice RELAXING time except for your many Jeep exchanges.
Scott
Thanks for your trip report, sounds like you had a nice RELAXING time except for your many Jeep exchanges.
Scott
What a great surprise that extra day 
Sorry, but at this time all of the private water taxi's pick up from Red Hook, so you would still have the drive
The restaurant in the lower level of Mongoose is Ocean Grill (for those of you who are looking for the name) I have not eaten lunch there but fyi the Sun Dog in Mongoose is fabulous
Pia
Sorry, but at this time all of the private water taxi's pick up from Red Hook, so you would still have the drive
The restaurant in the lower level of Mongoose is Ocean Grill (for those of you who are looking for the name) I have not eaten lunch there but fyi the Sun Dog in Mongoose is fabulous
Pia
Wow, hilarious about leaving a day early. My nemesis is going to the wrong airport...
Sea Stone is in a great location. I love snorkeling that point. Did you drive to the villa via Devers Bay or Chocolate Hole? Was there any water access at Devers Bay.
Cheers, RickG
Sea Stone is in a great location. I love snorkeling that point. Did you drive to the villa via Devers Bay or Chocolate Hole? Was there any water access at Devers Bay.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
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Teresa_Rae
- Posts: 2053
- Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:44 pm
- Location: Downstate IL
I had to laugh at this, as the same weird formatting thing happened to me a few weeks ago when I did my trip report...for whatever reason, the forum doesn't recognize the accent that Word automatically puts in when you type 'Cafe'...it was messed up in my trip report for days before I noticed it...I did edit it, just to thwart any confusion...you know, I didn't want anyone showing up in STJ wondering where Café Roma wasWe got take out from Café Roma
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Captain Scott
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Fri May 04, 2007 9:59 pm
- Location: Indiana
Teresa_Rae:
Thanks for correcting the typo. Don't want to send anyone on a wild "mongoose" chase
Rick: Sea Stone is in a great location and if you get the chance to stay there I'd sure give it serious consideration. However there is not any direct water access. We took the Great Cruz Bay road to Sea Stone. Have you snorkeled Chocolate Hole. The water looked inviting but we've not tried that bay as of yet. May give it a shot if we get back to STJ in October as planned.
Thanks for correcting the typo. Don't want to send anyone on a wild "mongoose" chase
Rick: Sea Stone is in a great location and if you get the chance to stay there I'd sure give it serious consideration. However there is not any direct water access. We took the Great Cruz Bay road to Sea Stone. Have you snorkeled Chocolate Hole. The water looked inviting but we've not tried that bay as of yet. May give it a shot if we get back to STJ in October as planned.
"If your attitude is appaling there is a latitude calling"