jeep tales???

[parafins]

How many of you have interesting or funny stories about your rental jeep?{Example:}Something you ran over,backed into,or something that happened inside the jeep. I will start.Back on our honeymoon{Oct.94} I was driving our jeep around a bend near the Francis Bay area when all of a sudden a donkey came out in the roadway.Yep! You guessed it!I hit that critter head on and nocked him over.At first I was sure I killed it even though I hadn't completely ran over it.I looked at my wife in shock and then looked out over the hood and to my suprise the donkey stood up, gave me a dirty look and took of for the thicket.As for the jeep,well there were so many dints on the bumper i'm not sure if I added any or not.We still laugh about that to this day,although i'm sure the donkey hasn't!Parafins.

[LMarie]

Not so much "funny" as scary!

We stayed at Coral Rays a few years ago. After the villa rep showed us around and left, we decided to run back down to get some groceries at Love City Market. Since we were thrown off by the steepness of things, we didn't quite know how to park in the parking area when we first arrived at the villa. So, we then had to back out and head back up this very steep lane - but our parking angle made it hard. We almost hit the cement wall that runs down this lane by the villa. Even though my husband was pushing the break, the tires just kept sliding! The tires finally stopped, but it was a close call (about an 1" or 2" away)! After that we weren't sure if I had picked the right villa. Then two days later, we were heading down the Mt. from Coral Rays and when we got close to the bottom there was an 18-wheeler backing up around the last curve taking up both lanes!! We layed on our horn, but the 18-wheeler just kept coming - and pretty fast for an 18-wheeler backing up a mountain around a curve. When you're flustered, reverse on an automatic can be very hard to find when you're used to driving a manual! The 18-wheeler finally stopped about 1 foot from our jeep and we were able to back up and then safely go around him. It all happened so fast!

Very scary times! Glad nothing serious happened.

[RickG]

Not a jeep story, but I rented a 2 door sedan on Tortola when I was there in 1996. I was heading out the same time each morning to see the sights. On Monday I picked up some kids that were hitchhiking to school in their cute uniforms, three of them piled in the car. On Tuesday I'm going the same way and they see me and walk out into the street waving. Probably 7 kids jumped in and I just laughed and dropped them off at school. On Wednesday I went on a day sail and did not see them. On Thursday I got taunted for not picking them up the day before, they were late to school and blamed their ride for not showing up!! All good fun, this white guy with a car load of West Indian kids.

I did get a good tip for a place to grab a drink and watch the sunset from one of the boys who's Uncle Rudy had a little standup bar at a cross roads on top of a ridge.

Cheers, RickG

[pipanale]

I never hit a donkey. I can say that much. I did get into a scrap with a parked truck on my last trip. I swear...it jumped out at me.

But, my favorite was on our last trip, I went into town with the 2 wives in our group. Normally, when the 4 of us go out, it's men up front, women in the back, and I drive (because I'm a control freak).

Every time we drove back to the house, the other spouse (not my loving and fully understanding saint of a wife) would be cursing at me and hitting me from the backseat. Apparently, I was aiming for all the potholes...on the unpaved road the villa was on.

Well, we went back this one afternoon and she rode shotgun. For the first time in 2 trips, she saw the condition of the road we stayed on. I marked it down. She actually apologized for smacking me all those times.

The next day, she was back in the backseat and yelling at me to not drive in the potholes.

As for scary...hitting the brakes on Gifft Hill Road and having the jeep slide down a switchback. That was fun. Almost as fun as having the same jeep lose power going up a hill and start drifting backwards.

Or watching them change a tire on the side of the cliff that doubles as the right driveway at St John Car Rental.

[Bug]

On my 1st trip to STJ we were driving on the East End when we got a flat tire. We coasted down a hill and parked at a tree that was in the center of the road.

<a href="http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t268 ... t=tree.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268 ... 8/tree.jpg" border="0" alt="My Bee Tree near Vie\'s"></a>
(Note: Photo borrowed from a fellow forumite!)


As my hubby was changing the flat, I noticed a few bee's buzzing around him. They were getting aggressive so I starting trying to shoo them away. That's when I realized that the tree was their home and they were coming out in biblical proportions to potect it. I started running but soon ran into barbed wire fence and fell down. At this point they won and stung me more times than I care to remember. Now I was sun burned, had a gazillion bee stings, had puncture wounds in my hand from the barbed wire, and had road rash from head to toe on one side of my body. I spent some time that day at the clinic getting shots for the stings, gravel picked out of me, and getting my hand wounds addressed. What a day that was!

XOXO
Bug

[Connie]

My daughter owned a jeep wrangler. One day she had the top down and was in the house and it began to POUR. One of those crazy summer storms. She wasn't even thinking about the top being down until we came home.

She ran out with a bucket and started bailing the jeep out. We were inside laughing so hard and we didn't want to tell her. We let her go for about 1/2 hour and then my husband went out, lifted up the rugs and pulled the plugs.

We had a good laugh, but she learned her lesson.

[PA Girl]

This is more of a "wife is (nearly) always right" story -

We were driving out past Skinny's last year and I said to hubs "you are too far on the other side" as a truck was about to pass us in the opposite direction.

He didn't believe/listen to me and both vehicles scrapped with such a noise, I thought the side of the jeep came off.

We both backed up, concerned about each other (a resident that couldn't have been nicer about it) and fortunately, it was just the mirrors on both vehicles.

I refrained for the "I told you so"

[RogerD]

Our Jeep story took place in Peter Bay Estates one afternoon when we were driving through the neighborhood checking out the enormous houses that are built there. We were all the way at the bottom of the subdivision starting to head back up and go out the main entrance when a rain shower started.Needless to say the tires on the Jeep weren't in the best of shape and we were heading up a very steep incline when the tires just started spinning, well we started sliding back down the hill when I hit the brakes
that didn't help either.Didn't even dawn on me at the time to throw it in 4 wheel drive. Well my wife and I are both starting to panic by now because looking behind us is a drop off that would have been pretty bad to say the least it was at least 200 feet down to the bottom.Somehow I thought to reach over and pull as hard as I could on the emergency brake which stopped us right on the edge of the cliff. Well then I put it in 4 wheel drive and we got heck out of there.

[Chet]

Went cheap one year and rented a mini-Suzuki from Brenda. Piled the gear in the rusty, sandy back compartment and headed to Mixology then Starfish, then off to Mystic Ridge. The next morning we headed down to Maho, turning off 10 on to 20. Of course we were like 2 kids on the first day of summer vacation and I was picking up speed down the first straight section, then hardly slowed for the gentle right curve before careening ahead. As we approached the first switchback I pressed the brake pedal...nothing. Panic builds but I say nothing as Mrs Random grabs for the roof and door handle as her foot comes up on the dash. Pumping madly on the brakes begins to slow the decent. I grab the emergency brake in in my hand...pull...lock..release...we slide through the corner on nearly bald tires...pump, pump, pump. We parked under the trees by the ruins and I walked directly into the water. We had arrived.

We spent the week driving gently.

[parafins]

On my 1st trip to STJ we were driving on the East End when we got a flat tire. We coasted down a hill and parked at a tree that was in the center of the road.

<a href="http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t268 ... t=tree.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268 ... 8/tree.jpg" border="0" alt="My Bee Tree near Vie\'s"></a>
(Note: Photo borrowed from a fellow forumite!)


As my hubby was changing the flat, I noticed a few bee's buzzing around him. They were getting aggressive so I starting trying to shoo them away. That's when I realized that the tree was their home and they were coming out in biblical proportions to potect it. I started running but soon ran into barbed wire fence and fell down. At this point they won and stung me more times than I care to remember. Now I was sun burned, had a gazillion bee stings, had puncture wounds in my hand from the barbed wire, and had road rash from head to toe on one side of my body. I spent some time that day at the clinic getting shots for the stings, gravel picked out of me, and getting my hand wounds addressed. What a day that was!

XOXO
Bug

Sorry to laugh Bug,but that story was sooo funny!Thanks for including the tree pic.When I visit S.T.J. I honk at that tree every time I go by it.Don't now why,but I do.Parafins...

[Bug]

Perhaps we should write a book of our adventures on STJ. Ruth can sell it at her store to make people laugh!!

XOXO
Bug

[parafins]

Roger D and Chet,Wow! Those stories are hair raising to say the least!Ater a event like that I would have to change my swimming trunks! That's why I always take 2 sets of trunks with me. Dan{Parafins}

[mricco]

Well, ours also is not a Jeep tale, but a Safari truck tale. One afternoon coming back from Cinnamon we were heading to Coral Rays. For those of you that have not been up the road to Coral Rays it is rather "STEEP" 3/4's of the road is paved of course pretty narrow and the last 1/4 is dirt. Well we were about 1/2 way up and what was parked across the road but a cement truck. Note: For some reason once you stop on those steep sandy roads it is very hard to get traction again. So my neice proceeds to get out of the back of the Safari and approach the man dumping his cement (after partying all day). Of course I will let you visualize in your mind what she did and said. The driver told us we should just go around "Ya sure"! So we sat there. Eventually he pulled the truck in a little further so we could get around. Of course everyone had to get out and walk the rest of the way up the hill to Coral Rays because we could not get enough traction with everyone in the truck (8). The best part-for several days after that we ran into the same cement driver and he recognized us and would honk and wave at us. Of course we laugh at that now.
Mricco

[ccasebolt]

In July of '98, we traveled with a several of my husband's friends. After one late night at the Sea Breeze (remember the Sea Breeze?), his best friend and fraternity brother (also the subject of my post in the "Ever hear of anyone who DID NOT love St John" thread) decided it would be fun to ride back to Concordia on the roof of the Vitara (a hard top, yes, but just barely). Somehow we all thought this was a good idea, so up he went. We didn't get too far before he realized his best strategy was to lie on his stomach spread-eagle and hold on to the driver and passenger doorframes as tightly as possible. Every time we hit a bump, we heard a crunching sound from the roof, followed by a groan. When we got to the bus stop near Johnson Bay we had to stop because a herd of goats were sleeping in the road. Suddenly from the roof of the Vitara we heard "Hey goats, MOVE!", and like the parting of the Red Sea, they did. Somehow he made it through the ups and downs, twists, and turns in one piece. The next morning he complained that his head hurt (duh!) and for some reason his chest was sore. We had to remind him about how he rode home the night before. When we went outside to look at the Vitara, there was a large dent in the center of the roof Luckily the guys were able to push it out so that it was hardly noticeable. Lesson learned - never ride on the roof of your vehicle on STJ, no matter how tempting it may seem

[Dave-a-roni]

I don't have a story, however, I have this pic! This wasn't me, but it was at the bottom of the road that goes up to all the villas on the mountain in Coral Bay... it was there for most of the 2 weeks we were there. Last few days it was finally removed

<a href="http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w41/ ... villa1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w41/ ... villa1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>