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Trip Report 2/6-2/16
Trip Report 2/6-2/16
O.K. the airline/ferry tags have been cut off the baggage and things are back to normal.
Trip down was ugly. American needed to do 3 hour maintenance on our 8 am flight (hydraulic problem). Everyone with connecting flights needed to claim their baggage and rebook. By the time we went to rebook they took a plane from the BWI-Ft. Worth route and made it the BWI-San Juan flight. We just needed to rebook another connecting flight to St. Thomas. Due to late departure we missed the rebooked connection to St. Thomas. American reps were waiting at the gate with stand by tickets for the last two flights from San Juan to STT. Not good. After about a half hour they called our names and we had seats. There was hope of arriving on St. John the same day. The net of it was that we ended up on the 8 pm Red Hook ferry instead of our planned 4 pm ferry. Windspree did a great job and was waiting there with our Liberty from C & C. We were probably the last people served at Shipwreck Landing that night. Nice meal and caught the end of the Steve Simon and the Jazz Islanders.
This was our second trip to St. John having stayed two weeks there in the fall of 2003. I know that's a long gap but we saved for a kitchen remodel and that equals several trips to St. John. Normally we travel in the off-season to take advantage of the rates but this time we treated ourselves with a winter trip. Stayed at Villa Calabreeze in Coral Bay through Windspree. Just up RT 108 before you get to Island Blues. Views were nice into Coral Bay and the East End. Very convenient in that it's a short drive or walk to Love City Mini Mart, Lily's Gourmet, or Aqua Bistro.
St. John was clearly more crowded than our previous trip. Vie's lot and roadside parking was filled. Salt Pond parking extended to the shoulder. Forget Jumbie. Even Little Lameshur was crowded, which surprised us. From following several world sailing record attempts prior to our trip I knew that the winds would be up and they were. This really kept Haulover north churned up and we opted to pass.
Surprise snorkel of this trip was Hawksnest. Our trip I think rain kept us from trying this. It's a nice reef very close to the beach with lots of marine life and decent coral. The added bonus, thanks to fellow snorkeler, was a ray. Some guy tapped me on the shoulder, yelled ray, and pointed down. Neat experience.
Another surprise snorkel was off the small cove on the Yawzi Trail. The walk is not that long from the Lameshur parking area. One of the deeper snorkels with lots of coral and marine life. We'll definitely return to this one.
Having seen photos and read reports I had to see Moonstone Beach on the Ram's Head trail. After a snorkel at Salt Pond my wife returned to the car and I made a quick hike to Moonstone. This place is absolutely mesmerizing. Someone had made a beach sculpture bird's nest from a large ship's line and those white rounded stones. If you don't do Ram's Head at least visit this beach. Wife missed the beach but went one up on me in the mongoose count contest while she waited.
Also did the Brown's Bay/Johnny Horn Trail one afternoon. Wife dropped me off at the East End and I walked to the Brown Bay ruins, up to the Johnny Horn Trail and returned to Coral Bay where she was waiting near the Moravian Church. Judging by the descent into Coral Bay this is probably a tough hike from Coral Bay to Waterlemon. For those who haven't done this, the trail to the ruins is marked with conch shells. The Brown Bay ruins are not visible from the trail.
Thanks to the owner of Calabreeze, some of his friends and I got the opportunity to sail on his boat. Sailed from Coral Bay to East End and around Pelican and Flanagan islands. It was a perfect day for a sail, enough wind to push the boat at a decent pace with one reef in the main.
A few observations on provisions on St. John. If you cook in at all, St. John is the place to go. Starfish is a great market and Starfish Gourmet just adds to the selection. For those of us that stay in Coral Bay, Lily's Market with smoked gouda, Walnut Crest Chardonnay in the 1.5 litre, Citterio sopressata, to name a few, just about eliminates the need to restock in Cruz Bay.
I love the sense of humor on St. John such as the modified 'dip' and 'hill' signs. Our favorite is the East End painted turtle rock. Dressed for Valentines Day but earlier we saw him with a snorkel and mask.
Finally a big thanks to everyone who has posted responses and trip reports. I researched our 2003 trip here, kept in touch in between, and certainly planned the '08 trip from this forum.
Trip down was ugly. American needed to do 3 hour maintenance on our 8 am flight (hydraulic problem). Everyone with connecting flights needed to claim their baggage and rebook. By the time we went to rebook they took a plane from the BWI-Ft. Worth route and made it the BWI-San Juan flight. We just needed to rebook another connecting flight to St. Thomas. Due to late departure we missed the rebooked connection to St. Thomas. American reps were waiting at the gate with stand by tickets for the last two flights from San Juan to STT. Not good. After about a half hour they called our names and we had seats. There was hope of arriving on St. John the same day. The net of it was that we ended up on the 8 pm Red Hook ferry instead of our planned 4 pm ferry. Windspree did a great job and was waiting there with our Liberty from C & C. We were probably the last people served at Shipwreck Landing that night. Nice meal and caught the end of the Steve Simon and the Jazz Islanders.
This was our second trip to St. John having stayed two weeks there in the fall of 2003. I know that's a long gap but we saved for a kitchen remodel and that equals several trips to St. John. Normally we travel in the off-season to take advantage of the rates but this time we treated ourselves with a winter trip. Stayed at Villa Calabreeze in Coral Bay through Windspree. Just up RT 108 before you get to Island Blues. Views were nice into Coral Bay and the East End. Very convenient in that it's a short drive or walk to Love City Mini Mart, Lily's Gourmet, or Aqua Bistro.
St. John was clearly more crowded than our previous trip. Vie's lot and roadside parking was filled. Salt Pond parking extended to the shoulder. Forget Jumbie. Even Little Lameshur was crowded, which surprised us. From following several world sailing record attempts prior to our trip I knew that the winds would be up and they were. This really kept Haulover north churned up and we opted to pass.
Surprise snorkel of this trip was Hawksnest. Our trip I think rain kept us from trying this. It's a nice reef very close to the beach with lots of marine life and decent coral. The added bonus, thanks to fellow snorkeler, was a ray. Some guy tapped me on the shoulder, yelled ray, and pointed down. Neat experience.
Another surprise snorkel was off the small cove on the Yawzi Trail. The walk is not that long from the Lameshur parking area. One of the deeper snorkels with lots of coral and marine life. We'll definitely return to this one.
Having seen photos and read reports I had to see Moonstone Beach on the Ram's Head trail. After a snorkel at Salt Pond my wife returned to the car and I made a quick hike to Moonstone. This place is absolutely mesmerizing. Someone had made a beach sculpture bird's nest from a large ship's line and those white rounded stones. If you don't do Ram's Head at least visit this beach. Wife missed the beach but went one up on me in the mongoose count contest while she waited.
Also did the Brown's Bay/Johnny Horn Trail one afternoon. Wife dropped me off at the East End and I walked to the Brown Bay ruins, up to the Johnny Horn Trail and returned to Coral Bay where she was waiting near the Moravian Church. Judging by the descent into Coral Bay this is probably a tough hike from Coral Bay to Waterlemon. For those who haven't done this, the trail to the ruins is marked with conch shells. The Brown Bay ruins are not visible from the trail.
Thanks to the owner of Calabreeze, some of his friends and I got the opportunity to sail on his boat. Sailed from Coral Bay to East End and around Pelican and Flanagan islands. It was a perfect day for a sail, enough wind to push the boat at a decent pace with one reef in the main.
A few observations on provisions on St. John. If you cook in at all, St. John is the place to go. Starfish is a great market and Starfish Gourmet just adds to the selection. For those of us that stay in Coral Bay, Lily's Market with smoked gouda, Walnut Crest Chardonnay in the 1.5 litre, Citterio sopressata, to name a few, just about eliminates the need to restock in Cruz Bay.
I love the sense of humor on St. John such as the modified 'dip' and 'hill' signs. Our favorite is the East End painted turtle rock. Dressed for Valentines Day but earlier we saw him with a snorkel and mask.
Finally a big thanks to everyone who has posted responses and trip reports. I researched our 2003 trip here, kept in touch in between, and certainly planned the '08 trip from this forum.
Thanks for the TR - glad you had a great time!
As our only trip so far has been in the off season, it's amazing how different some things are. For example, every time we went by Vie's shack her parking lot never had more than three vehicles, and was usually empty!
It's nice that the folks on STJ were there for you after your travel day from...
As our only trip so far has been in the off season, it's amazing how different some things are. For example, every time we went by Vie's shack her parking lot never had more than three vehicles, and was usually empty!
It's nice that the folks on STJ were there for you after your travel day from...
Come see us!
Yes Rick...Blue Cobblestone beach. I probably misnamed it.
Why I didn't take the camera is beyond me.I could have filled a card on that beach. I understand that it's a decent place to snorkel although I wouldn't have risked it on my own.
In reference to the flight problems with AA, this was the first time that we've experienced an airline problem to that extent. All things considered, we were fortunate to arrive on St. John only four hours late.
Why I didn't take the camera is beyond me.I could have filled a card on that beach. I understand that it's a decent place to snorkel although I wouldn't have risked it on my own.
In reference to the flight problems with AA, this was the first time that we've experienced an airline problem to that extent. All things considered, we were fortunate to arrive on St. John only four hours late.