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Long overdo report- part 2
Long overdo report- part 2
First full day on the island -
Kids sleeping so we take off to grocery shop. We had brought quite a bit of meat with us to feed the crowd of hungry college students. How did I do this? Easy, just froze it, put it in large zip lock bags and carried it on. I was stopped at security so they could do that little swab test but the guy just grinned and told me "I wish I could say this wasn't allowed so I could take it with me!" I guess 10 pounds of hamburger and a whole pork loin sounded good! It was heavy to carry but stayed frozen. I know this forum is divided on the subject of carrying down your own food but I have done it just about everytime without any problem. With this large and hungry crew- any savings helps. Plus, the quality down there just isn't that great. Final rationale- why not? How could it hurt?
Spent the morning lazing around the villa. Kids slept FOREVER and there wasn't enough time today to go to the beach. Why might you ask? Because we had appointments in St. Thomas with our architect. Yes, we are taking the big plunge. Also, the kids were headed to a basketball tournament on several of the days. In hindsight it would have made more sense to stay on St. Thomas but... Thus begins our many long journeys to St. Thomas. Needless to say we became very proficient at using the ferry, taxi, etc. We learned some tricks after being scammed a few times. After a few trips I felt like a pro. There were many good lessons for us on this trip- we definitely learned that it is important to try and be as organized as possible on these commuter trips. We also learned just how easy and very do-able it can be.
What did we do when we weren't commuting back and forth between the islands? Well, we went to the beach of course! That made staying on St. John all the better- it is just so easy and so much less crowded to go snorkel and lay in the warm caribbean waters. Our first few days we did the usual- Hawksnest, Cinnamon, and Trunk. Saw very little at Cinnamon and it was quite wavy. Hawksnest had a lot of wonderful underwater life and really allowed our crew to try out their snorkelling skills (they are a bit rusty). Went to Trunk late in the day. Arrived just before 4:00. No one was at the payment window so we didn't have to pay - a great sign! The beach was PACKED. Yikes! The snorkel trail looked like an endless maze of life jacketed bumper cars running into each other. I wanted to turn and run! But then, at exactly 4:00 a parade of lemmings swam to shore and disappeared. Ahh, the cruise ship horn must have sounded. It must be like a dog whistle and only certain folk can hear it calling. By 4:15 we had the beach almost to ourselves. Now, this is the way it should be!
To come:
* an octopus, shark and 3 turtles all in the same day!
* The hike to a deserted beach filled with conch shells- can you name that beach?
* A final lesson to learn- never swim with the electronic key to the rental in your pocket.
Kids sleeping so we take off to grocery shop. We had brought quite a bit of meat with us to feed the crowd of hungry college students. How did I do this? Easy, just froze it, put it in large zip lock bags and carried it on. I was stopped at security so they could do that little swab test but the guy just grinned and told me "I wish I could say this wasn't allowed so I could take it with me!" I guess 10 pounds of hamburger and a whole pork loin sounded good! It was heavy to carry but stayed frozen. I know this forum is divided on the subject of carrying down your own food but I have done it just about everytime without any problem. With this large and hungry crew- any savings helps. Plus, the quality down there just isn't that great. Final rationale- why not? How could it hurt?
Spent the morning lazing around the villa. Kids slept FOREVER and there wasn't enough time today to go to the beach. Why might you ask? Because we had appointments in St. Thomas with our architect. Yes, we are taking the big plunge. Also, the kids were headed to a basketball tournament on several of the days. In hindsight it would have made more sense to stay on St. Thomas but... Thus begins our many long journeys to St. Thomas. Needless to say we became very proficient at using the ferry, taxi, etc. We learned some tricks after being scammed a few times. After a few trips I felt like a pro. There were many good lessons for us on this trip- we definitely learned that it is important to try and be as organized as possible on these commuter trips. We also learned just how easy and very do-able it can be.
What did we do when we weren't commuting back and forth between the islands? Well, we went to the beach of course! That made staying on St. John all the better- it is just so easy and so much less crowded to go snorkel and lay in the warm caribbean waters. Our first few days we did the usual- Hawksnest, Cinnamon, and Trunk. Saw very little at Cinnamon and it was quite wavy. Hawksnest had a lot of wonderful underwater life and really allowed our crew to try out their snorkelling skills (they are a bit rusty). Went to Trunk late in the day. Arrived just before 4:00. No one was at the payment window so we didn't have to pay - a great sign! The beach was PACKED. Yikes! The snorkel trail looked like an endless maze of life jacketed bumper cars running into each other. I wanted to turn and run! But then, at exactly 4:00 a parade of lemmings swam to shore and disappeared. Ahh, the cruise ship horn must have sounded. It must be like a dog whistle and only certain folk can hear it calling. By 4:15 we had the beach almost to ourselves. Now, this is the way it should be!
To come:
* an octopus, shark and 3 turtles all in the same day!
* The hike to a deserted beach filled with conch shells- can you name that beach?
* A final lesson to learn- never swim with the electronic key to the rental in your pocket.
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California Girl
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StJohnRuth
- Posts: 1989
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:42 pm
- Location: St. John, VI
