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Trip Report: first one in 7 years... part 4 (Sea Stone)
Trip Report: first one in 7 years... part 4 (Sea Stone)
--- Day 8 ---
The last morning at Blue Palm - we soaked up the early morning view of Coral Bay and said goodbye to the villa.
When we drove into Cruz Bay, it felt like we were suddenly in the CITY (relatively speaking, of course) - funny coming from someone who lives in NYC.
We met our greeter from VIVA at the Starfish parking lot and drove over to the villa "Sea Stone" on Maria Bluff. We had known that we would have more mountain views with a view of the Coral Bay harbor from Blue Palm, so, for a change, we wanted to stay right near the water for the second week.
The white roofs of Sea Stone - the location did not disappoint us!
Upon our arrival at Sea Stone, we quickly realized there was a "wow" factor to this villa. The villa itself is beautiful (though I'm not a big fan of the white washed painting style on the cabinets and the ceiling) but it was the location that left us in awe, not to mention the sound of the surf.
Sea Stone is sandwiched between "Beyond the Sea" and "Nautilus". I remember the post asking about the privacy factor at Sea Stone. I took the photo below from the tip of the pool towards the east. The house you see is "Beyond the Sea", which is no longer on the rental market and the owner lives there with her dog. The pool area is clearly visible from the house but we knew that going in, so it was fine with us. Besides, we felt she was very respectful.
Below is the photo towards the west. We thought the foliage was thick enough to feel fairly separated from next door, "Nautilus", but we could hear them pretty well (of course, it depends on who's staying there). We love music. But when we tried to listen to the surf and enjoy a quiet night on the deck, we didn't really care for music. It wasn't very loud but loud enough for us to retreat inside.
And yes, there were iguanas. I remember someone mentioning they saw as many as 15 here, but we only saw 5 at most and normally only 3 or 4. The man of the house seemed to be Mr. Iggy (so we called him). He was the one most noticeable around the property.
Mr. Iggy
My husband and I are both animal lovers. I love reptiles as much as sea creatures. When I was little, I wanted to be a marine biologist AND a herpetologist (well, kids can dream, right?) We weren't bothered at all by the iguanas, but if you are not a fan of them, you may not be completely happy here. They are not aggressive by any means - but not exactly shy either. They are wild animals after all, so, occasionally, their droppings popped up on rather visible spots of the property like the edge of the pool and the sitting areas (not nice, Mr. Iggy!) Again, if you have an aversion to iguanas and are not in the mood for cleaning their "little messes" on your vacation (we only had to clean up a few times), this place may not be for you. But I'll tell you, Sea Stone is a wonderful house in an awesome location.
Great room - the table was already set when we arrived, but set for four, so I had to put the dishes away.
From the kitchen - the laundry is inside the white doors (on the right) but there was no detergent (the greeter told us they don't provide it).
The house is designed very smartly and to take full advantage of the views. I had never experienced a kitchen with a view like this. I loved it!
View from the outside shower (in the main house). The water pressure of the shower was the lowest we've ever experienced on St. John so far, though.
We felt the only real negative with this villa is the proximity to other villas, and if you want total privacy around the pool area, it does not work for you. Other than that, we thought Sea Stone is a fabulous place to stay.
After settling down at Sea Stone, we decided to stay in for the night. While my husband waded in the pool with his drink, I cooked dinner in the spacious kitchen. I wasn't t sorry that I was there instead of in the pool. As I've mentioned, the kitchen had a great sea view. I don't know how many times I just stared out the window with veggies or a knife or whatever in my hand.
--- Day 9 ---
We had our coffee on the deck looking at the water and listening to the surf. Ahhh...
We wanted to visit Gibney in the morning but there was no parking left for us there, so we ended up at Jumbie.
View from Jumbie towards Trunk
We hung out on the beach and snorkeled a bit. Jumbie has never been our favorite beach to snorkel, but we have never snorkeled the route from Jumbie to Denis. Not sure what it's like but we may try that next year.
After Jumbie, we stopped by at Hawksnest for an afternoon snorkel.
The snorkeling gets better away from the beach where you start seeing the forest of elkhorn corals.
After dipping in the pool at Sea Stone (accompanied by Mr. Iggy on the poolside), we had our dinner at Rhumb Lines. I love their pupu platter and we got all shrimp. They were all very good but my favorite was "spicy cilantro-lime" and my husband's was "spicy peanut sate skewer". I had Thai arugula & steak salad for my entree and he had the Mahi entree. They were good also but for me the highlight of this meal was the pupu.
After we got back to the villa, we sat outside with our drinks looking at the stars and listening to the surf breaking against the cliff right below us. There was chirping of insects and a cool breeze. What more could we ask for?
To be continued...
The last morning at Blue Palm - we soaked up the early morning view of Coral Bay and said goodbye to the villa.
When we drove into Cruz Bay, it felt like we were suddenly in the CITY (relatively speaking, of course) - funny coming from someone who lives in NYC.
We met our greeter from VIVA at the Starfish parking lot and drove over to the villa "Sea Stone" on Maria Bluff. We had known that we would have more mountain views with a view of the Coral Bay harbor from Blue Palm, so, for a change, we wanted to stay right near the water for the second week.
The white roofs of Sea Stone - the location did not disappoint us!
Upon our arrival at Sea Stone, we quickly realized there was a "wow" factor to this villa. The villa itself is beautiful (though I'm not a big fan of the white washed painting style on the cabinets and the ceiling) but it was the location that left us in awe, not to mention the sound of the surf.
Sea Stone is sandwiched between "Beyond the Sea" and "Nautilus". I remember the post asking about the privacy factor at Sea Stone. I took the photo below from the tip of the pool towards the east. The house you see is "Beyond the Sea", which is no longer on the rental market and the owner lives there with her dog. The pool area is clearly visible from the house but we knew that going in, so it was fine with us. Besides, we felt she was very respectful.
Below is the photo towards the west. We thought the foliage was thick enough to feel fairly separated from next door, "Nautilus", but we could hear them pretty well (of course, it depends on who's staying there). We love music. But when we tried to listen to the surf and enjoy a quiet night on the deck, we didn't really care for music. It wasn't very loud but loud enough for us to retreat inside.
And yes, there were iguanas. I remember someone mentioning they saw as many as 15 here, but we only saw 5 at most and normally only 3 or 4. The man of the house seemed to be Mr. Iggy (so we called him). He was the one most noticeable around the property.
Mr. Iggy
My husband and I are both animal lovers. I love reptiles as much as sea creatures. When I was little, I wanted to be a marine biologist AND a herpetologist (well, kids can dream, right?) We weren't bothered at all by the iguanas, but if you are not a fan of them, you may not be completely happy here. They are not aggressive by any means - but not exactly shy either. They are wild animals after all, so, occasionally, their droppings popped up on rather visible spots of the property like the edge of the pool and the sitting areas (not nice, Mr. Iggy!) Again, if you have an aversion to iguanas and are not in the mood for cleaning their "little messes" on your vacation (we only had to clean up a few times), this place may not be for you. But I'll tell you, Sea Stone is a wonderful house in an awesome location.
Great room - the table was already set when we arrived, but set for four, so I had to put the dishes away.
From the kitchen - the laundry is inside the white doors (on the right) but there was no detergent (the greeter told us they don't provide it).
The house is designed very smartly and to take full advantage of the views. I had never experienced a kitchen with a view like this. I loved it!
View from the outside shower (in the main house). The water pressure of the shower was the lowest we've ever experienced on St. John so far, though.
We felt the only real negative with this villa is the proximity to other villas, and if you want total privacy around the pool area, it does not work for you. Other than that, we thought Sea Stone is a fabulous place to stay.
After settling down at Sea Stone, we decided to stay in for the night. While my husband waded in the pool with his drink, I cooked dinner in the spacious kitchen. I wasn't t sorry that I was there instead of in the pool. As I've mentioned, the kitchen had a great sea view. I don't know how many times I just stared out the window with veggies or a knife or whatever in my hand.
--- Day 9 ---
We had our coffee on the deck looking at the water and listening to the surf. Ahhh...
We wanted to visit Gibney in the morning but there was no parking left for us there, so we ended up at Jumbie.
View from Jumbie towards Trunk
We hung out on the beach and snorkeled a bit. Jumbie has never been our favorite beach to snorkel, but we have never snorkeled the route from Jumbie to Denis. Not sure what it's like but we may try that next year.
After Jumbie, we stopped by at Hawksnest for an afternoon snorkel.
The snorkeling gets better away from the beach where you start seeing the forest of elkhorn corals.
After dipping in the pool at Sea Stone (accompanied by Mr. Iggy on the poolside), we had our dinner at Rhumb Lines. I love their pupu platter and we got all shrimp. They were all very good but my favorite was "spicy cilantro-lime" and my husband's was "spicy peanut sate skewer". I had Thai arugula & steak salad for my entree and he had the Mahi entree. They were good also but for me the highlight of this meal was the pupu.
After we got back to the villa, we sat outside with our drinks looking at the stars and listening to the surf breaking against the cliff right below us. There was chirping of insects and a cool breeze. What more could we ask for?
To be continued...
Good stuff Pickle 
I'm with ya on the Jumbie snorkel, never been too impressed. Think I will try the left side to Dennis next time. Ya did one of my fave snorkels, love the elkhorn forest at Hawksnest. HA Marine Biologist thats what I would have chosen for my dream job at least I get to pretend I'm one a couple times a year Also at Blue Cobblestone we were going around the bend towards Salt Pond it was a long swim back but Andy got it under control.
I'm with ya on the Jumbie snorkel, never been too impressed. Think I will try the left side to Dennis next time. Ya did one of my fave snorkels, love the elkhorn forest at Hawksnest. HA Marine Biologist thats what I would have chosen for my dream job at least I get to pretend I'm one a couple times a year Also at Blue Cobblestone we were going around the bend towards Salt Pond it was a long swim back but Andy got it under control.
Pickle,
I just caught up on all of your reports, I saw the first one and somehow missed the next three installments. I am thoroughly enjoying your vacation, it is very hard to believe that English is your second language - you're doing a fantastic job!
I am very much like you with the motion sickness thing. It starts for me in the air, continues in the cab and the ferry over to STJ finishes me off!
I find that ginger capsules help. Have you tried them?
I am really impressed by your underwater shots and was wondering what type of Canon you have and the housing. I have been looking to get a housing for my Canon SD1000 - but haven't yet - any tips anyone?
We stayed at Beyond-the-Sea a couple of years ago and you are right - the location can't be beat! The sounds of the crashing waves and the breezes were great. It looks like it's been painted and I am sad it is no longer available for rentals.
I am looking forward to the continuation of your report; Please keep them coming!
I just caught up on all of your reports, I saw the first one and somehow missed the next three installments. I am thoroughly enjoying your vacation, it is very hard to believe that English is your second language - you're doing a fantastic job!
I am very much like you with the motion sickness thing. It starts for me in the air, continues in the cab and the ferry over to STJ finishes me off!
I find that ginger capsules help. Have you tried them?
I am really impressed by your underwater shots and was wondering what type of Canon you have and the housing. I have been looking to get a housing for my Canon SD1000 - but haven't yet - any tips anyone?
We stayed at Beyond-the-Sea a couple of years ago and you are right - the location can't be beat! The sounds of the crashing waves and the breezes were great. It looks like it's been painted and I am sad it is no longer available for rentals.
I am looking forward to the continuation of your report; Please keep them coming!
Patr
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
cptnkirk,
When I'm in the water of St. John, my childhood dream sure comes alive. I gave it up because I can't be on boats (motion sickness) - didn't want to be the one who stays behind in the lab. Well, actually, I gave it up because I didn't study!
patr,
I use a Canon 850 IS with its housing. I have Photoshop, so I can touch up the photos to make them more presentable. I don't like using Photoshop to the extent the photo loses its original nuances, so I try to use it minimally (I would rather have my photos look a bit poor in quality than artificial). That said, I was pleasantly surprised the job my little Canon did in the water. When the condition is right (enough sunlight and clear visibility) it took great photos for a point & shoot camera.
These are originals, Photoshop-free:
When I'm in the water of St. John, my childhood dream sure comes alive. I gave it up because I can't be on boats (motion sickness) - didn't want to be the one who stays behind in the lab. Well, actually, I gave it up because I didn't study!
patr,
I use a Canon 850 IS with its housing. I have Photoshop, so I can touch up the photos to make them more presentable. I don't like using Photoshop to the extent the photo loses its original nuances, so I try to use it minimally (I would rather have my photos look a bit poor in quality than artificial). That said, I was pleasantly surprised the job my little Canon did in the water. When the condition is right (enough sunlight and clear visibility) it took great photos for a point & shoot camera.
These are originals, Photoshop-free:
liamsaunt,
To be honest, I dipped into the pool at Sea Stone only a couple of times (I was in the pool everyday at the other villa though). My husband actually said the shape of the pool at Sea Stone was kind of neat - it works well for laps. When I was in it, it sure felt a little different from more conventionally shaped pools. My husband may not feel the same but I felt the pool at Blue Palm was or at least looked newer and cleaner. Maybe I was spoiled.
Here is a straight shot of the pool.
To be honest, I dipped into the pool at Sea Stone only a couple of times (I was in the pool everyday at the other villa though). My husband actually said the shape of the pool at Sea Stone was kind of neat - it works well for laps. When I was in it, it sure felt a little different from more conventionally shaped pools. My husband may not feel the same but I felt the pool at Blue Palm was or at least looked newer and cleaner. Maybe I was spoiled.
Here is a straight shot of the pool.
Thanks Pickle---have enjoyed reasding your reports and seeing your nice pictures. I have been interested in Sea Stone ever since it was built----I drive by it each time we are in St. John. I love that location, and the whitewashed woodwork, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be as tolerant about cleaning up after Mr. Iggy as you were:)
---Jim