2nd Time Trip Report Day 2

[Rebecca in NOVA]

St. John Trip Report Day 2: Sun. June 1

To our surprise, our toddler who usually gets up at 7 or 7:30 am got up at 5:45 am on our first full day on the island. We figured it was because he had skipped his nap and fallen asleep two hours earlier than usual the night before, but unfortunately he continued this pattern all through the vacation regardless of naps!

Our idea of vacation was not really getting up two hours earlier than usual, but it actually worked out well for our schedule. Every day we all (Husband, Grandma, Toddler and I) would head to the beach at about 8 and stay until lunchtime (between 11 and 12). We weren't sure if Grandma & Toddler would come to the beach with us every day, but Toddler loved it so they did. We would usually be about the first people there, set up under the prime shade and Husband and I would head out to snorkel. We saw so much more great stuff this time around, which I attribute to getting out so early. Just about every day we saw at least one turtle and often several, but they departed when the beach started to fill up between 10 and 11.

The first day we headed to Trunk Bay. We figured that was a good place to start out with Grandma and Toddler due to the amenities and I had checked to make sure there weren't cruise ships that day. It was gorgeous as usual.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80956522@N00/2712403651/" title="IMG_2479 by Rebecca Johnson, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3163/271 ... a39247.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_2479"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80956522@N00/2712399061/" title="IMG_2480 by Rebecca Johnson, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/271 ... 803bf4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_2480"></a>


We saw a lot of cool stuff snorkeling early in the morning and in our later morning outing too - 2 trumpetfish, tons of fry, lots of parrot fish crunching away, 2 angel fish, hawksbill turtle, etc. Unfortunately a girl reached down and touched the turtle who was right up against the cay, so of course it was out of there like a shot. We also didn't have to pay or worry about a parking spot since we arrived so early.

We realized after we got back from our first snorkeling foray that we left our inserts in our flippers, whoops! We also didn't bring our booties. Once we resolved both of those problems, snorkeling was a lot more comfortable. We hadn't been snorkeling since our last STJ trip three years ago and we had forgotten how much we love it.

When we were getting ready to leave around 11 it started to rain, but it passed before we even made it out of the parking lot. We appreciated the amenities at Trunk, especially the showers, much more this time around when we had a sandy toddler to wash off when getting in the car.

We just had leftover pizza for lunch back at the villa - can't beat that view! - and everybody took a siesta when the toddler did.

After naps we hung around the pool for the afternoon, which was very relaxing. We alternated between listening to our St. John playlist on the iPod and our kid's favorite album, Here Come the 123s by They Might Be Giants. Now I will forever associate that album with the trip, which is nice since it gets played A LOT at our house.

Here's a nice picture my MIL took of the front of the house (facing the ocean).
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80956522@N00/2712398735/" title="P6010071 by Rebecca Johnson, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/271 ... 1b88bc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="P6010071"></a>

The beach-in-the-morning, pool-in-the-afternoon schedule became routine for the rest of the week and worked out very well.

For dinner we stayed in and grilled chicken and again enjoyed the view. I love eating outside when I'm on vacation (but not at home for some reason).
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80956522@N00/2713212648/" title="IMG_2597 by Rebecca Johnson, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3213/271 ... 30c822.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_2597"></a>

There were a couple of cheeky birds who begged for handouts on the deck. When my husband was setting the table for dinner, they stole the cheese off his salad that was unattended!

After dinner Husband made another run to Starfish for supplies while we got a little more organized in the house. Toddler was in bed by 9 and we all followed suit not too long afterward.

While I can't remember when exactly in the day this happened, we saw an iguana run really quickly across the road when we were driving. For some reason we saw a lot more iguanas this time around, including a poor one hit on the road with its eggs in front of the house. Here's one that hung out by the deck.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80956522@N00/2713239072/" title="IMG_2567 by Rebecca Johnson, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3284/271 ... e6399f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_2567"></a>

Oh, and I was really disappointed that the super-friendly cat from our last visit did not come around. We hope he found another villa more to his liking.

[cptnkirk]

Great start Rebecca Love those early morning snorkels too

[sea-nile]

sounds like a wonderful day!

[CariBert]

Thanks for the second installment! We read in the journals that former renters wrote in that there were one or two cats on the property. We looked and looked and never found any. I hope they found a new home and not the alternative! We love villa cats! But we had to settle for the Banaquites and the brazon bigger birds who demanded to be fed! Yes, they demanded! Never saw anything like it. They would sit on the railing and call VERY loudly until I came out and put some bread crumbs on the railing for them......

But, I'm getting into my trip report now..

Thanks again it's like I'm back there at Idyllic again!

-Bert