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Amy and the boys on STJ: Days 9 and 10
Amy and the boys on STJ: Days 9 and 10
Our last full day on the island, and I woke up to probably the most beautiful sunrise yet:
We had a little bit of excitement when the boys saw a scorpion scurrying under the couch (!), so hubby gently swept it into a cup and dumped it far away from the house in the garden.
The boys said they wanted to go to Cinnamon today, so we headed out. By this time hubby was slightly freaking out about the amount of work he had to do to get ready for the semester (he teaches college English), so we dropped him off at Deli Grotto so he could work on his syllabus and drink coffee. FYI, Deli Grotto has tables and good coffee and is air-conditioned, so if anyone is there in the summer and needs a place to chill (literally!), this is good place to hang out. Plus, their sandwiches are phenomenal. We ended up going there a fair amount during our stay.
Got to Cinnamon and set up, then started snorkeling out to the cay:
Okay, this was something I had never seen before while snorkeling: as I glanced up at the surface of the water, I saw a medium-sized barracuda eating what looked like a baby barracuda! I had read somewhere that due to damage to the reefs, barracuda were becoming cannibalistic due to lack of food, and this looked like proof. Unfortunately, one of the boys had the camera in another area so we didn't get a photo of this, but we did get a photo of the poor baby fish lying on the ocean floor. (is this a barracuda or needlefish? I wasn't sure):
We had lunch at the restaurant at Cinnamon (bad idea--the skeeters were awful there, and just when all my bites were mostly gone!), and then the clouds really started coming in. By the time we got back to the parking lot it was raining fairly hard. We went back to town to pick up hubby, ran a few errands, and headed back home. This time I stayed put, since it rained on and off all afternoon (pre-Hanna, as it turned out). Tonight's dinner: hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and baked beans, along with a cake I got at the new mini-mart next to Rhumblines. I chatted with the guy there who told me he was from north Jersey, had come down to spend 3 months on STJ 10 years ago, and just stayed. I love those stories, and they make me so envious! Lindy wandered in while I was there and he looked SO skinny--you gotta feel for him. That night it really poured hard, but the next day dawned bright and sunny again. Our departure day, sigh. It had come way too soon, as always. Our flight wasn't until 4:30, so we took our time packing up, bid a fond farewell to Bruce, Jan, Barney and Frankie, then drove into town to get a few last-minute souvenirs. We decided to have brunch at the Sun Dog Cafe, and it was great.
J picked up some gifts for his family, and we slowly started the short drive to the car barge dock. We just barely made the 11:30 barge (we were the last car on), and we sadly waved goodbye to STJ. J spotted a baby iguana running around on the barge and we took a quick photo:
It finally jumped off the barge and started swimming for STJ--smart iguana! J told us that iguanas are good swimmers and we weren't far from shore, so we hope the little guy made it (J used to own an iguana as a pet).
I got a little disoriented on STT and we ended up taking the "mountain route" back to Charlotte Amalie, but it was fine and traffic was minimal. Returned the Jeep to Discount where checkout was a breeze, and Austin gave us a ride back to the airport. When we got there it was a little crowded, and Austin strongly suggested we use a porter and man, how great was that! Right up to the First Class desk with no line, right through to customs and a security line with NO one in front of us, then through to the gate. I asked Austin what I should give the porter and he suggested $2 per bag, but I gave the guy a $20. Money well-spent!
We had a long wait for our flight, but we ate, drank painkillers, and before we knew it, it was time to leave. Our flight left on time (again!), and we had a bumpy patch while we flew over Hanna, but we got to Charlotte right on time. 2 hour layover, then finally back to Philly at midnight, yawn. And to make re-entry worse, I had to WORK on Labor Day since the college I work for always has their first day of class ON Labor Day! Stinks to the max, but what can you do? I was a zombie that first day back, but I survived and now we're all back into the routine--boo.
We had such a great time, and I know we will be back! Hubby is not really a huge beach or snorkeling fanatic like I am, but he likes STJ and is always up for a trip there. This time, though, we felt like we started to get to know people who live there, and he started to fall in love with the island. I knew he was smitten when he said "how soon do you think we could go back?" and "yeah, I guess I could live there for a while!" We love the free-spirited, laid-back mood there, the beauty of the island, and the tranquility of the underwater world. Til next time....
We had a little bit of excitement when the boys saw a scorpion scurrying under the couch (!), so hubby gently swept it into a cup and dumped it far away from the house in the garden.
The boys said they wanted to go to Cinnamon today, so we headed out. By this time hubby was slightly freaking out about the amount of work he had to do to get ready for the semester (he teaches college English), so we dropped him off at Deli Grotto so he could work on his syllabus and drink coffee. FYI, Deli Grotto has tables and good coffee and is air-conditioned, so if anyone is there in the summer and needs a place to chill (literally!), this is good place to hang out. Plus, their sandwiches are phenomenal. We ended up going there a fair amount during our stay.
Got to Cinnamon and set up, then started snorkeling out to the cay:
Okay, this was something I had never seen before while snorkeling: as I glanced up at the surface of the water, I saw a medium-sized barracuda eating what looked like a baby barracuda! I had read somewhere that due to damage to the reefs, barracuda were becoming cannibalistic due to lack of food, and this looked like proof. Unfortunately, one of the boys had the camera in another area so we didn't get a photo of this, but we did get a photo of the poor baby fish lying on the ocean floor. (is this a barracuda or needlefish? I wasn't sure):
We had lunch at the restaurant at Cinnamon (bad idea--the skeeters were awful there, and just when all my bites were mostly gone!), and then the clouds really started coming in. By the time we got back to the parking lot it was raining fairly hard. We went back to town to pick up hubby, ran a few errands, and headed back home. This time I stayed put, since it rained on and off all afternoon (pre-Hanna, as it turned out). Tonight's dinner: hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and baked beans, along with a cake I got at the new mini-mart next to Rhumblines. I chatted with the guy there who told me he was from north Jersey, had come down to spend 3 months on STJ 10 years ago, and just stayed. I love those stories, and they make me so envious! Lindy wandered in while I was there and he looked SO skinny--you gotta feel for him. That night it really poured hard, but the next day dawned bright and sunny again. Our departure day, sigh. It had come way too soon, as always. Our flight wasn't until 4:30, so we took our time packing up, bid a fond farewell to Bruce, Jan, Barney and Frankie, then drove into town to get a few last-minute souvenirs. We decided to have brunch at the Sun Dog Cafe, and it was great.
J picked up some gifts for his family, and we slowly started the short drive to the car barge dock. We just barely made the 11:30 barge (we were the last car on), and we sadly waved goodbye to STJ. J spotted a baby iguana running around on the barge and we took a quick photo:
It finally jumped off the barge and started swimming for STJ--smart iguana! J told us that iguanas are good swimmers and we weren't far from shore, so we hope the little guy made it (J used to own an iguana as a pet).
I got a little disoriented on STT and we ended up taking the "mountain route" back to Charlotte Amalie, but it was fine and traffic was minimal. Returned the Jeep to Discount where checkout was a breeze, and Austin gave us a ride back to the airport. When we got there it was a little crowded, and Austin strongly suggested we use a porter and man, how great was that! Right up to the First Class desk with no line, right through to customs and a security line with NO one in front of us, then through to the gate. I asked Austin what I should give the porter and he suggested $2 per bag, but I gave the guy a $20. Money well-spent!
We had a long wait for our flight, but we ate, drank painkillers, and before we knew it, it was time to leave. Our flight left on time (again!), and we had a bumpy patch while we flew over Hanna, but we got to Charlotte right on time. 2 hour layover, then finally back to Philly at midnight, yawn. And to make re-entry worse, I had to WORK on Labor Day since the college I work for always has their first day of class ON Labor Day! Stinks to the max, but what can you do? I was a zombie that first day back, but I survived and now we're all back into the routine--boo.
We had such a great time, and I know we will be back! Hubby is not really a huge beach or snorkeling fanatic like I am, but he likes STJ and is always up for a trip there. This time, though, we felt like we started to get to know people who live there, and he started to fall in love with the island. I knew he was smitten when he said "how soon do you think we could go back?" and "yeah, I guess I could live there for a while!" We love the free-spirited, laid-back mood there, the beauty of the island, and the tranquility of the underwater world. Til next time....
NancyB, Luna Vista is pretty centrally located, a little closer to Coral Bay than Cruz Bay. It is *really* close to the smoothie stand on Centerline if you know where that is, and it is very quick to get to Maho or Francis (5-10 mins.), and just a little longer to get to the other North Shore beaches. We loved the proximity to the beaches since that is where we spend most of our time, but we also went into Cruz Bay a fair amount and that was never a hassle. It's up high so it gets lots of breezes, which is great in August.
Amy - Thanks for the report and pics. Each time I saw a new one I'd want to reply, but then there was another, and another, and another. I had to read them all! I was like an addict, racing through one to get to the next. I'l go back and read them more carefully this time, but it sounds like you had a great trip. Kudos for taking a friend for your son. We're not quite there yet with our 11 year old. My concern is that if the other child did not want to be at the beach everyday, I might have to run him over on my way out the door or at least strap him to the top of the Jeep 