USVI-On-Line

(day three, part 2)

Alone in the back of a safari cab, we sit on the side with the best view for the short ride to Cruz Bay. A new Caneel gatehouse (required by Homeland Security, or so I heard), there's the entrance to the Caneel Hill trail, there's the Caneel overlook, there's Asolare, the Lindt Point trail, and finally Cruz Bay, or should I say Grande Bay with a little Cruz Bay seasoning around the edges (it's big.)

We get dropped off at the ferry dock and I immediately walk up to the spot I've been looking at everyday for the last month. I save the spice cam shot on my iPhone and tweet it.

I'm so lovin' your real-time tales from Caneel. I think I have my hubby talked into staying a few days at Caneel at the end of our trip next year (after we leave the villa). Your daughter is a cutie!

Great report. You have a very cute daughter.

Send more water pictures. It brings back the memory of our last trip.

Hi everyone, especially those we met on Sunday at the Beach Bar. Yesterday was our anniversary so spent my morning with Paula and Isabel. Also another mishap which I'll write about when I get to it.

(day three, part 3)

Paula and I walk through Wharfside to Low Key Watersports to ask about a fin strap fix for my flipper. Last scuba dive I used duct tape, which was less than streamlined. They were all out, so we wondered out to the infamous Beach Bar and found a few chairs at the rail near the bar. Paula ordered a Painkiller while I settled in with my Coke.



An unmistakable part of our view, besides the water and the islands, was a twenty-something woman in a pretty-skimpy bathing suit cleaning one of the dingies from Noah's Little Arks. We both agreed that she must practice in front of a mirror or something, with each pose while she scrubbed. Paula had some eye-candy as well, though he disappeared pretty soon on. The woman may well have been employed by the Beach Bar, for all the conversation it generated around the bar. (I graciously waited for her to leave the scene before taking this photo.)



The food was surprisingly good. I was expecting the usual beach fare. We ordered tuna bites and tuna down as recommended on this forum. Wow .. very tasty (and much better than the same on Sunday, btw).



After lunch, we walked up to Dolphin Market, past the construction (which was non-trivial) and picked up some liquid. LOTS of liquid. I of course was pack mule and my fingers soon became sore from the plastic handles. Also from this forum, Paula decided to try Cruzan citrus and ting, which is now a favorite.

In spite of my throbbing hands, we stopped at St John Spice for some shopping. Paula bought some Grill Rub for friends and I got a shirt, which I'm wearing now and still has that wonderful St John Spice smell to it. I told Ruth on Sunday that it's a real selling point and she told me some people actually complain when they get the shirts in the mail. (so wash it!)



We took a taxi back home to meet Isabel at Turtle Town. She had a few crafts she had made, and was very proud of them. Back to our room, we donned our swimsuits and walked out to the beach. Isabel floated on her snorkel raft (with her floatie) and I pushed her, snorkeling to the reef on the right. We saw tangs, and stingrays, and !! a school of squid !! I yelled for Paula to come out and she looked into Isabel's little raft window to see also. On the way back to beach, we saw a turtle too, which was a big deal for Isabel. We watched for a while, then showered for dinner.

On the tram we ran into Isabel's new friend and her parents. We decided to all have dinner at the Caneel Bar & Grill (photo from breakfast the next day.)



The girls chased each other round and round and round the entrance podium and hung out on the lounge chairs while the adults had some adult talk. This tired the young ones out, thankfully.

Off to the tram, and the room, for more dancing, and then sleep. No wake ups this time!

The little ones are precious! Great reports!

DAY FOUR ... Saturday the 23rd

I throw on some clothes and sneak out with my novel. "Bugging up" (putting on bug spray) has become automatic now. I decide to walk to coffee, which from Hawksnest is about twenty minutes, and beautiful. The path leads past the infamous Cottage 7, where Rockafeller lived, and where both Gore and Mondale stayed just after losing their presidential elections. Recent guests include Brad & Angelina & crew. No celebrity sightings so far.

On the terrace with my coffee, I settle in to write. Note the big toe.



I actually manage to write a page, but it's rough going. The girls join me for breakfast. Isabel meets her friend and runs around a bit. There are more kids today. I bring Isabel to Turtle Town so Paula can do yoga at the Self Centre.

Waiting back at the front desk, I write my trip report. Just as my 30 minute countdown clock nears it's end (the computers have a time limit), Paula joins me. We sign up for "tunings" at the Self Centre from my friend Jan, who owns it. We then stop off at the gift shop so that Paula can buy me some clear nail polish.

Oh yes, I forgot. While snorkeling the day before, with fins, I kept thinking that I shouldn't be doing this with my cracked big toenail. But I ignore this because of squid and turtles and Isabel having fun. With the fins off, I noticed that a flap of toenail lifted up. Yikes! I considered Krazy Glue and duct tape for a while, then Paula suggested we put a few coats of clear nail polish to keep it in place. I grumbled but consented. Later that night at dinner, I whacked it again stupidly and made it worse, prompting me to tape the thing down with a band aid to prevent further damage.

Back at the room, Paula "does my nail" while I sat on the bed, letting it dry between coats. I'm glad to say that when she was done, I had not turned into a girly man after all. My foot looked a little odd, but it was better than that toenail flap blowing in the breeze. We then drift off to sleep until our tunings.

Ah, my time is up. More to come.

Oh man i feel your pain with the toe
Dont worry about the girlie girl thing as i hear it is almost common anymore for guys to wear polish- LOL
No seriously i am enjoying your upto the minute reports

(day four, part 2)

I wake from Paula's watch alarm, feeling like I could sleep forever. I'm up first for the tuning, so I get ready and get the tram, then walk from the front desk to the Self Centre, which is a pretty cool walk. The Self Centre's quite a place, a great view of the Durloe Cays and beyond, about halfway between Caneel and Honeymoon beaches.



I talk with Jan a while. My tuning with her two years ago was the start of our Waveplace work, which she was so instrumental in helping with, particularly on St John. She brings me back to her private treatment room and she checks my "spiritual temperature" ... kidneys and liver, the usual stress stuff. I lay down and listen to the breeze and low music. With my eyes closed she covers me with different colored clothes and puts corresponding scents near my nose. "Turquoise", "Blue", "Indigo", "Violet"

She then starts with the main event. Tuning is like acupuncture, but using tuning forks instead of pins. She works slowing down my spin, hitting the fork, then pressing it against my spine. I can tell where there's a block, since I can't feel the vibrating fork. She can feel it too, since she repeats in that spot, sometimes swapping with another turning fork. Before she moves on, I can feel the tuning fork in that spot. She ends by pulling opposite feet and hands, then the reverse, and more colors ... "Gold", "Red", "Orange".

Afterwards I'm feeling pretty good. Very in my body. I can't say whether tuning really works or not, but the last time I was arguing with my wife before the tuning, and after was pleasant the rest of the trip (so wives, encourage your husbands to try it!)

Paula joins us for her tuning. I walk back to pick up Isabel at Turtle Town, and while I walk I'm very aware of every plant and every bird and anole, etc.

Isabel is excited when I show up. She's made a bracelet for mommy. We go back to the wrong and watch the Wizard of Oz for a while. Paula texts me that she's walking the whole way, apparently in the same nature trance that I was.

Back at the room, Paula teaches Isabela new game, "Pick Up Sticks". It's surprisingly fun. Isabel gets pretty good at it quickly. I wouldn't bet against this one.



Paula and Isabel get in their swimsuits. I'm lagging behind. Outside they meet an Irish family from New York City. Their boy is a year older, and apparently acts just like Isabel. Paula's having fun talking to their parents. I join them after a while, and indeed Dermott, the father, is very funny.

We decide to do the Bar & Grill again, since it's easy. Isabel's a little more cranky than the night before. We make it an early night, with minimal dancing back in the room. Paula's sunburned on her back. She was so concerned getting Isabel's lotion on that she forgot hers.

We read until sleep, and we sleep soundly![/url]

I saw you at Caneel the day we went to Honeymoon and had lunch there. You were walking with a group of folks so I did not stop you to say hello.

Great trip report! We stayed at Caneel two years ago on our honeymoon and thought the property was beautiful. Will will make our 2nd trip to St. John in 3 weeks but will be staying at a villa.

Great report and pics....sort of reminds me of when we brought our first baby to the islands when he was just 3 months old!

Hi everyone, we're back home in Pennsylvania. We had an absolutely wonderful trip.

I'm afraid island time took hold of me, which accounts for the drop off in trip posts. Also my novel, which gobbled up my morning time. Wrote sixteen pages instead of the usual ten, which is a good thing.

I'll be finishing the report soon. Thanks for all your kind words.