USVI-On-Line

Where did I leave off? I’m doing this without my journal, so hopefully I won’t screw it up too badly. Most of our trip was about limin’, so there aren’t too many minute details anyhow.

Tuesday morning I woke up at 6:30 a.m. What? I’m on vacation! I’m not a morning person! At all. Anyhow, I was up and at ‘em and ready to conquer the day. All by 7 a.m. I had a cup of coffee and probably stared out the window and pinched myself 16,000 times that morning. I called my mother and pondered aloud about these early wake-up times, and she explained to me that it was because I was rested. And, she was right.

We lounged around the house and finally got up and rolling a little before noon. We stopped at Baked in the Sun to order Sandy’s birthday cake, and we really gave Kim (I think that’s the baker’s name) a run for her money. We went round and round about whether chocolate cake with mango filling would be good (It was.) and what to put on top of the cake. She told us we were too fun for something boring like “Happy Birthday,” so we had her put “64RH,” short for “Six for Red Hook” on top of the cake. We each put $6 in the kitty for the cake, and then headed off to Cinnamon Bay for the day.

We headed through town and up North Shore road to get to the beach. When I say “up,” I mean it, because there was this one hill that we totally underestimated and the Jeep didn’t want to make it. We had to back down (Oh. My. God.) and then give it a good running start to get on up it. There was a blind curve at the top. I’m pretty sure I peed. I am not ever going to be able to drive here, but I sure do love riding around.

Anyhow, we arrived at Cinnamon, and it was very cool. We got a good parking spot, but you have to walk all the way through the campground there. I thought it was cool. If I ever felt like roughing it, one of those cabins would have my name on it. Others in our party were not feeling nearly as adventurous. This is, however, where we made the decision that next year we’d bring our own rolling cooler. It was hard to maneuver three beach bags, 4 beach chairs, a cooler and four noodles through an entire campground.

Cinnamon Bay was my favorite beach on St. John. It is beautiful. Having gotten burned the day before, I picked out a nice spot under a tree, and put out all my equipment. I hopped in the water to cool off, and then headed back to the beach to spend some quality time with my book, Bob Marley and my homemade ½ gallon jug of rum punch slushie. Yum.

It was another day of lazing on a noodle until I was a giant prune and apparently passing out on the beach, because Sandy had a picture of this in our photobucket. This was the first day that we’d met up with them at the beach, and we all six had an absolute blast.

I can’t remember if we stopped for happy hour on the way back to the house or not. The memories are rum-soaked and fuzzy. I’m thinking maybe no, but maybe yes. I’m not sure. Anyhow, Tuesday was our big night out. We all dressed up in our finest outfits (sundresses) and headed to Morgan’s Mango for Lobster Night.

I didn’t realize we were supposed to make a reservation until about 20 minutes before we left. I called, but obviously it was a bit late to start planning (who plans on STJ anyway?!). The lady I talked to on the phone (whom I realized was the owner when we arrived), told us not to worry about it and to get there as soon as we could. We did that, but it was apparently not soon enough, because we had to sit at the bar and drink. Like sitting at the bar drinking mojitos is a bad thing. Seriously now.

Finally we got a table and sat down to peruse the menu. Toma and I split the calamari, which was super yummy. I changed my mind no less than 80,000 times before I ordered. Did I want tuna? Snapper? Coconut shrimp? My favorite – mahi mahi? I ultimately decided on the lobster special which was an entire lobster with filet mignon inside it, and all the trimmings. I tried to take a picture of it to text my brother, but he said it came out fuzzy. And, of course, the ocean ate my camera phone, so no food porn here. Anyhow, it was the most amazing meal ever. I almost forgot that I was paying $63 for it. Whoever got the idea to put a steak in a lobster was brilliant. Let’s give him an award. Tiffany and Toma also got the lobster; Rosalie got the citrus chicken, which also looked pretty good. I’d probably try it on our next visit.

For dessert I got the Key lime pie, but I think I’ve been spoiled by South Florida, because it was just so-so. Honestly, I got a better piece at Skinny’s for half the price. It just wasn’t tart enough for my tastes. I almost died of sticker shock when I got my bill. After apps, drinks, a lobster with a freaking filet inside it and dessert it was $84. I rounded it up to $100 and marveled at spending my whole day’s budget on one meal. However, it was definitely in my top five best meals ever, and I was so stuffed I could barely move.

I’d also heard some less than favorable things about the service at the Mango, and I wanted to say that we had great service. Our waitress went above and beyond, the bartender did a great job mixing the drinks and the owner even came and checked on us.

After dinner we headed back to the villa, and I’m pretty sure we talked for a bit and then went to bed. All I know is that I went to bed thinking that this was the best day of my life and wondering if there’d be any way to top it.

Until tomorrow, I guess…

The next day it was Wednesday. Sandy’s birthday!!!

The only real thing on the agenda was to pick up Sandy’s cake before Baked in the Sun closed at 3, so we decided to do some exploring.

Around 10 a.m. we headed out on South Shore Road toward Rendezvous Bay. If you can’t tell yet, I am a little afraid of some of STJ’s roads. Therefore, even though I knew we could take 104 to Centerline Road on our way out to Coral Bay, I kept that info to myself because it goes straight up around a curve and it scared me. So we drove back into town (which was good because we did a gas check when we passed the station) and then took Centerline out to Coral Bay. It was a nice trip, and I only had about three heart attacks. I thought that was good.

We stopped at Bordeaux Mountain for obligatory picture moments, and Tiffany found a lady to make her some rum punch for two bucks. We got some souvenirs, and I loved that little gift shop in the bend there. Colorful something or other? I got a mango sherbet and apparently the others thought it was funny when I stopped and ate some of it right in the middle of Centerline Road. I got out of the way of that taxi, so I don’t see what the problem was.

Anyhow, we continued our journey to Coral Bay. Wow, it’s totally different out here. We looked around the shops, bought a few things and then sat down at Skinny Legs for Cruzan Melees and cheeseburgers. I kept insisting that Buffett wrote Cheeseburger in Paradise about this place, but they all kept saying something about Key West. OK, but he could’ve written about Skinny’s.

Our waitress, Corinna, was very cool. We also got to spend quite a bit of time shooting the breeze with Moe. Turns out Toma has a friend who used to work at Skinny’s, so she and Moe talked about him. He was so nice. When he mentioned he was going to get a massage, Tiffany asked him where he was going since she wanted to get one while she was here. He ripped a page out of the phone book with numbers circled on it. That’s customer service. (And from then on, massages were known as “Moe-sages” in his honor.)

After Skinny Legs, we decided to continue on to the East End of the island. The day before, a cab driver told Sandy and Lisa that he didn’t recommend going out there. He said there was nothing out there and the roads were really bad. So we debated, but our adventurous side got the best of us. Off we went in search of Vie’s beach.

The roads gave me six more heart attacks, I think. My favorite part was where the road goes straight up and there is ocean on either side. It only gets better when you add a curve to that. Despite the fear, I managed to get out and take a few photos. We saw a sign informing us that we’d left the national park, and then another welcoming us to the East End of St. John. We passed a lot of cool areas, and next time I’ll have to bring Feet, Fins & Four-wheel drive with me, because I’m sure there were beaches that we past that might have been nice.

Anyhow, Vie’s was easy to spot when we got there, but it was all closed up. I’d remembered hearing about an honor box on the fence and helping yourself, but the gate appeared locked. So, our adventure kept on and we continued down the road. I was getting nervous because there was a BIG hill coming up, but luckily the little beach caught their eyes and we stopped for a little bit there.

As you know, I made it my goal to go to the beach everyday, so even though I had clothes on and not my suit, I headed down to the shore. It was a bit rocky, but the water was calm and it was beautiful. I got in up to my knees and we decided that we’d head back with all the gear on another day and spend some time here. I was a little worried that it might belong to someone because there was a little house, a boat moored in the bay and we weren’t in the national park anymore, but I figured if they didn’t want us there, they’d tell us. It wasn’t until we got back that I found out Vie’s family also owns that little beach and they don’t mind if people use it. That’s good.

We finally made our way back to town. We did have to pick up the birthday cake before they closed. Driving past Vie’s, we saw the donkeys (finally!) and I forced them to stop the car so that we could get a picture. I thought they were cute. We also stopped for a quick picture at Hurricane Hole and then continued on our way. When we got to the smoothie stand, we cut up to North Shore road so we could check out Maho. We’d heard good things, and we wanted to see if it was worth putting it on our semi-existent agenda. Tiffany jumped out and said that it looked great, so we planned to return when we weren’t rushing to head to Baked in the Sun.

We stopped and got the cake, along with some candles and a card at Chelsea Drug. We headed back to the house, got the cake ready and then called Sandy and Lisa to tell them to come home. Turns out, they’d made some new boating friends who’d taken them on a day sail for Sandy’s birthday. What an awesome gift! Anyhow, as soon as they hit dry land they headed home. We were in the pool when they got there, so they joined us. Sandy was in the pool when we brought the cake out, candles lit and Stevie Wonder’s version of Happy Birthday playing on the iPod. Sandy looked so surprised. We all sat on the deck and ate this delicious birthday cake.

Finally, we prettied up and headed to The Beach Bar because it was Sandy’s birthday and she wanted to have some tasty adult beverages. Doug-more (not Doug-LAS, get it?) was happy to oblige. Jimmy, the friendly local, bought Sandy and Lisa some birthday shots. While we drank, we ordered a bite to eat. I got tuna bites, which I’m sure surprises everyone.

After The Beach Bar, we headed on to Woody’s, where I drank Blue Motorcycles and finally tried the pasta salad. Yum! Second-favorite food on St. John. We hung around Woody’s because we were meeting up with some locals we’d met the first night there. They finally came, we posed for pictures to be included on the infamous Woody’s Web site and we danced to a few little tunes. This was also the night that Todd (or was it Chad?) yelled at me for standing in the street.

After the fun at Woody’s, we headed to the Quiet Mon. This guy starts talking to Rosalie and I, and all of a sudden we realize that it’s Rosi’s friend Kenny. (Or, “The only Kenny on this island that manners,” as he may have been called.) Anyhow, I told him who I was and he gave me a big hug and from there in, it was VIP treatment. He is such a great guy. This was the night I learned about the strawberry black-out punches: also known as the beginning of the end.

Eventually, we stumbled back to STJ Car Rental to get the Jeep, and I remember going to bed that night well after 1 a.m. Tomorrow Tiffany and Toma have to be on STT at 8 a.m. for a day sail, and I remember something about taking them to the ferry dock. Yuck.

I'm loving your report, lulu! Can't wait to read what you thought of Maho. Sounds like you gals had a fun time. How could you not, right? You were in paradise!

Lovin your reports. Don't remember east end road being that bad thought it was fun. Those donkeys must be pretty common out there. Don't think people liked that I stopped in middle of the road, kept honking at us, probably wasn't a very smart thing to do.

You gals are party animals! Sounds like great fun.

Great reports !!!

Excellent report! Keep it coming and thank you for taking the time.

Good job Lulu - sounds like you gals had a blast!

I noticed that you're leaving in 353 days. Are we going to be just missing each other again?!?

I'm not exactly sure when we're leaving to go down. November 8 or 9 depending on what villa we rent. I'm not sure how many days that is.

It looks like our paths may get a chance to cross this time - we'll be arriving November 3 and leaving November 13.

Lulu, you are a hoot! Thanks for picking up your report.

We are either going 11/8-11/15 or 11/9-11/16 depending on where we stay. Soooo, maybe we'll run into each other this time.

We haven't even gotten to the funny parts of my report yet.

Okay, I'm all caught up and have enjoyed your trip reports. Sounds like one great time!!! Ali~

lulu
great report............the roads are not that bad once you get used to driving them........
it took me about a week once I lived on island.
I promised I will drive when we go next Nov........

Thursday was the only day I got to sleep in, although it wasn’t too late. Toma and Tiffany took the car and left it at St. John Car Rental, and we were going to ride to Cruz Bay with Sandy and Lisa, who were on the way to a day of shopping in Charlotte Amalie.

We dropped our trash at the Dumpster, and then we headed into town. When I jumped out of their little car – I think it was a Suzuki of some sort – the seatbelt wouldn’t fasten when I got back in. Knowing this was the cardinal sin on St. John (and seeing a police officer sitting on the corner itching to give a ticket), I just held my seatbelt across my lap and chest so that we wouldn’t get in trouble. I also crossed my fingers we wouldn’t have an accident. Luckily, the ride from the Dumpster to Courtesy Car Rental is relatively uneventful.

Rosalie and I walked up to the Jeep and put our beach bags and such in the car. We weren’t sure what we were doing while everyone was on STT for the day, but we’d figure something out. No plans, remember? We debated doing the hike, but that would’ve required me to wake up before it started. Oh well, maybe next time. We ended up just poking around Cruz Bay, and I did lots of shopping. I pretty much got all the gifts I still needed to buy, a whole bunch of yummies (for myself, this time) at St John Spice, and we finally met up with Ruth. She’s great. She told me that you were all looking for me (or at least my villa review).

After St. John Spice (or maybe it was before), I ended up in one of the jewelry stores, and I finally found a bracelet that I not only liked, but fell in love with. I didn’t buy it that day, but I did finally get around to ordering it this week, and it should be here any day now. I was pretty much a goner when I tried it on.

We went to tons of shops. I found the cutest St. John t-shirt at Big Planet, and it was on sale! Finally, I decided that I was hungry, and we decided to stop at Woody’s on our way to the car. The fish of the day (fish of the week?) was still mahi-mahi, so I got a grilled sandwich, with my new favorite food, Woody’s pasta salad. Oh, and a lime and coconut.

Our beach of the day was Hawksnest, which was small, but luckily it was not busy. I don’t think we took much more with us than towels, the neat sheet and a book for this visit to the beach. I sat in the water for a while and then got out. It rained for maybe two or three minutes, but I don’t think the sun ever stopped shining. It just cooled us off. It did get cloudy, or maybe it was because Hawksnest gets sun early, but it was still nice to lay on the beach and take a nap, which is what I was doing when the phone rang.

Toma, Tiffany, Sandy and Lisa were at the ferry dock. They’d just gotten back from STT. Rosalie and I loaded up the car and headed off to pick them up at the corner. Rosalie did a pretty good job driving for her first time that day.

We stopped at Starfish and I got the things to make a big dinner – spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. We also got a big bottle of vino. I got dinner ready, and we ate sitting on the veranda while the sun set over St. Thomas. Yet again, we wondered if life got any better than this.

That night, villa gravity was the only thing on the agenda. We had some more wine and sat down to watch Grey’s Anatomy. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep by 8:20. Later in the evening, I woke up from my place on the couch and went to bed. I’d need my rest because we had to be at the ferry bright and early tomorrow so we could go visit Ivan on Jost.