170 miles on STJ with Jillian-conclusion

[Caw954s]

The coral people are at Drunk Bay, an easy hike from Salt Pond. It's a bizarre change of scenery, walking from the calm of Salt Pond to the surreal turbulence of Drunk Bay. Very fun! Make a trip over, next time.
Are you processing your underwater photos through Picassa? The "I'm feeling lucky" button works great with underwater shots.

Ok, next time we will check out the coral people at drunk bay...love that! I bought a bunch of disposable underwater cameras, I had a digital underwater, but it was a friends and I was a little leery of using it in salt water. So, we stuck to the disposable and the shots were not as clear and vivid as yours, mostly blue and kinda washed out. We'll go back maybe in December 2014?? We'll be more prepared next time. What type of camera do you use? An underwater digital?

[betsyv]

Still loving this TR!... Keep it coming...love the photos too!

[mindehankins]

It poured overnight on Monday night, and we were tiring, so we didn’t get on the road until 9:30am. This cost us prime real estate at Miss Vie’s, but we set up on the far left side of the beach and whiled away the morning. At 11:00, we headed over to Miss Vie’s snack shack and enjoyed conch fritters and rice and beans with meat sauce. She had a beautiful orchid blooming:



After our snack, we headed back to the beach, but found that the couple sitting next to us had taken Jillian’s lounger. It left a bad taste in my mouth. It had all of her stuff sitting on it, and was tucked in next to “mine” in “our” sea grape fort. I felt all crabby about it, so we packed up and left. As we headed back toward Cruz Bay, we stopped at Jillian’s every whim and took lots of photos.

She just loved the donkeys of course.



And we saw these ?ducks? in the salt pond across the road. They seemed to be in some sort of formation.



We stopped at Dolphin, where I realized that pulling out is no big deal if you take one of the spots closest to the traffic circle, below the door. Blaine and I always parked near the door, and it was difficult to pull out. No problem if you park in one of the lowest spots!



We were plum out of energy, even the kiddo, so we rested by the pool for the afternoon, made dinner and were dreaming sweetly, not long after dark.

On our last day, Jillian was really hoping to get to try SUP, so we headed to Cinnamon Bay. As always, we were early, and had a pretty empty beach all to ourselves.







The lady working the rentals desk was a sweetheart! She didn’t think that it was a good day for paddle boarding, which disappointed Jillian. But she offered to give her a lesson and let her try it – if she didn’t want to do it, she could bring the board back and there would be no charge. She was very thorough in her instructions, pointed out the reefs, and very patient in her teaching. Jillian had no problem with the board, and paddled around happily but tired before her hour was up. It would be a good idea to try this on the early side of vacation, before exhaustion has set in!









We stayed the day at Cinnamon, reluctant to leave because it was the LAST BEACH!



One last stop at Candi’s ribs ended our last full day on island. We ate here 3 times in 8 days. I guess that says a lot about how we feel about Candi’s!







We went home and packed and lazed around the pool for the evening, heartsick over having to leave St. John, and yet anxious to see our men at home.

We planned to walk around Charlotte Amalie on our departure day, but that didn’t happen. We woke to steady rain. We drove to Courtesy to drop off the jeep and asked for a ride to Connections to leave our luggage so we could hang out in Cruz Bay. Courtesy held our luggage for us at their rental office, instead. The rental receipt said that I'd driven 170 miles, on St. John! I needn't have been worried at all about driving - it was a breeze!

We had a nice breakfast at Deli Grotto, then walked all over town and shopped, dodging the raindrops. We got to see Ruth and meet Curly Spice – he’s SUCH a little doll! Then we ferried and taxi’d and went to the airport early just because I couldn’t think of another plan.

Jillian loved St. John. She’s decided that will be her first big “adult” vacation, and I hope she’ll find as much joy on this little island as I have. I was so very blessed to have this week with her, before she’s completely swept up in her adult life, and am so grateful to Blaine for insisting we go to St. John. I really cannot find the words to express the peace and joy that fills my heart, when I think of the island. Bliss.

[loria]

i have loved reading about your wonderful trip-- i am just sorry that it is over! it sounds like you really had such a great time together. Bliss is the perfect word.

[CBama]

thanks Minde.....so glad you had a great time.....really enjoyed your reports......

[Xislandgirl]

What a great report! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

[michigancouple]

Thanks for taking us along on your 170 miles! Great report.
We've never tried Candies ribs. We had Uncle Joe's last trip. Maybe we'll try Candies this time.

[lazylane]

Great report, Minde! Will have to give Candi's a try, prices look great too!!

[SandyPants]

Beautiful trip report--thank you so much! You are my hero for driving 170 miles---just out of curiosity, did you do it on one tank of gas?

[mindehankins]

Candi's ribs are fantastic! That's always our first night's supper and we usually go at least one other time. Easy parking, huge portions, her fries are thick and crispy, and her coleslaw is SO good. And you can NOT beat an $11 dinner! They're very friendly there, too. Just a great place.

Sandypants, we got below 1/2 tank sometime in the middle of the trip, and I filled it back up. There's only one gas station on island, and it's in Cruz Bay. We spend alot, maybe MOST, of our time on the other side of the island, and you don't want to run out of gas! So I'd say we used 1 3/4 tanks, but we drove alot.

[PaminMaine]

Nice trip report Minde! It looks like you had a fabulous time with your daugther. Your water photos are beautiful, what kind of camera did you use?

[mindehankins]

We used a Canon D10. We seem to be one of the lucky ones who are getting lots of use out of it without it pooping out! I'm grateful for that!

[GotToGetAway]

What an absolutely sweet and wonderful trip report! Thanks for sharing Minde!

[cocosmom]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories. You said you spend most of your time on the other side of the island, just wonder why you haven't stayed there? Gathering info for whenever we can afford to return.

[Lindy]

Awww Minde, what a great trip!! STJ is MY bliss too.....Hubby just doesn't "get" that. Don't get me wrong - he LIKES it, but doesn't want to go there all the time. I'd be perfectly happy to spend every vacation there! Every time I go I find something new to delight me. My girlfriend says the island has good "energy" and normally I roll my eyes at her crunchy granola viewpoints but that one I totally agree with!