USVI-On-Line

Hi everyone, we arrived on STJ yesterday and I'll try to write my trip report in fits and starts while we're here. My morning ritual is to get my coffee, find a view, and write a page a day of my novel, which takes place in the Virgin Islands, before my wife Paula and daughter Isabel join me for breakfast. If you see lengthy morning posts, it means I'm ignoring my novel, or they got up early!

You can also follow along on my twitter feed, which will have iphone snapshots and short updates:

http://twitter.com/teefal

First quick impressions ... it feels like coming home, though it's cooler and darker, both the water and the sky. Things look greener than the photos of last month. The mosquitos haven't seemed that bad so far, but they are more of them than in years past. Put on your bug spray before you go out!

Sounds like you left your pre-trip worries (bugs, water, etc.) behind. Have a great trip!

Hi Pia ... Glad to almost see you .

We definately will be there Sunday.

DAY 1 .. Wednesday the 20th

Newark airport hotel room, 5am: Paula lurches up in the dark. "Tim, did you set the alarm?"

"Yes."

"What time?"

"6:30". She falls back asleep and of course I can't. I read "Off the Beaten Track" in the tub, then pack my bag by sense of touch. These girls can sleep through anything.

Later the trip to the gate is easy. We run into our friend Jan, who lives on island, though she missed mosquito week. On the plane, Isabel asks to pee four times. I think she likes the little bathroom (she's three and a half).

We land on St Thomas, with Isabel all excited looking out the window. She actually swallows and yawns when asked (for her ears), which is a first.

(day 1, part 2)

At baggage claim, we check in at the Caneel room. Bring our bags over and then (joy of joy) we don't have to worry about them until unpacking. Some things in life are magnified ... having someone else worry about our bags when sheparding a three year old while traveling is one of them.

They put us on a taxi to Charlotte Amalie. We've got about an hour till the Caneel ferry. Jewelry store, jewelry store, jewelry store. (no, no, no) "Wanna cab?" every five minutes. (no) Paula finds some cute clothes (sloop jones ... We'll have to visit on STJ). Isabel spots her first anole, after which lizard hunting becomes a big priority.



The ferry was a blast. They serve Paula a rum punch and me & Isabel fruit punches. Someone needs to explain why a paper napkin can keep a plastic cup on a table through through lurching seas. We sit in the very back, where Isabel watches the wake for half an hour. She's in a trance.

I go up top and look for St John. There she is!



And there's some weird vertical cruise ship or something ... ah they finished Sirenusa. Hard to believe the concrete looked better.

We pass Cruz Bay and dock at Caneel. Our greeter hands cool towels to each of us as we step to the dock. Isabel is very impressed with this, and wipes her face and arms carefully. Our greeter (also Paula) drives us to our room in a golf cart. She's able to skip her usual orientation because we've been twice before. We get room 113 again, which is where we stayed both times (we requested). Walking into the same room, the room where 6 month Isabel ate her first solid food, where we danced every night when she was 1.5 years old, really felt like coming home.

Inside there was champagne for our anniversary (for Paula) and beach toys for Isabel. Immediately, Isabel starts pestering to go to the beach.

(day 1, part 3)

We put on our lovingly crafted "Caneel Three" playlist and all of us dance around the room while we unpack and Paula drinks champagne (they also chilled some sparkling apple cider for me ...nice touch.)

We suit up for the beach, just steps outside our door, and I bring everything but bug spray. Since landing, it's been a topic of conversation, with me saying "more" and Paula shrugging it off. I'd done my arms and legs but not under my shirt, which on the beach came off. I was there one minute before I realized my mistake. Stuck with a little digging happy girl near the water's edge who Would Not Budge and a happy nesting champagne girl still inside, all I could do was swat, swat, swat. Paula came out with the spray five minutes later. I later learned I'd gotten seven bites in that short time.

Isabel played with the sand and the ants and these scary looking red bugs. Paula did her beach chair thing for a while. I dove in to Hawksnest Bay and looked at that wonderful view, surrounded with St John magic.

It was probably the travel and the mosquitos and the dark sky and water (it had clearly rained a while), but I didn't yet feel that "click."

High acceptance, low expectation, I told myself. The problem with looking forward so much to a trip is that sometimes it makes it harder to Be Here when you get here.

I went inside and showered before the girls and was basically a sack of wet laundry while we got ready for dinner. Isabel was clearly having the greatest time.

We rode the Caneel tram to the Equator restaurant, taking a chance on no reservations. We got a table by the rail, and ate in a haze. The view was kinda cloudy, my mood was kinda cloudy. The jerk-spice chops were great, but we signed before dessert.



Near the table, an anole appeared, making Isabel's night. He did a few pushups to intimidate us and disappeared. Isabel needed to go on the hunt, so after a pee trip (no anoles in the bathroom ... Everything is a negotiation with this one), we walked one by one down the long stair looking for lizards.

After signing up for kids club the next day, we rode the tram to our room, danced a little more (jai ho!) and thankfully all fell asleep before ten.

Good news about my bites ... The didn't itch at all.

DAY TWO .. Thursday the 21st

Woke absolutely refreshed. What a difference a good sleep makes, especially on comfy, comfy beds. I get ready in the near dark, with only murmurs from the girls, then slip out with my novel pad for coffee on the terrace.

Walking to the tram stop, it rains a little. It's then that I feel it for the first time ... tropical timelessness, each bird call and palm rustle. My sense of time is gone for the moment. I ride the tram with only the driver for company, taking in Caneel's grounds and remember the round-and-round rhythm of the tram, the familiar views, the donkeys, deer, and flowering trees.

I get coffee at the Caneel beach bar and bring upstairs to the terrace and take a seat under the little roof. Looking out past moored boats at St Thomas beyond, I drink in the view while I sip my coffee. After a good while, I open my novel pad and title the page, the first ink on this pad since I was last in this exact spot two years ago.

I read the 15 pages as warmup (which follow another 50 written earlier). After reading, I'm feeling too lazy to make a start and decide to let things marinate while I go to the little computer room next to the front desk to read these forums and write the first post in this topic.

Soon Paula and Isabel join me and we go to the Caneel breakfest buffet (which is now complimentary), which has a wonderful selection, particularly of juices. I load my plate down with french toast, hash browns, bacon, and fruit, and I get both soursop and tamarind juice. Breakfast is the usual goofy negotiation to get Isabel to eat, though the bacon and the juice are helping quite a bit. We finish and ride the tram to "Turtle Town", which is the complimentary kid's club. We've opted for a 9 to 4 full day so Paula and I can remember what it's like to be ourselves.

What follows is essentially the perfect first day. We sit and talk at the bench at Turtle point, looking out at the Durloe Cays.



We shop for a while in the gift shop, then both get massages and then both take naps until it's time to pick Isabel up. Why is it naps on vacation are so much more restful than naps at home? I just sink into the sheets more.

We pick up Isabel who's had a blast playing with Miss Ivy and Miss Gloria and the other kids, then go to the 4pm afternoon tea at the Turtle Bay estate house. Caffeine and sugar are a great idea at afternoon. We munch down a while and then Isabel spots dem mongoose. There's no stopping her from dropping bits of cookie on the ground to watch the mongoose sneak up and steal them. I'm guessing this particular mongoose has already been acclimated to the afternoon sugar diet, since he knows the angles. Seems like a pro.

Walking back to the room, we sneak up on a very tame fawn with her mother nearby. Neither budge as we get within three feet.



We change into swimwear for our afternoon swim. Today we try the snorkle raft and Isabel's life vest, which both are a big hit. I snorkle around Hawksnest Bay a while, without flippers, and see a sting ray, some trumpet fish, but not much more.

Back to the room for showers and dancing, then dinner at the "Caneel Beach Bar & Grill" (renamed), which is much more comfortable than the Equator the night before (though it was probably my own mood).



Paula has her first Painkiller on the trip, and Isabel has her first chocolate milk (with water chaser)




Isabel has lots of fun running round and round in circles with another three year old girl named Colette, and then I lure her away from the table with promises of another lizard hunt.

We tram our way back to the room and fall asleep before ten.

Love your up to the minute reports
I also Love when you all make a point to dance in your room together as a family That is very cool

Awww sweet! We're getting to vicariously vacation at Caneel

following your tweets and updates here...a delightful family...may your good times keep coming

What a great report -- the perfect preparation for our first stay at Caneel!

DAY THREE .. Friday the 22nd

Isabel wakes at 4am and through my sleeping haze I hear "Daddy, daddy". Her crib is about a foot from where I'm sleeping, and she can see me through the bars. "I'm hungry. I want something."

What she wants is no mystery, since we introduced her to her first Snickers two nights earlier as a treat. She wants Snickers but doesn't yet know the name. Ordinarily I'd have got her a tiny bit just so I could go back to sleep, but last night before bed, Painkiller Paula remembered the joy of Snickers and finished off the whole thing. "We can buy another at the store," she said smiling before devouring it.

So I get the trail mix back, which has some M&Ms in it. This quickly becomes more of an enterprise as she searches past the nuts, looking for her something. Note to self ... force-feed her at dinner After a while, I "change shifts" and let Paula placate for a while. Miraculously I get back to sleep.

We all wake late because of the early morning interruption, which means I miss my novel & coffee. One of the best things about Caneel is walking. They've got paths all over, which is one of the main reasons we chose Caneel over villas, there's running room for our little girl (and no precipitous drops). The free childcare, room on the beach, and dramatic savings also helped synch the deal.

We decide to walk together to breakfast.



We're starting to get into a routine now. High chair for Isabel (still, to keep her in place), Paula gets fruit and juices, I get my hot plate. The Caneel breakfast buffet is a wonderful thing (making me hungry as I type this waiting for them).

Seems everyone knows Isabel's name already, which always happens. Some remember her from two years ago, which impresses me, given the number of kids who must come through this place.

Paula leaves to drop her off at Turtle Town while I add photos to an earlier post in this topic. I grab Isa's day bag and join them at Turtle Town. Isabel's doing the "separation anxiety" act with Paula. Wehear stories of their time together yesterday. Gloria and Ivy really seem to like Isabel, but pretends not to now so we won't leave. We sneak out.

Back to our room, we hit the beach. Here's the view from our room:



Paula's reading "Twilight" at my suggestion. She was dubious at first, thinking it was for middle school girls. I said, "Try it, I hear it grabs you." Apparently I was right. She's so engrossed she won't talk to me. I read more Off the Beaten Track, swim a little, and go back inside for a nap.

Ah, wait. Forgot the event of the day. While I was lining up the beach chairs, I really whacked my big toe and cracked the nail. A little blood, but not bad at first. Just two sides of a rectangle, nail still connected. More on this later.

I wake from my nap and I'm surprised that Paula's still outside. She's addicted to this book. We'd planned to take taxi into Cruz Bay, have lunch, and get some groceries. In another hour, she reaches "a stopping point" and we take the tram to the taxi stand.