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Robin's Trip Report Part 1
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Robin in NC
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 7:19 pm
- Location: Kernersville, NC
Robin's Trip Report Part 1
May 1 finally arrived. I’d been counting the days since – well, since we made the reservations back in June. I’m glad we planned ahead and bought our tickets. With the way the economy hit us, we probably wouldn’t have gone back to St. John this year.
THEN WE COULD HAVE RELAXED INSTEAD OF HAVING TO MAKE SNARKY COMMENTS ON YOUR TRIP REPORT.
Hey! I hoped you’d help me again. Just in case anyone doesn’t know who you are by now, please introduce yourselves.
WE’RE THE FORUM.
I know this format is a little annoying by now, but it’s all I got.
YOU COULD HAVE BOUGHT THE V-I-O-L TRIP REPORT SOFTWARE.
Software?
YEAH, YOU JUST FILL IN THE BLANKS. “ON (DAY) WE WENT TO (BEACH) AND THE WATER WAS (CHOPPY, SMOOTH, WARM, COLD), THEN WE ATE AT (RESTAURANT).” QUICK AND EASY.
Wow, I didn’t know Anthony had anything like that.
OH MAN, YOU ARE SO GULLIBLE. OF COURSE HE DOESN’T. WE JUST MADE THAT UP.
Oh. Good, because most people are much more creative than that. Well, back to the trip report. Let me go into excruciating detail about our travel day.
IF YOU DO, WE’LL KILL YOU. WE’RE SERIOUS.
Getting to the point quickly, then, our flights on Delta (CLT to ATL, ATL to STT) went smoothly. The biggest problem is that I’m a baby magnet.
YOU MEAN A BABE MAGNET?
I wish. No, if there’s going to be a restless, crying, temperamental baby on board, it’s going to be seated near me. I watch the mom walk down the aisle, I see the empty seats around me, and I just know. Three out of four flights this time. I did get noise canceling headphones for Christmas, though, and they really helped.
Anyway, we shipped a couple of boxes ahead, and we needed to get to the Mail Center by 6 p.m. to get them. Our plane arrived at 3:15, so no problem, right?
REMEMBER THAT DEATH THREAT? SPEED IT UP, PAL. OR ELSE.
We rented a Grand Vitara from Dependable on St. Thomas, and that took time. We ran into crazy traffic going through Charlotte Amalie, turns out it was the last weekend of Carnival. I was rushing to make the 5:00 barge, and when we finally reached Red Hook at 4:55, there was no car barge waiting. To make a long story short –
IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL THIS?
The barge finally came. And took forever to load. I’d given up hope of getting there by 6 pm, but then as I saw St. John approaching, I thought we had a slim chance of making it. We rolled off the car barge about 5:58, raced up to the Marketplace – and the Mail Center was still open.
OH, GOOD. HOW COULD YOU HAVE SURVIVED A DAY WITHOUT CHEESE DOODLES AND SHAMPOO?
Hey, I’m only human. We grabbed groceries at Starfish while we were at the Marketplace, then headed across Centerline to meet Karen of Windspree. This was our first time staying in the Coral Bay area after renting in Point Rendezvous our two previous trips.
HOW DID YOU LIKE THE CHANGE?
I’d like to go into some detail…is the death threat still hanging over me?
OH, YEAH. TELL US ANOTHER DAY.
Fair enough. We had a bit of communication problem finding Karen because our cell phones didn’t work, but we finally found her at the Windspree office. She took us up Switchback Hill –
YOU MEAN SEAGRAPE HILL?
What I have written, I have written. We rented Villallure, which has separate North (2BR) and South (3BR) sections. With just two couples, we had the smaller North side. The owner now wants to rent the villa as a whole, and will only rent the North side separately on a last-minute vacancy basis. (The price has been jacked up considerably, too.) But when we booked, you could choose to rent the North side if you had a smaller party.
Villallure sits above Hurricane Hole, and from the far right side you have a nice view of Coral Bay, too. The best thing about the villa is its outdoor living space. There’s a covered dining area in front of the North side, but the South end had comfortable furniture for reading and relaxing. The villa has a pool, though it’s what’s often called a plunge pool. It wasn’t big enough to actually swim in, and it didn’t get a lot of sun, so for us it was a “float pool.” All in all it was sort of like renting a condo, but with privacy and large decks.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT FOR OTHERS?
Well, in off-season the villa now rents for $4300-3BR, $4700-4BR, $5100-5BR. I think that’s a little steep for what it has to offer, especially the limited pool. After I found it and our group liked it, we made a reservation that I later kind of regretted. I think there are better values on the Coral Bay side.
AREN’T YOU THE ST. JOHN DINING BLOG GUY? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO TELL US ABOUT WHERE YOU WENT TO EAT?
I’d planned for us to go to Shipwreck Landing for our first night, but we were all exhausted from our long day that began with a 2:45 am alarm. So we just fixed sandwiches and called it an early night.
SCINTILLATING STUFF.
Yeah, and I couldn’t have done it without your help. The next report will cover Saturday through Monday, and should be a bit more interesting.
GOOD – YOU’VE SET THE BAR PRETTY LOW.
This was our primary view, Hurricane Hole from Villallure:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rY ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/ShawG ... 8.JPG"></a>
The veranda of the South section, which we had access to:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ph ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1TN ... 0.jpg"></a>
Our "float pool":
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/O4 ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1Ta ... 8.jpg"></a>
Our gallery area:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tV ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1cg ... 2.jpg"></a>
The view of Coral Bay from the right side of Villallure:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RX ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1S2 ... 3.jpg"></a>
THEN WE COULD HAVE RELAXED INSTEAD OF HAVING TO MAKE SNARKY COMMENTS ON YOUR TRIP REPORT.
Hey! I hoped you’d help me again. Just in case anyone doesn’t know who you are by now, please introduce yourselves.
WE’RE THE FORUM.
I know this format is a little annoying by now, but it’s all I got.
YOU COULD HAVE BOUGHT THE V-I-O-L TRIP REPORT SOFTWARE.
Software?
YEAH, YOU JUST FILL IN THE BLANKS. “ON (DAY) WE WENT TO (BEACH) AND THE WATER WAS (CHOPPY, SMOOTH, WARM, COLD), THEN WE ATE AT (RESTAURANT).” QUICK AND EASY.
Wow, I didn’t know Anthony had anything like that.
OH MAN, YOU ARE SO GULLIBLE. OF COURSE HE DOESN’T. WE JUST MADE THAT UP.
Oh. Good, because most people are much more creative than that. Well, back to the trip report. Let me go into excruciating detail about our travel day.
IF YOU DO, WE’LL KILL YOU. WE’RE SERIOUS.
Getting to the point quickly, then, our flights on Delta (CLT to ATL, ATL to STT) went smoothly. The biggest problem is that I’m a baby magnet.
YOU MEAN A BABE MAGNET?
I wish. No, if there’s going to be a restless, crying, temperamental baby on board, it’s going to be seated near me. I watch the mom walk down the aisle, I see the empty seats around me, and I just know. Three out of four flights this time. I did get noise canceling headphones for Christmas, though, and they really helped.
Anyway, we shipped a couple of boxes ahead, and we needed to get to the Mail Center by 6 p.m. to get them. Our plane arrived at 3:15, so no problem, right?
REMEMBER THAT DEATH THREAT? SPEED IT UP, PAL. OR ELSE.
We rented a Grand Vitara from Dependable on St. Thomas, and that took time. We ran into crazy traffic going through Charlotte Amalie, turns out it was the last weekend of Carnival. I was rushing to make the 5:00 barge, and when we finally reached Red Hook at 4:55, there was no car barge waiting. To make a long story short –
IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL THIS?
The barge finally came. And took forever to load. I’d given up hope of getting there by 6 pm, but then as I saw St. John approaching, I thought we had a slim chance of making it. We rolled off the car barge about 5:58, raced up to the Marketplace – and the Mail Center was still open.
OH, GOOD. HOW COULD YOU HAVE SURVIVED A DAY WITHOUT CHEESE DOODLES AND SHAMPOO?
Hey, I’m only human. We grabbed groceries at Starfish while we were at the Marketplace, then headed across Centerline to meet Karen of Windspree. This was our first time staying in the Coral Bay area after renting in Point Rendezvous our two previous trips.
HOW DID YOU LIKE THE CHANGE?
I’d like to go into some detail…is the death threat still hanging over me?
OH, YEAH. TELL US ANOTHER DAY.
Fair enough. We had a bit of communication problem finding Karen because our cell phones didn’t work, but we finally found her at the Windspree office. She took us up Switchback Hill –
YOU MEAN SEAGRAPE HILL?
What I have written, I have written. We rented Villallure, which has separate North (2BR) and South (3BR) sections. With just two couples, we had the smaller North side. The owner now wants to rent the villa as a whole, and will only rent the North side separately on a last-minute vacancy basis. (The price has been jacked up considerably, too.) But when we booked, you could choose to rent the North side if you had a smaller party.
Villallure sits above Hurricane Hole, and from the far right side you have a nice view of Coral Bay, too. The best thing about the villa is its outdoor living space. There’s a covered dining area in front of the North side, but the South end had comfortable furniture for reading and relaxing. The villa has a pool, though it’s what’s often called a plunge pool. It wasn’t big enough to actually swim in, and it didn’t get a lot of sun, so for us it was a “float pool.” All in all it was sort of like renting a condo, but with privacy and large decks.
DO YOU RECOMMEND IT FOR OTHERS?
Well, in off-season the villa now rents for $4300-3BR, $4700-4BR, $5100-5BR. I think that’s a little steep for what it has to offer, especially the limited pool. After I found it and our group liked it, we made a reservation that I later kind of regretted. I think there are better values on the Coral Bay side.
AREN’T YOU THE ST. JOHN DINING BLOG GUY? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO TELL US ABOUT WHERE YOU WENT TO EAT?
I’d planned for us to go to Shipwreck Landing for our first night, but we were all exhausted from our long day that began with a 2:45 am alarm. So we just fixed sandwiches and called it an early night.
SCINTILLATING STUFF.
Yeah, and I couldn’t have done it without your help. The next report will cover Saturday through Monday, and should be a bit more interesting.
GOOD – YOU’VE SET THE BAR PRETTY LOW.
This was our primary view, Hurricane Hole from Villallure:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rY ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/ShawG ... 8.JPG"></a>
The veranda of the South section, which we had access to:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ph ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1TN ... 0.jpg"></a>
Our "float pool":
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/O4 ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1Ta ... 8.jpg"></a>
Our gallery area:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tV ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1cg ... 2.jpg"></a>
The view of Coral Bay from the right side of Villallure:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RX ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Qfnovw7ALSA/Sh1S2 ... 3.jpg"></a>
I feel your pain as a babe-magnet. My profile for work travel lists "no screaming babies" in the Other section. 4 out of 5 trips are spend with uncomfortable tikes.
The eye bolts in the roof deck? Those are for the hurricane screen...not that I would know
Great TR! We're waiting for the next installment.
The eye bolts in the roof deck? Those are for the hurricane screen...not that I would know
Great TR! We're waiting for the next installment.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
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piscesgirl0314
- Posts: 598
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:31 pm
- Location: Chesapeake, VA
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Bob & Anita
- Posts: 611
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:20 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC
Bob: Anita, do you remember our very first trip to STJ in '05 when we were on the plane reading that last couple editions of Robin in NC's first trip report?
Anita: Do you mean that funny guy that had us laughing so hard that we were spilling our mimosa's at 6 in the morning as we were waiting to take-off from BWI?
Bob: Yeah yeah, that's the guy - the whole villa gravity thing.
Anita: Those reports were sooo funny, really help kicked off our first STJ trip.
Bob: Well, he is at it again, and can you believe it, just before our coming trip to STJ. It must be a good sign.
Anita: Fantastic, this report has started off great. I can't wait to see his next addition. Sound like Villa Gravity kicked in for them the first night, which is understandable given the view they had.
Bob: I really hope he completes all his editions before we take off. I remember four years ago when I was busy printing off his final editions of his first report the night before we were leaving.
Anita: Do you mean that funny guy that had us laughing so hard that we were spilling our mimosa's at 6 in the morning as we were waiting to take-off from BWI?
Bob: Yeah yeah, that's the guy - the whole villa gravity thing.
Anita: Those reports were sooo funny, really help kicked off our first STJ trip.
Bob: Well, he is at it again, and can you believe it, just before our coming trip to STJ. It must be a good sign.
Anita: Fantastic, this report has started off great. I can't wait to see his next addition. Sound like Villa Gravity kicked in for them the first night, which is understandable given the view they had.
Bob: I really hope he completes all his editions before we take off. I remember four years ago when I was busy printing off his final editions of his first report the night before we were leaving.
Bob & Anita
Fun Report!
As far as airplane seating goes, I make it my mission in life to either sit next to a screaming baby, a kid who likes to kick the back of my seat or breathe down my neck over the top of my head, someone hacking up a lung, someone who definitely skipped his a.m. shower, or tall, dark and eveil wearing a trenchcoat and reading an aircraft operations manual!
Disclaimer:
Yes I had the annoying little kids too and so I sympathize and just smile and roll with it.
As far as airplane seating goes, I make it my mission in life to either sit next to a screaming baby, a kid who likes to kick the back of my seat or breathe down my neck over the top of my head, someone hacking up a lung, someone who definitely skipped his a.m. shower, or tall, dark and eveil wearing a trenchcoat and reading an aircraft operations manual!
Disclaimer:
Yes I had the annoying little kids too and so I sympathize and just smile and roll with it.
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:21 am
- Location: Western NY State
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California Girl
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Pete (Mr. Marcia)
- Posts: 1471
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:48 pm
- Location: Madison, Wisconsin
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Robin in NC
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 7:19 pm
- Location: Kernersville, NC
Whoa, Pete! Really getting into your part! Thanks to everyone for nice comments...Especially since some of you do my favorite trip reports. Becky - so full of great detail about food and sea life...Chrisn - always so much fun...Margo - makes us feel like we want to be right there with you. And Bob and Anita, love how you got into it! Hope you have a wonderful trip!
And Margo, I think I did coin "villa gravity"...I've coined other words too, one reason my wife calls me Professor Cornpone
And Margo, I think I did coin "villa gravity"...I've coined other words too, one reason my wife calls me Professor Cornpone