Day 8: Jost Van Dyke, Donkeys & the Lime Inn
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:39 pm
Day 8: Jost or Bust, Baby Donkeys & Gram & Flipper Escape for dinner
I can't believe it is already Day 8! Where is the time going! This is another reason whenever possible I try to do 10 days or so. 7 nights is just NOT enough for me, but I am selfish.
When we asked Gram to join us on the trip, visions of a day trip sans kids started dancing in my head. She happily agreed to hang at the house for the day while Mr. Flip-Flop and I took the ferry to Jost with Gromit, Mr. Gromit, Cousin Gromit and some forum friends, Traci from WI, her hubs Juice (FUNNNNY guy), her son Alex and Pia and LMG! SO FUN!
We wanted to make sure we were not late so we arrived in Cruz Bay around 7:30, parked at Sutton's lot and headed to the Dock (Not the regular dock, the other one). With a little time to kill, Gromit, Mr. Gromit and my hubby decided to go hit Deli Grotto for some sustenance.
Soon we were all set with our tickets and on our way.
Bye for now St. John
The ferry ($60 RT) leaves from STJ at about 8:30 ish. By the time we got to Jost and cleared customs it was about 10ish. The ferry ride itself was a quick 40 minutes or less but the process of buying tickets, boarding, etc took some time. Gromit & Hubby were spending the night on Jost at Ivan's but the rest of us were just going for the day.
At this point I was giddy just from not having someone under 7 sitting on my lap!
And LMG & Pia were having fun too!
And before we knew it we were there.
Gromit & LMG had each arranged for a car for the day on Jost and so we waited ... and waited ... and eventually got cell service and called and soon our car came. Um, yeah, it was not so much going to fit the 5 of us. It was TEENY TINY. So new arrangements and re-arrangements were made and the bulk of us waited while they headed off to the rental office to get different cars.
In the end, we had a great roomy ride.
In typical Jost fashion, the rental folks were dropping off a car at the ferry for someone coming in on the 10 o'clock ferry. Their car was early, ours was late, it all evens out! Also in typical, Jost fashion, wWhile we waited the cabbie who had taken his load of folks to the beach and returned by this time, entertained us with singing and the playing of musical instruments. It was hilarious! He was the sweetest guy! And where else are you gonna find a cab driver with a triangle and tamborine in his truck? What else do you need? COWBELL. That's what. Tracy took his information and pledged to send him some more instruments! It was awesome and the best way to kill time ever.
Our first order of business, once the car situation was sorted, was to head to Soggy. Knowing our good friends, VICKIH & Matt had left us painkillers that needed to be claimed!
LMG says hi to Mic and gets a HUGE smile and a hug. You would think they were related!
And we set to finding our drinks! We take our painkillers VERY seriously.
SUCCESS!!! Thanks VICKI & MATT!
Juice decides to give the game a try and, this may be the painkillers remembering, gets it hooked the very first try!
Flip-Flop hits the hammock (dismount could have been difficult but I was still on the first painkiller)
Flip & Gromit
As soon as we hit Soggy Dollar everyone instantly mellowed and we just took in the scenery and enjoyed our time.
Mr. Flip-Flop aka the Sherpa became the Cabana Boy and happily fetched painkillers for me!
As much as I ADORE my kids, it was pure bliss to have a day to relax and enjoy with no one eating my food, crying, crawling in my lap or asking me to rinse sand out of cracks and crevices!
Soon we were getting hungry so we paid it forward and left a few drinks for the next VIOL folks to visit (Please look for them if you are going soon!) and headed off to Sidney's Peace and Love for lunch as we have a few with a craving for some lobster.
On the way there we made a pit stop at Foxy's. I was searching for a shirt Gromit had purchased last year but they were all gone, sadness set in, until I found a suitable replacement - a cute as can be white with navy lettering thin and soft hoodie. One of the few "Things" I actually bought this trip! Feeling better we were off again to Sidney's, for real this time!
We put in our orders. You write it down yourself and then eventually someone comes and gets them and sets to making your lunch. While we were waiting for food we made a visit, or two, or 8, to the honor bar!
While we were waiting to eat (and hitting the honor bar again) my hubby decided to give up his shirt to leave a little legacy behind!
Gromit Embellishing my signing with Flip-Flops
The finished product
A table full of trouble!
We had the most amazing, laid back time. A bunch of folks from totally different worlds relaxing and becoming friends. I swear it felt like I'd known Pia, LMG, Traci & Juice for my whole life. It was great! This was the first time I had really hung out for any amount of time with forum folks. I'd said hello to Ruth before and tried to stalk Pia in the past (unsuccessfully) but never spent any amount of time with relative strangers. I have to say the Beach Bar Gathering, the HOneymoon beach day and the trip to Jost were definitely some of the highlights of the trip.
Our adorable shutterbug!
Soon the food arrived and we were moved inside to the a/c to avoid attacting flies. I did not partake of the lobster that many had, but it looked amazing. I fear I have a lobster (esp lobster + alcohol) intolerance so I refrained but DAMN it looked good. I think it was $35.
Mr. Flip-Flop had the fish sandwich ($10 I think)
Cousin Gromit went for the lobster salad sandwich
I had the BBQ Chicken ... fell off the bone. Delicious!
And the amazing lobster which came with sides of beans and rice and mashed potatoes and something else (can't remember - again, I blame the honor bar) to share.
I think our youngin' summed it up best.
Before we knew it, it was time to pack it in and head back to the ferry
Fastest day ever!
Bye Jost
I absolutely adore the vibe of this island. This was our 2nd trip over to Jost, the first was on a day sail, and I enjoyed it more and felt like we got to see more of it on this day. The ferry schedule is pretty tight and makes the day seem SOOOOO short, but in all honesty considering we had to get back to the kids and relieve gramma it worked out perfectly for us.
We made the ferry trip back to STJ and all went smoothly and painlessly. we hopped in the car and headed back to Coral bay.
On the road up to our house we saw the CUTEST babies...one so skinny
And one fuzzy one.
And one EXTREME closeup
We got filled in on the day at the house - POOL TIME, Playtime, Lunchtime, Naptime - and relaxed for a few minutes before Gram & I set off to Cruz Bay for some shopping and a mama & daughter dinner.
We hit mongoose junction and decided to grab dinner at the Lime Inn, one of my favorites. We hadn't been there in a couple of trips so we decided to give it a try.
Gram had the ribeye (I think she was a little jealous of my ribeye the night prior at Zozo's) and I had the shrimp and scallops and we shared. Maybe we were just really thirsty but the iced tea was AMAZING, freshly brewed with mint. YUM. Very refreshing. We finished our meal with a slice of key lime pie! Perfection. Sorry no food porn!
We were pretty tired so we headed back the to house, relaxed and talked a bit and then everyone headed to bed.
Tomorrow: Gibney, Pool, Dinner at Sweet Plantains (FINALLY!)
I can't believe it is already Day 8! Where is the time going! This is another reason whenever possible I try to do 10 days or so. 7 nights is just NOT enough for me, but I am selfish.
When we asked Gram to join us on the trip, visions of a day trip sans kids started dancing in my head. She happily agreed to hang at the house for the day while Mr. Flip-Flop and I took the ferry to Jost with Gromit, Mr. Gromit, Cousin Gromit and some forum friends, Traci from WI, her hubs Juice (FUNNNNY guy), her son Alex and Pia and LMG! SO FUN!
We wanted to make sure we were not late so we arrived in Cruz Bay around 7:30, parked at Sutton's lot and headed to the Dock (Not the regular dock, the other one). With a little time to kill, Gromit, Mr. Gromit and my hubby decided to go hit Deli Grotto for some sustenance.
Soon we were all set with our tickets and on our way.
Bye for now St. John
The ferry ($60 RT) leaves from STJ at about 8:30 ish. By the time we got to Jost and cleared customs it was about 10ish. The ferry ride itself was a quick 40 minutes or less but the process of buying tickets, boarding, etc took some time. Gromit & Hubby were spending the night on Jost at Ivan's but the rest of us were just going for the day.
At this point I was giddy just from not having someone under 7 sitting on my lap!
And LMG & Pia were having fun too!
And before we knew it we were there.
Gromit & LMG had each arranged for a car for the day on Jost and so we waited ... and waited ... and eventually got cell service and called and soon our car came. Um, yeah, it was not so much going to fit the 5 of us. It was TEENY TINY. So new arrangements and re-arrangements were made and the bulk of us waited while they headed off to the rental office to get different cars.
In the end, we had a great roomy ride.
In typical Jost fashion, the rental folks were dropping off a car at the ferry for someone coming in on the 10 o'clock ferry. Their car was early, ours was late, it all evens out! Also in typical, Jost fashion, wWhile we waited the cabbie who had taken his load of folks to the beach and returned by this time, entertained us with singing and the playing of musical instruments. It was hilarious! He was the sweetest guy! And where else are you gonna find a cab driver with a triangle and tamborine in his truck? What else do you need? COWBELL. That's what. Tracy took his information and pledged to send him some more instruments! It was awesome and the best way to kill time ever.
Our first order of business, once the car situation was sorted, was to head to Soggy. Knowing our good friends, VICKIH & Matt had left us painkillers that needed to be claimed!
LMG says hi to Mic and gets a HUGE smile and a hug. You would think they were related!
And we set to finding our drinks! We take our painkillers VERY seriously.
SUCCESS!!! Thanks VICKI & MATT!
Juice decides to give the game a try and, this may be the painkillers remembering, gets it hooked the very first try!
Flip-Flop hits the hammock (dismount could have been difficult but I was still on the first painkiller)
Flip & Gromit
As soon as we hit Soggy Dollar everyone instantly mellowed and we just took in the scenery and enjoyed our time.
Mr. Flip-Flop aka the Sherpa became the Cabana Boy and happily fetched painkillers for me!
As much as I ADORE my kids, it was pure bliss to have a day to relax and enjoy with no one eating my food, crying, crawling in my lap or asking me to rinse sand out of cracks and crevices!
Soon we were getting hungry so we paid it forward and left a few drinks for the next VIOL folks to visit (Please look for them if you are going soon!) and headed off to Sidney's Peace and Love for lunch as we have a few with a craving for some lobster.
On the way there we made a pit stop at Foxy's. I was searching for a shirt Gromit had purchased last year but they were all gone, sadness set in, until I found a suitable replacement - a cute as can be white with navy lettering thin and soft hoodie. One of the few "Things" I actually bought this trip! Feeling better we were off again to Sidney's, for real this time!
We put in our orders. You write it down yourself and then eventually someone comes and gets them and sets to making your lunch. While we were waiting for food we made a visit, or two, or 8, to the honor bar!
While we were waiting to eat (and hitting the honor bar again) my hubby decided to give up his shirt to leave a little legacy behind!
Gromit Embellishing my signing with Flip-Flops
The finished product
A table full of trouble!
We had the most amazing, laid back time. A bunch of folks from totally different worlds relaxing and becoming friends. I swear it felt like I'd known Pia, LMG, Traci & Juice for my whole life. It was great! This was the first time I had really hung out for any amount of time with forum folks. I'd said hello to Ruth before and tried to stalk Pia in the past (unsuccessfully) but never spent any amount of time with relative strangers. I have to say the Beach Bar Gathering, the HOneymoon beach day and the trip to Jost were definitely some of the highlights of the trip.
Our adorable shutterbug!
Soon the food arrived and we were moved inside to the a/c to avoid attacting flies. I did not partake of the lobster that many had, but it looked amazing. I fear I have a lobster (esp lobster + alcohol) intolerance so I refrained but DAMN it looked good. I think it was $35.
Mr. Flip-Flop had the fish sandwich ($10 I think)
Cousin Gromit went for the lobster salad sandwich
I had the BBQ Chicken ... fell off the bone. Delicious!
And the amazing lobster which came with sides of beans and rice and mashed potatoes and something else (can't remember - again, I blame the honor bar) to share.
I think our youngin' summed it up best.
Before we knew it, it was time to pack it in and head back to the ferry
Fastest day ever!Bye Jost
I absolutely adore the vibe of this island. This was our 2nd trip over to Jost, the first was on a day sail, and I enjoyed it more and felt like we got to see more of it on this day. The ferry schedule is pretty tight and makes the day seem SOOOOO short, but in all honesty considering we had to get back to the kids and relieve gramma it worked out perfectly for us.
We made the ferry trip back to STJ and all went smoothly and painlessly. we hopped in the car and headed back to Coral bay.
On the road up to our house we saw the CUTEST babies...one so skinny
And one fuzzy one.
And one EXTREME closeup
We got filled in on the day at the house - POOL TIME, Playtime, Lunchtime, Naptime - and relaxed for a few minutes before Gram & I set off to Cruz Bay for some shopping and a mama & daughter dinner.
We hit mongoose junction and decided to grab dinner at the Lime Inn, one of my favorites. We hadn't been there in a couple of trips so we decided to give it a try.
Gram had the ribeye (I think she was a little jealous of my ribeye the night prior at Zozo's) and I had the shrimp and scallops and we shared. Maybe we were just really thirsty but the iced tea was AMAZING, freshly brewed with mint. YUM. Very refreshing. We finished our meal with a slice of key lime pie! Perfection. Sorry no food porn!
We were pretty tired so we headed back the to house, relaxed and talked a bit and then everyone headed to bed.
Tomorrow: Gibney, Pool, Dinner at Sweet Plantains (FINALLY!)
