First Look Part 3 (the end)
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:04 am
Sorry for the delay....
Here is the 3rd and the final part of our ‘First Look’ of USVI.
Day 7— St Thomas
So we have now been here for 6 days and no real shopping. The girls were ready to go! There was a cruise ship in and we headed downtown. I really don’t have much to report as I am not that interested in the shopping. Although I will say the alleyways were cool with the brick and windows covers. A couple of examples.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NR ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn873 ... 7.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EP ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn88I ... 8.JPG"></a>
So after a morning of shopping we head back to the condo for a late lunch. We decided to continue the shopping over at St John and have dinner. So we take the people ferry over. While on the ferry, we start discussing if turtles will come into this area with the ferries. I was thinking well they could, but I would think they would just avoid the area because of the boat traffic. Not more than a minute later, my daughter say hey look, there is a turtle and son of a gun, there is a turtle! By the time I get the camera ready, he is gone. So I bet my daughter that she could not find another turtle or even the same one again. An you guessed it, in 3 or so minutes, there he is. This time camera ready!
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2B ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn88Y ... 2.JPG"></a>
Over St John , we walk around in Cruz Bay, stop at Woody for a happy hour drink—good prices! And hang outside. We then walk up to Mongoose Junction. Walk around there and stop at the tap room. Had root beer from the tap for 99 cents and root beer floats for 4bucks. It was crowded but got a couple of root beers for the girls and a couple of draft beers for us and head outside. Was a nice little thing going on. So now we are getting hungry and because we all love Mexican food, we decide lets go to Margaritas Phils. We get the big margarita, which wasn't that good. The food there was average. Nothing was bad, we all generally liked it, but we didn’t think anything stood out. I would eat there again, but would look for another place first. We head back on the ferry and the girls say, wow we did not get into the water today at all. So hey, tonight would be great for night snorkeling. We go for it!
I bought some Pelican flashlights online, they were pretty good. Was happy with them. So we head out, it was fun, but we did not see anything we did not see during the day. And in reality, many of the small fish were close to shore and seemed to be in a total panic if you flashed the light on. After a bit, we started feeling bad for the fish..and again, we were not in the right spot(didn't go over the reef) to see anything cool and we decided to leave the fish alone. Then hit the pool before going back in! the cool thing at Sapphire resort, the pool does not close. So you can enjoy a late night swim if you would like.
Day 8: Sapphire Beach—again
We are ready for another full day on the beach. We go out for a snorkel and then back on the beach and the kids head to get the floats. Now I have heard folks seeing turtles at sapphire and was thinking I want to see them here, but the only place folks I know saw them was way out on the point. I was not comfortable going out that far, one I don’t use fins and two no one was interested in going that far with me. I remembered seeing some grass on the 2nd day hanging out but we didn’t see anything. I decide to try again. Not a far swim at all—maybe 40 yards. And yep, there they are! I see 2. Get excited and go get the girls. They immediately want to go. We head out and find them again…we found 4 in total! AWESOME!
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ee ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89B ... 5.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PZ ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89P ... 2.JPG"></a>
with the zoom lens out
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DP ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89h ... 2.JPG"></a>
Almost my in and out of water picture
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/s5 ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89q ... 2.JPG"></a>
On the way back in we hit the reef on the far left and see a moray eel—double cool.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HW ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89z ... 3.JPG"></a>
Overall, Sapphire is a great snorkel beach and we really liked it!
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pC ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn896 ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn895 ... 9.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZV ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89_ ... 7.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J5 ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-F ... 5.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eB ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-J ... 6.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KQ ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-s ... 5.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ht ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-u ... 0.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Xr ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-4 ... 7.JPG"></a>
Day 9: St John
We decided a day or so ago, we were going to head to St John for a full day again. We get up and catch the 8am ferry. We bought the round trip ferry on the Roanoke (There is a reason I mention this). We decided we are going back to Waterlemon and swim around the island. After confirming previous posts—this is where we want to go. We walked around to save the swim. We head out and my daughter asked for the underwater camera which I give her. She comes back and says there is something wrong and she sees water in the case. I quickly panic and raise the camera out of the water and start heading for shore. We are not out that far. I peek up and see water in the case, my heart sunk. I knew this would not be good. As I get onto shore, I see that the camera strap was not tuck all the way in when I put it in the case, but still shut it. Ugh! The camera was on and salt water was about 1/2inch deep. The camera froze with the lens extended. So I took out the battery and card, laid it on a rock knowing it was a goner. So swimming back out to meet everyone I yell at myself and try to get my frustration out. I am fairly successful as I am able to enjoy this really cool snorkel. I have to say this has got to be one the prettiest, varied snorkels we have ever taken. We saw 2 turtles, a very big ray, squid, and tons of other fish.
When we get back I look at the camera again, and pronounce it dead. My wife without missing a beat says, well, I guess we have to buy a new and get back out here to do this snorkel again! This is what I needed to hear. We will be back and I will do this again.
We decided to try out Cinnamon bay.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/i_ ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9AV ... 9.JPG"></a>
Boy the sand is so fine and soft, which turn out not to be such a great thing. So we had our lunch then took a walk along the beach. As we are walking we see a ray swim by. After we get back, we head into the water…and like the other beaches, it is great! Having a great time, then another ray swims by us as we are in the water. Somehow, I am the only one who thinks this is cool! The girls now don’t want to touch the sand in the water! So the are hanging on me, all 3 of them! After a bit of this(it was fun) , we head in. This is where the sand becomes an issue. The winds pick up. Our neat sheet has a bunch of sand on it and the sand starts flying and pelting you. So, after taking on a few shots of sands to th body we decide to move on. Where to next? Well, we decided we are up for a drive, get off the beach a bit. We have spent a ton of time on the beach overall and sounds like a good time to explore. We headed over to Coral Bay to find donkeys. And success
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/d2 ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9BE ... 9.JPG"></a>
And goats
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5h ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9Ax ... 8.JPG"></a>
Coral Bay
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/If ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9BL ... 3.JPG"></a>
Instead of waiting for the 7pm ferry, we take the 5pm ferry. We grabbed a couple beers knowing we are at least 30 minutes early for the ferry. The line is long. No way we all fit on this ferry, this is where buying the round trip ticket comes in handy. They send a guy out asking to see if you have a ticket. Several cars were told to pull off to the side thankfully for us. We got moved ahead because we had the roundtrip ticket. We were able to get onto the ferry and they somehow fit 5 more cars on. But not before they ask me to move to the left some more. I look and there is about 8 inches between cars and I got to move over? Yikes, somehow I do enough and that little bit seems to help get another car on. Man, they are good.
Get back to Sapphire and hit the beach one last time! Ahhh.
Leaving Day----we do manage to hit Sapphire beach in the morning before heading to the airport. Was nice, but sad as well.
We get to the airport and all the computers are down! Ugh. We are in line for over 2 hours! Good thing I bought rum ahead of time, we are literally rushed through and run to the plane. Flight was uneventful and land in Philly. In Philly they load us onto the plane only to say there is a computer problem. Now the only reason I brought this up because I have to ask , if you know there is a computer problem, why do you load the plane? Then after they fix the computer in 45 or 50 minutes. They then announce it will take 20 minutes to fill out the paper work! Good Grief—20 minutes for paperwork—I hate to ask how many pages were. In any event, the most important thing is we arrive home safely and with all our luggage!
Summary---We have had several great vacations. As far as a warm beach destination, this one is tops. Now, we really liked Cozmel, but it simply does not have the beaches or varied snorkeling that St Thomas/St John has to offer. Plus, if you want more action in your trip, there are many things you can go ahead and do. The realization after the trip was that there were several other things we wanted to do, but they did not happen because we enjoyed the beaches so much. I have no regrets (except the camera), and look forward to going again.
To add, if St John is a tad too expensive, staying at St Thomas on Sapphire beach is a great alternative. The beach is terrific at Sapphire with ease to red hook for a cheap excursion to St John. Plenty of activities available. They tell me there are great places to eat on St Thomas, I can vouch for the pizza at Island Time Pub. But if you are looking to save money or looking for more time on the beach, I do recommend taking a cooler of food. It was easy, saved money and allowed us to hang on the beach later in the day.
The biggest negative I can cast on Sapphire beach is that it can be a tad breezy, which is not a big deal with sand blowing or anything, just it does give you a little more wave action.
This was just a GREAT vacation and we WILL be back.
Thanks again to everyone who contributes to this forum. It is extremely helpful!
Paul
Here is the 3rd and the final part of our ‘First Look’ of USVI.
Day 7— St Thomas
So we have now been here for 6 days and no real shopping. The girls were ready to go! There was a cruise ship in and we headed downtown. I really don’t have much to report as I am not that interested in the shopping. Although I will say the alleyways were cool with the brick and windows covers. A couple of examples.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NR ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn873 ... 7.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EP ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn88I ... 8.JPG"></a>
So after a morning of shopping we head back to the condo for a late lunch. We decided to continue the shopping over at St John and have dinner. So we take the people ferry over. While on the ferry, we start discussing if turtles will come into this area with the ferries. I was thinking well they could, but I would think they would just avoid the area because of the boat traffic. Not more than a minute later, my daughter say hey look, there is a turtle and son of a gun, there is a turtle! By the time I get the camera ready, he is gone. So I bet my daughter that she could not find another turtle or even the same one again. An you guessed it, in 3 or so minutes, there he is. This time camera ready!
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2B ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn88Y ... 2.JPG"></a>
Over St John , we walk around in Cruz Bay, stop at Woody for a happy hour drink—good prices! And hang outside. We then walk up to Mongoose Junction. Walk around there and stop at the tap room. Had root beer from the tap for 99 cents and root beer floats for 4bucks. It was crowded but got a couple of root beers for the girls and a couple of draft beers for us and head outside. Was a nice little thing going on. So now we are getting hungry and because we all love Mexican food, we decide lets go to Margaritas Phils. We get the big margarita, which wasn't that good. The food there was average. Nothing was bad, we all generally liked it, but we didn’t think anything stood out. I would eat there again, but would look for another place first. We head back on the ferry and the girls say, wow we did not get into the water today at all. So hey, tonight would be great for night snorkeling. We go for it!
I bought some Pelican flashlights online, they were pretty good. Was happy with them. So we head out, it was fun, but we did not see anything we did not see during the day. And in reality, many of the small fish were close to shore and seemed to be in a total panic if you flashed the light on. After a bit, we started feeling bad for the fish..and again, we were not in the right spot(didn't go over the reef) to see anything cool and we decided to leave the fish alone. Then hit the pool before going back in! the cool thing at Sapphire resort, the pool does not close. So you can enjoy a late night swim if you would like.
Day 8: Sapphire Beach—again
We are ready for another full day on the beach. We go out for a snorkel and then back on the beach and the kids head to get the floats. Now I have heard folks seeing turtles at sapphire and was thinking I want to see them here, but the only place folks I know saw them was way out on the point. I was not comfortable going out that far, one I don’t use fins and two no one was interested in going that far with me. I remembered seeing some grass on the 2nd day hanging out but we didn’t see anything. I decide to try again. Not a far swim at all—maybe 40 yards. And yep, there they are! I see 2. Get excited and go get the girls. They immediately want to go. We head out and find them again…we found 4 in total! AWESOME!
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ee ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89B ... 5.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PZ ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89P ... 2.JPG"></a>
with the zoom lens out
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DP ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89h ... 2.JPG"></a>
Almost my in and out of water picture
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/s5 ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89q ... 2.JPG"></a>
On the way back in we hit the reef on the far left and see a moray eel—double cool.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HW ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89z ... 3.JPG"></a>
Overall, Sapphire is a great snorkel beach and we really liked it!
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pC ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn896 ... site"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn895 ... 9.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZV ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn89_ ... 7.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J5 ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-F ... 5.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eB ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-J ... 6.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KQ ... site"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-s ... 5.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ht ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-u ... 0.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Xr ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn8-4 ... 7.JPG"></a>
Day 9: St John
We decided a day or so ago, we were going to head to St John for a full day again. We get up and catch the 8am ferry. We bought the round trip ferry on the Roanoke (There is a reason I mention this). We decided we are going back to Waterlemon and swim around the island. After confirming previous posts—this is where we want to go. We walked around to save the swim. We head out and my daughter asked for the underwater camera which I give her. She comes back and says there is something wrong and she sees water in the case. I quickly panic and raise the camera out of the water and start heading for shore. We are not out that far. I peek up and see water in the case, my heart sunk. I knew this would not be good. As I get onto shore, I see that the camera strap was not tuck all the way in when I put it in the case, but still shut it. Ugh! The camera was on and salt water was about 1/2inch deep. The camera froze with the lens extended. So I took out the battery and card, laid it on a rock knowing it was a goner. So swimming back out to meet everyone I yell at myself and try to get my frustration out. I am fairly successful as I am able to enjoy this really cool snorkel. I have to say this has got to be one the prettiest, varied snorkels we have ever taken. We saw 2 turtles, a very big ray, squid, and tons of other fish.
When we get back I look at the camera again, and pronounce it dead. My wife without missing a beat says, well, I guess we have to buy a new and get back out here to do this snorkel again! This is what I needed to hear. We will be back and I will do this again.
We decided to try out Cinnamon bay.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/i_ ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9AV ... 9.JPG"></a>
Boy the sand is so fine and soft, which turn out not to be such a great thing. So we had our lunch then took a walk along the beach. As we are walking we see a ray swim by. After we get back, we head into the water…and like the other beaches, it is great! Having a great time, then another ray swims by us as we are in the water. Somehow, I am the only one who thinks this is cool! The girls now don’t want to touch the sand in the water! So the are hanging on me, all 3 of them! After a bit of this(it was fun) , we head in. This is where the sand becomes an issue. The winds pick up. Our neat sheet has a bunch of sand on it and the sand starts flying and pelting you. So, after taking on a few shots of sands to th body we decide to move on. Where to next? Well, we decided we are up for a drive, get off the beach a bit. We have spent a ton of time on the beach overall and sounds like a good time to explore. We headed over to Coral Bay to find donkeys. And success
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/d2 ... site"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9BE ... 9.JPG"></a>
And goats
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5h ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9Ax ... 8.JPG"></a>
Coral Bay
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/If ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_lQNB-86Ha64/Sn9BL ... 3.JPG"></a>
Instead of waiting for the 7pm ferry, we take the 5pm ferry. We grabbed a couple beers knowing we are at least 30 minutes early for the ferry. The line is long. No way we all fit on this ferry, this is where buying the round trip ticket comes in handy. They send a guy out asking to see if you have a ticket. Several cars were told to pull off to the side thankfully for us. We got moved ahead because we had the roundtrip ticket. We were able to get onto the ferry and they somehow fit 5 more cars on. But not before they ask me to move to the left some more. I look and there is about 8 inches between cars and I got to move over? Yikes, somehow I do enough and that little bit seems to help get another car on. Man, they are good.
Get back to Sapphire and hit the beach one last time! Ahhh.
Leaving Day----we do manage to hit Sapphire beach in the morning before heading to the airport. Was nice, but sad as well.
We get to the airport and all the computers are down! Ugh. We are in line for over 2 hours! Good thing I bought rum ahead of time, we are literally rushed through and run to the plane. Flight was uneventful and land in Philly. In Philly they load us onto the plane only to say there is a computer problem. Now the only reason I brought this up because I have to ask , if you know there is a computer problem, why do you load the plane? Then after they fix the computer in 45 or 50 minutes. They then announce it will take 20 minutes to fill out the paper work! Good Grief—20 minutes for paperwork—I hate to ask how many pages were. In any event, the most important thing is we arrive home safely and with all our luggage!
Summary---We have had several great vacations. As far as a warm beach destination, this one is tops. Now, we really liked Cozmel, but it simply does not have the beaches or varied snorkeling that St Thomas/St John has to offer. Plus, if you want more action in your trip, there are many things you can go ahead and do. The realization after the trip was that there were several other things we wanted to do, but they did not happen because we enjoyed the beaches so much. I have no regrets (except the camera), and look forward to going again.
To add, if St John is a tad too expensive, staying at St Thomas on Sapphire beach is a great alternative. The beach is terrific at Sapphire with ease to red hook for a cheap excursion to St John. Plenty of activities available. They tell me there are great places to eat on St Thomas, I can vouch for the pizza at Island Time Pub. But if you are looking to save money or looking for more time on the beach, I do recommend taking a cooler of food. It was easy, saved money and allowed us to hang on the beach later in the day.
The biggest negative I can cast on Sapphire beach is that it can be a tad breezy, which is not a big deal with sand blowing or anything, just it does give you a little more wave action.
This was just a GREAT vacation and we WILL be back.
Thanks again to everyone who contributes to this forum. It is extremely helpful!
Paul
Thanks for al the TR"s Your photo's r Gorgeous !!! really enjoyed them ! 
