Umbrella Drink Tour - 2009 / Rainy Day, Waterlemon & Fra
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 6:50 pm
Thursday, November 12 – 4:30am
What was that? A loud crack of thunder woke me from a pretty good sleep. I know the time because the flash of lightning was bright enough for me to see my watch. It continued for awhile longer and I could hear the rain pounding outside. I inched closer to Don, put the sheet over my head and went back to sleep.
It was still raining off and on when we finally got up. We had breakfast and just hung out on the porch listening to Jimmy Buffett. (neither of us took one picture this morning) It was pretty overcast with no signs of clearing.
What to do, what to do? Let’s take a ride to Cruz Bay!
We got in the Jeep, carefully got down Seagrape Hill and headed down Centerline. The roads were wet, but not bad. After riding a few minutes, we come around a bend and there are people – lots of PEOPLE. Aaaah – cruise ships must be in. We found a parking spot and joined them.
Even an ugly day in paradise is beautiful.
We popped into the Colorful Corner, chatted with Robin and found a few souvenirs.
Browsed in the shops by the restaurant. I asked everyone if the restaurant was open, but no one seemed to know for sure. Maybe lunch, maybe not. Call the number on the door. I wrote down the number and called it later in the day, but it was a wrong number. So, no report on the new Chateaux Bordeaux.
We continued down Centerline Rd. and into town. We pulled into Slimman’s to park. One side was pretty full, the other was pretty empty.
“How long you staying?”
“I don’t know” -- I got a look
He points to this tiny little spot on the full side, “Do you think you can fit in there?” -- he got his look back.
“No? OK, park over here”
We decided it was time for lunch. The rain had stopped, so I thought we’d try the Surly Cantina. Well, someone needs to tell then to put the name of the restaurant OUTSIDE where I can read it. I stood in front of it, saw the Mexican menu and decided – nope that’s not it. (afterwards as we walked by it, I saw the name on the back wall – duh!)
Since the skies were still thinking, we thought someplace more inside would work better, so off to
After 5 1/2 days on island, it was time for Tuna Down Now for me. Don had the Grilled Chicken Burrito. We had a couple of Presidentes, chatted with Tiffany (aka Boo), then headed to Mongoose Junction.
After browsing the shops and stimulating the economy, we (OK Don) needed a break so we visited the Tap Room.
It was pretty busy in there, but we found a high top by the window. Mango Ale for me; Summer Ale for Don – cold and good!
The weather was starting to clear (a little), so we decided to head back to Coral Bay. We drove the North Shore road and stopped at all of the overlooks along the way. Just like newbies!
Back “home”, we took a dip in the pool.
Don’t you just love that railing?
Dinner was cheese and crackers on the porch with Inner Visions on the iPod.
And our first Ting and Rum!
Friday, November 13
We couldn’t decide what beach to hit today. I wanted to do Lameshur, but Don read the part in FF&F that said it is discouraged by the car rental companies. Then we considered going down to Princess Bay and snorkeling the mangroves, but with the rain, we thought the bugs might be too bad.
We finally decided to snorkel Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay. One of the couples on Breath had snorkeled there earlier in the week and said it was really good. Decision made.
The Annenberg lot was nearly full when we got there. We walked the trail, passed the beach and set up on the rocks.
The entry was really clear. The last time we did this, I remember a lot of urchins near the shore, not this time.
Maggy - do you know what this is?
The current was really strong, so we didn’t attempt to circle the cay.
On the way back to the car, we met this guy.
Next was Francis Bay. The last time we went to Francis was also a year with lots of rain. We were run off the beach by mosquitoes. We thought we’d give it another try,
Saw a lot more scooters this trip. Are these people crazy?
Francis was pretty busy – Trunk Bay on a multi cruise ship day busy. We headed down toward the right and found a spot.
We snorkeled out toward Mary’s Point, but it was hard to see anything through the thick mass of fry.
But, I did spot this OneHornButtFish; the pelican had an eye on him, too.
It’s a fairly easy and shallow snorkel along the shoreline. But, the swim back against the current is a killer.
Heading back to the car, we saw a wedding party. Not too many couples would marry on Friday the 13th.
It was another great Coral Bay sunset that night.
Dinner was at Aqua Bistro again. We really liked it here. The bar was bustling, but the restaurant was quiet. Tuna Sushi for me; Mahi-mahi for Don. Both excellent and the service was superb.
Tomorrow we take the Ram’s Head stroll.
What was that? A loud crack of thunder woke me from a pretty good sleep. I know the time because the flash of lightning was bright enough for me to see my watch. It continued for awhile longer and I could hear the rain pounding outside. I inched closer to Don, put the sheet over my head and went back to sleep.
It was still raining off and on when we finally got up. We had breakfast and just hung out on the porch listening to Jimmy Buffett. (neither of us took one picture this morning) It was pretty overcast with no signs of clearing.
What to do, what to do? Let’s take a ride to Cruz Bay!
We got in the Jeep, carefully got down Seagrape Hill and headed down Centerline. The roads were wet, but not bad. After riding a few minutes, we come around a bend and there are people – lots of PEOPLE. Aaaah – cruise ships must be in. We found a parking spot and joined them.
Even an ugly day in paradise is beautiful.
We popped into the Colorful Corner, chatted with Robin and found a few souvenirs.
Browsed in the shops by the restaurant. I asked everyone if the restaurant was open, but no one seemed to know for sure. Maybe lunch, maybe not. Call the number on the door. I wrote down the number and called it later in the day, but it was a wrong number. So, no report on the new Chateaux Bordeaux.
We continued down Centerline Rd. and into town. We pulled into Slimman’s to park. One side was pretty full, the other was pretty empty.
“How long you staying?”
“I don’t know” -- I got a look
He points to this tiny little spot on the full side, “Do you think you can fit in there?” -- he got his look back.
“No? OK, park over here”
We decided it was time for lunch. The rain had stopped, so I thought we’d try the Surly Cantina. Well, someone needs to tell then to put the name of the restaurant OUTSIDE where I can read it. I stood in front of it, saw the Mexican menu and decided – nope that’s not it. (afterwards as we walked by it, I saw the name on the back wall – duh!)
Since the skies were still thinking, we thought someplace more inside would work better, so off to
After 5 1/2 days on island, it was time for Tuna Down Now for me. Don had the Grilled Chicken Burrito. We had a couple of Presidentes, chatted with Tiffany (aka Boo), then headed to Mongoose Junction.
After browsing the shops and stimulating the economy, we (OK Don) needed a break so we visited the Tap Room.
It was pretty busy in there, but we found a high top by the window. Mango Ale for me; Summer Ale for Don – cold and good!
The weather was starting to clear (a little), so we decided to head back to Coral Bay. We drove the North Shore road and stopped at all of the overlooks along the way. Just like newbies!
Back “home”, we took a dip in the pool.
Don’t you just love that railing?
Dinner was cheese and crackers on the porch with Inner Visions on the iPod.
And our first Ting and Rum!
Friday, November 13
We couldn’t decide what beach to hit today. I wanted to do Lameshur, but Don read the part in FF&F that said it is discouraged by the car rental companies. Then we considered going down to Princess Bay and snorkeling the mangroves, but with the rain, we thought the bugs might be too bad.
We finally decided to snorkel Leinster Bay and Waterlemon Cay. One of the couples on Breath had snorkeled there earlier in the week and said it was really good. Decision made.
The Annenberg lot was nearly full when we got there. We walked the trail, passed the beach and set up on the rocks.
The entry was really clear. The last time we did this, I remember a lot of urchins near the shore, not this time.
Maggy - do you know what this is?
The current was really strong, so we didn’t attempt to circle the cay.
On the way back to the car, we met this guy.
Next was Francis Bay. The last time we went to Francis was also a year with lots of rain. We were run off the beach by mosquitoes. We thought we’d give it another try,
Saw a lot more scooters this trip. Are these people crazy?
Francis was pretty busy – Trunk Bay on a multi cruise ship day busy. We headed down toward the right and found a spot.
We snorkeled out toward Mary’s Point, but it was hard to see anything through the thick mass of fry.
But, I did spot this OneHornButtFish; the pelican had an eye on him, too.
It’s a fairly easy and shallow snorkel along the shoreline. But, the swim back against the current is a killer.
Heading back to the car, we saw a wedding party. Not too many couples would marry on Friday the 13th.
It was another great Coral Bay sunset that night.
Dinner was at Aqua Bistro again. We really liked it here. The bar was bustling, but the restaurant was quiet. Tuna Sushi for me; Mahi-mahi for Don. Both excellent and the service was superb.
Tomorrow we take the Ram’s Head stroll.
The guys at work like my new Skinny's hat.