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Trip Report 2/10 - 2/19
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Greenskeeper
- Posts: 390
- Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:07 pm
- Location: Cape Cod, MA
Trip Report 2/10 - 2/19
Trip Report 2/10-2/19
Just got back from a glorious 9 day trip to STJ. We flew out of Boston Wednesday night and stayed in Atlanta before heading to STT in the morning. With the luck of the Irish, we dodged the storm that was about to hit New England, got out of ATL before the snow hit and crippled the city and even missed the volcanic ash that cancelled many flights on Saturday 2/13. As last year, we were greeted by Rachel Brown upon arrival. She is as much a highlight of our trip as the island itself. She has the most wonderfully entertaining stories and insights.
We were thrilled to meet up with my sister who had just returned from Haiti. Her boat was used for a 2 week humanitarian mission. She was in need of a hot shower and comfy bed and we were able to give her that for one night. I guess we now have a tradition of dinner at Wharfside our first night and dined at High Tide. The food was not as good as last year but the cocktails, company and view were perfect.
We had planned to do lots of things this trip- more hiking, more adventurous snorkeling, dining at Zozo’s getting in touch with friends who reside on STJ for the winter…and we did none of that. It was a total chill vacation and we all needed it. We split our time between Cinnamon, Hawksnest and Trunk. The kids enjoyed skim boarding and paddle boarding at Cinnamon. It was a hoot watching many of the adults who could not get their balance on the board, meanwhile every kid had no problem tooling around the bay and riding the surf. After getting beat up by waves for a few days, we decided to have a quiet day at Caneel. I am glad we did . Pristine, calm waters and a waiter to bring you cocktails. What more can you ask for? We really liked the resort and agreed that it would be a terrific option for a short visit. The weather was warm to hot. I enjoyed sunrise on the expansive deck of Christy Ann most mornings but Wednesday and Thursday were oppressive. The thermometer on the Jeep registered at 94 so that would explain that. I’m not complaining though…well maybe a little.
The island was busy. We rented a brand new 4 door Jeep from Conrad Sutton. I was amazed by how much more comfortable the ride was than the 2 door Wrangler. We had a problem with the battery one day and Conrad came right to our villa and switched it out. The next day, the battery was weak again and the check engine light was on. My husband called and told him we would come down to Cruz Bay with the Jeep. We got there and within 10 minutes, he had another brand new 4 door. It ended up there was a computer issue with our original Jeep. I’m very happy we rented from Sutton’s again rather than renting on STT. We might have spent a lot of time waiting for the rental company rather than enjoying the island. The advantage of being able to park in the Sutton’s lot is an added bonus.
Midweek we were in need of a respite from the sun so we headed to Coral Bay. We got a lot of grief for not experiencing Skinny Legs last year so we made it a point to go this trip. We were not disappointed. Great burgers, terrific rum punch and a perfect way to escape the sun….or in our case quick rain shower- the only one we had all week.
We know from last year to get to the beach by 9:30 for the best spots and did just that. We were always able to find someplace that offered us partial shade- even on the most crowded days. We did hit Trunk on 2 days. The first, it was a slow cruise ship day and the second was mobbed. We’ve learned the crowds come in waves and seem to be cleared out by early afternoon. We enjoy people watching and were not disappointed. Suffice to say, the cruise ship brochure probably does not explain that between leaving the ship, and ferry and taxi transportation, approximately 2 hours of the excursion is spent traveling. Families were barely in the water to snorkel and the bullhorns were blaring that it was time to head back the ship. It was like a mass exodus from the water, panic stricken people gathering up their belongings and running for the taxis.
My husband and sons decided to snorkel out at Trunk. Last year they saw some pretty cool stuff beyond the trail and wanted to try again. My husband picked up a “friend” while snorkeling. This little silver and yellow fish took up residence on him. The little fish would swim under his arms or around his back or stomach. My kids would try to shoo it away and it would go to the other side of his body. The little thing followed him all the way back to shore. An hour later, my husband went back in the water and snorkeled back out. Sure enough, he saw coming at him was the little fish. He once again took up residence around him and followed him back to sure. He claims it is his Pisces sign that attracted it and he is taking it as a message that he needs to “buy a boat”. I told him it was a sign he needed to “buy a villa” or at least rent one more than once a year.
We dined out most nights or did take out. We enjoyed Lime Inn 2X (very good), High Tide, Café Roma, Candi’s BBQ (tried to go to Uncle Joe’s but something was up- my husband went by to get takout was told “we’ll open in 15 minutes” – there was someone there with paperwork that looked official, we went back after ½ hour and were told we open in 15 minutes-the food was out and ready to be cooked, the person with the paperwork was gone but the 2 employees were cleaning and not exactly friendly- better luck next year). We dined at the buffet at Caneel which was fabulous as well. We also had lunch at Skinny Legs, breakfast at Jake’s and lunches from Deli Grotto. We wanted to try Zozo’s but never got around to making reservations in time. We also did takeout chicken from Starfish that was very good. I plan on doing reviews of these restaurants in the coming week.
A cool part of our trip was a power outage on Sunday night. It was amazing to see Fish Bay go dark and then the flickers of light from candles being lit in villas around the Bay. The stars were even more glorious in the darkness.
Like last year, we met lots of people, heard lots of stories. We really enjoy hearing what draws people to visit the island and even more, what made people want to stay. STJ is the one place where we’ve vacationed that we leave feeling rejuvenated. For us, at this point in time, 8 days is just enough. We leave wanting to come back but happy to be going home and having a positive outlook about the rest of the winter.
Just got back from a glorious 9 day trip to STJ. We flew out of Boston Wednesday night and stayed in Atlanta before heading to STT in the morning. With the luck of the Irish, we dodged the storm that was about to hit New England, got out of ATL before the snow hit and crippled the city and even missed the volcanic ash that cancelled many flights on Saturday 2/13. As last year, we were greeted by Rachel Brown upon arrival. She is as much a highlight of our trip as the island itself. She has the most wonderfully entertaining stories and insights.
We were thrilled to meet up with my sister who had just returned from Haiti. Her boat was used for a 2 week humanitarian mission. She was in need of a hot shower and comfy bed and we were able to give her that for one night. I guess we now have a tradition of dinner at Wharfside our first night and dined at High Tide. The food was not as good as last year but the cocktails, company and view were perfect.
We had planned to do lots of things this trip- more hiking, more adventurous snorkeling, dining at Zozo’s getting in touch with friends who reside on STJ for the winter…and we did none of that. It was a total chill vacation and we all needed it. We split our time between Cinnamon, Hawksnest and Trunk. The kids enjoyed skim boarding and paddle boarding at Cinnamon. It was a hoot watching many of the adults who could not get their balance on the board, meanwhile every kid had no problem tooling around the bay and riding the surf. After getting beat up by waves for a few days, we decided to have a quiet day at Caneel. I am glad we did . Pristine, calm waters and a waiter to bring you cocktails. What more can you ask for? We really liked the resort and agreed that it would be a terrific option for a short visit. The weather was warm to hot. I enjoyed sunrise on the expansive deck of Christy Ann most mornings but Wednesday and Thursday were oppressive. The thermometer on the Jeep registered at 94 so that would explain that. I’m not complaining though…well maybe a little.
The island was busy. We rented a brand new 4 door Jeep from Conrad Sutton. I was amazed by how much more comfortable the ride was than the 2 door Wrangler. We had a problem with the battery one day and Conrad came right to our villa and switched it out. The next day, the battery was weak again and the check engine light was on. My husband called and told him we would come down to Cruz Bay with the Jeep. We got there and within 10 minutes, he had another brand new 4 door. It ended up there was a computer issue with our original Jeep. I’m very happy we rented from Sutton’s again rather than renting on STT. We might have spent a lot of time waiting for the rental company rather than enjoying the island. The advantage of being able to park in the Sutton’s lot is an added bonus.
Midweek we were in need of a respite from the sun so we headed to Coral Bay. We got a lot of grief for not experiencing Skinny Legs last year so we made it a point to go this trip. We were not disappointed. Great burgers, terrific rum punch and a perfect way to escape the sun….or in our case quick rain shower- the only one we had all week.
We know from last year to get to the beach by 9:30 for the best spots and did just that. We were always able to find someplace that offered us partial shade- even on the most crowded days. We did hit Trunk on 2 days. The first, it was a slow cruise ship day and the second was mobbed. We’ve learned the crowds come in waves and seem to be cleared out by early afternoon. We enjoy people watching and were not disappointed. Suffice to say, the cruise ship brochure probably does not explain that between leaving the ship, and ferry and taxi transportation, approximately 2 hours of the excursion is spent traveling. Families were barely in the water to snorkel and the bullhorns were blaring that it was time to head back the ship. It was like a mass exodus from the water, panic stricken people gathering up their belongings and running for the taxis.
My husband and sons decided to snorkel out at Trunk. Last year they saw some pretty cool stuff beyond the trail and wanted to try again. My husband picked up a “friend” while snorkeling. This little silver and yellow fish took up residence on him. The little fish would swim under his arms or around his back or stomach. My kids would try to shoo it away and it would go to the other side of his body. The little thing followed him all the way back to shore. An hour later, my husband went back in the water and snorkeled back out. Sure enough, he saw coming at him was the little fish. He once again took up residence around him and followed him back to sure. He claims it is his Pisces sign that attracted it and he is taking it as a message that he needs to “buy a boat”. I told him it was a sign he needed to “buy a villa” or at least rent one more than once a year.
We dined out most nights or did take out. We enjoyed Lime Inn 2X (very good), High Tide, Café Roma, Candi’s BBQ (tried to go to Uncle Joe’s but something was up- my husband went by to get takout was told “we’ll open in 15 minutes” – there was someone there with paperwork that looked official, we went back after ½ hour and were told we open in 15 minutes-the food was out and ready to be cooked, the person with the paperwork was gone but the 2 employees were cleaning and not exactly friendly- better luck next year). We dined at the buffet at Caneel which was fabulous as well. We also had lunch at Skinny Legs, breakfast at Jake’s and lunches from Deli Grotto. We wanted to try Zozo’s but never got around to making reservations in time. We also did takeout chicken from Starfish that was very good. I plan on doing reviews of these restaurants in the coming week.
A cool part of our trip was a power outage on Sunday night. It was amazing to see Fish Bay go dark and then the flickers of light from candles being lit in villas around the Bay. The stars were even more glorious in the darkness.
Like last year, we met lots of people, heard lots of stories. We really enjoy hearing what draws people to visit the island and even more, what made people want to stay. STJ is the one place where we’ve vacationed that we leave feeling rejuvenated. For us, at this point in time, 8 days is just enough. We leave wanting to come back but happy to be going home and having a positive outlook about the rest of the winter.
I had a snorkeling experience which was very similar to your husband's. It was over at Francis last April, in late afternoon/early evening. A little silver and yellow fish hung out around me for about an hour while I waded/swam in about 4 feet of water, watching the sunset. It would swim around my back and through my legs. I even was able to almost cup it in my hands and lift it out of the water. It never left my side until I had to get out of the water. I think maybe it was using me as "cover" from any larger fish, because at the time I was swimming just off shore, and there was no natural cover for him to hide in.
Whatever the case, I enjoyed the company. I wonder how the little guy is doing now?
Whatever the case, I enjoyed the company. I wonder how the little guy is doing now?
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
Thanks for taking the time for the trip report, really appreciated. As our trip gets closer I think it gets harder to wait patiently after reading about the warm weather, snorkeling, good food, friendly people......oh well it's worth it.
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