trip report, the beginning...
Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:42 pm
Ok, the cast:
Me and husband Mike, living in western NY, been coming to St. John since 1996, this was our 7th(?) trip:
One of my best friends from college, Jan, husband Jeff and lovely daughter Isabel living outside DC:
Never been to the USVI's, but they'd been to the BVI's a few times and had lived on Vieques for several years so were pretty familiar with island life and were looking forward to the snorkeling.
We flew down on Sunday the 18th-first time flying multiple airlines. I was trying for cheaper tickets so purchased through American, but it involved flying Delta from Buffalo to JFK then transferring to American to STT. First off, Delta in Buffalo is TERRIBLE! What's the sense of checking in online only to wait in the "already checked in" line to drop off your bag and then watch everybody else who didn't check in go through their line faster???? It was a cluster F to say the least. People all around us were VERY unhappy. Then there were 3 flights all leaving around 6am, but one was delayed so the ticket agents just kept hollering at people to try and get them to change lanes, which if you've already waited 30 minutes you're not very happy about doing....
I will admit, I stress easily though, so perhaps this wasn’t as big of a deal as I make it out to be (‘cept for all the people hollering around me that is!). Ok, so we make it to JFK where I learn that in order to get to the American flight we have to go out of security, cross the road, go catch a train to another building, go through security again (and yes I did forget I had a water bottle from the first flight!) and then make it to gate 45 or something way at the end of the terminal. All within 45 minutes. I was freaking out, waiting for that train thing. I travel by plane maybe 5-6 times a year, and this was the first time I’ve ever had to do anything like this-terminals have always been connected so that you don’t have to go out/in security. My husband has the patience of a saint to put up with me during these times I will say.
Well, I did lose my water bottle (I would love to have the concession on those things by the way!), but we did make the plane and made it to Saint Thomas early even. Got my free rum shot-mmmm mmmm welcome to paradise! Caught the 2pm Red Hook ferry-sat up top-it’s the only way to arrive I think, only to have the first of many rainstorms hit us. And I mean RAIN storms. Everybody dashed down the ferry steps and huddled down in the enclosed area. Our luggage was soaked, we were soaked. But, we were at last on St. John.
Our friends were supposed to come in on the 5pm ferry so we’d made arrangements to have Nancy from Caribe Havens meet us and take us to the rental first then get our car. We’d rented Great Escape http://www.greatescapestjohn.com/gettin ... 20john.htm
out by reef bay. It was still pouring buckets when we arrived-Nancy took some back roads to bypass Jacob’s ladder-there were flooded roads everywhere.
She got us to the house, showed us around - here's the view from later in the week
and took us back to Conrad Suttons where we rented our 4 door jeep for the week.
This car is not good maneuvering/turning in 4wd, but is great getting up any road we needed it to, and fit 5 of us/and all our luggage just fine.
Mike and I got a call from Jan that they were delayed in San Juan and would be on the 7pm ferry. We decided to eat dinner at Rhumb Lines and had great food there, except that just after we started eating we got a call that our friends had made the 6pm ferry, and due to spotty cell phone service we hadn’t rec’d the earlier message letting us know that they were on that one, so we rapidly paid our bill, boxed our dinners and met up with them to show them our little corner of paradise for the next few days.
And the rains continued....
Me and husband Mike, living in western NY, been coming to St. John since 1996, this was our 7th(?) trip:
One of my best friends from college, Jan, husband Jeff and lovely daughter Isabel living outside DC:
Never been to the USVI's, but they'd been to the BVI's a few times and had lived on Vieques for several years so were pretty familiar with island life and were looking forward to the snorkeling.
We flew down on Sunday the 18th-first time flying multiple airlines. I was trying for cheaper tickets so purchased through American, but it involved flying Delta from Buffalo to JFK then transferring to American to STT. First off, Delta in Buffalo is TERRIBLE! What's the sense of checking in online only to wait in the "already checked in" line to drop off your bag and then watch everybody else who didn't check in go through their line faster???? It was a cluster F to say the least. People all around us were VERY unhappy. Then there were 3 flights all leaving around 6am, but one was delayed so the ticket agents just kept hollering at people to try and get them to change lanes, which if you've already waited 30 minutes you're not very happy about doing....
I will admit, I stress easily though, so perhaps this wasn’t as big of a deal as I make it out to be (‘cept for all the people hollering around me that is!). Ok, so we make it to JFK where I learn that in order to get to the American flight we have to go out of security, cross the road, go catch a train to another building, go through security again (and yes I did forget I had a water bottle from the first flight!) and then make it to gate 45 or something way at the end of the terminal. All within 45 minutes. I was freaking out, waiting for that train thing. I travel by plane maybe 5-6 times a year, and this was the first time I’ve ever had to do anything like this-terminals have always been connected so that you don’t have to go out/in security. My husband has the patience of a saint to put up with me during these times I will say.
Well, I did lose my water bottle (I would love to have the concession on those things by the way!), but we did make the plane and made it to Saint Thomas early even. Got my free rum shot-mmmm mmmm welcome to paradise! Caught the 2pm Red Hook ferry-sat up top-it’s the only way to arrive I think, only to have the first of many rainstorms hit us. And I mean RAIN storms. Everybody dashed down the ferry steps and huddled down in the enclosed area. Our luggage was soaked, we were soaked. But, we were at last on St. John.
Our friends were supposed to come in on the 5pm ferry so we’d made arrangements to have Nancy from Caribe Havens meet us and take us to the rental first then get our car. We’d rented Great Escape http://www.greatescapestjohn.com/gettin ... 20john.htm
out by reef bay. It was still pouring buckets when we arrived-Nancy took some back roads to bypass Jacob’s ladder-there were flooded roads everywhere.
She got us to the house, showed us around - here's the view from later in the week
and took us back to Conrad Suttons where we rented our 4 door jeep for the week.
This car is not good maneuvering/turning in 4wd, but is great getting up any road we needed it to, and fit 5 of us/and all our luggage just fine.
Mike and I got a call from Jan that they were delayed in San Juan and would be on the 7pm ferry. We decided to eat dinner at Rhumb Lines and had great food there, except that just after we started eating we got a call that our friends had made the 6pm ferry, and due to spotty cell phone service we hadn’t rec’d the earlier message letting us know that they were on that one, so we rapidly paid our bill, boxed our dinners and met up with them to show them our little corner of paradise for the next few days.
And the rains continued....