Umbrellas? We don't need no stinkin' umbrellas!(Pt. I)
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:26 am
STJ July 13-20, 2010 Trip Report
Here's the trip report for our recently concluded one week visit to St. John. On this trip were my wife and myself, who have had three such trips before, all in either October or November, and our youngest son, who's seventeen, who was making his first visit to the island.
Tuesday, 7/13: After getting out of bed shortly after 4:00 (why can't I sleep the night before I travel?) we left home at 6:00AM for the three hour drive to Miami, where we had a 12:00PM non-stop to STT to catch.I had prepaid reservations at an off airport park and ride lot, and a set of driving directions to said lot courtesy of Google maps. We seemed to be making good time (and I noted how fortunate we were not to be heading north where bumper to bumper traffic was just creeping along) when I sensed that we had gone too far south of the airport for my liking. A stop at the turnpike service plaza and a query to one of the employees there confirmed my fears, so we turned around, headed back north (and into that bumper to bumper creeping traffic), until we got off at the recommended exit where the traffic was moving even slower. We like to arrive earlier than needed, especially at MIA where the security lines can be (ahem) interminable, but we were beginning to feel the stress of being too close for comfort time wise.
After what seemed like an eternity, we got to the exit for the road the lot was off of, pulled in to the lot, found a spot, and parked. Before we could get the doors open a shuttle bus stopped behind our vehicle. We quickly loaded our gear, and after only one more brief pickup stop we were out of the lot and headed toward the airport. As luck would have it, our fellow passenger was also flying AA, so we proceeded directly to their departure area. Since we had no bags to check, and had pre-printed our boarding passes, we were able to get right into the security line. Things actually went very smoothly from this point on, and even after a long walk down to Gate D48, we found ourselves with an hour and a half to wait for the flight!
The flight left on time, and we actually arrived on STT at 2:30, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. As soon as we deplaned and were walking towards the terminal I was on the phone to Dependable to let them know to come and get us! We paused briefly to sample the complimentary shots of rum - coconut and raspberry were on offer, then headed outside, where we only waited five or so minutes until the van showed up.
While I filled out the paperwork upstairs, the guys in the Dependable crew downstairs tried to convince my son that he should stay on St. Thomas and hang with them, instead going to "boring St. John" which would be "dead" on Tuesday night! Then we were on our way to Cost-U-Less, then to Red Hook and the car barge. We backed on to the barge into a space that was at the very front, so we knew we'd be in "pole position" once we got to St. John. The 4:30 barge left just a few minutes later than that for the crossing to STJ.
After paying for our one way passage we went upstairs to take a look around and to be able to point out places to Jason.
It was a little after 5:00 by the time our tires hit the road at Enighed Pond, and I was unsure as to whether or not we could make it to Connections in Coral Bay before they closed at 5:30. We decided to go ahead and take Centerline across the island to try and give it a shot rather than taking the more scenic, but slower North Shore Rd. route. When we pulled up in front of Skinny Leg's my watch read 5:28, but the ladies who work at Connections were both still in, and cheerfully handed over my Priority Mail package once I had paid the ransom!
All that was left to do was drive the short distance to Crabby's, take the road next to it up to the first driveway, and we were at our home for the week - Harbor Place Too!
The parking lot we found ourselves in was in the back of a two story structure that contained four units - two on each level. Harbor Place Two is the one on the right side (as you're facing the Coral Bay Harbor) downstairs. You first enter a screened porch, then go into the condo itself through one of two sets of French doors. Immediately inside is the combo kitchen/living room, then past that a nearly identical set of bedroom suites, each with a private bath. A flat screen HDTV hangs on the wall in front of a couch and love seat at right angles to one another, and a low, round coffee table sits in front of both. The full size refrigerator/freezer was in good working order (both were very cold) as was the gas range/oven. The porch has a gas grill, a dining table with chairs, and a couple of chairs for lounging and looking out at the ships on the water.
Soon we were unpacked and looking for...FOOD! All of our frozen food items had made the journey in great shape, but after our travel day we wanted to relax and let someone else do the work, and we didn't want to wait.!
There was no doubt where I wanted to go. For months I'd have been reading Chef Jim's Facebook entries and drooling, so it was going to be my turn to be eating them now instead of just reading about them.
So off we went to Shipwreck Landing. Before we knew it a Painkiller and a Bushwacker were on the table - NOW we were truly on vacation! Leslie and Jason opted for burgers, but I couldn't resist one of the specials of the day - Wahoo Jerkiyaki with jasmine rice and mixed vegetables. It was fantastic.
Back "home', with contentedly full bellies and quenched thirsts, the other two turned on their computers to boast to the rest of the world, while I, in a phenomenon not foreign to me on St. John, laid down to "rest my eyes"...........
Here's the trip report for our recently concluded one week visit to St. John. On this trip were my wife and myself, who have had three such trips before, all in either October or November, and our youngest son, who's seventeen, who was making his first visit to the island.
Tuesday, 7/13: After getting out of bed shortly after 4:00 (why can't I sleep the night before I travel?) we left home at 6:00AM for the three hour drive to Miami, where we had a 12:00PM non-stop to STT to catch.I had prepaid reservations at an off airport park and ride lot, and a set of driving directions to said lot courtesy of Google maps. We seemed to be making good time (and I noted how fortunate we were not to be heading north where bumper to bumper traffic was just creeping along) when I sensed that we had gone too far south of the airport for my liking. A stop at the turnpike service plaza and a query to one of the employees there confirmed my fears, so we turned around, headed back north (and into that bumper to bumper creeping traffic), until we got off at the recommended exit where the traffic was moving even slower. We like to arrive earlier than needed, especially at MIA where the security lines can be (ahem) interminable, but we were beginning to feel the stress of being too close for comfort time wise.
After what seemed like an eternity, we got to the exit for the road the lot was off of, pulled in to the lot, found a spot, and parked. Before we could get the doors open a shuttle bus stopped behind our vehicle. We quickly loaded our gear, and after only one more brief pickup stop we were out of the lot and headed toward the airport. As luck would have it, our fellow passenger was also flying AA, so we proceeded directly to their departure area. Since we had no bags to check, and had pre-printed our boarding passes, we were able to get right into the security line. Things actually went very smoothly from this point on, and even after a long walk down to Gate D48, we found ourselves with an hour and a half to wait for the flight!
The flight left on time, and we actually arrived on STT at 2:30, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. As soon as we deplaned and were walking towards the terminal I was on the phone to Dependable to let them know to come and get us! We paused briefly to sample the complimentary shots of rum - coconut and raspberry were on offer, then headed outside, where we only waited five or so minutes until the van showed up.
While I filled out the paperwork upstairs, the guys in the Dependable crew downstairs tried to convince my son that he should stay on St. Thomas and hang with them, instead going to "boring St. John" which would be "dead" on Tuesday night! Then we were on our way to Cost-U-Less, then to Red Hook and the car barge. We backed on to the barge into a space that was at the very front, so we knew we'd be in "pole position" once we got to St. John. The 4:30 barge left just a few minutes later than that for the crossing to STJ.
After paying for our one way passage we went upstairs to take a look around and to be able to point out places to Jason.
It was a little after 5:00 by the time our tires hit the road at Enighed Pond, and I was unsure as to whether or not we could make it to Connections in Coral Bay before they closed at 5:30. We decided to go ahead and take Centerline across the island to try and give it a shot rather than taking the more scenic, but slower North Shore Rd. route. When we pulled up in front of Skinny Leg's my watch read 5:28, but the ladies who work at Connections were both still in, and cheerfully handed over my Priority Mail package once I had paid the ransom!
All that was left to do was drive the short distance to Crabby's, take the road next to it up to the first driveway, and we were at our home for the week - Harbor Place Too!
The parking lot we found ourselves in was in the back of a two story structure that contained four units - two on each level. Harbor Place Two is the one on the right side (as you're facing the Coral Bay Harbor) downstairs. You first enter a screened porch, then go into the condo itself through one of two sets of French doors. Immediately inside is the combo kitchen/living room, then past that a nearly identical set of bedroom suites, each with a private bath. A flat screen HDTV hangs on the wall in front of a couch and love seat at right angles to one another, and a low, round coffee table sits in front of both. The full size refrigerator/freezer was in good working order (both were very cold) as was the gas range/oven. The porch has a gas grill, a dining table with chairs, and a couple of chairs for lounging and looking out at the ships on the water.
Soon we were unpacked and looking for...FOOD! All of our frozen food items had made the journey in great shape, but after our travel day we wanted to relax and let someone else do the work, and we didn't want to wait.!
There was no doubt where I wanted to go. For months I'd have been reading Chef Jim's Facebook entries and drooling, so it was going to be my turn to be eating them now instead of just reading about them.
So off we went to Shipwreck Landing. Before we knew it a Painkiller and a Bushwacker were on the table - NOW we were truly on vacation! Leslie and Jason opted for burgers, but I couldn't resist one of the specials of the day - Wahoo Jerkiyaki with jasmine rice and mixed vegetables. It was fantastic.
Back "home', with contentedly full bellies and quenched thirsts, the other two turned on their computers to boast to the rest of the world, while I, in a phenomenon not foreign to me on St. John, laid down to "rest my eyes"...........
