Umbrellas? We don't need no stinkin' umbrellas!(Pt. II)
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:31 am
Link to Pt. I - http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... 206#205206
Disclaimer: The pictures in this report from this time forward will be mostly in/around water shots. The weather wasn't very conducive to taking great topside pics, especially those of the "ooh" and "ahh" variety.
Wednesday 7/14
Awake at 5:00AM. It's not a travel day, and I did get a good night's sleep, so that can only mean one thing - we're on St. John! I rolled out of bed, walked towards the front of the condo, and looked out the window over Coral Bay Harbor to cloudy, rainy skies, and a stiff wind blowing out of the east. But who cares? - we're on St. John!
While I made some breakfast, Leslie turned on her computer and went to update her Facebook status with the fact that - we're....OK, you know! After she logged out I checked my page and saw that Captain John was canceling his scheduled charter for today due to weather, and Jay over on St. Thomas had chimed in that he was seeing huge swells on the north side of St. John from over there. OK - so we know where we're NOT going today!
This became our default morning procedure - Leslie and I would be up fairly early, have some breakfast, check the computer, get the cameras ready, put the snorkel gear (after drying from the previous day's use) into the bag, then wake Jason up. He'd grab a breakfast bar or Pop-tart, and we'd soon be on our way.
On this particular day I walked down the hill (driveway) to Big Ben's Deli to get a cup of coffee since I neglected to roast and grind beans to bring with us.
Since we knew we wanted to avoid the North Shore, and since we were already "in the neighborhood" we drove down (over?) to the Salt Pond Bay parking lot, where we were the second vehicle in the lot. We walked the length of the beach to the Ram Head trail head, and made our way to Blue Cobblestone Beach for our inaugural snorkel of the trip.
It was overcast, breezy, and threatening to rain, but it didn't look like we had to worry about lightning, so we donned our gear and went in. We entered the water near the far right side of the beach (as you're facing the water) and slowly made our way along the point until we could see Salt Pond Bay, then turned around and worked our way back. We continued on well past our entry point, just taking it all in.
I was summoned by Leslie, who was about twenty yards away from me, and scooted over to where she and Jason were hovering, to see three squid hanging out side by side. I'd never really had this good a look at any of these creatures, and never had a chance to get a decent picture of one, so this was really cool! It appeared that two of them were trying to do their best to protect the third (how gallant, right?)
Leslie was getting a little chilled, so she, and then Jason, decided to head for shore while I took a little longer to see what I could see. Before long I joined them on the rocks, where Jason was taking full advantage of them!
After a short rest we walked back to Salt Pond Bay for our second snorkel of the day. We didn't have the beach to ourselves, but as it was still pretty early, it was by no means crowded. We made our way out to the rocks in the bay, then worked our way back along the right side of the bay. As we were to experience all week, the combination of wind chop, mostly cloudy skies, and residual runoff from the previous week's/month's rains had left the water murkier than it's been on our previous visits, but it wasn't terrible.
After snorkeling our thoughts turned to lunch, and we decided to introduce Jason to Skinny Legs. We were lucky enough to not only score a table right away, but also to get our orders in just before a party of ninety plus people (that were on island for a wedding, from what I could gather) came in. Leslie had a cheeseburger, Jason a plain hamburger, and I opted for the burger of the day which came with swiss cheese and a slice of grilled pineapple - awesome!
Leslie washed her burger down with a Raspberry Colada, while a couple of cold Presidentes did the trick for me. Jason must have liked his burger, because when Leslie and I ordered replacement drinks for our first round he ordered another burger! We had a visitor during lunch. Since Jason has a good friend that likes these creatures a lot more than a certain spice merchant does, we took his picture.
After lunch we surprised Jason by taking a drive up nearby Seagrape Hill. We knew that the owners of our favorite villa up there, the magnificent Reef Madness, had ended their most recent stay there the day before we arrived on island, and that it wouldn't have new guests until tomorrow. Randy and Marcia had graciously said that we could go and see the view from up there, and had even said that we could jump in the pool if we wished to do so - no need to tell me that twice!
I think Leslie was just as excited to take some sugar to put in the bird feeder near the pool, and was rewarded for doing so by a visit from some of "her" (she adopted them when we stayed there in 2008) bananquits!
After our refreshing interlude at Reef Madness we stopped by the condo to rinse the gear and change into dry clothes, then made our way into town to pick up a few things we needed. We took North Shore Road so that Jason could see those views for the first time (OK - we wanted to see them too!). In town we managed to find a parking place near the VINP office and walked to St. John Spice. We missed Ruth, but left her a note and bought some coffee, spices, and a trinket or two.
I grabbed Jason for a requisite pose in front of the Spice Cam. Just in case no one was looking, Leslie took a shot for posterity:
No Pia in sight at the info booth, so, our business in town completed, we headed back home. We feasted on grilled chicken breast and sides for dinner, then spent the bulk of the evening looking at the pictures from the day, sending "teaser" updates to Facebook, etc.
Disclaimer: The pictures in this report from this time forward will be mostly in/around water shots. The weather wasn't very conducive to taking great topside pics, especially those of the "ooh" and "ahh" variety.
Wednesday 7/14
Awake at 5:00AM. It's not a travel day, and I did get a good night's sleep, so that can only mean one thing - we're on St. John! I rolled out of bed, walked towards the front of the condo, and looked out the window over Coral Bay Harbor to cloudy, rainy skies, and a stiff wind blowing out of the east. But who cares? - we're on St. John!
While I made some breakfast, Leslie turned on her computer and went to update her Facebook status with the fact that - we're....OK, you know! After she logged out I checked my page and saw that Captain John was canceling his scheduled charter for today due to weather, and Jay over on St. Thomas had chimed in that he was seeing huge swells on the north side of St. John from over there. OK - so we know where we're NOT going today!
This became our default morning procedure - Leslie and I would be up fairly early, have some breakfast, check the computer, get the cameras ready, put the snorkel gear (after drying from the previous day's use) into the bag, then wake Jason up. He'd grab a breakfast bar or Pop-tart, and we'd soon be on our way.
On this particular day I walked down the hill (driveway) to Big Ben's Deli to get a cup of coffee since I neglected to roast and grind beans to bring with us.
Since we knew we wanted to avoid the North Shore, and since we were already "in the neighborhood" we drove down (over?) to the Salt Pond Bay parking lot, where we were the second vehicle in the lot. We walked the length of the beach to the Ram Head trail head, and made our way to Blue Cobblestone Beach for our inaugural snorkel of the trip.
It was overcast, breezy, and threatening to rain, but it didn't look like we had to worry about lightning, so we donned our gear and went in. We entered the water near the far right side of the beach (as you're facing the water) and slowly made our way along the point until we could see Salt Pond Bay, then turned around and worked our way back. We continued on well past our entry point, just taking it all in.
I was summoned by Leslie, who was about twenty yards away from me, and scooted over to where she and Jason were hovering, to see three squid hanging out side by side. I'd never really had this good a look at any of these creatures, and never had a chance to get a decent picture of one, so this was really cool! It appeared that two of them were trying to do their best to protect the third (how gallant, right?)
Leslie was getting a little chilled, so she, and then Jason, decided to head for shore while I took a little longer to see what I could see. Before long I joined them on the rocks, where Jason was taking full advantage of them!
After a short rest we walked back to Salt Pond Bay for our second snorkel of the day. We didn't have the beach to ourselves, but as it was still pretty early, it was by no means crowded. We made our way out to the rocks in the bay, then worked our way back along the right side of the bay. As we were to experience all week, the combination of wind chop, mostly cloudy skies, and residual runoff from the previous week's/month's rains had left the water murkier than it's been on our previous visits, but it wasn't terrible.
After snorkeling our thoughts turned to lunch, and we decided to introduce Jason to Skinny Legs. We were lucky enough to not only score a table right away, but also to get our orders in just before a party of ninety plus people (that were on island for a wedding, from what I could gather) came in. Leslie had a cheeseburger, Jason a plain hamburger, and I opted for the burger of the day which came with swiss cheese and a slice of grilled pineapple - awesome!
Leslie washed her burger down with a Raspberry Colada, while a couple of cold Presidentes did the trick for me. Jason must have liked his burger, because when Leslie and I ordered replacement drinks for our first round he ordered another burger! We had a visitor during lunch. Since Jason has a good friend that likes these creatures a lot more than a certain spice merchant does, we took his picture.
After lunch we surprised Jason by taking a drive up nearby Seagrape Hill. We knew that the owners of our favorite villa up there, the magnificent Reef Madness, had ended their most recent stay there the day before we arrived on island, and that it wouldn't have new guests until tomorrow. Randy and Marcia had graciously said that we could go and see the view from up there, and had even said that we could jump in the pool if we wished to do so - no need to tell me that twice!
I think Leslie was just as excited to take some sugar to put in the bird feeder near the pool, and was rewarded for doing so by a visit from some of "her" (she adopted them when we stayed there in 2008) bananquits!
After our refreshing interlude at Reef Madness we stopped by the condo to rinse the gear and change into dry clothes, then made our way into town to pick up a few things we needed. We took North Shore Road so that Jason could see those views for the first time (OK - we wanted to see them too!). In town we managed to find a parking place near the VINP office and walked to St. John Spice. We missed Ruth, but left her a note and bought some coffee, spices, and a trinket or two.
I grabbed Jason for a requisite pose in front of the Spice Cam. Just in case no one was looking, Leslie took a shot for posterity:
No Pia in sight at the info booth, so, our business in town completed, we headed back home. We feasted on grilled chicken breast and sides for dinner, then spent the bulk of the evening looking at the pictures from the day, sending "teaser" updates to Facebook, etc.
Loved the snorkeling pic's