trip report July 5th - 15th!
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:26 pm
We have been going to St John since 1995 and this is our 9th trip back. Every time we go I get so excited, the thrill never wears off! I keep thinking that maybe this time it won't seem so magical, but it is everytime. I'm obsessed!
For the second time we stayed at Estate Lindholm and loved it. We had a room with a view of Cruz Bay. I just love watching the island wake up with the boats in and out of the harbor. The colors of the water change with the time of day - Is it possible to get tired of this view? The gardens are very beautiful here and are very well taken care of. I look forward to waking up every morning and having breakfast on the terraces. The owners Lauren and Brion are welcoming, caring hosts with a wealth of information about the island. Just love some of the local stories as well. We can't wait to return.
We didn't realize it at the time, but St John was celebrating July 4th on the 5th! We were landing on St Thomas right at the time of Carnival. We were never here for the Carnival so thought , oh well, great! We never saw it , should be fun. We were warned it might be crazy coming in on the ferry with luggage and the roads closed so take our time. We decided to have lunch at Red Hook and then take the ferry over. Good idea. It started pouring as soon as we got to Red Hook, so having lunch at the Marina was a perfect break. On the taxi over, we passed the police handcuffing a young man along the side of the road by the Wyndham. Dead silence in the taxi. Even the cab driver was upset. That soon forgotten in our excitement to be heading to St John, we had a great lunch with the owners 8 year old daughter (or maybe 9)
being our waitress and making sure we were happy with our lunch! Rain stopped and we walked over to the ferry!!! On our way...
Pulling into Cruz Bay is a thrill for us!! Now with the Carnival, it was really exciting. Music playing, dancing , local food, everyone having a great time. Luggage and all, we followed the parade and joined in on the fun. After it was over we made it to Mongoose Junction and the roads opened and we were able to catch a taxi up the hill to Estate Lindholm. Thought we might have to walk it, but was grateful for the taxi as we have been going since 4 a.m. back in New York.
That night we watched the fireworks from our balcony. What a first night on St John - fireworks welcoming us back!!!!
carnival was really fun, we are glad we finally were there for it.
In the following days, our big decision was what beach to go to. The thing about St John is that every beach is spectacular! Every year we think we have a favorite beach, last year it was Honeymoon, this year it was Hawksnest. We went to them all,of course.
This year Leinster Bay was alive with turtles. My husband was actually swimming with one. There is so much life in the water at Leinster Bay and around Waterlemon Key. What a place!
Besides, swimming and snorkeling we sailed with the Wayward Sailor, The Spree and sailed on the Breath. All were wonderful. For $70 for a full day sail and snorkel on the Spree, you can't beat it. This doesn't include lunch, but we went to the Deli and grabbed a sandwich. Capt. Phil on the Wayward Sailor is a pleasure as usual. I highly recommend him and his great personality. Sailing on the Breath out of Coral Bay was a treat as well.
We are vegetarians, so we may not be the best people to ask for restaurant recommendations, but we do have some favorites. Margaritta Phils for Mexican is very good, so is Rhumb Lines and we also like Sogo's for some local cuisine. They have a great curry lentil soup with johnny cakes. This year we discovered some great local vegetarian food at a little food stop just passed the Star Fish super market. Look for a sign on the road just passed the maket, make that right and after about a minute on your right you will see a turquoise stand. try his lunch, the best on the island!
The smoothie truck is another must for us. About 3 o'clock every day, it was time for a beach break, and head to the smoothie truck for a banana and coconut smoothie! Life was tough.
Back to our room later, for coffee and some local Guava Tart or piece of Coconut cake which we get at the pine peace supermaket, on our balcony to watch the day end in Cruz Bay. Then off to dinner and discuss which beach we should go to the next day. Can life get any better than this?I think not.
People have asked me why we go back to St John all the time. They ask me why we don't go somewhere else?
I find it hard to explain. It is something you have to experience. Some people have been to St John and still don't get it. We feel like we are one of the lucky ones. Have been back for two weeks and already can't wait to return.
For the second time we stayed at Estate Lindholm and loved it. We had a room with a view of Cruz Bay. I just love watching the island wake up with the boats in and out of the harbor. The colors of the water change with the time of day - Is it possible to get tired of this view? The gardens are very beautiful here and are very well taken care of. I look forward to waking up every morning and having breakfast on the terraces. The owners Lauren and Brion are welcoming, caring hosts with a wealth of information about the island. Just love some of the local stories as well. We can't wait to return.
We didn't realize it at the time, but St John was celebrating July 4th on the 5th! We were landing on St Thomas right at the time of Carnival. We were never here for the Carnival so thought , oh well, great! We never saw it , should be fun. We were warned it might be crazy coming in on the ferry with luggage and the roads closed so take our time. We decided to have lunch at Red Hook and then take the ferry over. Good idea. It started pouring as soon as we got to Red Hook, so having lunch at the Marina was a perfect break. On the taxi over, we passed the police handcuffing a young man along the side of the road by the Wyndham. Dead silence in the taxi. Even the cab driver was upset. That soon forgotten in our excitement to be heading to St John, we had a great lunch with the owners 8 year old daughter (or maybe 9)
being our waitress and making sure we were happy with our lunch! Rain stopped and we walked over to the ferry!!! On our way...
Pulling into Cruz Bay is a thrill for us!! Now with the Carnival, it was really exciting. Music playing, dancing , local food, everyone having a great time. Luggage and all, we followed the parade and joined in on the fun. After it was over we made it to Mongoose Junction and the roads opened and we were able to catch a taxi up the hill to Estate Lindholm. Thought we might have to walk it, but was grateful for the taxi as we have been going since 4 a.m. back in New York.
That night we watched the fireworks from our balcony. What a first night on St John - fireworks welcoming us back!!!!
carnival was really fun, we are glad we finally were there for it.
In the following days, our big decision was what beach to go to. The thing about St John is that every beach is spectacular! Every year we think we have a favorite beach, last year it was Honeymoon, this year it was Hawksnest. We went to them all,of course.
This year Leinster Bay was alive with turtles. My husband was actually swimming with one. There is so much life in the water at Leinster Bay and around Waterlemon Key. What a place!
Besides, swimming and snorkeling we sailed with the Wayward Sailor, The Spree and sailed on the Breath. All were wonderful. For $70 for a full day sail and snorkel on the Spree, you can't beat it. This doesn't include lunch, but we went to the Deli and grabbed a sandwich. Capt. Phil on the Wayward Sailor is a pleasure as usual. I highly recommend him and his great personality. Sailing on the Breath out of Coral Bay was a treat as well.
We are vegetarians, so we may not be the best people to ask for restaurant recommendations, but we do have some favorites. Margaritta Phils for Mexican is very good, so is Rhumb Lines and we also like Sogo's for some local cuisine. They have a great curry lentil soup with johnny cakes. This year we discovered some great local vegetarian food at a little food stop just passed the Star Fish super market. Look for a sign on the road just passed the maket, make that right and after about a minute on your right you will see a turquoise stand. try his lunch, the best on the island!
The smoothie truck is another must for us. About 3 o'clock every day, it was time for a beach break, and head to the smoothie truck for a banana and coconut smoothie! Life was tough.
Back to our room later, for coffee and some local Guava Tart or piece of Coconut cake which we get at the pine peace supermaket, on our balcony to watch the day end in Cruz Bay. Then off to dinner and discuss which beach we should go to the next day. Can life get any better than this?I think not.
People have asked me why we go back to St John all the time. They ask me why we don't go somewhere else?
I find it hard to explain. It is something you have to experience. Some people have been to St John and still don't get it. We feel like we are one of the lucky ones. Have been back for two weeks and already can't wait to return.
