USVI-On-Line

bride & i back to stj 8/1 to 8/8 with a newbie couple. my 13th trip since 10/04 and they are getting harder for us old folks; maybe the bloom is off the rose, more likely we have overdosed on a vacation spot that demands a lot of effort. that's not totally true. stj can be an easy vacation, but when you know all the beautiful places to see and fun things to do on such a tiny island, it feels sinful not to try and do it all. yet with an average age of almost 68, a lot of our get up and go has gone! had some travel problems, second couple didn't get down until the second day after 9 hrs & 3 missed flts on 8/1 and other husband got back home on a later flight than rest of us but it was same day. really can't complain when you're flying standby. but i was amazed that all 7 nonstop south bound flts atl to stt on 7/31 & 8/1 and the 7 north bound returns on 8/7 & 8/8 were full. what recession?

we had a wonderful time. did a lot of the sameo sameo plus a few new things like lunch at caneel (nice), stayed on contant (very convenient & fantastic water, stt, & sunset views), dinner at la tapa (food & service were excellent but i believe tighter seating than lime inn if possible). we dodged bad weather, couple of over night rains and 1 early morning shower going to beach, but overall a lot drier than we expected as TD 3 missed us. we were surprised though as to how hot it was. only other summer trip was last august and water was warm and the breezes cooling. this year the water was warm and the air was like georgia on an august afternoon. also there were more people on island based on restaurant & beach crowds & the hard time we had finding a last minute 4 dr 4wh dr rental.

THE NEW (to me) & GOOD- north shore road paving caused a few minor delays but sure an improvement as is the paving on gifft hill rd. town round about sure made the 5 pt intersection at cruz bay a breeze, but that's a tacky utility pole in middle. new "pay" parking lot between police station and la tapa, couple new parking spaces and walk to jumbie beach but i kind of liked old stairs, all 4 car barges running and 1 left about every half hr on time. renting villa through catered to and pleased with their willingness to handle our last minute reservation - confirmed with call on sat, arrived and paid next day. more friendly people or perhaps i've learned to expect less. first genips purchased from vendor table shown on recent "on stj" board and found tasty. nurse shark under large coral head at hawksnest and a school of seven very large tarpon swimming amongst a large school of feed fish on west end of cinnamon bay (just before peter bay beach). BAD - heat mentioned, 1st trip w/o a stay & snorkel of east side of maho, missed lamehsur, waterelemon, & skinny legs, realized the number of activites on pass trips to stj must be moderated (including copius amounts of rum, beer and wine) as they are not conducive to the long lives our group hopes to continue enjoying.

until next time which i will begin planning soon, i'm still

papabou

though the bride keeps calling me "mr. hobbs"

good for you, 13 times since 2004, I'm tired just thinking about it.

Can you please describe this again for me....did you confirm your rental one day from Catered To, then fly standby the next day down to STJ?

Papabou,
I am so sorry that I missed seeing you in person.

- Ruth

surf, i talked to deb at cto couple times prior week about handling a last minute & mechanics since they don't do credit cards for last minute rates and some specific questions on villas we were looking at, sea grass, blue tang & altagracia (where we stayed). called deb on sat to confirm be there sunday if some made flts otherwise monday. called sunday to greeter to confirm at least part of our party be in on sunday, again at arrival in stt and finally when on barge. they required cashier's ck (got one for 6 nights and paid balance in cash)at arrival. lot of calls but we aren't willing to pay when getting there was in doubt.

ruth, my bad, easy for me to find you when i know where you are. i thought you didn't love me anymore when i didn't get a response to a pm about seagrass. maybe next time. to be honest, newbie couple spent a morning in cb and i dropped and picked them up. otherwise only time i was out of car in cruz was between parking lot and la tapap and morgan's mango.

papabou

papabou, what did you think of Altagracia? We 'almost' rented that one last summer, but ended up at Vida de Mar. I know it has great views, but was the interior comfortable? How did you like the pool?

Glad your last minute trip worked out well Papabou.
Bloom off the rose for you? Never!
STJ overdose? Maybe, but it's kinda like going to your second home when you know everything about it!

Sounds like trip #14 soon come . . .

liamsaunt, we loved location and her views, living areas were large & comfortable. she had a great pool & deck even late afternoon shade and a great covered veranda with plenty of comfy furniture until sun was low in sky. no chefs in our crowd but seems kitchen was well equipped & nice grounds unfortunately she faces west and we were disappointed in heat build-up in living areas/kitchen. only 2 couples so used 2 main level masters, both nice with good ac. great water/sunset views from all living & bedroom areas however had to keep drapes in master next to grroom closed to block afternoon sun & keep cool. though several villas close by, she was very private due to landscaping.

negs: would not have wanted to stay in either of downstairs bedrooms, dark and musty; didn't like absence of doors separating bedroom sleeping areas (very large) from bath/toilets (strange); washer and dryer off kitchen in a hall open to the master bedroom; & refrig didn't do job though freeezer did and there were a bunch of those freezer thingys. there were 7 sets of double slider doors with screens for breezes in living area but none for us and just created a lot of looking when going out.

i believe my "feel" for her was damaged due to sun patterns & abundant heat on island while we were there. average heat factor had to have been 5 degrees hotter than same time last year. i would consider her again for max 2 couples for a nov thru feb trip when there would be more breezes and less sun exposure to north end of villa. there's a lot to like about her, roomy, comfy beds and more outdoor area for comfotable use that any villa ever visited.

papabou

Papabou...sounds like you need some time in STX for a slight change of pace & to relax with us oldies(ha,ha)! We are learning to pace ourselves.....

msg, next trip soon i hope but probably w/o bride. maybe next spring our late fall 2011 for her. she does not travel well!

papabou

The actual flight bugs me also, BUT it's all so worth while to live in paradise. That's why we now live in St Croix from Mid-October thru May!!! Stop by any time, we have lots of space!