family vacation 2011 - part 3
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 8:54 pm
3/2 - Today is Wednesday - you know- when you start to think about the fact you DO have to leave 
- the "boys" went to Jumbie for their early morning snorkel - daughter #1 joined them - they really enjoyed the snorkel - saw different rock formations and fish from Waterlemon and Francis - we planned to leave the house around 11 to meet at Vie's. We got there and ordered our food and headed for the beach - we set up all the way to the left so we had some shade for the baby. The food was good - not really my style but good just the same - we had a few beers on the beach and enjoyed the warm, calm water for floating. The snorkeling wasn't anything great - SIL said out by the rocks on the right there was good stuff to see but I was enjoying the beach too much to check it out. We stayed until we had enough sun and went to Skinny's to do some shopping. I love that little plaza for t-shirts and souvenirs. Back to the villa - for dinner tonight we put different courses in a hat and drew to see who had which course to prepare. I got entree which was only fair since I hadn't cooked yet that week. It was fun to see what everyone made. We were too tired to play cards so we just visited for a while and went to bed early.
3/3 - Daughter #2 and family left today. They had spent last week camping at Cinnamon which they really loved. I watched the baby
while they packed and they headed out to turn in their car and catch the 12 o'clock ferry. daughter #3 and gf had rented a dinghy for a half day today and daughter #1 and husband headed to Maho for the day. We went into Cruz Bay for lunch - ended up at the Beach Bar then more souvenir shopping - daughter #1 and SIL were meeting a friend of theirs that lives on island for dinner and the rest of us had late big lunches so it was burgers on the grill for dinner - the bugs were bad this night - the first time all trip - we ended up having to eat inside - this house had so much room and so many options - it was really comfortable and easy to stay at. Early to bed because tomorrow a group of us are heading to Waterlemon Cay for an early morning snorkel. It was great we were the only ones there - I saw a turtle and nurse shark right away - we swam around the back and the coral was beautiful aand there were lots of fish. We saw starfish and there was a nurse shark sleeping on the east side of the cay. It was great snorkeling and a great one for the last one of the trip - we went back via Coral Bay to exchange a t-shirt at Skinny's and back to the house to relax. We had planned to go into town for lunch again but we decided to stay at the house to relax and rest. The plan was to walk along the beach to the Reef Bay Trail and up to the petroglyphs. After a long soak in the hot tub I realized I wasn't going anywhere. A few went and said it was an easy hike and well worth the 3-hours round trip. It was finally my night to make dinner so I called Candi's and ordered several entrees with a variety of sides for everyone to share. All the "kids" were going to the Beach Bar to hear a band they knew from Boston. It was real quiet at the house - we got all our packing done and spent our last evening hanging out on the patio looking at the stars and dreaming of our next trip to STJ 
3/5 - Today is our travel day - we are catching the 3;45 non-stop to Boston which gave us plenty of time to hang out in town and grab a bite to eat. We parked and went to JJ's for something t eat. We decided we would head over on the 11 barge so we wouldn't have to worry about time at all. The barge left shortly after we got there and we were back on STT in no time we stopped at Marina Market in Red Hook for sandwiches to eat at the airport. That was the best idea yet. The sandwiches were freshly made on delicious bread and fresh ingredients. They were perfect for at the airport - in fact they were so big we saved half for on the flight. The checking in process at the airport couldn't be any more painful. - the only consolation was that you were still outside in nice weather. Our filght landed on time and our shuttle picked us up - when we got back to the hotel our car was sitting in the valet parking lane ready to transfer our bags to and off we went.All in all the week was great. The weather was incredibly nice and the house was everything you could ask for. The layout was great for our family. The kitchen had everything you could imagine even a a drawer full of spices. The pool was spotless and the hot tub was big enough for 6 people 'we truly enjoyed this beautiful spot on the south shore. Listening to the waves crash on the shore was soothing and seeing the cruise ships out on the water was fun to watch. The house had coolers, beac h chairs and snorkel sets. There wasn't anything we wished we had. Now to start the vacation fund and the villa hunt for next year!
- the "boys" went to Jumbie for their early morning snorkel - daughter #1 joined them - they really enjoyed the snorkel - saw different rock formations and fish from Waterlemon and Francis - we planned to leave the house around 11 to meet at Vie's. We got there and ordered our food and headed for the beach - we set up all the way to the left so we had some shade for the baby. The food was good - not really my style but good just the same - we had a few beers on the beach and enjoyed the warm, calm water for floating. The snorkeling wasn't anything great - SIL said out by the rocks on the right there was good stuff to see but I was enjoying the beach too much to check it out. We stayed until we had enough sun and went to Skinny's to do some shopping. I love that little plaza for t-shirts and souvenirs. Back to the villa - for dinner tonight we put different courses in a hat and drew to see who had which course to prepare. I got entree which was only fair since I hadn't cooked yet that week. It was fun to see what everyone made. We were too tired to play cards so we just visited for a while and went to bed early. 3/3 - Daughter #2 and family left today. They had spent last week camping at Cinnamon which they really loved. I watched the baby
while they packed and they headed out to turn in their car and catch the 12 o'clock ferry. daughter #3 and gf had rented a dinghy for a half day today and daughter #1 and husband headed to Maho for the day. We went into Cruz Bay for lunch - ended up at the Beach Bar then more souvenir shopping - daughter #1 and SIL were meeting a friend of theirs that lives on island for dinner and the rest of us had late big lunches so it was burgers on the grill for dinner - the bugs were bad this night - the first time all trip - we ended up having to eat inside - this house had so much room and so many options - it was really comfortable and easy to stay at. Early to bed because tomorrow a group of us are heading to Waterlemon Cay for an early morning snorkel. It was great we were the only ones there - I saw a turtle and nurse shark right away - we swam around the back and the coral was beautiful aand there were lots of fish. We saw starfish and there was a nurse shark sleeping on the east side of the cay. It was great snorkeling and a great one for the last one of the trip - we went back via Coral Bay to exchange a t-shirt at Skinny's and back to the house to relax. We had planned to go into town for lunch again but we decided to stay at the house to relax and rest. The plan was to walk along the beach to the Reef Bay Trail and up to the petroglyphs. After a long soak in the hot tub I realized I wasn't going anywhere. A few went and said it was an easy hike and well worth the 3-hours round trip. It was finally my night to make dinner so I called Candi's and ordered several entrees with a variety of sides for everyone to share. All the "kids" were going to the Beach Bar to hear a band they knew from Boston. It was real quiet at the house - we got all our packing done and spent our last evening hanging out on the patio looking at the stars and dreaming of our next trip to STJ 3/5 - Today is our travel day - we are catching the 3;45 non-stop to Boston which gave us plenty of time to hang out in town and grab a bite to eat. We parked and went to JJ's for something t eat. We decided we would head over on the 11 barge so we wouldn't have to worry about time at all. The barge left shortly after we got there and we were back on STT in no time we stopped at Marina Market in Red Hook for sandwiches to eat at the airport. That was the best idea yet. The sandwiches were freshly made on delicious bread and fresh ingredients. They were perfect for at the airport - in fact they were so big we saved half for on the flight. The checking in process at the airport couldn't be any more painful. - the only consolation was that you were still outside in nice weather. Our filght landed on time and our shuttle picked us up - when we got back to the hotel our car was sitting in the valet parking lane ready to transfer our bags to and off we went.All in all the week was great. The weather was incredibly nice and the house was everything you could ask for. The layout was great for our family. The kitchen had everything you could imagine even a a drawer full of spices. The pool was spotless and the hot tub was big enough for 6 people 'we truly enjoyed this beautiful spot on the south shore. Listening to the waves crash on the shore was soothing and seeing the cruise ships out on the water was fun to watch. The house had coolers, beac h chairs and snorkel sets. There wasn't anything we wished we had. Now to start the vacation fund and the villa hunt for next year!
