The Much Anticipated Trip Report Octology, Part Seven
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:31 pm
Trip Report - Day 7
The last full day
Executive Summary
Saturday was our last full day on St. John. It really didn't feel like a whole week had gone by! There were still so many things that we wanted to do! We looked at our list (which was stuck on the villa refrigerator) and decided to head to Annaburg ruins and then hike out to Waterlemon. Since Moonsong faces south/southwest, we had no idea how windy it really was, but when we arrived at Annaburg we were hit by north winds that were blowing at 20-30 mph (confirmed by the Weather Channel later)! It almost felt like we were back in Chicago. From the lookout at Annaburg we could see the waves out by the Cay and decided that we would look for an alternate place to spend the afternoon. We walked around the ruins for a while and then went back to the car to look at the map. Based on the wind direction we decided to go to Francis. It was close, and Mary Point would protect it from the wind. We found one of the last places to park along the road at Francis and walked down the beach. We stopped at a picnic table to eat our lunch and then spread out our blanket on the beach. The girls wanted to do some serious limin' so Amy and I went in snorkeling. We snorkeled and just enjoyed the beach for the rest of the afternoon before going back to the villa to clean up. After cleaning up we went into town so the girls could pick up a couple of last minute souvenirs and then we had dinner at Cafe Roma. Then we went back to the villa to pack.
The details for the non-executive
Amy and I were up early and enjoyed coffee and cereal on the deck with the Bananaquits. We woke the girls at 9:00 and were finally ready to leave the villa at about 10:00. We decided to stop at Deli Grotto for sandwiches on our way to the north shore. Our plan for the day was to spend some time at Annaburg and then hike out to Waterlemon for a final snorkel. It was a beautiful morning at the villa so we had high hopes for the day. We parked right across from the entrance to Mongoose that is closest to Deli Grotto and went in to order our sandwiches. I ordered a Curried Chicken Salad Wrap, Amy ordered the Trunk Bay Chicken Sandwich, KK ordered a ham and cheese and KP had a Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich. We tossed them into the cooler and we headed out along the Horth Shore Road. As usual, the parking lots for Hawksnest, Jumbie and Trunk were full. As we went past the lookout for Maho and Francis we could see the waves at Maho. It was pretty calm when we were there earlier in the week. We parked in the lot at Annaburg and walked the stairs up to the ruins. As we came into the clear at the top of the hill we felt the wind. It felt like the winds in Chicago! I estimates that it was at least 20 MPH from the north. The Weather Channel later showed the winds at 20-30 MPH! We walked out to the lookout and we could see the waves out by Waterlemon and along the beach. There was no one out there and a few people walking the path back towards the parking area. We decided to look around the ruins and then figure out another beach for the afternoon. While we were walking around we met a family who were on St. John for the day from St. Thomas. One of the boys was wearing a Chicago Bears shirt so I asked where they were from and it turned out that they lived just a few miles from our house. They mentioned that they were amazed at how empty the beaches were on St. John compared to St. Thomas. They were looking for somewhere to go for lunch so I gave them directions to Skinny Legs. We saw them at the airport the next day and they thanked us for the recommendation.
When we looked at our map we saw that Francis was protected from the north winds by Mary Point so we backtracked a little and went there. There were cars parked up and down the dirt road but we found the last place. We grabbed our gear and headed towards the beach. We found an empty picnic table so we decided to eat lunch. After lunch we walked towards the right side of the beach and found a spot to layout our stuff. The girls were just going to lay on the beach so Amy and I geared up and headed out snorkeling. Amy was still a little cautious after getting caught in the current when we were out with Captain Phil so she decided to stay close to shore. I headed out into the grass to see what I could see. There wasn't much out here but I did find a huge barracuda (at least 5 feet long). He just floated there while I swan around him taking pictures.
I headed towards the rocks at the far right but noticed a pretty strong current pulling me that way so I headed back. Amy was a bit concerned that I was so far away so I stayed close to her for the rest of the time. The shallows were loaded with fry and I had a lot of fun just floating in the fry to see what would swim by. I saw a bunch of Yellow jacks, some Yellow Tail, a few Cero and a three foot tarpon as I swam among the fry. Amy and I also found a small (two foot) barracuda at the edge of the grass.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just limin' at Francis. After that we went back to Moonsong to clean up and went into town for a couple of last minute souvenirs and dinner. We chose Cafe Roma and had a very good dinner. I had the Seafood Putanesca which had a nice spice to it and was loaded with shrimp, mussels and scallops. Amy had chicken with gnocchi that she raved about and the girls had chicken parmigiana. All of the portions were huge! It;s a shame that we were leaving in the morning and couldn't use the leftovers. The only downside was the service. Our waiter was prompt and friendly, but Amy asked for the key to the restroom at least four times and every time it was "missing". Other people had gone to the restroom in the meantime so i think he kept forgetting. At the end of the meak he told us about a special dessert and I ordered one for us to share. After about five minutes he brought us the check and disappeared. Apparently he forgot about the dessert as well. One of the other servers came over in a few minutes to pickup our credit card. My then the need for dessert had passed.
After we finished dinner we went back to the villa to begin the sad task of packing everything.
Tomorrow: The trip home:( and a few final thoughts
Complete STJ Photo Album
The last full day
Executive Summary
Saturday was our last full day on St. John. It really didn't feel like a whole week had gone by! There were still so many things that we wanted to do! We looked at our list (which was stuck on the villa refrigerator) and decided to head to Annaburg ruins and then hike out to Waterlemon. Since Moonsong faces south/southwest, we had no idea how windy it really was, but when we arrived at Annaburg we were hit by north winds that were blowing at 20-30 mph (confirmed by the Weather Channel later)! It almost felt like we were back in Chicago. From the lookout at Annaburg we could see the waves out by the Cay and decided that we would look for an alternate place to spend the afternoon. We walked around the ruins for a while and then went back to the car to look at the map. Based on the wind direction we decided to go to Francis. It was close, and Mary Point would protect it from the wind. We found one of the last places to park along the road at Francis and walked down the beach. We stopped at a picnic table to eat our lunch and then spread out our blanket on the beach. The girls wanted to do some serious limin' so Amy and I went in snorkeling. We snorkeled and just enjoyed the beach for the rest of the afternoon before going back to the villa to clean up. After cleaning up we went into town so the girls could pick up a couple of last minute souvenirs and then we had dinner at Cafe Roma. Then we went back to the villa to pack.
The details for the non-executive
Amy and I were up early and enjoyed coffee and cereal on the deck with the Bananaquits. We woke the girls at 9:00 and were finally ready to leave the villa at about 10:00. We decided to stop at Deli Grotto for sandwiches on our way to the north shore. Our plan for the day was to spend some time at Annaburg and then hike out to Waterlemon for a final snorkel. It was a beautiful morning at the villa so we had high hopes for the day. We parked right across from the entrance to Mongoose that is closest to Deli Grotto and went in to order our sandwiches. I ordered a Curried Chicken Salad Wrap, Amy ordered the Trunk Bay Chicken Sandwich, KK ordered a ham and cheese and KP had a Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich. We tossed them into the cooler and we headed out along the Horth Shore Road. As usual, the parking lots for Hawksnest, Jumbie and Trunk were full. As we went past the lookout for Maho and Francis we could see the waves at Maho. It was pretty calm when we were there earlier in the week. We parked in the lot at Annaburg and walked the stairs up to the ruins. As we came into the clear at the top of the hill we felt the wind. It felt like the winds in Chicago! I estimates that it was at least 20 MPH from the north. The Weather Channel later showed the winds at 20-30 MPH! We walked out to the lookout and we could see the waves out by Waterlemon and along the beach. There was no one out there and a few people walking the path back towards the parking area. We decided to look around the ruins and then figure out another beach for the afternoon. While we were walking around we met a family who were on St. John for the day from St. Thomas. One of the boys was wearing a Chicago Bears shirt so I asked where they were from and it turned out that they lived just a few miles from our house. They mentioned that they were amazed at how empty the beaches were on St. John compared to St. Thomas. They were looking for somewhere to go for lunch so I gave them directions to Skinny Legs. We saw them at the airport the next day and they thanked us for the recommendation.
When we looked at our map we saw that Francis was protected from the north winds by Mary Point so we backtracked a little and went there. There were cars parked up and down the dirt road but we found the last place. We grabbed our gear and headed towards the beach. We found an empty picnic table so we decided to eat lunch. After lunch we walked towards the right side of the beach and found a spot to layout our stuff. The girls were just going to lay on the beach so Amy and I geared up and headed out snorkeling. Amy was still a little cautious after getting caught in the current when we were out with Captain Phil so she decided to stay close to shore. I headed out into the grass to see what I could see. There wasn't much out here but I did find a huge barracuda (at least 5 feet long). He just floated there while I swan around him taking pictures.
I headed towards the rocks at the far right but noticed a pretty strong current pulling me that way so I headed back. Amy was a bit concerned that I was so far away so I stayed close to her for the rest of the time. The shallows were loaded with fry and I had a lot of fun just floating in the fry to see what would swim by. I saw a bunch of Yellow jacks, some Yellow Tail, a few Cero and a three foot tarpon as I swam among the fry. Amy and I also found a small (two foot) barracuda at the edge of the grass.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just limin' at Francis. After that we went back to Moonsong to clean up and went into town for a couple of last minute souvenirs and dinner. We chose Cafe Roma and had a very good dinner. I had the Seafood Putanesca which had a nice spice to it and was loaded with shrimp, mussels and scallops. Amy had chicken with gnocchi that she raved about and the girls had chicken parmigiana. All of the portions were huge! It;s a shame that we were leaving in the morning and couldn't use the leftovers. The only downside was the service. Our waiter was prompt and friendly, but Amy asked for the key to the restroom at least four times and every time it was "missing". Other people had gone to the restroom in the meantime so i think he kept forgetting. At the end of the meak he told us about a special dessert and I ordered one for us to share. After about five minutes he brought us the check and disappeared. Apparently he forgot about the dessert as well. One of the other servers came over in a few minutes to pickup our credit card. My then the need for dessert had passed.
After we finished dinner we went back to the villa to begin the sad task of packing everything.
Tomorrow: The trip home:( and a few final thoughts
Complete STJ Photo Album
Thank you for sharing!
