Trip Report 4/24-5/1 Part 2
Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 11:26 pm
Halfway through Day 3- We stopped at Pine Peace Market on the way home. They had a different selection of foods than Starfish and we picked up some more food, but most importantly we found Virgin Islands Tropical Mango Pale Ale- delicious! After some more pool time, checking banana trees, lizard hunting, beer drinking and some card games and watching cruise ships sail away, off to bed.
Day 4- No cruise ships in St. Thomas, so we headed to Trunk. Paid our fee, and hit the beach. After a quick dip, our little guy promptly fell asleep on my husband’s lap. So, he read a book for a long time while we girls swam with the current, walked back on the sand, built sand castles, swam back, picked shells along the beach back to the sand castles, decorated the sandcastles, swam back, well you get the idea. After the little guy woke up, we had a picnic lunch. Then, a truck full of beginning snorkelers showed up, and we decided to cut our losses and head to Maho. I’ve never seen Trunk so crowded, and it stole the beauty of the beach (and that was with no cruse ships).
Back to Maho… ahh…. Perfect.
More swimming and sand castles. This time we swam to the east side by the rocks and looked at all the fish, and even an iguana on the beach. We saw people in a dingy, and the guy caught a little fish in his hands to show my 4 year old and she was thrilled. People at the beaches always seem so friendly.
Well, for those who tried to help me find a place for Girl’s Night Out, I’m sad to say it didn’t pan out. Instead, we had dinner and a play date with our friends who live on Skytop. Now, after seeing the roads leading to our villa in Fish Bay, there was no way I was driving those at night, so it’s just as well. Plus, when I saw the views from their place, well, I didn’t mind not being in a loud bar.
Had a nice Italian dinner and a salad of Josephine’s greens- delicious!
Day 5- We had plans to hit another beach this day, but our skin was so sunburned and the sun no longer felt wonderful. We decided to skip the beach and go on a search for the elusive ‘sensitive plant’ (mimosa pudica) that we had been searching for all week. I found it on the Reef Bay Hike a few years back and my daughter was itching to see it with her own eyes. We went to the Native Plant Garden in Fish Bay hoping to see it, but no luck. We did see what we thought may be a donkey jaw in a tree, though.
We decided to go all over until we found that sensitive plant. We stopped at St. John Market for some snacks and waters, then headed to Catherineburg ruins. We walked around the ruins a bit, then found the elusive sensitive plant (to my daughter’s delight).
We toyed with the idea of heading all the way down John Head Road to the North Shore Road, but decided not to chance it.
Next, we headed to Mongoose Junction for some lunch and souveneir shopping. Stopped for our only restaurant meal at Sun Dog Café. Good food, low key atmosphere, and the kids enjoyed the chickens strolling by our table.
At this point our little guy hit the wall and passed out in the car. We tried to stop by my favorite Gibney Beach, but alas all the spots were taken (I think I remember a red Wrangler being one of them ). I took this as a sign that we would just have to come back for another trip.
Back to the villa for some preliminary packing while the little one slept. Then, again to the playground. But this time we explored a little more and found the birds at the Westin, which the kids liked. We walked along the beach and looked for some shells. On the way back to the Jeep we found some tropical humor.
Back at the villa we finished packing and straightening up, and tried to plan out our return trip for the next day. Now, we just had to finish up that Tropical Mango Pale Ale lest it go to waste. One last dip in the pool. And started dreaming of our return trip.
Day 6- Going home day. A quick good bye to our on island friends, and we headed for the market to take home some Cruzan Rum. Packed it in the suitcase, and headed for the car ferry. Hopped right on a waiting ferry, and sailed away from our island paradise. Traffic by the harbor was a lot lighter than we anticipated, even with events going on in CA harbor. We had extra time, so we stopped at a hotel to look around and tried to grab lunch, but were too early. Decided to turn the Jeep in, and head to the airport. Getting there early made check in and security a breeze. Not so much for another traveler- we watched as the airline gave her family’s seats away to someone on standby because they arrived late. Our flight actually took off early and arrived early. Now, remember that Cruzan Rum we stashed in our luggage. Well, our bag got tagged as a heavy bag, and for some reason all the heavy bags seems to not be on the carousel. So, we went to file a claim along with everyone else, and just about as we get to the counter someone yells “there’s more bags” and low and behold there is our bag- Cruzan Rum still intact.
We looked at all our pictures and videos on the long ride home, sad to be home, but happy to have been on St. John. And a vow to travel with only carry ons next time.
Hope you enjoyed my recap as much as I enjoyed writing it!
~Amy
Day 4- No cruise ships in St. Thomas, so we headed to Trunk. Paid our fee, and hit the beach. After a quick dip, our little guy promptly fell asleep on my husband’s lap. So, he read a book for a long time while we girls swam with the current, walked back on the sand, built sand castles, swam back, picked shells along the beach back to the sand castles, decorated the sandcastles, swam back, well you get the idea. After the little guy woke up, we had a picnic lunch. Then, a truck full of beginning snorkelers showed up, and we decided to cut our losses and head to Maho. I’ve never seen Trunk so crowded, and it stole the beauty of the beach (and that was with no cruse ships).
Back to Maho… ahh…. Perfect.
More swimming and sand castles. This time we swam to the east side by the rocks and looked at all the fish, and even an iguana on the beach. We saw people in a dingy, and the guy caught a little fish in his hands to show my 4 year old and she was thrilled. People at the beaches always seem so friendly.
Well, for those who tried to help me find a place for Girl’s Night Out, I’m sad to say it didn’t pan out. Instead, we had dinner and a play date with our friends who live on Skytop. Now, after seeing the roads leading to our villa in Fish Bay, there was no way I was driving those at night, so it’s just as well. Plus, when I saw the views from their place, well, I didn’t mind not being in a loud bar.
Had a nice Italian dinner and a salad of Josephine’s greens- delicious!
Day 5- We had plans to hit another beach this day, but our skin was so sunburned and the sun no longer felt wonderful. We decided to skip the beach and go on a search for the elusive ‘sensitive plant’ (mimosa pudica) that we had been searching for all week. I found it on the Reef Bay Hike a few years back and my daughter was itching to see it with her own eyes. We went to the Native Plant Garden in Fish Bay hoping to see it, but no luck. We did see what we thought may be a donkey jaw in a tree, though.
We decided to go all over until we found that sensitive plant. We stopped at St. John Market for some snacks and waters, then headed to Catherineburg ruins. We walked around the ruins a bit, then found the elusive sensitive plant (to my daughter’s delight).
We toyed with the idea of heading all the way down John Head Road to the North Shore Road, but decided not to chance it.
Next, we headed to Mongoose Junction for some lunch and souveneir shopping. Stopped for our only restaurant meal at Sun Dog Café. Good food, low key atmosphere, and the kids enjoyed the chickens strolling by our table.
At this point our little guy hit the wall and passed out in the car. We tried to stop by my favorite Gibney Beach, but alas all the spots were taken (I think I remember a red Wrangler being one of them ). I took this as a sign that we would just have to come back for another trip.
Back to the villa for some preliminary packing while the little one slept. Then, again to the playground. But this time we explored a little more and found the birds at the Westin, which the kids liked. We walked along the beach and looked for some shells. On the way back to the Jeep we found some tropical humor.
Back at the villa we finished packing and straightening up, and tried to plan out our return trip for the next day. Now, we just had to finish up that Tropical Mango Pale Ale lest it go to waste. One last dip in the pool. And started dreaming of our return trip.
Day 6- Going home day. A quick good bye to our on island friends, and we headed for the market to take home some Cruzan Rum. Packed it in the suitcase, and headed for the car ferry. Hopped right on a waiting ferry, and sailed away from our island paradise. Traffic by the harbor was a lot lighter than we anticipated, even with events going on in CA harbor. We had extra time, so we stopped at a hotel to look around and tried to grab lunch, but were too early. Decided to turn the Jeep in, and head to the airport. Getting there early made check in and security a breeze. Not so much for another traveler- we watched as the airline gave her family’s seats away to someone on standby because they arrived late. Our flight actually took off early and arrived early. Now, remember that Cruzan Rum we stashed in our luggage. Well, our bag got tagged as a heavy bag, and for some reason all the heavy bags seems to not be on the carousel. So, we went to file a claim along with everyone else, and just about as we get to the counter someone yells “there’s more bags” and low and behold there is our bag- Cruzan Rum still intact.
We looked at all our pictures and videos on the long ride home, sad to be home, but happy to have been on St. John. And a vow to travel with only carry ons next time.
Hope you enjoyed my recap as much as I enjoyed writing it!
~Amy