usvi-on-line
St John - the first time - again! - Day 1
St John - the first time - again! - Day 1
Cast of Characters:
Me + 2 sisters' all 50-something, all Type-A personality. Love to hike and snorkel. Hate to sit and do nothing.
Husband (mine) 50-something, Type-B (or maybe C) personality. Loves to snorkel – not so much for hiking, loves to play with all his electronics gear – especially his new go-pro camera
Friend (of husband and mine) 60-something –retired. Very active but known to occasionally (like every day) take a long siesta.
History:
All of us have been to St. John multiple times. This was the 6th trip for most of us. However, every time we go, we feel like it’s the first time (hence the trip report title). We always try to do something new and we always see different things (above and below water).
Lodging:
The first several years we stayed at Cinnamon Bay in the Cottages. No problems with them if you go in with the right frame of mind. No, it isn’t a 4-star (or 3-star, or “any star”) hotel, but you are on the beach, you get to hear the waves lap at the shore, and you get to hear all the critters chirping as you drift off to sleep. No refrigerator (in most cottages) and the mini camp stove made cooking meals interesting, but we made it work. A couple of years ago we started staying in a villa in Coral Bay since it wasn’t that much more expensive than Cinnamon Bay. The name of the Villa is Sweet Winds Villa. We LOVE the location and the views. We have also had minimal mosquito problems even last year when they about carried us away as we hiked. The owner of the Villa lives in a small building on the same property. I know there has been lots of discussion on the pros and cons of the owner being on-site.
The owner of this villa is quite a character (if you want to know more, PM me). No problems with her. She met us when we got there and we didn’t see her again until the last day. We tried to set the stage with her that first day letting her know that we aren’t really the invite the owner to dinner kind of folks, and I think she picked up on that. She is very helpful and wants to share her knowledge so that you have a good time on the island. That being said, she is quite animated and talkative. The price of the villa and the views would be hard to beat and the fact that we booked again this year shows how much we enjoy the place.
The Travel Day:
I’m quite convinced that anyone that says they love to travel really means that they love to be somewhere else, but if anyone truly enjoys a travel day I’m going to guess that they are the type of person that refuses Novocain when the dentist fills a cavity.
We usually leave Iowa around 6:00AM and by the time we get to the villa it is around midnight. Each year as we are in about hour 15 of our travel, we ask each other Is this really worth it?
, and each year on the way home we say - How soon till we get to do this again?!? 
Won’t bore you with all the details of our trip, but a few interesting tidbits. On the leg of the journey from Chicago to Miami, they come on the intercom to say they (American) support a charity (UNICEF) and will be coming around the cabin taking donations. WHAT?!? Don’t get me wrong, I give to charities, I just thought it kind of strange that they come around while they have a captive audience and go from row to row taking donations. I guess if I’m ever in the hospital, I better keep some cash in my pocket (what are the odds those gowns would have a pocket?) in case the nurses come around collecting for a charity. Don’t want to start a discussion as to whether this is right or wrong – I’m just saying…. it was strange.
After we watch the carousel in St. Thomas go around and around without our luggage, we must face the fact that our luggage didn’t make it. That always throws a kink in plans since we have the last flight coming from Miami so no way it’s coming later today. Plus, we checked a bag full of frozen meat - that could get ugly! We head to the American cubicle to fill out the paper work. It’s very interesting to me how things are done when luggage is lost. They’ve tagged it, my name is on it, and in this techno-savvy world, you’d think there would be easier ways to track it then have them shove a piece of paper in your face and say “Which one looks most like your luggage?”. Let’s see……., it’s big …it’s black…..it’s square - like all the millions of other pieces of luggage that pass through Miami every day. It’s so hard not to be sarcastic when you’ve been traveling for 16 hours. However, sarcasm gets you nowhere with airline personal, so I bite my tongue and answer all their questions.
TOMORROW: Time to snorkel...or maybe not....
Also, if anyone can be of assistance posting pictures, please PM me.
Me + 2 sisters' all 50-something, all Type-A personality. Love to hike and snorkel. Hate to sit and do nothing.
Husband (mine) 50-something, Type-B (or maybe C) personality. Loves to snorkel – not so much for hiking, loves to play with all his electronics gear – especially his new go-pro camera
Friend (of husband and mine) 60-something –retired. Very active but known to occasionally (like every day) take a long siesta.
History:
All of us have been to St. John multiple times. This was the 6th trip for most of us. However, every time we go, we feel like it’s the first time (hence the trip report title). We always try to do something new and we always see different things (above and below water).
Lodging:
The first several years we stayed at Cinnamon Bay in the Cottages. No problems with them if you go in with the right frame of mind. No, it isn’t a 4-star (or 3-star, or “any star”) hotel, but you are on the beach, you get to hear the waves lap at the shore, and you get to hear all the critters chirping as you drift off to sleep. No refrigerator (in most cottages) and the mini camp stove made cooking meals interesting, but we made it work. A couple of years ago we started staying in a villa in Coral Bay since it wasn’t that much more expensive than Cinnamon Bay. The name of the Villa is Sweet Winds Villa. We LOVE the location and the views. We have also had minimal mosquito problems even last year when they about carried us away as we hiked. The owner of the Villa lives in a small building on the same property. I know there has been lots of discussion on the pros and cons of the owner being on-site.
The owner of this villa is quite a character (if you want to know more, PM me). No problems with her. She met us when we got there and we didn’t see her again until the last day. We tried to set the stage with her that first day letting her know that we aren’t really the invite the owner to dinner kind of folks, and I think she picked up on that. She is very helpful and wants to share her knowledge so that you have a good time on the island. That being said, she is quite animated and talkative. The price of the villa and the views would be hard to beat and the fact that we booked again this year shows how much we enjoy the place.
The Travel Day:
I’m quite convinced that anyone that says they love to travel really means that they love to be somewhere else, but if anyone truly enjoys a travel day I’m going to guess that they are the type of person that refuses Novocain when the dentist fills a cavity.
We usually leave Iowa around 6:00AM and by the time we get to the villa it is around midnight. Each year as we are in about hour 15 of our travel, we ask each other Is this really worth it?
, and each year on the way home we say - How soon till we get to do this again?!? Won’t bore you with all the details of our trip, but a few interesting tidbits. On the leg of the journey from Chicago to Miami, they come on the intercom to say they (American) support a charity (UNICEF) and will be coming around the cabin taking donations. WHAT?!? Don’t get me wrong, I give to charities, I just thought it kind of strange that they come around while they have a captive audience and go from row to row taking donations. I guess if I’m ever in the hospital, I better keep some cash in my pocket (what are the odds those gowns would have a pocket?) in case the nurses come around collecting for a charity. Don’t want to start a discussion as to whether this is right or wrong – I’m just saying…. it was strange.
After we watch the carousel in St. Thomas go around and around without our luggage, we must face the fact that our luggage didn’t make it. That always throws a kink in plans since we have the last flight coming from Miami so no way it’s coming later today. Plus, we checked a bag full of frozen meat - that could get ugly! We head to the American cubicle to fill out the paper work. It’s very interesting to me how things are done when luggage is lost. They’ve tagged it, my name is on it, and in this techno-savvy world, you’d think there would be easier ways to track it then have them shove a piece of paper in your face and say “Which one looks most like your luggage?”. Let’s see……., it’s big …it’s black…..it’s square - like all the millions of other pieces of luggage that pass through Miami every day. It’s so hard not to be sarcastic when you’ve been traveling for 16 hours. However, sarcasm gets you nowhere with airline personal, so I bite my tongue and answer all their questions.
TOMORROW: Time to snorkel...or maybe not....
Also, if anyone can be of assistance posting pictures, please PM me.
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ColumbiaSCTraveler
- Posts: 528
- Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:33 pm
- Location: Columbia, SC
Sitting in an airport terminal RIGHT NOW (on the way to STJ!), so I feel you about airport personnel. My husband was "randomly selected" by TSA for additional testing. FANTASTIC. I'm already pooped since we had to wake up at 3am! Looking forward to the rest of your trip report! Looking forward to my own trip as well! It's here - FINALLY! Now if only EMILY WILL GO AWAY!!!!!!!
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Capn Dan and Ruby
- Posts: 1006
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:08 pm
- Location: PC Florida
OMG! MEAT! Expensive and nasty! Can't wait to find out about that! I now have another reason not to do checked bags. Truly weird donation situation. I like the idea of giving to UNICEF, but that was just bad business. It must have been an individual pilot thing, because I have not that happen to me on AA fights before.
in case no one has sent you a pm on how to post pictures, I learned from reading this thread:
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... st+picture
if you just have a few and do not have them uploaded www.tinypic.com works great.
If you have a lot of pictures, it's easier to upload multiple pics at a hosting site.
I uploaded mine to http://photobucket.com/
both these sites are free...
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... st+picture
if you just have a few and do not have them uploaded www.tinypic.com works great.
If you have a lot of pictures, it's easier to upload multiple pics at a hosting site.
I uploaded mine to http://photobucket.com/
both these sites are free...
