Seventeen more days in paradise, part two

[liamsaunt]

Part one: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=21301

Day seven (Wednesday): Tropical storm watch: villa day #2

More iffy weather and lingering effects from the sun on our redheaded guest made us decide to have another villa day. We did venture in to town mid-day for some errands and lunch at Waterfront Bistro, where I ran into the lovely Pia and Betty, who is running the St. John Dreams blog right now. (Hey Betty! Update your blog please!)

We had a nice lunch at Waterfront Bistro. I had a delicious tuna nicoise salad. This was probably my favorite meal we ate out:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051299322/" title="5 nicoise salad waterfront bistro by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6087/605 ... 572aa4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 nicoise salad waterfront bistro"></a>

Most other folks chose their fish tacos. I have had these before and they are very good:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051299212/" title="5 fish tacos by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6203/605 ... 145faf.jpg" width="500" height="319" alt="5 fish tacos"></a>

Then back to the house for more pool time and a delicious dinner of grilled local tuna:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050748161/" title="5 tuna with cilantro butter by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6205/605 ... 284691.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 tuna with cilantro butter"></a>

No sunset again this evening.


Day eight (Thursday): Caneel and Honeymoon Beaches

We parked at Caneel and trekked out to beautiful Honeymoon beach:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051299506/" title="5 honeymoon by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6208/605 ... 16fc8a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 honeymoon"></a>

The kids really liked this beach a lot. The sand is so soft and white, and the water is exceptionally clear. While swimming, our feet were continually circled by the palometa fish here (aka foot munchers). I took this picture by just sticking the camera underwater and snapping without looking, there were so many of them:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051300250/" title="5 honeymoon palometa-jpg by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6079/605 ... d71b92.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 honeymoon palometa-jpg"></a>

John, Sean, and I snorkeled over to Solomon from Honeymoon, making some good sightings along the way.

Stoplight parrotfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050749421/" title="5 honeymoon parrotfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6073/605 ... a2f0bf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 honeymoon parrotfish"></a>

Grey angelfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050749279/" title="5 honeymoon angelfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6208/605 ... b49e46.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 honeymoon angelfish"></a>

Trunkfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051300150/" title="5 trunkfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6088/605 ... e130cf.jpg" width="500" height="434" alt="5 trunkfish"></a>

Squid:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051300378/" title="5 honeymoon squid by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6186/605 ... 5116ab.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 honeymoon squid"></a>

The largest parrotfish I have ever seen! It was orange on the head also:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051300056/" title="5 giant parrotfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6073/605 ... 51fc86.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="5 giant parrotfish"></a>

One of my favorites, the elegant and beautiful queen triggerfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050748655/" title="5 queen tirggerfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6193/605 ... 0acd8c.jpg" width="500" height="252" alt="5 queen tirggerfish"></a>

Once we were done swimming and snorkeling at Honeymoon, we had lunch at the Caneel Beach Terrace. After swimming and eating here, Liam informed me that next time, we should all just stay at Caneel Bay. Hahahahahaha!! Right. Dream on, little man. Lunch was pretty decent, and I didn’t think the prices were higher than many of the places in town. Tropical caprese salad:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050749819/" title="5 caneel tropical caprese by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6066/605 ... 61f1bd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 caneel tropical caprese"></a>

Chicken, pickled onion, and candied walnut salad:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051300888/" title="5 caneel chicken salad by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6072/605 ... 1b1e05.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 caneel chicken salad"></a>

Jerked chicken quesadillas:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051300786/" title="5 caneel quesadilla by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6063/605 ... 963695.jpg" width="500" height="287" alt="5 caneel quesadilla"></a>

The kids split a pizza (no picture). I was very appreciative that the friendly waitress mentioned that the “individual” pizzas were large enough to share. If we had ordered two as we had planned we would have had a lot of waste.

After lunch we headed over to Caneel’s public beach to swim and snorkel. I took my sister out to snorkel for the first time and was able to show her an octopus hiding in its cave, as well as a huge barracuda. Other sightings:

Feather duster worm:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051301162/" title="5 caneel feather duster worm by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6186/605 ... 0e4817.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 caneel feather duster worm"></a>

Pair of banded butterflyfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051299650/" title="5 banded butterflyfish caneel by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6198/605 ... 30e3a9.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="5 banded butterflyfish caneel"></a>

Hermit crab:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050750137/" title="5 hermit crab caneel by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/605 ... db3cd0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="5 hermit crab caneel"></a>

I just love Caneel Bay. Everyone was really friendly to us, even though we were not staying there this time. I saw lots of non-resort guests on the main beach. Plus, it was interesting to actually set up on the main beach. When staying at Caneel, we camp out on Scott or Turtle, but there is good snorkeling at the main beach too!

Back to the house for another night with no sunset—too silvery. Everyone went to bed early.


Day nine (Friday): Cinnamon :


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/5450668049/" title="cinnamon bay by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/545 ... 4ccb9c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="cinnamon bay"></a>

We headed all the way down to the far end of the beach to get away from the crowds and try and find some shade (semi-successfully).

John and Sean went to snorkel the Cay, Laura and I stayed back with the children. Underwater photos courtesy John (With my camera. I have to keep saying it is my camera because after using it he wants to steal it!):

School of jacks:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051301610/" title="6 cinnamon jacks by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6203/605 ... 3f4a88.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="6 cinnamon jacks"></a>

Night sergeant:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050750361/" title="6 cinnamon night seargant by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6071/605 ... d32b20.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="6 cinnamon night seargant"></a>

Spotted trunkfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050750271/" title="6 cinnamon smooth trunkfish by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6209/605 ... 59a3bc.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="6 cinnamon smooth trunkfish"></a>

Meanwhile, Laura and I proved once again that when we are together, we have a tendency to attract…odd people. We have had some “interesting” conversations over the years, but this one was especially confusing:

Stranger swims up to me: Have you seen my sister?
Me: No
Stranger: Do you know where she is?
Me: ??? No.
Stranger: Well, do you think something ate her?
Me: What?
Stranger: You know, a shark or something. I haven’t seen her in a while. Do you think something ate her up?
Me: Um….no.
Stranger: Well, she said she was going swimming with her friend and I haven’t seen them in a while. She doesn’t even have one of those breathing things. You know, those tubes? I really think something ate her up! I am going to call the Coast Guard!
Me: How old is she?
Stranger: 18
Me: Have you checked the bar?
Stranger: Oh…..
Stranger leaves

Anyway, the kids really liked this beach. They swam for hours, built sandcastles, and did all the fun things that kids do.

No sunset tonight, the clouds got in the way. Dinner of teriyaki chicken with various vegetables and udon noodles:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050750523/" title="6 stir fry by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6065/605 ... 2f213e.jpg" width="500" height="304" alt="6 stir fry"></a>

Day ten (Saturday):

Today we headed over to the Lameshurs. This was my first time ever driving in four-wheel drive. I did OK, I think. I did have a little trouble at the beginning, but once Sean gently mentioned that I needed to put the car back into drive after engaging the 4WD system instead of leaving it in neutral and assuming it would go forward, we were good. What can I say? I don’t drive very often! I agreed to skip the snorkel to Tektite to help my sister with the kids (the sacrifices I make!). John and Sean headed to Great Lameshur after dropping me, Laura and the kids at little Lameshur. Here are some underwater photos from the Tektite snorkel, courtesy of John (and my camera!):

Cushion sea star:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050751373/" title="6 lameshur sea star by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6198/605 ... cc0457.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="6 lameshur sea star"></a>

Coral:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050751249/" title="6 lameshur coral by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6209/605 ... aa4128.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="6 lameshur coral"></a>

Harlequin sea bass:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051302264/" title="6 lameshur harlequin bass by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6187/605 ... 480675.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="6 lameshur harlequin bass"></a>

Hawksbill turtle:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051301970/" title="6 lameshure hawksbill by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6187/605 ... 294a84.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="6 lameshure hawksbill"></a>

Spanish hogfish:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051301898/" title="6 lameshur spanish hogfish best by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6086/605 ... 386ec3.jpg" width="500" height="404" alt="6 lameshur spanish hogfish best"></a>

Barred hamlet:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051301796/" title="6 lameshur hamlet 2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6072/605 ... 511128.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="6 lameshur hamlet 2"></a>

Meanwhile, I was back on Little Lameshur beach with a book:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050751513/" title="6 little lameshur by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6186/605 ... 7f5c4f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="6 little lameshur"></a>

The kids didn’t love this beach. They thought it was too rocky for swimming, so they spent a lot of time building sandcastles:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050751669/" title="6 lameshur kids by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6083/605 ... b7c0b5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="6 lameshur kids"></a>

Liam and I tried to snorkel but the visibility was awful! I could not even see my hand in front of my face. So I was glad to hear that the guys had a good time out at Tektite. BUT, I did find one cool thing on my bad Little Lameshur snorkel, a goldspotted eel:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6057437669/" title="6 goldspotted eel lameshur by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6077/605 ... 521184.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="6 goldspotted eel lameshur"></a>

It was very small, but very cool.

Once the guys returned we headed for a late lunch at Shipwreck Landing.

Grilled mahi sandwich:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051303360/" title="6 shipwreck grilled mahi by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6061/605 ... e03872.jpg" width="500" height="306" alt="6 shipwreck grilled mahi"></a>

Jerked wahoo sandwich:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051303256/" title="6 shipwreck wahoo by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6076/605 ... 1c780f.jpg" width="500" height="415" alt="6 shipwreck wahoo"></a>

Blackened mahi sandwich:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050751877/" title="6 shipwreck blackened mahi by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6070/605 ... b84d80.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="6 shipwreck blackened mahi"></a>

Fish and chips:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6051303128/" title="6 shipwreck fish and chips by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/605 ... d81f62.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="6 shipwreck fish and chips"></a>

Wahoo tacos:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050751779/" title="6 shipwreck whaoo tacos by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6065/605 ... 878684.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="6 shipwreck whaoo tacos"></a>

Liam was thrilled that they had an egg free dessert. Behold the mighty frozen chocolate raspberry pie (#3 Liam trip highlight!):

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/6050752291/" title="6 shipwreck pie by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6187/605 ... f772fa.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="6 shipwreck pie"></a>

Everything was delicious.

Nothing to report on for the evening—no sunset to speak of, just a relaxing evening at the house.

[Kentuckygirl]

Interesting encounter with the stranger at Cinnamon! Too funny!
Your food pictures are always incredible and your underwater shots aren't too shabby either!

[PA Girl]

Love it! Odd people are drawn to me too. A man sniffed my arm the other week and my husband nearly broke down in fits of laughter.

As always, the pictures are awesome.

[mbw1024]

Oddballs are all over the place! A couple kept following me in the pool a few weeks ago telling me all sorts of odd ball things about themselves! I kept swimming away and they would follow. Charlie got out and left me there

[loria]

looks like we missed you by a day at lameshur--
your reports are really terrific! great pictures!

[ColumbiaSCTraveler]

AMAZING trip reports!!!!

So THAT is what those fish are called....palometa (aka foot munchers). QUITE appropriate. A gang of them encircled us constantly at Francis. Cuties!

Interesting conversation you had. Overheard on this past trip: At Skinny's: Patron to kind server - "Where is the blue cheese from?" Ummmmm....I'm assuming the grocery store, but I can bet it's NOT made on island. Kind server just shrugged and smiled.

LOVED the pictures of the sea star and eel!

[Coden]

Your report just put a deep, deep, deep longing into my heart with all of the beautiful pictures and I was just there!! Help me!!!

[Jan&MikeVa]

I always love your trip reports You always manage to take me along with you (notice I didn't eat much)! Those kids are awesome!

[EagleRayLover]

sounds like you and your fam had such a great time Becky. loved the eel picture. Be very careful with that camera or it might just disappear- and find its way to John's secret hiding spot!

[msgcolleen]

I would steal your underwater camera too! Beautiful pics!! Does your camera have a zoom feature or do you dive down to get the close up shots?

I'm hungry now too!! Thanks Becky!!

[lisa mcg]

All I can say is that I want to come to your house for all meals:) Your food looks fabulous, fresh, colorful and oh so yummy!

[Capn Dan and Ruby]

Amazing! I am always in awe of 2 things in your TR's 1) The amazing photos ( what is your camera by the way????)
2) The fabulous food you prepare!!!!! And do it like you are rolling out of bed!

[Capn Dan and Ruby]

Ok, In reading another post it is a D10.

[Patty]

Awesome pictures! It seems that you always spot the best fish. I, too, would love to eat in your restaurant

[Connie]

Liam, excellent report.

I LOVE that picture of the starfish. Would you be so kind as to send it to me? I would love to put it on my wall down the shore in NJ.