The Birthday Bash Trip Report- Travel Day (now with a pic)
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2007 5:48 pm
No pics for Day 1, they are still uploading- all 225 of them. There were six of us this trip. Chip and I(40 and 39), John and Lisa (the STJ veterans) (50ish and 40ish) and Jeffrey and Melissa, the Newbies (35 and 32)
(Sorry for any typos in advance)
Up at 4:30. Fed the dogs, made the bed for the housesitter, poured some Baileys in my coffee (Drink #2) and out the door. Made it to the airport with plenty of time and had an uneventful flight to Miami.(Drink #3)
Our Miami flight was delayed because a passenger said they saw something on the wing. It was a part of the wing that was supposed to be there. I knew then that we would not make the 4:00 Red Hook. We arrived at 3:20 and I called my friend Rachel who is a taxi driver on STT. Waited for our luggage (D#4) (Let me know if you need her number) She has a beautiful new van and we took the windy trip over the mountain to the Ferry.
The ferry dock was a complete and total nightmare. With the downtown ferry not running, there were hundreds of people trying to figure out what to do and where to go and our Newbie friends were getting annoyed but we were the last 6 on the boat that left at 5:15.
Pulling into Cruz Bay was a bit sad for me. All the concrete looks out of place.But seeing Ruth at the end of the dock was a welcome site. I handed off the steamers and she handed me a six pack of Ting, a pint of Vodka, a bottle openener (that is on my fridge) a lighter, and some bug supplies.
Leslie from destination STJ was there waiting for us. We had reserved a car from STJ Car Rental and one from Conrad. I went up to grab the car from STJCR ( they just left the key for us) and the veterans headed to Conrad who stayed open late.
(More on the cars in my summary)
Quick stop at Starfish and then off to Cara Mia. The villa is exactly like it looks online.The box I sent down was not there so I followed her back to Palm Plaza to pick it up with the rest of the crew settled in. After I got back we discovered that the bedroom in the main house had an AC issue so I placed a call to DSJ. There was no one in the office but I didn't feel it was an emergency so I just left a message (more on that and the villa later)
We had packed a cooler with some frozen stuff and some snacks so we immediately made drinks (D#5) and had some snacks and soaked up the view and the house.
I wanted Cafe Roma for dinner and the verterans wanted some pool time, so the newbies and us headed out for a great dinner. Huge pasta dishes, yummy appetizers, and a quick visit with my old co-workers.(D#6)
We head back to the villa and the veterans returned shortly thereafter. They had dinner at La Tapa and raved about it. We all poured a drink (D#7) and just sat and relaxed.
We all headed to bed early as we were exhausted.
*****************************************************
Edited to add a pic from Cara Mia the night we arrived.
(Sorry for any typos in advance)
Up at 4:30. Fed the dogs, made the bed for the housesitter, poured some Baileys in my coffee (Drink #2) and out the door. Made it to the airport with plenty of time and had an uneventful flight to Miami.(Drink #3)
Our Miami flight was delayed because a passenger said they saw something on the wing. It was a part of the wing that was supposed to be there. I knew then that we would not make the 4:00 Red Hook. We arrived at 3:20 and I called my friend Rachel who is a taxi driver on STT. Waited for our luggage (D#4) (Let me know if you need her number) She has a beautiful new van and we took the windy trip over the mountain to the Ferry.
The ferry dock was a complete and total nightmare. With the downtown ferry not running, there were hundreds of people trying to figure out what to do and where to go and our Newbie friends were getting annoyed but we were the last 6 on the boat that left at 5:15.
Pulling into Cruz Bay was a bit sad for me. All the concrete looks out of place.But seeing Ruth at the end of the dock was a welcome site. I handed off the steamers and she handed me a six pack of Ting, a pint of Vodka, a bottle openener (that is on my fridge) a lighter, and some bug supplies.
Leslie from destination STJ was there waiting for us. We had reserved a car from STJ Car Rental and one from Conrad. I went up to grab the car from STJCR ( they just left the key for us) and the veterans headed to Conrad who stayed open late.
(More on the cars in my summary)
Quick stop at Starfish and then off to Cara Mia. The villa is exactly like it looks online.The box I sent down was not there so I followed her back to Palm Plaza to pick it up with the rest of the crew settled in. After I got back we discovered that the bedroom in the main house had an AC issue so I placed a call to DSJ. There was no one in the office but I didn't feel it was an emergency so I just left a message (more on that and the villa later)
We had packed a cooler with some frozen stuff and some snacks so we immediately made drinks (D#5) and had some snacks and soaked up the view and the house.
I wanted Cafe Roma for dinner and the verterans wanted some pool time, so the newbies and us headed out for a great dinner. Huge pasta dishes, yummy appetizers, and a quick visit with my old co-workers.(D#6)
We head back to the villa and the veterans returned shortly thereafter. They had dinner at La Tapa and raved about it. We all poured a drink (D#7) and just sat and relaxed.
We all headed to bed early as we were exhausted.
*****************************************************
Edited to add a pic from Cara Mia the night we arrived.
