USVI-On-Line

Hello, my name is Heidi, and I am an obsessaholic...

Countdown clock on my desktop says 5 days 22 hours. What I should be focusing on is getting all my work done so I don't have to pack it all in on the plane ride. Unfortunately, I seem to have the uncontrollable urge to check the forum and the spicecam continually rather than get my work done. I can't tell you how many times I've re-read the same trip reports now.

On top of that, I must report that you are all enablers of my problem. Since I started visiting this forum, my vacation shopping seems to have no end. Impulse purchases I blame on this forum:

1. New waterproof camera, how could I compete with all the great snorkling photos without one!
2. This of course led to new snorkling equipment
3. That nifty beach blanket made of parachute cloth
4. A KYSS bag for the beach
5. An aquapouch for the most important things at the beach.
6. Of course, copies of St John Off the Beaten Path and FFFWD were mandatory.

Then there are the on island treats I booked since you all raved about them so -
1. Private taxi and Water taxi
2. Provisioning
3. Dinghy rental

So thanks a lot people

Is it the 10th yet?

Hahahahahaha!! Welcome to the club!

I agree..and my trip is over 2 months away

KYSS bag...check
Polar Bear 12 pk cooler: check
Neat Sheet: check
Feet Fins and Four Wheel Drive: check
St John Off the Beaten path: check


trying to decide if I really need the aqua pouch
ditto for waterproof camera...Would a disposable one suffice??

Boat Charter booked: check

check forum every day for new trip report, restaurant recommendations, snorkel spots...etc etc....

BUT I have enjoyed every minute of this obsession

Just a small piece of free advice, which may or may not end up being valuable: When you get back to the villa with your waterproof camera, give it a good rinse with fresh water.

We bought one too... a Kodak Playsport, and using it in the salt water caused the little door latches to gum up. In small print I discovered that I should have rinsed it after using it in salt water. Got it fixed and all is well (save the receipt!).

Right behind ya on the 13th!

So my big question is - what kind of camera??? I just got the Olympus TG-810

It is all the Forum's fault, isn't it

LOL! You're lucky you got here after the Keens craze. See, the forum saved you money

ccasebolt wrote:I just got the Olympus TG-810

Jealous!

I just got a Vivatar, recently had to buy a new telephoto lens for my DSLR, so I just couldn't justify a very big camera purchase after that.

I already had a pair of Chacos so didn't need shoes...

mindehankins wrote:LOL! You're lucky you got here after the Keens craze. See, the forum saved you money

LOL, I may not have been part of the Keens craze - but I did buy 3 new pairs of shoes-

1. New aqua shoes when I decided we were going to have a dinghy day
2. New walking shoes when I read about some of the must see places that are a bit of a walk
3. New "pretty" sandals that are flat and comfy, as I gather this is not the island where I want to be wearing my heels

So... no savings there

CBama wrote:I agree..and my trip is over 2 months away

So much more shopping I could do in 2 months

Ha Ha Ha Ha, Heidi! I guess you're going to have to go again, to get your money's worth for all you bought!

How many songs did you download from Itunes for the trip? Have you gotten around to "updating your playlist" yet?
Ooops there I go... costing you more money....

mindehankins wrote:LOL! You're lucky you got here after the Keens craze. See, the forum saved you money

LOL... I remember that thread.

Michigan Girls... you're going to have an awesome time. I'm obsessed too. We just got back the beginning of March and I'm already checking flights and condos for the next trip in 2013! Yes, it's an addiction. But a fun one that is good for the soul.

You definately won't need your heels. Pack as lightly as possible. I did pretty well this last trip. Only brought home a few things that I didn't wear. I think I'm getting better at this.

Did you pack a blow-up cheapo air mattress from Meijer for the beach? They're $1.49 here vs. who knows how much there. I float on it all day and then give it to a youngster at the beach when I'm done. They're always happy to have it and I don't have to deflate it!

minde- I'm already planning the next trip! And I have been planning on downloading some fresh music for my MP3 player, so I won't blame that one on you

michcouple- I bought the air mattresses yesterday, along with B12 (since I read on here it might help with the bugs), some more sunscreen and some snackies as I think I will have some room left in the suitcase.

I think we did pretty good on packing, We're sharing one suitcase. Unfortunately we do have to check a bag, as I will be working all the way down and back (and probably about an hour each day) so most of my carry-on is taken up with work junk, but now that we've booked the private taxi and water taxi, I'm not stressing about having to wait for baggage claim.

You can add me to the "obsessed" list.

(So far), I've purchased:

1) Keen Whisper sandals (the shame, the shame)
2) Aqua pouch thingie
3) FFFWD
4) baseball cap
5) "dressy" flipflops
6) Bug spray with Deet
7) A fancy "ziplock" thingie for underwater protection...for my camera. (BTW, has anybody had success with something like this? It got pretty good reviews)

http://www.amazon.com/DicaPac-WP410-160 ... =8-3-fkmr0

What else are us newbies missing on our lists of "must haves?" (I've already added the inflatable rafts and B12 on my "to purchase" list...lol).