Vagirl - Last Report - Long Again
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:51 am
I'm going to put an end to my boring report - we've got that crazy bunch on island now and their reports are going to put mine to shame 
Wednesday - Rainy in Cruz Bay, it looked a little lighter toward Coral Bay, so we headed in that direction. Went all the way to East End, had never been that far. Really nice, no one at Vie's, but we met people pulled off at different sites taking pictures - it was clear on this side. Back to Coral Bay, stopped at Jolly Dog. Wonderful conversation with guy there who asked if we had felt the earthquake - huh? Needless to say, we hadn't. Got some gifts, then headed back to Skinny's for a greasy, wonderful, filling, delightful cheeseburger! Talked with Mo, found out we were from Virginia and we talked about the tragedy at VaTech; his partner had either a daughter or niece who was there but was fine. On to Salt Pond - way, way too many cars parked along road, but I wanted Lisa to see the beach. We were there for a while, sun still shining. Finally people left and we began to have a little beach without being so crowded. Back into town, stopped at Beach Bar, home to more grilling and "slushy mango" drinks!
Thursday - Finally got to my favorite, Cinnamon Beach. Water rough, probably remnants from the storm the night before. Got tossed upside down in the waves a few times...way crowded. Once again family conversations around us kinda got in the way of the peace and quiet looked for on vacation. Headed to Trunk Bay and it was less crowded, this about 4:30. We did get to see a wedding taking place. The wedding planner did come to those around the area and asked if for just a few minutes, we could not walk in front of the ceremony; I didn't have a problem with that but there was some guy who made a big deal of it, proceeded to go out and swim in the area in front of the wedding...his wife looked like she wanted to kill him - I think she'd have to get in line!
Friday - Stopped by Deli Grotto for breakfast, very enjoyable. Back to Hawksnest and Cinnamon Bay for our beach fix. Not as crowded today. Stopped by Tap Room on way back into town. You HAVE to go by and meet Cheech and Kevin - they are so much fun, and the place was really, really, busy which was nice to see. So easy to talk with, as were all the people around us. They are working really hard to get VI Pale Ale more available in the states - told them we would do our part putting out the word. Went by St John Spice to do some shopping and got to talk with Ruth and Ron again. They really tempted me - they need some shop help so they can not have to work so hard - if they only knew how much I really wanted that job! I've been waiting all week at work for somebody to really tick me off so I could quit! They are such nice people. Last stop was The Quiet Mon, which I must say was super full...we grabbed an ale and headed to the seats overlooking the street. Boy, the things you can see. Went back to the villa, just in time as the heavens opened and it rained most of the rest of the night.
Saturday - Last full day...boo...I'm always quiet by this time as it's almost time to leave paradise and come home to reality. It was overcast, rain off and on, but we went to Cinnamon again anyway. Good call, as most of the day was nice and there was hardly anyone there...went off exploring to both ends of the beach and got some great shots. One final trip to town to shop. Went by Margarita Phil's - we could have skipped this; the margaritas are now watered down and the great tricolor chips/cheese appetizer they used to serve is now nothing like I remember. One more trip to Beach Bar to watch sun come down, then back to pack.
Sunday - Decided to just go ahead and make the 9 am ferry. Ruth was opening the store and saw us at the dock. Yelled to us that it was "time to start our shift" at the shop - oh, I SO wanted to do just that. Glad we decided to leave when we did as once on STT they were setting up for Carnival and traffic was already backed up. No problems at airport, first in line, so enabled us to have time to just sit and do nothing...except watch all those lucky people arriving!!!
It was not as sad leaving this time, as I know I'll be back in November. The best advice I would give is to give to the island and its people - say "good morning, good afternoon, good evening", whatever, engage its people in conversation and let them know how much you enjoy their home. Be respectful and you'll get it in return. I had to smile as the ferry pulled away from the dock, as I knew I'd be back, after all I left part of my soul there and I'll need to go back and check on it!
Wednesday - Rainy in Cruz Bay, it looked a little lighter toward Coral Bay, so we headed in that direction. Went all the way to East End, had never been that far. Really nice, no one at Vie's, but we met people pulled off at different sites taking pictures - it was clear on this side. Back to Coral Bay, stopped at Jolly Dog. Wonderful conversation with guy there who asked if we had felt the earthquake - huh? Needless to say, we hadn't. Got some gifts, then headed back to Skinny's for a greasy, wonderful, filling, delightful cheeseburger! Talked with Mo, found out we were from Virginia and we talked about the tragedy at VaTech; his partner had either a daughter or niece who was there but was fine. On to Salt Pond - way, way too many cars parked along road, but I wanted Lisa to see the beach. We were there for a while, sun still shining. Finally people left and we began to have a little beach without being so crowded. Back into town, stopped at Beach Bar, home to more grilling and "slushy mango" drinks!
Thursday - Finally got to my favorite, Cinnamon Beach. Water rough, probably remnants from the storm the night before. Got tossed upside down in the waves a few times...way crowded. Once again family conversations around us kinda got in the way of the peace and quiet looked for on vacation. Headed to Trunk Bay and it was less crowded, this about 4:30. We did get to see a wedding taking place. The wedding planner did come to those around the area and asked if for just a few minutes, we could not walk in front of the ceremony; I didn't have a problem with that but there was some guy who made a big deal of it, proceeded to go out and swim in the area in front of the wedding...his wife looked like she wanted to kill him - I think she'd have to get in line!
Friday - Stopped by Deli Grotto for breakfast, very enjoyable. Back to Hawksnest and Cinnamon Bay for our beach fix. Not as crowded today. Stopped by Tap Room on way back into town. You HAVE to go by and meet Cheech and Kevin - they are so much fun, and the place was really, really, busy which was nice to see. So easy to talk with, as were all the people around us. They are working really hard to get VI Pale Ale more available in the states - told them we would do our part putting out the word. Went by St John Spice to do some shopping and got to talk with Ruth and Ron again. They really tempted me - they need some shop help so they can not have to work so hard - if they only knew how much I really wanted that job! I've been waiting all week at work for somebody to really tick me off so I could quit! They are such nice people. Last stop was The Quiet Mon, which I must say was super full...we grabbed an ale and headed to the seats overlooking the street. Boy, the things you can see. Went back to the villa, just in time as the heavens opened and it rained most of the rest of the night.
Saturday - Last full day...boo...I'm always quiet by this time as it's almost time to leave paradise and come home to reality. It was overcast, rain off and on, but we went to Cinnamon again anyway. Good call, as most of the day was nice and there was hardly anyone there...went off exploring to both ends of the beach and got some great shots. One final trip to town to shop. Went by Margarita Phil's - we could have skipped this; the margaritas are now watered down and the great tricolor chips/cheese appetizer they used to serve is now nothing like I remember. One more trip to Beach Bar to watch sun come down, then back to pack.
Sunday - Decided to just go ahead and make the 9 am ferry. Ruth was opening the store and saw us at the dock. Yelled to us that it was "time to start our shift" at the shop - oh, I SO wanted to do just that. Glad we decided to leave when we did as once on STT they were setting up for Carnival and traffic was already backed up. No problems at airport, first in line, so enabled us to have time to just sit and do nothing...except watch all those lucky people arriving!!!
It was not as sad leaving this time, as I know I'll be back in November. The best advice I would give is to give to the island and its people - say "good morning, good afternoon, good evening", whatever, engage its people in conversation and let them know how much you enjoy their home. Be respectful and you'll get it in return. I had to smile as the ferry pulled away from the dock, as I knew I'd be back, after all I left part of my soul there and I'll need to go back and check on it!
