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Trip Report 4/28-5/5/12
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GotToGetAway
- Posts: 396
- Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:55 pm
- Location: FL
Trip Report 4/28-5/5/12
This was our 4th trip to St. John, our children’s 2nd trip, and my husband’s parents’ and brother’s 1st trip.
Our vehicle: A 7 passenger Durango from Discount on STT
Discount picked us up quickly from the airport. We all fit, even with the driver and our luggage. It had plenty of roomy for all seven of us, even when the two car seats were installed. Even had enough room for beach chairs (just 2 or 3) and cooler and sand toys.
Where we stayed: Le Lapin II through Caribbean Villas
Le Lapin II was gorgeous. It was the first time we thought the villa exceeded our expectations. It was sparkling clean, even under and behind the beds. The kitchen was well equipped and the pool was warm and the views were excellent. We got both sunrise (in bedrooms) and sunset (deck and pool) views. The breezes were great along the east side of the house, which kept the bugs down. There were lots of fauna around the house- a deer, frogs, and lizards, which kept the kids enthralled. There was even an outdoor shower by the pool which wasn’t advertised, so that was a great bonus for dealing with sandy feet. It was a quick drive to Cruz Bay. The road to the villa (Iguana Rd) was bumpy bumpy bumpy but it wasn’t steep, had a guard rail, and gave some great views.
We traveled from JFK to STT and arrived a little early. It was our first time doing carry on only and it was great. Both at JFK and STT we breezed on by everyone. Got our vehicle from Discount and headed to Cost U Less. Got to CUL without getting lost, but couldn’t figure out how to get in or why the parking lot would be so empty. Turns out it closed 20 minutes before we arrived due to Carnival. We headed to Red Hook, passed the Bridge to Nowhere, and decided to stop at Food Center. It was a tight squeeze with groceries for 7 people and luggage, but we made it. Hopped on the barge, called CV and told them we’d meet them in the parking lot. Called our friend who was hanging onto our two boxes we mailed a few weeks before with all of our toiletries. Well, he forgot what day we arrived and left them at home in Coral Bay.
We met our greeter and headed to the villa. There were a bunch of workers painting when we arrived. They quickly left and we got the tour. My 5 year old daughter got herself unpacked and put on her bathing suit before the greeter had even finished the tour and instructions. I guess a quick dip in the pool was a good idea! Nice and refreshing after 10 hours of travel.
Since we kind of needed our toiletries (tooth brushes, shampoo, soap, etc), hubby and I made the trek to Coral Bay to pick up our boxes while everyone else stayed at the villa for hotdogs an hamburgers. Ahh…donkeys in the road, reggae blasting, ‘stinky donkey dip,” “tourist info: you are lost”- it felt good to be back on St. John! Stopped in to our friends’ apartment, chatted a bit, had a beer, made plans to meet up the next morning, then headed home with our boxes and a few borrowed books for bedtime reading for the kids (which was a lifesaver- next time I’ll remember to pack a few books). We couldn’t let the day pass without sticking our feet in the water, so we took the North Shore Road home and stopped at Maho just as the sun was setting.
The next morning we packed up the Durango and headed to Maho. Spent the day at our favorite beach in the world. Saw starfish, turtles, and stingrays. The beach was the most crowded I’d ever seen it, but we enjoyed our selves thoroughly. We headed back to the villa, cooled off in the pool and got dinner ready. My husband’s parents were putting their stuff in the safe and locked it by randomly pressing numbers apparently while not looking (not realizing the numbers should be a secret others not themselves). Oops. All their money, passports, and medications were locked in the safe with absolutely no clue what the combination was. Well, as it was a Sunday night and Caribbean Villas was not open, we called a left a message and waited. At 9 pm when we hadn’t received any return call, we decided to stay close to the villa in the morning and scratched our plans for Trunk. We called CV in the morning, and the maintenance man came in about an hour and opened the safe in 30 seconds. We decided to stay local go check out Hart Bay. We hiked the trail at Poinciana and found some great shells and snails at the rocky beach. Headed back to the villa with a bucket full of snails, had lunch, then headed to Mongoose Junction to visit our friend at work before heading to Hawksnest. His boss and coworkers were so nice and showed us around the shop. When we got to Hawksnest the kids upset because it was much rougher and deeper than Maho. But, we had a good time anyway and headed out just before it rained. After dinner and putting the kids to bed, we played some fun games at the villa, enjoyed some coconut rum drinks and saw a shooting star.
The next day it rained. All day. We decided to make it a shopping and cooking day. We put two turkeys in the oven, back to Mongoose Junction for some shopping. The tooth fairy had just made her first visit to our house the night before our trip, so my daughter wanted to pick out a new stuffed animal with her loot. We got a new furry friend and picked out some jewelry for my MIL’s birthday we would celebrate later in the week. Back to the villa for some naps and dinner. Then hubby and I headed out for some much needed adult time with our friend. We met him outside of work, headed up to the Tap Room. The guys had some kind of 2x and 4x beer served in snifters and I had my fav Mango Pale Ale. The bartended said she had just seen the Manta at Trunk the day before, so we decided to check it out and made plans to meet up with our friends later in the week when he had his days off.
Our vehicle: A 7 passenger Durango from Discount on STT
Discount picked us up quickly from the airport. We all fit, even with the driver and our luggage. It had plenty of roomy for all seven of us, even when the two car seats were installed. Even had enough room for beach chairs (just 2 or 3) and cooler and sand toys.
Where we stayed: Le Lapin II through Caribbean Villas
Le Lapin II was gorgeous. It was the first time we thought the villa exceeded our expectations. It was sparkling clean, even under and behind the beds. The kitchen was well equipped and the pool was warm and the views were excellent. We got both sunrise (in bedrooms) and sunset (deck and pool) views. The breezes were great along the east side of the house, which kept the bugs down. There were lots of fauna around the house- a deer, frogs, and lizards, which kept the kids enthralled. There was even an outdoor shower by the pool which wasn’t advertised, so that was a great bonus for dealing with sandy feet. It was a quick drive to Cruz Bay. The road to the villa (Iguana Rd) was bumpy bumpy bumpy but it wasn’t steep, had a guard rail, and gave some great views.
We traveled from JFK to STT and arrived a little early. It was our first time doing carry on only and it was great. Both at JFK and STT we breezed on by everyone. Got our vehicle from Discount and headed to Cost U Less. Got to CUL without getting lost, but couldn’t figure out how to get in or why the parking lot would be so empty. Turns out it closed 20 minutes before we arrived due to Carnival. We headed to Red Hook, passed the Bridge to Nowhere, and decided to stop at Food Center. It was a tight squeeze with groceries for 7 people and luggage, but we made it. Hopped on the barge, called CV and told them we’d meet them in the parking lot. Called our friend who was hanging onto our two boxes we mailed a few weeks before with all of our toiletries. Well, he forgot what day we arrived and left them at home in Coral Bay.
We met our greeter and headed to the villa. There were a bunch of workers painting when we arrived. They quickly left and we got the tour. My 5 year old daughter got herself unpacked and put on her bathing suit before the greeter had even finished the tour and instructions. I guess a quick dip in the pool was a good idea! Nice and refreshing after 10 hours of travel.
Since we kind of needed our toiletries (tooth brushes, shampoo, soap, etc), hubby and I made the trek to Coral Bay to pick up our boxes while everyone else stayed at the villa for hotdogs an hamburgers. Ahh…donkeys in the road, reggae blasting, ‘stinky donkey dip,” “tourist info: you are lost”- it felt good to be back on St. John! Stopped in to our friends’ apartment, chatted a bit, had a beer, made plans to meet up the next morning, then headed home with our boxes and a few borrowed books for bedtime reading for the kids (which was a lifesaver- next time I’ll remember to pack a few books). We couldn’t let the day pass without sticking our feet in the water, so we took the North Shore Road home and stopped at Maho just as the sun was setting.
The next morning we packed up the Durango and headed to Maho. Spent the day at our favorite beach in the world. Saw starfish, turtles, and stingrays. The beach was the most crowded I’d ever seen it, but we enjoyed our selves thoroughly. We headed back to the villa, cooled off in the pool and got dinner ready. My husband’s parents were putting their stuff in the safe and locked it by randomly pressing numbers apparently while not looking (not realizing the numbers should be a secret others not themselves). Oops. All their money, passports, and medications were locked in the safe with absolutely no clue what the combination was. Well, as it was a Sunday night and Caribbean Villas was not open, we called a left a message and waited. At 9 pm when we hadn’t received any return call, we decided to stay close to the villa in the morning and scratched our plans for Trunk. We called CV in the morning, and the maintenance man came in about an hour and opened the safe in 30 seconds. We decided to stay local go check out Hart Bay. We hiked the trail at Poinciana and found some great shells and snails at the rocky beach. Headed back to the villa with a bucket full of snails, had lunch, then headed to Mongoose Junction to visit our friend at work before heading to Hawksnest. His boss and coworkers were so nice and showed us around the shop. When we got to Hawksnest the kids upset because it was much rougher and deeper than Maho. But, we had a good time anyway and headed out just before it rained. After dinner and putting the kids to bed, we played some fun games at the villa, enjoyed some coconut rum drinks and saw a shooting star.
The next day it rained. All day. We decided to make it a shopping and cooking day. We put two turkeys in the oven, back to Mongoose Junction for some shopping. The tooth fairy had just made her first visit to our house the night before our trip, so my daughter wanted to pick out a new stuffed animal with her loot. We got a new furry friend and picked out some jewelry for my MIL’s birthday we would celebrate later in the week. Back to the villa for some naps and dinner. Then hubby and I headed out for some much needed adult time with our friend. We met him outside of work, headed up to the Tap Room. The guys had some kind of 2x and 4x beer served in snifters and I had my fav Mango Pale Ale. The bartended said she had just seen the Manta at Trunk the day before, so we decided to check it out and made plans to meet up with our friends later in the week when he had his days off.
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EagleRayLover
- Posts: 1474
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- Location: St. John -WooHoo!!
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GotToGetAway
- Posts: 396
- Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:55 pm
- Location: FL