Trip Report 4/28-5/5/12 Part 2
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 11:39 pm
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=23252
Headed to Trunk after breakfast. The sky was ominous. We got in a little beach time, saw a wedding, then the sky opened up and it started to pour. Trunk got closed down and we headed back to the villa. We took advantage of the rainy day and went to look at Sunset Ridge Villas to see about buying a timeshare. Tried to stop at the Westin playground for the kids, but it just wouldn’t stop raining. This night we headed to Coconut Coast for what we thought was the wine reception. Well, the artist was in Bali for two months, so we just looked around the studio, played with the dogs, and found a few great souvenirs.
Woke up to sunshine the next morning. Had some pool time. Then headed out to Coral Bay for lunch. My two year old son fell asleep on the way over, so we drove around toward Salt Pond for some sightseeing and decided to stop back at Island Blues for lunch. Service was island time slow but the food was good. Stopped at Josephine’s for some fresh veggies. Then headed to Francis to see about that elusive Manta. Francis was really crowded. Last time we were at Francis we had he beach to ourselves, this time it was packed. No manta, no good snorkeling today, so we packed up and stopped at Maho to complete the day. This is when the crying started. My 5 year old daughter could somehow sense vacation was coming to a close and did not want it to end. She started bawling and said “why can’t we just live here?” Hmmm, I didn’t have a good response for that. Stopped at Starfish to pick up a few items and got a real estate magazine. Later, our friends stopped over for a beer and we chatted about the costs associated with living on STJ.
The next day was our last full day and my MIL’s birthday. It was a little rainy, but we couldn’t end the trip without another day at Maho. Our friends met us there after breakfast. The kids played for hours. We saw at least 4 stingrays, a spotted eagle ray, a barracuda, many turtles, and a shark all just while swimming. When the rain started, we tucked under a tree for lunch. People left the beach in droves. Sun came out and we had an empty beach. Said a sad goodbye to our friends and vowed to return next year, if not before. We headed to the villa and got cleaned up, packed a little. Headed out to Café Roma for a birthday celebration. Food was OK, the bill was expensive. But, everyone could find something to fit their preference.
Time to pack and finish the rum. Everyone went to bed early but my husband and me. We sat on the deck and talked about how we could make it so we could move to this tropical paradise.
After eating up all we could for breakfast, it was time to turn in the keys and take the barge back over to St. Thomas. Got to Discount, rode over to the airport, got out all of our belongings and saw a short check in line. Wait, where’s the stuffed animal from the tooth fairy? Nobody has it and nobody remembers packing it. Uh oh. Quick call to the CV office, and Curtis said he would head over to the villa and take a look around. Checked my phone later after we got through security, and he had called back. He found the stuffed animal and stopped at the post office at 11:55 am (Post Office closes at 12 noon on Saturday). He had already mailed it home to us, no need to worry. Now that’s great customer service!!!
A few last thoughts:
- We loved Le Lapin II. My only complaint is that the louvered doors do not really provide much privacy.
- It’s not the smartest to go out to eat the night before you go home, unless you really enjoy spaghetti and meatballs for breakfast.
-The Durango worked just fine for us as we were traveling as one family. If we had been two families, two vehicles would have been better.
- It was nice to have extra hands when traveling with young kids. I would definitely travel with my inlaws again as strange as it may sound.
- Rick G’s rules are accurate- those who pitch in pitch in more on STJ, those who slack slack more on STJ. If you have a slacker in your group, assign tasks to him/her before you step foot off the plane.
- Teaching your two year old son to pee in the bushes at the beach is a great way to expedite potty training.
-Always triple check the villa for any remaining items.
-I realized that I love that being on STJ makes me be more conscious of my carbon footprint, makes me try harder to use things and reuse things to save money but also to help the environment, and makes me slow down and appreciate little things like a sound or a smell or a feeling.
Thanks for reading!
Headed to Trunk after breakfast. The sky was ominous. We got in a little beach time, saw a wedding, then the sky opened up and it started to pour. Trunk got closed down and we headed back to the villa. We took advantage of the rainy day and went to look at Sunset Ridge Villas to see about buying a timeshare. Tried to stop at the Westin playground for the kids, but it just wouldn’t stop raining. This night we headed to Coconut Coast for what we thought was the wine reception. Well, the artist was in Bali for two months, so we just looked around the studio, played with the dogs, and found a few great souvenirs.
Woke up to sunshine the next morning. Had some pool time. Then headed out to Coral Bay for lunch. My two year old son fell asleep on the way over, so we drove around toward Salt Pond for some sightseeing and decided to stop back at Island Blues for lunch. Service was island time slow but the food was good. Stopped at Josephine’s for some fresh veggies. Then headed to Francis to see about that elusive Manta. Francis was really crowded. Last time we were at Francis we had he beach to ourselves, this time it was packed. No manta, no good snorkeling today, so we packed up and stopped at Maho to complete the day. This is when the crying started. My 5 year old daughter could somehow sense vacation was coming to a close and did not want it to end. She started bawling and said “why can’t we just live here?” Hmmm, I didn’t have a good response for that. Stopped at Starfish to pick up a few items and got a real estate magazine. Later, our friends stopped over for a beer and we chatted about the costs associated with living on STJ.
The next day was our last full day and my MIL’s birthday. It was a little rainy, but we couldn’t end the trip without another day at Maho. Our friends met us there after breakfast. The kids played for hours. We saw at least 4 stingrays, a spotted eagle ray, a barracuda, many turtles, and a shark all just while swimming. When the rain started, we tucked under a tree for lunch. People left the beach in droves. Sun came out and we had an empty beach. Said a sad goodbye to our friends and vowed to return next year, if not before. We headed to the villa and got cleaned up, packed a little. Headed out to Café Roma for a birthday celebration. Food was OK, the bill was expensive. But, everyone could find something to fit their preference.
Time to pack and finish the rum. Everyone went to bed early but my husband and me. We sat on the deck and talked about how we could make it so we could move to this tropical paradise.
After eating up all we could for breakfast, it was time to turn in the keys and take the barge back over to St. Thomas. Got to Discount, rode over to the airport, got out all of our belongings and saw a short check in line. Wait, where’s the stuffed animal from the tooth fairy? Nobody has it and nobody remembers packing it. Uh oh. Quick call to the CV office, and Curtis said he would head over to the villa and take a look around. Checked my phone later after we got through security, and he had called back. He found the stuffed animal and stopped at the post office at 11:55 am (Post Office closes at 12 noon on Saturday). He had already mailed it home to us, no need to worry. Now that’s great customer service!!!
A few last thoughts:
- We loved Le Lapin II. My only complaint is that the louvered doors do not really provide much privacy.
- It’s not the smartest to go out to eat the night before you go home, unless you really enjoy spaghetti and meatballs for breakfast.
-The Durango worked just fine for us as we were traveling as one family. If we had been two families, two vehicles would have been better.
- It was nice to have extra hands when traveling with young kids. I would definitely travel with my inlaws again as strange as it may sound.
- Rick G’s rules are accurate- those who pitch in pitch in more on STJ, those who slack slack more on STJ. If you have a slacker in your group, assign tasks to him/her before you step foot off the plane.
- Teaching your two year old son to pee in the bushes at the beach is a great way to expedite potty training.
-Always triple check the villa for any remaining items.
-I realized that I love that being on STJ makes me be more conscious of my carbon footprint, makes me try harder to use things and reuse things to save money but also to help the environment, and makes me slow down and appreciate little things like a sound or a smell or a feeling.
Thanks for reading!
