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Trip Report 4/28-5/6-Getting there-long
Trip Report 4/28-5/6-Getting there-long
Our traveling group was made up of six adults. Myself and my husband (J) ages 30 and 32, my mom (V) and dad (K) 52 and my brother (S) and his girlfriend (A) in their late twenties. My parents, bro and I had been to St. John for one day on a cruise ship and had wanted to go back ever since. My husband and I began planning this trip and it ended up including everyone when they found out we were going! Imagine that! My family has traveled several places in the Caribbean, but tend to stick to the resort atmosphere. J and I have traveled outside of that atmosphere more and kept telling my family this was not going to be their typical vacation. My mom kept saying it would be an adventure to try something new!
We were finally on vacation time as of noon on 4/27. Finished with last minute packing and details for the house/dog sitter lined out, we ran out to dinner, came home and drank a bottle of wine to relax and go to bed early. The alarm went off at 3:15am and we were on our way to meet my parents at their house. It 's lovely living in the country so far away. Made it to their house and onward to pick up my brother who lives ten minutes from the KC airport. Trying to cram 5 adults and all the luggage into the vehicle was the first test of the trip, but we passed and were parked and into the airport in no time. Our American Airlines flight left on time and we had no problems getting to Chicago and on to San Juan. The person next to me on the long flight from Chicago to San Juan was a local man from St. Croix. When he heard where we were going he was ready to discuss the islands and it was fun to hear about everything from his point of view. He is now in the US Navy and was going home for 30 days before being shipped over seas.
The flight into STT was bumpy and at times I definitely felt like humans should not be in tin cans above the sea! The water was so gorgeous it distracted me and thankfully once we got up we were headed back down. Landed and met bro 's girlfriend as she 'd flown in from Alabama. We were the only flight picking up luggage so it made it very easy. Everyone collected their bags and then we were left standing there with several people who all had at least one bag missing. Of course it was the suitcase with the snorkel gear and all J and I 's clothes, instead of the suitcase with the food. Oh well, we had our swimsuits, flip flops and a change of clothes in our carryon. We signed the paperwork and they said it 'd be delivered to our hotel before we left STT in the morning. Found a taxi and headed to Blue Beard 's Castle Hotel. The taxi driver was very nice and encouraged us to make sure and watch the fireworks to end Carnival that evening. We were dropped off and waited forever to get rooms assigned to us. The front desk people were very nice to those staying for a week. We watched them come and go while we stood and waited. They just weren 't thrilled with us staying for one night. Rooms finally assigned we dumped all our stuff and headed to the bar. We were hungry and thirsty by this time. A mango margarita and bushwacker later we definitely felt like we were on vacation. We all ordered pizzas and enjoyed snacking and drinking as we waited for the fireworks show. We 'd not met my brother 's girlfriend before so this was get to know you time for that too! The fireworks show was awesome. It was right over the harbour so we had a great front row seat and it went on forever. It was a great end to the day and we were so glad we 'd seen it! We were very happy with Blue Beard 's for the night and I wouldn 't even mind it that much for a cheap place to stay for a week. The rooms were decent sized and although they showed some wear and tear, they were basic and clean. The restaurants on site were very nice and the pool and deck area was sufficient and well cared for. We went back to our rooms and attempted to go to sleep as the anticipation of arriving on St. John built up!
More to come! Hopefully not as long and with more island experiences! I like to read the details, so that 's how I report.
We were finally on vacation time as of noon on 4/27. Finished with last minute packing and details for the house/dog sitter lined out, we ran out to dinner, came home and drank a bottle of wine to relax and go to bed early. The alarm went off at 3:15am and we were on our way to meet my parents at their house. It 's lovely living in the country so far away. Made it to their house and onward to pick up my brother who lives ten minutes from the KC airport. Trying to cram 5 adults and all the luggage into the vehicle was the first test of the trip, but we passed and were parked and into the airport in no time. Our American Airlines flight left on time and we had no problems getting to Chicago and on to San Juan. The person next to me on the long flight from Chicago to San Juan was a local man from St. Croix. When he heard where we were going he was ready to discuss the islands and it was fun to hear about everything from his point of view. He is now in the US Navy and was going home for 30 days before being shipped over seas.
The flight into STT was bumpy and at times I definitely felt like humans should not be in tin cans above the sea! The water was so gorgeous it distracted me and thankfully once we got up we were headed back down. Landed and met bro 's girlfriend as she 'd flown in from Alabama. We were the only flight picking up luggage so it made it very easy. Everyone collected their bags and then we were left standing there with several people who all had at least one bag missing. Of course it was the suitcase with the snorkel gear and all J and I 's clothes, instead of the suitcase with the food. Oh well, we had our swimsuits, flip flops and a change of clothes in our carryon. We signed the paperwork and they said it 'd be delivered to our hotel before we left STT in the morning. Found a taxi and headed to Blue Beard 's Castle Hotel. The taxi driver was very nice and encouraged us to make sure and watch the fireworks to end Carnival that evening. We were dropped off and waited forever to get rooms assigned to us. The front desk people were very nice to those staying for a week. We watched them come and go while we stood and waited. They just weren 't thrilled with us staying for one night. Rooms finally assigned we dumped all our stuff and headed to the bar. We were hungry and thirsty by this time. A mango margarita and bushwacker later we definitely felt like we were on vacation. We all ordered pizzas and enjoyed snacking and drinking as we waited for the fireworks show. We 'd not met my brother 's girlfriend before so this was get to know you time for that too! The fireworks show was awesome. It was right over the harbour so we had a great front row seat and it went on forever. It was a great end to the day and we were so glad we 'd seen it! We were very happy with Blue Beard 's for the night and I wouldn 't even mind it that much for a cheap place to stay for a week. The rooms were decent sized and although they showed some wear and tear, they were basic and clean. The restaurants on site were very nice and the pool and deck area was sufficient and well cared for. We went back to our rooms and attempted to go to sleep as the anticipation of arriving on St. John built up!
More to come! Hopefully not as long and with more island experiences! I like to read the details, so that 's how I report.
