19 years with the bug!

parafins · Post by **parafins** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 12:04 pm

As i do every year,i like to mention my first time on the rock.My wife,and i have been married for 19 years as of October 1st.Our honeymoon was the day after,and we picked St.John.It was the first time we visited St.John,and what a impression it left on both of us.I still recall the old Red Hook dock.We stayed at the Hyatt, which we both still like to visit.(Now the Westin)So happy 19th to my bride,and my little island bug that still flow's though me.

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:03 pm

Congrats!

We also got bit on our honeymoon. I remember someone telling us to go check out the Hyatt (we were staying at Caneel) and while we were there, the Hyatt manager approached us and I got all nervous like we were going to get in trouble. He introduced himself (I think he was doing PR) and set us up with a round of drinks at the bar.

Chardonnay · Post by **Chardonnay** » Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:13 pm

Happy Anniversary! We also honeymooned on St. John 19 years ago this past August! We were married in a little church on St. Thomas - Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Our 20+ guests stayed an extra day and we had an impromptu dinner at our rental villa on St. John - "Sea Cay". Our unique adventure was transporting all the family and friends from the dock - at that time the paved road ended just past the Westin so no taxi would take us there. One best friend rented one of the trucks with benches in the back and transported everyone in several trips. Shopping at the St. John market for food for 20 was also interesting...resorted to cans of baked beans and packages of hot dogs! No one minded the drive or the food selection - the awesome view from the villa made up for it! Great to reminisce!

parafins · Post by **parafins** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:14 am

If i had to do it all over again,i would have married my better half on a beach on St.John.I also would have split my time with the Hyatt Resort,and Caneel. At that time they both cost the same,but my wife liked the picture of the pool,and that the Hyatt had a t.v! I could care less for a t.v. because there some much to do,than sit in front of that.

Chris @ Work · Post by **Chris @ Work** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:09 am

It's a theme...
We also 'honeymooned' on STJ...5 years after we were married in '79 (couldn't afford one before that). We were big into camping at the time and bought a Nat'l Geo book about the National Parks. After looking into the usual venues we came across the VI. Not much of a right up but it started with a photo of Caneel bay 'where vacationers know how to relax'. Throwing caution to the wind we went to the travel agent (did I mention '79?) who had no idea (or Internet) of what it was like, cost, etc. She had to fax Caneel (again, long time ago) and we booked not knowing more than what a faxed B&W one page promo could provide. Got to STT (before the airport expansion) wondering what we had spent all that money on when the Caneel staff whisked us away to the resort. Didn't have a specific room reserved so it was pot luck when they drove us to the room. We looked out from the balcony when it hit me. I had seen that view before, opened the book and our 'room' was one of the cabanas on the point in the photo that caught our eye to begin with.
STJ captured our hearts then and it has been a love affair ever since (much longer with better half).
I wish everyone best wishes on their anniversaries whether marriage, friendship, family or other. STJ is a very special place to celebrate, nurture or begin such relationships.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:37 am

parafins, good to see you on the forum. Hopefully we'll run into each other on island again some time.

... I dream in color about STJ every day.

Cheers, RickG

parafins · Post by **parafins** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 11:59 am

Good to hear from you too Rick! Right now i'm a lurker(everyday) Great story about the '79 trip.Loved it.My wife and i ran across a r.v.magazine that my dad had.It featured several places to camp across the country.Well,St.John was in this issue, with pics of Trunk,and Cinnamon Bay's.We liked what we saw,and visited a travel agent who had limited info on the island."2 resorts is it for this little island" she said.Caneel and Hyatt.So we chose the Hyatt.We bought a guide from Fodors that tought us on how to get around the island,and it was very helpful.

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:38 pm

parafins wrote:If i had to do it all over again,i would have married my better half on a beach on St.John.I also would have split my time with the Hyatt Resort,and Caneel. At that time they both cost the same,but my wife liked the picture of the pool,and that the Hyatt had a t.v! I could care less for a t.v. because there some much to do,than sit in front of that.

Goodness yes! We still talk about how even though we had a modest wedding, we wished we would have skipped the "show" and gone straight to STJ.

I remember mailing our deposit check for our honeymoon. I think the daily rate was $325 or $395 for a room on Scott Beach and that included breakfast, lunch and dinner and all activities like sailing, cocktail cruise, etc., not just the complimentary ones.

We did the Caneel Beaches in the morning and explored in the Jeep during the afternoons.

There were at least 6 honeymooning couples on our ferry ride over from STT. We did the VG day trip mid-week and a couple of them were VERY unhappy with the lack of TVs.

Thanks for spawning the trip down memory lane!

parafins · Post by **parafins** » Sat Oct 05, 2013 10:29 am

PA Girl,do you remember the new Susuki jeeps with no carpet in them?At that time when the new jeeps would come in,they would rip the carpet out of them due to the sand!I have a question for you...when did you discover Waterlemon Cay?For us it took 2 more trips to the rock to discover that little gem.It wasn't listed in the Fodor's guide.Leinster Bay was,and in '94 it was a dirt road,and what a blast it was to drive on!!

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 6:38 am

We rented a jeep from Penns and back then, the jeeps had names painted on the doors. I do remember the floor being covered in thick plastic (like flexible bed liner material) but I never gave a thought as to why.

I have pictures of Waterlemon but didn't learn people swam there until ten years later during our first trip with our friends.

I still have all the books, maps, etc. from our honeymoon and it is interesting to see what businesses are still there.

rays&rum13 · Post by **rays&rum13** » Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:43 pm

I love reading these stories.. I am new to the forum and only caught the bug 4 years ago! Newbie, I know.. My boyfriend and I vacationed on the island April of 2012 and are counting the hours until our 6am departure from DTW on thanksgiving day this year. We often joke the only place we would ever consider having a wedding is STJ. Hopefully someday that will come true [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH] until then I'm excited to keep building those memories, pretty sure I won't be able to shake the bug either!

parafins · Post by **parafins** » Fri Oct 11, 2013 11:48 am

Rays and Rum,I thought you might like to see what St.John looked like back in 1996.This was to your right once you stepped of the ferry dock!

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