Large and in charge! A trip report
Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 9:50 am
If you felt the Cruz Bay side of the island shake a little last Thursday, it was not an earthquake. It was just our group disembarking from Dohm's water taxi. We brought our 20yo son and 3 college roommates ( all football players ) for 5 days of sun, fun and massive quantities of food and beer. They hung out in Cruz Bay every night and met more people in 5 days than we have in 5 years.
The trip started on an exciting ( stressful ) note when one of the boys went to LGA instead of EWR. He made it to the gate with 15 minutes to spare. Flight was good and they enjoyed the rum shot stand and the "we're here beers" at baggage claim at STT. We used Christopher taxi and Dohm's which worked out well. I would not liked to have had to squeeze in with other people in the public taxis! We picked up a Durango from Varlack and it was quite new and nice. They were very easy to deal with in the booking process. After a quick stop at Starfish for snacks and drinks, we arrived at the house. They hit the pool immediately while we unpacked. We had a great meal at Fatty Crab! We ordered a variety of dishes and shared. They went to Castaways after and took a taxi home.
After just rereading RickG's travel rules, the one that applies to this trip is that the herd moves at the speed of the slowest beast. My husband and I are usually up early and at the beach by 9 then off to lunch around noonish. The boys slept in every day so we rarely left the house until 11. The boys are still supposed to be working out during their break so JJ went for a run up Pebble Way and down Traveler's Trail. Our first beach was Francis Bay because we usually have good luck with seeing turtles there. Not that day but we did have a nice time snorkeling. Fortunately, I was able to find XXL fins online for 2 of the boys and our son has adjusted to not using any. Though, some would say his size 16 feet are adequate flippers on their own! They claimed the snorkeling was a great workout and it was time for lunch. We all had a great meal at Shipwreck Landing. It was really funny watching them all ordering fruity frozen drinks! Then back to the house for pool and nap time. Dinner was at Banana Deck and it was very good. The boys headed out to Mongoose Junction to buy sunglasses for 2 of them and then met us at the Beach Bar. We met Julie and NancieB and hubbies and had a good time chatting with them!
Saturday was Double Header day! We booked a full day fishing charter with them. Eric and Matt were our captains and they were great. We went offshore to try for wahoo, mahi and tuna. It was pretty rough once we got out and the boat started rocking. We caught 2 barracuda and 1 blackfin tuna but not much was biting. We all felt queasy so we headed inshore. Good call! Everyone felt better and we caught a lot of fish. Not a lot of keepers but we weren't intending on cooking much anyway. We did take the tuna and just seared it and drizzled with ponzu sauce a la Aqua Bistro. It was great! Since we came in early, we only paid for a 3/4 day. Dinner was the rest of the Sam and Jack's sandwiches from lunch and they were excellent.
Sunday we hit Cinnamon Bay. The boys brought a football and played catch and 2 on 2 in the water. We snorkeled the Cay and saw lots of smaller fish but nothing unusual. The boys swam over to Little Cinnamon and found the airplane which has somehow eluded my husband on 3 tries. We went to Skinny Legs for lunch which we all enjoyed. More nap/pool time and then we went to Rhumb Lines for dinner. We had Sing's 410 steak, scallops and a fish entree that I can't remember. All good!
Monday, we went to Honeymoon and it was pretty crowded. We found a nice spot under the trees and hit the water. We saw some nice fish but the highlight for me was the Honeycomb Cowfish Post-larval Juvenile. 2" long and so cute! Of course, my husband had the camera so I didn't get a picture. We had a nice afternoon of lounging in the water and the boys sampled gelato from the water sports stand. We hit Mongoose Junction for souvenirs for the girlfriends back home and then had drinks at the Tap Room. Dinner was at Virgin Fire. Everything was good but the service was a little slow.
Tuesday was departure day.
we packed up and went to Deli Grotto for lunch. Dohm's picked us up and we made it to the airport in plenty of time. The boys are already talking about coming back next year!
The trip started on an exciting ( stressful ) note when one of the boys went to LGA instead of EWR. He made it to the gate with 15 minutes to spare. Flight was good and they enjoyed the rum shot stand and the "we're here beers" at baggage claim at STT. We used Christopher taxi and Dohm's which worked out well. I would not liked to have had to squeeze in with other people in the public taxis! We picked up a Durango from Varlack and it was quite new and nice. They were very easy to deal with in the booking process. After a quick stop at Starfish for snacks and drinks, we arrived at the house. They hit the pool immediately while we unpacked. We had a great meal at Fatty Crab! We ordered a variety of dishes and shared. They went to Castaways after and took a taxi home.
After just rereading RickG's travel rules, the one that applies to this trip is that the herd moves at the speed of the slowest beast. My husband and I are usually up early and at the beach by 9 then off to lunch around noonish. The boys slept in every day so we rarely left the house until 11. The boys are still supposed to be working out during their break so JJ went for a run up Pebble Way and down Traveler's Trail. Our first beach was Francis Bay because we usually have good luck with seeing turtles there. Not that day but we did have a nice time snorkeling. Fortunately, I was able to find XXL fins online for 2 of the boys and our son has adjusted to not using any. Though, some would say his size 16 feet are adequate flippers on their own! They claimed the snorkeling was a great workout and it was time for lunch. We all had a great meal at Shipwreck Landing. It was really funny watching them all ordering fruity frozen drinks! Then back to the house for pool and nap time. Dinner was at Banana Deck and it was very good. The boys headed out to Mongoose Junction to buy sunglasses for 2 of them and then met us at the Beach Bar. We met Julie and NancieB and hubbies and had a good time chatting with them!
Saturday was Double Header day! We booked a full day fishing charter with them. Eric and Matt were our captains and they were great. We went offshore to try for wahoo, mahi and tuna. It was pretty rough once we got out and the boat started rocking. We caught 2 barracuda and 1 blackfin tuna but not much was biting. We all felt queasy so we headed inshore. Good call! Everyone felt better and we caught a lot of fish. Not a lot of keepers but we weren't intending on cooking much anyway. We did take the tuna and just seared it and drizzled with ponzu sauce a la Aqua Bistro. It was great! Since we came in early, we only paid for a 3/4 day. Dinner was the rest of the Sam and Jack's sandwiches from lunch and they were excellent.
Sunday we hit Cinnamon Bay. The boys brought a football and played catch and 2 on 2 in the water. We snorkeled the Cay and saw lots of smaller fish but nothing unusual. The boys swam over to Little Cinnamon and found the airplane which has somehow eluded my husband on 3 tries. We went to Skinny Legs for lunch which we all enjoyed. More nap/pool time and then we went to Rhumb Lines for dinner. We had Sing's 410 steak, scallops and a fish entree that I can't remember. All good!
Monday, we went to Honeymoon and it was pretty crowded. We found a nice spot under the trees and hit the water. We saw some nice fish but the highlight for me was the Honeycomb Cowfish Post-larval Juvenile. 2" long and so cute! Of course, my husband had the camera so I didn't get a picture. We had a nice afternoon of lounging in the water and the boys sampled gelato from the water sports stand. We hit Mongoose Junction for souvenirs for the girlfriends back home and then had drinks at the Tap Room. Dinner was at Virgin Fire. Everything was good but the service was a little slow.
Tuesday was departure day.
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)