Trip report...of sorts
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:24 pm
We were on island December 28 through January 7. Our group consisted of my wife, Marcia, me, and our four kids, ranging in age from 18-23. Marsh and I have been to STJ many times. This was the third visit for our kids. Given that the days of our trip kind of bleed together, I’ll just give you the run-down by topic.
BEACH: yes, the singular was intentional. We went to one beach, once, for about 20 minutes. We got in the water, looked up at the pristine hillside and, collectively said, “okay, we get it. Let’s go back to the villa where there is a pool, bathrooms, unlimited liquor and, most importantly, no sand.” Don’t judge…it’s just the way we roll. The beach, by the way, was Maho. It made us kind of sad that we no longer could park in the bushes and were relegated to the muddy parking lot at the end. Back in the day, Marsh and I would jam the jeep into the bushes and hope that the termite balls didn’t fall on us. No more.
VILLA: Vida De Mar. While there always are some negatives about any villa, I have to say that, on the whole, this was a pretty swank place. It is located beachside on Devers Bay. It actually has its own beach. This was new to us, as most of the villas we rented in the past were high up on hillsides. At VDM, the sound of the surf became part of our daily experience. For those of you who vacation on the outer banks of N.C., it was like that…a rhythmic undertone. A couple of times, we sat in beach chairs in the surf and watched the sunset. There are only a few villas on STJ where you can do that. The pool is very large, as is the pool deck area. We spent most of our days together there. Oh, VDM also has a decent outdoor sound system that is iPod compatible…it was a nice touch.
RESTAURANTS: We went to Banana Deck, High Tide, Cruz Bay Landing, Fish Trap, Candi’s and the Terrace. We consider Banana Deck and High Tide as “go to” places, meaning that we know what we are going to get. Cruz Bay Landing was disappointing. But, I sense that was due, in large part, to the fact that they are just getting going. We were there for dinner and they only offered the lunch menu. They have some “tweaking” to do. The Terrace, on the other hand, was outstanding. The old Stone Terrace used to be our favorite restaurant on island, so we had pretty high expectations going in. It did not disappoint. They have cleaned up the outdoor dinner area, which was nice. Our group loved the imaginative appetizers and the entrees. It was a “fancy” night out for our group and it was, by far, our best dinning experience.
TRANSPORTATION: Given the size of our group, and the weight of our bags, i.e., four women with many shoes, we opted for Christopher’s taxi/Dohm’s water taxi. Key. Seamless. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
We always have rented our car from Conrad Sutton. Sure, he can be a bit prickly, but I have come to like the guy quite a bit. My only complaint was, given that it was high season, we couldn’t park in his lot whenever we wanted. That kind of miffed me, as parking in his lot is part of the deal.
On the travel day home we used a porter at the STT airport for the first time. OMG, it is worth every penny. Our porter (Daphne, Dafne?) was a freakin’ machine. She took us to the front of every line, much to the displeasure of others who had been waiting in line. Curbside to gate…40 minutes.
HIGHLIGHTS: Our excursion with John Brandi of Palm Tree Charters was, by far, the highlight of our trip. To start, John is just a genuinely nice guy. Spending a day with him is like spending time with a best friend that you haven’t seen in years. We saw dolphins, swam at smuggler’s cove, ate at the Willy T and had painkillers at Soggy’s. That day will be forever etched in the memories of our children, and us.
Ram Head hike. I’m what Jim Gaffigan would call “indoorsie.” But, even I enjoyed doing this hike. The key was to start early in the morning so as to avoid the heat. As you stand on Ram Head, you realize that the air you are breathing is coming straight from Africa. You also realize that the stone upon which you are standing was the volcanic start of the island. It is pretty amazing.
Getting to spend some time with Ruth, Ron and Curly. It’s kind of odd. Marsh and I wonder if we ever will go back to STJ or if it is time to explore other places. One thing that always seems to come up is Ruth and Ron. We “met” them through the old AOL forum. Since that time, we have kept in touch and have had time together when we were on island. It would be difficult to say good-bye to STJ, if only because we don’t ever want to say good-bye to Ruth and Ron…and Curly.
Meeting Leslie and Steve. We had a very nice time with Leslie and Steve McKibben at Spyglass for drinks and appetizers. They are nice people. Although I like to consider them as friends, if we actually lived in the same town, I suspect we would be “real” friends. And, coming from me, that’s a big deal…because I don’t like people.
CLOSING THOUGHTS: Not too long ago, someone on this forum said that only “rich people” come to STJ during the holiday season. Well, we are not “rich.” The villa alone, while beautiful, cost for one week what I’m pretty sure my mom and dad paid for their first house. But, money is a funny thing. It all comes down to a simple question: was it worth it? The answer is a resounding “yes.” We had a great time with our kids. We hung out by the pool together, listened to music, played flip cup, charades, catch phrase, chess, tossed a football, laughed, teased, had fun meals and ate crappy food…all under the wonderful, sunny skies of STJ. Future memories are priceless, right?
BEACH: yes, the singular was intentional. We went to one beach, once, for about 20 minutes. We got in the water, looked up at the pristine hillside and, collectively said, “okay, we get it. Let’s go back to the villa where there is a pool, bathrooms, unlimited liquor and, most importantly, no sand.” Don’t judge…it’s just the way we roll. The beach, by the way, was Maho. It made us kind of sad that we no longer could park in the bushes and were relegated to the muddy parking lot at the end. Back in the day, Marsh and I would jam the jeep into the bushes and hope that the termite balls didn’t fall on us. No more.
VILLA: Vida De Mar. While there always are some negatives about any villa, I have to say that, on the whole, this was a pretty swank place. It is located beachside on Devers Bay. It actually has its own beach. This was new to us, as most of the villas we rented in the past were high up on hillsides. At VDM, the sound of the surf became part of our daily experience. For those of you who vacation on the outer banks of N.C., it was like that…a rhythmic undertone. A couple of times, we sat in beach chairs in the surf and watched the sunset. There are only a few villas on STJ where you can do that. The pool is very large, as is the pool deck area. We spent most of our days together there. Oh, VDM also has a decent outdoor sound system that is iPod compatible…it was a nice touch.
RESTAURANTS: We went to Banana Deck, High Tide, Cruz Bay Landing, Fish Trap, Candi’s and the Terrace. We consider Banana Deck and High Tide as “go to” places, meaning that we know what we are going to get. Cruz Bay Landing was disappointing. But, I sense that was due, in large part, to the fact that they are just getting going. We were there for dinner and they only offered the lunch menu. They have some “tweaking” to do. The Terrace, on the other hand, was outstanding. The old Stone Terrace used to be our favorite restaurant on island, so we had pretty high expectations going in. It did not disappoint. They have cleaned up the outdoor dinner area, which was nice. Our group loved the imaginative appetizers and the entrees. It was a “fancy” night out for our group and it was, by far, our best dinning experience.
TRANSPORTATION: Given the size of our group, and the weight of our bags, i.e., four women with many shoes, we opted for Christopher’s taxi/Dohm’s water taxi. Key. Seamless. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
We always have rented our car from Conrad Sutton. Sure, he can be a bit prickly, but I have come to like the guy quite a bit. My only complaint was, given that it was high season, we couldn’t park in his lot whenever we wanted. That kind of miffed me, as parking in his lot is part of the deal.
On the travel day home we used a porter at the STT airport for the first time. OMG, it is worth every penny. Our porter (Daphne, Dafne?) was a freakin’ machine. She took us to the front of every line, much to the displeasure of others who had been waiting in line. Curbside to gate…40 minutes.
HIGHLIGHTS: Our excursion with John Brandi of Palm Tree Charters was, by far, the highlight of our trip. To start, John is just a genuinely nice guy. Spending a day with him is like spending time with a best friend that you haven’t seen in years. We saw dolphins, swam at smuggler’s cove, ate at the Willy T and had painkillers at Soggy’s. That day will be forever etched in the memories of our children, and us.
Ram Head hike. I’m what Jim Gaffigan would call “indoorsie.” But, even I enjoyed doing this hike. The key was to start early in the morning so as to avoid the heat. As you stand on Ram Head, you realize that the air you are breathing is coming straight from Africa. You also realize that the stone upon which you are standing was the volcanic start of the island. It is pretty amazing.
Getting to spend some time with Ruth, Ron and Curly. It’s kind of odd. Marsh and I wonder if we ever will go back to STJ or if it is time to explore other places. One thing that always seems to come up is Ruth and Ron. We “met” them through the old AOL forum. Since that time, we have kept in touch and have had time together when we were on island. It would be difficult to say good-bye to STJ, if only because we don’t ever want to say good-bye to Ruth and Ron…and Curly.
Meeting Leslie and Steve. We had a very nice time with Leslie and Steve McKibben at Spyglass for drinks and appetizers. They are nice people. Although I like to consider them as friends, if we actually lived in the same town, I suspect we would be “real” friends. And, coming from me, that’s a big deal…because I don’t like people.
CLOSING THOUGHTS: Not too long ago, someone on this forum said that only “rich people” come to STJ during the holiday season. Well, we are not “rich.” The villa alone, while beautiful, cost for one week what I’m pretty sure my mom and dad paid for their first house. But, money is a funny thing. It all comes down to a simple question: was it worth it? The answer is a resounding “yes.” We had a great time with our kids. We hung out by the pool together, listened to music, played flip cup, charades, catch phrase, chess, tossed a football, laughed, teased, had fun meals and ate crappy food…all under the wonderful, sunny skies of STJ. Future memories are priceless, right?
