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Trip Report, 4/21 - 4/29, Final Chapter
Trip Report, 4/21 - 4/29, Final Chapter
Day 8 - Saturday, April 28
Awoke to a beautiful day. Breakfast at Blue Moon Café overlooking the gorgeous water. Jim had eggs - I had an omelet. Great, as usual. Notice some monstrosity being built on the point. No place is sacred.
Went snorkeling again. Saw our sea turtle, again. Saw juvenile damselfish (you know, the cute little dark blue ones with the iridescent lighter blue dots). Saw many trunkfish & blue-headed wrasse.
Juvenile Damselfish with French Grunt
One time when I was coming out of the water, I heard someone call my name. It was Laurie (Saint from the forum). We had met (in part 1) on the first day of our arrivals on St. Thomas. She was so sweet, gave me a big hug & we started chatting away like long lost friends! An hour or so later, she & her nice husband even invited us to join them for lunch. We had a great time!
We parted ways as they headed to get checked in. Jim & I headed back to the beach & water. I kept glancing at all the balconies, wondering if we would spot them. And then - wonder of wonders - there was Laurie - out on "OUR" balcony from our previous 2 trips! It was too funny!! I am waving away at her, trying to tell her that she had "our" room. Couldn't have gone to a nicer couple. So - from that moment on, I was totally cool with it! Especially, since this was their first stay here.
We snorkeled with Laurie in the afternoon. Had fun seeing Mr. Turtle with 2 remora - then spotted a stingray. Still breaking in this new camera. Actually took some pretty neat video. We had never seen remora on turtles before. So, we were surprised watching the whole adventure. As the turtle would go to surface, the remora would go from his shell to his underbelly. It was really neat. Then upon diving down, they would flip back to the shell.
Here is our first attempt at using the video feature of our camera. Just a short clip of the turtle with 2 remora. It is not the best quality - but, thought that it would be fun to share anyway.
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z75/ ... I_0837.flv
Dinner at Blue Moon was great! We each had the Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce with White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes. We took a nice piece of German Chocolate Cake back to our room for dessert. Love this oceanfront setting. Very romantic and tranquil. Lovely last evening of our vacation.
Day 9 - Sunday, April 29
Sad day. But, nice to be on St. Thomas & be able to enjoy a good part of the day on the beach before heading to the airport. Another beautiful day - why couldn't we have had more days like these during the other days of the week? Oh, well!
Here is the lovely view from our room.
Headed to the Blue Moon Cafe, again, for another great breakfast. This time coconut French toast - made with real French bread slices. Who would have thought? Delicious!
Blue Moon Cafe in the morning
Yummy!!
Asked for & got a little later check out at 12, instead of 11. Every little bit helps. Snorkeled a bit more. We saw our turtle with remora, again. Saw some more cute little Palometas. Saw all the usual suspects. Then, we saw this incredible fish that we had never, ever seen before. His face actually looked a bit like a dog. And his eyes were so intelligent. We just know that he stared right at us for the longest time. We later found out (in our books) that he was a Porcupinefish. We actually saw 2 of them. These are also called Porcupine Puffer fish. They are the ones that kind of "blow up" like big balloons - and can be quite poisonous.
Isn't he adorable?!?
We also saw this wonderful school of Blue Tang with a Parrotfish hanging out with them.
One of many beautiful Parrotfish.
Time after time, we are constantly impressed with the underwater life right off of this beach. This nursery is absolutely wonderful. And just steps from your room. Can't get much better than this.
Right before we headed to our room to shower off & check out, we were kind of looking for "someone nice" who might like the remainder of our bottle of dark rum. Someone who might be staying a few more days. As luck would have it - we struck up a nice conversation with a couple of women from MA. Found out that they had just arrived the day before & were staying for a week. So, in my most casual & unobtrusive manner - I just blurted out "Do you drink?" Bet they didn't see that one coming. So, we proceeded to offer them our booze. One thing led to another and we showed them "our place". Found out that they were on the top floor of Building 4. We always wondered what the view looked like from there - so, we got a tour. Absolutely amazing! The suite had incredible murals on the wall. Truly spectacular. Funny thing is that we had actually heard of that exact room from someone else before. Still can't believe that just by total chance, we got to see it!
Well, checked out. Headed back to the Blue Moon Café for our final lunch of Turkey Croissant for Jim & Chicken Caesar Salad for me and "yes" our last Painkillers. BooHoo!
Another last minute shot of the beautiful Secret Harbour beach!
Left SH around 1:15. Had a great taxi driver who took us on a little side trip after we went through Charlotte Amalie. He took a street to the left & brought us by the "new" cruise ship dock. We didn't even know it was there. We saw the Crown Princess - geez what a Huge Ship!! He shared with us a lot of history. We even learned that years & years ago - when the larger aircraft wanted to start coming in, the government granted the shearing off of some of the mountain tops to accommodate the aircraft & also, of course, needed to further elongate the runway. Very interesting. But, he had nothing good to say about tourists who come to the island & rent cars & think that they can drive here. - That was an interesting conversation. Oh, well - job security issue, again.
Anyway, St. Thomas airport was as stifling hot, as ever. Crazy time - with many cancelled & delayed flights. But, we were lucky & headed home without a glitch.
Kind of a strange trip to the "ilons" this time around. Absolutely weird weather - but, enjoyed many new sights none-the-less. St. John is a magical place with so much beauty and we never get bored with the simple wonders of Secret Harbour.
Trying to capture all there is to offer - in just a short nine days is virtually impossible. Throw in bad weather & you are really left with no choice but to "slow down" and "chill out'. Which we did!
The joys of the ilons are magnified by the wonderful fellow travelers who we have "met" - either "virtually" or "literally" through this forum. Half the fun of having wonderful adventures is being able to share your joy & wonder with others. How many of us try to share with co-workers or others the magic of the islands? Only to be disappointed by their lack of enthusiasm or clue-less-ness.
At least we know where we can go to get that "high five" that just adds to our completeness. Yes, I am sounding a little emotional and sensitive. But, that is truly how I feel. The joy of retelling our adventure truly adds to the wonderful memories made!
So, thank you, Friends, for making another great trip even more special!
Til next time......
Awoke to a beautiful day. Breakfast at Blue Moon Café overlooking the gorgeous water. Jim had eggs - I had an omelet. Great, as usual. Notice some monstrosity being built on the point. No place is sacred.
Went snorkeling again. Saw our sea turtle, again. Saw juvenile damselfish (you know, the cute little dark blue ones with the iridescent lighter blue dots). Saw many trunkfish & blue-headed wrasse.
Juvenile Damselfish with French Grunt
One time when I was coming out of the water, I heard someone call my name. It was Laurie (Saint from the forum). We had met (in part 1) on the first day of our arrivals on St. Thomas. She was so sweet, gave me a big hug & we started chatting away like long lost friends! An hour or so later, she & her nice husband even invited us to join them for lunch. We had a great time!
We parted ways as they headed to get checked in. Jim & I headed back to the beach & water. I kept glancing at all the balconies, wondering if we would spot them. And then - wonder of wonders - there was Laurie - out on "OUR" balcony from our previous 2 trips! It was too funny!! I am waving away at her, trying to tell her that she had "our" room. Couldn't have gone to a nicer couple. So - from that moment on, I was totally cool with it! Especially, since this was their first stay here.
We snorkeled with Laurie in the afternoon. Had fun seeing Mr. Turtle with 2 remora - then spotted a stingray. Still breaking in this new camera. Actually took some pretty neat video. We had never seen remora on turtles before. So, we were surprised watching the whole adventure. As the turtle would go to surface, the remora would go from his shell to his underbelly. It was really neat. Then upon diving down, they would flip back to the shell.
Here is our first attempt at using the video feature of our camera. Just a short clip of the turtle with 2 remora. It is not the best quality - but, thought that it would be fun to share anyway.
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z75/ ... I_0837.flv
Dinner at Blue Moon was great! We each had the Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce with White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes. We took a nice piece of German Chocolate Cake back to our room for dessert. Love this oceanfront setting. Very romantic and tranquil. Lovely last evening of our vacation.
Day 9 - Sunday, April 29
Sad day. But, nice to be on St. Thomas & be able to enjoy a good part of the day on the beach before heading to the airport. Another beautiful day - why couldn't we have had more days like these during the other days of the week? Oh, well!
Here is the lovely view from our room.
Headed to the Blue Moon Cafe, again, for another great breakfast. This time coconut French toast - made with real French bread slices. Who would have thought? Delicious!
Blue Moon Cafe in the morning
Yummy!!
Asked for & got a little later check out at 12, instead of 11. Every little bit helps. Snorkeled a bit more. We saw our turtle with remora, again. Saw some more cute little Palometas. Saw all the usual suspects. Then, we saw this incredible fish that we had never, ever seen before. His face actually looked a bit like a dog. And his eyes were so intelligent. We just know that he stared right at us for the longest time. We later found out (in our books) that he was a Porcupinefish. We actually saw 2 of them. These are also called Porcupine Puffer fish. They are the ones that kind of "blow up" like big balloons - and can be quite poisonous.
Isn't he adorable?!?
We also saw this wonderful school of Blue Tang with a Parrotfish hanging out with them.
One of many beautiful Parrotfish.
Time after time, we are constantly impressed with the underwater life right off of this beach. This nursery is absolutely wonderful. And just steps from your room. Can't get much better than this.
Right before we headed to our room to shower off & check out, we were kind of looking for "someone nice" who might like the remainder of our bottle of dark rum. Someone who might be staying a few more days. As luck would have it - we struck up a nice conversation with a couple of women from MA. Found out that they had just arrived the day before & were staying for a week. So, in my most casual & unobtrusive manner - I just blurted out "Do you drink?" Bet they didn't see that one coming. So, we proceeded to offer them our booze. One thing led to another and we showed them "our place". Found out that they were on the top floor of Building 4. We always wondered what the view looked like from there - so, we got a tour. Absolutely amazing! The suite had incredible murals on the wall. Truly spectacular. Funny thing is that we had actually heard of that exact room from someone else before. Still can't believe that just by total chance, we got to see it!
Well, checked out. Headed back to the Blue Moon Café for our final lunch of Turkey Croissant for Jim & Chicken Caesar Salad for me and "yes" our last Painkillers. BooHoo!
Another last minute shot of the beautiful Secret Harbour beach!
Left SH around 1:15. Had a great taxi driver who took us on a little side trip after we went through Charlotte Amalie. He took a street to the left & brought us by the "new" cruise ship dock. We didn't even know it was there. We saw the Crown Princess - geez what a Huge Ship!! He shared with us a lot of history. We even learned that years & years ago - when the larger aircraft wanted to start coming in, the government granted the shearing off of some of the mountain tops to accommodate the aircraft & also, of course, needed to further elongate the runway. Very interesting. But, he had nothing good to say about tourists who come to the island & rent cars & think that they can drive here. - That was an interesting conversation. Oh, well - job security issue, again.
Anyway, St. Thomas airport was as stifling hot, as ever. Crazy time - with many cancelled & delayed flights. But, we were lucky & headed home without a glitch.
Kind of a strange trip to the "ilons" this time around. Absolutely weird weather - but, enjoyed many new sights none-the-less. St. John is a magical place with so much beauty and we never get bored with the simple wonders of Secret Harbour.
Trying to capture all there is to offer - in just a short nine days is virtually impossible. Throw in bad weather & you are really left with no choice but to "slow down" and "chill out'. Which we did!
The joys of the ilons are magnified by the wonderful fellow travelers who we have "met" - either "virtually" or "literally" through this forum. Half the fun of having wonderful adventures is being able to share your joy & wonder with others. How many of us try to share with co-workers or others the magic of the islands? Only to be disappointed by their lack of enthusiasm or clue-less-ness.
At least we know where we can go to get that "high five" that just adds to our completeness. Yes, I am sounding a little emotional and sensitive. But, that is truly how I feel. The joy of retelling our adventure truly adds to the wonderful memories made!
So, thank you, Friends, for making another great trip even more special!
Til next time......
-
Puddlejumper
- Posts: 276
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 11:17 am
- Location: Southport, NC was STJ
-
kimberlysea
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:47 am
- Location: Great Meadows, New Jersey
Thank You!
Hi Sue! This is "Saint"!!!
Your trip reports were fantastic and your photos incredible! Gosh....I felt like I was underwater!
It was so great to meet you and Jim and to share some laughs! St. John is such a "magical" island and I hope we get to "bump into" each other on land on in the sea again!
Lori (aka Saint)!
Your trip reports were fantastic and your photos incredible! Gosh....I felt like I was underwater!
It was so great to meet you and Jim and to share some laughs! St. John is such a "magical" island and I hope we get to "bump into" each other on land on in the sea again!
Lori (aka Saint)!
Wonderful photos Sue!
I missed the beginning of your report, we must have been on island when you started. I went back a bunch of pages but could not find it. If you have the links to the earlier installments and could post them I would love to see the rest of your report and pictures.
I missed the beginning of your report, we must have been on island when you started. I went back a bunch of pages but could not find it. If you have the links to the earlier installments and could post them I would love to see the rest of your report and pictures.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
