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RobnCindi's Trip Report - Part One
RobnCindi's Trip Report - Part One
Day One – Friday, May 25, 2007 – The Travel Day
Travel Day. Up at 3:00 a.m. We are so full of excitement and anticipation that I think we slept a total of 2-3 hours! We were pretty much packed up the night before, except for the cooler. We really went back and forth on the cooler/food thing and finally decided to go ahead and bring a collapsible cooler with some frozen meats/other groceries as check-in luggage. Reasoning for this: 1) This is our longest vacation ever in our 13 years together – 16 days on STJ! Woo Hoo! We have been planning our beloved return trip there for almost 3 years now. We’ve both been working demanding, high-stress jobs, averaging 55-60 hours a week for awhile now. We were really expecting that some big time ‘villa gravity’ would hit us for the first few days….in fact, we were looking forward to it! We know we will be giving our business to the local bars and restaurants quite a bit during our 16 day stay, so a few days in the villa without the need to go out to eat sounded pretty good to us; 2) My 26 year old son was coming in from the Middle East to join us on the 30th and I was really feeling the motherly instinct to cook him a couple of his favorite homemade meals—something he doesn’t get in the deserts of Afghanistan; 3) Plus, we could use the cooler for the ‘souvenirs’ we were planning on bringing back to Texas with us. (more on that later or check out Rob7’s earlier “Cindi Overpacks” thread)
So, we pack up the cooler, throw it and our “minimal” luggage (Rob7 take note!) in the jeep and pound on the bedroom door of our 23 year old son (who’s dropping us at the airport), and we are out of the house at 3:30 a.m. on our way to Intercontinental Airport Houston. Yes, the butterflies are fluttering around in my stomach! We arrive at the airport in record time, throw a quick hug and kiss and ‘see ya’ at our son and with big grins on our faces make our way into the airport terminal. Holy Cow … it’s 4:30 a.m. and damn … if there isn’t a huge line of people in line at – oh cool, not one of our airlines, whew! Side note: Rob and I ended up being on different flights (different airlines even). We didn’t plan on that to happen, it’s kind of a long story and I won’t bore you with the details. (O.K. I can’t help myself -- Anyone else have a husband that is KING of procrastinators???). It’s all good. I’m on Delta, leaving Houston at 6:00 a.m. – connecting flight through Atlanta – arrive in STT at 2:00 p.m. Rob’s on US Air, leaving Houston at 7:00 a.m. – connecting through Charlotte – arriving STT at 3:00 p.m. Rob walks me to my Delta Gate, we kiss goodbye and both say “See Ya in Paradise Baby!”
My flights go smooth, I step off that plane in STT at 2:00 p.m. as scheduled….and feel it, just like so many of you have – that awesome, warm Caribbean air hits me and I can’t help but break out with a big fat grin on my face. I make my way into the airport and immediately head over to the bar next to the luggage belt (where the people are already swarming like killer bees). I’ve got an hour to kill until Rob is scheduled to arrive on his flight, so no need to become one of the killer bees just yet. I order my first Bushwacker of the trip and after just a couple of sips I seriously already start to feel the relaxation setting in. I’m sipping on my Bushwacker and watching the commotion going on at the luggage belt. From the size and amount of some of these people’s luggage, I’m sure they are relocating here permanently. It’s actually rather entertaining, as halfway through, the conveyor belt breaks down and stops moving altogether and people begin freaking out. A couple of young guys jump on the conveyor belt and over to the outside opening. They start grapping luggage in a wild frenzy and tossing it to the middle of the floor, almost nailing people in the chaos. The bees are swarming even more. I smile and order another Bushwacker. Things begin to finally calm down as people on my flight have gotten their luggage and made their way out of the airport. I’ve sucked down about ¾ of my 2nd Bushwacker…I’m really starting to feel island time setting in. I pick up my drink, and hmmmm … it’s full again! I glance at the bartender and she gives me a smile and a wink (seriously!). I guess good tipping does pay off! My cell phone rings and it’s Rob … his plane has just landed – yea—and only 10 minutes later than scheduled! The bartender must hear me telling him, “I’m ordering you a Bushwacker now” … because before I even put my cell phone down, she puts a fresh Bushwacker down in front of me. Shortly thereafter, Rob rounds the corner, we both break out in our big silly grins and … here we are, finally back … starting our 16 days in Paradise! We hang out for a bit, finishing our drinks and then grab our luggage and head out to the Taxis and on to Red Hook. We were hoping to catch the 4:00 ferry, but didn’t quite make it. That’s o.k. with us … as we’re now officially on “Island Time”. 5:00 ferry it is.
The Ferry Ride is awesome … it’s the official start of our time in STJ after all! There are even some cloudy skies, and we see a downpour in the distance, but it is not dampening our spirits whatsoever!
We arrive on STJ … yes, we are “HOME!” (I’m sure we lived here in another lifetime.) Our Villa Rep from Destination St. John is right there waiting for us. While we are loading up in her car, Rob says “Hey, there’s St. John Ruth!” Sure enough, even though we’ve never met her, we recognize Ruth standing out on the balcony of her store. Our Villa Rep takes us over to pick up our Jeep at Conrad Sutton. We rented from Conrad on our last trip in 2004 and they were great, so we just used them again. Even the little things are making us giddy. The woman in Conrad’s little office, was super nice. She had her hair full of curlers. Both Rob and I were pretty sure she had her hair in curlers when we were in there in 2004, too. Rob really wanted to snap her picture, but I didn’t think that would be good manners. (It’s a really small office after all, and the camera would have been right in her face!)
To the Villa we go! – Our 1st week we are staying in Calypso Cove in Fish Bay. This actually wasn’t the villa we had originally reserved back 9 months ago, but about a month from our trip, we realized that there had been a “mix-up” and we were booked in 2 different villas for our 2nd week on island, and NO villa for our 1st week on island. In our hectic, frenzied lives, we’re not really sure how this happened, but we ended up having to choose another villa to stay in our 1st week at the last minute. However, we ended up loving Calypso Cove! It’s right on the water in Fish Bay -- you can hear the waves continuous slapping at the waterfront. It has a great main living area, kitchen and master bedroom on the 2nd floor. With a huge screened in patio room along the front, with a great view. It was recently remodeled with all new Kitchenaid appliances, etc. It ended up being a very comfortable villa for us. It also had a great little splash pool and there were Kayaks for taking out into the Bay. Beautifully landscaped as well. It also ended up having “Guido,” what came to be one of the highlights of Rob’s trip (more on that later). The only negative thing I can say about Calypso Cove were the mosquitoes … they were quite ferocious right there on the waterfront in the early mornings and evenings.
Views from the Screened in Patio Room:
That evening, I settled us into the Villa, while Rob hopped in the Jeep and drove into Starfish Market in Cruz Bay (just about a 8 minute drive or so) for a few essentials (beer, wine and dinner). He ended up coming back with the beer and wine, and take-out from China Shack restaurant (it was quite yummy … the fried rice was to die for!)
It had been a very long travel day, so we were in bed pretty soon after dinner and neither one of us had a problem falling right to sleep, something that doesn’t quite come so easily at home. (Ambien … you’re history - no need for you on island!!). And yes, those big fat silly grins were still in place!
Travel Day. Up at 3:00 a.m. We are so full of excitement and anticipation that I think we slept a total of 2-3 hours! We were pretty much packed up the night before, except for the cooler. We really went back and forth on the cooler/food thing and finally decided to go ahead and bring a collapsible cooler with some frozen meats/other groceries as check-in luggage. Reasoning for this: 1) This is our longest vacation ever in our 13 years together – 16 days on STJ! Woo Hoo! We have been planning our beloved return trip there for almost 3 years now. We’ve both been working demanding, high-stress jobs, averaging 55-60 hours a week for awhile now. We were really expecting that some big time ‘villa gravity’ would hit us for the first few days….in fact, we were looking forward to it! We know we will be giving our business to the local bars and restaurants quite a bit during our 16 day stay, so a few days in the villa without the need to go out to eat sounded pretty good to us; 2) My 26 year old son was coming in from the Middle East to join us on the 30th and I was really feeling the motherly instinct to cook him a couple of his favorite homemade meals—something he doesn’t get in the deserts of Afghanistan; 3) Plus, we could use the cooler for the ‘souvenirs’ we were planning on bringing back to Texas with us. (more on that later or check out Rob7’s earlier “Cindi Overpacks” thread)
So, we pack up the cooler, throw it and our “minimal” luggage (Rob7 take note!) in the jeep and pound on the bedroom door of our 23 year old son (who’s dropping us at the airport), and we are out of the house at 3:30 a.m. on our way to Intercontinental Airport Houston. Yes, the butterflies are fluttering around in my stomach! We arrive at the airport in record time, throw a quick hug and kiss and ‘see ya’ at our son and with big grins on our faces make our way into the airport terminal. Holy Cow … it’s 4:30 a.m. and damn … if there isn’t a huge line of people in line at – oh cool, not one of our airlines, whew! Side note: Rob and I ended up being on different flights (different airlines even). We didn’t plan on that to happen, it’s kind of a long story and I won’t bore you with the details. (O.K. I can’t help myself -- Anyone else have a husband that is KING of procrastinators???). It’s all good. I’m on Delta, leaving Houston at 6:00 a.m. – connecting flight through Atlanta – arrive in STT at 2:00 p.m. Rob’s on US Air, leaving Houston at 7:00 a.m. – connecting through Charlotte – arriving STT at 3:00 p.m. Rob walks me to my Delta Gate, we kiss goodbye and both say “See Ya in Paradise Baby!”
My flights go smooth, I step off that plane in STT at 2:00 p.m. as scheduled….and feel it, just like so many of you have – that awesome, warm Caribbean air hits me and I can’t help but break out with a big fat grin on my face. I make my way into the airport and immediately head over to the bar next to the luggage belt (where the people are already swarming like killer bees). I’ve got an hour to kill until Rob is scheduled to arrive on his flight, so no need to become one of the killer bees just yet. I order my first Bushwacker of the trip and after just a couple of sips I seriously already start to feel the relaxation setting in. I’m sipping on my Bushwacker and watching the commotion going on at the luggage belt. From the size and amount of some of these people’s luggage, I’m sure they are relocating here permanently. It’s actually rather entertaining, as halfway through, the conveyor belt breaks down and stops moving altogether and people begin freaking out. A couple of young guys jump on the conveyor belt and over to the outside opening. They start grapping luggage in a wild frenzy and tossing it to the middle of the floor, almost nailing people in the chaos. The bees are swarming even more. I smile and order another Bushwacker. Things begin to finally calm down as people on my flight have gotten their luggage and made their way out of the airport. I’ve sucked down about ¾ of my 2nd Bushwacker…I’m really starting to feel island time setting in. I pick up my drink, and hmmmm … it’s full again! I glance at the bartender and she gives me a smile and a wink (seriously!). I guess good tipping does pay off! My cell phone rings and it’s Rob … his plane has just landed – yea—and only 10 minutes later than scheduled! The bartender must hear me telling him, “I’m ordering you a Bushwacker now” … because before I even put my cell phone down, she puts a fresh Bushwacker down in front of me. Shortly thereafter, Rob rounds the corner, we both break out in our big silly grins and … here we are, finally back … starting our 16 days in Paradise! We hang out for a bit, finishing our drinks and then grab our luggage and head out to the Taxis and on to Red Hook. We were hoping to catch the 4:00 ferry, but didn’t quite make it. That’s o.k. with us … as we’re now officially on “Island Time”. 5:00 ferry it is.
The Ferry Ride is awesome … it’s the official start of our time in STJ after all! There are even some cloudy skies, and we see a downpour in the distance, but it is not dampening our spirits whatsoever!
We arrive on STJ … yes, we are “HOME!” (I’m sure we lived here in another lifetime.) Our Villa Rep from Destination St. John is right there waiting for us. While we are loading up in her car, Rob says “Hey, there’s St. John Ruth!” Sure enough, even though we’ve never met her, we recognize Ruth standing out on the balcony of her store. Our Villa Rep takes us over to pick up our Jeep at Conrad Sutton. We rented from Conrad on our last trip in 2004 and they were great, so we just used them again. Even the little things are making us giddy. The woman in Conrad’s little office, was super nice. She had her hair full of curlers. Both Rob and I were pretty sure she had her hair in curlers when we were in there in 2004, too. Rob really wanted to snap her picture, but I didn’t think that would be good manners. (It’s a really small office after all, and the camera would have been right in her face!)
To the Villa we go! – Our 1st week we are staying in Calypso Cove in Fish Bay. This actually wasn’t the villa we had originally reserved back 9 months ago, but about a month from our trip, we realized that there had been a “mix-up” and we were booked in 2 different villas for our 2nd week on island, and NO villa for our 1st week on island. In our hectic, frenzied lives, we’re not really sure how this happened, but we ended up having to choose another villa to stay in our 1st week at the last minute. However, we ended up loving Calypso Cove! It’s right on the water in Fish Bay -- you can hear the waves continuous slapping at the waterfront. It has a great main living area, kitchen and master bedroom on the 2nd floor. With a huge screened in patio room along the front, with a great view. It was recently remodeled with all new Kitchenaid appliances, etc. It ended up being a very comfortable villa for us. It also had a great little splash pool and there were Kayaks for taking out into the Bay. Beautifully landscaped as well. It also ended up having “Guido,” what came to be one of the highlights of Rob’s trip (more on that later). The only negative thing I can say about Calypso Cove were the mosquitoes … they were quite ferocious right there on the waterfront in the early mornings and evenings.
Views from the Screened in Patio Room:
That evening, I settled us into the Villa, while Rob hopped in the Jeep and drove into Starfish Market in Cruz Bay (just about a 8 minute drive or so) for a few essentials (beer, wine and dinner). He ended up coming back with the beer and wine, and take-out from China Shack restaurant (it was quite yummy … the fried rice was to die for!)
It had been a very long travel day, so we were in bed pretty soon after dinner and neither one of us had a problem falling right to sleep, something that doesn’t quite come so easily at home. (Ambien … you’re history - no need for you on island!!). And yes, those big fat silly grins were still in place!
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obsessedmuch
Great report!!!! I can't wait for the next installment!
I love that bar at the airport! I thought my father was going to kill me when we went on our last trip with my entire family! There were 17 of us ages 60 something to 1 or 2 years old. They were all like vultures at the belt and I went to get a drink! I adapt to island time very quickly! It was really great to watch! I think I might spend some time there this trip! We get in a lot earlier than my sister and her SO. We will have some time to kill.
I love that bar at the airport! I thought my father was going to kill me when we went on our last trip with my entire family! There were 17 of us ages 60 something to 1 or 2 years old. They were all like vultures at the belt and I went to get a drink! I adapt to island time very quickly! It was really great to watch! I think I might spend some time there this trip! We get in a lot earlier than my sister and her SO. We will have some time to kill.
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Robin in NC
- Posts: 332
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 7:19 pm
- Location: Kernersville, NC
Wow, you were there for 16 days...Liamsaunt for 20 days...All of a sudden my po' pitiful week seems so short! Sounds like you had a great time. And the biggest shock of all - a USAirways flight only 10 minutes late. You must have known your vacation was golden after that. Looking forward to reading more!
Robin
Robin
I must know - how did you end up on seperate flights? Was this planned?
I can feel you joy at sitting at the luggage bar waiting for your husband to arrive. What fun that must have been for you!
We very nearly rented that villa for our last trip but my husband selected another as he didn't think it was large enough for 4 adults and an toddler.
I can feel you joy at sitting at the luggage bar waiting for your husband to arrive. What fun that must have been for you!
We very nearly rented that villa for our last trip but my husband selected another as he didn't think it was large enough for 4 adults and an toddler.
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Randy in MD
- Posts: 395
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:04 am
- Location: Shady Side, MD
"I step off that plane in STT at 2:00 p.m. as scheduled….and feel it, just like so many of you have – that awesome, warm Caribbean air hits me and I can’t help but break out with a big fat grin on my face."
That's the moment, isn't it... After a long day of travel there is nothing like that slap of warm Caribbean air in your face... Damn, I can almost feel it now...
That's the moment, isn't it... After a long day of travel there is nothing like that slap of warm Caribbean air in your face... Damn, I can almost feel it now...
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Jan&MikeVa
- Posts: 1084
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:32 pm
- Location: The Chesapeake Bay
Cindi -
First, how can you have a 26 year old son???? I had to go back and look at yours & Robs pictures to make sure I was thinking of the right Cindi! Girl, you look 30!
Okay, now on with your trip report! I laughed so hard at you guys.
Between the villa mix ups and the flight mix ups, I'm just glad you we both on Island at the same time! Seriously I do feel bad for you, life can be TOO hectic! Love your attitude.
Thanks for the great reporting so far, I needed the smiles after a long and rainy kind of workday! More...more!
Jan (akaCharlie)
First, how can you have a 26 year old son???? I had to go back and look at yours & Robs pictures to make sure I was thinking of the right Cindi! Girl, you look 30!
Okay, now on with your trip report! I laughed so hard at you guys.
Between the villa mix ups and the flight mix ups, I'm just glad you we both on Island at the same time! Seriously I do feel bad for you, life can be TOO hectic! Love your attitude.Thanks for the great reporting so far, I needed the smiles after a long and rainy kind of workday! More...more!
Jan (akaCharlie)
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Kentuckygirl
- Posts: 1903
- Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:17 am
- Location: Kentucky
I am enjoying your report! I have thought about traveling separately (intentionally), but haven't done it yet. It sounds like it wasn't too bad. I would definitely like to be the first to arrive though, like you (note to self: drink at airport 
)
Oh, and I love that first breath of Caribbean air too!!!!
)Oh, and I love that first breath of Caribbean air too!!!!