usvi-on-line
Oleander Aug 22-29 Part I
Oleander Aug 22-29 Part I
Have enjoyed many trips to St John over the years but have been remiss in writing trip reports. I promised myself that I would complete one for this trip--so here is the first installment.
This was a last minute trip- originally planned late July for just DH and I to take advantage of the Gallows summer special. We have an adult couples trip planned for Nov 5 to 17, but we noticed that there were some FF dates available in August, and since we couldnt use the miles for our Nov trip, and did absolutely nothing this summer, we would just head on down. A few days after we booked our FF seats, there was an airfare sale, and when we looked at the last minute discounts for some of the villas on our short list, we decided to ask my sister and her 9 yr old twins to join us. They also would have no vacation this summer, so it would be a little treat for them after camp was over.
We went with Villa Oleander overlooking Klein Bay and it turned out great for us. We wanted A/C, King bedrooms, a fun pool for the kids and "in your face" blue water views. After years of family vacations in villas where kids toys were repeatedly going out of the pool and over the side, our days of climbing down under the houses to retrive these things are over. Great deck space, modest furnishings, good privacy, comfortable beds, bug free thanks to the breezes, and no lost toys. Caribbean Villas gave us good service but I have yet to figure out what the extra 5% is for.
We are so fortunate to have the non-stop from JFK to STT available almost all year long. We scored a real coup in getting the FF seats on this flight and we all flew together. The flight was uneventful and the luggage came out within 15 minutes, allowing us to scurry right out, jump in a cab, and make the 1PM CA ferry--or have most of us make it. Did you ever notice how dark it is at the baggage claim in the STT airport? - and how many people now have dark green luggage? But who would think there would be someone else with the same piece of luggage as mine with the same type of luggage tag? Of course the lighter shade of green was very noticeable when we unloaded the cab downtown, so I told the rest of the folks to head out on the 1PM CA and wait for me at High Tide. I returned the luggage to the airport, grabbed my own which thankfully was still sitting there, and will sincerely thank again on this board the taxi driver who took me as a single fare to Red Hook to make the 2PM. My sister called CV to let them know that I would be delayed and that they wanted to wait for me to come in. No problem--they were there to meet us at 2:20 and patiently waited for us to round up the kids, who had discovered the old steel boat down beyond the Beach Bar and were preparing her for a trip to "Treasure Island".
More soon come...
This was a last minute trip- originally planned late July for just DH and I to take advantage of the Gallows summer special. We have an adult couples trip planned for Nov 5 to 17, but we noticed that there were some FF dates available in August, and since we couldnt use the miles for our Nov trip, and did absolutely nothing this summer, we would just head on down. A few days after we booked our FF seats, there was an airfare sale, and when we looked at the last minute discounts for some of the villas on our short list, we decided to ask my sister and her 9 yr old twins to join us. They also would have no vacation this summer, so it would be a little treat for them after camp was over.
We went with Villa Oleander overlooking Klein Bay and it turned out great for us. We wanted A/C, King bedrooms, a fun pool for the kids and "in your face" blue water views. After years of family vacations in villas where kids toys were repeatedly going out of the pool and over the side, our days of climbing down under the houses to retrive these things are over. Great deck space, modest furnishings, good privacy, comfortable beds, bug free thanks to the breezes, and no lost toys. Caribbean Villas gave us good service but I have yet to figure out what the extra 5% is for.
We are so fortunate to have the non-stop from JFK to STT available almost all year long. We scored a real coup in getting the FF seats on this flight and we all flew together. The flight was uneventful and the luggage came out within 15 minutes, allowing us to scurry right out, jump in a cab, and make the 1PM CA ferry--or have most of us make it. Did you ever notice how dark it is at the baggage claim in the STT airport? - and how many people now have dark green luggage? But who would think there would be someone else with the same piece of luggage as mine with the same type of luggage tag? Of course the lighter shade of green was very noticeable when we unloaded the cab downtown, so I told the rest of the folks to head out on the 1PM CA and wait for me at High Tide. I returned the luggage to the airport, grabbed my own which thankfully was still sitting there, and will sincerely thank again on this board the taxi driver who took me as a single fare to Red Hook to make the 2PM. My sister called CV to let them know that I would be delayed and that they wanted to wait for me to come in. No problem--they were there to meet us at 2:20 and patiently waited for us to round up the kids, who had discovered the old steel boat down beyond the Beach Bar and were preparing her for a trip to "Treasure Island".
More soon come...
Owww, getting the wrong luggage is scary! I'm glad it worked out. We have 3 of the Rick Steves roll-on bags that, it seems, every other American tourist in Europe uses. I put distinctive neon tags on them. I still see the wrong people grab them on the carousel and check that tag.
Cheers, RickG
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
I purposely bought red luggage two years ago thinking that not many people would have red - wrong!
We lost two bags in February and when I called, the agents kept saying "no bag" until I said "it is the red bag with the curly white and gold ribbon on the handle" Suddenly, the agent remembered seeing it and soon enough, it was on the way. The second appeared after my husband begged (and tipped) the delivery guy.
We lost two bags in February and when I called, the agents kept saying "no bag" until I said "it is the red bag with the curly white and gold ribbon on the handle" Suddenly, the agent remembered seeing it and soon enough, it was on the way. The second appeared after my husband begged (and tipped) the delivery guy.