My rambling trip report
Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:13 am
We arrived at our B&B (Garden of the Sea) near Frank Bay about 5:30. We were hot and tired from the long trip from Virginia (3 cabs, 2 planes, 1 ferry) and didn't feel like going out to eat so we shared the Starbucks Blueberry muffin I had left over from that morning along with some peanuts. The B&B has an "honor bar" where you can make yourself almost any kind of drink for a minimal cost ($2 for alcoholic drink; $1 for non-alcoholic). This plus the muffin and peanuts was enough to get us thru our first evening. Went to bed early.
We awoke to our daily B&B hot scrumptious breakfast. We had arranged with some friends back home to wave at the Cruz Bay webcam at 9:30 a.m. on our first morning there. Just heard from one that we were right on time and he has a print of us waving at the camera. We picked up our car from Courtesy and were on our way. Driving on the left side is easy to get used to because the speed is slow. Whoever said "left shoulder to left shoulder" gets my vote as the most helpful advice for driving on the left side. Keeping that in mind made the driving easier. There are blind curves everywhere and the first time going up a couple of switchbacks I think I said "Oh s__t". We generally drove on the North Shore road because I was familiar with it and more comfortable driving on it than the Centerline Road. By our third or fourth day I had to remind myself not to get too overconfident. Our first day generally consisted of driving around the island. We went to Coral Bay and to Concordia (an eco-friendly place). Saw the Coral Bay donkeys and goats for the first time. That first day we brought a couple of sandwiches from the Grotto Deli and ate on the seawall at Leinster. We went for a swim at Maho. We went to dinner at the Lime Inn which was a great choice. They cooked the fish to perfection.
The next day we went to Trunk Bay. This turned out to be our favorite place. We would have been more adventurous but Nancy had a broken toe and while snorkeling at Trunk was OK, hiking to the more remote spots was out for this trip - another reason to go back.
We didn't have a bad meal all week. Ate dinners at the Lime Inn, the Fish Trap; Morgan Mango; the Westin Beach restaurant and ZOZO's. Had fish everywhere and they all cooked the fish to perfection. Had burgers for lunch at Skinny Legs - excellent as advertised. A surprise was the burgers and hot dogs at Trunk Bay - they too were very good. Drinks at Miss Lucy's were great.
Finally found Sloop Jones and I got to meet him. Nancy did the buying.
A small world story - the young man tending bar at the Tap Room asked where we were from and it turns out I work for the same company, on the same floor, as his uncle. I took his picture and emailed it to his uncle when I returned to work.
Trunk Bay - we snorkeled by the underwater trail and saw a lot of reef fish. Past the left side of the beach we saw a stingray. In the center, about 50 yards from shore directly out from the main entrance to the beach there was a brain coral the size of a truck engine. It was home to hundreds of small fish. They looked like a halo on the brain coral and all darted at the same time into the coral when spooked. Very interesting and easy to find. We always picked the same spot which was in the shade of the unmanned lifeguard station. With a little shifting of our chairs we were in the shade all day.
Karen at Garden of the Sea is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Her breakfasts were outstanding. The B&B was comfortable and met our needs. We here in the Terrace Room with a private balcony with a view of the water. They provide backpack/beach chairs and coolers for guests. These were very helpful in getting our stuff to the beach.
Overall - We would return in a heartbeat. St John is relatively expensive but is worth it. Driving on the left is easily mastered because you can't really go fast anywhere. Getting from/to the St Thomas airport is a bit of a pain but that's the price of keeping St John relatively unspoiled.
I know I ramble. If you have a question, just ask and I'll try to answer.
Ed
We awoke to our daily B&B hot scrumptious breakfast. We had arranged with some friends back home to wave at the Cruz Bay webcam at 9:30 a.m. on our first morning there. Just heard from one that we were right on time and he has a print of us waving at the camera. We picked up our car from Courtesy and were on our way. Driving on the left side is easy to get used to because the speed is slow. Whoever said "left shoulder to left shoulder" gets my vote as the most helpful advice for driving on the left side. Keeping that in mind made the driving easier. There are blind curves everywhere and the first time going up a couple of switchbacks I think I said "Oh s__t". We generally drove on the North Shore road because I was familiar with it and more comfortable driving on it than the Centerline Road. By our third or fourth day I had to remind myself not to get too overconfident. Our first day generally consisted of driving around the island. We went to Coral Bay and to Concordia (an eco-friendly place). Saw the Coral Bay donkeys and goats for the first time. That first day we brought a couple of sandwiches from the Grotto Deli and ate on the seawall at Leinster. We went for a swim at Maho. We went to dinner at the Lime Inn which was a great choice. They cooked the fish to perfection.
The next day we went to Trunk Bay. This turned out to be our favorite place. We would have been more adventurous but Nancy had a broken toe and while snorkeling at Trunk was OK, hiking to the more remote spots was out for this trip - another reason to go back.
We didn't have a bad meal all week. Ate dinners at the Lime Inn, the Fish Trap; Morgan Mango; the Westin Beach restaurant and ZOZO's. Had fish everywhere and they all cooked the fish to perfection. Had burgers for lunch at Skinny Legs - excellent as advertised. A surprise was the burgers and hot dogs at Trunk Bay - they too were very good. Drinks at Miss Lucy's were great.
Finally found Sloop Jones and I got to meet him. Nancy did the buying.
A small world story - the young man tending bar at the Tap Room asked where we were from and it turns out I work for the same company, on the same floor, as his uncle. I took his picture and emailed it to his uncle when I returned to work.
Trunk Bay - we snorkeled by the underwater trail and saw a lot of reef fish. Past the left side of the beach we saw a stingray. In the center, about 50 yards from shore directly out from the main entrance to the beach there was a brain coral the size of a truck engine. It was home to hundreds of small fish. They looked like a halo on the brain coral and all darted at the same time into the coral when spooked. Very interesting and easy to find. We always picked the same spot which was in the shade of the unmanned lifeguard station. With a little shifting of our chairs we were in the shade all day.
Karen at Garden of the Sea is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Her breakfasts were outstanding. The B&B was comfortable and met our needs. We here in the Terrace Room with a private balcony with a view of the water. They provide backpack/beach chairs and coolers for guests. These were very helpful in getting our stuff to the beach.
Overall - We would return in a heartbeat. St John is relatively expensive but is worth it. Driving on the left is easily mastered because you can't really go fast anywhere. Getting from/to the St Thomas airport is a bit of a pain but that's the price of keeping St John relatively unspoiled.
I know I ramble. If you have a question, just ask and I'll try to answer.
Ed
