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First Timer's STJ Trip Report: Days 1 - 3
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chicagoans
- Posts: 1586
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm
- Location: IL
First Timer's STJ Trip Report: Days 1 - 3
January 6th:
We woke up at home this morning for the first time in 10 days. The weak sunlight struggling through the shades is the grey/white of an overcast winter morning in Chicago - a far cry from the honey-warm glow that pours itself over a Caribbean sunrise. The windows are sealed tight and I miss the warm island breezes that blew through the sliding doors of our bedroom at the villa, carrying the chirps and whirs of frogs, birds and other island critters.
I take a shower St. John style: running the water only to get wet and rinse off; it just feels right. I come downstairs to find hubby wearing shorts and a t shirt. "I just couldn't bring myself to put on long pants!" he tells me. I know how he feels - I'm wearing a t shirt and jewelry I bought in Cruz Bay yesterday while we waited for the ferry. I guess we're both trying to hang on to the island vibe we left behind yesterday.
But I'm starting at the end, and I should be starting at the beginning...
December 27th, Day 1: Travel, Villa, and Skinny's
The cab picked us up at 4:30 for our 6 a.m. flight. We packed the night before - carry on only. We have 4 carry on bags: one for me, one for hubby, one shared by the kids (girl age 11 and boy age 9), and the 4th is a cooler with detachable wheels. The cooler is filled with whatever hubby picked up the day before at Omaha Steaks - he won't tell; it's for New Years Eve and one other meal. My one packing cheat is a pair of sandals that I put in hubby's bag. (I feel justified. I have the smallest bag!) We each have a backpack as our 2nd carry-on item. The tricky part of carry on is the 3 oz or less container rule for liquids. Thanks to my dermatologist neighbor and the Arbonne sales rep, I have enough little sample packets of lotion to last the trip. Sunblock wipes, bug spray wipes get packed. Mini containers of Repel and sunblock go in the Ziplock bags.
Our travel is unremarkable, except that our flight from ORD to IAD is delayed, so our connection consists of running from one gate to another. No time for eating between flights like I thought we could. Luckily I threw four Clementine oranges into my backpack at the last minute, and I'm regretting the apples I left behind in the fridge.
When we get to STT, we immediately hop into a taxi (one of the blessings of going carry on - no waiting for luggage) and take off for Red Hook. We think we're taking a 4:00 ferry, but they call us on board and leave the dock at 3:35. Fine by us, we just made it! And I definitely want to get our car before the rental company closes at 5:00. At the Cruz Bay dock, we write "HI" in the sand, and make a quick stop at Ruth's for some spices. I briefly meet Ruth, and then we walk to St. John Car Rental, just a block away. I think I reserved a Jeep Liberty, but they pull up a Dodge Nitro. The car looks brand new and is pristine. I'm a bit worried about this because I'm certain we won't return it this way!
The co-owner of our rental villa, Starlit Escape, is Jared. He meets us at the car rental, waits for us at Starfish Market, and then leads us over the island to Coral Bay. Jared couldn't be nicer and made sure we had whatever we needed during our stay. This villa turned out to be great for our group. (I'll do a villa review soon.) Jared stops at an overlook to show us Starlit Escape from the road. Look for the blue roof in the center of the picture. The "Happy Hour Tower" is at the top right corner of the roof.
To get to the villa, we go south on 107, and turn on the road where you find the Love City Mini Mart (what we referred to as the Love Shack). Then we travel for a bit on some hilly, narrow dirt roads, and I'm thinking "How are we going to get our friends here tomorrow?!"
After settling in at the villa, we run out to Skinny Leg's for dinner. Other than the oranges on the plane, this is our first meal since dinner the night before and those burgers at Skinny's taste great!
The menu:
Lookin' hungry at Skinny's:
Day 2: Ram Head, Salt Pond, Hansen, Friends Arrive
We start day 2 by heading to Salt Pond Bay and doing the Ram Head hike. We get a fairly late start - after 9:00 - and some parts are hot, but for most of the hike we have great breezes. And the views!! Gorgeous! The kids do just fine; we're all wearing Keens which are great for hiking, and we each have a bottle of water. I have my camera on a Gorillapod - a small, flexible tripod that works great for getting pictures of all four of us. For this picture, I actually wrapped it on the arm of a cactus (en route to Ram Head):
Cobblestone Beach on the way to Ram Head:
Atop Ram Head:
After our hike, we reward ourselves with a swim at Salt Pond. Ahhh... that wonderful, warm, salty water! I love it!
After some time on the beach, we have lunch at Miss Lucy's. I have the chicken roti and it's fantastic! Hubby has the crunchy fish, which is equally delish. We're enjoying our sea-side lunch when there's a ruckus at the next table. A goat has climbed onto the table, while the people there were still eating! I think our kids are secretly hoping the same thing will happen to us.
Lunch at Miss Lucy's:
After Miss Lucy's, we head up 107 to Crabby's. We meet Doug and he sets us up with snorkel gear for all of us and boogie boards for the kids. We take our gear and head over to Hansen Beach for some snorkeling and limin'. (We'll come back again for lunch at Vie's another day.)
Later, back at the villa, we call our friends who are meeting us here and find out that they're delayed enough that they won't make it to Cruz Bay before the rental place closes. We're trying to figure out how to get the 6 of them from Cruz Bay to the villa. Incredibly, they were able to take a cab! I wish we knew his name for sure (my friends think it might be E. Brown) because he's a saint! My friend CJ shows the driver directions that Jared sent, and the driver agrees to bring them. We were planning on meeting the cab somewhere like Skinny's or the Love Shack, and leading them the rest of the way to the villa. But we get a call from the cab and they're almost here! This was so funny. I hear laughing and screaming in the background - it was like getting a call from someone on a roller coaster! Our conversation is something like this: CJ: "I think we're lost! We're on a dirt road." Me: "No, that's right!" CJ: "But it's barely wide enough for a car!" Me: "Yes, that's right! You're going the right way!" CJ: "But we're in the middle of nowhere!" Me: "Yes, that's right!" Soon enough we hear the laughing outside, and our friends are here!
Here we are in the Happy Hour Tower (later in the trip). CJ, Nancy, and Michael; Ed, Nicholas and Laura; Hubby Rick, Delaney, me (Katie) and Nathan. A motley crew, but happy!
Our view from the Happy Hour Tower:
We settle in, share some laughs and rum drinks, and so ends our day on this beautiful island.
Day 3: Maho.
Our morning routine is usually like this: hubby and I get up around 7, and make coffee, and hang out for awhile. Our kids get up soon and we all have breakfast while a few of the others wander in. One of us moms makes sandwiches for lunch, and we pack a cooler with the sandwiches and drinks. Hubby and I with our 2 kids head out to the beach around 8:30 or 9:00, sometimes bringing one or two others with us. The rest like to sleep in a bit and will meet us there. Works great for everyone!
This day we choose Maho. It's very narrow - just a couple yards of sand between the trees and the water, but it's beautiful!
Delaney and Nathan at Maho:
Muscle Bound Kids at Maho:
We go out snorkeling a few times along the right hand side. We see plenty of coral, fish, a ray, and a sea turtle. We spend the entire day at Maho, eventually heading back to the villa in the late afternoon. The kids play in the pool while the adults enjoy happy hour. Later we'll grill out on the deck for dinner, and then share lots of laughs playing Cranium with the kids. Ahhh... another perfect day in St. John!
I look back on what I've written here and I see that this report is getting long! I'll stop here and continue later...
We woke up at home this morning for the first time in 10 days. The weak sunlight struggling through the shades is the grey/white of an overcast winter morning in Chicago - a far cry from the honey-warm glow that pours itself over a Caribbean sunrise. The windows are sealed tight and I miss the warm island breezes that blew through the sliding doors of our bedroom at the villa, carrying the chirps and whirs of frogs, birds and other island critters.
I take a shower St. John style: running the water only to get wet and rinse off; it just feels right. I come downstairs to find hubby wearing shorts and a t shirt. "I just couldn't bring myself to put on long pants!" he tells me. I know how he feels - I'm wearing a t shirt and jewelry I bought in Cruz Bay yesterday while we waited for the ferry. I guess we're both trying to hang on to the island vibe we left behind yesterday.
But I'm starting at the end, and I should be starting at the beginning...
December 27th, Day 1: Travel, Villa, and Skinny's
The cab picked us up at 4:30 for our 6 a.m. flight. We packed the night before - carry on only. We have 4 carry on bags: one for me, one for hubby, one shared by the kids (girl age 11 and boy age 9), and the 4th is a cooler with detachable wheels. The cooler is filled with whatever hubby picked up the day before at Omaha Steaks - he won't tell; it's for New Years Eve and one other meal. My one packing cheat is a pair of sandals that I put in hubby's bag. (I feel justified. I have the smallest bag!) We each have a backpack as our 2nd carry-on item. The tricky part of carry on is the 3 oz or less container rule for liquids. Thanks to my dermatologist neighbor and the Arbonne sales rep, I have enough little sample packets of lotion to last the trip. Sunblock wipes, bug spray wipes get packed. Mini containers of Repel and sunblock go in the Ziplock bags.
Our travel is unremarkable, except that our flight from ORD to IAD is delayed, so our connection consists of running from one gate to another. No time for eating between flights like I thought we could. Luckily I threw four Clementine oranges into my backpack at the last minute, and I'm regretting the apples I left behind in the fridge.
When we get to STT, we immediately hop into a taxi (one of the blessings of going carry on - no waiting for luggage) and take off for Red Hook. We think we're taking a 4:00 ferry, but they call us on board and leave the dock at 3:35. Fine by us, we just made it! And I definitely want to get our car before the rental company closes at 5:00. At the Cruz Bay dock, we write "HI" in the sand, and make a quick stop at Ruth's for some spices. I briefly meet Ruth, and then we walk to St. John Car Rental, just a block away. I think I reserved a Jeep Liberty, but they pull up a Dodge Nitro. The car looks brand new and is pristine. I'm a bit worried about this because I'm certain we won't return it this way!
The co-owner of our rental villa, Starlit Escape, is Jared. He meets us at the car rental, waits for us at Starfish Market, and then leads us over the island to Coral Bay. Jared couldn't be nicer and made sure we had whatever we needed during our stay. This villa turned out to be great for our group. (I'll do a villa review soon.) Jared stops at an overlook to show us Starlit Escape from the road. Look for the blue roof in the center of the picture. The "Happy Hour Tower" is at the top right corner of the roof.
To get to the villa, we go south on 107, and turn on the road where you find the Love City Mini Mart (what we referred to as the Love Shack). Then we travel for a bit on some hilly, narrow dirt roads, and I'm thinking "How are we going to get our friends here tomorrow?!"
After settling in at the villa, we run out to Skinny Leg's for dinner. Other than the oranges on the plane, this is our first meal since dinner the night before and those burgers at Skinny's taste great!
The menu:
Lookin' hungry at Skinny's:
Day 2: Ram Head, Salt Pond, Hansen, Friends Arrive
We start day 2 by heading to Salt Pond Bay and doing the Ram Head hike. We get a fairly late start - after 9:00 - and some parts are hot, but for most of the hike we have great breezes. And the views!! Gorgeous! The kids do just fine; we're all wearing Keens which are great for hiking, and we each have a bottle of water. I have my camera on a Gorillapod - a small, flexible tripod that works great for getting pictures of all four of us. For this picture, I actually wrapped it on the arm of a cactus (en route to Ram Head):
Cobblestone Beach on the way to Ram Head:
Atop Ram Head:
After our hike, we reward ourselves with a swim at Salt Pond. Ahhh... that wonderful, warm, salty water! I love it!
After some time on the beach, we have lunch at Miss Lucy's. I have the chicken roti and it's fantastic! Hubby has the crunchy fish, which is equally delish. We're enjoying our sea-side lunch when there's a ruckus at the next table. A goat has climbed onto the table, while the people there were still eating! I think our kids are secretly hoping the same thing will happen to us.
Lunch at Miss Lucy's:
After Miss Lucy's, we head up 107 to Crabby's. We meet Doug and he sets us up with snorkel gear for all of us and boogie boards for the kids. We take our gear and head over to Hansen Beach for some snorkeling and limin'. (We'll come back again for lunch at Vie's another day.)
Later, back at the villa, we call our friends who are meeting us here and find out that they're delayed enough that they won't make it to Cruz Bay before the rental place closes. We're trying to figure out how to get the 6 of them from Cruz Bay to the villa. Incredibly, they were able to take a cab! I wish we knew his name for sure (my friends think it might be E. Brown) because he's a saint! My friend CJ shows the driver directions that Jared sent, and the driver agrees to bring them. We were planning on meeting the cab somewhere like Skinny's or the Love Shack, and leading them the rest of the way to the villa. But we get a call from the cab and they're almost here! This was so funny. I hear laughing and screaming in the background - it was like getting a call from someone on a roller coaster! Our conversation is something like this: CJ: "I think we're lost! We're on a dirt road." Me: "No, that's right!" CJ: "But it's barely wide enough for a car!" Me: "Yes, that's right! You're going the right way!" CJ: "But we're in the middle of nowhere!" Me: "Yes, that's right!" Soon enough we hear the laughing outside, and our friends are here!
Here we are in the Happy Hour Tower (later in the trip). CJ, Nancy, and Michael; Ed, Nicholas and Laura; Hubby Rick, Delaney, me (Katie) and Nathan. A motley crew, but happy!
Our view from the Happy Hour Tower:
We settle in, share some laughs and rum drinks, and so ends our day on this beautiful island.
Day 3: Maho.
Our morning routine is usually like this: hubby and I get up around 7, and make coffee, and hang out for awhile. Our kids get up soon and we all have breakfast while a few of the others wander in. One of us moms makes sandwiches for lunch, and we pack a cooler with the sandwiches and drinks. Hubby and I with our 2 kids head out to the beach around 8:30 or 9:00, sometimes bringing one or two others with us. The rest like to sleep in a bit and will meet us there. Works great for everyone!
This day we choose Maho. It's very narrow - just a couple yards of sand between the trees and the water, but it's beautiful!
Delaney and Nathan at Maho:
Muscle Bound Kids at Maho:
We go out snorkeling a few times along the right hand side. We see plenty of coral, fish, a ray, and a sea turtle. We spend the entire day at Maho, eventually heading back to the villa in the late afternoon. The kids play in the pool while the adults enjoy happy hour. Later we'll grill out on the deck for dinner, and then share lots of laughs playing Cranium with the kids. Ahhh... another perfect day in St. John!
I look back on what I've written here and I see that this report is getting long! I'll stop here and continue later...
flawless so-far...
Thanks for sharing the report, looks like you guys "got it down" pretty well for the first trip...looks flawless so-far, Cheers!
There is no such thing as a Unicorn, Fire Breathing Dragon, or a trip report that is too long! Great start, keep em coming! It's like reading a really good novel......take me away from here!!! Please take me back to St. John with your next installment! Hurry!
Great pix, too...I really like the gorillapod...gotta get one of those!
-Bert
Great pix, too...I really like the gorillapod...gotta get one of those!
-Bert
The liver is evil, it must be punished!
-
Dave-a-roni
- Posts: 299
- Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 1:43 am
- Location: Western NY
nice trip report and nice pics.
"Try to preserve nature where you live, not just where you visit"
Photo's
2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave-a-ron ... 118102515/
2005 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave-a-ron ... 326642810/
Photo's
2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave-a-ron ... 118102515/
2005 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave-a-ron ... 326642810/
