Trip Report
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:55 am
Warning.... LONG REPORT.
I must say I am impressed that I was able to pull off this last minute surprise trip for Larry, all booked within 25 days of leaving
.
We learned from our first trip that it is well worth the 3 1/2 hour drive to Detroit for the $$ that is saved ( I can spend this $$ shopping
) So Friday we both worked until noon, came home loaded up the car & said good bye to our precious little princess(our Shih tzu)& headed out.
Had a great drive & not a long wait at the boarder. After a 3 1/2 hour dirve we need to stretch our legs so we hit a small mall off the 96. Hubby (Larry) found an outdoor store UHHHHHHHHHHH, OH WELL, I sent him on his way while I went into Best Buy. I had mentioned before we left that I was considering picking up a pay as you go cell phone to use as our roaming charges are stupid. I am happy to say that within 5 min I had my new phone, $20.00 & it came with $10.00 air time, I thought this was an awesome deal & picked up an extra $15.00 just incase. Larry did very well at the outdoor store''''''
Drove the 15 min to our hotel & was advised that there was no water
as the water line had burst & they had been working on it since 3 in the afternoon...... What to do, all the hotels on that street were effected, so we either stayed & hopped they got it fixed or tried to find another hotel in the area. We opted to stay & hope (the joys of old man winter).
Had an early flight out of DTW on US Airways, flight was delayed due to a broken seat belt & then we had to be de-iced, another joy of flying from the north in the winter. So after an hour delay we were off. I was a little concerned as we only has 57 min between flights in Philly. We must have had a great tale wind as we made it with 32 min to spare. THANK GOD FOR CARRY ON...
Flight out of Philly was again delayed due to a broken bathroom..................
again after an hour we were on our way. Finally arrive in St Thomas at 4:40. As we didn't figure we would make the CA ferry we opted to head to RH & caught the 5:00 ferry. I called Anna, our villa owner from RH & let her know we would on the 5:00 ferry, she said she would be waiting for us.
Anna drove us the short distance to our villa, Far Horizon, our first sight was of 2 Humming birds chasing each other, it was so beautiful. We had ordered from Mixology so our beverages were
there waiting for us. Grabbed a cold beer & took in the views & smells of the Island.
We are big Woody's fan's it is our home away from home, just ask Rick G . So off we go to Woody's, grabbed a table & had a few cold ones, just enjoying being home. We normally do Uncle Joe's our first night, but decided we were just to tired & ate at Woody's. Larry had the Mahi burger & I had some wings. Grabed a traveler & headed back to the villa.
Enjoyed a few glasses if Wine & called Deb & Woody( they were with us on our May trip) .
Day 2
Up early, Larry ran down to Every Ting to pick up a coffee for me & juice for him, sat on the patio & watched the gecko's,hummers & car barg go by. I am not one to sit around to long so shorlty we had the cooler packed, beach bag packed & were off to Deli Grotto to pick up our lunch & off to Saloman. On our way to Salomon, we noticed a lot of Donkey Doo on the trail, we were hopping that maybe we would see one, but no luck.
When I first step out of the brush from the trail onto Salomon, I always feel like crying, it is the most beautiful sight, makes the worlds woes disappear. There were not many people there. Larry tried to do some snorkeling, but the water was very rough & he could not see anything, so we just enjoyed the views & sound of the waves. Had a beautiful day.
Today was Jaz Night at the Beach Bar so after cleaning up, headed down to hopfully meet up with Ruth, Jay, Deb & who ever else was there, Well, I didn't realize they would be on the beach so we missed them all. We ran into a couple from Salomon & chated with them for a bit.Home to BBQ. another beautiful night at the villa.
Day 3
The ususal morning ritual, today we were off to Honeymoon.... Just had to see some donkey's, and I was not disappointed, there they were. Honeymoon was also very rough & the water came up very high, we had our backs against the Sea Grape tree's & the water was up all the way. Still a great day (as they all are on St John) Dinner tonight was Uncle Joe's, we placed our order & walked around Mongoose while we waited as we had decided to eat back at the villa. Enjoyed a candle light Uncle Joe's on the patio.
Day 4
When I went outside this morning I was almost hit by two Hummers that were chasing each other, crazy birds...The weather was not looking the best so we decided to not go to a beach today, so we hung around the villa for a bit then decided to take a walk to Franks. We have never stopped in to Coconut Studio's before & decided today was the day. We met Elaine, she is a wonderful lady, she was having a meeting for the bird santuary & said to look around & then invited us to the cocktail party the following night. Continued on our walk & found a new way into town, brought us in at the school. Stopped in to See Ruth & Ron & found out how we had missed the forum group on Sunday. Did some window shopping & decided we would pickup our daily sandwhich at the Grotto & head home. Spent the afternoon on the patio. Off to Woody's for Happy Hour & dinner.
Day 5
Today was Hawksnest beach, again they water was very rough & there was literally no beach, but we enjoyed the sound of the waves & just read & listen to our MP3's. The waves tossed a lady around like a stone while we were there. Stayed till around noon & headed to Deli Grotto for our lunch, enjoyed lunch back at the villa.
Tonight was the Cocktail Party at CC, Elaine puts on a beautiful gathering with the Flute players, champagne & O/D. Had a nice time,talking with different people & viewing her beautiful work. We had seen a tile picture that we liked, I guess how it works is it is ordered thru Florida & then it is shipped to you. As we live in Canada Elaine thought the shipping would be pretty high & offered to sell us the one in her studio. We said we would think about it, we didn't want to take hers as it is a big seller. As it turns out we are going to order one before we head down in May & pick it up at her studio & bring it home. Will have to see if we get away with only 1 or end up with two. We did pick up a few goodies for friends at home & luggage tags for us. Back to the villa for a candle light BBQ, We had picked up a black bean salad & pototoe salad at Deli Grotto to have with our dinner, they were both very good.
Day 6
The rain woke us up at 4:30 in the morning, so when we got up it wa a little cool. We decided not to waste the $$$ on a cab to the beach, incase we got more rain, so we headed off to Salomon again, again there were very few people & we actually got to sit right between the Two Great Palmers. Enjoyed another great day, Larry attempted to snorkel again, but the water was to murkey to see much.
Back to Woody's for our Happy Hour, ended up talking to some nice couples, dinner tonight at the Beach Bar, this was a first for us. It was very good & lots of food.
Day 7
Our last full day, so we decided again to hit Salomon, boy we sure are getting a workout this trip....
This morning we thought that maybe we should have some breakfast at JJ'S, These treaks to Salomon are hard work...
Enjoyed our finally day, soaking up the sun, enjoying the views, looking at the big boats going by & talking about how lucky we are to be coming back in 3 short months.
Enjoyed our last Happy Hour at Woody's, we have a favorite waitress at Woody's. She is really sweet, her name is Kate. We placed our order & she brought us our drinks, when the time came to pay our tab, it wasn't as much as we expected. When Larry asked her she said she bought us our first drink...... I know it wasn't much, but it was the thought. Very touching. So we gave our hugs good bye & said see you in May.
Headed back to the villa for our last BBQ, enjoyed the sounds of the night, the lights over ST Thomas & reflected on our special week in St John.
WOW Day,
Up early, finished the packing, took the 9;15 CA ferry. We had decided to grab a sandwhich at DG, but thought we might be cutting it close for the ferry,so we then decided to grab something at Glady's in ST.
Grabbing a sandwhich at Glady's worked out great, they wrapped it up in foil & we were off.
Side note, while we were at Hawksnest, my camera decided to die, or so we thought, the shutter wouldn't open up. Tried new battery's, nope nothing, talked to the lady at the camera store in st John, they really had no service available to see if they could fix it. I have seen that many people on the forum have the Olympus 790 SW & decided to check it out in St Thomas. I picked one up so we are all set for our next trip, & Larry will now have a good camera for snorkeling.
As it turns out, when we got home I took the camera to a Sony store here & they put in new battery's & the camera works.... OPS. OH Well, such is life.
Final thoughts, Carry On IS the only way to go.
Only 83 days & we will be back with a newbie couple & Deb & Woody for our next adventure.
The Shopper & Larry
I must say I am impressed that I was able to pull off this last minute surprise trip for Larry, all booked within 25 days of leaving
.We learned from our first trip that it is well worth the 3 1/2 hour drive to Detroit for the $$ that is saved ( I can spend this $$ shopping
) So Friday we both worked until noon, came home loaded up the car & said good bye to our precious little princess(our Shih tzu)& headed out.Had a great drive & not a long wait at the boarder. After a 3 1/2 hour dirve we need to stretch our legs so we hit a small mall off the 96. Hubby (Larry) found an outdoor store UHHHHHHHHHHH, OH WELL, I sent him on his way while I went into Best Buy. I had mentioned before we left that I was considering picking up a pay as you go cell phone to use as our roaming charges are stupid. I am happy to say that within 5 min I had my new phone, $20.00 & it came with $10.00 air time, I thought this was an awesome deal & picked up an extra $15.00 just incase. Larry did very well at the outdoor store''''''
Drove the 15 min to our hotel & was advised that there was no water
as the water line had burst & they had been working on it since 3 in the afternoon...... What to do, all the hotels on that street were effected, so we either stayed & hopped they got it fixed or tried to find another hotel in the area. We opted to stay & hope (the joys of old man winter). Had an early flight out of DTW on US Airways, flight was delayed due to a broken seat belt & then we had to be de-iced, another joy of flying from the north in the winter. So after an hour delay we were off. I was a little concerned as we only has 57 min between flights in Philly. We must have had a great tale wind as we made it with 32 min to spare. THANK GOD FOR CARRY ON...
Flight out of Philly was again delayed due to a broken bathroom..................
again after an hour we were on our way. Finally arrive in St Thomas at 4:40. As we didn't figure we would make the CA ferry we opted to head to RH & caught the 5:00 ferry. I called Anna, our villa owner from RH & let her know we would on the 5:00 ferry, she said she would be waiting for us. Anna drove us the short distance to our villa, Far Horizon, our first sight was of 2 Humming birds chasing each other, it was so beautiful. We had ordered from Mixology so our beverages were
there waiting for us. Grabbed a cold beer & took in the views & smells of the Island.
We are big Woody's fan's it is our home away from home, just ask Rick G
. So off we go to Woody's, grabbed a table & had a few cold ones, just enjoying being home. We normally do Uncle Joe's our first night, but decided we were just to tired & ate at Woody's. Larry had the Mahi burger & I had some wings. Grabed a traveler & headed back to the villa. Enjoyed a few glasses if Wine & called Deb & Woody( they were with us on our May trip) .
Day 2
Up early, Larry ran down to Every Ting to pick up a coffee for me & juice for him, sat on the patio & watched the gecko's,hummers & car barg go by. I am not one to sit around to long so shorlty we had the cooler packed, beach bag packed & were off to Deli Grotto to pick up our lunch & off to Saloman. On our way to Salomon, we noticed a lot of Donkey Doo on the trail, we were hopping that maybe we would see one, but no luck.
When I first step out of the brush from the trail onto Salomon, I always feel like crying, it is the most beautiful sight, makes the worlds woes disappear. There were not many people there. Larry tried to do some snorkeling, but the water was very rough & he could not see anything, so we just enjoyed the views & sound of the waves. Had a beautiful day.
Today was Jaz Night at the Beach Bar so after cleaning up, headed down to hopfully meet up with Ruth, Jay, Deb & who ever else was there, Well, I didn't realize they would be on the beach so we missed them all. We ran into a couple from Salomon & chated with them for a bit.Home to BBQ. another beautiful night at the villa.
Day 3
The ususal morning ritual, today we were off to Honeymoon.... Just had to see some donkey's, and I was not disappointed, there they were. Honeymoon was also very rough & the water came up very high, we had our backs against the Sea Grape tree's & the water was up all the way. Still a great day (as they all are on St John) Dinner tonight was Uncle Joe's, we placed our order & walked around Mongoose while we waited as we had decided to eat back at the villa. Enjoyed a candle light Uncle Joe's on the patio.
Day 4
When I went outside this morning I was almost hit by two Hummers that were chasing each other, crazy birds...The weather was not looking the best so we decided to not go to a beach today, so we hung around the villa for a bit then decided to take a walk to Franks. We have never stopped in to Coconut Studio's before & decided today was the day. We met Elaine, she is a wonderful lady, she was having a meeting for the bird santuary & said to look around & then invited us to the cocktail party the following night. Continued on our walk & found a new way into town, brought us in at the school. Stopped in to See Ruth & Ron & found out how we had missed the forum group on Sunday. Did some window shopping & decided we would pickup our daily sandwhich at the Grotto & head home. Spent the afternoon on the patio. Off to Woody's for Happy Hour & dinner.
Day 5
Today was Hawksnest beach, again they water was very rough & there was literally no beach, but we enjoyed the sound of the waves & just read & listen to our MP3's. The waves tossed a lady around like a stone while we were there. Stayed till around noon & headed to Deli Grotto for our lunch, enjoyed lunch back at the villa.
Tonight was the Cocktail Party at CC, Elaine puts on a beautiful gathering with the Flute players, champagne & O/D. Had a nice time,talking with different people & viewing her beautiful work. We had seen a tile picture that we liked, I guess how it works is it is ordered thru Florida & then it is shipped to you. As we live in Canada Elaine thought the shipping would be pretty high & offered to sell us the one in her studio. We said we would think about it, we didn't want to take hers as it is a big seller. As it turns out we are going to order one before we head down in May & pick it up at her studio & bring it home. Will have to see if we get away with only 1 or end up with two. We did pick up a few goodies for friends at home & luggage tags for us. Back to the villa for a candle light BBQ, We had picked up a black bean salad & pototoe salad at Deli Grotto to have with our dinner, they were both very good.
Day 6
The rain woke us up at 4:30 in the morning, so when we got up it wa a little cool. We decided not to waste the $$$ on a cab to the beach, incase we got more rain, so we headed off to Salomon again, again there were very few people & we actually got to sit right between the Two Great Palmers. Enjoyed another great day, Larry attempted to snorkel again, but the water was to murkey to see much.
Back to Woody's for our Happy Hour, ended up talking to some nice couples, dinner tonight at the Beach Bar, this was a first for us. It was very good & lots of food.
Day 7
Our last full day, so we decided again to hit Salomon, boy we sure are getting a workout this trip....
This morning we thought that maybe we should have some breakfast at JJ'S, These treaks to Salomon are hard work...
Enjoyed our finally day, soaking up the sun, enjoying the views, looking at the big boats going by & talking about how lucky we are to be coming back in 3 short months.
Enjoyed our last Happy Hour at Woody's, we have a favorite waitress at Woody's. She is really sweet, her name is Kate. We placed our order & she brought us our drinks, when the time came to pay our tab, it wasn't as much as we expected. When Larry asked her she said she bought us our first drink...... I know it wasn't much, but it was the thought. Very touching. So we gave our hugs good bye & said see you in May.
Headed back to the villa for our last BBQ, enjoyed the sounds of the night, the lights over ST Thomas & reflected on our special week in St John.
WOW Day,
Up early, finished the packing, took the 9;15 CA ferry. We had decided to grab a sandwhich at DG, but thought we might be cutting it close for the ferry,so we then decided to grab something at Glady's in ST.
Grabbing a sandwhich at Glady's worked out great, they wrapped it up in foil & we were off.
Side note, while we were at Hawksnest, my camera decided to die, or so we thought, the shutter wouldn't open up. Tried new battery's, nope nothing, talked to the lady at the camera store in st John, they really had no service available to see if they could fix it. I have seen that many people on the forum have the Olympus 790 SW & decided to check it out in St Thomas. I picked one up so we are all set for our next trip, & Larry will now have a good camera for snorkeling.
As it turns out, when we got home I took the camera to a Sony store here & they put in new battery's & the camera works.... OPS. OH Well, such is life.
Final thoughts, Carry On IS the only way to go.
Only 83 days & we will be back with a newbie couple & Deb & Woody for our next adventure.
The Shopper & Larry
I know the feeling well when you arrive at Salomon paridise on earth for sure