Trip Report 8TUFF MILES
Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:37 am
Just returned BOO HOO form 8 AMAZING days on St John. I finished 8TUFF MILES!! Yippee, very near the end of 726 people, but walking across that finish line was COOL!
Day One Thursday
We arrived in STT no delays (6 of us 6 bags and 2 rolling coolers) After our rum punch Christophers taxi met us and since there were 7 cruise ships in STT we took a detour to RH. We had 20 mins to kill as our Dohms water taxi did not leave until 3:45 we stopped at the KMART on STT Bought beer wine and rum (CHEAP) bottled H20 and a few forgotten items. Headed to RH and boarded Dohms. Greeted at the dock by Kim from our villa company and picked up the cars from Conrad Sutton and headed up to our villa Lost Horizon. WOW photos do not do this place justice and we settled in and my husband and I headed to Baked in the Sun to pick up the 6 bib numbers for 8 TUFF, grabed some eggs and OJ at the starfish and arrived back at LH with dinner on the table. We had packed prepared meals from Super Suppers and enjoyed an easy meal.
Day 2 Friday DAY of REST hung around the villa/pool and gave the blender a workout! Around 7am we spotted a breaching humpback whale off Ditleff Point AMAZING
Day 3 Saturday 8 TUFF MILES
Race begins in Cruz Bay at NPVC and follows Centerline Road to the ball field in Coral Bay
Amazing journey we got rained on which was awfully refreshing and there were 11 pitstops along the way, each sponsored by a local business with their own theme. One even offered Bloody Marys, but I think I would have hung out there and not finished!
Day 4 Sunday
Since we were traveling with 4 newbies and non snorkelers we hit Trunk early and they did the trail there to get acclimated. We went to Compass Rose for sunset and minigolf. A bit dissapointed with the mini golf because it was really run down compared to 3 years ago when we were there. All the waterfalls we turned off and stagnet water smelled like sewage. The beautiful plantings were very overgrown and choked with weeds. We still had a GREAT time and we made a tournament out of it. We had heard the owner was arrested for getting a grant to open a butterfly preserve and never opened it, so that could explain the disrepair, but the drinks were good and we still had a blast sans sewage smell.
Day 5 Monday Day sail on SCUBADU
WHERE DO I BEGIN?? If you want a laid back day sail CAPTAIN JOE and Scubadu are the way to go!! We had the most incredible day. We snorkeled Leinster Bay and Congo which was fabulous!!! Lunch was AWESOME and Joe is so laid back, this is where vacation really kicked in. I would book him again in a heartbeat. The boat is so comfortable and their snorkel gear is top notch!!
Day 6 Tuesday
Hidden Reef Eco Tours snorkel/kyack AWESOME guide Dan to my husband and I on an amazing trip out of Haulover Bay 10 mins past Skinnys on the right. Excellent gear. We saw a filefish, flounder,various Conch and a Seabiscuit and tons of other fish. Dan would dive down and point things out and bring things to the surface for us to look at and he carfully replaced everything. We headed back to Cruz Bay to meet to others for luch at the the Sun Dog cafe in MJ DYNAMITE food and a great geckolada!! YUM
Day 7 Wednesday
Caneel Bay Beach (for the newbies Ho hum)
and back to the villa for more blender action and pool, and I could not get enough of the view overlooking Ditleff. Dinner at the Lime Inn for all you can eat shrimp and rum punch YUMMY
Day 8 Thursday
One last morning in SHANGRI-LA and back to Sun Dog for Lunch and last minute shopping ST JOHN SPICE jumped on the RH ferry and away we went.
Sorry for the long report
I cant thank all of you enough for the AMAZING advice and helping me plan a great trip to my favorite place on earth!! My husband and I are already planning a return trip (just the two of us) and hit some more hiking trails and beaches!
Day One Thursday
We arrived in STT no delays (6 of us 6 bags and 2 rolling coolers) After our rum punch Christophers taxi met us and since there were 7 cruise ships in STT we took a detour to RH. We had 20 mins to kill as our Dohms water taxi did not leave until 3:45 we stopped at the KMART on STT Bought beer wine and rum (CHEAP) bottled H20 and a few forgotten items. Headed to RH and boarded Dohms. Greeted at the dock by Kim from our villa company and picked up the cars from Conrad Sutton and headed up to our villa Lost Horizon. WOW photos do not do this place justice and we settled in and my husband and I headed to Baked in the Sun to pick up the 6 bib numbers for 8 TUFF, grabed some eggs and OJ at the starfish and arrived back at LH with dinner on the table. We had packed prepared meals from Super Suppers and enjoyed an easy meal.
Day 2 Friday DAY of REST hung around the villa/pool and gave the blender a workout! Around 7am we spotted a breaching humpback whale off Ditleff Point AMAZING
Day 3 Saturday 8 TUFF MILES
Race begins in Cruz Bay at NPVC and follows Centerline Road to the ball field in Coral Bay
Amazing journey we got rained on which was awfully refreshing and there were 11 pitstops along the way, each sponsored by a local business with their own theme. One even offered Bloody Marys, but I think I would have hung out there and not finished!
Day 4 Sunday
Since we were traveling with 4 newbies and non snorkelers we hit Trunk early and they did the trail there to get acclimated. We went to Compass Rose for sunset and minigolf. A bit dissapointed with the mini golf because it was really run down compared to 3 years ago when we were there. All the waterfalls we turned off and stagnet water smelled like sewage. The beautiful plantings were very overgrown and choked with weeds. We still had a GREAT time and we made a tournament out of it. We had heard the owner was arrested for getting a grant to open a butterfly preserve and never opened it, so that could explain the disrepair, but the drinks were good and we still had a blast sans sewage smell.
Day 5 Monday Day sail on SCUBADU
WHERE DO I BEGIN?? If you want a laid back day sail CAPTAIN JOE and Scubadu are the way to go!! We had the most incredible day. We snorkeled Leinster Bay and Congo which was fabulous!!! Lunch was AWESOME and Joe is so laid back, this is where vacation really kicked in. I would book him again in a heartbeat. The boat is so comfortable and their snorkel gear is top notch!!
Day 6 Tuesday
Hidden Reef Eco Tours snorkel/kyack AWESOME guide Dan to my husband and I on an amazing trip out of Haulover Bay 10 mins past Skinnys on the right. Excellent gear. We saw a filefish, flounder,various Conch and a Seabiscuit and tons of other fish. Dan would dive down and point things out and bring things to the surface for us to look at and he carfully replaced everything. We headed back to Cruz Bay to meet to others for luch at the the Sun Dog cafe in MJ DYNAMITE food and a great geckolada!! YUM
Day 7 Wednesday
Caneel Bay Beach (for the newbies Ho hum)
and back to the villa for more blender action and pool, and I could not get enough of the view overlooking Ditleff. Dinner at the Lime Inn for all you can eat shrimp and rum punch YUMMY
Day 8 Thursday
One last morning in SHANGRI-LA and back to Sun Dog for Lunch and last minute shopping ST JOHN SPICE jumped on the RH ferry and away we went.
Sorry for the long report
I cant thank all of you enough for the AMAZING advice and helping me plan a great trip to my favorite place on earth!! My husband and I are already planning a return trip (just the two of us) and hit some more hiking trails and beaches!