usvi-on-line
Trip Report 4-8 thru 4-15
Trip Report 4-8 thru 4-15
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Travel Day 1
2nd trip to STJ for hubby and I. First for kids (ages 18 & 13). My daughter graduates in May and we wanted to take a special family trip.....had to make it good since we vetoed the "senior" trip to Mexico!
Travel day. Did park and fly in Detroit. On Spirit at 6: 45 am. Layover in Ft. Lauderdale. Arrived in STJ, 35 minutes early. Had arranged private taxi with Clover Fleming ( 340-690-0621). She called as we were exiting the plane--had been checking arrival times. Nice lady, well worth $90 for the 4 of us. Nice tour on way to Red Hook. We checked 1 bag- a large roll on soft sided cooler packed with techno ice. Only had to wait 10 mins for bag. Arriving on Tuesday has a whole different vibe (more relaxed) than a hectic Saturday. Made the 4 pm ferry with 30 minutes to spare. Time for a cold beer and checking out the view.
Met Gus our villa manager at the ferry. New Dodge Nitro from St John car rental. We rented Coral Breeze, a 2 bedroom Condo in the Upper Deck area. Great view of Great Cruz Bay, high above the Westin. Nice breeze, didn't need the ac all week. Quiet neighborhood. 3 decks...Less than 10 mins to Cruz Bay. Good value at $1800/week . Rented off VRBO. Condo was well provisioned with lots of spices, paper products and rum. Quick trip to StarFish than dinner on our grill.
Day 2-Maho
Woke up to sunshine and a great view from the bedroom. First day--on the beach by 10 am. Sun, Sun and more Sun. No more than 3-4 small groups on stretch by building. Noticed lots of cars at Trunk and Cinnamon. Much more traffic than previous November trip. Swam with a sea turtle. Saw giant starfish. Water was clear and cool to start. But hey, it's a lot warmer than Lake MI in August. Lots of great fish. Kids are hooked! A perfect day in paradise. Made a quick stop at Hawksnest for a fast snorkle. Okay for adults. But kids enjoyed the coral.
Dinner at the Fish Trap. Good service, average food. Quick trip to Freebird for Larimar earrings for Mom. Movie and early to bed. I love this place. On a previous trip I had purchased a bracelet. Upon my return home, I lost a stone. Sent it back in and was fixed quickly, no questions or charges.
Day 3-Honeymoon
On the beach again by 10 am. This was my favorite beach on our first visit. Parked at Caneel. Walked short trail to beach. More people here than last time, 2 different boat boat groups come and go. By 3:30 pm we finally have a private beach. Good snorkling on both ends near rocks. Saw trumpetfish, blue tang, small turtle, Foureyed Butterfly Fish, Angelfish, good brain coral, sea fans and elkhorn. Dinner at the condo. Movie and bed...exciting aren't we??
Day 4-Vies
Let the kids sleep in today. We all got lots of sun yesterday. Head to Vies around 11:30 for lunch. She's got a crowd. 3 groups ahead of us. We relax and wait about 30 minutes for the best food on the island. Garlic chicken, johnny cakes and conch fritters. YUM. Head over to her beach. $2.50 per person. Only 2 other families on the beach. Nice to have real chairs! This was my first visit to this beach and it is gorgeous. You cant tell from the road, but it is really a wide beach. Large with lots of shade. Perfect. I am surprised at how good the snorkling is-off both ends. A little rocky going in, just choose your spot carefully. Very healthy coral here. Saw reef squid and trumpet fish. Another perfect day. Shopping at Skinny Legs. Dinner at condo.
Day 5-Sailing
The four of us sailed with Captain Bob on the Spree 2 (340-771-3734). Left Cruz Bay at 9:45am. Boarded his Pearson 39. $70 per person for full day-bring your own lunch. We made 2 snorkle stops near Little St. James. Lots of fish. Great day. Good coral. Huge barracuda hanging out near the boat. Blue tang, sergent majors, large rainbow parrot fish, trunk fish.
Finished day with happy hour at Woody's. Had dinner here. Good conch fritters, shrimp and blackened mahi mahi. Great service and good bar food. Kids got a kick out of a man leading a huge hog around by a leash outside. Only in St. John!
Day 6-Gibney Beach
Tried to go to Trunk--but there was no parking. Very crowded. First visit to Gibney. Only 3 other small groups there. Good snorkling near Oppenheimer beach. Large stingray. Lots of shade, very narrow beach. Lots of chickens.
Had dinner at Beach Bar and enjoyed the jazz. Great service. Okay food. Priceless setting. Ice cream at I Scream.
Day 7-Trunk
Had to try Trunk again. But first, stopped at ruins. Came across donkeys in road.
So, we actually had Trunk to ourselves as it began to rain, and rain, and then pour. We continued to snorkle. Great fish around island. Very large angelfish and parrotfish.
Finally gave up and drove to Coral Bay for a late lunch at Shipwreck Landing. A+++. Love this place.
Day -Travel Day
Hung out by the pool until 11:30. Had a visit from a large Iguana.
Began walk of woe.
Really sad day.....uneventful travel.
A great trip. Priceless family time without cell phones, computers and other teen distractions. I loved when my kids would say....we thought you were exaggerating this, but it is just like you said....they wonder what I will do with all my free time now that I don't have to check the forum at least twice per day. Hubby and I will be back some time in 2009......
Travel Day 1
2nd trip to STJ for hubby and I. First for kids (ages 18 & 13). My daughter graduates in May and we wanted to take a special family trip.....had to make it good since we vetoed the "senior" trip to Mexico!
Travel day. Did park and fly in Detroit. On Spirit at 6: 45 am. Layover in Ft. Lauderdale. Arrived in STJ, 35 minutes early. Had arranged private taxi with Clover Fleming ( 340-690-0621). She called as we were exiting the plane--had been checking arrival times. Nice lady, well worth $90 for the 4 of us. Nice tour on way to Red Hook. We checked 1 bag- a large roll on soft sided cooler packed with techno ice. Only had to wait 10 mins for bag. Arriving on Tuesday has a whole different vibe (more relaxed) than a hectic Saturday. Made the 4 pm ferry with 30 minutes to spare. Time for a cold beer and checking out the view.
Met Gus our villa manager at the ferry. New Dodge Nitro from St John car rental. We rented Coral Breeze, a 2 bedroom Condo in the Upper Deck area. Great view of Great Cruz Bay, high above the Westin. Nice breeze, didn't need the ac all week. Quiet neighborhood. 3 decks...Less than 10 mins to Cruz Bay. Good value at $1800/week . Rented off VRBO. Condo was well provisioned with lots of spices, paper products and rum. Quick trip to StarFish than dinner on our grill.
Day 2-Maho
Woke up to sunshine and a great view from the bedroom. First day--on the beach by 10 am. Sun, Sun and more Sun. No more than 3-4 small groups on stretch by building. Noticed lots of cars at Trunk and Cinnamon. Much more traffic than previous November trip. Swam with a sea turtle. Saw giant starfish. Water was clear and cool to start. But hey, it's a lot warmer than Lake MI in August. Lots of great fish. Kids are hooked! A perfect day in paradise. Made a quick stop at Hawksnest for a fast snorkle. Okay for adults. But kids enjoyed the coral.
Dinner at the Fish Trap. Good service, average food. Quick trip to Freebird for Larimar earrings for Mom. Movie and early to bed. I love this place. On a previous trip I had purchased a bracelet. Upon my return home, I lost a stone. Sent it back in and was fixed quickly, no questions or charges.
Day 3-Honeymoon
On the beach again by 10 am. This was my favorite beach on our first visit. Parked at Caneel. Walked short trail to beach. More people here than last time, 2 different boat boat groups come and go. By 3:30 pm we finally have a private beach. Good snorkling on both ends near rocks. Saw trumpetfish, blue tang, small turtle, Foureyed Butterfly Fish, Angelfish, good brain coral, sea fans and elkhorn. Dinner at the condo. Movie and bed...exciting aren't we??
Day 4-Vies
Let the kids sleep in today. We all got lots of sun yesterday. Head to Vies around 11:30 for lunch. She's got a crowd. 3 groups ahead of us. We relax and wait about 30 minutes for the best food on the island. Garlic chicken, johnny cakes and conch fritters. YUM. Head over to her beach. $2.50 per person. Only 2 other families on the beach. Nice to have real chairs! This was my first visit to this beach and it is gorgeous. You cant tell from the road, but it is really a wide beach. Large with lots of shade. Perfect. I am surprised at how good the snorkling is-off both ends. A little rocky going in, just choose your spot carefully. Very healthy coral here. Saw reef squid and trumpet fish. Another perfect day. Shopping at Skinny Legs. Dinner at condo.
Day 5-Sailing
The four of us sailed with Captain Bob on the Spree 2 (340-771-3734). Left Cruz Bay at 9:45am. Boarded his Pearson 39. $70 per person for full day-bring your own lunch. We made 2 snorkle stops near Little St. James. Lots of fish. Great day. Good coral. Huge barracuda hanging out near the boat. Blue tang, sergent majors, large rainbow parrot fish, trunk fish.
Finished day with happy hour at Woody's. Had dinner here. Good conch fritters, shrimp and blackened mahi mahi. Great service and good bar food. Kids got a kick out of a man leading a huge hog around by a leash outside. Only in St. John!
Day 6-Gibney Beach
Tried to go to Trunk--but there was no parking. Very crowded. First visit to Gibney. Only 3 other small groups there. Good snorkling near Oppenheimer beach. Large stingray. Lots of shade, very narrow beach. Lots of chickens.
Had dinner at Beach Bar and enjoyed the jazz. Great service. Okay food. Priceless setting. Ice cream at I Scream.
Day 7-Trunk
Had to try Trunk again. But first, stopped at ruins. Came across donkeys in road.
So, we actually had Trunk to ourselves as it began to rain, and rain, and then pour. We continued to snorkle. Great fish around island. Very large angelfish and parrotfish.
Finally gave up and drove to Coral Bay for a late lunch at Shipwreck Landing. A+++. Love this place.
Day -Travel Day
Hung out by the pool until 11:30. Had a visit from a large Iguana.
Began walk of woe.
Really sad day.....uneventful travel.
A great trip. Priceless family time without cell phones, computers and other teen distractions. I loved when my kids would say....we thought you were exaggerating this, but it is just like you said....they wonder what I will do with all my free time now that I don't have to check the forum at least twice per day. Hubby and I will be back some time in 2009......
Last edited by mdcoles1 on Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
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snorkeler525
- Posts: 186
- Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:40 pm
- Location: Wellesley
The perfect week - no travel snafus, lotsa snorkeling and beach time, a great day sail (thats a good price), a day out at the East End, no significant kitchen time, and kids into it. Very Nice. Thanks.
When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
[/url]-
jaycimarie
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2008 10:38 am
- Location: Louisiana
Thanks for the report! We're really counting down now and trip reports get me through all this waiting... and waiting and waiting! You've definitely got me wanting to try Vies... I dont think any of us have done that yet!
"Diamonds on the soles of her shoes..."
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Enjoyed reading your TR and looking at pics. Sounds like you had a perfect week. You're wise parents to take them to STJ rather than senior trip to Mexico.
When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentucky, because everything there happens 20 years after it happens anywhere else. – Mark Twain
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Kentuckygirl
- Posts: 1903
- Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:17 am
- Location: Kentucky
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Pix
Just read your wonderful report, thank you! Am most anxious to try Gibney and Maho.
Not sure if it's my computer or not, but cannot seem to open pictures. After clicking on, we get a white screen and a few flickers. Will try again this evening. Appreciate all your efforts!
Not sure if it's my computer or not, but cannot seem to open pictures. After clicking on, we get a white screen and a few flickers. Will try again this evening. Appreciate all your efforts!
Diane
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cypressgirl
- Posts: 2178
- Joined: Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:42 pm
- Location: houston