Lazy Gals trip report - November 11-17
Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 9:38 pm
Hello,
Ok, so here is positive proof that you can have a wonderful vacation on less than one beach per day.
This had to be one of the laziest vacations in awhile - it was so needed and probably the hardest one to come back from.
November 5 - Amazing Race, Part 1
Well, that's how it felt. It took 2 planes, 2 ferries and 4 taxis to get from our house in Framingham, MA (picked up at 3:30 AM EST) to our house on Virgin Gorda (arrived at 6:30 PM AST). One minor detour - the leg from SJU to STT couldn't handle all of the luggage, so they sent it on the next flight. No big deal as we had time to kill before catching our first ferry. Second minor detour - customs in the West End, Tortola was a zoo; our luggage was buried under supersized Bounty, Pampers and Cottenelle. Took longer than expected, but we were able to catch a cab (Pleeeeez take us to Roadtown) and made the last ferry to Virgin Gorda. Phewwww!
We stayed in a one bedroom "tree house" at Guavaberry Springs with a view to die for (if I knew how to post pictures, I would). Loved the Baths and snorkeling around Spring and Devils Bay was great when it was calm (which it was not for 3 days). Also did a day trip (via public transportation) to Anegada; this was the only day we used a non-natural alarm clock so we could catch an early morning ferry.
November 11 - Amazing Race, Part II
This was a little less hectic, 2 ferries and 2 taxi's got us to the Customs dock in Cruz Bay. Customs was a breeze on this end. We were picked up by Erik of Schnells studio and brought to their office near the Texaco station. Our villa was still being cleaned, so we grabbed quick lunch at Quiet Mon - cold Caribe's and chili.
Villa:
We rented the Loft Suite at Villa Bougainvillea. It is located up the hill passed Gallows Point. We were quite pleased with this villa. There are 2 almost equal bedrooms (with AC), 2 bathrooms (one in the master BR), apartment sized kitchen (had a coffee grinder), and a great living/dining area. The front wall was open (had a rod iron railing with some awning material half way up) and looked out toward St. Thomas. Due to a large palm tree, not fully panoramic, but a very nice view - great for sunset watching. There were some signs of wear and tear, but overall it was very clean and in great shape. Debbie Schnell was great to deal with; very receptive to any questions or issues. The villa would be great for 2 couples (once you get through the "I want the bigger bedroom" debate); any more and the living room would feel crowded.
Vehicle - rented from Villa Bougainvillea Leasing (also Schnell); Red Jeep Wrangler - only 4,000 miles - no dents, no scratches. Nice!
Beaches:
Saturday - no beach; just settled in.
Sunday - a little rainy and cloudy - no beach. Watched a little football and enjoyed a few coconut rums.
Monday - no beach - but we did do a daysail with Captain Phil on the Wayward Sailor. Snorkeled Two Brothers and Congo Cay; both were excellent.
Tuesday - 1 beach - planned on hitting Gibney, but there was no parking; no parking at Jumbie either and we didn't feel like doing either hike to Honeymoon, so we hit Trunk Bay - much better than in previous years. Snorkeling on the non-trail side of the island was very good. It was busy when we arrived (around noon) and then got busier around 3pm - what's up with that? Anyway, we were very comfortable (Don had his little piece of shade), so we stayed put.
Wednesday 1 beach - made another attempt at Gibney, no dice. Went to Hawksnest - very good snorkeling and fairly busy.
Thursday - this was a big day - we hit 2 beaches. We thought if we got an earlier start, we might get a spot at Gibney. So we didn't laze around as long and left the villa around 9:30am. Oh, but we forgot to have breakfast, so we thought we'd make a quick stop at Chilly Billy's (excellent Burrito's). Foiled again - Gibney full. Headed out to Cinnamon; walked out beyond the first set of bushes and had our own little beach - yayyy! The sun was shining - life was good. An hour later, no more sun and very large rain drops. Grabbed our stuff and ran for cover by the windsurfing shed. Once the rain subsided, we headed to Maho. This was a new beach for us. Really loved it. Planned to stay an hour or so and then move on to Coral Bay and another beach. Buttt - we were comfortable so we stayed for the rest of the day.
Friday - no beach; heading home.
Dining:
Breakfast - most days was just bagels and coffee at the villa, except for the 1 chilly Billy's.
Lunch - packed sandwiches for the beach. Went to Joe's BBQ on Friday before leaving; had the chicken - hate to say this - but, not sure I see what the fuss is
Dinners - for November, just about every place was quite busy although we were able to get right in.
Margarita Phil's (new for us)- enjoyed upside down Chalupa's and poppers.
Morgan's Mango - we keep coming back and were not disappointed.
Lime Inn - Yup, still good.
Compass Rose (new)- we went for sunset and appetizers. The nacho's and Bloody Mary's were quite good. Also got in a game of miniature golf. It is a neat little course and you learn St. John history along the way. (Don whipped my butt).
Ocean Grill (new) - we were very impressed with everything. This was the least busy of all the places we went. I'm sure it will catch on though. It would help if there were more signs pointing to it - and maybe a sign at the entrance. I had to read the matre'd's shirt to make sure were in the right place.
Asolare - always the last supper. The food and service were as good as always, but the prices seemed to jump a bit higher than other places.
Bars:
Beach Bar, Beach Bar, Beach Bar, Beach Bar - yes, home away from home
Gecko Gazebo - we stopped here while shopping in Mongoose Junction; busy, but quiet little place. Really like the glasses they served their cocktails in, so went back the next day and bought some.
Shopping - I won't bore you with the list of shops we visited, but will mention that St. John Spice was truly my favorite - it is sooo much more than spice. Did a ton of Christmas shopping and picked up the new Simonsen calendar. And, met Ruth - who happens to have a house in the town next to mine - small world.
New Friends - we had 2 cats and an Iguana that hung out at our villa. When leaving the villa on the first morning, one of the cats dashed in as if she was home - Don dashed her right out. Briefly met our downstairs neighbor (shopper3 and Larry).
November 17, Amazing Race, part III
Had a late flight so I did some last minute shopping. I'm guessing we never dropped ourselves off at the ferry dock as we were totally confused as to where to pull over and unload. Well, it's not in front of St. John Spice - that's for sure. Just as we were getting the last of the bags out (that's 2 large, a couple of small, super sized camera bag and beach tote), Ms. Officer showed up.
"You have 2 options - take a $75 ticket or pack up your stuff and move on"
Janet - "you mean we have to repack the car"
ms Officer - "that's right - do you not understand DO NOT ENTER?"
Don - "well, where can I pull over to unload"
Ms. Officer - "you're running out of time"
We quickly repacked and moved on; drove around the block a couple of times and finally pulled into a spot in Wharfside village. Unpacked and rolled everything down to the dock.
1 ferry, 2 taxi's and 2 planes later, we were home - and our luggage made it, too.
Well, that's it for this trip. Will start on the list of to do's for the next one. In all of our trips to St. John, we've never had a drink at Woody's.
janet
PS - work was the pits today - but my tan did impress
[/i]
Ok, so here is positive proof that you can have a wonderful vacation on less than one beach per day.
This had to be one of the laziest vacations in awhile - it was so needed and probably the hardest one to come back from.
November 5 - Amazing Race, Part 1
Well, that's how it felt. It took 2 planes, 2 ferries and 4 taxis to get from our house in Framingham, MA (picked up at 3:30 AM EST) to our house on Virgin Gorda (arrived at 6:30 PM AST). One minor detour - the leg from SJU to STT couldn't handle all of the luggage, so they sent it on the next flight. No big deal as we had time to kill before catching our first ferry. Second minor detour - customs in the West End, Tortola was a zoo; our luggage was buried under supersized Bounty, Pampers and Cottenelle. Took longer than expected, but we were able to catch a cab (Pleeeeez take us to Roadtown) and made the last ferry to Virgin Gorda. Phewwww!
We stayed in a one bedroom "tree house" at Guavaberry Springs with a view to die for (if I knew how to post pictures, I would). Loved the Baths and snorkeling around Spring and Devils Bay was great when it was calm (which it was not for 3 days). Also did a day trip (via public transportation) to Anegada; this was the only day we used a non-natural alarm clock so we could catch an early morning ferry.
November 11 - Amazing Race, Part II
This was a little less hectic, 2 ferries and 2 taxi's got us to the Customs dock in Cruz Bay. Customs was a breeze on this end. We were picked up by Erik of Schnells studio and brought to their office near the Texaco station. Our villa was still being cleaned, so we grabbed quick lunch at Quiet Mon - cold Caribe's and chili.
Villa:
We rented the Loft Suite at Villa Bougainvillea. It is located up the hill passed Gallows Point. We were quite pleased with this villa. There are 2 almost equal bedrooms (with AC), 2 bathrooms (one in the master BR), apartment sized kitchen (had a coffee grinder), and a great living/dining area. The front wall was open (had a rod iron railing with some awning material half way up) and looked out toward St. Thomas. Due to a large palm tree, not fully panoramic, but a very nice view - great for sunset watching. There were some signs of wear and tear, but overall it was very clean and in great shape. Debbie Schnell was great to deal with; very receptive to any questions or issues. The villa would be great for 2 couples (once you get through the "I want the bigger bedroom" debate); any more and the living room would feel crowded.
Vehicle - rented from Villa Bougainvillea Leasing (also Schnell); Red Jeep Wrangler - only 4,000 miles - no dents, no scratches. Nice!
Beaches:
Saturday - no beach; just settled in.
Sunday - a little rainy and cloudy - no beach. Watched a little football and enjoyed a few coconut rums.
Monday - no beach - but we did do a daysail with Captain Phil on the Wayward Sailor. Snorkeled Two Brothers and Congo Cay; both were excellent.
Tuesday - 1 beach - planned on hitting Gibney, but there was no parking; no parking at Jumbie either and we didn't feel like doing either hike to Honeymoon, so we hit Trunk Bay - much better than in previous years. Snorkeling on the non-trail side of the island was very good. It was busy when we arrived (around noon) and then got busier around 3pm - what's up with that? Anyway, we were very comfortable (Don had his little piece of shade), so we stayed put.
Wednesday 1 beach - made another attempt at Gibney, no dice. Went to Hawksnest - very good snorkeling and fairly busy.
Thursday - this was a big day - we hit 2 beaches. We thought if we got an earlier start, we might get a spot at Gibney. So we didn't laze around as long and left the villa around 9:30am. Oh, but we forgot to have breakfast, so we thought we'd make a quick stop at Chilly Billy's (excellent Burrito's). Foiled again - Gibney full. Headed out to Cinnamon; walked out beyond the first set of bushes and had our own little beach - yayyy! The sun was shining - life was good. An hour later, no more sun and very large rain drops. Grabbed our stuff and ran for cover by the windsurfing shed. Once the rain subsided, we headed to Maho. This was a new beach for us. Really loved it. Planned to stay an hour or so and then move on to Coral Bay and another beach. Buttt - we were comfortable so we stayed for the rest of the day.
Friday - no beach; heading home.
Dining:
Breakfast - most days was just bagels and coffee at the villa, except for the 1 chilly Billy's.
Lunch - packed sandwiches for the beach. Went to Joe's BBQ on Friday before leaving; had the chicken - hate to say this - but, not sure I see what the fuss is
Dinners - for November, just about every place was quite busy although we were able to get right in.
Margarita Phil's (new for us)- enjoyed upside down Chalupa's and poppers.
Morgan's Mango - we keep coming back and were not disappointed.
Lime Inn - Yup, still good.
Compass Rose (new)- we went for sunset and appetizers. The nacho's and Bloody Mary's were quite good. Also got in a game of miniature golf. It is a neat little course and you learn St. John history along the way. (Don whipped my butt).
Ocean Grill (new) - we were very impressed with everything. This was the least busy of all the places we went. I'm sure it will catch on though. It would help if there were more signs pointing to it - and maybe a sign at the entrance. I had to read the matre'd's shirt to make sure were in the right place.
Asolare - always the last supper. The food and service were as good as always, but the prices seemed to jump a bit higher than other places.
Bars:
Beach Bar, Beach Bar, Beach Bar, Beach Bar - yes, home away from home
Gecko Gazebo - we stopped here while shopping in Mongoose Junction; busy, but quiet little place. Really like the glasses they served their cocktails in, so went back the next day and bought some.
Shopping - I won't bore you with the list of shops we visited, but will mention that St. John Spice was truly my favorite - it is sooo much more than spice. Did a ton of Christmas shopping and picked up the new Simonsen calendar. And, met Ruth - who happens to have a house in the town next to mine - small world.
New Friends - we had 2 cats and an Iguana that hung out at our villa. When leaving the villa on the first morning, one of the cats dashed in as if she was home - Don dashed her right out. Briefly met our downstairs neighbor (shopper3 and Larry).
November 17, Amazing Race, part III
Had a late flight so I did some last minute shopping. I'm guessing we never dropped ourselves off at the ferry dock as we were totally confused as to where to pull over and unload. Well, it's not in front of St. John Spice - that's for sure. Just as we were getting the last of the bags out (that's 2 large, a couple of small, super sized camera bag and beach tote), Ms. Officer showed up.
"You have 2 options - take a $75 ticket or pack up your stuff and move on"
Janet - "you mean we have to repack the car"
ms Officer - "that's right - do you not understand DO NOT ENTER?"
Don - "well, where can I pull over to unload"
Ms. Officer - "you're running out of time"
We quickly repacked and moved on; drove around the block a couple of times and finally pulled into a spot in Wharfside village. Unpacked and rolled everything down to the dock.
1 ferry, 2 taxi's and 2 planes later, we were home - and our luggage made it, too.
Well, that's it for this trip. Will start on the list of to do's for the next one. In all of our trips to St. John, we've never had a drink at Woody's.
janet
PS - work was the pits today - but my tan did impress
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