18 more days in paradise, part one
Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 6:30 pm
Introduction: we are a married (11 years Sunday!) 30-something couple from Massachusetts. We are DINKS with no pets (allergies) who really, really love St. John. This trip report covers our seventh visit since October 2003. The trip, like all of our other visits to St. John, was awesome. We met friendly people, saw lots of fish and coral, ate yummy food, stayed in incredible accomodations, and just in general had a terrific time. For details, read on...
ARRIVAL AND SO ON...
Our first ever direct flight to St. John allows us to sleep until 8 AM, whoo-hoo!
We got to Logan way before our flight (as usual) so decided to get some breakfast. The closest sit down place was Todd English's Bonfire, so we went in, even though we hate the Bonfire in the city. We ordered huevos rancheros, which were...interesting. Basically, it was tortilla chips covered with scrambled eggs and chiles. Hmmm...not the most auspicious start to the trip, from a food perspective! Not only was it well, bad, it was HUGE! Each of our dishes had about a pound of tortilla chips, and at least 14 eggs. Well, that's what it felt like, anyway. I'll save you the heartburn that would result from looking at a picture of this dish.
Easy flight down, terrible in-flight move (National Treasure 2). The airport was packed (downside of a Saturday arrival, I guess), and one of the four (four!) bags I packed did not make it--the small polar bear cooler. I was a little bummed but oh well, I got the cooler for free and at least the main cooler made it!
The taxi to Red Hook went a different way because it was Carnival and the main roads were closed fpr the parade. We ended up having no time to check out the new ferry terminal because the boat was leaving right when we got there. At least, it was supposed to leave. But, a "dude" sitting next to us on the upper deck was trying to ride the ferry his own way. Instead of sitting in his seat, he parked his butt up on the upper rail of the boat. When the captain told him to move, he still did not sit in his seat...instead he sat on the top of the chair. DUDE, what is so hard to understand? BUTT=SEAT!!
So, after a 10 minute delay thanks to "dude," we were off to St. John.
Our super sweet villa rep was at the dock, and hung out with me while John walked up and got the car from St. John Car Rental. (John reported that DUDE was at SJCR also, and was mad because they assigned him a hardtop jeep instead of a soft top. I guess he did not read the part in the contract abvout the $1,000 fine for taking the car top off, DUDE!)
Jeep secured, we headed out to the villa. This week we are staying at Orchid Hill, in Chocolate Hole. The house is really nice, but we are both too tired to really appreciate it. I'll show you some pictures anyway, though!
Pool:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519131605/" title="OH pool south shore view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2185/251 ... b8d804.jpg" width="439" height="500" alt="OH pool south shore view"></a>
Outdoor living room:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519948106/" title="OH outdoor room front view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2337/251 ... 5dde4f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="OH outdoor room front view"></a>
For a full photo set of Orchid Hill, if you are thinking of staying there, click here:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/28539958@N00/1J9bB6
We dragged ourselves out to Starfish for supplies (lots of Josephine's greens, hooray!), Starfish gourmet for wine (WAY overpriced, but we were on vacation so we sucked it up), and then headed back to the house. We were too tired to swim or even to go out to dinner, so I just made us dinner: rigatoni with basil chicken sausage, Portobello mushrooms and parmesean cheese, a salad and some garlic bread. I was too tired to even dig out the camera so no food porn.
Orchid Hill has a wonderful outdoor living room, with couches and a hammock, and I have to admit that I fell asleep out there on our first evening listening to the rain pour down. To say I was overtired would be an understatement! We had a crazy busy couple of months leading up to this trip. Catching up on sleep was one of our main priorities.
Day two
We started the day at Cinnamon Bay.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519023139/" title="Cinnamon Bay 3 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2200/251 ... 0c7a59.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Cinnamon Bay 3"></a>
The views are spectacular and the waves are HUGE! Bigger than I have ever seen them. The beach is really windy too, the sand is whipping into our faces...this is not the calm and beautiful Cinnamon I know! The ocean felt brrr cold so instead we tried to read on the beach for a few hours. Well, I read. John slept in his beach chair.
But after a while the wind got to be too much so we headed back to the house to take advantage of Orchid Hill's beautiful pool.
The pool is beautiful but that is too cold too! Luckily, there is also a large spa. It's not too hot and does not feel too chemically, so in we go. Here's the spa...It's about 4 feet deep and could probably seat six or so:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519956008/" title="OH spa view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2151/251 ... dbe4db.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="OH spa view"></a>
The views from the pool area are right out onto Pillsbury Sound. Gorgeous!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519132565/" title="OH pool view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/251 ... 419e78.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="OH pool view"></a>
I made us a late lunch of pineapple glazed chicken over josephines arugula:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519059689/" title="grilled pineapple chicken salad by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2261/251 ... b33900.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="grilled pineapple chicken salad"></a>
We spent the afternoon hanging out in the outdoor living room with books, enjoying the breezes (I can't believe how strong the breezes are--more than Cathernieberg!), then headed out to dinner at La Tapa. But first, we stopped at Mongoose Junction to buy me a...sweater! I cannot believe that I am buying a sweater on St. John !!
La Tapa is one of my favorite restaurants on St. John and it did not disappoint. We started with a mahi mahi seveche with red peppers and mangoes over Josephine;s microgreens, and a grilled shrimp with a green curry coconut sauce. Both were excellent, but we voted the seveche our favorite for both taste and presentation. For dinner we had a pan seared mahi mahi which came with some cippoline onions, tomatoes, and roasted peppers over a crunchy polenta flavored with mint and coconut. The mahi and vegetables were outstanding, very fresh, perfect portion size. I was not a huge fan of the polenta, but John enjoyed it. Dessert was cheese plate---delicious. Service was very good also.
PSA note: Make sure you call your bank to let them know that you are traveling before you leave! John's bank shut his card off "for his protection" after the purchases he made at the Starfishes. He was able to get it turned back on the next morning, but it was declined at La Tapa, which was annoying.
I don't know why this always happens to him--we have accounts with the same bank, he travels WAY more than me, and my card never gets turned off "for my protection!!"
Anyway, back to the villa for stargazing and more rain! I don't mind the rain, especially when it comes at night.
Day three
I got up at 6:30 AM to find a cloudy day with rain threatening. John was still sleeping so I headed out to the outdoor living room. It is amazing that despite the density of the houses in Chocolate Hole, that it is so quiet! There is construction noise, of course, but we never heard anyone else's music and only heard voices from Kismet a couple of times.
Around 8 AM, I heard my cell phone ringing. It was American, calling to say that they found my bag and would be bringing it to St. John . Hmm...coooler with three day old chicken in it...no thanks! I told them not to bother. I was just grateful that all my spices and knives were packed in the cooler that made it!
We stopped by Connections to pick up my boxes. The ladies were asking me what the heck I shipped to myself because they were so heavy. I think they hate me there, but I can't help it! I read a lot of books on vacation, and I don't like the little paperbacks. I need hardcovers or the trade paperbacks.
Today we headed to Maho Beach. You know you are a repeat visitor when you go to put in a picture of the beach and realize you did not bother to take one...hmm...
In for the first snorkel of the trip. The water was...brisk! But we persevered. Visibility was pretty poor overall. We did have a cool find of a giant sea biscuit with a conch nearby.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519108027/" title="maho seabiscuit and conch by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3267/251 ... 3a811d.jpg" width="500" height="448" alt="maho seabiscuit and conch"></a>
We also found a lobster:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519107329/" title="maho lobster by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/251 ... 60e806.jpg" width="500" height="266" alt="maho lobster"></a>
three big barracuda, a large jack, and lots of the usual little fish you see schooling around.
For lunch we went back to the house and had some tandoori chicken, naan, arugula salad, and mutter. It was supposed to be mutter paneer but the paneer was in the lost cooler.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519889184/" title="indian fod plated by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/251 ... 872315.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="indian fod plated"></a>
John took a nap in the hammock while I slept on the outdoor couch, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool.
Nothing exciting this evening, not even a dinner (lunch was huge). Just hanging around the villa, relaxing, watching the stars.
Day four
Today we headed to Gibney Beach, one of my favorites.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519872128/" title="gibney beac h sign close up by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/251 ... c7fc7f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="gibney beac h sign close up"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519874238/" title="gibney beach by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2415/251 ... fcaff5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="gibney beach"></a>
The waves were really strong here too! The water felt a lot warmer to us today so we headed in to play in the waves. After a while we decided to attempt snorkeling. Well, we were putting on our gear when I looked up to see a HUGE wave approaching, and I mean HUGE! It was taller than John! There was another HUGE wave right behind that one! Needless to say we aborted the snorkel in favor of just wave jumping for a few hours.
We went in to town for lunch, parked at Slim Mans (nice guy!) and decided to check out the new Waterfront Bistro. There's no hint of the dearly departed Panini Beach in the place. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. John had a mahi dish which came with edamame, pinto beans, corn, grape tomatoes, etc:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519177947/" title="Waterfront Bistro mahi by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2296/251 ... de56f2.jpg" width="500" height="377" alt="Waterfront Bistro mahi"></a>
and I had a toasted tomato sandwich with cheese fondue soup. That soup was soooo good.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519178057/" title="Waterfront Bistro soup by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2406/251 ... f9042f.jpg" width="500" height="419" alt="Waterfront Bistro soup"></a>
The prices are kind of high, but the view is good!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519998860/" title="Waterfront Bistro view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2312/251 ... bb7467.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Waterfront Bistro view"></a>
Where is the Magnum VI boat??
The only bummer was that we realized at lunch that John had lost his wedding ring in the surf at Gibney. Oh well, at least he lost it on St. John. Our rings are from RI Patton so we figured we'd just go get another one.
Back to Orchid Hill for another fun afternoon in the pool. This is my favorite pool so far of any house I have stayed in.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519951546/" title="OH pool right view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3138/251 ... feac25.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="OH pool right view"></a>
This afternoon I had my first scary wildlife encounter. I was transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer when I looked over and saw....a SCORPION! AGH!!
It was pretty big and had its tail up. So, I did what any self-respecting person would do: screamed for John and then dropped a board game on it (Cranium). But, the game was not enough to take out the scorpion! It came out from under the box, tail up, looking mad as heck! Thankfully John arrived and mashed it up. Phew! Cocktail hour started a little earlier than usual on this day, let me tell you.
Cocktail, frozen papaya crush (don't ask me what's in it because I made it up in a scorpion-induced coma and can't recall!):
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519957094/" title="papaya cooler by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2332/251 ... b9a2dd.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="papaya cooler"></a>
For dinner I made crab cakes with a pineapple sauce and a steak which I flavored with sambal oleok, curry, cumin, etc. and served with a pineapple rum butter. We also had some tat soi sauteed in sesame oil and yellow rice.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519168335/" title="steak and crab by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2008/251 ... 01c2e8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="steak and crab"></a>
More porch time and then an early bed.
ARRIVAL AND SO ON...
Our first ever direct flight to St. John allows us to sleep until 8 AM, whoo-hoo!
We got to Logan way before our flight (as usual) so decided to get some breakfast. The closest sit down place was Todd English's Bonfire, so we went in, even though we hate the Bonfire in the city. We ordered huevos rancheros, which were...interesting. Basically, it was tortilla chips covered with scrambled eggs and chiles. Hmmm...not the most auspicious start to the trip, from a food perspective! Not only was it well, bad, it was HUGE! Each of our dishes had about a pound of tortilla chips, and at least 14 eggs. Well, that's what it felt like, anyway. I'll save you the heartburn that would result from looking at a picture of this dish.
Easy flight down, terrible in-flight move (National Treasure 2). The airport was packed (downside of a Saturday arrival, I guess), and one of the four (four!) bags I packed did not make it--the small polar bear cooler. I was a little bummed but oh well, I got the cooler for free and at least the main cooler made it!
The taxi to Red Hook went a different way because it was Carnival and the main roads were closed fpr the parade. We ended up having no time to check out the new ferry terminal because the boat was leaving right when we got there. At least, it was supposed to leave. But, a "dude" sitting next to us on the upper deck was trying to ride the ferry his own way. Instead of sitting in his seat, he parked his butt up on the upper rail of the boat. When the captain told him to move, he still did not sit in his seat...instead he sat on the top of the chair. DUDE, what is so hard to understand? BUTT=SEAT!!
So, after a 10 minute delay thanks to "dude," we were off to St. John. Our super sweet villa rep was at the dock, and hung out with me while John walked up and got the car from St. John Car Rental. (John reported that DUDE was at SJCR also, and was mad because they assigned him a hardtop jeep instead of a soft top. I guess he did not read the part in the contract abvout the $1,000 fine for taking the car top off, DUDE!)
Jeep secured, we headed out to the villa. This week we are staying at Orchid Hill, in Chocolate Hole. The house is really nice, but we are both too tired to really appreciate it. I'll show you some pictures anyway, though!
Pool:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519131605/" title="OH pool south shore view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2185/251 ... b8d804.jpg" width="439" height="500" alt="OH pool south shore view"></a>
Outdoor living room:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519948106/" title="OH outdoor room front view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2337/251 ... 5dde4f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="OH outdoor room front view"></a>
For a full photo set of Orchid Hill, if you are thinking of staying there, click here:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/28539958@N00/1J9bB6
We dragged ourselves out to Starfish for supplies (lots of Josephine's greens, hooray!), Starfish gourmet for wine (WAY overpriced, but we were on vacation so we sucked it up), and then headed back to the house. We were too tired to swim or even to go out to dinner, so I just made us dinner: rigatoni with basil chicken sausage, Portobello mushrooms and parmesean cheese, a salad and some garlic bread. I was too tired to even dig out the camera so no food porn.
Orchid Hill has a wonderful outdoor living room, with couches and a hammock, and I have to admit that I fell asleep out there on our first evening listening to the rain pour down. To say I was overtired would be an understatement! We had a crazy busy couple of months leading up to this trip. Catching up on sleep was one of our main priorities.
Day two
We started the day at Cinnamon Bay.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519023139/" title="Cinnamon Bay 3 by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2200/251 ... 0c7a59.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Cinnamon Bay 3"></a>
The views are spectacular and the waves are HUGE! Bigger than I have ever seen them. The beach is really windy too, the sand is whipping into our faces...this is not the calm and beautiful Cinnamon I know! The ocean felt brrr cold so instead we tried to read on the beach for a few hours. Well, I read. John slept in his beach chair.
But after a while the wind got to be too much so we headed back to the house to take advantage of Orchid Hill's beautiful pool.
The pool is beautiful but that is too cold too! Luckily, there is also a large spa. It's not too hot and does not feel too chemically, so in we go. Here's the spa...It's about 4 feet deep and could probably seat six or so:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519956008/" title="OH spa view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2151/251 ... dbe4db.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="OH spa view"></a>
The views from the pool area are right out onto Pillsbury Sound. Gorgeous!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519132565/" title="OH pool view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/251 ... 419e78.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="OH pool view"></a>
I made us a late lunch of pineapple glazed chicken over josephines arugula:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519059689/" title="grilled pineapple chicken salad by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2261/251 ... b33900.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="grilled pineapple chicken salad"></a>
We spent the afternoon hanging out in the outdoor living room with books, enjoying the breezes (I can't believe how strong the breezes are--more than Cathernieberg!), then headed out to dinner at La Tapa. But first, we stopped at Mongoose Junction to buy me a...sweater! I cannot believe that I am buying a sweater on St. John !!
La Tapa is one of my favorite restaurants on St. John and it did not disappoint. We started with a mahi mahi seveche with red peppers and mangoes over Josephine;s microgreens, and a grilled shrimp with a green curry coconut sauce. Both were excellent, but we voted the seveche our favorite for both taste and presentation. For dinner we had a pan seared mahi mahi which came with some cippoline onions, tomatoes, and roasted peppers over a crunchy polenta flavored with mint and coconut. The mahi and vegetables were outstanding, very fresh, perfect portion size. I was not a huge fan of the polenta, but John enjoyed it. Dessert was cheese plate---delicious. Service was very good also.
PSA note: Make sure you call your bank to let them know that you are traveling before you leave! John's bank shut his card off "for his protection" after the purchases he made at the Starfishes. He was able to get it turned back on the next morning, but it was declined at La Tapa, which was annoying.
I don't know why this always happens to him--we have accounts with the same bank, he travels WAY more than me, and my card never gets turned off "for my protection!!" Anyway, back to the villa for stargazing and more rain! I don't mind the rain, especially when it comes at night.
Day three
I got up at 6:30 AM to find a cloudy day with rain threatening. John was still sleeping so I headed out to the outdoor living room. It is amazing that despite the density of the houses in Chocolate Hole, that it is so quiet! There is construction noise, of course, but we never heard anyone else's music and only heard voices from Kismet a couple of times.
Around 8 AM, I heard my cell phone ringing. It was American, calling to say that they found my bag and would be bringing it to St. John . Hmm...coooler with three day old chicken in it...no thanks! I told them not to bother. I was just grateful that all my spices and knives were packed in the cooler that made it!
We stopped by Connections to pick up my boxes. The ladies were asking me what the heck I shipped to myself because they were so heavy. I think they hate me there, but I can't help it! I read a lot of books on vacation, and I don't like the little paperbacks. I need hardcovers or the trade paperbacks.
Today we headed to Maho Beach. You know you are a repeat visitor when you go to put in a picture of the beach and realize you did not bother to take one...hmm...
In for the first snorkel of the trip. The water was...brisk! But we persevered. Visibility was pretty poor overall. We did have a cool find of a giant sea biscuit with a conch nearby.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519108027/" title="maho seabiscuit and conch by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3267/251 ... 3a811d.jpg" width="500" height="448" alt="maho seabiscuit and conch"></a>
We also found a lobster:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519107329/" title="maho lobster by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/251 ... 60e806.jpg" width="500" height="266" alt="maho lobster"></a>
three big barracuda, a large jack, and lots of the usual little fish you see schooling around.
For lunch we went back to the house and had some tandoori chicken, naan, arugula salad, and mutter. It was supposed to be mutter paneer but the paneer was in the lost cooler.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519889184/" title="indian fod plated by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/251 ... 872315.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="indian fod plated"></a>
John took a nap in the hammock while I slept on the outdoor couch, and then we spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool.
Nothing exciting this evening, not even a dinner (lunch was huge). Just hanging around the villa, relaxing, watching the stars.
Day four
Today we headed to Gibney Beach, one of my favorites.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519872128/" title="gibney beac h sign close up by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/251 ... c7fc7f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="gibney beac h sign close up"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519874238/" title="gibney beach by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2415/251 ... fcaff5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="gibney beach"></a>
The waves were really strong here too! The water felt a lot warmer to us today so we headed in to play in the waves. After a while we decided to attempt snorkeling. Well, we were putting on our gear when I looked up to see a HUGE wave approaching, and I mean HUGE! It was taller than John! There was another HUGE wave right behind that one! Needless to say we aborted the snorkel in favor of just wave jumping for a few hours.
We went in to town for lunch, parked at Slim Mans (nice guy!) and decided to check out the new Waterfront Bistro. There's no hint of the dearly departed Panini Beach in the place. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. John had a mahi dish which came with edamame, pinto beans, corn, grape tomatoes, etc:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519177947/" title="Waterfront Bistro mahi by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2296/251 ... de56f2.jpg" width="500" height="377" alt="Waterfront Bistro mahi"></a>
and I had a toasted tomato sandwich with cheese fondue soup. That soup was soooo good.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519178057/" title="Waterfront Bistro soup by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2406/251 ... f9042f.jpg" width="500" height="419" alt="Waterfront Bistro soup"></a>
The prices are kind of high, but the view is good!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519998860/" title="Waterfront Bistro view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2312/251 ... bb7467.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Waterfront Bistro view"></a>
Where is the Magnum VI boat??
The only bummer was that we realized at lunch that John had lost his wedding ring in the surf at Gibney. Oh well, at least he lost it on St. John. Our rings are from RI Patton so we figured we'd just go get another one.
Back to Orchid Hill for another fun afternoon in the pool. This is my favorite pool so far of any house I have stayed in.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519951546/" title="OH pool right view by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3138/251 ... feac25.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="OH pool right view"></a>
This afternoon I had my first scary wildlife encounter. I was transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer when I looked over and saw....a SCORPION! AGH!!
It was pretty big and had its tail up. So, I did what any self-respecting person would do: screamed for John and then dropped a board game on it (Cranium). But, the game was not enough to take out the scorpion! It came out from under the box, tail up, looking mad as heck! Thankfully John arrived and mashed it up. Phew! Cocktail hour started a little earlier than usual on this day, let me tell you.Cocktail, frozen papaya crush (don't ask me what's in it because I made it up in a scorpion-induced coma and can't recall!):
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519957094/" title="papaya cooler by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2332/251 ... b9a2dd.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="papaya cooler"></a>
For dinner I made crab cakes with a pineapple sauce and a steak which I flavored with sambal oleok, curry, cumin, etc. and served with a pineapple rum butter. We also had some tat soi sauteed in sesame oil and yellow rice.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28539958@N00/2519168335/" title="steak and crab by liamsaunt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2008/251 ... 01c2e8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="steak and crab"></a>
More porch time and then an early bed.
He can't believe your food looks that good!
