TR: 2 Weeks in Heaven (Long) - Days 1-3
Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 3:32 pm
Ok - this is my first trip report. Forgive me if it's too long and I apologize for no pictures (I'll try to post some later but I don't take any so I'm relying on others). Enjoy!
Travel Day - Saturday
Quick background on my group and I: This was our 14th trip to St. John. We were married there in 2001 and we return at least twice a year and always for our anniversary week. This was our anniversary - May 14th. We traveled with our friends, Michele and Joe. This was their first trip alone (they have 2 kids) since our wedding in 2001 - they were thrilled to be there! They stayed with us the first week and then they left and I'll tell more about the second group when we get to that point in the trip.
As always, the days before the trip were totally stressful - wrapping up work, buttoning up all the arrangements for the pets (cats stay at home and I have a sitter for them and dog, Lager, goes to my Mom's where he is totally spoiled), packing and making sure all details are attended to (bills paid, etc) so that once I get to my favorite place on earth I can totally de-compress and shut down. Once I arrive on St. John, I totally forget about work and I immediately am in island mode - it's so healing!
Our flight was out of Philly at 9:45 am - this was nice since we usually get the earlier flight but it's not offered this time of year so we were able to sleep in ('til 6 a.m.). Our friends picked us up - no problem getting thru security and we had time to grab water and be there just before boarding (I don't like extended time in airports). We met CruzanChris and Islandgirl in the airport. I had told them that my carry on roll on was green with white polka dots so they easily spotted me.
Flight down was uneventful - bonus was PS I Love You was the movie so it totally entertained and the flight went quick. We are the annoying people that bring a Philly hoagie on the flight with us - yummy! Sorry for the smell to anyone on who may have been on our flight.
We landed just before 2 p.m. and we didn't check bags so we quickly got a cab to Red Hook. Then, we waited and waited - ugh! We knew we wouldn't make the 3 p.m. ferry so we ended up asking him to drop us in Charlotte Amalie so we could get the 3 p.m. CA Ferry. The driver was annoyed - he charged us the Red Hook price but we didn't care. Another passenger in the taxi joined us. We had plenty of time to grab a cold one and wait for the ferry. It ended up being late and net/net, we probably should have just stuck with the cab to Red Hook - oh well, lessons learned. We arrived on island about 4:10.
We met our villa rep for Perelandra, Marilyn. We loaded her truck up with our luggage and walked up to St. John Car Rental. I popped in the Beach Bar for roadies while my husband got the Dodge Nitro. As always, no problem - we rent from them every time.
Marilyn took us up to Perelandra. Our booking agent who we have used every trip since 2001 had sent us a bottle of Cakebread 2006 Sauvignon Blanc and a tray of chocolate covered strawberries for our anniversary - she is the best! What a nice welcome!
We had heard that this was right next to Sirenusa and it is but you can't see it at all from our villa and we had no problem at all with construction. We heard that they are currently out of money and it will start up again but for our visit, it was perfect! We loved this villa! It had amazing views - we saw many gorgeous sunsets from the deck. It has 2 private bedrooms that are the same size - one is upstairs right off the great room and the other is downstairs (only negative is the stairs are a bit narrow and spiral). The downstairs bedroom contains the washer/dryer so it required us to be a bit coordinated for the two couples. This room was also cooler. The villa is very well decorated and has a nice size pool. It gets sun all day and it can actually be a bit warm in the late afternoon - the pool is like bath water. There is AC in the bedrooms but not in the great room. We would definitely consider staying here again. It was a great location - the first left after Pine Peace so we were very close to town and the beaches.
Michele and I unpacked while the boys when for essentials - beer, coffee and breakfast food. That night was Cafe Roma for dinner - yum! We all loved our meal - I had chicken parm - it's a standard for me. After dinner, we headed over to Mongoose Junction for an event called Music in Moonlight. This event allows local talent to perform. It was a lot of fun but we were tired from our first day and headed home - perfect start to our vacation!
Day 2 - Sunday - Miss Lucy's and Maho
Ok, so you'll learn that I'm a creature of habit. The good news about going to the island so many times is that I now have a routine so I don't have to think much. Our friends loved it because they just let us make all the decisions and went along for the ride. We really had a great time together which was wonderful!
So, Michele has a ton of energy (we've known each other since High School and we're 40 this year so that's a long time!) and my friends instructed me to make sure that I exercise with her every day to keep her happy. This is not a problem for me because, I know many of you will think I'm crazy, but I actually like the challenge of exercising on St. John. We all woke up about 7 a.m., drank lots of coffee and enjoyed the view. Michele and I decided to go for a run. So, I mapped out a run (down the hill, then left towards the Westin, then run in Maria Bluff area and back). This of course ended up being a walk/run with the hills but it was great. It makes me not feel guilty for all the abuse that I do to my body the rest of the day - drinking, eating and then more drinking of course!
We jumped in the pool upon our return to cool off, showered and then headed to Miss Lucy's for Jazz Brunch. It was Mother's Day so we were worried it would be crowded but we got there at the perfect time (about 11:30) and scored a spot under the tree. We had Mimosa's and Rum Punch and all loved our brunch listening to the jazz and enjoying the beautiful view of Friis Bay.
After brunch, we stopped Maho. This is one of my favorite beaches - so beautiful! We relaxed and read books all day then headed back to the villa to clean up for the Forum gathering at the Beach Bar. We met so many forumites and it's already been talked about in VickiH's and Liamsaunt's report so I won't go into it. I will say that it was great to put faces and real names to so many people that we 'know' from online. We also met Brenda and her husband. We had made plans ahead of time to go out with Lion In Da Sun the next day. CaptJay and MrsCaptainJay had their first day off in 3 weeks that day so they decided to rent an Oceanrunner and come along - fun!
Dinner after the Beach Bar was at the Banana Deck - it was great as always. I had a chicken dish that was wonderful (sorry no food porn). After dinner, we were all tired so we headed home.
Day 3 - Monday - Boat Day (always the best days!)
We met Brenda and her husband at the National Park dock at 8:30 a.m. We all had the necessities with us - rum punch, beer and sunscreen. Josh from Lion In Da Sun picked us up (we had requested the newer boat and he made sure we had it). We then headed over to the Beach Bar to meet CaptJay and MrsCaptJay and their friend. Next stop was Whistling Key for some snorkeling. I admit, I'm not a big snorkeler so I was doing this for my friends. I tend to panic when I go underwater but I had a noodle with me, I relaxed and we had a great time! I can't identify one fish and I have no idea what I saw but it was fun!
After snorkeling, we headed to Great Harbor on Jost to check in to customs. We started at Corsairs for a painkiller. This was a very special stop for me. So, my younger brother, Jimmy died last April (2007). He was only 34. I was on Jost in May of that year and found Corsairs - I had never been. This is a 'biker' bar in the Caribbean and Jimmy had a Harley that he loved. I decided that this would be a very cool place for his license plate to hang. I brought it there in February of this year but they didn't hang it that day. We went back this trip to see where they hung it and to take pictures for my family. Although he had never been to the Caribbean, I couldn't think of a better place for it to be and my family agrees.
Ok - so moving on! We went to Foxy's to visit the t-shirt we hung in 2005. It says "Bull Tavern - Roxborough, PA". This is our basement bar We sign it every time we go and we have our friends sign it too. Foxy was there so we chatted with him a bit and got a picture with him. Of course, we had another painkiller here (or maybe , it was 2).
After Foxy's, we went to Sandy Key. Swam in (with a noodle of course!) and hung out a bit - wow, what a gorgeous place! We swam back and then Josh took us to Sydney's Peace and Love for lunch.
Most had the fabulous Lobster Salad and we drank some more. After lunch, we headed to White Bay. We went to Ivan's - got a painkiller, chatted with some locals and then sat in the water and enjoyed the rest of the day. We headed back and breezed thru Customs.
After the boat, we went to the Beach Bar for dinner and more drinks (not that we needed them). We thought it best to call it a night and home we went. We all went to bed very early - the end of a perfect day!
Travel Day - Saturday
Quick background on my group and I: This was our 14th trip to St. John. We were married there in 2001 and we return at least twice a year and always for our anniversary week. This was our anniversary - May 14th. We traveled with our friends, Michele and Joe. This was their first trip alone (they have 2 kids) since our wedding in 2001 - they were thrilled to be there! They stayed with us the first week and then they left and I'll tell more about the second group when we get to that point in the trip.
As always, the days before the trip were totally stressful - wrapping up work, buttoning up all the arrangements for the pets (cats stay at home and I have a sitter for them and dog, Lager, goes to my Mom's where he is totally spoiled), packing and making sure all details are attended to (bills paid, etc) so that once I get to my favorite place on earth I can totally de-compress and shut down. Once I arrive on St. John, I totally forget about work and I immediately am in island mode - it's so healing!
Our flight was out of Philly at 9:45 am - this was nice since we usually get the earlier flight but it's not offered this time of year so we were able to sleep in ('til 6 a.m.). Our friends picked us up - no problem getting thru security and we had time to grab water and be there just before boarding (I don't like extended time in airports). We met CruzanChris and Islandgirl in the airport. I had told them that my carry on roll on was green with white polka dots so they easily spotted me.
Flight down was uneventful - bonus was PS I Love You was the movie so it totally entertained and the flight went quick. We are the annoying people that bring a Philly hoagie on the flight with us - yummy! Sorry for the smell to anyone on who may have been on our flight.
We landed just before 2 p.m. and we didn't check bags so we quickly got a cab to Red Hook. Then, we waited and waited - ugh! We knew we wouldn't make the 3 p.m. ferry so we ended up asking him to drop us in Charlotte Amalie so we could get the 3 p.m. CA Ferry. The driver was annoyed - he charged us the Red Hook price but we didn't care. Another passenger in the taxi joined us. We had plenty of time to grab a cold one and wait for the ferry. It ended up being late and net/net, we probably should have just stuck with the cab to Red Hook - oh well, lessons learned. We arrived on island about 4:10.
We met our villa rep for Perelandra, Marilyn. We loaded her truck up with our luggage and walked up to St. John Car Rental. I popped in the Beach Bar for roadies while my husband got the Dodge Nitro. As always, no problem - we rent from them every time.
Marilyn took us up to Perelandra. Our booking agent who we have used every trip since 2001 had sent us a bottle of Cakebread 2006 Sauvignon Blanc and a tray of chocolate covered strawberries for our anniversary - she is the best! What a nice welcome!
We had heard that this was right next to Sirenusa and it is but you can't see it at all from our villa and we had no problem at all with construction. We heard that they are currently out of money and it will start up again but for our visit, it was perfect! We loved this villa! It had amazing views - we saw many gorgeous sunsets from the deck. It has 2 private bedrooms that are the same size - one is upstairs right off the great room and the other is downstairs (only negative is the stairs are a bit narrow and spiral). The downstairs bedroom contains the washer/dryer so it required us to be a bit coordinated for the two couples. This room was also cooler. The villa is very well decorated and has a nice size pool. It gets sun all day and it can actually be a bit warm in the late afternoon - the pool is like bath water. There is AC in the bedrooms but not in the great room. We would definitely consider staying here again. It was a great location - the first left after Pine Peace so we were very close to town and the beaches.
Michele and I unpacked while the boys when for essentials - beer, coffee and breakfast food. That night was Cafe Roma for dinner - yum! We all loved our meal - I had chicken parm - it's a standard for me. After dinner, we headed over to Mongoose Junction for an event called Music in Moonlight. This event allows local talent to perform. It was a lot of fun but we were tired from our first day and headed home - perfect start to our vacation!
Day 2 - Sunday - Miss Lucy's and Maho
Ok, so you'll learn that I'm a creature of habit. The good news about going to the island so many times is that I now have a routine so I don't have to think much. Our friends loved it because they just let us make all the decisions and went along for the ride. We really had a great time together which was wonderful!
So, Michele has a ton of energy (we've known each other since High School and we're 40 this year so that's a long time!) and my friends instructed me to make sure that I exercise with her every day to keep her happy. This is not a problem for me because, I know many of you will think I'm crazy, but I actually like the challenge of exercising on St. John. We all woke up about 7 a.m., drank lots of coffee and enjoyed the view. Michele and I decided to go for a run. So, I mapped out a run (down the hill, then left towards the Westin, then run in Maria Bluff area and back). This of course ended up being a walk/run with the hills but it was great. It makes me not feel guilty for all the abuse that I do to my body the rest of the day - drinking, eating and then more drinking of course!
We jumped in the pool upon our return to cool off, showered and then headed to Miss Lucy's for Jazz Brunch. It was Mother's Day so we were worried it would be crowded but we got there at the perfect time (about 11:30) and scored a spot under the tree. We had Mimosa's and Rum Punch and all loved our brunch listening to the jazz and enjoying the beautiful view of Friis Bay.
After brunch, we stopped Maho. This is one of my favorite beaches - so beautiful! We relaxed and read books all day then headed back to the villa to clean up for the Forum gathering at the Beach Bar. We met so many forumites and it's already been talked about in VickiH's and Liamsaunt's report so I won't go into it. I will say that it was great to put faces and real names to so many people that we 'know' from online. We also met Brenda and her husband. We had made plans ahead of time to go out with Lion In Da Sun the next day. CaptJay and MrsCaptainJay had their first day off in 3 weeks that day so they decided to rent an Oceanrunner and come along - fun!
Dinner after the Beach Bar was at the Banana Deck - it was great as always. I had a chicken dish that was wonderful (sorry no food porn). After dinner, we were all tired so we headed home.
Day 3 - Monday - Boat Day (always the best days!)
We met Brenda and her husband at the National Park dock at 8:30 a.m. We all had the necessities with us - rum punch, beer and sunscreen. Josh from Lion In Da Sun picked us up (we had requested the newer boat and he made sure we had it). We then headed over to the Beach Bar to meet CaptJay and MrsCaptJay and their friend. Next stop was Whistling Key for some snorkeling. I admit, I'm not a big snorkeler so I was doing this for my friends. I tend to panic when I go underwater but I had a noodle with me, I relaxed and we had a great time! I can't identify one fish and I have no idea what I saw but it was fun!
After snorkeling, we headed to Great Harbor on Jost to check in to customs. We started at Corsairs for a painkiller. This was a very special stop for me. So, my younger brother, Jimmy died last April (2007). He was only 34. I was on Jost in May of that year and found Corsairs - I had never been. This is a 'biker' bar in the Caribbean and Jimmy had a Harley that he loved. I decided that this would be a very cool place for his license plate to hang. I brought it there in February of this year but they didn't hang it that day. We went back this trip to see where they hung it and to take pictures for my family. Although he had never been to the Caribbean, I couldn't think of a better place for it to be and my family agrees.
Ok - so moving on! We went to Foxy's to visit the t-shirt we hung in 2005. It says "Bull Tavern - Roxborough, PA". This is our basement bar We sign it every time we go and we have our friends sign it too. Foxy was there so we chatted with him a bit and got a picture with him. Of course, we had another painkiller here (or maybe , it was 2).
After Foxy's, we went to Sandy Key. Swam in (with a noodle of course!) and hung out a bit - wow, what a gorgeous place! We swam back and then Josh took us to Sydney's Peace and Love for lunch.
Most had the fabulous Lobster Salad and we drank some more. After lunch, we headed to White Bay. We went to Ivan's - got a painkiller, chatted with some locals and then sat in the water and enjoyed the rest of the day. We headed back and breezed thru Customs.
After the boat, we went to the Beach Bar for dinner and more drinks (not that we needed them). We thought it best to call it a night and home we went. We all went to bed very early - the end of a perfect day!
. Breakfast of champions!! That lunch was much needed and very tasty. I'm glad we got to try Sydney's.
We had so much fun with you that day and I'm glad you have a new vice -private boat trips to the BVIs.