TRIP REPORT DIALOGUE - Day Two, May 18
Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 3:57 pm
Before I begin day two, let me go back and tell you about something that happened when we arrived.
WHAT IS THIS, "MEMENTO"? WHY NOT JUST START AT THE LAST DAY AND TELL THE WHOLE STORY BACKWARDS? SHEESH.
Hmm, that's an idea. Maybe next time. Anyway, I expected the rum punch at the airport, and had prepared our newbies for it. But when we came through the breezeway, we were first welcomed by an official greeter, a woman who told each person/group "Welcome to the Virgin Islands" in that wonderful native accent, and with a smile. Then, instead of rum punch, they had free shots of several flavors of Cruzan rum for you to select from. And finally, there was a steel drum band playing to really let you know you were in the Caribbean. I don't know how often they have this nice welcome trinity in place, but I imagine it's the efforts of the Department of Tourism, and I sent them an e-mail encouraging them to continue.
THAT'S NEWS TO MANY OF US. WE DIDN'T EVEN GET THE RUM PUNCH.
Maybe they only have a budget to do it a few times a month or something. But they should hire that woman full time who gives the greeting, that in itself is meaningful. Okay, on to our first full day on St. John.
GERTRUDE, WAKE UP. HE'S FINALLY STARTING.
I knew from our previous trip that the first day on island was going to be a villa day. Gary was recovering from an ankle wound, and we hoped the extra day of staying off his feet would allow him to enjoy the beach the rest of the week. I started the morning, as I did every day, with a sinfully good butter rum muffin from Starfish. Oh, baby. That and morning coffee, what more do you need? I'll tell you what you need. You need a nice table on the veranda to enjoy your food while taking in that wonderful view.
NOT AGAIN. YOU WHINED ABOUT THIS IN PART ONE.
I tried to fix it. I looked in the phone book and called what appeared to be a general rental store. But the woman who answered said, "Katilady," so I suppose it's a division of that business. She said yes, she could furnish us a table, but she was heading out the door to take some things to a wedding, so she took my number and said she'd call back. She never did, and I reluctantly got used to eating inside. Or, now that I think of it, she may have called and left a voicemail. We didn't know how to access them.
YOU HAVE THE SMALLEST COMFORT ZONE WE'VE EVER HEARD OF.
Wouldn't be surprised. So we spent the morning relaxing and listening to the special trip mix I made for my ipod. Now, unlike others I've heard, mine wasn't reggae and Marley. It was a mix that went from Motown to Al Green, Sinatra to Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli to Elvis Costello, Nat King Cole to Bonnie Raitt. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I felt like I'd hit just the right vibe for hanging out around the pool.
IT'S INTERESTING TO HEAR WHAT DIFFERENT PEOPLE CONSIDER ISLAND MUSIC.
Yes it is. Anyway, just after lunch it was time to give our first-timers, Jeff and Teresa, the island tour. I did the driving, and the others stayed at the villa this time, having done the tour on our last visit. It was so cool to hear J&T talk about how beautiful everything was, how amazing the color of the water was. I don't think they thought I'd been doctoring the color on all those photos I've been sending them the last year, but nothing can prepare you for seeing them for the first time in person. We made the requisite stops for pictures at the overlooks on the North Shore Road, then stopped in the Coccoloba shops. I was most surprised by Lily's Gourmet Market, it had an excellent selection (I didn't look at the prices) in a small space, and is obviously a tremendous boon for the Coral Bay neighborhood.
I'M SURE THEY'RE THRILLED TO HAVE YOUR BLESSING.
Anyway, we drove out to Salt Pond, then back up Centerline Road to Gifft Hill Road, and bumped across it till we found ourselves back on the South Shore Road and back home. After a few hours of tunes and naps, it was dinner time. My plan for the week was two "budget" meals (Uncle Joe's and pizza), two moderate meals (Lime Inn and Cafe Roma) two nice meals (ZoZo's and The Equator), and one night cooking in. (The Grilla in the Villa?) So tonight we headed out to Cafe Roma. We arrived early and had no trouble being seated. Now, after Uncle Joe's was out of ribs and steak, Cafe Roma was out of arugula, mushrooms, and eggplant. Just a hazard of running a restaurant on an island, I suppose. Gary and Pam split a house special pizza (sausage/pepperoni/ peppers/onions) and declared it excellent. Teresa enjoyed her spaghetti marinara, and Jeff and I had what the menu called "Spaghetti and Meat Sauce."
OH, YOU'RE AN ADVENTUROUS DINER.
Well, I rarely allow myself pasta since I seem to be fighting a continual (and losing) weight battle, so I gave in here. Also, I had the same dish on my last trip and it was excellent. Well, meat sauce is one thing. This had so much sausage it should have been called "Sausage Lovers Spaghetti." And two different kinds of sausage, one that was quite spicy. I mean it was good, but not exactly what we had in mind. Jeannie had butternut squash soup (I tasted - mmm) and a special salad with cranberries, walnuts, spinach, romaine lettuce, gorgonzola cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. She loved it.
SO I SUPPOSE ALL THIS IS GOING ON THE ST. JOHN DINING BLOG, COPYRIGHT 2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MAY NOT BE REPUBLISHED OR RETRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?
Yes, of course it'll be there, but it's not copyrighted or anything. Speaking of the blog (http://diningstjohn.blogspot.com/ ), my friends all know about it and know I write a trip report. So they were always conscious of what I might include. They made sure to find out that our Cafe Roma server's name was Jessie, because she did a good job and they wanted to give her credit. I'm going to update the blog as soon as I finish writing these reports.
WHICH, AT THE PACE YOU'RE GOING, COULD BE QUITE A WHILE.
I'll try to move faster. Oh, also, one thing we did to save time and hassle: We put all restaurant charges on one credit card, and then we'll split the total when the bill comes. That eliminated the problem of getting three different checks everywhere we went.
AND YOU GOT THIS IDEA, WHERE? AHEM.
From you, oh wise and learned forum. Well that was it for Sunday, we went home and just chilled till bedtime. Coming tomorrow: Maho.
WHAT IS THIS, "MEMENTO"? WHY NOT JUST START AT THE LAST DAY AND TELL THE WHOLE STORY BACKWARDS? SHEESH.
Hmm, that's an idea. Maybe next time. Anyway, I expected the rum punch at the airport, and had prepared our newbies for it. But when we came through the breezeway, we were first welcomed by an official greeter, a woman who told each person/group "Welcome to the Virgin Islands" in that wonderful native accent, and with a smile. Then, instead of rum punch, they had free shots of several flavors of Cruzan rum for you to select from. And finally, there was a steel drum band playing to really let you know you were in the Caribbean. I don't know how often they have this nice welcome trinity in place, but I imagine it's the efforts of the Department of Tourism, and I sent them an e-mail encouraging them to continue.
THAT'S NEWS TO MANY OF US. WE DIDN'T EVEN GET THE RUM PUNCH.
Maybe they only have a budget to do it a few times a month or something. But they should hire that woman full time who gives the greeting, that in itself is meaningful. Okay, on to our first full day on St. John.
GERTRUDE, WAKE UP. HE'S FINALLY STARTING.
I knew from our previous trip that the first day on island was going to be a villa day. Gary was recovering from an ankle wound, and we hoped the extra day of staying off his feet would allow him to enjoy the beach the rest of the week. I started the morning, as I did every day, with a sinfully good butter rum muffin from Starfish. Oh, baby. That and morning coffee, what more do you need? I'll tell you what you need. You need a nice table on the veranda to enjoy your food while taking in that wonderful view.
NOT AGAIN. YOU WHINED ABOUT THIS IN PART ONE.
I tried to fix it. I looked in the phone book and called what appeared to be a general rental store. But the woman who answered said, "Katilady," so I suppose it's a division of that business. She said yes, she could furnish us a table, but she was heading out the door to take some things to a wedding, so she took my number and said she'd call back. She never did, and I reluctantly got used to eating inside. Or, now that I think of it, she may have called and left a voicemail. We didn't know how to access them.
YOU HAVE THE SMALLEST COMFORT ZONE WE'VE EVER HEARD OF.
Wouldn't be surprised. So we spent the morning relaxing and listening to the special trip mix I made for my ipod. Now, unlike others I've heard, mine wasn't reggae and Marley. It was a mix that went from Motown to Al Green, Sinatra to Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli to Elvis Costello, Nat King Cole to Bonnie Raitt. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I felt like I'd hit just the right vibe for hanging out around the pool.
IT'S INTERESTING TO HEAR WHAT DIFFERENT PEOPLE CONSIDER ISLAND MUSIC.
Yes it is. Anyway, just after lunch it was time to give our first-timers, Jeff and Teresa, the island tour. I did the driving, and the others stayed at the villa this time, having done the tour on our last visit. It was so cool to hear J&T talk about how beautiful everything was, how amazing the color of the water was. I don't think they thought I'd been doctoring the color on all those photos I've been sending them the last year, but nothing can prepare you for seeing them for the first time in person. We made the requisite stops for pictures at the overlooks on the North Shore Road, then stopped in the Coccoloba shops. I was most surprised by Lily's Gourmet Market, it had an excellent selection (I didn't look at the prices) in a small space, and is obviously a tremendous boon for the Coral Bay neighborhood.
I'M SURE THEY'RE THRILLED TO HAVE YOUR BLESSING.
Anyway, we drove out to Salt Pond, then back up Centerline Road to Gifft Hill Road, and bumped across it till we found ourselves back on the South Shore Road and back home. After a few hours of tunes and naps, it was dinner time. My plan for the week was two "budget" meals (Uncle Joe's and pizza), two moderate meals (Lime Inn and Cafe Roma) two nice meals (ZoZo's and The Equator), and one night cooking in. (The Grilla in the Villa?) So tonight we headed out to Cafe Roma. We arrived early and had no trouble being seated. Now, after Uncle Joe's was out of ribs and steak, Cafe Roma was out of arugula, mushrooms, and eggplant. Just a hazard of running a restaurant on an island, I suppose. Gary and Pam split a house special pizza (sausage/pepperoni/ peppers/onions) and declared it excellent. Teresa enjoyed her spaghetti marinara, and Jeff and I had what the menu called "Spaghetti and Meat Sauce."
OH, YOU'RE AN ADVENTUROUS DINER.
Well, I rarely allow myself pasta since I seem to be fighting a continual (and losing) weight battle, so I gave in here. Also, I had the same dish on my last trip and it was excellent. Well, meat sauce is one thing. This had so much sausage it should have been called "Sausage Lovers Spaghetti." And two different kinds of sausage, one that was quite spicy. I mean it was good, but not exactly what we had in mind. Jeannie had butternut squash soup (I tasted - mmm) and a special salad with cranberries, walnuts, spinach, romaine lettuce, gorgonzola cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. She loved it.
SO I SUPPOSE ALL THIS IS GOING ON THE ST. JOHN DINING BLOG, COPYRIGHT 2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MAY NOT BE REPUBLISHED OR RETRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?
Yes, of course it'll be there, but it's not copyrighted or anything. Speaking of the blog (http://diningstjohn.blogspot.com/ ), my friends all know about it and know I write a trip report. So they were always conscious of what I might include. They made sure to find out that our Cafe Roma server's name was Jessie, because she did a good job and they wanted to give her credit. I'm going to update the blog as soon as I finish writing these reports.
WHICH, AT THE PACE YOU'RE GOING, COULD BE QUITE A WHILE.
I'll try to move faster. Oh, also, one thing we did to save time and hassle: We put all restaurant charges on one credit card, and then we'll split the total when the bill comes. That eliminated the problem of getting three different checks everywhere we went.
AND YOU GOT THIS IDEA, WHERE? AHEM.
From you, oh wise and learned forum. Well that was it for Sunday, we went home and just chilled till bedtime. Coming tomorrow: Maho.
