USVI-On-Line

I'm finally going to get this finished.
Tuesday, June 10th was the departure day for half of our group. We had a slow start this day. Some were very tired after a late night.
We went into Cruz Bay for a little shopping. (Caravan Gallery, St. John Spice, Freebird, ...) and said good-bye to those leaving.

The rest of us met up for lunch at Caneel and checked out the beach there.


I enjoyed my lunch, but I was not as impressed with the main beach there as others on St. John. I had wanted to go to Honeymoon and Solomon, but I couldn't motivate everyone else. I did run over to Honeymoon to check it out, but I didn't stay since the others were still at Caneel. Honeymoon was beautiful, but it was pretty crowded. I will definitely go back there someday.



I met back with the others, then we all went to Maho, which we pretty much had to ourselves. It was great until it started to rain and the no-seeums came out. We picked up a couple of t-shirts over by Skinny Legs, then went back to the villa to pack a little before happy hour on the deck.
We saw these guys on our way to Coral Bay.

We also saw our first rainbow from our deck, although it is hard to see in my iphone pic.

We made one more trip to Skinny's were I had another blue cheeseburger, along with a Lime and Coconut.

Wednesday was our departure day. We finished packing, then took some last pictures on the deck, before heading into town. We did a little more shopping, printed off our boarding passes at Connections, then ate at JJ's.


A few extra notes from our trip ...
St. John with such a large group is definitely different. I knew it would be, but some things still suprised me. It is much harder to get around, and honestly, not everyone really "gets it". I think everyone appreciated the beauty of the island, but some would have preferred a luxury resort with cabana boys bringing their drinks and food. There was one comment from someone that it was like a really expensive camping trip. I don't think they liked trying to conserve water and taking out the trash either. Our group did divide up quite a bit, and I think that some really missed out by not seeing more of the island. I don't intend for this to sound bad or negative, and almost everyone in our group loved STJ ... I just don't see how someone doesn't.
Other notes ... we loved the Catherineberg area, and I would definitely stay there again! Our villa was great and the views were unbelievable. I am already thinking about our next trip, which will be with our 3 children.
We get it and we WILL be back!!!!

Thanks for the great trip report. I know what you mean about going with a big group. I planned a trip for 10 and it was much harder. We did hire a driver which made all the difference in the world. We also had a few catered meals, but a large group changes all the dynamics.
i really think the best trips are just with the hubby (our kids are grown and now have spouses) so taking the kids is taking a huge group...and you have to pay for the group!!!!!

KY enjoyed all your reports The pic of you and the hubby says it all you get it Thank God everyone doesn't get it though

Thanks for the report. Loved the pictures and really enjoyed meeting you both a many of your group. Hopefully we'll meet up again at the Beach Bar. Since we were next to you in Catherinberg, we just wanted to say you were great neighbors!

Would you mind telling me which villa you rented? We were at Cinnamon Tarn (Catherineberg) this spring, and the view looks similar.

I've said I won't do a large group again just for that reason Great report thank you

Thanks for the report. Nice picture of the two of you!

I can only guess how difficult it would be to travel that many people. At least if there are some that don't "get it".

Thanks everyone!

cptnkirk wrote:KY enjoyed all your reports The pic of you and the hubby says it all you get it Thank God everyone doesn't get it though

Amen cptnkirk! I'm glad everyone doesn't get it too! I had been thinking that same thing!

sqd, It was just hubby and I before. We haven't tried taking the kids yet ... we'll see how that goes. Ours are 14, 11, and 6.

San Diego Mark, You made a great neighbor too, and I really enjoyed meeting you all. We had a bunch of leftover rum and beer. It was going to be yours, but we couldn't find Anole.

INfamily, We stayed at La Jolla Caribe and Mango Bay. Those pictures were from La Jolla. I have had Cinnamon Tarn on my list too.

kygirl wrote:A few extra notes from our trip ...
St. John with such a large group is definitely different. I knew it would be, but some things still suprised me. It is much harder to get around, and honestly, not everyone really "gets it". I think everyone appreciated the beauty of the island, but some would have preferred a luxury resort with cabana boys bringing their drinks and food. There was one comment from someone that it was like a really expensive camping trip.

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Actually I'm glad not everyone "gets it." Otherwise STJ would be even busier than ever....

We love our expensive camping trips on STJ!

tjwgrr wrote:

kygirl wrote:A few extra notes from our trip ...
St. John with such a large group is definitely different. I knew it would be, but some things still suprised me. It is much harder to get around, and honestly, not everyone really "gets it". I think everyone appreciated the beauty of the island, but some would have preferred a luxury resort with cabana boys bringing their drinks and food. There was one comment from someone that it was like a really expensive camping trip.

-------------------------------

Actually I'm glad not everyone "gets it." Otherwise STJ would be even busier than ever....

We love our expensive camping trips on STJ!

I agree!!!

Nice ending, kyg. We're trying to organize a 6 or 8 person trip next year, but already one couple can't make it because of the general assembly. After reading this, I'm not so sure it's a good idea anyway. Maybe we'll start small with just another couple and see how it goes. I've enjoyed your trip reports and pictures. We'll get together soon!

Thanks for finishing your report! Would you stay at La Jolla Caribe again? I love the North Shore views, and the price is not too bad for that house.

pjayer wrote:Nice ending, kyg. We're trying to organize a 6 or 8 person trip next year, but already one couple can't make it because of the general assembly. After reading this, I'm not so sure it's a good idea anyway. Maybe we'll start small with just another couple and see how it goes. I've enjoyed your trip reports and pictures. We'll get together soon!

I'm sure you will be fine no matter how many go. We had a great time, it was just different in some ways. We weren't originally planning to go with such a large group ... it just kept growing. When we first booked the house, it was just for the 2 of us, then we added 2 more, then 4 more, .... until we had 16 and 2 villas. I would definitely go with a large group again. I would just have to add extra STJ trips in between.
Liamsaunt,
I would love to stay at La Jolla Caribe again! I agree, the price isn't bad at all. When it was just the 2 of us going, we debated between La Jolla Caribe and a couple other Catherineberg villas. We decided on La Jolla, because there was plenty of room if we added people. The bedrooms are not equal though, which may be an issue depending on the group. Send me a pm if you have any specific questions.

Very nice ending KYGirl! I love the pic!