Trip Report-First Week/July 8-16
Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:11 pm
Pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/13113261@N02/sets/
July 8th-This was our 8th trip to the USVI. The first 4 we stayed on St. Thomas & the last 4 on St. John. We left DFW at 7:20 & after a short layover in Miami, we arrived on St. Thomas at 3:30. After picking up our luggage, we called Discount Car Rental & they were there in about 10 minutes. We stopped at the Food Center on the way to Red Hook for some groceries. Caught the 6:00 car ferry to St. John. We were finally on our way-I could feel the stress of the day fading away. We dropped our luggage & groceries at our home for the next 2 weeks(Samuel Cottages). We were starving so we drove up the hill to Compass Rose (Pastory Gardens) for dinner & Bushwackers. It was so good to be back on St. John!
July 9th-Our morning routine was the same each day. The alarm clock (rooster) would wake me up around 6:00. I would make coffee, put out sugar for the bananaquits, & wake M.(hubby). We would sit on our front porch, drink our coffee, watch the bananaquits & the car ferries coming from St. Thomas for about an hour, then cook breakfast. There were a couple of morning when the power was out & we were unable to cook breakfast but our alarm clock always worked (rooster)! We usually go to Caneel on our first day so we decided to go with tradition again this year. It is an easy snorkel & close, so I guess that is why we start off with it. I started following an angelfish right away & swam right over a nurse shark! What a way to start off. I know they are suppose to be harmless but I would be fine not seeing one. We walked to Honeymoon in the afternoon-one of our favorite places to snorkel. As usual, we saw lots of fish, including a lobster. Dinner was Uncle Joe's ribs & it was delicious.
July 10th-The power went out at 3:00 in the morning. I was up at 6:00 but could not make coffee or breakfast, so we decided to get an early start to Waterlemon. We were the second car in the ruins parking lot. The walk to Waterlemon is so beautiful, I always enjoy it. We went around the cay. Did not see as many fish as usual but did see a turtle. We did not see any starfish which was disappointing. The current was not bad so that was good. After leaving Waterlemon, we stopped by Maho & snorkeled there. Went to the Beach Bar for dinner & saw a beautiful sunset. Stopped by the Quiet Mon for a drink on our way back to the cottage.
July 11th-Our 38th anniversary. We decided to go to Salomon today-it is my favorite beach. Took the Lind Point Trail to the beach. We saw an octopus-they are amazing creatures. We watched him for a long time. Unfortunately, our battery was down on the camera by this time, so we did not get pictures. We came back to the beach & relaxed most of the afternoon. Such a beautiful, peaceful beach. A perfect way to spend an anniversary. Went to Compass Rose again for dinner & Buchwackers. They have good ones (Bushwackers).
July 12th-Hawksnest & Gidney were the beaches for today. The coral at Hawksnest is still amazing & both are beautiful beaches.
July 13th-Went to Francis Bay today. We saw a small turtle & then M. spotted a hugh one. Saw lots of conch shells, too. We left the beach early to get ready for the forum gathering at the Beach Bar. We had fun meeting & talking with Greyhound mom, hubby, & brother & sister-in-law, Cosmolady & crew, & Snorkelqueen & family. Evidently, there was another group that we never located. Sorry that we didn't get to meet them, too.
July 14th-Salt Pond today. Walked to Drunk Bay first-I don't know why we had never done that before. It was so beautiful. I loved watching the waves. Came back & snorkeled Salt Pond. Saw lots & lots of fish plus a turtle. We decided to walk to Blue Cobblestone Beach about 1:00. That really should be an early morning hike. This was our first time to go there, also. It was very hot. I was so glad that we had water with us. The water at Cobblestone was rough but we enjoyed snorkeling there. After snorkeling, we hiked back to our car. We were really hot & tired by then. Stopped at Shipwreck Landing to eat on our way back to Cruz Bay. Another first & it was great. I had beer battered snapper soft tacos & they were delicious. M. had fish & chips. Someone on the forum suggested the peanut butter pie so we tried it. It was wonderful!
July 15th-It rained a ittle this morning but cleared by the time we left for Maho. It started to rain again about 2:00 so we decided to leave. It had stopped raining by the time we got back to the cottage. We showered & went to St. John Spice for some gifts. Went to the Fish Trap for happy hour. Cooked hamburgers at the cottage when we returned.
July 16th-We went to Maho again today. We saw a lobster & M. saw a large nurse shark. I was okay with not seeing it. Left Maho late in the afternoon & drove to Shipwreck Landing for dinner.
Next: Week Two-July 17-23rd
July 8th-This was our 8th trip to the USVI. The first 4 we stayed on St. Thomas & the last 4 on St. John. We left DFW at 7:20 & after a short layover in Miami, we arrived on St. Thomas at 3:30. After picking up our luggage, we called Discount Car Rental & they were there in about 10 minutes. We stopped at the Food Center on the way to Red Hook for some groceries. Caught the 6:00 car ferry to St. John. We were finally on our way-I could feel the stress of the day fading away. We dropped our luggage & groceries at our home for the next 2 weeks(Samuel Cottages). We were starving so we drove up the hill to Compass Rose (Pastory Gardens) for dinner & Bushwackers. It was so good to be back on St. John!
July 9th-Our morning routine was the same each day. The alarm clock (rooster) would wake me up around 6:00. I would make coffee, put out sugar for the bananaquits, & wake M.(hubby). We would sit on our front porch, drink our coffee, watch the bananaquits & the car ferries coming from St. Thomas for about an hour, then cook breakfast. There were a couple of morning when the power was out & we were unable to cook breakfast but our alarm clock always worked (rooster)! We usually go to Caneel on our first day so we decided to go with tradition again this year. It is an easy snorkel & close, so I guess that is why we start off with it. I started following an angelfish right away & swam right over a nurse shark! What a way to start off. I know they are suppose to be harmless but I would be fine not seeing one. We walked to Honeymoon in the afternoon-one of our favorite places to snorkel. As usual, we saw lots of fish, including a lobster. Dinner was Uncle Joe's ribs & it was delicious.
July 10th-The power went out at 3:00 in the morning. I was up at 6:00 but could not make coffee or breakfast, so we decided to get an early start to Waterlemon. We were the second car in the ruins parking lot. The walk to Waterlemon is so beautiful, I always enjoy it. We went around the cay. Did not see as many fish as usual but did see a turtle. We did not see any starfish which was disappointing. The current was not bad so that was good. After leaving Waterlemon, we stopped by Maho & snorkeled there. Went to the Beach Bar for dinner & saw a beautiful sunset. Stopped by the Quiet Mon for a drink on our way back to the cottage.
July 11th-Our 38th anniversary. We decided to go to Salomon today-it is my favorite beach. Took the Lind Point Trail to the beach. We saw an octopus-they are amazing creatures. We watched him for a long time. Unfortunately, our battery was down on the camera by this time, so we did not get pictures. We came back to the beach & relaxed most of the afternoon. Such a beautiful, peaceful beach. A perfect way to spend an anniversary. Went to Compass Rose again for dinner & Buchwackers. They have good ones (Bushwackers).
July 12th-Hawksnest & Gidney were the beaches for today. The coral at Hawksnest is still amazing & both are beautiful beaches.
July 13th-Went to Francis Bay today. We saw a small turtle & then M. spotted a hugh one. Saw lots of conch shells, too. We left the beach early to get ready for the forum gathering at the Beach Bar. We had fun meeting & talking with Greyhound mom, hubby, & brother & sister-in-law, Cosmolady & crew, & Snorkelqueen & family. Evidently, there was another group that we never located. Sorry that we didn't get to meet them, too.
July 14th-Salt Pond today. Walked to Drunk Bay first-I don't know why we had never done that before. It was so beautiful. I loved watching the waves. Came back & snorkeled Salt Pond. Saw lots & lots of fish plus a turtle. We decided to walk to Blue Cobblestone Beach about 1:00. That really should be an early morning hike. This was our first time to go there, also. It was very hot. I was so glad that we had water with us. The water at Cobblestone was rough but we enjoyed snorkeling there. After snorkeling, we hiked back to our car. We were really hot & tired by then. Stopped at Shipwreck Landing to eat on our way back to Cruz Bay. Another first & it was great. I had beer battered snapper soft tacos & they were delicious. M. had fish & chips. Someone on the forum suggested the peanut butter pie so we tried it. It was wonderful!
July 15th-It rained a ittle this morning but cleared by the time we left for Maho. It started to rain again about 2:00 so we decided to leave. It had stopped raining by the time we got back to the cottage. We showered & went to St. John Spice for some gifts. Went to the Fish Trap for happy hour. Cooked hamburgers at the cottage when we returned.
July 16th-We went to Maho again today. We saw a lobster & M. saw a large nurse shark. I was okay with not seeing it. Left Maho late in the afternoon & drove to Shipwreck Landing for dinner.
Next: Week Two-July 17-23rd
Thanks for posting.