USVI-On-Line

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 4:41 pm**

Trip Report Day 4

O.K. kids, here comes the not so pretty part. So if you want to hide the womens and children's eyes, now is the time to do it. Proving once and for all, vacation in Paradise is not always Paradise.

We went to bed at our regularly scheduled time (when the sun went down) with dreams of what would be on the agenda tomorrow. Ahhhhhh...sweet sleep and dreams. Then BAM!! We sat straight up in our beds at 3:00am, awakened by the deafening quiet. No fans, no A/V hum, no.....nuthin. It was suddenly obvious, we had no electricity. Oh well, no big deal, we've been here before. I got up went to the potty (we all did) right away, then I went to the front window and it was DARK out there. No lights anywhere, not even at the Westin. Uh-Oh I thought, this is not good. Turns out the entire Island of St. John and most of St. Thomas lost electricity.

O.K., still no big deal, we've all been on Island when the electricity went out. But......I then recalled, no electricity not only means no lights or A/C...it also means no WATER........AAAAAGGGHHH. No water, no flushing toilets....AAAAGGGHHHH. evenworse, no blender to make BBC's or Limin Coconuts!!

When daylight dawned, and we went outside for some fresh air, I discovered that our cell phones worked, so I quickly called and found out that J.J.'s Texas Toast has a generator, breakfast and a working John!
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 6962"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXKWork ... 5.JPG"></a>

So off we went. Ordered brearkfast and used the.......well, you know...
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 9042"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXKVuxO ... 4.JPG"></a>

Since the electricity was out most of the day, we decided it would be a Villa Gravity day.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 6226"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXKKS0p ... 1.JPG"></a>

We made BBC's
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 9426"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXKNzc8 ... 6.JPG"></a>

Fed the birds (they were rather demanding)
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 3058"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXKHfkU ... 6.JPG"></a>

And then we encountered this strange bird. Anyone know what kind it is?
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 8226"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXKJkf2 ... 0.JPG"></a>

There was no real agenda on a villa gravity day, so we did a lot of this:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 5538"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXK4Eqn ... 2.JPG"></a>

We did take this opportunity of no A/C or bathrooms to go and check out a couple of villas we may rent next year. That was rather productive, so we stopped doing that. And went back to the villa gravity day.

We regained electricity around 2:00ish, but we still had no water. A quick call to Lisa and she informed us that the one thing you do not want to do when the electricity goes out, is flush the johns. Well, too late...that is the first thing we all did. The maintenance guy (Steve) came right over and we once again had water and working commodes.

Good thing too, because we were to celebrate the newbie's birthday today. Which we did. I brought a Flat Iron Steak, grilled it to perfection, added some cous-cous and asparagus, and Voila...food porn:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 0434"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXK_CWm ... 5.JPG"></a>

The birthday dinner was very good! We even toasted the birthday girl:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 2258"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXK71EC ... 1.JPG"></a>

She just Loves Brooks and Dunn, so when Barb and I went to Kenny Chesney's concert right before we went to St. John, B&D were there so we picked up a neat gift for the BD girl:
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 0562"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXLDztd ... 1.JPG"></a>

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty nice day.....electricity or no. And we ended with another spectacular sunset.
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/CaribBert/S ... 6626"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/CaribBert/SJXK61Td ... 4.JPG"></a>

We went to bed with flashlights and bottles of water right next to the beds! But, as luck would have it, we didn't lose electricity any more (at night, that is).

Next up: a day at Gibney!

-Bert

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:50 pm**

[quote="CariBertThat was rather productive, so we stopped doing that. [/quote]

Ha ha! Sounds like you made the best of it.

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 6:27 pm**

CariBert- was that the May 3 concert at Pizza Hut Park? If so, I was there enjoying every minute of KC along with you!

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 6:37 pm**

Villa Gravity can be so nice sometimes!

What an aweome bird ! I also wonder what kind it is!

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 6:50 pm**

thanks for the report!
That bird look so... so.... plasticy. LOL

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 9:44 pm**

Great reports, thank you! Oh, and Green Heron I think for that bird.

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:02 pm**

I love it when people can take a negative and make it a positive w/ out fuss and continue on! Good job my man!

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:09 pm**

BeAsUR - yes that was the concert. Kenny puts on a hell of a show, doesn't he? It's no wonder he gets Entertainer of the Year every year.

And, he wised up...the first concert we went to here in Texas was in July......dam that was hot! He won't be doing that again! Then he did one in June, got rained on...May seems to be a good month.

Chickadee, that could very well be a Green Heron. Never had one perch on a deck before, it was rather cool.

CG...you sound like you experienced villa gravity before!

-Bert

Posted: **Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:40 pm**

Bert-Did you stay near Chocolate Hole, maybe on Chocolate Hole East Road?

Posted: **Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:24 am**

bayer - we stayed on the other side over looking Great Cruz bay and the Westin. Last year we stayed at Calypso del Sol on the east side overlooking Chocolate Hole. Did our paths cross?

-Bert

Posted: **Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:45 pm**

Bert,
Did you like Calypso del Sol or Idyllic better?

Posted: **Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:01 pm**

Hey Cruisers! How are ya doing? To answer your question, we liked Calypso better for our party of 6 (3 couples) but Idyllic was better for our party of 3 (or 2 couple). We probably would not choose Idyllic for 3 couples. We liked the lay out better at Calypso. Idyllic is a little more intimate. I have to admit, (at Idyllic) the pool cabana with the half bath (read commode) was really nice! It also had a small fridge keep our beer cold!

When are you all going back?

-Bert

Posted: **Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:09 pm**

bayer - we stayed on the other side over looking Great Cruz bay and the Westin. Last year we stayed at Calypso del Sol on the east side overlooking Chocolate Hole. Did our paths cross?

No. We were there last week and looking at the picture from your deck/balcony looked like you were looking at Chocolate Hole.

Posted: **Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:12 am**

CariBert wrote:Hey Cruisers! How are ya doing? To answer your question, we liked Calypso better for our party of 6 (3 couples) but Idyllic was better for our party of 3 (or 2 couple). We probably would not choose Idyllic for 3 couples. We liked the lay out better at Calypso. Idyllic is a little more intimate. I have to admit, (at Idyllic) the pool cabana with the half bath (read commode) was really nice! It also had a small fridge keep our beer cold!

When are you all going back?

-Bert

Hi Bert,
We are trying to plan a trip for May (or June) 2009. It will be only the two of us this trip, so finding a villa with everything we want in our price range has been a bit challenging. At the top of our list right now is Morgan Point. (want to split a villa with us?) Trying to decide whether to purchase airfare now or wait it out.

Posted: **Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:24 am**

On our first tip to StJ, during our first power outage, I got in trouble with the villa owners.

It was the middle of the day, and our gear was sandy. So, I used the hose. Whoops. As it finally petered out in a trickle, I was reminded that poor Norman Paperman had to prime the pump at the Gull Reef when they lost power. I had to call the owners and apologize for being a dummie.

They re-primed us and we were on our way. Since then, I am the water police when the power goes down.

USVI-On-Line

Trip Report From CariBert!! Day 4

Trip Report From CariBert!! Day 4

Re: Trip Report From CariBert!! Day 4