Amy and the boys on STJ: Day 7
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:27 am
Originally, this was the day we were going to go on the Reef Bay Trail hike with the National Park Service. Hubby had already opted out given the humidity levels and bugs, and the boys were lukewarm at best. I called the office the day before and told them there would only be 3 of us, and I asked about the bug situation. The ranger told me the group that went out on Monday made it back in record time because the bugs were so bad (glad he was honest!), and the final straw was that D had a cut on his foot, not serious, but enough to cause a lot of discomfort on a long hike. So we cancelled early Thurs. morning, and now I'll have something to definitely plan for our next trip! I really want to see the petroglyphs someday.
We never had a set plan for what beach we would go to, and today I asked D where he wanted to go: Gibney! I told him we'd check to see what the parking situation was and decide when we got there. But first, hubby had made another massage appointment with Juli, so we dropped him in town and also dropped off our laundry. Very nice folks at the Superwash, and I was pleased with the turnaround time--I thought 3 hours for a big garbage bag of laundry was pretty good, given island time and all. We headed to Gibney and stopped on the drive over to take some photos at the Maho and Trunk overlooks:
When we got to Gibney we saw 2 cars there, but we managed to squeeze our Liberty into the spot closest to the gate. Hmmm, I thought, when I saw a Jeep with a Conrad Sutton sticker, could it be flip-flop? I had been keeping an eye out for her all week, but never ran into her. We got down to the beach, and wow, I think this is my new favorite beach for just hanging out. We'd been here before, but only when we snorkeled over from Hawksnest--we had never stayed here for long. We got the perfect spot under the trees (but not directly under the coconuts!), shady and beautiful:
No skeeters, either! The boys were messing around in the water, and I glanced down the beach. Hmmm, there's someone with a stroller and a small child playing in the sand. After a little while I told the boys I was going to wander down the beach to investigate, and sure enough, flip-flop and family! They are even more beautiful in person and we had a very nice chat.
Flip-flops in the distance:
And close-up:
The boys were ready for snorkeling, so we went all the way across the bay to the left side, to the rocks that connect Hawksnest and Gibney:
Spotted trunkfish:
Me snorkeling:
After relaxing on the beach a while longer (well, I did while the boys swam), we headed back into town to pick hubby up and have lunch. We decided to try Jake's, which used to be Chilly Billy's. We were the only folks in there (granted, it was almost 2:00), and the food and service were both very good. Nothing fancy, mainly burgers, wraps, and sandwiches, but everything was yummy.
View from Jake's:
Picked up the laundry, then back to the house for the boys, and my daily solo adventure. I had loved Gibney so much I thought, why not? So back to Gibney I went! This time I snorkeled over to the right side (but not far enough to reach liamsaunt's "secret beach"--next time I'll get there!), and it was great. There was another woman snorkeling on her own so I felt like we had our own little solo female snorkel club.
Another thing I had had never done before and wanted to do was see Peace Hill, and I thought this was a great opportunity. It only takes about 5 minutes to get there on an easy, short trail, but the views from up there are fabulous:
I also stopped at the Bordeaux overlook to get a shot or two:
I was so relaxed when I got back--I was loving these little jaunts, and the boys were happy to be hanging out at home. Dinner tonight was Thai red curry with pork, rice, and guess what? Salad! I had picked up a Pepperidge Farm cake for dessert. Watched more of the convention then to bed early.
Next: Little Lameshur, Skinny's again, and Sweet Plantains
We never had a set plan for what beach we would go to, and today I asked D where he wanted to go: Gibney! I told him we'd check to see what the parking situation was and decide when we got there. But first, hubby had made another massage appointment with Juli, so we dropped him in town and also dropped off our laundry. Very nice folks at the Superwash, and I was pleased with the turnaround time--I thought 3 hours for a big garbage bag of laundry was pretty good, given island time and all. We headed to Gibney and stopped on the drive over to take some photos at the Maho and Trunk overlooks:
When we got to Gibney we saw 2 cars there, but we managed to squeeze our Liberty into the spot closest to the gate. Hmmm, I thought, when I saw a Jeep with a Conrad Sutton sticker, could it be flip-flop? I had been keeping an eye out for her all week, but never ran into her. We got down to the beach, and wow, I think this is my new favorite beach for just hanging out. We'd been here before, but only when we snorkeled over from Hawksnest--we had never stayed here for long. We got the perfect spot under the trees (but not directly under the coconuts!), shady and beautiful:
No skeeters, either! The boys were messing around in the water, and I glanced down the beach. Hmmm, there's someone with a stroller and a small child playing in the sand. After a little while I told the boys I was going to wander down the beach to investigate, and sure enough, flip-flop and family! They are even more beautiful in person and we had a very nice chat.
Flip-flops in the distance:
And close-up:
The boys were ready for snorkeling, so we went all the way across the bay to the left side, to the rocks that connect Hawksnest and Gibney:
Spotted trunkfish:
Me snorkeling:
After relaxing on the beach a while longer (well, I did while the boys swam), we headed back into town to pick hubby up and have lunch. We decided to try Jake's, which used to be Chilly Billy's. We were the only folks in there (granted, it was almost 2:00), and the food and service were both very good. Nothing fancy, mainly burgers, wraps, and sandwiches, but everything was yummy.
View from Jake's:
Picked up the laundry, then back to the house for the boys, and my daily solo adventure. I had loved Gibney so much I thought, why not? So back to Gibney I went! This time I snorkeled over to the right side (but not far enough to reach liamsaunt's "secret beach"--next time I'll get there!), and it was great. There was another woman snorkeling on her own so I felt like we had our own little solo female snorkel club.
Another thing I had had never done before and wanted to do was see Peace Hill, and I thought this was a great opportunity. It only takes about 5 minutes to get there on an easy, short trail, but the views from up there are fabulous:
I also stopped at the Bordeaux overlook to get a shot or two:
I was so relaxed when I got back--I was loving these little jaunts, and the boys were happy to be hanging out at home. Dinner tonight was Thai red curry with pork, rice, and guess what? Salad! I had picked up a Pepperidge Farm cake for dessert. Watched more of the convention then to bed early.
Next: Little Lameshur, Skinny's again, and Sweet Plantains
