While we wait for Omar to pass. . . how 'bout a trip report?
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:28 pm
St. John Trip Report: October 1-8, 2008
Background info: This was our 6th trip to STJ and this time without our boys who say they are sick of the island and would rather go snowboarding instead. Uh, whatever, see you when we get back! Thank you grandparents for taking care of them for the week!
Oct. 1: Travel Day
DFW to San Juan with a 3 hour layover. Thank you forum for suggesting the hotel & casino attached to the airport to pass the time. Hubby won $150 in black jack so we enjoyed a nice sushi/sake dinner!
Short hop to St. Thomas, taxi to Red Hook, 11 p.m. ferry to STJ. We decide to walk up the hill with our carry-on's to St. John Inn, with a pit stop at Woody's for refreshments. We arrive at the inn thinking our key is on the desk. No key! We were supposed to stay in the Hart room so we go to the room and I felt like one of the 3 bears as I opened the door. "There is someone sleeping in my bed!"
What to do but walk back to Woody's for more refreshments and figure this out. The employees all agreed that we needed to go back and knock on the owners door and ask her what's up. (It's now midnight)
On the way back a nice drunk couple offers to drive us to the Westin to sleep by the pool on a lounge chair. Hmmm. . . thanks but we'll pass.
We knock on the owners door at the Inn. She hands us the key to our "new" room and sleep soon comes, until. . .
Oct. 2: Off to our villa in Coral Bay
. . 6:15 a.m. car ferry is ready to depart with a loud blow horn!! Where are we? Oh yeah, we're here and ready to get out of here! Quick shower and walk to Courtesy Car Rental to pick up Vitara. Deli Grotto for breakfast burritos, coffee and North shore drive to Coral Bay! AHHHH! Best drive in the whole world!
This is our first stay on this side of the island, wanting more seclusion and privacy and boy did we get it at Sea Spirit!! We rented through the owner Terry who gave us a nice discount by booking with her. We met Terry's neighbor (since she was off island) and she led us to the villa from Salt Pond. WOW! 1/2 mile dirt road later and we have arrived.
PARADISE! Out of all the villas we have visited, this is pure tranquility! (no, I didn't take this pic above!)
After settling in, (I always read the villa comments book first thing) we picked up snorkel gear at Crabby's, Lilly's Gourmet for groceries, Tourist Trap for lobster rolls,
chill, sunset, hot tub, Italian spaghetti/vino & the perfect first day! Time to decompress!
Oct. 3:Snorkel, Snorkel, Snorkel!
In the past, we had maybe 10-15 minutes to snorkel around Trunk Bay or Hawksnest before someone needed tending to on the beach. Not this time! We jumped right in at Salt Pond and all over the Coral Bay side of the island. Hours of seeing Hawksbill turtles, squid, blue tang, yellow tail, starfish, colorful coral and stunning rock formations! We also hiked over to Drunk Bay to see the incredible contrast between calm sandy beaches to the rocky terrain and Atlantic waves! So cool and hubby made a new friend!
All that snorkeling makes you hungry and ooh! Skinny Legs opens back up today! Blue cheese burger and vanilla killa please! Full tummies and on a mission to Francis Beach (never been here before)
We snorkeled to the left to little Maho and then to big Maho! Loved swimming through the fry fish soup. (millions of tiny silver fish)Back to Sea Spirit for sunset, burgers on the grill, hot tub & star gazing. Ain't nothin' betta!
Oct. 4: Villa gravity sets in.
We are both usually addicted to air conditioning! (Sea Spirit does have A/C) But the tradewinds throughout the house made us sleep like babies, sleeping later and later each day. By 10 am we're awake and staring at the sea with a cup of coffee. Hubby didn't want something hot so an ice cold Carib is what the doctor ordered! (Hey, It's 5 o'clock somewhere)
After hearing so much about Vie's Snack Shack from you wonderful forumites, we headed east, up and down, around and round and boo-hoo, she's not open! Practically famished, we made it back to Island Blues for killer fish tacos & dark-n-stormies. (thanks Rick G.)
Stock up at Lilly's and got a brilliant idea to ask the Tourist Trap owner if we could buy some of his lobsters for a cookout tonight. BIG NO!
Back home at Sea Spirit to unwind from such a hectic day! Sunset, pasta, vino, play music as loud as you want, hot tub, stars, what day is it?
Oct. 5: Go where the wind blows us.
All this wonderful fresh air is starting to get to us. Life is moving slower.
The ocean is so blue. No plans. Something reminds me that the burgers on Cinnamon Bay were really good last year and we should have lunch there. O.K. lets go!
Why do burgers & steak taste so good here? The cook said the beef is locally grown. AHAA!
Full & happy, we snorkel over to little Cinnamon to see the underwater airplane wreckage. We don't see it.
Back on the beach we met a couple hanging out and ask them if they know of the where the wreck may be. Straight ahead! Very cool! Afterwards the couple invite us over for a cold cocktail. Can't pass that up! After talking, singing, swimming, laughing and a perfect rainbow, our new friends, Captain Robert & Sue offered to take us out on a day sail, if we wanted. We agreed to go out on Tuesday. (Not free of course-$100 each)
Back to Cinnamon snorkeling through the fry soup.
A quick stop at Starfish Market/Gourmet Market (ooh-la-la) and alllllllllll the way back to Sea Spirit for steaks on the barb-e, music, hot tub, ect., ect.
Oct. 6: Don't worry, be happy!
Another gorgeous day. My notes on this day are a little blurry so I think there was some rum involved. We snorkeled, we hiked, we napped, we lounged.
Island Blues for veggie quesadillas, mahi sandwich & rum & ginger ale. Same ol' evening activities back home!
Oct. 7: Set the alarm!
Throw on bathing suits, pack up food & drinks for our day sail with Captain Robert on his 36' Islander sailboat called Night Train. He picked us up promptly at 9 am at the National Park dock.
This is the only pic we took that day since the battery died on the I-phone!
We sailed to Christmas Cove for great snorkeling! I would have never thought to do this but Capt. Robert brought a baggie of cracker crumbs and released them right in the middle of the cove. Swarms of tropical fish ate the feast right in front of our eyes! COOL! Add beautiful purple jelly fish to our sightings. You can touch them and they won't sting you. Back to the boat and off to a remote snorkeling location. Larger parrot fish here! All of a sudden Capt. Robert free dives down to spear fish something under some rocks. He pulls out a Caribbean lobster! He hands hubby his catch and dives again to spear a nice striped snapper! Unbelievable! Back on the boat he cooked us the best lunch ever!!!
Next~ Mingo Cay to set anchor and all of a sudden a black cloud was heading our direction! Capt. Robert grabbed shampoo and yells "free shower!" The rain moved by quickly and before you knew it we jumped in the water to see 3 tarpon! We snorkel to the small beach at Mingo Cay. What a beautiful sight after climbing the rocks to overlook Jost Van Dyke.
The day was coming to an end but not until a quick sail to Solomon Beach for (more) cocktails & a swim before sailing back to the dock.
This day was a perfect end to a perfect vacation. Tears rolled down my face as Capt. Robert sailed away into the sunset. I think next year, instead of staying on land all week, we might sail with him around the BVI's!
If you are ever thinking about a daysail, sunset sail or charter, I highly recommend our trusty captain. PM me if you want more info!
(I stole this pic off his website)
Oct. 8: Homeward bound
We are sad to leave but missed our boys! Beach Bar for Tuna Down Now & the noon ferry. Until next year!
Just a few thoughts:
Bring lots of bug spray and sunscreen
If you decide to stay on the Coral Bay side, don't plan a lot of activities back in Cruz Bay.
Do some kind of water excursion (daysail, charter, dinghy)
Get away with the one you love at least one week out of the year!
Watch the sunset or the sunrise or both (try to do this back home too!)
Write a trip report when you return so others can take a mini vacation through your eyes.
Cheers to all you St. John lovers!
Colleen & Kyle
Background info: This was our 6th trip to STJ and this time without our boys who say they are sick of the island and would rather go snowboarding instead. Uh, whatever, see you when we get back! Thank you grandparents for taking care of them for the week!
Oct. 1: Travel Day
DFW to San Juan with a 3 hour layover. Thank you forum for suggesting the hotel & casino attached to the airport to pass the time. Hubby won $150 in black jack so we enjoyed a nice sushi/sake dinner!
Short hop to St. Thomas, taxi to Red Hook, 11 p.m. ferry to STJ. We decide to walk up the hill with our carry-on's to St. John Inn, with a pit stop at Woody's for refreshments. We arrive at the inn thinking our key is on the desk. No key! We were supposed to stay in the Hart room so we go to the room and I felt like one of the 3 bears as I opened the door. "There is someone sleeping in my bed!"
What to do but walk back to Woody's for more refreshments and figure this out. The employees all agreed that we needed to go back and knock on the owners door and ask her what's up. (It's now midnight)
On the way back a nice drunk couple offers to drive us to the Westin to sleep by the pool on a lounge chair. Hmmm. . . thanks but we'll pass.
We knock on the owners door at the Inn. She hands us the key to our "new" room and sleep soon comes, until. . .
Oct. 2: Off to our villa in Coral Bay
. . 6:15 a.m. car ferry is ready to depart with a loud blow horn!! Where are we? Oh yeah, we're here and ready to get out of here! Quick shower and walk to Courtesy Car Rental to pick up Vitara. Deli Grotto for breakfast burritos, coffee and North shore drive to Coral Bay! AHHHH! Best drive in the whole world!
This is our first stay on this side of the island, wanting more seclusion and privacy and boy did we get it at Sea Spirit!! We rented through the owner Terry who gave us a nice discount by booking with her. We met Terry's neighbor (since she was off island) and she led us to the villa from Salt Pond. WOW! 1/2 mile dirt road later and we have arrived.
PARADISE! Out of all the villas we have visited, this is pure tranquility! (no, I didn't take this pic above!)After settling in, (I always read the villa comments book first thing) we picked up snorkel gear at Crabby's, Lilly's Gourmet for groceries, Tourist Trap for lobster rolls,
chill, sunset, hot tub, Italian spaghetti/vino & the perfect first day! Time to decompress!
Oct. 3:Snorkel, Snorkel, Snorkel!
In the past, we had maybe 10-15 minutes to snorkel around Trunk Bay or Hawksnest before someone needed tending to on the beach. Not this time! We jumped right in at Salt Pond and all over the Coral Bay side of the island. Hours of seeing Hawksbill turtles, squid, blue tang, yellow tail, starfish, colorful coral and stunning rock formations! We also hiked over to Drunk Bay to see the incredible contrast between calm sandy beaches to the rocky terrain and Atlantic waves! So cool and hubby made a new friend!
All that snorkeling makes you hungry and ooh! Skinny Legs opens back up today! Blue cheese burger and vanilla killa please! Full tummies and on a mission to Francis Beach (never been here before)
We snorkeled to the left to little Maho and then to big Maho! Loved swimming through the fry fish soup. (millions of tiny silver fish)Back to Sea Spirit for sunset, burgers on the grill, hot tub & star gazing. Ain't nothin' betta!
Oct. 4: Villa gravity sets in.
We are both usually addicted to air conditioning! (Sea Spirit does have A/C) But the tradewinds throughout the house made us sleep like babies, sleeping later and later each day. By 10 am we're awake and staring at the sea with a cup of coffee. Hubby didn't want something hot so an ice cold Carib is what the doctor ordered! (Hey, It's 5 o'clock somewhere)
After hearing so much about Vie's Snack Shack from you wonderful forumites, we headed east, up and down, around and round and boo-hoo, she's not open! Practically famished, we made it back to Island Blues for killer fish tacos & dark-n-stormies. (thanks Rick G.)
Stock up at Lilly's and got a brilliant idea to ask the Tourist Trap owner if we could buy some of his lobsters for a cookout tonight. BIG NO!
Back home at Sea Spirit to unwind from such a hectic day! Sunset, pasta, vino, play music as loud as you want, hot tub, stars, what day is it?
Oct. 5: Go where the wind blows us.
All this wonderful fresh air is starting to get to us. Life is moving slower.
The ocean is so blue. No plans. Something reminds me that the burgers on Cinnamon Bay were really good last year and we should have lunch there. O.K. lets go!
Why do burgers & steak taste so good here? The cook said the beef is locally grown. AHAA!
Full & happy, we snorkel over to little Cinnamon to see the underwater airplane wreckage. We don't see it.
Back on the beach we met a couple hanging out and ask them if they know of the where the wreck may be. Straight ahead! Very cool! Afterwards the couple invite us over for a cold cocktail. Can't pass that up! After talking, singing, swimming, laughing and a perfect rainbow, our new friends, Captain Robert & Sue offered to take us out on a day sail, if we wanted. We agreed to go out on Tuesday. (Not free of course-$100 each)
Back to Cinnamon snorkeling through the fry soup.
A quick stop at Starfish Market/Gourmet Market (ooh-la-la) and alllllllllll the way back to Sea Spirit for steaks on the barb-e, music, hot tub, ect., ect.Oct. 6: Don't worry, be happy!
Another gorgeous day. My notes on this day are a little blurry so I think there was some rum involved. We snorkeled, we hiked, we napped, we lounged.
Island Blues for veggie quesadillas, mahi sandwich & rum & ginger ale. Same ol' evening activities back home!
Oct. 7: Set the alarm!
Throw on bathing suits, pack up food & drinks for our day sail with Captain Robert on his 36' Islander sailboat called Night Train. He picked us up promptly at 9 am at the National Park dock.
This is the only pic we took that day since the battery died on the I-phone!
We sailed to Christmas Cove for great snorkeling! I would have never thought to do this but Capt. Robert brought a baggie of cracker crumbs and released them right in the middle of the cove. Swarms of tropical fish ate the feast right in front of our eyes! COOL! Add beautiful purple jelly fish to our sightings. You can touch them and they won't sting you. Back to the boat and off to a remote snorkeling location. Larger parrot fish here! All of a sudden Capt. Robert free dives down to spear fish something under some rocks. He pulls out a Caribbean lobster! He hands hubby his catch and dives again to spear a nice striped snapper! Unbelievable! Back on the boat he cooked us the best lunch ever!!!
Next~ Mingo Cay to set anchor and all of a sudden a black cloud was heading our direction! Capt. Robert grabbed shampoo and yells "free shower!" The rain moved by quickly and before you knew it we jumped in the water to see 3 tarpon! We snorkel to the small beach at Mingo Cay. What a beautiful sight after climbing the rocks to overlook Jost Van Dyke.
The day was coming to an end but not until a quick sail to Solomon Beach for (more) cocktails & a swim before sailing back to the dock.
This day was a perfect end to a perfect vacation. Tears rolled down my face as Capt. Robert sailed away into the sunset. I think next year, instead of staying on land all week, we might sail with him around the BVI's!
If you are ever thinking about a daysail, sunset sail or charter, I highly recommend our trusty captain. PM me if you want more info!
(I stole this pic off his website)Oct. 8: Homeward bound
We are sad to leave but missed our boys! Beach Bar for Tuna Down Now & the noon ferry. Until next year!
Just a few thoughts:
Bring lots of bug spray and sunscreen
If you decide to stay on the Coral Bay side, don't plan a lot of activities back in Cruz Bay.
Do some kind of water excursion (daysail, charter, dinghy)
Get away with the one you love at least one week out of the year!
Watch the sunset or the sunrise or both (try to do this back home too!)
Write a trip report when you return so others can take a mini vacation through your eyes.
Cheers to all you St. John lovers!
Colleen & Kyle
