USVI-On-Line

I'll try to pick up the pace. I don't want to compete with nekkid bongos!

Day 2 – Monday – Horseback Riding, Hawksnest Bay, Happy Hour at Le Lapin II

My daughters love riding with Dana at Caroline Corral over in Coral Bay. We had made arrangements for a Monday morning ride a week earlier (340-693-5778). The rest of the gang was going to hit Hawksnest beach for the day. After a quick breakfast and the drive over the top of the island Christine and I dropped Ana and Elizabeth off at the stables. Dana had to move the stables from the valley area over to the East side of Coral Bay. “That’s the thing about renting,” said Dana. It’s pretty easy to find – go past Skinny Legs and make a right after the salt pond, down the dirt road. The road is level, graded and an easy ride.

Dana’s barn is a wood frame building with a canvas roof. It works out pretty well. She has a collection of donkeys, goats, a blind local deer with a baby goat as playmate, and eight or so horses. We got their early so that girls could brush down the horses before their ride. Caring for the horses is as much fun for my girls as a ride. The horses are allowed to roam around Coral Bay to get some fresh forage. They know to get back to the barn for regular meal times and for their working day. Since they like to roll around and get dirty there was a good bit of brushing to do. Elizabeth loves to ride Houdini, a big gelding. Ana tried Ginger this time, and she was a tad spicy – liked to canter and gallop.

Dana took them for her standard ride – past the Moravian Church, up the Johnny Horn Trail, across the ridge lines with a great view of the BVIs and then back to Coral Bay and some cantering across the soccer field to chase some goats.

While the girls were riding, Christine and I popped over to Haulover Bay for a walk to the North-side and a very calm snorkel on the South-side. There’s not a lot of coral, but you see some interesting critters. It was nice just having a couple of hours to ourselves after the big group.





We picked the kids up from the stable after they had finished wiping the horses down. The girls had big smiles with stories about the behaviors of their horses. Dana left the saddles on Houdini and Ginger – she had no bookings for the afternoon and she said that leaving the saddles on brought her good luck. The horses each had a portion of feed and did not seem to mind at all. Dana mentioned that she was busy the second half of the week with two rides on Thanksgiving Day.

Well, Carolina Corral means lunch at Skinny Legs. There’s something about the burgers here that make them taste the best in the world. I already know what I will get before I pull in the parking lot – Bleu Cheese Burger, medium, with three Heinekens. This is about the only place in the world I can get excited about a Heineken. The rolls are fresh made with a bit of caramelized onion on top. The burgers are hand formed, thick, juicy and very hot from the grill – quintessential. Ana gets a hot dog and enjoys it – 1/4 pounder slashed and grilled dark. The folks working the dining room are grumbling – they’ve installed computer point-of-sale systems… at Skinny Legs? What’s next, a fryer? Well, apparently. We miss seeing Doug there. He would come by and give the kids a random noogie and tell them to sit up straight and finish that hot dog, while laughing. The attitude is still there, with a few changes. Things change.



We couldn’t ring Howie’s bell as there was a pair of folks eating their lunch right under it.



We hooked up with the other 20, to complete the gang, at Hawksnest beach. The renovations that were finished a year ago are quite nice and have held up. The landscaping looks good and the foliage was not disturbed. Our gang is all the way down on the right, towards Gibney, with lots of shade. I had not been to Hawksnest for a while, between construction and the packed parking lot. This is a very nice beach! We heard from other folks that the North swell came up the week after we left and there was body surfing going on - none of that for us. The kids were having fun and the adults were limin’. We stayed on the beach until the no-see-ums started to kiss. This was the consensus favorite beach of the week.



Dinner was at Le Lapin. We packed up some goodies for the grill and to share and headed over by 7. Le Lapin is a great house for a party. People naturally spread out. The grill was hot and the food was plentiful. Everyone was cooking their own dinner and sharing some tasty nibbles. Once the kids exhausted themselves they lounged in the living room and watched X-Men 3. Is it me, or are all of the villas getting outfitted with better home entertainment centers than I have at home? The guys were hanging out by the pool drinking and telling stories. My Dad told a story I had never heard about Jaurez, Mom and some ladies of the evening that was hilarious. My Dad’s health is not great, but he stayed late and laughed hard. It was great, just perfect.

Cheers, RickG

Part 1: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=

Part 2: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... light=gang

Part 3: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... light=gang

Part 4: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... light=gang

Rick - lovin' your trip report. That is an AWESOME pic of the jellyfish!!!! Where was that taken? It's beautiful!

nothintolose

Another great report. Can not wait for the rest

High Rick
Great report glad to hear you got to enjoy your father keep up the good work

Thanks for the report and pictures!
I hope some day I will have a big gang on STJ.
How did you convince all of them to go? Did you prepare a list of accomodations and show pictures?

Relaxing with family is not to be beat! I love it when we can all get together!

Sounds like you had some great family time!

sea-nile wrote:Thanks for the report and pictures!
I hope some day I will have a big gang on STJ.
How did you convince all of them to go? Did you prepare a list of accomodations and show pictures?

The tricks that got folks excited were:

1) Lots of notice - August 2004 for a November 2006 trip

2) Enlisting an additional ringleader - My sister committed to getting a second house

3) Pictures and trip reports from other trips - my own and folks from the forum

4) Making a few guiding recommendations on villa agencies and web sites - newbies really do prefer the organization of the caribbeanvilla.com web site

Give it a try. As Jorge said "We'll pray for you."

Cheers, RickG

I love that jellyfish picture!

Rick really didn't need to talk anyone into going.

Our other brother Chris had lived on St Thomas in the early 1990's so he was all for it. I had visted him while in college for 10 days and liked St Thomas (what I remember after the rum), but fell in love with St John. In 1997 (pre kids for my husband and I) we went to St John with Rick and family and our Mom and Dad. At that time Rick's girls were 5 and 6 mos and once again me and the husband fell in love with St John. Rick's oldest daughter is here at my house visiting now and she is 15 yrs old. I can still remember her snorkeling at 5!

So I think we were on Maryland's eastern shore one summer day along with my husband's family (2 sisters and their families and his parents)and Rick mentioned it and we all said "Let's go!!". Our two families get along really well and very much enjoy each others company and are compatable.

The two years notice was helpful for those of us with young families who needed to save and about 1 yr out we all began looking at houses on the web site and by January 2006 we had purchased plane tickets. It was 11 mos before we would leave....the count down then started.

Rick was very smart in saying in a nice way...here's the website I recommend and let me know if you have any questions. My husband's family (I think 10 folks) had to get from Philly to St John and my family of four had to get from Concord, NH to St John and Rick and family and our bro Chris and son along with Granny and Grandaddy had to get from metro DC with 8 folks. Rick made plane reservations for the DC folks but the rest of us got there on our own after Rick answered lots of questions. Some rediciulous some not! We all rented cars from Conrad's and we all were pleased.

I think the questions started after the plane and villa reservations were made. We all started to get really excited and had so many questions for Rick. He was very patient and obviously extremely knowledgeable.

We all got there on our own, got our cars and got to our villas and then Rick and his partner Christine came by to visit us on the first night. No body knew where anyone's villa was. We all met at Francis Bay on the first day. It was beautiful and a great choice as everyone got the lay of the north shore on the way which more or less made them all self sufficient as far as getting around. After that we asked Rick and Christine what beach we should visit the each day. Hawknest was voted the favorite and we went there twice during our stay.

I think the key to traveling with a group that size is to be smart like Rick was...be available for questions, but do not do everthing for every one. Give them the tools they need and be available to answer quesitons when they come. His visitors' guide was very helpful and answered a lot of questions.

I have to say it was the most wonderful trip, but we do have a great family and that helped too!

New England wrote:I think the key to traveling with a group that size is to be smart like Rick was...be available for questions, but do not do everthing for every one. Give them the tools they need and be available to answer quesitons when they come. His visitors' guide was very helpful and answered a lot of questions.

The key to looking smart is to keep people around you who make you look good. Sister New England/Maggie jumped and rented a villa first and kept the momentum going. The approach of having people make their arrangements, in a guided fashion, left the rest of the gang feeling like they were both in control and responsible for themselves. I would do it this way again. Email was a god send, since we had people working all three shifts across the group.

What do you think, Summer 2008? The carnival is July 4, and I haven't done J'Ourvet in a long time!

Cheers, RickG