Back by Popular Demand: Trip Report May 2005

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AnyTing
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Back by Popular Demand: Trip Report May 2005

Post by AnyTing »

I've posted trip reports before this one and since this one, but this one seems to be the one people remember the most. It was a 10 day trip (our longest to St. John) in May 2005 where we took my mother-in-law and where my aunt, uncle, and cousin joined us for one week of the trip. It's where you meet the Blue Bucket, hear about my brush with death when I thought I had touched the dreaded Machineel Tree, when I discovered the Cocoberry Shake which led to an impossible addiction, and the trip on which I saw my first REAL shark. It's long....but entertaining for those of you in need of a "trip report" no matter how old:

Day 1: Friday, May 27 – Travel Day, Cygnus Villa, Rhumb Lines and Morgan’s Mango, and the Blue Bucket

Travel day is the only day you can wake up at 4:30 a.m. and be happy about it. I am so excited I can’t stand it. It’s time to go!

We touch down on STT at 12:45, and have to wait an hour for our Jeep because we were early. No worries. I’ve got my rum punch and I’m checking out all the “interesting” people at the airport. I use that term loosely. Very soon, we are in business and make the drive to Red Hook. When I am on St. Thomas, I start to get discouraged. It’s crowded. It’s hot. It’s loud. It’s got too many buildings (being from Tennessee, I am used to more green and less cement). I am tired and cranky. But as the ferry leaves, and I begin to cross that expanse of sea, I am transported. I move from reality to paradise. The real world melts away in a jumble of heat and noise and my mind begins to clear. I feel the excitement rising up in my belly, and as Cruz Bay comes into view, dotted with white sailboats and colorful buildings and swaying palms, I feel the comfort and ease of the island start to sink into my soul.

We arrive on St. John at 3:30 and our Caribbean Villas agent is right there waiting for us when we get off the ferry. We are whisked away to Cygnus in Chocolate Hole. All I can say about Cygnus is “wow.” I’ll post a villa review. We grab a snack, throw on our suits, and we sink into the luscious coolness of the pool. The irritation of “travel day” is over and the water slowly washes it away.

Later, we head to Rhumb Lines and have some drinks. If you haven’t been, Rhumb Lines is too cute for words – sort of a courtyard filled with palm trees and twinkling lights. Bamboo and torches fill the place. There are benches with colorful pillows and swings at the bar. After drinks, we head over to Morgan’s Mango. Not everyone likes it, but we do. It and Miss Lucy’s are the only restaurants we go to every time we are on St. John. We get Hurricane Marilyns and warm bread. Matt has the jerk chicken and I go out on a limb and get the veggie plate. It is fabulous. A huge salad with lime-cilantro dressing, sautéed vegetables, sweet potato stuffing, black beans, and rice. More than I could eat and I love it all. Jo (mother-in-law) gets the coconut shrimp and says it’s the best she ever had. After dinner, we run into Starfish Market for a few things we couldn’t pack and I pay $10 each for the same Del Monte pineapples that I can buy in Tennessee for $2.99 (but, man were they good! I'd have paid twice that!). We turn in early and I fall asleep to the sounds of the tree frogs, the wind, and the waves…..I can’t believe I am finally back.

What’s the blue bucket you ask? Well, we had my mother-in-law in tow. I won’t go into too much detail, but all of you with a MIL will understand – she believes she should sit up front with my husband whenever we go anywhere and I should sit in back. I am a very nice person, and always accommodate her. Not this time. This was MY vacation. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to get her in and out of the back of the Jeep. Hence, the blue bucket. We had to carry it everywhere we went and use it to launch her up into the back. She would stand up on it and we would have to shove her from behind to get her in.

Does this make me a bad person?

Day 2: Saturday, May 28 – Trunk Bay, Chubby Hibiscus, Maho, Shipwreck Shakes, and Hokey Pokey Duffy’s

Matt sleeps late and I sit in a cushy chair drinking my coffee and watching the waves. My body had finally adjusted to the heat and open air. I’m a big sissy and it always takes me a day or so. Restrictive clothes and shoes had been left behind to be replaced by light, gauzy fabrics and flip-flops. The hair spray is out of my hair and it blows freely in the breeze. The makeup is gone and my skin can breathe. I wake up this first day transformed. I am on island time now.

Today, we establish a routine that sticks for the rest of the trip: late breakfast, then reading and lounging by the pool until about 11:00. Around noon, we pack a lunch and head for Trunk Bay. It’s a non-cruise ship day, so it’s probably a good day to go. I just didn’t want to share my Trunk Bay day with hundreds of yellow vested snorkelers being dropped off round the clock by the taxis. Trunk Bay is very un-crowded. We lounge, we snorkel, we have a great time.

I have to tell you about a guy I decided to nickname “chubby hibiscus.” If anyone reading this was on Trunk Bay this day and had hibiscus shorts on, I am not talking about you. It’s another hibiscus shorts guy. Anyway, on the underwater trail, there is this slightly chubby little guy that has on no fins and can’t seem to swim very well. Yet, here he is waaaaaay out at the end of the cay. He’s flailing around with arms and legs moving all over the place, so I keep trying to move away. But every time I think I’ve broken free, I see his big blue hibiscus covered rear end flailing my way! He was an awful swimmer, but man, he gave it everything he had. If there were an award for most enthusiastic swimmer, he’d win. I finally break free from “chubby hibiscus” and Matt and I see the biggest barracuda I have seen yet. He doesn’t look friendly, so I don’t bother to introduce myself. We head back to the beach for some people-watching. There is “impossibly white girl” who looks like a burn waiting to happen, then there are the “way overdressed” people (with pants,long sleeved shirts, athletic shoes and heavy socks - I get hot just looking at them), and then there is the group of “beer cans in the water people,” who were by far the most entertaining. They had a lot to say and said it loud enough for pretty much the whole beach to hear. They were fun.

After Trunk, we drive to Maho and get out for a look. Jo has never seen Maho. I love Maho; it’s very exotic. Then we make the drive over to Coral Bay for a stop at Shipwreck Landing. Raspberry-Mango daiquiri for me, Pina Colada for Jo, and a Shipwreck Shake for Matt with some coconut mango shrimp. We head back to the villa for some late afternoon R & R.

For dinner tonight we wanted something casual, so we head to Duffy’s Love Shack. We walk in and the best 80’s music is playing. We go upstairs find us a seat. I can’t help it. I love the grass lampshades, bamboo walls, and leopard print seats. This place is hokey, but it’s great. I’ve decided that once you are closer to 40 than 30, your idea of “wild and crazy fun” definitely changes. It just doesn’t take much. We order for our drink menu that doubles as a fan (which the idiot in me loves). Matt has a wacky pineapple – which comes in a pineapple – and I have a lime in dee coconut – which comes in a coconut. Feeling like I am on Gilligan’s Island, and loving my coconut glass (complete with a fuzzy parrot sticking out of the top, which is not tacky in the slightest), we order jerk nachos and I get a mahi sandwich while Matt tries the mahi tacos. Jo gets a chicken sandwich. It’s all good. But hey, anything would be good while listening to the Bangles and B-52s and drinking with a fuzzy parrot….

We get back to the villa and Matt and I swing lazily in the hammock for a while before turning in to sleep. Tomorrow Bill, Susan, and Elizabeth arrive.

Day 3: Sunday, May 29 – Francis, Rumbalaya’s Damn Fine Wings, and Uncle Bill and Family Arrive

We wake up to another beautiful morning. I have to comment, that despite the forecast (the one that we all look at every day for a month before we go even though we tell each other on this board not to pay attention to it) calling for a 60% chance of rain every day we were there, it was blue skies and sunshine every day all day.

What to do today? Jo decides to stay at home today and get a little rest.

Matt and I are antsy pants and can’t stay at the villa for a whole day. Positive that we would miss some spectacular event if we don’t jump in the Jeep and go, we head for Gibney/Oppenheimer. We go there hoping for a little solitude. When we get there, the gate is open and there are people EVERYWHERE. Leave it to us to pick the final destination of the beach-to-beach power swim where they were setting up for an after party! We move on to Francis. We manage to snag a parking space right in front and find a very secluded spot on the beach. After some chips and salsa and a couple of margaritas, we take a swim. Yes, it’s always a good idea to drink and then go for a swim. What can I say? I'm on vacation. Anyway, there are porpoises in the bay and we get to watch them for a while. We also get dive-bombed by a pelican for a while when he decides to fish about 5 feet from our heads! The afternoon is spent sunning and reading and taking an occasional cool dip when we just get too hot.

Because Bill, Susan, and Liz are showing up (somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00), we head back to the house and get cleaned up after a dip in the pool. We hang out at Rumbalaya at Wharfside. We can keep an eye on the incoming ferries from here. We get a nice little table at the water and get some wings and a couple of frozen drinks. I am not a “wing” person, but man, those were some good wings. I was ready to lick the basket when we were done (or was it the 3 drinks I had impairing my sense of good manners?). We head back over to the dock at 7:00 to greet the rest of our group. This is their first time to St. John, so we are really excited to see what they think.

Just as they pull off the ferry, a downpour comes out of nowhere (our only rain for the trip)! We have to run all the way back to Mongoose in the rain, but I have to say, I loved it. We were soaked but laughing. And wouldn’t you know it, about the time we got in the Jeep, it quit! Bill and gang followed us back to the villa and we got them settled in. We put out some cheese and crackers and pineapple and while they unpacked, we threw some mahi-mahi on the grill. We all ate outside on the deck by candlelight.

Day 4: Monday, May 30 – Hawksnest and the Incredible Shrinking Beach, Maho and my little fish buddy, East End Goats in Trees, and Too Many Lobsters

Sunshine again. Really. After breakfast, we took our snorkel gear down to "our" beach for a swim (Chocolate Hole). There was a nice little path in the rock that took us out into the bay. The water was a little rough, but it wasn’t too bad. We swam for a while. Didn’t see anything too great, but the early swim was pretty nice. When we got back up to the house, we went for a swim in the pool and then lounged on the deck in the sun.

We headed to Hawksnest before lunch. It wasn’t too crowded and we found a nice secluded spot up in the shade. We snorkeled the bay for a pretty good while before heading in. Beautiful coral in Hawksnest. Matt and I decided to scramble over the rocks to see little Hawksnest - our favorite beach from our last trip. Matt only made it about halfway before he (and his tender feet) had to turn back. Me, I have Monkey Feet – bottoms like leather and toes that can hang on (sounds pretty, doesn’t it?). Hey, it’s a product of being raised in the south. In summer, shoes are non-existent. So, I kept going. Pretty soon, Bill, Susan, and Liz were behind me. Little Hawksnest is a gorgeous spot. Electric blue water with black rocks dotted along the shore. The softest white sand. We swam a while and then walked back over. We ate lunch and realized the tide was coming in and was removing our beach! It kept getting smaller and smaller. Another few minutes and we’d be in a tree. So, we headed over to Maho because the other end of Hawksnest was getting crowded. Maho was uncrowded and we found a great spot. The water was cool and calm, so we grabbed the masks and snorkels and headed out into the bay. We didn’t take our fins and I really liked it better. I had to swim more, but I felt less encumbered. Freer. Finally, I understood Chubby Hibiscus. He was just being free. Way to go, man. We decided to swim all the way over to the east side of the bay where there were some rocks, to see if there was anything worth looking at.

About this time, Matt and I noticed this tiny little fish (about the size of a quarter) that was staying really close to our masks. We shooed him around for a minute and laughed at how close he stayed (this has meaning later, I am not just a weirdo relaying a boring little fish story; at least not yet). Then we headed over to the rocks. The closer to the east end of the bay we got, the better the view got. The snorkeling was amazing. We went all the way to the end, to an outcropping of rock that heads back in around to little Maho. It was spectacular. Then, we swam back along the rocky shoreline towards the beach. We’d been out for over an hour when Matt told me the little fish was with me the whole time. He said it stayed right beside me no matter where I went. When I swam, it swam right under my belly button and stayed with me. When I stopped, it swam little circles around me. I looked under and sure enough, there he was, right at my side. It was funny. No matter where I went, there he was. We probably swam 1½ hours and he was with me the whole time. I thought this was really “cute” and really “funny” until I realized later that I was simply trailing bait under my belly in barracuda waters…..I was like a human fishing pole…..

We finally had enough and decided to swim back in, me with my little fish buddy in tow. About halfway back, I saw something on the bottom that I thought was a ray. I hovered over it to get a better look. It was a good sized turtle! My first turtle! Yipee! I swam with him for a while until he got tired of me and zoomed off. I looked, and my little fish was still beside me. I hated to get out and leave him, because something probably ate him after I did, but what are you gonna’ do? Fish and humans just can’t live together. Our love wasn’t meant to last.

Everyone lay on the beach for a while until we were good and dry and we decided to drive over to the East End. We drove to Coral Bay and went east. The views were gorgeous as usual. We did see one new thing – a goat in a tree. Go figure.

We got back to the villa at 4:45 and since we had a 6:00 dinner reservation, we got ready in a hurry. Bill and gang decided to stay home, so Matt, Jo, and I headed off to the grand buffet at Caneel. In an open air dining area on the beach, they had a spectacular buffet that included all-you-can-eat grilled lobster. I won’t tell you how many we ate, but it was in the double digits. I know, it’s shameful. But absolutely fabulous. After dinner, we walked (sort of bent over, since we were so full!) up above their beach bar and sat in cushy chairs and enjoyed the breeze and the ocean for a while before heading back to the villa.

Day 5: Tuesday, May 31 – Diving with Nemo, Lunch with the Chickens, and Happy Birthday to Matt!

Matt’s 39th Birthday!

After a leisurely morning, we decided to go diving. It’s important to note that Matt and I learned to dive two weeks ago. I did my open water check-out dives in a nasty rock quarry since we have no oceans in TN. While I am sure some might consider this a “comparable” experience, the fish you see in a rock quarry are not the same – they are all large and brown. And there is a lot of algae. Pretty gross. This would be my first “real” dive. Luckily, Bill, Susan, and Liz are very experienced. The guys went to Cruz Bay Watersports and got equipment and we decided to shore dive from Round Bay. We decided to dive the south side since the north shore was a bit rough. We got our gear on and headed to the east side of the bay. The reef was amazing. The visibility was great and the color and clarity were fantastic. Matt had a blister and dove with only one fin on, hence, he got nicknamed “Nemo” for the day. He did look pretty funny. Whenever I wanted to know where he was, I just looked for his one, sad little yellow Nemo fin.

Despite my visions of how graceful I would be gliding lithely through the water, remaining perfectly streamlined, just like our instructor told us to do, I was a freak. Matt and I were both a little spastic since this was our first dive outside of scuba class. I swear, we were just two big yo-yos, going up and down, up and down, trying to get our buoyancy right. We didn’t seem to get our “stuff” tucked in well either and had crap flying out around us on all sides. So much for lithe and streamlined. But it was good. We saw some great marine life including an eel.

When we got back to shore, we packed up our gear and decided to walk the trail over to the other side before leaving. We were surprised by the amount of trash we saw walking over there, but the bay on the other side was beautiful.

We hadn’t eaten since breakfast and we were starving, so we headed over to Shipwreck Landing for some lunch. The waitress remembered us from a couple of days before and brought some frozen drinks that hit the spot. We had burgers and fries with chickens running around on our feet. Let me tell you, the first time a chicken foot lands on your bare foot, it’s a bit of a shocker. You would think being from TN we would be used to chickens, but we usually don’t let ours in the restaurants. Seriously though, we loved it. The food was fabulous and the chickens added that little “something special.”

Matt got to choose what we did that night (he vetoed my sugar mill ruin dinner idea at Caneel - he said it was too much "Look at me, look at me, it's my birthday"), so we were going to Miss Lucy’s for a more low-key event. First, he and I headed to Baked in the Sun to pick up his cake before heading back to the house. Baked in the Sun smelled fantastic when we walked in (mental note to go back next time) and they gave me a great cake. We drove back to the house and everyone jumped in the pool and then relaxed a bit before cleaning up for dinner.

We drove back over to Coral Bay – which seemed weird to do twice in one day – to Miss Lucy’s. When we got there, they had a table set for us by itself under a big tree with lights strung in the tree. The table sat near the water’s edge and was absolutely perfect. We got cold drinks and conch fritters and had a great meal. Most of us got the Fish Fry – huge chunks of battered wahoo with Miss Lucy’s sides: peas n’ rice, okra cake, plantains, and sweet potato stuffing. We sang a very off key “Happy Birthday” to Matt that I think he could have done without.

After dinner, we made the long drive back and had some birthday cake. Happy Birthday to Matt!

Day 6: Wednesday, June 1 - Captain Clark, Sandy Spit (aka Jo’s Island), MORE LOBSTER, and a daring dingy ride!

Another perfect day. Seriously. The perfect weather was freakish. Sun shining, water sparkling a clear bold blue below the house. Bougainvillea bursting with color all around. Today was our day to sail. We had booked a day sail for our group aboard White Wing with Captain Clark Beam. I must say, Captain Clark is the Mac Daddy of sailboat captains. We’ve done a lot of private day sails and no one has ever given us a day like Captain Clark. He is definitely the best. We’ll never sail with anyone else again. Because someone asked: he sails out of Coral Bay and the BVI trips are $95 pp + customs (about $10 each).

We had to leave early, and drove again to Coral Bay (5th time - apparently we like the drive!). We took the little road beside the fire station and drove down to the Coral Bay “marina.” If you’ve ever seen it, you’ll understand why that word is in quotes. When Captain Clark arrived, we piled into the dinghy and headed for the boat. By the way, getting MIL in and out of the dinghy was a lot like getting her in and out of the Jeep! Except that unlike the pavement, the dinghy bounced up and down. It added an extra element of excitement.

White Wing was a 46 foot sailboat and there was plenty of room for everyone. We headed toward Tortola. We sailed for about an hour. Most of us climbed up and lay on the front deck. Jo sat in the shade and Bill piloted the boat. Captain Clark brought us all cold drinks where we lay scattered about the boat. He's a great host. We arrived at Soper’s Hole in Tortola where Cpt. Clark would check us in through customs. He dropped us off on the boardwalk where we walked around and looked at the colorful shops while he took care of the business end. Goober that I am, while we were there, I managed to drop my camera lens cap into a 3” x ½” hole in the dock that I couldn’t have shoved it in if I had tried. Gone. After about 30 minutes, Cpt. Clark picked us back up and took us back to the boat. Once on board, we headed for Sandy Spit. On the way there, Captain Clark made us sandwiches and got out more cold drinks.

Sandy Spit was just legend to me. I had seen pictures and had read about it. A picture perfect deserted island, with one lone palm tree on the end, soft white sand, and crystal clear waters. It’s the stuff dreams are made of. When I saw it, it was too good to be true. Sandy Spit is a picture perfect spot. When we got there, there was only 1 other boat. He said it was usually really crowded so we were very lucky. Because it is rumored to have great snorkeling, we got our gear out. Cpt. Clark warned us that this area was a frequent spot to see lemon sharks and to keep an eye out. It made it really exciting (Okay, maybe "exciting" isn't the right word; it made me not want to get in the water....) knowing we might see one (we didn’t). The snorkeling was great though. We saw a really big spotted eagle ray, lots of great coral and fish. After about an hour of snorkeling, we swam to the beach. The place was really breathtaking. While we snorkeled, Cpt. Clark motored MIL over to the island. She had a good hour on it by herself. By the time we got there, she said she had renamed it to "Jo's Island" and she wasn't leaving. (I think she just didn't want to try getting back in the dinghy).

We took a walk around and played on the beach for a while. We saw a couple rolling around making out in the sand. I think I could have done without that. I mean, they had sand all over them. Those of you who have ever decided to get "romantic" in the sand will understand this – what they didn’t know yet was that they were going to find sand later in places they never KNEW it could go. Places God never intended for it to go. It’s one of those things that looks great in the movies, but in reality….. Anyway, we look up to see Cpt. Clark motoring over to the beach in the dinghy with cold drinks that everyone drank while cooling off in the water’s edge. Paradise. While we chilled, Cpt. Clark motored MIL back to the sailboat (realizing it was best that she make her dingy to sailboat launch while no one else was on board….).

When we were ready, we loaded back in the dinghy and he took us to another spot, where he said we would look for lobsters. The snorkeling was awesome because this area was super shallow. We swam and looked under ledges for lobster. We saw a big puffer fish, several lobsters, and some neat little fish that were very small and were a dark blue/black with fluorescent purple/blue dots all over them. After a while, we got back in the dinghy and went to another spot. This time, we stopped near some large rocks. Once in the water, the rocks dropped off way down below us. It was staggering. A school of giant tarpon were right below us and the scene below was just phenomenal. We swam along the sheer rock drop offs until it gave way to a seemingly endless stretch of coral, vegetation, and fish. We swam for a long time, during which Captain Clark caught a 4 lb lobster. You go, boy!

Okay, wait, let me retract that. Cpt. Clark said you aren't supposed to catch lobsters, so we weren't really looking for lobsters. And we didn't really catch one. One just happened to jump up in the boat with us. So we had no choice but to eat him. His bad.

When we were finally done, we piled back in the dinghy and went back to the sailboat. Captain Clark asked if we wanted to go to Foxy’s Taboo and the bubbly pool, Sandy Cay, or if we just wanted to sail. We decided to just sail. We headed out to sea.

While we sailed, Captain Clark turned on some Jimmy Buffet, made painkillers, and pulled out bowls of pretzels and snack mix. While we munched and we each tried to pick out all the melba toast pieces before the others got them, he cooked the 4 lb. lobster. Did you know you can eat lobster legs? They are as good as crab legs. He brought out a huge bowl of lobster and a dish of melted butter, olive oil, and salt. It was fantastic.

While we ate, he rigged up his fishing lines. Before long, he had 2 king mackerel and 2 black fin tuna. The fish were a little gross (spoken like a girl), but no one really noticed because at this point we realized we were sailing so far from St. John, we were really all paying more attention to the size of the waves and fact that there was no longer any visible land! The waves were pretty big (4-6 foot swells that felt like 10) and it was getting a little rough. No fear, though, Cpt. Clark had it all under control and we soon turned back toward Coral Bay.

We pulled back into Coral Bay at 8 pm. We had been out for 11 hours. Captain Clark pulled the dinghy around and as he did, a small shark grabbed his mackerel which was dragging beside the dingy! We talked him into holding it in the water for a while so we could see the shark some more. It was cool, at least until we realized we had to get in the dinghy! Talk about some people getting into a boat carefully! He told us not to step on the bottom ladder rung - and he was serious! Talk about a nervous MIL! (blue bucket, where are you?).

We made it back to the dock in one piece, in the dark, and when we got to the dock, we saw several more small sharks swimming around. Very cool. Just don’t misstep getting in or out of the boat…..

Captain Clark gave us a large tuna to take with us and we headed back to the villa. Since it was so late we decided to grill up our tuna and eat at the villa. We threw on some steaks, our tuna, and heated up some bread, grilled some pineapple, and heated up some peas and rice. Another great day came to a close.

Day 7: Thursday, June 2 – Another Dive, Discovery of The Cocoberry Shake, and Morgan’s Mango

The sun was shining again when we woke up. Not sure what we wanted to do today. We lay around for a while – in the pool, on the hammock, just relaxing. A little before noon, Bill and Matt decided to go for another dive. Susan and I were game, so we loaded up in the Jeeps with water and towels and headed to town. Liz and Jo stayed at the house to relax.

Cruz Bay Watersports was out of tanks so we headed over to Low Key. I got to watch the Low Key “shop dog” chase a water bottle in the ocean while they loaded up our stuff. That’s a great dog. We went to the same spot at Round Bay. We were getting our stuff ready to get in. Matt, Bill, and I were up on shore, and Susan was about 10 feet into the water. All of a sudden a 3 foot shark just, polite as can be, swam about a foot in front of her and went on about it’s way. Needless to say, she was freaked out. She came shooting out of the water going, “Shark, shark,” so we ran over and watched it swim leisurely across the bay and out of sight. It was just a nurse shark, though. We headed in and the visibility wasn’t quite as good. But Matt and I were a lot more comfortable and it was a good dive. We went out about as far as we could and still get Matt back with some air. This time Nemo had 2 fins.

We decided to head back and go on into Cruz Bay to drop off the tanks. It was already almost 3:00, so we decided to snack instead of stop for lunch. Matt and I downed a whole box of Cheese-Its on the way to Cruz Bay. Tip: an entire box of Tabasco Cheeze-Its on an empty stomach is never a good thing. We stopped at Low Key and while Matt and Bill dropped everything off, Susan and I discovered the Cocoberry Shake at the Paradise Café in Wharfside Village. Oh-my-Goodness (we would end up getting one every day for the rest of the trip). We grabbed one for everybody and headed back to the house.

After a nice swim and a nap, we all cleaned up and headed to town. We parked in Cruz Bay and walked through Every Ting and Wharfside Village, one of my favorite stores. We hit St. John Spice (my very favorite store) and Matt and I stocked up on exotic spices, coconut coffee, and hot sauces. Try the Trinidad Charlie – it’s awesome. While we were in Wharfside, Matt got another Cocoberry shake. I’m telling you, these things are good.

Jo really wanted to eat at Morgan’s Mango again, and since the others hadn’t been there before, we headed that way. Even though they had a huge wedding party, they seated us in about 5 minutes. We got water and drinks and the waitress brought us a basket of bread. Matt got voodoo snapper and I had the coconut shrimp with mango sauce and our meals were great. I ate everything on my plate, including the garnish. It was that good. After dinner, we headed back to the villa for a good nights sleep.

Day 8: Friday, June 3 – Trunk Bay Redo, Drunks can’t have straws, Long Hair and Velcro don’t Mix, the Death Tree, Annaberg, and Fried Pickles

We couldn’t believe it. The sun was shining again. Today we decided to go to Trunk Bay because it was a non-cruise ship day and Bill, Susan, and Liz had to see Trunk Bay. We headed out a little early and were at the beach by about 10:00. There weren’t many people on it and we found a great spot in the shade.

We lounged in the sun for a while and then hit the snack shop for Pina Coladas. It's never too early for a drink when you are on vacation (hey, at least I had left my "Dude, where's the bar?" t-shirt at home and wasn't wearing my double beer can hat ...just kidding). Curious thing: they can’t give you a straw. She gave me spoons instead. ?? Are they afraid you might get drunk and fall down and poke your eye out with your straw? (actually, with me, that was a very real possibility....) Anyway, I found it very interesting. Back at the water’s edge, I turned on my island music on my MP3 player and listened to the fun songs with my pina colada in hand and the sound of the waves in the background. This is the life.

After plenty of down time, we snorkeled around the cay. It was really sunny and clear. We saw some great fish including a couple of huge tarpon, a bright yellow and black striped fish, a porcupine fish, a queen angel fish, and some trumpet fish. I did sort of miss Chubby Hibiscus. It wasn’t the same without him. Cute little fella.

When we got out, I realized that my fabulous new soft mask strap had ensnared my hair in Velcro. Matt not-so-delicately wrenched my hair out of the Velcro leaving me with a big, weird, ball of hair on the side of my head about the size of my fist. Ladies, never let your husband rescue your hair. Find another woman to do it. Men don't understand girl hair.

We rinsed off at the showers and lay in the sun to dry. Once everyone was good and dry (and hungry), we headed up to the picnic pavilion for our lunch. While we got out the chips and salsa and wraps, Matt and Bill found some coconuts that were laying around. Men that they are, they could not just leave them alone - they had to try and get into them. They were completely unsuccessful, but it was fun to watch. Men, you cannot, I repeat cannot open a coconut by brute strength alone. However, your wives will really enjoy watching you try. I hoped Bill, Susan and Liz would see some mongooses, but none showed up no matter how yummy we made our lunch sound.

After lunch, we loaded up in the Jeeps and headed over to Annaberg. On the way there, I saw the sign for the “Machineel Tree” – those of you who have seen it know the one. I tried to get my husband to slow down so I could finally see this tree (I remembered the sign from previous trips and someone had posted about an experience touching one recently). He didn’t slow down enough for me to see the tree the sign was actually posted on, so I looked at the ones near it as we passed, assuming there were more. I saw little trees with very heart shaped leaves and little black balls on them. I just assumed they were the Machineel Tree. Oh-my-goodness. That was what the tree we had hung all our stuff on at Trunk Bay looked like! (In case you can't figure it out, I was about to have an irrational crazy-woman moment).

I started to feel itchy. And sick. I was going to die. I had hung my towel and my hat on that tree. Oh no, the hat was near my eye. I was going to go blind. We all needed to rush to a hospital. I saw what I was sure was a rash on my leg. Was that a bump? We were doomed. After about 30 seconds, my husband looped around for a second look to assure me. “They would not have a poison tree sitting on Trunk Bay,” he said. Maybe they had missed one. Maybe they didn’t know. We needed to call the park service. Others could die. Then I saw it. In the middle of the heart trees, was the real Machineel Tree. Didn’t look a thing like the one I put my stuff on. I can be such a dork.

We saw several mongooses as we walked the scenic loop around Annaberg. Yay! It was so freaking hot, though, I thought we would die before we got done. But, I was just so happy that I wasn’t infected by the death tree, that life seemed wonderful at that moment. Before we melted, we got back to the Jeeps and headed for the villa. On the way back, we stopped and got another round of Cocoberry Shakes. We had a hopeless addiction at this point. I am thinking of starting a support group. 12 step program to get off Cocoberry Shakes.

After a long swim to cool off, we napped for a bit and then headed to Pastory Gardens for dinner. We’d never been and weren’t sure what to expect. When we got there, there was a goat herd in the parking lot. Hmmmm. The restaurant was great, though. It sat high on a hill overlooking town, the sea, and St. Thomas. The view was fantastic and the breeze was wonderful. Great menu, super drinks, and the food was yummy. They had one drink called a peanut-butter bushwacher. Man, that was good. So were the fried pickles. We wanted to try the putt-putt, but we were all pretty tired and headed on back. Oh well, you always need to save something for the next trip.

Day 9: Saturday, June 4 – Waterlemon, SHARK, my first Drive on St. John, Girl Day, and the Lime Inn

I had wanted to go on over to Waterlemon after Annaberg the day before, but it was just so hot by the time we were done, we just coulnd’t do it. Besides, I was pretty wiped out emotionally after my near-brush with death. And, we had to get Cocoberry shakes. Without a fix, we might have started convulsing or something.

So, we got up early Saturday to go on over to Waterlemon. Only Bill wanted to go with us, everyone else was ready for a rest. We grabbed our gear and headed for the Annaberg lot. We walked along the trail to the cay. It’s a pleasant enough walk, and I have done it in flip-flops every time, so don’t feel like you need some special trekking shoes or anything.

When we got there, the 3 of us jumped in. We immediately saw large starfish and rays. We started toward the east side of the cay when something on the bottom caught my eye. It was a turtle with 3 rasps attached. Wow. He was so great. I swam close to him and he didn’t seem to mind me at all. I got to follow him for a good 10 – 15 minutes or so before I turned and headed back in the right direction. That was the best!

For anyone who hasn’t been, Waterlemon is the Disneyworld of snorkeling. There is just so much to see. It’s just brimming with life and color. It is literally breathtaking. We stayed out a very long time and made our way slowly around. We saw everything. It was wonderful. Once I got back around the other side, heading toward shore, I noticed Matt and Bill were still dawdling a good distance behind me. I was to the area where there is nothing left but sand, and it wasn’t very interesting. I watched for turtles for a bit (being the experienced turtle-spotter that I now was), but not seeing any, I decided to go on in. I was about 25 feet from shore, in fairly shallow water, when a big fish to my left heading toward me caught my eye. I turned to look, expecting the usual tarpon or barracuda, and it was a shark. A real shark. No nurse shark this time. He was silver and fat and heading my way. He was probably about 4 feet long – not huge, but no baby either.

I was stunned. I have never in my life experienced anything quite so shocking. I watched it go by me. It passed in front of me, about 2 feet away. And it had absolutely no interest in me whatsoever. Once it passed I came to life and literally walked on water. I made the least graceful exit that has ever existed, gasping for breath, and stumbling out over the rocks to discover a calm group of people sitting there watching me. I calmly said, “there’s a freaking shark in there” and kept walking. None of them spoke and they gave each other a raised eyebrow look that said, “Weirdo…..” like I was blind or something. Once my feet were on land, and I felt safe, I wanted everyone else to see it too! I climbed up on a rock out in the water and tried to find it so I could point it out to Matt and Bill, but it had just moved on. Wow. It was just…...wow.

FYI - It really sucks seeing something like that when you are alone. You always wonder if anyone believes you. And I had used my last picture on the turtle. Oh well, I had my moment. (Besides, I really don't think I would have drawn attention to myself with a flash....).

We got back to the villa around 12:00 and had some lunch. Then the guys laid back and the girls headed out to shop. There were 4 women: me, Jo (MIL), my aunt Susan, and my young (age 23) cousin Liz. No one wanted to drive. I was the only one even close to being capable of driving, but in all my island trips, I had never driven. That was always Matt’s job. But I knew I could do it.

And so, Girl Day commenced with an island CD being popped in the Jeep and me climbing fearlessly behind the wheel. I decided to drive Jo back along the North Shore road so she could take pictures to her hearts content. Since she had been in the back of the Jeep the whole time, and it was so hard to get her in and out, she hadn’t really taken any good scenic shots (see, I do have a heart). Surprisingly, the driving was no problem. I actually enjoyed it. (In reality, I was probably going about 5 mph and driving along the middle of the road....)

After the scenic drive, complete with all the stops, to Maho and back, we stopped at Mongoose to shop. Once we had seen all there was to see, we went on down to the other end of Cruz Bay to visit the Pink Papaya, then over to Every Ting, then back through Wharfside. Once we were in Wharfside we had to stop and get, you got it, Cocoberry shakes. After that, we wandered over to the ferry dock and park where vendors were set up and several steel drum bands were playing. Finally, all shopped out, we headed back to the villa.

Dinner tonight would be at the Lime Inn. I had a bowl of gazpacho (it’s great!) and spicy steamed shrimp and Matt got the shrimp Dijon. (mine was better.) Everyone had a great dinner and we headed back to the villa for our last night. We polished off the last of the birthday cake (which we had eaten every night since Tuesday – man it was good!) and headed off to bed.

Day 10: Sunday, June 5 – Travel Day

I hate travel day. I start thinking about work on travel day, and housecleaning, and getting the mail. We loaded up the Jeep and headed to return the villa keys. After that, we made a couple of last minute shopping stops, then it was on to the ferry. We pulled out our trusty little round trip ticket for the Republic barge and noticed that it didn’t run on Sunday. We felt REALLY stupid. We had to buy a one-way ticket from Boyson. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Oh well. Live and learn. We had about a 30 minute wait, so I walked over to Mongoose to Deli Grotto to get sandwiches for later, to save me from having to eat at the airport. I have never been to Deli Grotto and as soon as I walked in, I realized I had made a mistake. I should have come in sooner! Awesome bakery, great sandwiches. I got 3 big turkey and cheddar sandwiches and drinks and headed back to the ferry. While I was there, Matt had gone over to Paradise Cafe and got 3 final Cocoberry Shakes.

The ride back was uneventful and before I knew it, we were at the airport and it was all over. We ate our sandwiches as we waited to board and pretty soon, we were lifting off. I watched St. Thomas disappear in the distance.

No worries. I’ll be back soon.
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liamsaunt
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Post by liamsaunt »

What a great report! I must have missed it last year--maybe you posted it when we were on island (June 1-18).

I laughed out loud at your goat in the tree, the blue bucket (Man, you are braver than me! If I tried to take on my MIL she'd probably deck me), and especially the tree of death. Thanks for reposting this report.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
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Jan&MikeVa
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Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:32 pm
Location: The Chesapeake Bay

Post by Jan&MikeVa »

Thank you for posting your trip report again. I enjoyed reading it last year, and I REALLY enjoyed reading it again. YES, I just sat here and read it all over again.

Great writing, you have a WONDERFUL sense of humor! I do have one question though, how old is your mother-in-law?? They come in such a variety of ages, and I keep picturing her as frail and in her 80's.....but that's too old I think. Whoops, I'm thinking of my OWN mother-in-law.

Thanks again, sounds like a great time!

Jan (aka Charlie)
AnyTing
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Post by AnyTing »

My MIL (Jo) is 67. The issue with getting in the back of the Jeep was one of size.....not frailty..... :lol:
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Jan&MikeVa
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Location: The Chesapeake Bay

Post by Jan&MikeVa »

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Diane
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Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:42 pm
Location: Overland Park, KS

Post by Diane »

Very, very funny! (I think we saw Chubby Hibiscus in July). Anxiously awaiting your trip report when you return this year.
Diane
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FlaSteph
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Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 1:18 pm
Location: West Coast, FL

Post by FlaSteph »

What a great trip report! I must have missed it last year... we were on island last May and also enjoyed Rhumblines and agree with you that Morgan Mango's was excellent...we were there with a small wedding party and everyone was wonderful! I am sure we must have crossed paths at one time or another! We are going back next May and I cannot wait to try Waterlemon, as we have not snorkeled there...I am a newbie diver also, so I really got lots of laughs over your diving experiences...like my husband said, he saw me go Up and he saw me go Down and he saw me go Up....you get the picture....the buoyancy thing! Hopefully I will have mastered that for the next trip! Thanks for bringing back your report for those of us that missed it the first time!! 8) :lol:
Coden
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Post by Coden »

That was an Awesome report and I was cracking up!! I was depressed on Travel Day too!!! :)
Coden
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