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Trip Report October 17 to 24
Trip Report October 17 to 24
Friday October 17 to Friday the 24th
Some background: this was my 5th trip and my husbands 4th trip. We got married on Trunk Bay in 2003. This was our first trip since 2006. We have 2.5 year old twin boys that stayed back home with my in laws.
Friday the 17th
We are from Central NJ and usually fly out of Newark but we couldn't get a non stop flight so we flew out of JFK for the first time.
835 am flight took off within minutes of 835am. Easy flight down, landed a few minutes early. I met Casey from Amalie at the curb while Brian went to grab our 1 checked bag. Casey and I took a quick ride over to the parking area of a close hotel. Quick look around the copper colored Jeep Wranger, signed the papers and I was off to go grab Brian. Headed straight to Red Hook went to the car barge area hoping to catch the 2pm ferry, it was 143pm when we pulled onto the barge. At 1:45 we pulled away! Score, earlier than planned! This was our first time renting a car in St Thomas and we will definitely do it from now on.
We went straight to the Westin and had a super smooth and friendly check in and we were in our room and unpacking at 2:30pm! I think that was a record for us, so early to be settled in!
This was our first stay at the Westin and I'll be honest, we only stayed there because it was virtually free with American Express Rewards. I wasn't expecting much, the reviews are truly "love it or hate it" .... all over the place. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised! We didn't eat there at all or use the beach. The only time I even went to the beach was to take sunset pictures 2 nights. The pool is gorgeous but the water was a bit warm for my taste, I only went in for about 5 minutes one afternoon and my husband didn't go in the pool at all.
So, after a quick unpack we headed into town to our favorite place, The Beach Bar. Ordered up Tuna Down Now and nachos. Yum, just as we remembered them. We walked around town and decided on High Tide for dinner. We got 2 apps and 2 salad and I had 2 drinks. The meal was just "eh" and it was $70.
Saturday
We went to Cruz Bay Landing, first time there and loved it! Great location, food and service. Hubby had the crab cake eggs Benedict and I had the California omelet. Then we headed over to Sam and Jacks deli for some sandwiches. I had the Uncle Peep and Brian had the roast beef sandwich that I can't remember the name of. We headed to Trunk as we always do on our first morning. Whoa, waves! We went all the way left to our wedding spot and rode waves. After a while we headed to Francis. Lots of action there with fishing jumping and the Pelicans dive bombing the water. The clarity was pretty crappy for snorkeling but we managed to see a ray and a tarpon right in the surf.
Dinner that night was Joe's Rum Hut. I got the fish tacos that were really good. I can't remember what Brian ate but overall we liked it and for about the same amount of food the bill was less than the $70 bill at High Tide.
Sunday
Full day of fishing for us. I almost didn't go because we also had a half day scheduled for Tuesday and I really only wanted to fish once. We fished on World Class. We have fished with them several times before, but with 2 previous owners. The mate and Captain convinced me to go along because the weather was going to be perfect so we were headed towards Puerto Rico.
We stopped at Cruz Bay Landing and got the same exact breakfast and we did the day before, but got it to go. We headed out and after about 45 minutes we started fishing. I insisted that my husband take the first fish, he insisted that I take it. I finally agreed and it was a lousy barracuda. Next fish up was a Wahoo for my husband. Next fish up was for me and it was a big one. We get it close to the boat and he captain announces "it's a sailfish!!" Whoa!! I have fished a lot and in many places in my life and I was not expecting to catch a sailfish in the Virgin Islands!! I got it in and Adam (the mate) carefully got him in the boat for a quick photo op and back in it went. We ended up only catching 2 more small fish.
We went back to the room, exhausted. I ran into town based on recommendations from the captain and mate I grabbed to-go pizza from Cafe Roma. It really was good!!
Monday
I went to The ACC to walk some dogs while my husband stayed back at the hotel. What a great experience. I am a very emotional person generally, but when it comes to animals I can really be bad. As soon as I walked downstairs where the kennels are I totally lost it. It just breaks my heart that so many of those dogs have been there for a long time. I got it together and went upstairs to the office to sign the liability paperwork. I was telling Ryan how our beloved black lab died back in July and that I sent a package of his things to them. Ryan then points to the wall to Elias' picture that I had included in the package. Tears and more tears. I didn't expect that and it hit me so hard. I am tearing up as I type this. I got it together again and walked 2 dogs (separately) with Sherry and another volunteer.
I then went to Baked in the Sun and grabbed us breakfast wraps. Picked up my husband and we headed to Maho. The clarity wasn't great but I got to finally see a few turtles, but darn it, I forgot the underwater camera back in the hotel safe. It was generally overcast and rained for a while there. We then headed for a drive all the way to East End (first time driving further than Skinny Legs). So glad we did, it's so beautiful. We stopped for a quick snorkel at Haulover. Then we had lunch at Skinny Legs. The burgers were better than we both remembered. We grabbed a few tshirts for our boys and my husband.
At our captains suggestion we took some of the wahoo to Fatty Crab and they agreed to cook it for us. The fish, along with their other food was amazing!!! We both loved it.
We drove over to Mongoose Junction and had ice cream at Scoops, yum!
Tuesday
I dropped Brian off at Cruz Bay Landing to get his 3rd serving of the week of Crab Cake Bennies and he walked over to the dock to catch the half day fishing charter. I ran over to Baked in the Sun for another veggie scramble wrap. I then went right next door to Kilroys dry cleaning. The beach towels I had brought from home got soaked from the rain out on our balcony at the Westin and I had no way to dry them. They told me to come back around 1. I hiked down to Saloman, first time at this beach. I had the whole place to myself for just over an hour. Gorgeous, small, beach.
I picked Brian up and we went to Sam and Jacks again. That place, and the owners are great. This time we tried the Wolf and the pastrami and Swiss. Both were fantastic, I don't think you can go wrong here. We stopped at Kilroys to pick up the towels, they only charged me $5 to dry them.
We went back out to Maho, no luck spotting any turtles but it was a beautiful afternoon.
Dinner was at Cruz Bay Landing. Then my husband suggest we go up to the Cruz bay overlook to look down at Cruz Bay for a night time view. So we went up and laid on our backs on the wall for about a half hour talking and looking up at the stars. We are always amazed at how close and clear the stars are in St John.
Wednesday
We drove out to Salt Pond to do the Ram Head hike. We were going to snorkel Salt Pond after the hike, but didn't want to leave al of our beach things on the beach while we hiked so we left it back in the car. The hike was amazing. Just amazing. The weather was perfect that day and the views from the top are just spectacular!!! I have wanted to do that hike for a very long time. My husband wasn't that interested in doing it but was so happy that he did. It wasn't easy, but it was reasonable. Unfortunately, the hike back up to the car from Salt Pond was the worse part!! By the time we got to the jeep we just didn't have it in is to go back down to the beach. We were so beat and sweaty. So, back to Sam and Jacks we went. Husband got the Wolf again and I got Uncle Peep again. We went to Oppenheimer just because I had never been there and wanted to see the rope swing. We walked down, took a few pics and went back up and headed over to Hawksnest. We didn't bother snorkeling but it was the most beautiful afternoon we had. Tons of sun, water was calm and so clear.
We had 530 pm reservations at Asolare that night, our first time there. What a spectacular sunset view there. After eating mostly fish all week we (especially Brian) were looking forward to having filet mignon. To our disappointment they were out of it because they didn't get the delivery that they expected. We ended up choosing the corvina and the seared tuna, both delicious.
Thursday
Last full day
Jakes for breakfast. It was good, preferred their home fries over Cruz Bay Landing but overall preferred Cruz Bay Landing.
We went back to Trunk, did some snorkeling and reading. Beautiful day there, much calmer than our first morning there.
Drove out to the Tourist Trap for lunch. What a fun little place. We got talking to an older couple sitting at the table next to us. I asked where they were from. They said "NJ ". We said " us too!" They said where and we said "Ewing". The looks on their faces were priceless as they said "we live in Ewing too!" Turns out these people live 1 mile from us back home!! Incredible.
Back to Francis with under water camera hoping it cleared up. So much better, we saw a few sea turtles and several Rays. I was able to get some pretty good pictures. Another beautiful weather afternoon.
We couldn't decide where to have dinner this night. We had some Mahi from my husbands second fishing trip. We decided we were all fished out and wanted some meat. We stopped at Lime Inn and realized they were only open with their bar menu. Walked past La Tapa and nothing on their menu jumped out at us. Then I suggested we go look at Waterfront Bistros menu. We both agreed that it looked good so we went in. Lovely place!! We loved the atmosphere in there and loved that it was a a nicer place right on the water, nicer than Joes and the Beach Bar. Food and service were great, very nice and friendly waiter.
Friday
Left hotel at 9. Dropped off the snorkel
And mask we had to rent from Low Key, stopped at the ATM and got breakfast wraps again from Baked in the Sun. Got on the barge at 945am. It pulled away promptly at 10. Stopped for gas, took a few wrong turns and got to the air port around 1115am. It was deserted. Breezed through security and I am thing this on the plane that took off exactly on time at 135pm.
What a fabulous trip! This was the first trip we have taken in a long time alone, we usually vacation with friends. I'm so glad we did! With 2.5 year old twins, me working full time, and my husband running own landscape business we certainly needed and enjoyed the time together.
Although the Westin suited our needs I don't think I would ever pay to stay there. Eating out all meals got old. We did stop at St John market for some drinks and snacks to keep in the room. We prefer staying in a villa and having the option to eat in or go out.
All week we kept talking about our next trip there, with the kids. We decided that the earliest it will be is summer of 2017 when they will be 5.5 years old.
Some background: this was my 5th trip and my husbands 4th trip. We got married on Trunk Bay in 2003. This was our first trip since 2006. We have 2.5 year old twin boys that stayed back home with my in laws.
Friday the 17th
We are from Central NJ and usually fly out of Newark but we couldn't get a non stop flight so we flew out of JFK for the first time.
835 am flight took off within minutes of 835am. Easy flight down, landed a few minutes early. I met Casey from Amalie at the curb while Brian went to grab our 1 checked bag. Casey and I took a quick ride over to the parking area of a close hotel. Quick look around the copper colored Jeep Wranger, signed the papers and I was off to go grab Brian. Headed straight to Red Hook went to the car barge area hoping to catch the 2pm ferry, it was 143pm when we pulled onto the barge. At 1:45 we pulled away! Score, earlier than planned! This was our first time renting a car in St Thomas and we will definitely do it from now on.
We went straight to the Westin and had a super smooth and friendly check in and we were in our room and unpacking at 2:30pm! I think that was a record for us, so early to be settled in!
This was our first stay at the Westin and I'll be honest, we only stayed there because it was virtually free with American Express Rewards. I wasn't expecting much, the reviews are truly "love it or hate it" .... all over the place. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised! We didn't eat there at all or use the beach. The only time I even went to the beach was to take sunset pictures 2 nights. The pool is gorgeous but the water was a bit warm for my taste, I only went in for about 5 minutes one afternoon and my husband didn't go in the pool at all.
So, after a quick unpack we headed into town to our favorite place, The Beach Bar. Ordered up Tuna Down Now and nachos. Yum, just as we remembered them. We walked around town and decided on High Tide for dinner. We got 2 apps and 2 salad and I had 2 drinks. The meal was just "eh" and it was $70.
Saturday
We went to Cruz Bay Landing, first time there and loved it! Great location, food and service. Hubby had the crab cake eggs Benedict and I had the California omelet. Then we headed over to Sam and Jacks deli for some sandwiches. I had the Uncle Peep and Brian had the roast beef sandwich that I can't remember the name of. We headed to Trunk as we always do on our first morning. Whoa, waves! We went all the way left to our wedding spot and rode waves. After a while we headed to Francis. Lots of action there with fishing jumping and the Pelicans dive bombing the water. The clarity was pretty crappy for snorkeling but we managed to see a ray and a tarpon right in the surf.
Dinner that night was Joe's Rum Hut. I got the fish tacos that were really good. I can't remember what Brian ate but overall we liked it and for about the same amount of food the bill was less than the $70 bill at High Tide.
Sunday
Full day of fishing for us. I almost didn't go because we also had a half day scheduled for Tuesday and I really only wanted to fish once. We fished on World Class. We have fished with them several times before, but with 2 previous owners. The mate and Captain convinced me to go along because the weather was going to be perfect so we were headed towards Puerto Rico.
We stopped at Cruz Bay Landing and got the same exact breakfast and we did the day before, but got it to go. We headed out and after about 45 minutes we started fishing. I insisted that my husband take the first fish, he insisted that I take it. I finally agreed and it was a lousy barracuda. Next fish up was a Wahoo for my husband. Next fish up was for me and it was a big one. We get it close to the boat and he captain announces "it's a sailfish!!" Whoa!! I have fished a lot and in many places in my life and I was not expecting to catch a sailfish in the Virgin Islands!! I got it in and Adam (the mate) carefully got him in the boat for a quick photo op and back in it went. We ended up only catching 2 more small fish.
We went back to the room, exhausted. I ran into town based on recommendations from the captain and mate I grabbed to-go pizza from Cafe Roma. It really was good!!
Monday
I went to The ACC to walk some dogs while my husband stayed back at the hotel. What a great experience. I am a very emotional person generally, but when it comes to animals I can really be bad. As soon as I walked downstairs where the kennels are I totally lost it. It just breaks my heart that so many of those dogs have been there for a long time. I got it together and went upstairs to the office to sign the liability paperwork. I was telling Ryan how our beloved black lab died back in July and that I sent a package of his things to them. Ryan then points to the wall to Elias' picture that I had included in the package. Tears and more tears. I didn't expect that and it hit me so hard. I am tearing up as I type this. I got it together again and walked 2 dogs (separately) with Sherry and another volunteer.
I then went to Baked in the Sun and grabbed us breakfast wraps. Picked up my husband and we headed to Maho. The clarity wasn't great but I got to finally see a few turtles, but darn it, I forgot the underwater camera back in the hotel safe. It was generally overcast and rained for a while there. We then headed for a drive all the way to East End (first time driving further than Skinny Legs). So glad we did, it's so beautiful. We stopped for a quick snorkel at Haulover. Then we had lunch at Skinny Legs. The burgers were better than we both remembered. We grabbed a few tshirts for our boys and my husband.
At our captains suggestion we took some of the wahoo to Fatty Crab and they agreed to cook it for us. The fish, along with their other food was amazing!!! We both loved it.
We drove over to Mongoose Junction and had ice cream at Scoops, yum!
Tuesday
I dropped Brian off at Cruz Bay Landing to get his 3rd serving of the week of Crab Cake Bennies and he walked over to the dock to catch the half day fishing charter. I ran over to Baked in the Sun for another veggie scramble wrap. I then went right next door to Kilroys dry cleaning. The beach towels I had brought from home got soaked from the rain out on our balcony at the Westin and I had no way to dry them. They told me to come back around 1. I hiked down to Saloman, first time at this beach. I had the whole place to myself for just over an hour. Gorgeous, small, beach.
I picked Brian up and we went to Sam and Jacks again. That place, and the owners are great. This time we tried the Wolf and the pastrami and Swiss. Both were fantastic, I don't think you can go wrong here. We stopped at Kilroys to pick up the towels, they only charged me $5 to dry them.
We went back out to Maho, no luck spotting any turtles but it was a beautiful afternoon.
Dinner was at Cruz Bay Landing. Then my husband suggest we go up to the Cruz bay overlook to look down at Cruz Bay for a night time view. So we went up and laid on our backs on the wall for about a half hour talking and looking up at the stars. We are always amazed at how close and clear the stars are in St John.
Wednesday
We drove out to Salt Pond to do the Ram Head hike. We were going to snorkel Salt Pond after the hike, but didn't want to leave al of our beach things on the beach while we hiked so we left it back in the car. The hike was amazing. Just amazing. The weather was perfect that day and the views from the top are just spectacular!!! I have wanted to do that hike for a very long time. My husband wasn't that interested in doing it but was so happy that he did. It wasn't easy, but it was reasonable. Unfortunately, the hike back up to the car from Salt Pond was the worse part!! By the time we got to the jeep we just didn't have it in is to go back down to the beach. We were so beat and sweaty. So, back to Sam and Jacks we went. Husband got the Wolf again and I got Uncle Peep again. We went to Oppenheimer just because I had never been there and wanted to see the rope swing. We walked down, took a few pics and went back up and headed over to Hawksnest. We didn't bother snorkeling but it was the most beautiful afternoon we had. Tons of sun, water was calm and so clear.
We had 530 pm reservations at Asolare that night, our first time there. What a spectacular sunset view there. After eating mostly fish all week we (especially Brian) were looking forward to having filet mignon. To our disappointment they were out of it because they didn't get the delivery that they expected. We ended up choosing the corvina and the seared tuna, both delicious.
Thursday
Last full day
Jakes for breakfast. It was good, preferred their home fries over Cruz Bay Landing but overall preferred Cruz Bay Landing.
We went back to Trunk, did some snorkeling and reading. Beautiful day there, much calmer than our first morning there.
Drove out to the Tourist Trap for lunch. What a fun little place. We got talking to an older couple sitting at the table next to us. I asked where they were from. They said "NJ ". We said " us too!" They said where and we said "Ewing". The looks on their faces were priceless as they said "we live in Ewing too!" Turns out these people live 1 mile from us back home!! Incredible.
Back to Francis with under water camera hoping it cleared up. So much better, we saw a few sea turtles and several Rays. I was able to get some pretty good pictures. Another beautiful weather afternoon.
We couldn't decide where to have dinner this night. We had some Mahi from my husbands second fishing trip. We decided we were all fished out and wanted some meat. We stopped at Lime Inn and realized they were only open with their bar menu. Walked past La Tapa and nothing on their menu jumped out at us. Then I suggested we go look at Waterfront Bistros menu. We both agreed that it looked good so we went in. Lovely place!! We loved the atmosphere in there and loved that it was a a nicer place right on the water, nicer than Joes and the Beach Bar. Food and service were great, very nice and friendly waiter.
Friday
Left hotel at 9. Dropped off the snorkel
And mask we had to rent from Low Key, stopped at the ATM and got breakfast wraps again from Baked in the Sun. Got on the barge at 945am. It pulled away promptly at 10. Stopped for gas, took a few wrong turns and got to the air port around 1115am. It was deserted. Breezed through security and I am thing this on the plane that took off exactly on time at 135pm.
What a fabulous trip! This was the first trip we have taken in a long time alone, we usually vacation with friends. I'm so glad we did! With 2.5 year old twins, me working full time, and my husband running own landscape business we certainly needed and enjoyed the time together.
Although the Westin suited our needs I don't think I would ever pay to stay there. Eating out all meals got old. We did stop at St John market for some drinks and snacks to keep in the room. We prefer staying in a villa and having the option to eat in or go out.
All week we kept talking about our next trip there, with the kids. We decided that the earliest it will be is summer of 2017 when they will be 5.5 years old.
Re: Trip Report October 17 to 24
SamanthaL, Thank-You for getting a trip report out so soon! I enjoyed reading it so much that I read it twice and took a few notes!! So glad that you and your Husband enjoyed yourselves without your children. Knowing that you missed them but it always is nice to spend time alone and where else would be as beautiful as St. John!
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Re: Trip Report October 17 to 24
Samantha,
I really enjoyed your trip report. My countdown is on so reading reports like yours just makes me more anxious to be there! My husband and I have always vacationed on STJ with friends and/or family. We have stayed at the Westin several times but always in a villa, never in just the hotel rooms. I always thought the Westin would be a great place to stay with young children although as you said eating out for all meals gets old (and expensive). The Westin has some very nice villas available with full kitchens and if you look on Redweek.com, for example, the rates are much cheaper than thru the Westin. Thanks you again for taking the time to write a trip report. Now it's time to plan the next trip.
I really enjoyed your trip report. My countdown is on so reading reports like yours just makes me more anxious to be there! My husband and I have always vacationed on STJ with friends and/or family. We have stayed at the Westin several times but always in a villa, never in just the hotel rooms. I always thought the Westin would be a great place to stay with young children although as you said eating out for all meals gets old (and expensive). The Westin has some very nice villas available with full kitchens and if you look on Redweek.com, for example, the rates are much cheaper than thru the Westin. Thanks you again for taking the time to write a trip report. Now it's time to plan the next trip.
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Wanda Creech
- Posts: 345
- Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:47 pm
- Location: Raleigh,NC
Re: Trip Report October 17 to 24
To go to the ACC shelter and walk a dog what is the process? What time of day, how long, where can you walk them? Would like to do this in June when we visit.
Thanks
Thanks
Beach Creecher
Re: Trip Report October 17 to 24
nice trip report. guess I need to get the burner lit for mine during same time frame.
High in the rockies?
Re: Trip Report October 17 to 24
There's a swing at Oppenheimer? Cool! Never been there, can someone post detailed directions please? Thanks for the report!
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lovest.john
- Posts: 42
- Joined: Fri May 14, 2010 2:40 pm
- Location: The Garden State
Re: Trip Report October 17 to 24
Here's the link: http://www.stjohnanimalcarecenter.com/g ... /volunteerWanda Creech wrote:To go to the ACC shelter and walk a dog what is the process? What time of day, how long, where can you walk them? Would like to do this in June when we visit.
Thanks
Re: Trip Report October 17 to 24
Hey Samantha!!!
It was so nice walking dogs with you!!! And I'm really glad we bumped into each other at Asolare.We had a awesome bottle of wine with our dinner!
It's always so nice to meet people who love the island as much as we do!!!!
Lisa Duelfer
It was so nice walking dogs with you!!! And I'm really glad we bumped into each other at Asolare.We had a awesome bottle of wine with our dinner!
It's always so nice to meet people who love the island as much as we do!!!!
Lisa Duelfer