18 more days in paradise, part one

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:38 pm

Day one
A long travel day down featuring a jam-packed Logan Airport and a very bumpy flight from Boston to San Juan got the vacation off on a bit of a sour note, but we recovered in time to appreciate the new air conditioning in the STT arrivals area. We started the vacation with three nights at the Westin, a stay that I had won in the Friends of the National Park auction last year. This was our first time at the Westin. It was perfectly fine for a place to sleep. I would not go out of my way to stay there again. There was nothing wrong with it, but I prefer Caneel or Gallows Point.

After unpacking we headed in to town for dinner. We tried to go to Longboard but it was packed and a there was a long line waiting. Rhumblines was closed. We ended up at La Tapa. Delicious meal. Langoustines

la tapa langoustines by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Salt cod and lobster fritters

la tapa salt cod and lobster fritters by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Tuna

la tapa tuna by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Tired from the long day we went back to the Westin and were in bed by 10.

Day two

We went to Lemongrass at the Westin for breakfast. Island eggs benedict:

lemongrass island benedict by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Granola pancakes:

lemongrass granola pancakes by liamsaunt, on Flickr

View of the very dry hillside

gcb by liamsaunt, on Flickr

We went to town to pick up John’s jeep at St. John Car Rental, then headed to the beach. We went all the way to Maho before realizing that we had forgotten 1. Beach chairs and 2. John’s snorkel equipment, so we doubled back and went to Honeymoon. We rented some chairs for $5 each and settled in for a relaxing afternoon of reading

honeymoon by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Once the beach started getting too crowded we packed up and went for lunch at Caneel. Sangria

drink by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Tuna tartar

tunat by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Sushi burrito

sushi burrito by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Spicy bite

spicy bite by liamsaunt, on Flickr

We headed back to the Westin and went down to check out Great Cruz Bay. It was as underwhelming as everyone has said it is. We went in the water briefly just to say that we did, but the seaweed and general murkiness chased us out of there before long. We then headed to the pool, which was quite busy. It is a very nice pool. We ordered drinks but I ended up ditching mine because it was very strong and we were going to Zozos that evening. If you like cheap (I think they were $5, it was happy hour), large, strong drinks, Westin poolside is your place.

Dinner at Zozos was mostly amazing. John really likes the Tignanello wine that they usually have by the glass, but this time they only had it by the bottle. They kindly decanted just half of it for him, and he brought the other half back to the Westin to enjoy over the next couple of evenings. Table on the rail, with wine

tig by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Beet and goat cheese ravioli

zozos beet by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Squid ink pasta with crab and calamari. I really disliked this, it was very bland, which is surprising for Zozos.

zozos squid pasta by liamsaunt, on Flickr

But no worries as we had also ordered the shrimp and corn risotto which was very flavorful and enough to share

zozos shrimp by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Sunset

zozos rail by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Day three

Went to Trunk for the morning

honeymoon copy by liamsaunt, on Flickr

No snorkeling, just swimming. Then went to town for lunch at Lime Inn
Shrimp Caesar salad

limeinn2 by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Lobster roll

limeinn by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Spent the afternoon swimming at Cinnamon. Went to town for dinner at Longboard. Conch fritters

longboard conch fritters by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Tuna and mahi tacos

longboard tuna and mahi tacos by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Mahi and shrimp tacos

longboard mahi and shrimp tacos by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Tuna hand roll (the only misstep, the rice was hard and dry)

longboard handroll by liamsaunt, on Flickr

We were pretty pleased with Longboard. It is not expensive and the tacos were tasty. It does feel a bit rushed, but I am guessing that will change once it has been open for a bit longer.

ferry dock by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Day four
We checked out of the Westin and headed to town to pick up my Jeep (again from St. John Car Rental). Dropped my Jeep in the gravel lot and then went over to Coral Bay to meet the manager for the house we were renting for this next week. We were staying at Coral Cove. It is a lovely house, we were impressed. The breezes were just incredible. We did not ever have to run the air conditioning in our bedroom because the breezes were so strong.

Lunch was at Shipwreck Landing. Blackened shrimp appetizer

shipwreckshrimp by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Grilled calamari

shipwreckcalamari by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Mahi tacos

shipwreckfishtacos by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Then back into Cruz Bay to pick up the rest of our group, who came over on the 5PM ferry. We were joined by my niece and nephew, my sister, my brother, and John’s brother for the next two weeks.

arrive by liamsaunt, on Flickr

Moonrise from Coral Cove

fullmoon by liamsaunt, on Flickr

shoemak38 · Post by **shoemak38** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 5:05 pm

Becky I saw your postings on Facebook I was hoping you would do a trip report. We played go where Becky isn't i.e. went to Boston and Cape Cod while you are enjoying St. John. As always truly enjoy your trip reports

Backtotheislands · Post by **Backtotheislands** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 6:15 pm

Love your trip report and the pictures! What was the yummy looking drink?

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 7:31 pm

Please note my very important question:
Are you saying they are no longer pouring Tignanello by the glass? Not that I am complaining. Last time there, at the old location, I regretted not getting the bottle. The price was pretty reasonable compared to what I get it for at home.

Ed S · Post by **Ed S** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 8:16 pm

Great trip report..... your food pics are amazing! How fortunate that you are spending 18 days. Hope the rest of your trip is fantastic. Looking forward to part two.

So disappointing that they no longer offer Tignanello by the glass. Truth be told, I have only ever had one glass of it, splurging on our 30th anniversary in early June 2014 at Zozo's (was drinking scotch on the rocks that night, but couldn't pass up a glass with my braised lamb shank). It was very reasonable at $20/glass. MBW1024..... you will just need to get a whole bottle next time! ($96.... pricier than what I would usually spend on a bottle of wine with dinner, but still reasonable for Tignanello). http://zozos.net/wine/

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 8:41 pm

$96? Wow, that price went up. When we were there in 2013 is was $79 for the bottle which was a steal.
Last time I purchased it around here I think I paid $72 or $74.

scoob · Post by **scoob** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 8:57 pm

Looking at the wine list..I vote for the
2013 Meiomi “Belle Glos” Pinot Noir: Monterey, California
That's a great wine ...
very fine wine , go to when having Pinot Noir ...
But being from Upstate NY, Dr. Frank ,Cab Franc is my go to wine..
Scoob

Wanda Creech · Post by **Wanda Creech** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:12 am

Looking forward to some of your great snorkel pics.

SusanNJ · Post by **SusanNJ** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:17 am

Great report so far! I am so curious to see how you liked Coral Cove? Is it really far out there? How far is it past Coral Bay? Looking forward to the rest

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:28 am

SusanNJ wrote:Great report so far! I am so curious to see how you liked Coral Cove? Is it really far out there? How far is it past Coral Bay? Looking forward to the rest

So am I. That villa has always been on our short list but we like to go out for dinner every night and I fear it is too out of the way for us. I have heard great things about it.

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:36 am

Backtotheislands wrote:Love your trip report and the pictures! What was the yummy looking drink?

It was a white sangria with strawberries and elderflower liqueur. Very tasty!

shoemak38 wrote: We played go where Becky isn't i.e. went to Boston and Cape Cod while you are enjoying St. John. As always truly enjoy your trip reports

Hahaha We have a couple of Cape Cod vacations coming up next on the trip docket. Provincetown for 5 nights over Labor day and Wellfleet for 10 days incorporating Oysterfest.

mbw1024 wrote:Please note my very important question:
Are you saying they are no longer pouring Tignanello by the glass? Not that I am complaining. Last time there, at the old location, I regretted not getting the bottle. The price was pretty reasonable compared to what I get it for at home.

They told us it was a seasonal decision. I guess not enough people order red wine in the summer. They said it would be back on the by the glass list in the fall. I asked John if he remembered how much we paid for it, and he said he thought it was $90. We saw it for sale (I think at Starfish Gourmet) and it was more $$ than that. John joked that he was going to call Zozozs and see if he could order a case

Wanda Creech wrote:Looking forward to some of your great snorkel pics.

Don't worry, lots of snorkel pics coming, we were just lazy at the beginning of the trip

SusanNJ wrote:I am so curious to see how you liked Coral Cove? Is it really far out there? How far is it past Coral Bay? Looking forward to the rest

We loved Coral Cove. I would absolutely stay there again. It is about 10 minutes past Coral Bay, I guess? It is right around the bend from Miss Lucy's and about 5 minutes before Salt Pond if that helps. One of the bedrooms was having issues with the AC while we were there, and the safe in the master malfunctioned at one point, but other than that no complaints. Management was very responsive--they came out for the safe within 15 minutes.

I'll be back later today with the next installment.

liamsaunt · Post by **liamsaunt** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:41 am

PA Girl wrote:So am I. That villa has always been on our short list but we like to go out for dinner every night and I fear it is too out of the way for us. I have heard great things about it.

I was fine with driving into Coral Bay for dinner from this house, but it is definitely too far from Cruz Bay, in my opinion. I don't like to drive in the dark, so we only went out to dinner once this trip after we moved from the Westin (we took taxis to dinner from there). We would have gone out twice but Miss Lucy's was closed for the season. I did see in the guest book that others hired taxi drivers for their week to get them to dinners out. I would imagine that would be expensive though.

ski2play · Post by **ski2play** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 11:49 am

Great pics and great report! Thanks for sharing!

cocosmom · Post by **cocosmom** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:49 pm

Love your reports and pics, thanks for taking the time.

GratefulDad · Post by **GratefulDad** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:40 am

So I am a bit annoyed that it was you who I was bidding against for that Westin 3 night stay. Hands off thats my prize. JK, I'm glad you had time there to relax a bit before the rest of your party arrived. I never had a $5 drink there but yes, they pour on the stronger side. You are brave for venturing into GCB. The beach it not too bad for lounging under a palm tree. I'm not much of a pool person but I do enjoy relaxing there in the late afternoon after a day at the beach. Enjoying you report.

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