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Just back!! Trip Report Days 5&6
Just back!! Trip Report Days 5&6
Day 5
Up early again, so after we had a good pancake breakfast and packed our lunch we were on our way to Hawksnest. Wow! What a pretty beach this is. I especially liked the view from the walkways in, with the trees framing the view. The reefs were so close to shore here and in very shallow water. We were disturbed seeing people standing on the reef. I thought everyone knew better than that! We snorkeled and saw the usual cast of characters. The thing that stood out the most was the forest of elkhorn coral. As the morning went on, the beach got very crowded. So, after our picnic lunch we packed up and headed to Francis.
When we got to Francis we had to park pretty far down the road. Despite the number of cars on the road, the beach did not seem that crowded. Found a nice spot to drop the stuff then immediately jumped in the water. I dubbed Francis my perfect limin' beach. It was so calm, and the water was so warm . I loved just sitting in the water with a drink watching the kids. The kids and I were snorkeled out, so hubby went out on his own.
At some point we decided we should probably head back, cause we most likely had enough sun for the day. We spent most of our time in the water without our rashguards and I think we only reapplied once that day. BIG MISTAKE!! Especially the day before our sail trip! My daughter, who is as fair as fair can be, had a burnt face, my son's back was crispy and my chest was fried. My chest gave new meaning to the words Red Stripe. RE-APPLY PEOPLE, RE-APPLY!!
After a painful shower, we headed back to town for dinner. Town was packed, as the food festival was going on. We found parking way down by Mongoose Junction and walked in. I loved the festival! I liked seeing all of the locals having a good time. We headed over to the Fish Trap for a great dinner. My husband had the Mahi with the mango barbecue sauce and chili spiced onion straws. It was fantastic. I had the herb crusted grouper in a lobster butter sauce. It was also very good. The kids had ....chicken tenders!! Yay, the first day without a cheeseburger!! Our waiter was a young guy from Alabama who had been in St. John for about 2 months and was trying to get on his feet. He sounded a little homesick to us. Poor fella.
We headed back through Wharfside Village and my daughter bought a cute bucket hat at one of the shops. When I mentioned to my family that I felt like dancing and hoped that the music in the park was still going on , my children's faces became terror stricken and they pleaded with my husband to take us back through town another way, bypassing the park. Thanks kids. Sorry, only one way back to the car and that is going directly past the park where mama's gonna get her dance on. When we got there the music was in full swing, but I was surprised(and the kids relieved) that there was no one dancing. We listened for awhile and bought some necklaces at one of the booths for my daughter and her BFF.
Another wonderful day in paradise.
Day 6
Today is our sailing day. I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. We decided to go on Calypso, a large catamaran that can hold about 30 people. I think we made the right choice. Although I can happily say that we were still enjoying each other's company, it was nice to hang out with some other folks for a day. There were about 20 on the boat that day. Captain Doug and his crew, Chutney and Jeff were great. We set sail around 8:30, our first stop being Lovango Cay for a little snorkeling. The snorkeling was good, but it was a little rough. If you kept your face in the water it was fine, but I kept picking my head up to check on the kids and every time I did, I got smacked in the face with a wave and took in some water. I did see a huge queen parrotfish that made it worth the effort, though.
Next stop was Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke for lunch. I had the chicken roti. OMG, it was sooooo good. I really think it was the best thing I ate the entire week. I totally loved the spicy curry flavor with the sweet mango chutney. Has anyone successfully recreated this recipe? If so, I must have it!! Husband had the grouper sandwich and the kids got right back on track with cheeseburgers. Everyone enjoyed their lunch. Toward the end of the meal Foxy showed up. We were able to get our picture taken with him, and while my daughter and I shopped a little, my husband and son spent time chatting with Foxy. He is quite a charming and funny man.
Next stop was White Bay which lived up to it's reputation as a beautiful and fun party beach. My only complaint is that Capt. Doug dropped us off too close to shore!! I talked it up to the kids beforehand, telling them that there was no dock and they were going to have to swim to shore. Well, we basically just walked to shore in about waist deep water. Not much of a challenge. But hey, anything that gets me closer to a painkiller can't be all bad!!
We found some lounge chairs under some palms at the Soggy Dollar. This place was a lot of fun and I could see how it could be a blast if you were there with a bunch of adults. Husband went in the water with the kids to play my daughter's favorite new game, which she made up herself, Drown the Dad. For some reason it is not my husband's favorite game, but he's a good sport about it. I made a break for the bar and got a Painkiller. I have to say, it was THE best painkiller I had all week. I liked it so much that I had to buy a T-shirt. I bought the tie-dyed one that says "Peace, Love & Painkillers". Now I can really say, "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt"!
After a bit of limin' on our own, we headed back to the boat where several people were floating on rafts and noodles. If you gave the crew the international symbol for "beer me"(hand to mouth in a drinking type motion) they would throw beers out to you. If you wanted a mixed drink, Chutney would swim it out to you. Now this is the life I was meant to lead. Unfortunately it all ended too soon when Capt. Doug blew the conch horn, calling us all back to the boat for our return trip. Say it ain't so, Capt. Doug. Say it ain't so.
The trip back to Cruz Bay was almost as good, though. Everyone just chillaxin', listening to Kenny Chesney. I was surprised at how good I felt after drinking a coupla beers, coupla gin & tonics, and a coupla painkillers, so I decided to have one more painkiller. At this point, what pain I had left to kill I don't know! I'm not a big country music fan, but listening to Kenny on that ride back was sublime. Everyone was so chill, you could tell that everyone was in their happy place, even the kids who didn't have the alcohol to help them get there!!
Only bad part about the ride is that my daughter's brand new adorable bucket hat got blown right off her head. Capt. Doug made a valiant effort to turn the catamaran around to try and retrieve it, but it was pretty rough out there and I think it immediately got filled with water and sank. She was about to cry when out came Jeff with the child's version of the painkiller, a big plate of cookies. That's how you turn that frown upside down.
During the trip my son finally decided what he wanted to take home as a souvenir from the trip. We had looked at all the stores in town and he just didn't see anything special. But once Capt. Doug blew that conch horn, the decision was made and the hunt was on. Really, how hard could it be to find a conch horn? Little did we know.
We got back to the dock and through customs by 4:00. We stopped at Starfish and picked up a rotisserie chicken and a few sides for dinner. We had finished dinner and showers by about 6:30. None of us could keep our eyes open, but you just can't go to sleep at 6:30. We would all be awake by 3!! We watched a little TV and then at about 7 o'clock the storms hit. It was pretty wild and wooly there for awhile. The power went out at 7:30. Mother Nature put on quite the show for us. After the storms died down somewhat, while the power was still out, we opened up the back wall of the villa and just felt the breezes and watched the lightning on all sides of us. That was amazing. We had no trouble staying awake through that. The power came back on at 8:30, and I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that it came back so quickly. I could have handled another hour of that.
At about 8:32 we climbed into bed. At 8:32:01 we were dead asleep.
Next up: Maho revisited, the Great Conch Horn Hunt and going home.
Up early again, so after we had a good pancake breakfast and packed our lunch we were on our way to Hawksnest. Wow! What a pretty beach this is. I especially liked the view from the walkways in, with the trees framing the view. The reefs were so close to shore here and in very shallow water. We were disturbed seeing people standing on the reef. I thought everyone knew better than that! We snorkeled and saw the usual cast of characters. The thing that stood out the most was the forest of elkhorn coral. As the morning went on, the beach got very crowded. So, after our picnic lunch we packed up and headed to Francis.
When we got to Francis we had to park pretty far down the road. Despite the number of cars on the road, the beach did not seem that crowded. Found a nice spot to drop the stuff then immediately jumped in the water. I dubbed Francis my perfect limin' beach. It was so calm, and the water was so warm . I loved just sitting in the water with a drink watching the kids. The kids and I were snorkeled out, so hubby went out on his own.
At some point we decided we should probably head back, cause we most likely had enough sun for the day. We spent most of our time in the water without our rashguards and I think we only reapplied once that day. BIG MISTAKE!! Especially the day before our sail trip! My daughter, who is as fair as fair can be, had a burnt face, my son's back was crispy and my chest was fried. My chest gave new meaning to the words Red Stripe. RE-APPLY PEOPLE, RE-APPLY!!
After a painful shower, we headed back to town for dinner. Town was packed, as the food festival was going on. We found parking way down by Mongoose Junction and walked in. I loved the festival! I liked seeing all of the locals having a good time. We headed over to the Fish Trap for a great dinner. My husband had the Mahi with the mango barbecue sauce and chili spiced onion straws. It was fantastic. I had the herb crusted grouper in a lobster butter sauce. It was also very good. The kids had ....chicken tenders!! Yay, the first day without a cheeseburger!! Our waiter was a young guy from Alabama who had been in St. John for about 2 months and was trying to get on his feet. He sounded a little homesick to us. Poor fella.
We headed back through Wharfside Village and my daughter bought a cute bucket hat at one of the shops. When I mentioned to my family that I felt like dancing and hoped that the music in the park was still going on , my children's faces became terror stricken and they pleaded with my husband to take us back through town another way, bypassing the park. Thanks kids. Sorry, only one way back to the car and that is going directly past the park where mama's gonna get her dance on. When we got there the music was in full swing, but I was surprised(and the kids relieved) that there was no one dancing. We listened for awhile and bought some necklaces at one of the booths for my daughter and her BFF.
Another wonderful day in paradise.
Day 6
Today is our sailing day. I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. We decided to go on Calypso, a large catamaran that can hold about 30 people. I think we made the right choice. Although I can happily say that we were still enjoying each other's company, it was nice to hang out with some other folks for a day. There were about 20 on the boat that day. Captain Doug and his crew, Chutney and Jeff were great. We set sail around 8:30, our first stop being Lovango Cay for a little snorkeling. The snorkeling was good, but it was a little rough. If you kept your face in the water it was fine, but I kept picking my head up to check on the kids and every time I did, I got smacked in the face with a wave and took in some water. I did see a huge queen parrotfish that made it worth the effort, though.
Next stop was Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke for lunch. I had the chicken roti. OMG, it was sooooo good. I really think it was the best thing I ate the entire week. I totally loved the spicy curry flavor with the sweet mango chutney. Has anyone successfully recreated this recipe? If so, I must have it!! Husband had the grouper sandwich and the kids got right back on track with cheeseburgers. Everyone enjoyed their lunch. Toward the end of the meal Foxy showed up. We were able to get our picture taken with him, and while my daughter and I shopped a little, my husband and son spent time chatting with Foxy. He is quite a charming and funny man.
Next stop was White Bay which lived up to it's reputation as a beautiful and fun party beach. My only complaint is that Capt. Doug dropped us off too close to shore!! I talked it up to the kids beforehand, telling them that there was no dock and they were going to have to swim to shore. Well, we basically just walked to shore in about waist deep water. Not much of a challenge. But hey, anything that gets me closer to a painkiller can't be all bad!!
We found some lounge chairs under some palms at the Soggy Dollar. This place was a lot of fun and I could see how it could be a blast if you were there with a bunch of adults. Husband went in the water with the kids to play my daughter's favorite new game, which she made up herself, Drown the Dad. For some reason it is not my husband's favorite game, but he's a good sport about it. I made a break for the bar and got a Painkiller. I have to say, it was THE best painkiller I had all week. I liked it so much that I had to buy a T-shirt. I bought the tie-dyed one that says "Peace, Love & Painkillers". Now I can really say, "Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt"!
After a bit of limin' on our own, we headed back to the boat where several people were floating on rafts and noodles. If you gave the crew the international symbol for "beer me"(hand to mouth in a drinking type motion) they would throw beers out to you. If you wanted a mixed drink, Chutney would swim it out to you. Now this is the life I was meant to lead. Unfortunately it all ended too soon when Capt. Doug blew the conch horn, calling us all back to the boat for our return trip. Say it ain't so, Capt. Doug. Say it ain't so.
The trip back to Cruz Bay was almost as good, though. Everyone just chillaxin', listening to Kenny Chesney. I was surprised at how good I felt after drinking a coupla beers, coupla gin & tonics, and a coupla painkillers, so I decided to have one more painkiller. At this point, what pain I had left to kill I don't know! I'm not a big country music fan, but listening to Kenny on that ride back was sublime. Everyone was so chill, you could tell that everyone was in their happy place, even the kids who didn't have the alcohol to help them get there!!
Only bad part about the ride is that my daughter's brand new adorable bucket hat got blown right off her head. Capt. Doug made a valiant effort to turn the catamaran around to try and retrieve it, but it was pretty rough out there and I think it immediately got filled with water and sank. She was about to cry when out came Jeff with the child's version of the painkiller, a big plate of cookies. That's how you turn that frown upside down.
During the trip my son finally decided what he wanted to take home as a souvenir from the trip. We had looked at all the stores in town and he just didn't see anything special. But once Capt. Doug blew that conch horn, the decision was made and the hunt was on. Really, how hard could it be to find a conch horn? Little did we know.
We got back to the dock and through customs by 4:00. We stopped at Starfish and picked up a rotisserie chicken and a few sides for dinner. We had finished dinner and showers by about 6:30. None of us could keep our eyes open, but you just can't go to sleep at 6:30. We would all be awake by 3!! We watched a little TV and then at about 7 o'clock the storms hit. It was pretty wild and wooly there for awhile. The power went out at 7:30. Mother Nature put on quite the show for us. After the storms died down somewhat, while the power was still out, we opened up the back wall of the villa and just felt the breezes and watched the lightning on all sides of us. That was amazing. We had no trouble staying awake through that. The power came back on at 8:30, and I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that it came back so quickly. I could have handled another hour of that.
At about 8:32 we climbed into bed. At 8:32:01 we were dead asleep.
Next up: Maho revisited, the Great Conch Horn Hunt and going home.
