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8 Tuff Miles 2011 TR- Part 3
-
SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
8 Tuff Miles 2011 TR- Part 3
Part 1 here: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... miles+2011
Part 2 here: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... miles+2011
WARNING- there a a LOT of pics here!
Part 3: beach day, boat day, and the walk of woe….
After a very fun BB gathering and “after party” we woke up, again, to sunrise. I would say this is getting old, but it isn’t
Today we definitely wanted to go to Donkey Diner and check out the food. FIRST!
Man, am I glad we did. This place is AWESOME! If you have not had breakfast here, make a plan to on your next trip. One of the best breakfasts I have ever had. The guys had bloody mary’s (hair of the dog). I went straight for the “Donkey’s Mess”. Here it is:
Bloody Mary, Donkey Style:
This is unbelievably good. I think everyone loved what they had, but I think the Donkey’s Mess is the best. We loved everything about DD- laid back, great food and drinks, nice people, fun little shop next door. Drinks, food and shopping- now all I need is a beach
But first, we had a villa to check out. We got a tip that Island Stones was empty and we could cruise by to check it out. Never been up the road to Catherineburg- there are a bunch of places up there! Island Stones is a knockout. Absolutely gorgeous. I want to win the lotto so bad so I can buy this house. But before that we’re going to figure out a way to get enough people to go with us to rent it…..
After Island Stones, in to town for a message to my dad on the SpiceCam
a St. John Spice run (again- hi Ruth!), and a check in at Freebird- was Rafe there- yes! A little “tug-a-pug” and we were ready to head out to the beaches!
Some stops at the overlooks:
First stop- Leinster for snorkeling. We headed straight to the 3 mooring buoys after hearing about them here.
Great snorkeling! Jim usually sits it out and uses it as nap time
Yes, that’s us being goofy with the fins on purpose- I promise we don’t normally enter and exit the water that way- purely for the photo op
Had some fun fish and coral sightings and my friend Pat saw a small turtle! Alas, no rays, stars or barracuda this time.
We had the coolest beach chairs from the villa- RIO Gear. OK guys, they’re not that hard to fold
On the back they went and off we went to the next beach
Wanted to snorkel Maho but we got a late start and spent too much time loving on Rafe at Freebird, so we had to do a drive by at Maho (so sad) and headed to Cinnamon. Kentuckygirl- we’re sad we missed ya’ll at Maho.
We wanted to park ourselves for the rest of the day, and Cinnamon seemed like a great place to do it.
Jim and I decided to try the rock scramble to Little Cinnamon- FIRST! Have been on Little Cinnamon by boat, but never from land. We made it! What a gorgeous beach. We just got a new pug puppy and named her Little Cinnamon for our favorite place.
After scrambling back, we joined our friends for sunset.
A few painkillers on the beach…. I am never without my trusty grater!
I never wanted to leave
But we did- and headed in to town. First stop- Woody’s for some wings- man these wings are GOOD. We were starving after skipping lunch so they were inhaled before I had a chance to get the food porn shot.
A little more shopping- we hit St. Johnanimals (FIRST)- what a cute store- and the guys that run it are great! Then we decided to try another FIRST on the Chill’s recommendation- The G Spot. We have wanted to go there for a few years and just never got around to it. We were missing out! I ordered the Big G- the best cheeseburger I think I have ever had- and the biggest! This thing can feed 2 people, but I tried my hardest to eat the whole thing. I felt like I was in “Man vs Food”. Today was definitely the day for eating- should have run 8 Tuff again today
After G Spot and a little more shopping (we bought new “8 Tuff” hook bracelets), we wound down with a little live music at High Tide. Perfect end to a perfect day.
Last full day on island- boat day!!
On the way into town to meet the boat, saw our donkey friends (we saw the same group every day as we drove past)- so cute….
Boat Day- yea!!!
Now more on the benchill group. Ben and Lynn, Patrick (Marty) and Angie, Joey and Heather and Daniel and Julie. A whole bunch of really fun people! It was so great getting to hang out with them off and on all week, and boat day was the BEST thanks to them, our friends Pat and Wendy, and, of course, our captains- Josh of Cruzin Away and the famous John of Palm Tree Charters.
Here’s most of the group- missing Ben and Jim
Oh, there they are- deep in debate I’m sure…..
No snorkeling this boat day, it was all about beach bar hoppin’. After a cruise up to North Shore, first stop was Sopers Hole, Tortola, to check in, then on to Smuggler’s Cove- yet another FIRST for us! We got to see the blender operated by a car battery- how cool is that?
Swimming in
The battery blender!
Also got to see an adorable baby- everybody fought over holding her.
More painkillers on the boat
Oh, wait- the other boat needs painkillers! Here they come….. (thanks Pat for the swim over with the jug, and Jim for the swim over with the nutmeg!)
Pat stayed completely dry while Jim got DRENCHED- no matter where they stood on the boat- hilarious….
Boat #2!
Captain John- we love Captain John!
So, Pat had this shirt. It was hilarious. We got a shot of him with just about every guy on the trip (the boat captains and Daniel were too smart for this), before they knew what the shirt said. It became the running joke…..
Pirates Bight at Norman Island (another FIRST for us!!)- and some giant Jenga!
The girls
The boys- missing Pat- he must be getting a drink
Willy T! NOT a first- we love this place. We boarded and sort of took over the dance floor for a little while!
Of COURSE we jumped!
Girls
Guys
OK, after you're done laughing at the guys protecting their "assets" on the way down, go back and look closely at the picture of the girls. I accidentally jumped first, but was able to get the rest of the girls jumping in. Now, don't look at the girls jumping- check out the girls on the first floor of the boat (NOT in our group). I have edited the pic to make it rated G. Obviously these girls saw that I was taking a picture and wanted to give us a little show! The best part is the guy in the white shirt- he's not looking at the jumpers- he's looking at the flashers!
I did not even notice this when I uploaded the pics- Ben pointed it out to me- this has to be the funniest pic of the trip. Have to say that was a FIRST, too- never been flashed while taking a pic before!!
After working up an appetite dancing and jumping off the Willy T, we headed to our final stop for lunch and painkillers (because we obviously had not had enough)- White Bay and the SDB!
ahhhhhh,,,,,
The chicken Roti at SDB is sooooooo good! More food porn:
Some lounging, some ring toss...
and my favorite pic of the trip, I think:
A few of us decided to walk over to Ivan’s- I loooooove Ivan’s. So chill. What, never seen anyone walk to Ivan’s with no flip flops before? Ouch! But we did it!
OK, just leave me here…..
…or here……
But alas, boat day had to come to an end. What a GREAT time with this crowd!
Thanks Captain Josh and Captain John!
After leaving our awesome captains, we wandered over to our new favorite place- the G Spot! Heeheeheehee Had to have another Big G. This time we smartly split it. Man this burger is GOOD! The pic again, just because I love it:
Then over the hill to Coral Bay and a nightcap at Aqua Bistrot. FIRST! We snacked a little, had a cocktail, then headed to bed- we were exhausted after all that fun. Plus we were more than a little sad. The next day was time to leave…..
Last day- the walk of woe.
We had afternoon flights- I like this so much better than early morning flights. I would rather get home really late and spend a last tiny bit of time on island. We were able to pack up leisurely that morning, and bid goodbye to our sugar bird friends and our great house.
One last stop at the dumpster
One last Coral Bay traffic jam
One last stop at our beloved Donkey Diner- one more Donkey’s Mess!
When we got into town, it started raining. Hard. First real rain of the week. We decided the island was just showing what we felt inside.
And here’s us showing it… oh, the woe……
One last goodbye to Ruth. We looked for Rafe the pug but she was not in, sad…. So we consoled ourselves with one last painkiller at Bones
Very sadly we boarded the ferry. Because of the rain, we had to sit underneath, and I could not stare back at “my” island as we left- that just about killed me!!
The airport rush- taxi, hills, check-in, customs, drop bags, security, pit stop, a little duty-free shopping, quick hugs goodbye, and on the planes we went. And just like that, it was over….
Man that leaving thing is TOUGH! I need to start planning next year.. now!
So a little post-trip synopsis.
We had a LOT of FIRSTS this trip- way too many to list and more than I mentioned in the TR. It was great to try new things and go to new places. I love that there are STILL a lot of FIRSTS we have yet to try on future trips. Some things we still want to try: Denis Beach, the Drunk Bay hike/Rams Head, Vie’s beach, dingy day, explore some more south shore beaches, La Plancha del Mar, Fatty Crab, and the new sandwich place at Marketplace. Plus there were a lot of loved places that we could not get back to this trip- Lime Inn, Maho, Annaberg, Island Blues, Shipwreck, Sloop Jones, Hawksnest, Trunk, Salt Pond, and many more… but that just means we need to plan more trips.
I loved that we stayed in Coral Bay. It is so absolutely gorgeous over there and waking up to sunrise every day was a treat. But, we discovered that we love to end most beach days “in town”, so there was a lot of driving back and forth every night. I think next time we are going to check out Catherineburg. But we’ll still be driving- gotta get to Donkey Diner for breakfast again, and can’t miss Skinny’s, Tourist Trap, and all the other loved places in Coral Bay. Plus we’ll make it to Coral Bay on foot at least once next year!
So next year we are in for 8 Tuff miles for sure- I think a Team VIOL is forming- join us! Now if I can just figure out how to stay 2 weeks Our friends have completely fallen in love with STJ (I knew they would) and they are planning to go back with us again next year- yea!!
Thanks for reading! Can’t wait to read some of your TR’s while I wait for next year….
Part 2 here: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... miles+2011
WARNING- there a a LOT of pics here!
Part 3: beach day, boat day, and the walk of woe….
After a very fun BB gathering and “after party” we woke up, again, to sunrise. I would say this is getting old, but it isn’t
Today we definitely wanted to go to Donkey Diner and check out the food. FIRST!
Man, am I glad we did. This place is AWESOME! If you have not had breakfast here, make a plan to on your next trip. One of the best breakfasts I have ever had. The guys had bloody mary’s (hair of the dog). I went straight for the “Donkey’s Mess”. Here it is:
Bloody Mary, Donkey Style:
This is unbelievably good. I think everyone loved what they had, but I think the Donkey’s Mess is the best. We loved everything about DD- laid back, great food and drinks, nice people, fun little shop next door. Drinks, food and shopping- now all I need is a beach
But first, we had a villa to check out. We got a tip that Island Stones was empty and we could cruise by to check it out. Never been up the road to Catherineburg- there are a bunch of places up there! Island Stones is a knockout. Absolutely gorgeous. I want to win the lotto so bad so I can buy this house. But before that we’re going to figure out a way to get enough people to go with us to rent it…..
After Island Stones, in to town for a message to my dad on the SpiceCam
a St. John Spice run (again- hi Ruth!), and a check in at Freebird- was Rafe there- yes! A little “tug-a-pug” and we were ready to head out to the beaches!
Some stops at the overlooks:
First stop- Leinster for snorkeling. We headed straight to the 3 mooring buoys after hearing about them here.
Great snorkeling! Jim usually sits it out and uses it as nap time
Yes, that’s us being goofy with the fins on purpose- I promise we don’t normally enter and exit the water that way- purely for the photo op
Had some fun fish and coral sightings and my friend Pat saw a small turtle! Alas, no rays, stars or barracuda this time.
We had the coolest beach chairs from the villa- RIO Gear. OK guys, they’re not that hard to fold
On the back they went and off we went to the next beach
Wanted to snorkel Maho but we got a late start and spent too much time loving on Rafe at Freebird, so we had to do a drive by at Maho (so sad) and headed to Cinnamon. Kentuckygirl- we’re sad we missed ya’ll at Maho.
We wanted to park ourselves for the rest of the day, and Cinnamon seemed like a great place to do it.
Jim and I decided to try the rock scramble to Little Cinnamon- FIRST! Have been on Little Cinnamon by boat, but never from land. We made it! What a gorgeous beach. We just got a new pug puppy and named her Little Cinnamon for our favorite place.
After scrambling back, we joined our friends for sunset.
A few painkillers on the beach…. I am never without my trusty grater!
I never wanted to leave
But we did- and headed in to town. First stop- Woody’s for some wings- man these wings are GOOD. We were starving after skipping lunch so they were inhaled before I had a chance to get the food porn shot.
A little more shopping- we hit St. Johnanimals (FIRST)- what a cute store- and the guys that run it are great! Then we decided to try another FIRST on the Chill’s recommendation- The G Spot. We have wanted to go there for a few years and just never got around to it. We were missing out! I ordered the Big G- the best cheeseburger I think I have ever had- and the biggest! This thing can feed 2 people, but I tried my hardest to eat the whole thing. I felt like I was in “Man vs Food”. Today was definitely the day for eating- should have run 8 Tuff again today
After G Spot and a little more shopping (we bought new “8 Tuff” hook bracelets), we wound down with a little live music at High Tide. Perfect end to a perfect day.
Last full day on island- boat day!!
On the way into town to meet the boat, saw our donkey friends (we saw the same group every day as we drove past)- so cute….
Boat Day- yea!!!
Now more on the benchill group. Ben and Lynn, Patrick (Marty) and Angie, Joey and Heather and Daniel and Julie. A whole bunch of really fun people! It was so great getting to hang out with them off and on all week, and boat day was the BEST thanks to them, our friends Pat and Wendy, and, of course, our captains- Josh of Cruzin Away and the famous John of Palm Tree Charters.
Here’s most of the group- missing Ben and Jim
Oh, there they are- deep in debate I’m sure…..
No snorkeling this boat day, it was all about beach bar hoppin’. After a cruise up to North Shore, first stop was Sopers Hole, Tortola, to check in, then on to Smuggler’s Cove- yet another FIRST for us! We got to see the blender operated by a car battery- how cool is that?
Swimming in
The battery blender!
Also got to see an adorable baby- everybody fought over holding her.
More painkillers on the boat
Oh, wait- the other boat needs painkillers! Here they come….. (thanks Pat for the swim over with the jug, and Jim for the swim over with the nutmeg!)
Pat stayed completely dry while Jim got DRENCHED- no matter where they stood on the boat- hilarious….
Boat #2!
Captain John- we love Captain John!
So, Pat had this shirt. It was hilarious. We got a shot of him with just about every guy on the trip (the boat captains and Daniel were too smart for this), before they knew what the shirt said. It became the running joke…..
Pirates Bight at Norman Island (another FIRST for us!!)- and some giant Jenga!
The girls
The boys- missing Pat- he must be getting a drink
Willy T! NOT a first- we love this place. We boarded and sort of took over the dance floor for a little while!
Of COURSE we jumped!
Girls
Guys
OK, after you're done laughing at the guys protecting their "assets" on the way down, go back and look closely at the picture of the girls. I accidentally jumped first, but was able to get the rest of the girls jumping in. Now, don't look at the girls jumping- check out the girls on the first floor of the boat (NOT in our group). I have edited the pic to make it rated G. Obviously these girls saw that I was taking a picture and wanted to give us a little show! The best part is the guy in the white shirt- he's not looking at the jumpers- he's looking at the flashers!
I did not even notice this when I uploaded the pics- Ben pointed it out to me- this has to be the funniest pic of the trip. Have to say that was a FIRST, too- never been flashed while taking a pic before!!
After working up an appetite dancing and jumping off the Willy T, we headed to our final stop for lunch and painkillers (because we obviously had not had enough)- White Bay and the SDB!
ahhhhhh,,,,,
The chicken Roti at SDB is sooooooo good! More food porn:
Some lounging, some ring toss...
and my favorite pic of the trip, I think:
A few of us decided to walk over to Ivan’s- I loooooove Ivan’s. So chill. What, never seen anyone walk to Ivan’s with no flip flops before? Ouch! But we did it!
OK, just leave me here…..
…or here……
But alas, boat day had to come to an end. What a GREAT time with this crowd!
Thanks Captain Josh and Captain John!
After leaving our awesome captains, we wandered over to our new favorite place- the G Spot! Heeheeheehee Had to have another Big G. This time we smartly split it. Man this burger is GOOD! The pic again, just because I love it:
Then over the hill to Coral Bay and a nightcap at Aqua Bistrot. FIRST! We snacked a little, had a cocktail, then headed to bed- we were exhausted after all that fun. Plus we were more than a little sad. The next day was time to leave…..
Last day- the walk of woe.
We had afternoon flights- I like this so much better than early morning flights. I would rather get home really late and spend a last tiny bit of time on island. We were able to pack up leisurely that morning, and bid goodbye to our sugar bird friends and our great house.
One last stop at the dumpster
One last Coral Bay traffic jam
One last stop at our beloved Donkey Diner- one more Donkey’s Mess!
When we got into town, it started raining. Hard. First real rain of the week. We decided the island was just showing what we felt inside.
And here’s us showing it… oh, the woe……
One last goodbye to Ruth. We looked for Rafe the pug but she was not in, sad…. So we consoled ourselves with one last painkiller at Bones
Very sadly we boarded the ferry. Because of the rain, we had to sit underneath, and I could not stare back at “my” island as we left- that just about killed me!!
The airport rush- taxi, hills, check-in, customs, drop bags, security, pit stop, a little duty-free shopping, quick hugs goodbye, and on the planes we went. And just like that, it was over….
Man that leaving thing is TOUGH! I need to start planning next year.. now!
So a little post-trip synopsis.
We had a LOT of FIRSTS this trip- way too many to list and more than I mentioned in the TR. It was great to try new things and go to new places. I love that there are STILL a lot of FIRSTS we have yet to try on future trips. Some things we still want to try: Denis Beach, the Drunk Bay hike/Rams Head, Vie’s beach, dingy day, explore some more south shore beaches, La Plancha del Mar, Fatty Crab, and the new sandwich place at Marketplace. Plus there were a lot of loved places that we could not get back to this trip- Lime Inn, Maho, Annaberg, Island Blues, Shipwreck, Sloop Jones, Hawksnest, Trunk, Salt Pond, and many more… but that just means we need to plan more trips.
I loved that we stayed in Coral Bay. It is so absolutely gorgeous over there and waking up to sunrise every day was a treat. But, we discovered that we love to end most beach days “in town”, so there was a lot of driving back and forth every night. I think next time we are going to check out Catherineburg. But we’ll still be driving- gotta get to Donkey Diner for breakfast again, and can’t miss Skinny’s, Tourist Trap, and all the other loved places in Coral Bay. Plus we’ll make it to Coral Bay on foot at least once next year!
So next year we are in for 8 Tuff miles for sure- I think a Team VIOL is forming- join us! Now if I can just figure out how to stay 2 weeks
Our friends have completely fallen in love with STJ (I knew they would) and they are planning to go back with us again next year- yea!!Thanks for reading! Can’t wait to read some of your TR’s while I wait for next year….
Your boat trip day looks a lot like ours did last year. We did Smuggler's and Jost, though we had to skip Willie T. Boo! Smuggler's is gorgeous, eh?
I wish I could join Team VIOL next year. I am currently incubating baby #2 (due in October), and I have a feeling that 4 months won't be enough time to recover and train! Team VIOL 2013, perhaps?
I wish I could join Team VIOL next year. I am currently incubating baby #2 (due in October), and I have a feeling that 4 months won't be enough time to recover and train! Team VIOL 2013, perhaps?
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SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
Jan- I can't for the life of me remember the name of the store- but it's the little jewelry store right on the corner next to Woody's and across from Connections. Anyone know the name? The guy in there, I think his name was Terrell, was SO nice- made custom bracelets for us in a day! They have a figure 8 for the hook. The girls got that one, the guys got hammered thick hooks.
alw1977- definitely 2013! We plan to do the race every year. It's that great. Congrats on baby #2!
alw1977- definitely 2013! We plan to do the race every year. It's that great. Congrats on baby #2!
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kristen1206
- Posts: 533
- Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 4:13 pm
- Location: MD
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paulandtracie
- Posts: 236
- Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:45 am
- Location: Michigan
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Xislandgirl
- Posts: 4163
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:03 pm
- Location: Slightly left of center
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CassieBelle
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:06 pm
- Location: Dumas, AR
Your report & pics have me drooling all over my keyboard...I will be making my first trip that way shortly and doing some of these same things (well, no running - but I will jump) and I am sure already it will not be the last! Seems like a safe addiction to me! Can NOT wait to get there!!!
Can NOT wait to get there!!!Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness....Mark Twain
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EagleRayLover
- Posts: 1474
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:56 pm
- Location: St. John -WooHoo!!
We leave in nine days and I am so excited after reading your TR. we are going out with Captain John for the first time and I cannot wait. We have met him several times but never had made the trip out with him and I am so excited!!! I loved your pictures of the bananaquits too! There seem to be a lot around right now so hopefully we will be lucky to see them as well! 
Thanks for such a great report!!
Thanks for such a great report!!Leslie, Kids Night In Babysitting
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SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
-
SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
and I kept trying to swim down low to get pics- only a few turned out since I floated up so fast!