usvi-on-line
Trip report 10/2-10/12
Trip report 10/2-10/12
This is dreadfully long!
10/2
We flew US Air from Philly to Charlotte to STT. We upgraded to first class on the flight from Charlotte to STT. A great decision. First time in first class for both of us and we really enjoyed. It does make the flight so much easier. That being said I was still ready to get off the plane when it was time.
Got our bags fairly quickly. I was just relieved to see all of them come around the belt. Checked in with Caneel and away we went in private taxi and off to the ferry. Ferry ride was really great. It’s nice to get out on the water so quickly.
Approaching the Caneel dock I knew I was going to be very happy with this place. It’s really lovely. We came off the ferry and they were handing out cool cloths to everyone which were very refreshing. I said good afternoon to the girl handing out the towels and she broke in to the biggest smile.
We were escorted to our room which was beach front. Caneel beach was right outside our door. Upon entering found that we had been left a bottle of Moet & Chandon Champagne in honor of our honeymoon.
Within 15 minutes we were suited and floating in the water, champagne glasses in hand. It would have been sooner but we had to wait for our bags! Next time need to pack a suit in the carry on!
Caneel beach is a little rocky but I just ran right over them. No stopping me now. (FYI my champagne glass floated in the water!).
We splashed around for not sure how long and then walked along Caneel beach to the front desk to ask some questions about dinner and late check out. They extended our check out until 12 but said that they would store bags and we could use changing rooms whenever we were ready to leave the property.
The lights of St. Thomas were beginning to twinkle so we walked out to the end of the ferry dock to sit on the bench and take it in. We had an 8:30 dinner reservation that night and sitting on the bench I asked Charlie what time it was and he said “I have absolutely no concept of time at the moment!” Woo hoo … I knew it would be a great vacation!
Had dinner at Equator which we really loved.
10/3
Next morning up and out early. Walked over to the coffee bar around 7:15 and just sat around the beach bar watching the islands wake up.
Breakfast was included in our room rate so we did that around 8. The buffet breakfast at Caneel is really well done. We enjoyed it and the views don’t hurt either.
Walked out to Honeymoon after breakfast. I’m guessing it was 9:00 or so when we arrived and there wasn’t a soul in sight. I was in awe. This little spot is so beautiful. It was like our own little slice of heaven. We were there I’d guess 90 minutes and the only people we saw were a few folks who came to check the beach out but then left. I didn’t get that but to each his own I say.
We cleared out of our room by noon and sent the bags to storage. Then we headed over to Scott beach. This was nice as well but nothing like Honeymoon.
We only spent the one night at Caneel but we really enjoyed it. All the food we had was excellent and the staff there at that property are really wonderful. We would definitely go back there. That being said I just don’t know if I see myself at a resort like that (or any resort) for more than a few days. We met some folks on the ferry who were going to be there 8 days. That would be too much for me.
At 3pm we were met in the Caneel parking lot by Paco of Carefree Getaways. He took us to get our Jeep at St. John car rental and we were on our way. It’s a little nerve racking to start right off following someone on the left but Charlie did great. No problems. Then we approached the Bongo Bongo driveway. Yee Ha .. that’s steep! First time up is a little scary but you get used to it after a few trips up and down.
All you can say when you enter this house is wow. Hard to know where to look first. At the cool house or the view. Paco gave us the mini tour and went over some of the do’s and don’ts while Charlie was unloading the car. I went out to see if I could help and I asked him what he thought and he said “As soon as Paco leaves I’m going to SCREAM!”. LOL! So cute!
After Paco left we really got our bearings around the house. Took a look see at everything and settled in to the RED bedroom. It’s got a great view. I came prepared for swimming so once I was settled in a room, I hit the pool! Ahhhhh… heaven. Unpacking can wait!
We did do a quick run to Pine Peace Market for booze. And after going to Starfish I did notice prices were much better at PP. Example, we drink Vueve Cliquot champagne, which at home we can get on sale for $32 or so. At PP it was $39. At Starfish it was $54. HUGE difference.
After the market we settled in for the night. Suzy Christie had brought in enough supplies for our dinner as well as the next morning. I had ordered some platters from Suzy, one of which was the London Broil platter and it was excellent.
The lights started coming up on St. Thomas and I began to discover what a special place this is.
10/4
Up early this morning. Earlier than at home. But getting up to Bongo Bongo is much more enticing than getting up and heading down to my home office. I had heard Charlie leave the bedroom a few minutes before me and when I open the slider on the bedroom to step outside I could hear the burr grinder whirring. To my delight Charlie takes care of the coffee every day on vacation, usually long before my eyes are opened.
The plan for the day was to just drive and see what we saw. We headed out Rt. 10 all the way to the very eastern point. Someone asked if we were sailing on Breath and the answer is no, unfortunately. We had contacted them before coming down and they are sailing now but they require 6 people to go out so that wasn’t going to work for us. In fact we contacted several companies about sailing and most of those that are out require minimums or said “call when you get here”. So far I just haven’t felt like making those calls. We are doing just fine with how things are going now.
So .. back to driving. Even in the car it is hot. So we had plenty of water to drink along the way. Stopped here and there as we went. Passed Vie’s but she was closed that day. On the way back we took the other fork in the road as you enter Coral Bay and headed over to Island Blues. They were just opening but told us to come on in and they would gladly help us in about 20 seconds. We’re patient people so we waited! Really nice lunch there. Charlie had a black and blue burger that was SO good. I had the Quesidilla of the day which was also excellent. This is a very cool place to just hang. We liked it there. We plan to head back that way later in the trip and that time we might try Skinny Legs of they are open.
On the drive back we picked up the North Shore Road heading back to Cruz Bay. We came along a beach that looked awesome so I asked Charlie to stop. I was dying to get in the water. So we parked along the road, grabbed a towel and headed to the water. Actually we packed in to a wooded area where there was a break in the trees. We backed up until we actually HIT a tree! Oops. Not sure if we did that to the rear fender or if it was there already. Guess we will find out when we return to St. John car rental!
I was in the water and Charlie ran back to the car for something (probably something for me, he’s such a saint!) and I walked over to a group of ladies who were sitting down the beach a ways and I said to one woman “Hello, can you tell me where I am!?” She looked at me oddly for a bit and then she said “Maho”. Oh, Maho, ok cool. LOVE MAHO. Today was really about getting the lay of the land so we didn’t stay long. Swam around for about half an hour and then started back on North Shore. Saw many other beaches along the way, made a stop at the Trunk Bay over look and then headed back in to town.
Had thought we were eating out tonight but after a big lunch at Island Blues we decided to stay home. We hit StarFish for some stuff for the house as well as dinner. We picked up pre made ribs and chicken and fixed a salad. Enjoyed all that with a nice bottle of Chardonnay.
10/5
Up early again this morning. No matter though, Charlie is always up earlier than me brewing the coffee. Had a light breakfast at home and then headed to town for a bit. We hit a few shops in Mongoose Junction then headed over to St. John Spice. What a great place this is. So much more diverse than I expected. After browsing for a few minutes we heard “who is that down there”. Ruth had recogonized us from her upstairs perch! She came down with a big welcome greeting and we really enjoyed chatting with her as well as meeting Ron, in between shopping! We moved on from there after a half hour or so with a promise to be back before heading home.
We headed back to Mongoose and picked up some lunch stuff at Deli Grotto. Really good little place that we would frequent a few times during our stay.
We arrived at Hawksnest around noon I would guess. I was really hot so I dropped stuff on the beach and hit the water. I no sooner came up to find a bunch of people gawking toward the water. Turns out there were 3 VERY LARGE baracudda swimming around right in the same area as me! I’m a chicken so I removed myself quickly. We enjoyed our lunch on the beach and then took a little walk in the water. Shortly after it started to sprinkle so I headed back to our spot to make sure the camera was under cover. Sprinkles quickly turned to pretty heavy rain so we grabbed our stuff and headed for cover. It wasn’t letting up after 15 minutes or so, so we decided to head back to the villa and enjoy the pool for the rest of the day.
That night we went to Morgan’s Mango for dinner, on Ruth’s suggestion. We liked it very much. I know Charlie had beef and I had a blackened swordfish with island salsa that was really excellent. After Morgan’s we decided to head over to Infusions (also on Ruth’s suggestion. That woman in full of good info!). Infusions is a new, very chic Martini bar. Their attraction is that they are “infusing” vodkas with all sorts of good flavors in big jugs in the bar (vanilla beans, berries, mango, etc) and then using them in all sorts of fun cocktails!
I had heard Kenny Chesney was on island this week. I’m not a big fan and really didn’t think I would know him if I feel over him. But it wasn’t long before he and his gang came in to Infusions. They were standing right behind us at the bar. The backwards ball cap certainly gives him away. The group his was with was a little odd. All but Kenny seemed to be very drunk. From what I saw Kenny was only drinking bottled water. He was with another guy who might be in his mid 50’s, another guy who might have been late 20’s and 3 or 4 girls who I would guess are barely legal to drink. The older gent seemed to be making himself quite at home with one of the girls based on where his hands were most of the night. And at one point I turned around and that same girl had her tank top over her head flashing her bra to the entire bar. Nice. Infusions seemed a little too classy for this crowd. We left shortly after their arrival.
10/6
Coffee at the house (OF COURSE) and then in to Chilly Billy’s for breakfast. It was good. Not great but good. No cruise ships on the schedule today so we headed for Trunk for the day. Got there around 11 and stayed until around 3 or so. Great day. The beach here is spectacular.
There was no cruise ship today but there was a large group that I think was on a land based vacation in St. Thomas. They had a special lunch set up for the group. And we heard the tour guide announce “lunch was served until 1:30 but if you wanted to go shopping you had to be on a shuttle by 1”.
Al and his wife were with this group. Who are they you ask and how do we know they were there? Well, around 1 Al’s wife walked down the ramp that leads to the beach and from there SCREAMED for Al “we’re leaving Al, going shopping, are you coming?????????” My guess is poor Al just wanted to chill on the beach with his cocktail but he quickly got his things together to head for the shuttle. But not before the wife could scream again, from a place unseen behind the trees, “AL, THE SHUTTLE IS LEAVING, COME ON”. We were floating around the water at this point and another couple was near by and we were all cracking up yet feeling bad for poor Al. See ya, Al. Enjoy!
After Trunk we headed back through town and in to Starfish to see what looked good for dinner. We settled on ribeyes, baked potatoes and some salad.
Around 5:30 we headed back out to Hawksnest with our champagne and some snacks. It was nice to experience the beach in this light. And the bubbly was good too! There was a wedding at the beach while we were there.
Headed back to the villa around 7 for grilling and swimming, all while watching the full moon rise over Bongo Bongo. The end of another great day.
10/7
Sun really wiped us out yesterday so decided to make it more of an easy day today. I have had a wicked cold since we got here (woke up with an ear ache in the Philly Airport Marriott last Sunday) and it was starting to take its toll on me. I was hacking a lot and overall just feeling tired.
Had a light breakfast at home and then headed out to take a little walk/hike. I had been reading about Peace Hill so we set out to find it. It is supposed to be an easy walk which is about all I could handle. We found the parking lot, grabbed some waters and started walking. In reality it is easy to walk up but I found out on the way up I am sicker than I thought. I started to sound like a case of REALLY BAD asthma! But I pressed on and made it up to the windmill and the plateau beyond. Nice views up there. Took a little breather to let my chest stop rattling and then we headed back.
I wanted to go back to a gallery in Mongoose to make a purchase so we headed there. I bought a piece of art that will be shipped home for us.
We also stopped for cocktails (Perfect for the common cold) at the bar at Sun Dog café. We had been here before. Really like this little bar. It’s a good place to break for a cold one. The BBC’s and Mongo coladas are very good here.
Back to the villa for a later lunch and pool and nap time. I actually had to cave in to the nap today.
This evening we went to Asolare for dinner. LOVED this place. Very romantic setting and the food was excellent. I know people think prices are high be so far we haven’t encountered anything too outrageous here. Prices are similar to home. If we had Asolare at home it would be a special occasion place but really we didn’t think the bill was bad. We both started with cocktails, both had a starter, entrée and dessert and we had a bottle of wine. With tip our bill was $220.00. We’ve spent more in our day, for sure. It was worth every penny.
10/8
Sunday morning on St. John. Not a bad place to start another week. Spent the morning/early afternoon around the villa. Cooked up a Sunday brunch complete with Bloody Mary’s, steak, eggs, toast and muffins. It was yummy and it was more than enough to carry us through the rest of the day.
Today was the only day we actually had a plan so around 3 or so we headed to the Beach Bar for Sunday Jazz with Steve Simon. Funny thing was yesterday we were chatting with a guy at the Gecko Gazebo and he told us to go see his Dad at the Beach Bar if we like jazz! Turns out Steve’s son lives 2 towns from us back in Jersey.
The jazz at the Beach Bar is all it’s cracked up to be. We had a great time there and I think this was one of the big highlight’s of our trip. Steve was celebrating his 60th birthday so I guess it was an extra special evening. We also saw 2 other local celebs there – Ruth and Ron!
10/9
Headed out toward Cinnamon this morning and while we were out that way we headed out to the Annenburg Ruins. Got up the top of the hill, took out the camera to capture the great views and realized that I didn’t have a card in my camera. DOH! Oh well. After the ruins we headed back to Cinnamon. Cinnamon wasn’t our favorite. Don’t know if it is the norm here but it was extremely windy on the beach. Wind that was making sand fly every where and it hurt. That windy. We swam here for quite a while and then headed back to town for lunch. I think we went to Margarita Phil’s this day. We enjoyed it but I did think the prices were high for this place. Prices at most places didn’t come as any surprise but I did think this place was high for what was being offered.
This was the second day that there were no cruise ships in so we headed back to Trunk for the rest of the afternoon. It was very quiet on this day and we actually got a beach nap in!
Dinner Monday night was at La Tapa. LOVED this place. They have a jazz group on Monday nights which is why we chose this place tonight. Really enjoyed everything about this place. I think this was my favorite meal. Charlie votes for Asolare. Just a note, Charlie is now developing the cold that I came here with and I don’t know if he could even taste his food tonight. Too bad because his was good – I tried it!
10/10
Today was beach hopping day. We hit two small beaches that we hadn’t been at before. Gibney and Jumby. Really liked both and I think the only person we encountered on either beach was one girl on Jumby. We were on the beaches until around 12:30 and then we headed out to Coral Bay for lunch at Skinny Legs. Interesting place. Good burger.
Paradise People was playing again at The Balcony on Tuesday night so we went there for dinner. We had met one of the band members during the week and we told him we’d try and catch up with the band again. I’d say the balcony was ok. Not great not bad. I’d say fair. But the music was great. These guys are really good so for anyone heading down soon try and catch them at Infusions or The Balcony.
10/11
Our last full day. Made the most of it and got out of the house by 9. Stopped at the deli Grotto for breakfast sandwiches and took our travel coffee mugs to Maho for the morning. It was lovely and again we didn’t encounter another person until we were getting ready to leave.
Headed to town to do our last bit of shopping, which turned out to be more than I planned at Patton jewelers! Had a few last drinks and snacks at Sun Dog and then headed over to St. John Spice. Our last official shopping stop. We loaded up there and it’s getting shipped home! Had a good chat with Ruth and checked out the new kids store. It’s really nice and the view is killer. Wouldn’t mind working there myself!
Was so glad to have met Ruth. She’s really wonderful and I appreciate all she’s done for us to plan for this trip. Will be looking forward to going back to St. John knowing there’s a friendly face there to visit.
Spent the late afternoon at the villa. Dipping in the pool, packing a little, back in the pool, sipping the cocktails, etc. Josephine came by to tend to the plants around Bongo Bongo. What a nice lady.
Decided to stay in for dinner so we placed an order at Uncle Joe’s and came back here. It was all delicious and it was $20 bucks to boot!
Tonight we are having a pretty wicked lightning storm. We have been trying to wait it out for some swimming but I don’t think it’s going to happen. The rain is starting to come down now. Maybe a last minute swim in the morning.
10/14
We’re home now. Our departure went very smoothly. Dropped off our bags at Caneel and told them we wanted to get on the 12:30 ferry. Drop our Jeep off at St. John Car Rental where we didn’t get charged for the dent and then took a taxi back to Caneel. We had a leisurely breakfast at Caneel and then passed the time on the property just relaxing and reading and having a few last cocktails. Got the ferry at 12:30 and we were at the gate at the airport before 2.
Funny thing, most of the stuff I bought at St. John spice is being shipped home but I elected to carry the bottle of vanilla I bought for my mother. Totally forgot it was in the bag I put in Charlie’s carry on and of course he got stopped by TSA. I felt so bad! I told the TSA guy to dump it but he was so nice he volunteered to take it back and see if he could get it in one of our suit cases. Low and behold it was in there when we arrived home. So my mother still gets her vanilla!
What a great time we had. We just loved the island and we know we will return some day. We have had a lot of vacations but I think this one just moved to the top of our list. It was a wonderful time for the two of us.
Thanks to everyone who helped me planned. I’m a planner. Charlie on the other hand starts he research when he arrives on the island! LOL! That’s what makes us good for each other I guess!
10/2
We flew US Air from Philly to Charlotte to STT. We upgraded to first class on the flight from Charlotte to STT. A great decision. First time in first class for both of us and we really enjoyed. It does make the flight so much easier. That being said I was still ready to get off the plane when it was time.
Got our bags fairly quickly. I was just relieved to see all of them come around the belt. Checked in with Caneel and away we went in private taxi and off to the ferry. Ferry ride was really great. It’s nice to get out on the water so quickly.
Approaching the Caneel dock I knew I was going to be very happy with this place. It’s really lovely. We came off the ferry and they were handing out cool cloths to everyone which were very refreshing. I said good afternoon to the girl handing out the towels and she broke in to the biggest smile.
We were escorted to our room which was beach front. Caneel beach was right outside our door. Upon entering found that we had been left a bottle of Moet & Chandon Champagne in honor of our honeymoon.
Within 15 minutes we were suited and floating in the water, champagne glasses in hand. It would have been sooner but we had to wait for our bags! Next time need to pack a suit in the carry on!
Caneel beach is a little rocky but I just ran right over them. No stopping me now. (FYI my champagne glass floated in the water!).
We splashed around for not sure how long and then walked along Caneel beach to the front desk to ask some questions about dinner and late check out. They extended our check out until 12 but said that they would store bags and we could use changing rooms whenever we were ready to leave the property.
The lights of St. Thomas were beginning to twinkle so we walked out to the end of the ferry dock to sit on the bench and take it in. We had an 8:30 dinner reservation that night and sitting on the bench I asked Charlie what time it was and he said “I have absolutely no concept of time at the moment!” Woo hoo … I knew it would be a great vacation!
Had dinner at Equator which we really loved.
10/3
Next morning up and out early. Walked over to the coffee bar around 7:15 and just sat around the beach bar watching the islands wake up.
Breakfast was included in our room rate so we did that around 8. The buffet breakfast at Caneel is really well done. We enjoyed it and the views don’t hurt either.
Walked out to Honeymoon after breakfast. I’m guessing it was 9:00 or so when we arrived and there wasn’t a soul in sight. I was in awe. This little spot is so beautiful. It was like our own little slice of heaven. We were there I’d guess 90 minutes and the only people we saw were a few folks who came to check the beach out but then left. I didn’t get that but to each his own I say.
We cleared out of our room by noon and sent the bags to storage. Then we headed over to Scott beach. This was nice as well but nothing like Honeymoon.
We only spent the one night at Caneel but we really enjoyed it. All the food we had was excellent and the staff there at that property are really wonderful. We would definitely go back there. That being said I just don’t know if I see myself at a resort like that (or any resort) for more than a few days. We met some folks on the ferry who were going to be there 8 days. That would be too much for me.
At 3pm we were met in the Caneel parking lot by Paco of Carefree Getaways. He took us to get our Jeep at St. John car rental and we were on our way. It’s a little nerve racking to start right off following someone on the left but Charlie did great. No problems. Then we approached the Bongo Bongo driveway. Yee Ha .. that’s steep! First time up is a little scary but you get used to it after a few trips up and down.
All you can say when you enter this house is wow. Hard to know where to look first. At the cool house or the view. Paco gave us the mini tour and went over some of the do’s and don’ts while Charlie was unloading the car. I went out to see if I could help and I asked him what he thought and he said “As soon as Paco leaves I’m going to SCREAM!”. LOL! So cute!
After Paco left we really got our bearings around the house. Took a look see at everything and settled in to the RED bedroom. It’s got a great view. I came prepared for swimming so once I was settled in a room, I hit the pool! Ahhhhh… heaven. Unpacking can wait!
We did do a quick run to Pine Peace Market for booze. And after going to Starfish I did notice prices were much better at PP. Example, we drink Vueve Cliquot champagne, which at home we can get on sale for $32 or so. At PP it was $39. At Starfish it was $54. HUGE difference.
After the market we settled in for the night. Suzy Christie had brought in enough supplies for our dinner as well as the next morning. I had ordered some platters from Suzy, one of which was the London Broil platter and it was excellent.
The lights started coming up on St. Thomas and I began to discover what a special place this is.
10/4
Up early this morning. Earlier than at home. But getting up to Bongo Bongo is much more enticing than getting up and heading down to my home office. I had heard Charlie leave the bedroom a few minutes before me and when I open the slider on the bedroom to step outside I could hear the burr grinder whirring. To my delight Charlie takes care of the coffee every day on vacation, usually long before my eyes are opened.
The plan for the day was to just drive and see what we saw. We headed out Rt. 10 all the way to the very eastern point. Someone asked if we were sailing on Breath and the answer is no, unfortunately. We had contacted them before coming down and they are sailing now but they require 6 people to go out so that wasn’t going to work for us. In fact we contacted several companies about sailing and most of those that are out require minimums or said “call when you get here”. So far I just haven’t felt like making those calls. We are doing just fine with how things are going now.
So .. back to driving. Even in the car it is hot. So we had plenty of water to drink along the way. Stopped here and there as we went. Passed Vie’s but she was closed that day. On the way back we took the other fork in the road as you enter Coral Bay and headed over to Island Blues. They were just opening but told us to come on in and they would gladly help us in about 20 seconds. We’re patient people so we waited! Really nice lunch there. Charlie had a black and blue burger that was SO good. I had the Quesidilla of the day which was also excellent. This is a very cool place to just hang. We liked it there. We plan to head back that way later in the trip and that time we might try Skinny Legs of they are open.
On the drive back we picked up the North Shore Road heading back to Cruz Bay. We came along a beach that looked awesome so I asked Charlie to stop. I was dying to get in the water. So we parked along the road, grabbed a towel and headed to the water. Actually we packed in to a wooded area where there was a break in the trees. We backed up until we actually HIT a tree! Oops. Not sure if we did that to the rear fender or if it was there already. Guess we will find out when we return to St. John car rental!
I was in the water and Charlie ran back to the car for something (probably something for me, he’s such a saint!) and I walked over to a group of ladies who were sitting down the beach a ways and I said to one woman “Hello, can you tell me where I am!?” She looked at me oddly for a bit and then she said “Maho”. Oh, Maho, ok cool. LOVE MAHO. Today was really about getting the lay of the land so we didn’t stay long. Swam around for about half an hour and then started back on North Shore. Saw many other beaches along the way, made a stop at the Trunk Bay over look and then headed back in to town.
Had thought we were eating out tonight but after a big lunch at Island Blues we decided to stay home. We hit StarFish for some stuff for the house as well as dinner. We picked up pre made ribs and chicken and fixed a salad. Enjoyed all that with a nice bottle of Chardonnay.
10/5
Up early again this morning. No matter though, Charlie is always up earlier than me brewing the coffee. Had a light breakfast at home and then headed to town for a bit. We hit a few shops in Mongoose Junction then headed over to St. John Spice. What a great place this is. So much more diverse than I expected. After browsing for a few minutes we heard “who is that down there”. Ruth had recogonized us from her upstairs perch! She came down with a big welcome greeting and we really enjoyed chatting with her as well as meeting Ron, in between shopping! We moved on from there after a half hour or so with a promise to be back before heading home.
We headed back to Mongoose and picked up some lunch stuff at Deli Grotto. Really good little place that we would frequent a few times during our stay.
We arrived at Hawksnest around noon I would guess. I was really hot so I dropped stuff on the beach and hit the water. I no sooner came up to find a bunch of people gawking toward the water. Turns out there were 3 VERY LARGE baracudda swimming around right in the same area as me! I’m a chicken so I removed myself quickly. We enjoyed our lunch on the beach and then took a little walk in the water. Shortly after it started to sprinkle so I headed back to our spot to make sure the camera was under cover. Sprinkles quickly turned to pretty heavy rain so we grabbed our stuff and headed for cover. It wasn’t letting up after 15 minutes or so, so we decided to head back to the villa and enjoy the pool for the rest of the day.
That night we went to Morgan’s Mango for dinner, on Ruth’s suggestion. We liked it very much. I know Charlie had beef and I had a blackened swordfish with island salsa that was really excellent. After Morgan’s we decided to head over to Infusions (also on Ruth’s suggestion. That woman in full of good info!). Infusions is a new, very chic Martini bar. Their attraction is that they are “infusing” vodkas with all sorts of good flavors in big jugs in the bar (vanilla beans, berries, mango, etc) and then using them in all sorts of fun cocktails!
I had heard Kenny Chesney was on island this week. I’m not a big fan and really didn’t think I would know him if I feel over him. But it wasn’t long before he and his gang came in to Infusions. They were standing right behind us at the bar. The backwards ball cap certainly gives him away. The group his was with was a little odd. All but Kenny seemed to be very drunk. From what I saw Kenny was only drinking bottled water. He was with another guy who might be in his mid 50’s, another guy who might have been late 20’s and 3 or 4 girls who I would guess are barely legal to drink. The older gent seemed to be making himself quite at home with one of the girls based on where his hands were most of the night. And at one point I turned around and that same girl had her tank top over her head flashing her bra to the entire bar. Nice. Infusions seemed a little too classy for this crowd. We left shortly after their arrival.
10/6
Coffee at the house (OF COURSE) and then in to Chilly Billy’s for breakfast. It was good. Not great but good. No cruise ships on the schedule today so we headed for Trunk for the day. Got there around 11 and stayed until around 3 or so. Great day. The beach here is spectacular.
There was no cruise ship today but there was a large group that I think was on a land based vacation in St. Thomas. They had a special lunch set up for the group. And we heard the tour guide announce “lunch was served until 1:30 but if you wanted to go shopping you had to be on a shuttle by 1”.
Al and his wife were with this group. Who are they you ask and how do we know they were there? Well, around 1 Al’s wife walked down the ramp that leads to the beach and from there SCREAMED for Al “we’re leaving Al, going shopping, are you coming?????????” My guess is poor Al just wanted to chill on the beach with his cocktail but he quickly got his things together to head for the shuttle. But not before the wife could scream again, from a place unseen behind the trees, “AL, THE SHUTTLE IS LEAVING, COME ON”. We were floating around the water at this point and another couple was near by and we were all cracking up yet feeling bad for poor Al. See ya, Al. Enjoy!
After Trunk we headed back through town and in to Starfish to see what looked good for dinner. We settled on ribeyes, baked potatoes and some salad.
Around 5:30 we headed back out to Hawksnest with our champagne and some snacks. It was nice to experience the beach in this light. And the bubbly was good too! There was a wedding at the beach while we were there.
Headed back to the villa around 7 for grilling and swimming, all while watching the full moon rise over Bongo Bongo. The end of another great day.
10/7
Sun really wiped us out yesterday so decided to make it more of an easy day today. I have had a wicked cold since we got here (woke up with an ear ache in the Philly Airport Marriott last Sunday) and it was starting to take its toll on me. I was hacking a lot and overall just feeling tired.
Had a light breakfast at home and then headed out to take a little walk/hike. I had been reading about Peace Hill so we set out to find it. It is supposed to be an easy walk which is about all I could handle. We found the parking lot, grabbed some waters and started walking. In reality it is easy to walk up but I found out on the way up I am sicker than I thought. I started to sound like a case of REALLY BAD asthma! But I pressed on and made it up to the windmill and the plateau beyond. Nice views up there. Took a little breather to let my chest stop rattling and then we headed back.
I wanted to go back to a gallery in Mongoose to make a purchase so we headed there. I bought a piece of art that will be shipped home for us.
We also stopped for cocktails (Perfect for the common cold) at the bar at Sun Dog café. We had been here before. Really like this little bar. It’s a good place to break for a cold one. The BBC’s and Mongo coladas are very good here.
Back to the villa for a later lunch and pool and nap time. I actually had to cave in to the nap today.
This evening we went to Asolare for dinner. LOVED this place. Very romantic setting and the food was excellent. I know people think prices are high be so far we haven’t encountered anything too outrageous here. Prices are similar to home. If we had Asolare at home it would be a special occasion place but really we didn’t think the bill was bad. We both started with cocktails, both had a starter, entrée and dessert and we had a bottle of wine. With tip our bill was $220.00. We’ve spent more in our day, for sure. It was worth every penny.
10/8
Sunday morning on St. John. Not a bad place to start another week. Spent the morning/early afternoon around the villa. Cooked up a Sunday brunch complete with Bloody Mary’s, steak, eggs, toast and muffins. It was yummy and it was more than enough to carry us through the rest of the day.
Today was the only day we actually had a plan so around 3 or so we headed to the Beach Bar for Sunday Jazz with Steve Simon. Funny thing was yesterday we were chatting with a guy at the Gecko Gazebo and he told us to go see his Dad at the Beach Bar if we like jazz! Turns out Steve’s son lives 2 towns from us back in Jersey.
The jazz at the Beach Bar is all it’s cracked up to be. We had a great time there and I think this was one of the big highlight’s of our trip. Steve was celebrating his 60th birthday so I guess it was an extra special evening. We also saw 2 other local celebs there – Ruth and Ron!
10/9
Headed out toward Cinnamon this morning and while we were out that way we headed out to the Annenburg Ruins. Got up the top of the hill, took out the camera to capture the great views and realized that I didn’t have a card in my camera. DOH! Oh well. After the ruins we headed back to Cinnamon. Cinnamon wasn’t our favorite. Don’t know if it is the norm here but it was extremely windy on the beach. Wind that was making sand fly every where and it hurt. That windy. We swam here for quite a while and then headed back to town for lunch. I think we went to Margarita Phil’s this day. We enjoyed it but I did think the prices were high for this place. Prices at most places didn’t come as any surprise but I did think this place was high for what was being offered.
This was the second day that there were no cruise ships in so we headed back to Trunk for the rest of the afternoon. It was very quiet on this day and we actually got a beach nap in!
Dinner Monday night was at La Tapa. LOVED this place. They have a jazz group on Monday nights which is why we chose this place tonight. Really enjoyed everything about this place. I think this was my favorite meal. Charlie votes for Asolare. Just a note, Charlie is now developing the cold that I came here with and I don’t know if he could even taste his food tonight. Too bad because his was good – I tried it!
10/10
Today was beach hopping day. We hit two small beaches that we hadn’t been at before. Gibney and Jumby. Really liked both and I think the only person we encountered on either beach was one girl on Jumby. We were on the beaches until around 12:30 and then we headed out to Coral Bay for lunch at Skinny Legs. Interesting place. Good burger.
Paradise People was playing again at The Balcony on Tuesday night so we went there for dinner. We had met one of the band members during the week and we told him we’d try and catch up with the band again. I’d say the balcony was ok. Not great not bad. I’d say fair. But the music was great. These guys are really good so for anyone heading down soon try and catch them at Infusions or The Balcony.
10/11
Our last full day. Made the most of it and got out of the house by 9. Stopped at the deli Grotto for breakfast sandwiches and took our travel coffee mugs to Maho for the morning. It was lovely and again we didn’t encounter another person until we were getting ready to leave.
Headed to town to do our last bit of shopping, which turned out to be more than I planned at Patton jewelers! Had a few last drinks and snacks at Sun Dog and then headed over to St. John Spice. Our last official shopping stop. We loaded up there and it’s getting shipped home! Had a good chat with Ruth and checked out the new kids store. It’s really nice and the view is killer. Wouldn’t mind working there myself!
Was so glad to have met Ruth. She’s really wonderful and I appreciate all she’s done for us to plan for this trip. Will be looking forward to going back to St. John knowing there’s a friendly face there to visit.
Spent the late afternoon at the villa. Dipping in the pool, packing a little, back in the pool, sipping the cocktails, etc. Josephine came by to tend to the plants around Bongo Bongo. What a nice lady.
Decided to stay in for dinner so we placed an order at Uncle Joe’s and came back here. It was all delicious and it was $20 bucks to boot!
Tonight we are having a pretty wicked lightning storm. We have been trying to wait it out for some swimming but I don’t think it’s going to happen. The rain is starting to come down now. Maybe a last minute swim in the morning.
10/14
We’re home now. Our departure went very smoothly. Dropped off our bags at Caneel and told them we wanted to get on the 12:30 ferry. Drop our Jeep off at St. John Car Rental where we didn’t get charged for the dent and then took a taxi back to Caneel. We had a leisurely breakfast at Caneel and then passed the time on the property just relaxing and reading and having a few last cocktails. Got the ferry at 12:30 and we were at the gate at the airport before 2.
Funny thing, most of the stuff I bought at St. John spice is being shipped home but I elected to carry the bottle of vanilla I bought for my mother. Totally forgot it was in the bag I put in Charlie’s carry on and of course he got stopped by TSA. I felt so bad! I told the TSA guy to dump it but he was so nice he volunteered to take it back and see if he could get it in one of our suit cases. Low and behold it was in there when we arrived home. So my mother still gets her vanilla!
What a great time we had. We just loved the island and we know we will return some day. We have had a lot of vacations but I think this one just moved to the top of our list. It was a wonderful time for the two of us.
Thanks to everyone who helped me planned. I’m a planner. Charlie on the other hand starts he research when he arrives on the island! LOL! That’s what makes us good for each other I guess!
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NoWorriesMom
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:45 pm
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
Hey Mary beth!
Congratulations again to you and Charlie, sounds like you had a great trip! What a good sport you were with your bad cold and all. thanks for the great trip report, I made a bunch of notes from it on places we now want to give a try!
Hope the honeymoon isn't over
Hope the honeymoon isn't over
Mary Beth,
I enjoyed your real time trip reports as well as this one. I did not find it "dreadfully long" at all.
Sounds like you had a terrific time. I laughed at your encounter with Mrs. Al at Trunk. It seems like there's one in every group!
Seems like you have a real sweet man, congrats on your marriage. May you have many, many happy years together and many more trips to paradise.
Thanks for sharing your honeymoon with us!
I enjoyed your real time trip reports as well as this one. I did not find it "dreadfully long" at all.
Sounds like you had a terrific time. I laughed at your encounter with Mrs. Al at Trunk. It seems like there's one in every group!
Seems like you have a real sweet man, congrats on your marriage. May you have many, many happy years together and many more trips to paradise.
Thanks for sharing your honeymoon with us!
Patr
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
Not only have you given us AWESOME pictures to look at but you've given us a wonderful trip report. I enjoyed reading it a lot and can't wait for my turn to go!! We hope to do the Jazz at the Beach Bar on Sunday while we are there, but I've just realized that it w/b Christmas Eve so I'm not sure they'll be there playing that evening.
Thanks again for sharing your wonderful time on STJ with all of us!!
Thanks again for sharing your wonderful time on STJ with all of us!!
Coden
Re: Hey Mary beth!
Hope the honeymoon isn't over [/quote]
It's only JUST begun!
[/quote]It's only JUST begun!
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California Girl
Hi Mary Beth & Charlie! Great, absolutely great trip report. "Dreadfully long?" I think NOT! The details are what make it so interesting!
Sorry to hear you were/and got sick! I was sick when we went to St. Thomas last year. But I'd rather be sick in the Virgin Islands than feelin' great at home! LOL!
Sorry to hear you were/and got sick! I was sick when we went to St. Thomas last year. But I'd rather be sick in the Virgin Islands than feelin' great at home! LOL!
Hi Mary Beth,
Great trip report! You are right, you'll be back.
The Beach Bar is one of our favorite places; will make a note to be there on Sunday afternoon. Also happy to hear that you gave a thumbs up to "Asolare"; we've always had a wonderful time there. Will also add Infustions and LaTapa to our "to do list"; which is getting rather long
Like you, I'm a planner. I think I had our first trip to STJ planned to the minute; now I just take a good list and if we don't get through it all "Oh well". Don isn't a planner at all; he just likes to come along for the ride
Congratulations on your marriage - and even if another trip isn't soon - keep visiting the forum - you'll be answering all the questions now
janet
Great trip report! You are right, you'll be back.
The Beach Bar is one of our favorite places; will make a note to be there on Sunday afternoon. Also happy to hear that you gave a thumbs up to "Asolare"; we've always had a wonderful time there. Will also add Infustions and LaTapa to our "to do list"; which is getting rather long
Like you, I'm a planner. I think I had our first trip to STJ planned to the minute; now I just take a good list and if we don't get through it all "Oh well". Don isn't a planner at all; he just likes to come along for the ride
Congratulations on your marriage - and even if another trip isn't soon - keep visiting the forum - you'll be answering all the questions now
janet
janet
Re: Caneel
We did take the 12:30 Ferry from Caneel to STT. It was really pleasant.wishwewerethere wrote:Thanks for the great trip report and photos. They were great!
Did Caneel let you take their ferry home after all?
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Xislandgirl
- Posts: 4163
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:03 pm
- Location: Slightly left of center
Mary Beth, that was a wonderful trip report and rather than being dreadfully long, it was too short!
I'm sorry to hear you both had to suffer through a cold, but I guess it's better to suffer on STJ than at home. It sounds like you guys had a great honeymoon.
Thanks for posting your thoughts and the pictures and congrats to you and Charlie!!
SarahD
I'm sorry to hear you both had to suffer through a cold, but I guess it's better to suffer on STJ than at home. It sounds like you guys had a great honeymoon.
Thanks for posting your thoughts and the pictures and congrats to you and Charlie!!
SarahD
Great report, Mary Beth! Thanks for taking the time to write it. It definitely was not too long!
I'm glad that you were able to take the Caneel ferry back, I will keep that in mind for next trip.
So, when are you returning to St. John?
I'm glad that you were able to take the Caneel ferry back, I will keep that in mind for next trip.
So, when are you returning to St. John?
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
liamsaunt, speaking of the ferry, I forgot to mention in my report that there was a woman on the Caneel Ferry with us who was crying her eyes out as she was leaving. I felt so bad for her! I overheard her talking that she was back for her 2 year anniversary and that they were thinking about moving there.
Wow, I have heard people refer to leaving as "the walk of woe," but that's pretty extreme! I hope she gets her wish and moves there someday.mary beth wrote:liamsaunt, speaking of the ferry, I forgot to mention in my report that there was a woman on the Caneel Ferry with us who was crying her eyes out as she was leaving. I felt so bad for her! I overheard her talking that she was back for her 2 year anniversary and that they were thinking about moving there.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.