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Hi everyone. We're here on STT!
Today is just beautiful. I just tried to connect to the net at the house and HOORAY, the connection works! So, reports will be coming in, possibly, each night or something close to that.
Flight from Philly was really nice. yesterday......except some glitches when they decided to change the aircraft before we took off....and the new craft was smaller than the former. So, some passengers got bumped....but their luggage was already on, so we had to wait for bags to be moved off. That went on while we sat on the plane for 2 hours....WAITING. USAir was nice about it and handed out water and free headphones...and put a show on the TV. And they were apologizing every so often and giving us updates.
Flight was lovely. Sat next to a very nice lady who was planning to stay with her hubby at a home on NELTJBERG Bay on STT. Sounded like they had an awesome trip planned. Luckily, they had a driver to care for them - I was telling her about the road to get down there. Yikes! Not sure which home it is - but I assume it is the one on the point, from her description.
Exit plane at STT and WOW - the drama of going from the Philly arctic blast to this glorious warm breeze. Island looks very dry- lots of brown 🙁
The airport was a total zoo. I have NEVER seen so many people. Perhaps it was just because everyone was arriving at once - USAir from Philly and from Charlotte got in at the same time....and so did American. Budget car rental had a line about 40 people deep. Avis was empty. Picked up a Ford Focus - $15 a day - rented thru Hotwire.
Luggage took a loooooong time to come out - maybe 40 minutes. And, now, we need to go back to airport because we forgot one bag. It only had towels in it. But, they are my beautiful beach towels....so we're going back this morning.
Drive to the house was beautiful and easy - not too much traffic.
Dropped off bags,changed to swimsuits and headed to ------ INDIGO. No tables - they were all pretty empty, but had been reserved:( MAJOR bummer. The waitress told me that we'll need reservations pretty much every night this week. People were calling for reservations while I was standing there - and the hostess was telling them that nothing was open til 8:45 or so. But, there was a tall cafe table out on the pool deck that she said we could have. It is considered a bar table, but was outside - so we took it so that I could watch my daughter swim.
No Black and Blue on the menu for dinner - only lunch. So, we shared lobster nuggets for apps., then daughter had burger and fries and I and yellow fin tuna over a cous cous made with lobster and cheese. Yummmm! Had a coupel of mojitos - they seemed a little light on the rum, Maybe I need to give the bartender a nice "introduction tip" and hope for better next time.
After dinner I tried to dip in the pool, but it was too chilly. We went to KMart for supplies and then back to house. Islanders have been smiling and welcoming. A friend came over last night to say hi. Shared a cocktail and then I was off to bed. Daughter was already asleep after watching a new kid's movie - Zoom.
Slept well.
Up today - and heading out now to the beach (and to get the bag we left at airport). Sun is beaming and view is just glorious!
More later.
Sherri - will call you this morning 🙂
Enjoy the sunshine for all of us Blu. It is another cold one here, maybe 20 today!
Sounds great so far! anxiously awaiting the next installment.
what is your villa like?
I love the real-time trip reports, but don't spend too much precious vacation time in front of the computer. Just curious, why do you bring beach towels? Doesn't your villa supply them?
Have a great time!!
Thanks for the report, Blu! I'm glad you made it down there safely. I'm jealous. 9 degrees in Chicago this morning! We're due for a heat wave during the week, however. The temp may get up to 40! 🙂
Bluie: You see why we have been praying for rain!?!
Blu, I'm going to love you being down there and reading about the sun, sand, warmth...etc.
You're lucky you got out of PA with all this mess of snow we have around here. Tomorrow is supposed to be brutally cold. I'm so jealous!!!!!!!!!!
Great start! Enjoy - I agree with the thought of not wasting any of your precious time on little ol' us! Keep them coming, but only when you can get to it.
Hi all. A couple of you asked about the villa. We are not in a rental property - we are in a private home - the guest house of a friend of mine who lives on STT - he has been away, but is coming back tonight, which I am looking forward to since I always have a good time with him. I wasn't sure if the home would have enough beach towels, or the really large ones I like, so we brought our own to be safe.
Yesterday was a nice, relaxing day. Went to the airport to get bag we'd left the day before - no problem doing that. Then went to Magens Bay for breakfast. Ok, Magens Bay was really crowded with ship people, STT visitors and locals. We rented chairs and set up where we found space - but all of the shade and picnic tables were long gone.
A waitress was going up and down the beach taking drink orders, which was nice. We didn't have our cooler with us, so it was nice to be able to sit back and place orders. Magens Bay bar has really reasonable prices on drinks.
At one point, a guy walked up to me (sorry, now I cannot remember his name - someone from this forum) and asked if I was "Bluwater"...said his wife connected me with the photo on VINOW. She must have a good eye because that beach was super crowded. He said he lives on island now. Who was that??? Sorry I forgot who it was 🙁 Nice guy. I didn't meet his wife.
Although it was crowded, I really enjoyed talking to different people....watching everyone stroll by in various forms of swimsuits, watching the kids (there were probably 7 kids around us - all my daughter's age) trying to catch fish in little buckets they had. Then a sea turtle and a stingray swam by and all of the kids went wild. Then, some new people came and started to set up their chairs IN FRONT of the people who were next to me, whom I had become friendly with in the water - a group of 7 from New York area. I could see them looking like "oh NO you are not!". Then they started talking about how to get the people back. It was funny. Eventually, everyone was able to scoot around so that nobody was being blocked and all was well in our little corner of the beach, again. Phew - that was a close one.
Then my daughter said she was hungry, so we decided to leave our chairs/towels on the beach to save our spot, and head to Indigo for a late lunch. I called Sherri while I was sitting there waiting to place an order and the waitress came over just as I was speaking with Sherri - so Sherri heard me order Black and Blue and said she knew where I was. We had a great lunch, a nice swim in the pool, and then spent some time in their grotto hot tub - soooo peaceful up there all surrounded by tropical plants and trees. . By the point, I'd had 2 mojitos and a rum and tonic on the beach - so the hot tub just about put me to sleep. We stayed up there for about 15 minutes and then some other people came up, so we decided to go back to Magens Bay. It was almost 4pm and we had to have our chairs back to the rental hut by 4:30. Dragged the chairs back and then sat at one of the now-open picnic tables. Amazing - the beach looks so empty now......just my all around favorite time to be on the beach - 5pm .
Ok, so we came home around 5:30 and hung out playing our version of golf on the grounds - just whacking balls with clubs - found some bananas that were ripe on the plant - so we ate them - and then played with the dogs that belong to the owner.
Then we came up with the bright idea to go to STJ for dinner. By the time we parked in Red Hook, we were too tired to go.....so we went to Molly Malones for conch chowder (yummmm - we LOVE Molly's conch chowder) and wings. We couldn't eat the wings since we'd really eaten a late lunch. So, they came home with us.
Almost fell asleep at the table - came home - watched a movie - and fell asleep so the movie watched us.
I woke up around midnight with that "drank too much and am now dehydrated" feeling....downed a big bottle of cold water and went back to sleep. Woke up early this morning to something making a screeching noise outside of the bedroom window - some kind of bird. I am now going to sit out on the deck and watch for whales in the sea.
Blu, you've seen whales before??? Pretty interesting. Hope you saw some
Love your trip reports!
Blu you make me feel like I'm there. Thanks for the reports.
Tom
Hi Blu,
Getting windy and a little dark, may get some rain! We so need it! Water trucks are out in full speed ahead! Will more than likely try to call you tomorrow and see if you are around! Always love reading your posts! Oh, and if you see any whales - CALL ME!!! I SOOOOOO want to see them too! 24 yrs and never seen them, but have heard they've been seen at Hull Bay, end of Magen's Bay and off the point of Peterborg!!!! Hope to see you soon! 🙂
Yep, dark and stormy eve here on STT - wind is howling and skies are very threatening - but, even with all of this drama, I still haven't seeen rain. Though, it sounds like something major is going on outside. Already lost power once, but it came right back on. We quickly microwaved leftovers in case things get worse. Staying in tonight - this is definitely not a night to try to cross to STJ and get BACK. Daughter has a research paper to do while we're here, so we're going to use tonight to do that - which is why we've logged on. I'll share today's adventures another time.
Hope everyone on STT and STJ gets rain tonight. Sure is needed!
Blu - i always love your trip reports. 🙂
Have a wonderful time and say hello to the Iguana's at Maggie's for me!!
Jen
Blu here.
Here's my thought for today - BOOOO!
Why is it COLD on STT? Why is the wind blowing like some kind of system is coming - but it has been doing this since last night and I don't think it has yet rained? Why does the water look like the waves are 10 ft high?
I'm guessing we can't keep busy by going to another islands since I'm thinking that boats may not be running in these seas. Anyone know if the ferries are running? Car ferry to STJ?
We're starting to get a little (dare I say it)....bored.
Yesterday:
Up and went downtown since daughter had been asking for some new dangly earings. Though a dolphin or starfish would be cute. Couldn't find anything like that - so, decided to just shop at home.
MESON AMALIA (Palm Passage):
Went to lunch at Meson Amalia. This has been one of my favorites. Once again, the inconsistency of VI restaurants prevailed. I ordered the signature dish - paella. The calamari in the paella was so dry and brown around the edges. It tasted and felt like cardbaord. I KNOW calamari - and this calamari had been sitting around for a while. I had to remove all of the calamari and eat the rest of the dish...but that kind of put a damper on the whole things (knowing that something like that had been mixed in). The shrimp was fresh. My daughter had the pasta del dia, which was a linguini with grilled shrimp, bacon, broccoli and asparagus. It was listed with a white sauce, but she asked for red, which was accomodated. The bring a small plate of deliciously marinated olives and warm rolls before the meal. The menu suggests that if you ask for extra rolls or olives, you'll be charged. Also, of note, when the check came, I noticed two interesting points: 1. 15% tip had been added in (when they do this, I do not add the other 5% to bring it to my normal 20%)....and 2. menu list prices had been rounded UP to even numbers...i.e a menu item listed at $16.95 was $17 on the check. All menu prices had been rounded up. I've never seen this before. It is not a big deal, but I wonder how they would have felt if I had rounded down my bill. Our waiter was very nice. The atmosphere was lovely....love the setting and the spanish music softly playing.
All in all, I'd give Meson Amalia one more shot. They were so good on my first try...and not so good yesterday with the dry, nasty calamari. So, we'll need a tie breaker before I can determine whether on not they'll remain on the "highly recommended" list.
Headed to Indigo for a swim after lunch. Daughter was in a pool mood and I didn't care either way. I found a spot on a lounge chair under one of the gazebos and took it easy. We didn't eat or drink anything there -so we owe them one.
Back to the house to play golf and hand out. Then we worked on daughter's project for school and watched a movie before falling asleep to the howls of the wind. Woke up this morning to more howls.
People keep telling us to get to Virgilios - so we'll have to do that. Sorry this isn't more exciting. I don't think the next 2 days are going to offer anything on beaches or pools. The system is supposed to clear by Thursday. Hope the seas calm down since we have plans for Jost and for Virgin Gorda!!!!
Enjoying your reports Blu! I hope the weather improves for ya pretty quick! Thanks for sharing with us.
You should wave at us from Magen's so we can see you on the web cam! LOL 😉
I'm so jealous. Just keep rubbing it in..that's quite alright. 😉 J/K I hope the rest of your trip is just as wonderful!
Bluwater, Captain's Corner stores (all but Mountain Top) had starfish, dangly earrings for $8.99 (sterling). They have only starfish posts (with cz) now at Main St and Waterfront. More dangles may be coming this week.
They also have cute starfish jewelry at Caravansary (sp?) on St John, but it's a little more expensive.
I've been looking for some to match a necklace.
Hi Blu,
It is always tough to encounter anything less than perfect weather while on vacation, but thanks for understanding that we needed rain here very badly.
Hope you have a great trip! I would definitely take the car ferry over to STJ by the way!!!
Have fun :)!
Hey Blu- thoroughly enjoying your reports, even tho YOU think they are boring, they aren't. My jaw dropped open when I read what your daughter ordered to eat! No way would any of my kids eat a dish at her age with broccoli and asparagas. It would have to have been really disguised!
can't wait for the next installment!
