Karen and I are just counting the days (13) until we get back to the islands. Have our stuff pretty much packed. I did post our photo's from last years trip to see if I could do it. I am not very techno. We will post out trip report and pics when we get back. The link is in the STT 2008 post.

We have nothing planned, unfortunately for now. Every day I scan the message boards and live through others trip reports. Want to get back so bad!!

Next time, we won't do a week. Definetly two weeks to be able to relax and also be able to visit other islands.

We will be down July 18th to STJ and are looking very forward to it. Just had a big wedding for my daughter two weeks ago here in Tenn. and now it's time for MAMA!! She went to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico on honeymoon, in spite of the swine flu. My time share is in Cancun, but i love the VI's. Hope the plume is better by July. I've been on web cams and it still looks kinda green. Does anyone know?

I love checking all of the webcam's. I know of the Magen's Bay, STJ Spicecam and the Chocolate Hole webcam. Any others that I don't know about?

Kid's are finishing up school this week, so my average day entails running errands, cleaning the house, hitting the grocery store and getting the kid's to the orthodontist. I did get a little tongue lashing last year when we got back from STT from the orthodontist. My daughters braces got caught in her snorkel. My husband being the man that he is, went to the hardware store and bought a wire snippers and cut the wire to her braces out. At least I can have another silly memory of island life.

Another time, while we were doing renovations to our condo he had to use a power drill to get the coconut open. If you've ever been to the fruit stand in Smith Bay and buy a coconut check out the lady who will open it for you. She is a master of her machette, her knife is HUGE! She gives the coconut a few whacks, sticks a straw in it and delivers your coconut with a smile.

Have a great day everyone.

Molly

This summer is just going to crazy, but crazy good!

We had a great trip to STJ in April, but some great trips (work/fun) ahead

Netherlands for 10 days next week

Get home and the following week go to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico for a very close friend's big 50. My wife and I have have not been back to Aguadilla since we left 28 years ago. Our first 2 years of marriage was spent there. Really pumped!

Then it is back to Europe this time to SW Germany on Lake Constance in mid-July, and it apppears England in August maybe on tap.

I will need to go to STJ just to chill again by Sept.

There is a web cam from the soggy dollar on Jost Van Dyke. www.soggydollar.com

Hi! May I join in? 🙂 I like this post and knowing that I'm not the only one having USVI withdrawals. Funny enough, earlier this morning I was going through some old pics today of our last trip to STT/STJ 2 (!!!) years ago, and changed our desktop pic on our computer to one of Cinnamon Bay.

So, yes, it's been 2 years since we've been back. :::sigh::: We SO miss being there. We were married on Magen's Bay in 2006 and completely fell in love with the USVI's then. Went back for our 1st anniversary 2 years ago and now here we are celebrating our 3rd and now have a new baby. We can't wait to take him and share with him what we both love so much. But, alas, for now, we must settle for our wonderful memories and hope that we can go back soon.

Oh, and I also have the Magens Bay and Cruz Bay dock webcam in my Favorites tab that I check often.

As Kenny said... "I wanna go where I can lighten up the load...Drive a little while on the wrong side of the road..." I miss it. 🙂

Hi Beach Bride,

I hope that it wasn't your wedding that we crashed at Magen's Bay! We were there when a HUGE wedding of 500+ people were there. I think that everyone that went to the beach that day somehow ended up getting involved in the party. I'm not one to just crash a party, but there it was, wedding guests introducing themselves while we were lounging on the beach inviting us over. My husband even signed the guestbook!

We are going on a family trip next week to the Bahama's, I can't believe it but I'm just not that excited about going. Don't get me wrong, I know that we will have a great time, but it's just different. When you love a place so much that you start to put down a few roots, it's so nice to travel back to places that have fond memories, catching up with friends that you haven't seen in months, maybe a year. Visiting a few watering holes where the bartender remembers you. Checking the local fruit stand and bakery in the morning to catch up on the latest island talk. Gerry's (or maybe Jerry's) bakery in Smith Bay always has a nice assortment of fresh bakery items. They serve great sandwiches on fresh baked bread as well. I miss their tuna salad, best I've ever had. If you go at lunch time be prepared to wait, it is also a local hot spot. The prices are very reasonable. Don't even get me started on Anna's prime rib at the Toad and Tart!

That reminds me of a funny story, when we were doing our renovations last summer my son went to get a buzz cut at the local barber shop in Smith Bay. Half way through the power went out, he had to run around the rest of the day with half of his head shaved!

Have a great day everyone.

Molly

Nice Thread! Uplifting! 😎

Hi IAMolly!

hahaha No, that wasn't my wedding you crashed, but sounds like you had a blast! Totally something we would do, too, including signing the guest book! What a fun story!

I am laughing thinking of your poor son running around with half his head shaved. That must have been hilarious!

I know what you mean about not being excited to go somewhere other than where you know you will be happy vacationing. We love to travel, and I would love to go to Europe one day, but we always end up saying, "But we can't NOT go to the islands..." meaning the VI's. I love having such fun memories to look back on and laugh about. Once we start our trips up again, I look forward to creating new ones and going to favorite watering holes or eateries, like you have! There was so much of STT that we were not able to explore, as with STJ, so we look forward to that as well. I think we spent too much time limin' around (haha), but I guess we immediately went into island mode once we got off the plane! 😉

Hope everyone has a great day! This thread IS uplifting. 🙂

Totally relate to everyone posting here. The Bahama's is completely flat, at least anywhere that I have been. The views in the USVI are what take my breath away, seeing all of the other islands out in the horizon. I feel like I am traveling back to a time a million years ago. I'm a little bummed because our oldest son won't be able to make it, he is serving in Afghanistan and won't be back until March of next year.

Reason we are going to the Bahama's? The boys want to go diving with sharks! My 11 year old daughter gets to be a dolphin trainer for the day at the Atlantis. Our family loves adventure travel, me too just not as much the older I get.

Another island favorite, Jerk Chicken at Coki Beach.

Molly

My prayers go out to your son! I'm sorry he won't be there for your vacation...

As for your family loving adventure travel, just remember that there's nothing wrong with you having an adventure of your own kicking back with a drink in your hand while everyone else is diving with sharks or training dolphins. 😉

And I hear ya on the views... I loved Mountain Top, standing there for what seemed like hours just staring out at the islands. Same goes for music, appetizers and Bushwackers at Paradise Point at sunset. On STJ, grabbing a breakfast sandwich at Joe's Diner on our way to Trunk Bay was fun. Ahh...the memories. 🙂

Hope you can make the most of the Bahamas, even though it will never be the VI's. Just remember you can always go back to where your heart is really at! 🙂

Wow Tomb you sure get around!

You'll have to let me know where to go in Southwest Germany, our son will be spending next fall studying engineering in Frankfurt. We were planning on visiting him sometime in October.

We flew into the Amsterdam airport in the Netherlands last December when Alitalia cancelled more than half of their flights out of Venice. Tried to get them to let us stay over and take a connection the next day but they wouldn't do it. They did fly us on a KLM flight though, I'd have to say that this was the best airline that I had ever flown. Several hot meals, unlimited beverage service, hot towels to freshen up before landing and all of this for an economy seat. I can't imaging what 1st class would be like!

Have fun in Aquadillia!

Thanks for the parayers Beach Bride.

Molly

Sorry about the bad spelling of Prayers, typing too fast.

Enjoying a fine meal with my family on the back porch cooking out some steaks Iowa style. Checking to see if I received any business emails and of course I drift back to this forum. Tonight is Mexican Fiesta Night at Bolongo Bay, can't help but wonder what the other side of the mountian is doing right now.

I just checked the web site at Iggie's, and it says dance party night, did they stop the all you can eat Mexican Buffet in my absence?

Molly

I just fixed pasta and shrimp and decided to do the same thing and check the forum. Also checked the web cam at Megan's and saw one couple having the water all to themselves. Of course this was about 2 hours ago. I'm Jealous!

I'm heading off to bed, but I, too, decided to check the forums...nostalgic for the islands, I guess! 🙂 Just saw a post on Jost and it made me wish I was back on the catamarans to Jost and having those awesome Nilla Killas at Soggy Dollar, just hanging out. Night everyone!

I was wondering what someone would be doing in the water at Magens at 8PM unless they were enjoying the no see ums, but I think if you check the time, the webcam is way off. Two people are in the water but the time reads 9AM and the position of the sun looks about right for that time, Island time?

My favorite time at Magen's Bay is in the early evening around 5:30 or 6:00 as the sun is beginning to set and most of the tourists are gone. One time when we were there they had these crazy birds diving into the water all around us. They were fishing for these little fish that were swarming all around us trying to seek cover. I was a little spooked at first because they would be diving in full speed and really close to us, but after I realized they had great aim and were'nt going to hit me, it was really neat. I forgot the name of the birds, anyone know what they were called?

STT Resident, do they ever clean the webcam at Magens Bay? I've tried to find it, sometimes it had the orange cone in front of it, but whenever I am there it isn't.

Molly

the birds you mentioned are quite likely 'brown boobies' genus 'sula' a member of the gannet family.
This is a particularly active time of year for them for breeding and egglaying - and the offshore keys from Magens have a big colony - Saba, off the airport on the S. side of STT has a huge colony and is often put off limits by Fish and Wildlife during the egg laying season -- I have seen hundreds of mating pairs there.