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Day 8; July 4th! As a Marriott Elite member, we are treated to a free breakfast at the Sunset Grill at the Marriott. We thought this was going to be some sort of a sales pitch, but as it turns out, it was just a free breakfast! The best we had all week -- as we’d previously survived on breakfast bars, while the kids had donuts. Economical but boring. The buffet had French toast, sausage, eggs, hashbrowns, bagels, fruit, mimosas :-), smoothies, pastries (really good banana nut muffins). Since it’s FREE, told the kids to EAT UP! We reluctantly checked out of the Marriott and made our way back to the Best Western Carib Beach.
We chose this hotel since it was, well, the only room I could find for the night of the 4th that was relatively close to the airport. We’ve stayed at Emerald Beach a couple times, so I assumed this would be the same caliber hotel. Wrong! Check-in time is 4 pm, so we had a few hours to kill. We first tried the pool at the Carib, but it was SO small. I admit that, at this point, ADD/HMG are also spoiled by the pools at both the Marriott and Emerald Beach. There isn’t a beach here, but more of a sandy area where they have 4 lounge chairs. You have to climb over a 3 ft section of rocks to get into the ocean. I tried to snorkel here, but it was pretty murky and algae-filled. So, we decided to walk down to Lindbergh Bay again. ODH is now tired of the sun and fairly crisp on his back. So he’s copping a spot in the shade. HMG and I try to be “artsy” for some pictures. 
ADD boy is thoroughly, shall I say, bored? Yep, that’s it. We watch a beach wedding at HIGH NOON where the guys were in full tuxedos with vests and ladies in full-length satin gowns. In full-on sun for the ceremony - - glad I wasn’t them! Boy, were they all sweaty! I did also feel bad for them in that The Island Beachcomber bar started up with a John Cougar Mellencamp CD blasting across the beach about the time the ceremony began. Hopefully they were named Jack and Diane …
After this, we decide to head into CA for some lunch and more shopping since all appear to be tiring of the sun. We head to Glady’s Café per the recommendation of many forum posters. Neat place with a New Orleans feel. Gladys sang. ADD boy decided to try all the hot sauces, much to our chagrin. See him reaching for a soda here with mouth on fire! 
We didn’t order anything out-of-the-ordinary, so nothing was really stand-out. Another $42 lunch. Oh well. Stopped by Blackbeard Ale for our free sample, and ordered two to go. Stopped by Edy’s for the kids and “dessert” in form of brew for us. ODH bought a cigar. Spent some time in vendor plaza. I was going to buy a couple purses, but the prices were higher than what I remember. So I used restraint, and we bought a couple beers instead. More beers at Jen’s Island Cafe (Jen is a hoot - - I hope she joins the forum). 
Don’tcha sense a common theme here (beer)? Advantage of calling a cab to drive home!
We checked in Carib Beach, and the rooms are actually fairly clean and spacious. Could have been beer goggles though. At any rate, we cleaned up to head for Red Hook for fireworks, as we didn’t feel like fighting the ferry and crowds in Cruz Bay (I see from Blu’s report that we missed a great time on STJ - - oh well, next time 🙂 Plus I had a hidden agenda in that I wanted to have another “pie from heaven” at Island Time Pub (old Sopchoppy’s)! While we were waiting, HMG and I went to Dolphin Dreams where I got my hook bracelet last vacation. Drunk shopping is the best! They had a hook ring, which seemed like a perfectly reasonable purchase ($50). Plus I knew she has good, quality jewelry. Wanted to buy a t-shirt for ODH but wasn’t sure which one he’d like. You have to understand that ODH needs a t-shirt for this trip as “Virgin Island wear” is a permanent fixture in his weekend wardrobe. Went back to our table, and ODH proceeded to take ADD boy down to Dolphin Dreams to pick out the exact t-shirt I was going to buy. OK. Shopping is complete now! We had a great table to view the fireworks, although you just don’t realize how small they can look from 5 miles away! We probably should have fought the crowds to at least see the fireworks on STJ. Oh well. Next time :-). I think I’m repeating myself in my regret…
We had a great time, though! Caught a taxi back, which ended up being a one-hour island tour by the time the driver pooled about 5 families into his cab. Ritz, Secret Harbor, Marriott, Emerald Beach. All ahead of us. Urgh. We anally set 3 alarm clocks for 4:20 a.m., in addition to the wake-up call so we’d be there 2 hours ahead of our 7 am flight. Head hit the pillow at 10:30 p.m. with no drink. Kids were too tired to bicker in their small double bed.
Sorry, should have been day 8, not 7. I wish there were two "day 7's" while there 🙂
Blackbeard Ale....too funny, one of our newly retired directors here at work walked in yesterday to pick up a few things. Us in our suits and he in his shorts and a "Blackbeard Ale" t-shirt! Nothing like rubbing in retirement! After all the years of working together, we didn't know that we were both secretly USVI fans. 🙂 We quickly broke into a 45 min. conversation about our trips to the USVI and when we'll be going back.
Good trip report LLBL! Thanks so much for sharing!
Okay tell me more about the hotel thing. Is it good enough to sleep at or would you skip it all together?
Really have enjoyed reading your reports. I sure wish I was going back sooner than next year. KK
KK - I assume you're talking about BW Carib Beach? If both BW Emerald Beach and Carib Beach were available, I'd pick Emerald Beach in a second if you are looking for a place near the airport. They both are clean, spacious rooms but if you have some time during the day, Emerald Beach has a lot more to offer in terms of beach, pool and the restaurant. Carib Beach was fine for just sleeping though if you're just looking for a place once you arrive or before you leave.
Now, if you just want to spend the night in STT and don't care about distance to the airport, there are a slew of other places that would be better like Crystal Palace, Hotel 1812, Mafolie, etc. And as long as you're asking about hotels, I would still pick Wyndham Sugar Bay over the Marriott. I wasn't overly impressed with the Marriott in terms of activities, service, pool, & beach especially with the price difference. I like the Wyndham for the location too (close to Red Hook). Sorry for the long-winded answer...
LLBL,
We are looking at staying at one of the Best Westerns at the start and maybe the end of our next trip. Basically just need a place to shower and sleep. You feel the one that is further from the airport is the better choice, Right? When we arrive we would probably want the one that is better for the beach, etc. The night before we leave we wouldn't need the beach. Thanks for your help. KK
KK - Right. BW Emerald Beach is just down the road a bit, but just a tad further from the airport. Carib works great for a place to rest your head for an early am flight as we walked from the hotel to the airport.
LLBL Thanks for your help. KK
Yes, the fireworks are nothing from STT. I hope everyone takes note and heeds this advice.
I'm sure there is merit to crossing the channel before the fireworks and being on the STT side, if that is where you are staying. But, you will NOT have agood fireworks experience on STT.
We are from Philly, the Nation's birthpalce, so fireworks on July 4 are expected to be spectacular and always are here at home. We expect less on STJ...but STT was like like looking at a shiny grain of sand when you are used to 3CT diamonds. Nothing.
Next time, LLBL.......next time!
