Trip Report- St Thomas and St John, USVI Oct 27-Nov 4, 2006

Oct 27-up early to catch the 5:15am shuttle from our house to the airport. Check in and security went quickly and upstairs to wait for departure. Plane has mechanical problems so the departure was delayed to Chicago. We had a long enough layover so we were okay but lots of people missed their connecting flights. The flight to San Juan was delayed a bit but still arrived on time. San Juan to St Thomas flight was the only one that actually left on time. Picked up the car at Avis and off to find our way to the Green Iguana Hotel. Great, Friday night rush hour traffic in St Thomas but at least we had palm trees and the ocean to gaze out as we tried to find our way. Fortunately for the excellent directions I received from the hotel, we found it! If we did not have directions, we would have been so lost. Top floor of the hotel-which we requested. Quaint and cute room, very nicely kept up. Asked about dinner and we were directed to Wendy’s close to Havensight as we did not want a big meal. Back to the room and most important of all, the A/C and read all the tourism books we picked up at the airport.

Oct 28-today is checkout at the Green Iguana but we decided to get up early and head out to Coki for some snorkeling. Thank heavens we got there bright and early as if we had arrived later, parking would have been a nightmare. Talked to a nice man (Chris?) who directed us to the best place for snorkeling and asked us if we wanted any food. We decided that since he had been so helpful, we were up for a couple of waters and an order of cheese fries. Such a beautiful beach and we were so happy to be in paradise. Snorkeling was okay, we have seen better but we did not care because we were on vacation. We snorkeled about 45 minutes and still no food but we did get our water. We had to leave by 945am so we could get back, shower and checkout all before 11am. Finally we asked about the fries and there was some argument going on between Chris and the lady making the fries. (hopefully they made up after we left). We ended up getting them to go and ate them as we were packing up our stuff. Headed off to our timeshare (Bluebeards Castle) that we had exchanged with RCI and they held our luggage for us as we wanted to explore more. We found Iggies Beach bar and had a nice yummy lunch with great views. Then we decided to be brave and head into town to check out the shops. We found a great parking space but walking back up those stairs just about killed me. Found lots of cool jewelry but too poor for our budget right now. But Brian did give me a great birthday present and we purchased the Olympus digital camera that is waterproof up to 10 feet. Great for snorkeling and I really miss having a camera for snorkeling since I blew up our old 35 mm underwater one in Hawaii in February. Back to Bluebeards and found a long line for check in. Room was large with a small fridge and incredible views of Charlotte Amalie and Water Island. Decided to try Banana Tree for dinner and we had the restaurant to ourselves for close to an hour. Great food and nice view also. Long day in the heat and sun so we tired that night.

Oct 29- we slept in just a bit and then took a taxi to Red Hook to catch the ferry to St John. Picked up our jeep from St John Car rental and headed off to the Westin for 2 nights. A bit too early to get our room but we did a pre-check-in and had them store our snorkel bag and carry on. We decided to explore the island and get our bearings. Found Chocolate Hole and Rendezvous Bay and WOW! So wish we could afford one of those homes there. From what we saw, they looked incredible. Picked up a real estate book later and found out that we would need to win the lottery in order to buy one of those homes. Had lunch at Caneel Bay-very nice resort but just not for us. Since it was such a nice day, we got our photos of Trunk, Cinnamon and Maho Bay and decided we must try to get to all of those. We were very happy about having a jeep as the roads are hilly and windy. Could not imagine driving in St John without 4 wheel drive. Back to the Westin praying our room was ready but it was not quite yet. Nice gentleman at the front desk gave us some cold waters while we waited. Free internet so Brian logged into work and did some work. Room was finally ready but no robes. That was okay with us. First time at a Westin since we joined Starwood and they upgraded us to a one bedroom gardenview suite. Changed into swimsuits and swam in the pool until it was time for the iguana feeding. Loved all the iguanas and got some great photos. Room service dinner (we had a resort credit we needed to get used up before we left) and early night to bed.

Oct 30-Happy Birthday to me! What a wonderful place to be spending “another” 29th birthday. We set out early and got to Trunk Bay just a few minutes after 8:00am. We were expecting to pay but did not have to. The skies were a bit cloudy but we did not care. We snorkeled the trail which was nice (saw a nurse shark a few times) and then it decided to pour on us. Brian popped his head up and we saw a beautiful rainbow. When we left, the beach was still empty, which I am sure is a rare thing. Off to Cinnamon for more snorkeling and we enjoyed that very much. We snorkeled there about 1 hour, packed up our stuff and headed off to Maho. Can you tell today is our snorkel day? We found a parking space at Maho and noticed the pelicans diving into the waters along the rocks so we headed over there. We snorkeled an hour there and went around the point. This by far was our favorite of the day. Millions of tiny fish (minnows?) and huge tarpon. Just a neat experience all together. After all that snorkeling we had worked up an appetite so we headed back to the Westin and had lunch at the pool bar. Very yummy food-Brian said the ribs were very good. Plus I had them make me a chocolate, banana and coconut smoothie which was also good. Maybe not as good as the ones I get at the Hilton Waikoloa but I was not complaining. We cleaned up and rested (I took a short nap) before we headed down for the 3pm iguana feeding. Lots more iguanas today. Brian decided he needed to log into work again so I told him I would just hang out with the iguanas (once all the other people left). Crazy that I need to spend time with iguanas when we have 3 of them at home. But we like seeing them in the wild. Found Brian about 30 minutes later and we decided to head into town to check out the shops. We found some really neat iguana things and of course, had to stop by Woody’s to get a t-shirt for my sister who is a HUGE Kenny Chesney fan. I wanted to eat at Pastory Gardens for my birthday as I had a craving for the fried pickles. (No, I am not pregnant, I just love pickles). Food was good but those darn mosquitoes feasted on us for their dinner. We could not wait to get out of there. We forgot to put on the insect repellant which would have helped.

Oct 31-another early morning as today was checkout time. We headed back to Maho and snorkeled the other side. Having such beautiful beaches all to ourselves was paradise. Small fish again but no tarpon but we did see a stingray. We have never been nervous around them until the last two incidents (Steve Irwin and the older man in Florida). It swam right underneath me and I just stayed still in the water. I did get a great photo of it looking up at me. We did see it later trying to bury itself in the sand; we were amazed at how much sand it kicked up. Rushed back to the hotel to shower and pack things up. We had to drop the jeep off at noon and we decided to have lunch in Cruz Bay before catching the ferry back to Red Hook. We had lunch at The Balcony which was very good. Another restaurant all to ourselves. We are starting to enjoy these private meals! We caught the 1pm ferry and sat up on top so we could take some photos. Very hot and by the time we got to Red Hook, I was not feeling very good. Taxi back to Bluebeards and then we rested up in the A/C the rest of the afternoon. We were not sure what to have for dinner and the cute bar restaurant was closed and Banana Tree Grill and Room with a View had lots of people. So we head off in search for a light dinner. We parked in Havensight and searched there but choices were very limited. We did see a pizza sign across the street so we headed there. Pizza Amore, huge slices of pizza and inexpensive (two slices of pizza, bottled water and a large Mountain Dew $9.50). Very popular place with lots of locals coming in to pick up their pizzas. So we knew that it must be good and it was. Found out later that it is the best pizza place on the island. Headed back to hotel and early night to bed since we had to be up very early on Wednesday for our boat trip.

Nov 1-we left the resort at 6:30am to make it to Sapphire Beach Marina by 7:15am. We were not sure on the traffic so we wanted to make sure we were not late. We got there just before 7:00am and walked around the resort. New Horizons II is a nice boat and it was a full one (18 people that day?). Stopped in St John to pick up 4 more passengers and off we go. John the captain took us to Cinnamon so we could all get photos of Kenny Chesney’s house that is for sale. My sister will be so happy but she would have been happier if I had actually seen him in person. Daniela, our guide handed out drinks and fruit. She was very entertaining; I know the men enjoyed her as she is very cute with a fantastic figure. (in her tiny bikini). Oh too look like that again! We cruised along St John and Tortola for awhile, cleared customs and arrived at the Baths. We swam to shore and explored which was really neat. We were just leaving as more people were coming ashore. I could not imagine being there during high season; bet it gets very crowded. Lunch at Pusser’s in Marina Cay which was good. Next was snorkeling at Guana Island. Kind of choppy so the water was murky. It would have been incredible with better visibility. We did finally see a sea turtle and some people saw a nurse shark. Next stop was the Soggy Dollar Bar. Such a pretty place and my perfect idea of paradise. Back to St John to clear customs and then we headed back to St Thomas. Very tired from our day in the sun so we just had dinner at the bar restaurant at Bluebeards.

Nov 2-today we decided to not play in the water after all the sun we got the previous day. We decided to try just driving around the island and checking things out. We headed out the west side (wishing we had a jeep on some of the hills). We found Hull Bay by accident and our gas gauge was showing that we had burned up quite a bit of gas so we were in a bit of a panic. We stopped and talked to very nice gentlemen who happened to be Homer from Homer’s Night Snorkel, which was something we had considered doing on this trip. Very nice and I picked up his brochure for our next trip as we were just not up for a night snorkel that night. Then up to Magens Point Resort for lunch at Indigo and ice cream at Udder Delight. We drove over to the Wyndham to check it out before heading back to the hotel to cool off. We decided to try Room with a View for dinner and were able to get reservations for 6pm and a table by the window. The place filled up very quickly and we ate way too much. Excellent food and service and just a short walk back to our room.

Nov 3-our last full day in paradise but we are missing the creature comforts of home and our 3 iguanas. We decided to try snorkeling at Magens this morning. We asked at the gate where the best place was and he directed us to the far left side of the bay. He told us to not park clear down there but to park closer and walk. It was a nice walk but I ended up hurting my foot again so I was hobbling along the next few days. It was a cloudy day and it did rain on us but it was still very nice. Did not see anything amazing except for a rainbow! We snorkeled about 45 minutes and then headed back to shore which was exciting as we were fighting the current. At least I got my exercise that day! We got cleaned up and then decided to head downtown to find some last minute trinkets. Brian found a shirt he was looking for and we purchased some coffee as presents. We had lunch at The Greenhouse and it was very good. Of course, I had to check out more jewelry stores; fell in love with lots of stuff but decided to pass this time. I did get to try on a $94,000 diamond ring which was amazing but just a bit too much for Iowa. We headed back to the hotel to cool off and start the packing process. We decided to check out the Marriott to see what it was like and loved seeing all the iguanas there. Time for dinner and since we had a big lunch we just wanted something lighter for dinner; we decided to go back to Pizza Amore. Yummy! I cannot get enough of their pizza. Back to the room to finish that dreaded job of packing and head to bed as we needed to be leaving for the airport at 5:30am.

Nov 4-Darn alarm goes off way too early on vacation! Checkout at the hotel took some time (island time)-I sat in the car and Brian waited at the front desk. We got to the airport a bit before 6am for our 7:50am flight. Check in was quick, very glad we arrived when we did as the lines for American became long very quickly. Cleared through customs and waited for a bit until the shop and bar opened up. Purchased a last minute trinket and had breakfast. My first Johnny cake and why did I wait until I was leaving? YUM YUM! American was asking for volunteers to give up their seats (due to weight and balance issue) but they were only offering a $200.00 voucher. If they had offered a bit more, then we might have considered it but we were ready to get home and see our babies. All flights on time except for the last flight from Chicago. Lovely mechanical problem and we got home 2 hours later than we should have. We realize that it could have been worse but we were anxious and I had placed a call to our pet sitter to let her know that we were going to be late and she mentioned that Little One did not seem like himself and that Hissy had been really rough on Sgynus during this mating season. Finally arrived home in the dark to sound asleep iguanas but at least we were home. All is well with them so my worries went away the next day.

We enjoyed our trip very much. I know we will return to St John some day, we felt that we missed so much of it. Next trip will be longer and maybe in a villa. St Thomas was fine but just too congested most of the time. We had been warned about some people not being friendly so we were not surprised at all. We did encounter lots of great people who were helpful and very friendly. The weather was wonderful, just short rain showers and some amazing rainbows. St John is up there at the top of our list for Caribbean islands.