This was our third trip to St Thomas, and our second stay at Stone Cottage, our favorite place on this earth. We arrived via US Airways from Detroit via Charlotte. The flight was long but arrived about twenty minutes early which was a pleasant surprise for airlines these days. We booked our stay at Stone Cottage through McLaughlin Anderson. They are a great booking agency and we really appreciated the 10% discount as repeat customers. Our villa host and airport escort Sherri met us at the baggage carousel. It was great to see her again after our four year absence. We rented our car from Dependable on Sherri's recommendation and we were very satisfied with both their car and their service. We followed Sherri to Stone Cottage with her offering tips via walkie talkie along the way. It took a few miles to get used to the driving on the left thing and all the steep hills and sharp turns but the experience was a solid reminder that we were back in paradise. In about fifteen minutes we arrived at our home away from home, and it was wonderful to be back. Jeff and Sherri have done some major re-decorating and remodeling in the past couple of years and Stone Cottage was more beautiful than ever. It is the perfect secluded romantic getaway for two.

The view from the deck at Stone Cottage

Stone Cottage a secluded romantic getway

[bView of Stone Cottage from above at Rockworks[/b]

Many beautiful flowers on the property at Stone Cottage

We really wanted a casual and relaxing meal during sunset, so we headed to Fungi, which is located inside Point Pleasant Resort. Point Pleasant was our first- ever trip about six or seven years ago, and Fungi is a laid back place on the beach that is so waterfront, you can dip your toes into the ocean during your meal. I asked the cook what was good that night and he recommended the Snapper Creole. My wife Mary chose the Chicken Roti with a delicate curry kick. Both meals were absolutely delicious accompanied with a pair of Bahama Mamas. As sunset approached we walked the beach and took this photo of the bay.

The next morning we did our grocery shopping at Plaza Extra. We had packed a large suitcase full of food and snacks, including a soft side cooler with frozen steaks, chicken and a pork tenderloin, so our grocery bill was only about $50. Our airline tickets were booked long before the $25 baggage surcharge was in effect, so that suitcase of food traveled free. I'm not sure it would be an economical thing to do anymore. After shopping we relaxed by the pool for a while and then went to Coki beach for some snorkeling. Coki beach is a good snorkeling beach, and vendors serve cold beer and drinks on the beach making this spot a perfect way to spend the afternoon.
The next day we did a morning two tank scuba dive with St Thomas Diving Club. They are based at the Bolongo Bay Resort. Rachelle, one of their divemasters provided super service by picking up Nitrox tanks for us from another dive shop, and she was also super on the dive boat, setting up all twelve diver's equipment, so all we had to do was don our gear and dive. We dove two nearby dive sites – Buck Island Point, and the wreck of the Cartansar Senor. Rachelle did a great dive brief for both dives. We highly recommend St Thomas Diving Club. Their boat is clean and spacious, their prices are reasonable, and their crews are friendly and helpful. Check them out at: www.stthomasdivingclub.com. After our dive, we had lunch at Iggies. Food was average and so was the service.

Dinner that evening was at Hotel Mafolie. We chose them based on many recommendations on this forum because we were looking for a romantic dinner with a fantastic view. Hotel Mafolie met our highest recommendations. The food was delicious and so was the view. You can't go wrong at Hotel Mafolie. Check out the view of Charlotte Amalie at dusk.

Friday was a wonderful BVI day trip on the New Horizons II. Once again we want to thank the many reliable recommendations we found on VINOW for this operation. It was a full, fun, day highlighted with a hike through the Baths. Be sure to take some sturdy shoes for the Baths portion of the trip. The New Horizons site gives you the impression that your arrival is “by-sea”. However it is actually a taxi ride followed by a quarter mile hike through some very desert like terrain before you get to the ocean front site called The Baths. This geologic formation is really amazing to experience. It is one of only three such formations on the planet, and it is actually still growing and changing a little bit each year. These photos do not do the Baths justice. You have to see them for yourself.

This formation is called "The Whale". Do you see it?

Cooling off after exploring The Baths

We also snorkeled at a reef near Guana Island. The reef was really healthy there and I thought I'd share some highlight photos with you.

Lunch was at Marina Cay at Pussers, the supposed birthplace of the painkiller. The food was good, and the painkillers were killer!

On the beach at Pussers on Marina Cay

The last stop on this day long booze cruise was at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke. The bar was hoppin' and a large crowd of boats had pulled up at the beach to party. After an hour spending our soggy dollars, we swam back to the Breakaway and headed back to St John to clear customs.

Mary on the beach at the Soggy Dollar

The bartender at the Soggy Dollar knows how to make the best Painkillers

Don't spill that painkiller!

The Breakaway from New Horizons II at the Soggy Dollar

The New Horizons day trip was a great day and a great value. Check out their site at www.newhorizonscharters.com

VINOW was really helpful for planning this trip. One example was having access to the cruise ship schedule on VINOW, which helped me pick Saturday as a day with only one ship in port. So we picked Saturday to shop Charlotte Amalie when the crowds were at a minimum. We really like the historic Havensite Mall for shopping. It has a lot of history and many interesting shops.

Cool and tranquil passages in the Havensight Mall

That being said, I can only handle about three hours of souvenir shopping, so after a quick lunch back at Stone Cottage we headed to beautiful Magens Beach for a relaxing late afternoon visit. We arrived around 4pm, when most visitors were leaving. The ocean was calm and gently lapping at the beach, seabirds were diving for their evening meal. We had a cooler of beer and beach chairs generously provided from Stone Cottage. We walked the beach as the afternoon wained towards sunset. What a perfect moment captured in our memories.

Magens Bay as seen from Drakes Seat

Sunday we slept in and then hung out for the afternoon at Hull Bay, which is only a five minute drive from Stone Cottage. Hull Bay is a quiet beach where mostly locals hang out. Lot's of local families were there playing in the water, and there was a lively crowd at the local beach bar Hull Bay Hideaway. Mary and I shared a burger and a couple of painkillers and decided to do some snorkeling, on the recommendation of the staff at Homers Dive shop right on the beach at Hull Bay. We saw a large turtle and many beautiful fish. Hull Bay has better snorkeling than Coki Beach IMHO. We decided to plan a shore dive the next morning, and reserved a pair of scuba tanks at Homers .

Hull Bay Beach

Sunday evening we had dinner out with our villa hosts, Sherri and Jeff. We went to their favorite hangout “Tickles”, located in the Crown Bay Marina west of Charlotte Amalie. Tickles is dedicated to the concept of fun, comfort and reasonably priced food in a friendly open air atmosphere. We really enjoyed getting to know Jeff and Sherri better, gaining insight to what it is like to live on a tropical island full time. They told us about WAPA and the fact that their electric bills are four times as large as ours because the government had the wisdom to install a power plant that runs on GASOLINE. OMG!!! We also learned of their plans for a two week trip to Alaska. Sherri had never been to Alaska, while Jeff had been a couple of times. Living in Michigan is close enough to Alaska for me. For us, it's gotta have palm trees to be a vacation!

Monday was Memorial Day and our last full day on St Thomas. We spent most of the day at Hull Bay relaxing on the beach and doing a shore dive. Shore diving is great because you can dive at your own pace and see what you want to see instead of what a boat captain and divemaster choose for you to see. We worked our way up the east edge of Hull Bay in about 25 feet of water and had the best dive of our trip.

A school of blue Surgeon Fish at Hull Bay

Monday we went to Indigo to check out what people on this forum said were the best Mojitos on STT. We got there just before sunset, enjoyed a delicious Mojito and waited for Steel Pan artist Andrew Douglas to perform. However Andrew decided to take Memorial Day off as a vacation day, without telling the Indigo staff! Oh well. We drove to Red Hook to enjoy dinner at Molly Malones instead. After walking the docks to see the yachts, we toasted a wonderful week in St Thomas.

Celebrating a great vacation at Molly Malones in Red Hook

Departing St Thomas the next morning was sweet sorrow. As we embraced on the deck of Stone Cottage, taking in one last look at Inner Brass and Outer Brass Island, my eyes started to well-up just like they are now as I write this. St Thomas is such a wonderful place, and Stone Cottage is our perfect place to visit. Thanks to Jeff and Sherri, all the friendly people we encountered on the island, and all of you for offering tips that made this our best vacation ever. And thank you for taking the time to read this long trip report. We will return.... soon......