Day8- This was the big day my kids had waited for......we were either going to do intro to diving or go see the beer drinking pig (since we missed it days before). We let the kids decide, and they chose the pig (good thing b/c I was strarting to chicken out about diving). We sat by the pool, ate leftovers in the room and then headed back to the Domino Club. Even though I am a sunworshiper, it was a wonderful afternoon in the rain forest. If my kids had not been there my husband and I wouldve sat there all day and night just visiting w/ the locals (and drinking way too much). We discussed the art of eating mangos, how many types there are (mangos are my new favorite thing to eat), ate some chicken and johnnycakes (YUM), drank a few beers and mammawannas and then went to see the pigs. What an absolute riot! Another must for a STX trip!! We heard from someone that the history of the pigs comes from after Hurricane Hugo devistated the island, a bunch of redneck Texans (that is a quote, not my opinion) came to help rebuild the island. They worked all day and drank all night. Somehow they got a pig on the island and fed him beer.......I found that one more interesting tidbit about the island.
We went back to the Island House for their 2 for 1 dinner again. Very yummy, good service and a nice atmosphere. And we didnt have to drive!!
Day9- (somehow I think I numbered by days wrong-oh well, here is our last full day) We had heard so much about Shoys beach and had to check it out. You go to the Buccaneer but go to the gate off to the right. We zipped right through after letting the guard we were going to the beach. What amazing homes there are there. If I was a millionare, that is where I would build. The beach was great and there were only 1 or 2 others there. We spent the morning there and then headed to the Buccaneer for lunch/afternoon beach time. Again, we zipped through the guardbooth, and had a very nice lunch at the Grotto (more burgers). The waitress was very sweet. The beach by the Grotto is very nice (we didnt have to pay to use the chairs even though our towels were a different color). There were some rocks in the water but it didnt prevent us from swimming. We took a small tour of the resort. It's quite a nice place but we usually chose something a little more economical. That way we can spend 9-10 days on the island instead of only 7. I think this is where we saw the most people but it was not crowded by any means!
I know many would think this nuts but for our last night we chose pizza again in the room.
Day 10-Going home- We went back to the Just In Case for sandwiches for our trip. There were no meals on our flights and we knew it was going to be a long day. They did a GREAT job of wrapping the sandwiches to go and we got some more of those baked goods. (Im a terrible baker, but a great eater!!) We had some last minute pool/beach time and then we had to get packed. Since we had been all over the island in the car (a definite must-
that really made us feel like we really got to know the island) we were able to get the timing down so I could stay on the beach until the very last moment (this really pisses of my husband but I just cant help it). It was super easy to return the car (Judi of STX is great!) and then we had to stand in that dumb line to check in. There was only 1 check in person for the first 30 minutes (whoever asks do you have to get there 1 1/2-2 hr early, the answer is YES) then 2 people came to help her out. Whew, for us b/c it was getting late. We were all ready to board the plane and this storm came through. For a lot of our trip, it was cloudy b/c of tropical waves coming through and until then my impression of them was no big deal. But this was some storm!!! We got off about 45 minutes late and we were so afraid we would miss our connection in SJU. But the connecting flight was 2 hrs late, so we made it no problem. They gave us a meal vouchers (so many of the food places closed in our terminal and they told us to go to the other terminal) but we just got sodas since we had our awesome sandwiches. The time went fairly quickly b/c we looked around in the shops (we don’t usually have time for that). The guy at the ticket counter gave away 2 first class tickets to the person who could guess his age and weight. I had never seen that before and it was fun and made the time slip by. Too bad, but I didn’t’ win!! We got into Dulles at 1:30 am and then drove back to Hershey at 4:00 am. I knew it was going to be a long day.
The trip was wonderful and we would go back in a second. We’d stay at Chenay bay again too. The folks that work there are a wonderful bunch as was mostly everyone else we met on the island. If I were inclined to move to the USVI, I think STX would be my choice, hands down.