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First, let me thank everyone who contributes to this board. I have learned so much from so many of you. I have been going to STJ since the fall of '91. My husband and I stayed at Gallows Point our first visit and loved it and each other so much we had a beautiful baby girl July 17, 1992. We have been going to STJ about yearly, since. In fact, we were there last Christmas (all four of us; dad, me, 17year old daughter, and Haley, my 12 year old.) Since our first visit, we have always stayed in various villas and absoutely love that way of vacationing. But, this was a different sort of trip for us. Dad and Michelle (older daughter) stayed home for tourmanent softball season. So, I had the brillliant idea to take Haley to STJ instead of suffering thru an entire hot Texas softball season. So the plans began.......I did not want to stay in a villa, (actually, I did, but was too chicken to do it with just my daughter). So I thought, wouldn't it be fun to go back to Gallows with Haley. And so thats what we did. Before we actually arrived, I picked up two more travelers. My sister-in-law, who commented "I have never seen pretty water before" and my best friend to said "can I invite myself?" I can :not tell you how excited I was to be sharing STJ with these ladies.
I can tell that this could turn into a novel, so I am going to try to consolidate the trip into catagories.
First, I will discuss the negatives to get them out of the way. They are not a big deal, but maybe worth mentioning for travelers about to arrive.
1) Gallows Point is wonderful, but previously we stayed in an ocean front unit. The harbour side is VERY noisy. You can hear the music from town plain as day,it's quite good, but not at 2:30a.m. when your trying to sleep. The sun comes up right in your eyes at 5:58a.m. If it happen to rain, tree frog, crickets, and a host of critters, chirp all night. And the sea gulls mated on our sky light a 5:45a.m. Also, you can't see the beartiful sunset on the harbour side. But Gallows is great other than that.
The snorkeling is great right off their "beach"!
2) Rent a car!!! We only had a car 1 day and it is just too much walking even from a convienent location like Gallows. Up at 6:00, (not by choice), walk, swim, snorkel, sun, drink, drink, drink, walk, and by dinner time you barley want to get dressed to go out much less walk. Also, the cabs at the beaches do not leave when you plop your tired butt on them. They leave when they have enough people on them to make it worth there while. I can understand there reasoning, but I hope they understand mine when I do not tip for a 20 to 30 min. wait on a hot taxi that is waiting to fill up. Just sitting in the parking lot a Cinnamon or Trunk or wherever for that long is annoying to say the least.
3) HEAT!! It has been very hot in the USVI lately. Maybe that has changed by now, but I have never been so hot and muggy, and I live in Houston. I would be careful if you plan on doing a lot of hiking. Take plenty of water. Or better yet, just stay in it.
Now for the good stuff!!!!!
Sailing: We did four day sails, and I have to say, every boat has it's own personality. Our first sail was with Hollywood Joe and a boat called Treassure. He is quite a fun guy, great stories, great boat, (60 footer, and he took Haley and I out by ourselves), he doesn't treat you like a helpless tourist. "Put your foot in the porthole and climb over", was his way of helping you onboard. I absolutely loved it and him. He is a great cook and has pot plants on board. Not pot as in "pot" but like normal plants. Our second day sail was on a boat called Spitfire. She leaves out of Caneel Bay. We arrived 15 min. early for our 9:30 departure, so we relaxed under the covered veranda and waited for signs of Spitfire to appear. As we waited we saw more than several couples walk past us in what I would not call normal STJ apparal. Why wear a silk summer sweater and 3 inch heels to STJ. I'm considered a high maintanence gal at home, but anything more than sunscreen and lip gloss is a bit overboard. Anyway, I was more than relieved to find out that the couple that was joining us was quite normal looking. So off we went.........Spitfire is a beautiful boat and her capt., Greg and his wife were delightful. As we sailed away we got to know our fellow shipmates. They were from North Carolina, and celebrating their 20 wedding anniversary.
Come to find out, the wife planned the entire trip on the qt and her husband did not find out about it until the night before their flight. We were so touched by their love for each other. Towards the end of the day, the wife said that they were going to renew their wedding vows on the Caneel Bay grounds just to each other. They were not going to go to the expense of hiring a minister, or photographer. Capt. Greg politely spoke up,"I'm an ordained minister and I can officially do a wedding for you". They were so adorable and in love I almost cried. And then I did cry when they explained that he had undergone his second bone marrow transplant for non-hodgkins lymphoma. She put on her long white cover-up, he put on his T-shirt, and Haley was the cameraman and I was the witness. The ceremony could not have been more beautiful. It was totally spontaneous and one of the most special days of my life. The second sail was to Jost on Calypso. What a fun day!!! Did Foxy's for lunch and shopping and then over to White Bay. Soooo beautiful!!! The crew are the owners. They are fabulous, sweet, beautiful people. I can not recommend this more highly for a fun day at see and great people. Our last sail was the best for pure fun and great snorkeling. We went out with Josh Doerhing on NoShooz. He is docked in Cruz Bay so he is so convienent. What a great day. We told him that we had been to the north shore locations, and wanted to go more south. So south we went, on an extremely windy day. NoShooz has two large trampolines to lay on, and what fun that was. With every large wave we hit we got wet. It was every thing I had hoped for. Josh is the kind of guy you feel like you have know forever. The boat is to die for. He uses a great caterer for lunch (the deli at Mongoose), and took us to the best snorkeling of our trip. I am hoping to do an overnight sail with him in the future.
As a side note, I love Capt. Clark and White Wing sooo much, but since we did not have a car most of our stay, I chose not to sail out of Coral Bay.
I am pooped right now and will comment more about our trip on another post. (Still recovering from all the fun!!!) Restaurants are always an interesting topic. Hope you want more. Bye for now.
Love to all in STJ,
Deb
Deb this is a fabulous report!! I'm from NC and I think I might know who you are talking about. (not 100% though) Leave no stones uncovered. Although I have been to STJ probably 15 times in the last 20 years, I learn something new almost every day from folks like you and newbies alike. Ican't wait to hear more.
Wes, I can't remember the couples name but I do remember that he works for a tobacco company, they live in a small town, have a beach house for weekends and two daughters ( jr. highish age), she sells jewlery, he is slender, she is adorable with short hair. I with I could remember the town they are from. I think it starts with a "w" but I'm not sure. I know he has older children from a previous marriage. Wish I could remember more, but I would not feel comfortable saying their name on this post if I could remember it.
I'll have more trip comments soon. I'm sorting pictures now.
Yes Deb we want more. Thank you for sharing!! I completely enjoyed reading your first part. I am interested in what your sister-in-law that 'had never seen pretty water' thought of the amazingly beautiful waters here. Sounds like a wonderful trip, mom, daughter, sister-in-law and best friend - wow!
--Islander
Deb,
Do we need to beg - YES we want more! Love the report on all the day sails. Makes it easy to compare. Keep them coming - can't wait to hear about the restaurants. Thanks!!
Carolmo
Good stuff Deb - keep it up. Sounds like you had some great "magic moments". I have questions/need more info from you on Gallows Pt. and other assorted stuff. We are looking to go back this time next year.
Islander...............To answer your question, when my sister-in-law saw that amazing water she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Actually, she did both, on numerous occasions. She has always LOVED the ocean. We don't live very far from the Texas gulf coast, and when she has time off she will go to the beach by herself if she can't get anyone to join her. So I knew this trip would be heaven for her. Galveston, Corpus Christi, and the various beaches along the gulf coast are nasty, to say the least. She has commented that this was "the trip of a lifetime". I sure hope not. I'm planning on many more with her.
I guess the next topic for discussion should be restaurants. Let me start by saying that four day sails is quite expensive. At least 100. to 125. each and I'm paying for my daughter and myself. But IMHO they are worth every penny. I am not underfed. Restaurant prices in Houston are much less than STJ, and they are actually quite good. So if I have to choose between "fine" dining and a day at sail, well you get my drift. But.............that being said, a girl has to eat.
I have to say that I could not find a meal I did not enjoy. I actually think the food on STJ is just about fabulous!! I know there has been lots of talk on this board about the local chefs, the ingredients they use, and that sort of thing, but I don't really care if they churned their own butter, grew their mushrooms in their bathroom, or got their sauce from a can, if it tastes great, that's all that matters. Most of us that can afford to go to STJ have experienced fine dining in the states. I have actually been to San Fran. and New Orleans. The food there is pretty decent, and I still think STJ can hold its own!!
That being said, my best meals on this trip were at, (and your going to say "oh my gosh, is she from the sticks") The Balcony.
We ate there three times, mainly because it is so good, and partly because it is an easy walk from Gallows Point. We met the owner and he has not owned this establishment all that long. He is a nice guy and is genuinely trying to make this a top notch restaurant. At times we thought the service was slow, but welcome to STJ. He gave us an appitizer because we asked how much longer it would be. The prices are not much less than the best restautants on STJ, but this one is in that catagory.
Our next best meal was at Stone Terrace. We tried to get into Ten Tables (one of my all time favorites) but they are closed on Sun. and Mon. So we took our money elsewhere and had a fabulous meal at Stone Terrace. They trip over themselves to serve you. It almost seems odd. But, the food was suberb, as were the prices. I know I keep coming back to that issue, but I have to drive past at least 75 restaurants to find one that is as expensive as the normal "nice" restaurant on STJ. I know, I know, shipping and all that.
Our last favorite fine dining experience was at Zozo's. The view is to die for. It was hot as h**l. We took pictures and we're all shiney. But the food was very good. Not as good as The Balcony (IMHO) but very tasty. And we didn't have far to go home!
Now,for my not so fine dining advice....................We had a great meal at Rumbalaya. And maybe I should have included this in my "fine dining" catagory. We all ordered shrimp and chicken marsala, and we took the leftovers home and made two more meals out of it. It was fabulous heated up and served for breakfast, twice. I guess that is why it did not make my "fine" dining list. To be "fine" dining you can't have enough to have leftovers for a doggy bag. (IMHO)
The next piece of advice for a great CHEAP meal is Uncle Joe's. I have grown up on great Texas bar-be-cue, but this is better than anything I have tasted in my great state. Two meals fed three women and my daughter had a baked potatoe. We had enough leftovers for another breakfast. I know, not conventional breakfast fare, but who cares and why not? I don't like eggs that much anyway!
Last, but not least, Ronnie's Pizza. These guys are great. Last Christmas they found us in our villa in Virgin Grand Estates when we could not find us. We ordered $34. worth of pizza, and you guessed it, had 2 more meals. Wonderful stuff!
In case you are wondering, our best cheap meal was from the freezer at the Gallows Point store. We were out of leftovers and to pooped to get into anything but jammies. We discovered that a frozen burrito with a little chili con queso is not that bad on a tired, lazy carribean night. At $1.50 each is was a culinary delight!! Followed by a few painkillers, of course.
So........my point of this is to show you that you can spend a small fortune on food, you can get by for next to nothing, or you can split the difference. It all depends on your budget.
Oh, I almost forgot. Shipwreck Landing. There is just something about this place I LOVE!!! The food is fare to good, but it is a spot I can not avoid while on STJ. They also have a pretty cute shop next door. I bought a very cute sundress and 2 sorongs. It is a nostalgic thing for me to go to Shipwreck. (I really missed my husband. He loves it so!!!)
Shopping................I normally don't like to spend hours shopping while on vacation, but since I was with two women and my daughter, who is born to shop, I knew we would spend more time than I usually alot to this pastime. I have to say, Cruz Bay has some great shops. One of my favorites is Caravan Gallery at Mongoose. I bought one of my now favorite pieces of jewelry there, a STJ hook bracelet. It is not like the normal carribean hook that has a "C", it has a "J". I never take it off.
There are several fine jewelry stores as well as unique clothing, bags, shoes, art, and that sort of thing. It is quite good quality merchandise. Not like going to Mexico or that sort of thing. Nothing against Mexico, but man, there is a lot of c**p there.
Time to cook dinner. (Vacation is deffinitely over.)
Let me know if you have any questions.
Love from Texas,
Deb
Great trip report Deb. I really enjoyed your details and best of all your honesty. It always amazes me how I learn something new from very trip report I read. It also keeps me going until I can get back to the lovely USVI.
Thanks for sharing.....
Deb,
I think this is the best trip report I have read. Fantastic!
We are on countdown, arrive on island 7/8. We were going to go sailing on White Wing, but they are on their way to South America. So, if you were taking only one day sail, which one would you pick??
Hi John,
If I had to pick between two sails, it would be Calypso or NoShooz. Calypso is a much larger boat. Our trip had 25 people on board. That is not a bad thing. It actually holds about 35 or 40. It is so much fun to meet new folks. And going to Jost is a blast. If you have never been to Jost then I might recommend that for your only sail. I of course, would rather skip dinner and do both Calypso and NoShooz.
Thanks again Deb for sharing. Really enjoyed your trip reports.
--Islander
Hi, may I ask what the J hook bracelet cost? I don't normally shop much at all on any vacation but I have no good momentos from my trips to STJ so I think I need to "fix" that this time around in November! Were there many in stock, different styles to choose from?
BBQ better than Texas? From Houston as well...?
I think you just broke a state law or something (not that the legislature has done much lately), but I have to agree it is REALLY good. My family seemed to think the location had a lot to do with the 'superior' marks compared to home. 🙂
Great report. It is really hard to look at Galveston beaches the same way after seeing STJ but I hope your sister-in-law has not been ruined.
My hook braclet cost $170. It is silver with a gold J. They have a web site, caravangallery.com. You can see all the different styles and prices. I feel sure they keep all styles in stock.
I got me & my 2 daughters the 'C' bracelet from St. Thomas last year....bout $40-$65 a piece.
I think I heard that Kenney Chesney wears the 'J' hook bracelet...Oh Oh...hope I don't start up the whole ~Kenney Chesney~ thing!!
Hi Deb, did you plan your sails before you got to St. John or once you arrived?
Hi MaryBeth,
I booked Spitfire, Calypso, and Noshooz before I left. I actually booked Noshooz a few months before hand. I think it's better to be safe than sorry.
