I really enjoy reading the full blown trip reports from folks, but I can't seem to find the desire to write one of my own. Instead, I'll ramble a bit and tell you of our first trip to STJ.

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Me - over 40, over weight, under haired, usually laid back, photographer, wanna-be adventurer
Darling Wife (DW) - over 40, over weight, mellow, serene, budding mixed media artist, all 'round good sport

Let's get this out of the way -
THE BAD
* Mosquitoes - STJ virgins, no one has adequately prepared you for the Truth of mosquitoes. Any area of standing water becomes an orgy of skeeter sex and reproduction, and with all of the sugar mill and plantation ruins on STJ, there are plenty of areas of standing water. Can you say "non-draining cisterns"? I knew that you could. The mosquitoes did prevent us from taking advantage of the hiking trails. Even with bug spray on, I discovered I'd been bitten in places that are embarrassing to scratch in public. All of that said, we did go when it was very rainy and wet. I will assume that during more dry times the skeeters aren't as bad.

* Rude people - with two notable exceptions, everyone on STJ was pleasant and wonderful. The two of note, however are; 1) the bartender at the Quiet Mon on Sunday night who seemed to have no desire to help with a beer selection for my wife. She wanted something like a Corona Light, preferably a local brew. He said he had nothing like Corona Light. The end. 2) one of the locals on a bicycle who refused to budge even an inch while I tried to negotiate one of the tight street corners in Cruz Bay.

* No provisions in our villa - I'll tell you how good Serendip was shortly, but there was one downside. I asked Ted, the resident manager, for a provisioning service recommendation so we could have, at the least, something for our first night and first breakfast. He said not to worry about that - he put a welcome basket in each villa with some basic supplies. So we didn't worry about it. After a full day of travel on Sunday, arriving in the rain and dark, driving on the "wrong" side of the road in a village we knew little about, the last thing we wanted to do was go hunting for food and drink. There were no provisions in our villa, and we had to go back out in the rain and dark, driving on the "wrong" side of the road in a village we knew little about to go hunting for food and drink. For your first visit to STJ, get your villa provisioned!

With the exception of the mosquitoes, all of the "bad" parts of our otherwise glorious vacation happened our first night. After that, those memories were erased (until now).

THE GOOD
* Serendip - my DW and I are used to and familiar with Florida vacations and old Florida vacation homes. Not the new-fangled fancy vacation homes - the old ones with charm and personality and a touch of whimsical tacky. When we found Serendip online, we knew we had found the perfect spot for us. Note that I said "for us". Serendip will not be for everyone. The units are old. They are not fancy. They are not decorated in a fashionable or trendy manner. They are not luxurious. They are, however, clean, comfortable, charming, and cozy. Nestled above Cruz Bay - up what is called "Jacob's Ladder" - Serendip feels and looks as if it is in a tropical rain forest. The resident manager, Ted, is gregarious, friendly, helpful, welcoming, and knowledgeable about all that is STJ. The swimming pool is more like an oversized wading pool, so don't expect kids to have a great time playing in the water. But for an apres' beach dip in cool fresh water, it is perfect. Would we stay there again? Yep. Would I recommend it to friends? Yep. Again with the caveat that this is not a luxury villa.

* The food - we didn't have a bad meal anywhere. Not all were exceptional, but all were acceptable. Stand outs, however, go to the stir-fried shrimp dish from Shela's Pot in Cruz Bay, the filet at Morgan's Mango, the shrimp and lobster ravioli at the balcony, the lunch with Jini on our day sail on the Dream Weaver, and the pumpkin soup and dumbread from the beautiful women in the Cruz Bay square Saturday morning.

* The people - from the first bartender at Red Hook to the last cab driver in Charlotte Amalie, the people of the VI were all that we had been led to believe. We were greeted with smiles as friends, interested in where we were from and how we were enjoying the islands. We ate, drank, and talked with them. We were not led to feel as if we were intruding tourists. We sat on the porch outside of The Big Belly Deli and had breakfast while talking to real Coral Bay natives. We sat under the shade at The Tourist Trap drinking and eating with brother owners James and Larry, and Tim, the owner of The Big Belly Deli. They included us in their conversations, telling tall tales (or were they?), and sharing laughs. I was stopped a few times by people, including VINow's own stjohnjulie, who recognized me from the forum to talk. We felt as if we were among friends the whole time.

* The day sail & snorkel trip - I made a bunch of calls and sent out emails trying to find a day sail that would take just 2 people, but wouldn't charge us the "only 2 people" private charter rate. We were running out of options since no one would take just 2 unless we wanted to pay big. Then we found Captain Jini and her Dream Weaver. I'll get this out of the way - Jini is really pretty. Not glamorously so, but naturally. She's been in STJ for 15 years, and has been sailing since she was 5 years old. She knows how to handle her boat, and, more importantly, knows how to run a relaxed and friendly day sail. Jini and her boat are the day sail equivalent of Serendip. Laid back, comfortable, non-pretentious. Jini took us to Loveango and Henley Cay for fantastic snorkeling. We sailed as best we could with the minimal winds and talked of kids, family, travels. Jini's trip was unstructured and easy, just the way we like it.

THE GREAT
* The beaches - In my 40+ years, I have teared up twice in my life at the sight of natural beauty. Once was at the Grand Canyon when I was 16, and once last week when I saw and heard stone beach at Lameshur. Every beach we set foot on was more beautiful than any I have seen "rock side". The sand was smooth, the water amazing, and the beaches more relaxing than any I've ever experienced. Nothing you have read has prepared you for the breath taking beauty of the beaches of STJ. I won't even try to tell you more. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean. If you don't know what I mean, you will when you get there.

* Shela's Pot - Her food stand in Cruz Bay doesn't make the guide books, but it is the BEST food on STJ. Go there. Go there often, and make sure you get the sweet potato stuffing. If you know how she makes it, let me know, because it is amazingly delicious!

* The trip - I didn't want to leave. I want to go back. Soon.

THINGS TO NOTE
* My god STJ is expensive!! $20 stateside for groceries were $75 on STJ. Two 6 packs of Diet Coke and 2 6 packs of beer were close to $40. A hot dog was $4.

* Rum is cheap - A gallon of VI rum cost about the same as a gallon of water. A bottle of water can set you back $4, but a frozen tropical adult beverage costs the same.

* You ain't seen rain until you've seen Virgin Islands rain! Even the locals were amazed at the amount of rain we experienced.

* If you don't have a 4WD, you won't get to see Lameshur.

* It isn't "Coral Bay". It is pronounced "Carl Bay" (at least according to the dozen "Carl Bay" residents we drank with).

* The donkeys are so ugly they're adorable. There are chickens everywhere.

* Drinking at 8am is perfectly acceptable on STJ and not at all a sign of you having a drinking problem.

So that's our trip. Remember, everything I said is just our experience based on one week. It may not be your experience. It may not be our next experience. I fully expect the next trip to be even better.