Saturday 2/17
Today we decided to head back to STJ. Now that we have our complete wardrobes, we're ready to really enjoy our vacation! We grab the 9:30ish ferry from Red Hook and arrive in Cruz Bay a short time later. Our first stop is Mongoose Junction so I can get my belated Valentine's gift- a St. John Caribbean Hook bracelet at Caravan Jewelers. We also picked up a few things for our new "Caribbean" bathroom at home. One of the stores in Mongoose is closing- I wish I could remember the name of it- and they had great prices on ceramic tiles and prints of original artwork. We also pick up a few souvenirs and gifts to take home.

Mike's back is feeling better so he doesn't mind spending a lot of time in the Jeep. From Mongoose we head up the road and make stops at Hawksnest and Trunk, including the obligatory overlooks. We make it over to Coral Bay (after a stop at the smoothie truck) after almost running out of gas. We hit Skinny Legs for lunch and then drive around checking out more of Coral Bay- this was my first time there. I can't believe how different it is from the other side of the island.

After driving some more, I wanted to go back over to Chocolate Hole to get a picture of the "No Snowmobiles Allowed" sign on the road heading to Nate's house that I forgot on Thursday. After we finished our Jeep tour we hit the shops in Cruz Bay including my first visit to St. John Spice and the new Children's shop. Mike picks out a few meat rubs and at that point we head downstairs and take a seat at the Rum Hut until it's time to get the last car ferry back to Red Hook.

We decided to check out the East End Cafe for dinner. All of the books we had said that reservations were recommended so I wasn't sure if we were going to get in on Saturday night. I called for an 8:00 reservation and they said fine. When we arrived, there were many open tables so it wouldn't have been a problem even without a reservation. We ordered a couple of glasses of wine and the garlic cheesy bread which was only okay. I had the ravioli and Mike had the gnocchi. I wasn't crazy about the sauce on my ravioli, but Mike's gnocchi was delicious. The best part of the meal, though was the salad! I'm not sure what kind of dressing it was, but we both loved it! Aside from our server getting us and the couple next to us confused a couple of times- we got their Pellegrino, and we got charged for a glass of wine they ordered- service was pretty good. After dinner we head back to the condo and try to get some sleep with no AC (still not fixed). I ended up sleeping on the couch with the slider open.

Sunday 2/18
I had called New Horizons (another recommendation from this board) at some point- either Thursday or Friday- to see if they had any availability for the BVI trip. The first thing the woman asked me was "where did you hear about us?" I told her "the VINOW message board" and she was a bit surprised. Anyway, we had originally planned to just ferry over to Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke, but we decided at the last minute do do the charter. New Horizons II had availability for Sunday, and they are right at Sapphire Marina so I booked it and I am so glad I did! Tip- if you rent from Budget, the have a coupon book with a coupon for $50 off per couple for a NH or NHII trip.

We met NHII at the dock at Sapphire at 7:30am on Sunday morning. The boat was full for the day, and Keely had breakfast, beverages and of course Pain Killers all set for the ride. Chad was our captain for the day. Both Mike and I had passports as did everyone else on the boat so we didn't run into any issues when we arrived in Virgin Gorda- the first stop of the day. The Baths are incredible, but be prepared- you will get some exercise walking in and around them! Keely gave us a 45-minute tour, we had a few minutes to swim at the beautiful beach, and then we were off to Marina Cay for lunch. Lunch was so-so, but the setting was incredible. Marina Cay is a small island owned by Pusser's with a restaurant and a small resort. We're going to look into staying at the resort for a couple of nights the next time we're in the islands. It is actually pretty reasonable.... Anyway after lunch it is time to snorkel. We go a short way off of Marina Cay for snorkeling. It was fun, but nothing spectacular to speak of.

The last stop is Great Bay, Jost Van Dyke. In my opinion, this was the most beautiful beach we visited all week. Of course Great Bay is home to the Soggy Dollar Bar and we had to try the Pain Killers they are famous for! So we got a couple of PK's and plopped ourselves down in a couple of chairs on the beach until we had to swim back out to the boat and head back. It was so relaxing and so beautiful, I wish we could have spent more than an hour there. It was a Sunday so there were lots of locals which was even more interesting.

We drop off a few on St. John and then head back to Sapphire Marina. We arrived on STT at around 5pm. Mike took a little "nap" I'll call it- and then we went back to Molly Molone's- this time for dinner. The service was terrible, but I'll blame it on the table of 8 next to us who were obnoxious and very needy. Food was pretty good. I had a burger, Mike had the cheese steak and conch chowder. After dinner we were wiped and went straight to bed. I was on the couch once again since- surprise- the AC still wasn't working.... And the hot water knob still isn't fixed.