WSJ/STJ Trip Report - Week 24+

Part 1:

Left SFO on AA Thursday night (6/12) at 9PM PST and flew to MIA arriving at 5:15AM EST (ouch). The friends we were traveling with thought that we were not leaving until Friday – big surprise for them – even though they had purchased their own plane tix (duh). They made it in time. We had a 7 hour layover in MIA and bought a 1 day pass to the AA Admiral’s Club Lounge ($75) and attempted to sleep with little luck (esp for Robin) – it would be nice if they had a dark and quiet area (no such luck). Our friends were smart and took a shuttle to the airport Marriott and got a ½ day room rate for $50, and got some shut-eye. I will have to remember to do this if we find ourselves with such a long layover. However, most likely we will go back to the Delta flight through ATL next time. (more on that later)

Flight from MIA to STT was uneventful – Robin got some sleep. We arrived at STT around 3:30PM with various Cruzan rums shots (flavored) being poured at a little stand as you enter and some lovely steel drum music – nice way to start a vacation. Hot and Humid – of course. Picked up our luggage and dropped them off at the Westin Office at STT – the bags will be delivered to our villa – nice. The Westin folks are always very helpful, and you check-in there. A Westin taxi-bus shuttle us over to Crown Bay to catch the Westin ferry. This is a great way to go even though it is more costly than the public taxi/ferry. The public taxi-bus to Redhook to catch the ferry to Cruz Bay is no fun at all. We were a bit early for the ferry – so we had a late lunch and drinks at Tickles (http://www.ticklesdocksidepub.com/) right next to the ferry dock in Crown Bay. The Westin Ferry takes you right to the resort and it is a relatively short but beautiful ride. Starwood owners get a discount - $85pp with unlimited roundtrips – it was $75pp last year. Still, well worth the expense. We have done the public route and it is no way to start a vacation after a long trip from the West coast.

The ferry ride was beautiful and smooth – our friend was worried about getting sea-sick and took Dramamine (not needed) – we were met at the dock with rum punches, our room keys, and a small shuttle (Iguana) to our villa. I was looking forward to seeing what changes were made to our villa since our campaign to get the furnishings updated. The resort pretty much looked the same as last year (always eerily manicured compared to the island) except now the new Bay Vista units could be seen along the lower hillside next to the Hotel part. We arrived to the villa quickly and our luggage arrived soon after.

The villa was pretty much the same but had new furnishings in the LR (couch, chair, chaise lounge) and drapes – that was pretty much it. For us – we were just happy to have a new couch since the last one was barely usable. I hadn’t expected much else since I heard the refurbish would take place in August/Sept. Some more wear/tear than last year, but pretty much the same. For some reason they added a 3 CD player that had a weird glow to it even when off – so I unplugged it. We bring out iPods and a portable Bose speaker system (http://www.bose.com/controller?even...ounddock_systems/sounddock_portable/index.jsp) made for iPods that Robin got me for my BDay – I love these speakers – great sound and worth their weight/size. I took a series of photos before we unpacked.

Since we arrived too late to pick-up a 4WD vehicle we took a taxi-bus into Cruz Bay and went to the Beach Bar (http://www.beachbarstjohn.com/) where they have great drinks/bar food and had live music (Green Hit - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=30014367) that evening. We enjoyed the band, but I don’t think the other patrons did as much. They were a young group of guys that played Jam Band (e.g. Phish) music with a lead trumpet, guitar, bass, keyboards and drums – and a light show. Pretty cool. We caught both sets and headed back to WSJ. The taxi fare is $4/pp – so $20 each way with tip to go back/forth from WSJ and Cruz Bay (and a reason why we rent a 4WD) – it is not a long taxi ride, but too far to walk – and not a safe walk since the roads are narrow (no sidewalks) and a few hills. Plus - never consider walking at night - not safe for every reason... Got back to the villa and got a great night sleep on the king-size Heavenly bed with a fan running above the bed (ahhhhh).

End of Part 1

Great report! I can't wait for the next chapter!

Wow! Love the report so far. More, more! I really like your tip about 1/2 day rates at hotels for long layovers. That's actually a fabulous idea.

You are so thorough with all the websited included for various places you visited.

Thanks!

Great beginning! Too bad I already know the end.

Your link to the portable Bose player cracks me up. You're such a man.

Welcome back, can't wait to see your pics.

we missed all your posts. hope you are feeling better.

Part 2:
Forgot to mention before that our flight was day before the $15/bag charge implemented by AA, but our bags were over 50lbs and we get charged $50. We bought new luggage from Costco – nice semi-hard side luggage and the large one is very big. I ended up filing it up – it was bigger than the Dive Bag size one that I usually bring. We bought 2 bottles of wine (Ridge Zin) - http://www.ridgewine.com/#home , a liter of Grey Goose vodka in a Nalgene container, 4 NY Strip steaks and 4 skinless/boneless chicken breasts (frozen and pre-marinated) in a soft-sided cooler, packs of condiments (mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, relish, salt and pepper), 1# ground Peets coffee (http://www.peets.com/shop/coffee_detail.asp?id=49&cid=1005) and coffee filters, lots of sunscreen, Aloe, bug spray, and Benadryl Gel for the inevitable bug bites – along with our snorkel equipment, dry bag, and a Neat Sheet (http://www.theneatsheet.com/).

Robin says that we are going to bring a fitted King-size bed sheet next time for the mattress. They use a flat sheet and we both hate how it bunches up (especially with a body sticky from being slathered in aloe… lol).

We woke up (late) to a beautiful morning, and went down to the tennis court area and picked up our 4dr 4WD (Jeep Cherokee) from O’Connor - $540 for the week – a large vehicle for the island. The car rental shares the building with the tennis shop. One side of the counter is for tennis and the other is for vehicle rentals. The person on the tennis side has a great job – just sitting there messing around on the computer and directs you to the ‘other’ side of the counter. What a great job – I have only ever seen 2 people playing tennis at the courts – it is way too hot to play except maybe before 8AM. The O’Connor rental person is typical – curt and acts as if they are doing you a favor. I am always polite, and have no expectations that they will show any sign of being friendly – but always find it strange. Generally, I will attempt to make the person smile, but this kid was not buying it. No big deal. The 4WD is beat up – as most cars are. 17K hard island miles – I bring a camera and take photos of the exterior since there are always more marks/dings that on the check out sheet and I do not want to go every little one – they only care about the big ones. One of the rear lamps is broken as is the side mirror – typical. Tires and brakes are good – and that is all that matters. Preparing to ‘Stay Left’…

We go pick up the girls and head to Starfish Market that is close by to stock up. Starfish is a pretty good market and has about everything needed – they added a high end market next door – so probably won’t bring wine or GG vodka next time. $300 in groceries for the week – got a case of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale ($36/case – yikes, but worth it – we are picky about our beer http://www.sierranevada.com/ ), 1 liter of white and dark Cruzan Rum – and ice for drinks – and lots of water (we won’t drink the island tap water – and for good reason). It generally costs about $60pp to go out for each dinner – so $300 isn’t too bad. Hopefully, we won’t waste much.

Back to the villa and put the food away – start cocktails – and head down to the Resort Pool bar (Snorkles) for lunch. We always enjoy the Pool bar for food and people watching. Yummy! We get a couple of the rafts from the WaterSports – and float around on Great Cruz Bay, and reenact my marriage proposal (2 years ago…). Okay – enough goofing around… Off to the Beach!

he's going to keep us all on edge. it's like reading a book. i always love his details about his trips. mine is we had fun.

Yeah - the 1/2 day rate is a good idea for a long layover - I was nervous about leaving the airport - but better $ spent vs. the AA club.

The portable Bose speakers are great - I use them all the time.

Hi Frank - we finally made it back - thanks for stopping by and saying hello to Robin and me. Fun to meet another Tugger. I am feeling much better - just need the cough to go away.

Part 3 soon...

Stop! I now want to sip Pale Ale while playing the Bose with my iPod and a TS at STJ. Pleeeeese.... someone HELP me!

Katherine

Part 3:
Packed up the car with our snorkel/water stuff and a few SN Ales in the soft-side cooler (w/ bagged up freezer ice) and off to the North-side beaches. Instead of heading thru Cruz Bay we go to Grifft Hill Road (which is the away from Cruz Bay) and a very steep hill the rises up to CenterLine road (which crosses the island on the top of the island) and headed towards the road that goes to one of the last of the North Shore beaches – Maho Bay! On the way to Maho – curvy-hilly-left up Grifft Hill – our friend is very quiet – and pale. UhOh… we turn on CenterLine (which is flatter and less curvey) and I was hoping her color would come back – but nope – PULL OVER! Splat! There goes lunch… After settling down – we continue our drive towards Maho (http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Beaches/maho.html). She felt better, but had been still feeling dizzy. I try and drive as slow as possible, but that can be just as dangerous as driving fast considering the locals and taxis and trucks fly on the narrow/curvy roads – and tailgate slow cars. We finally get down to Maho – and settle down on the soft while sand in the shade of the small beach trees/bushes – it is Hot/Humid. Maho Bay is flat as a pool and very warm. The water feels great – and is crystal clear-blue. Our friends decides to rest on the beach while we go out and snorkel the shallow reef. Maho Bay has a sandy bottom and is shallow – you can walk out pretty far and not have to worry about stubbing your toe on a rock or coral. We see a 3 foot barracuda hanging out and lurking like they like to do.

Maho Bay has Eco-camping on the north-side of the hill and you can see the eco-tents from the beach. http://www.maho.org/maho.cfm Maho Bay is about to come under attack from Developers. I won’t go into details (or mess up the facts), but the land trust is ending in 2011 after 50+ years and people are trying to extend the protection. http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/11507?&pageNumber=2&articleId=11507&pageNumber=2 It is going to be a hard battle to win – it is beautiful at Maho, but very difficult to get island folks to unify on issues (or get involved) – must be something to do with the heat/humidity (and cheap rum?). After Maho – we head over to Cinnamon Bay a mile or so away, but totally different.

There are standard campgrounds at Cinnamon Bay - http://www.cinnamonbay.com/ – another beautiful bay with a Cay in the center that is a short swim. We snorkel/swim over to the Cay and back. The sun is starting to descend –so we didn’t snorkel around the Cay. A bit water logged – we head back to WSJ back the way we came. No having to pull over on the way back, but she is still feeling dizzy. Back at the villa – time to wash up, rest and get ready for dinner in Cruz Bay.

bump... sorry folks life-stuff getting in the way of me trying to update. I am doing this from memory which is quickly fading. I did get a chance to go thru the first set of photos which I will post a link when I get a chance to upload.

Part 4 {let’s see… where was I?}

We were still pretty tired after the long trip and wanted to get an easy dinner. We decide to stay at the villa and BBQ the steaks we brought (Costco NY Strip steaks – yummy! Frozen and pre-packaged in freezer zip-lock storage bags (2 steaks per bag) with 1 Tbsp of Chinese Black Pepper sauce - http://www.asianawest.com/blacpepsauc.html - and 1 Tbsp of minced garlic in each bag). The natural gas BBQs at the pool next to our villa have been changed out with new propane BBQs. I really liked the old BBQs (they were really hot), but they were pretty dangerous since they were difficult to light. I can understand why they were changed out.

I meant a fellow Tugger (cbtb - Phil) at the BBQ and we chat about the latest goings on at WSJ. He was pretty disappointed with the maintenance and some furnishings missing. He was also having issues with the room keys expiring at random times. We did not have the same issues, but did have mismatched DR chairs and balcony chairs. Also met some other Owners – made sure I told them about TUG (perhaps they will show.up…).

We drank out Ridge wine with the steaks with baked potatoes, some veggies and beans – dinner was great. After dinner – went back out to the pool (bath water warm as always) – with the portable Bose speakers and iPod of course and hung out with rum punch cocktails – beautiful night with a moon that was getting fuller (waxing?). Shower and off to a good night sleep on the Heavenly Bed (still heavenly).

Bug Bites! I wake up with bites on the back of my legs! Damn sneaky mosquitoes! I hadn’t put on bug repellent before BBQing and must have gotten bit. The mosquitoes on STJ are small but their bites can be powerful. Normally I don’t have problem with mosquitoes, but not this time. We take Benadryl Gel with us (http://www.brands2liveby.com/product.aspx?id=369) – this seems to work the best to alleviate the itching from bites.

Our friend is still feeling a bit out of it (dizzy) and decides to hang out at the resort. We take off to Hawknest Beach (http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Hawksnest Bay.htm) with sandwiches and drinks in tow (soft-side cooler is well-worth it) – another beautiful north-side beach – and get parking right in front. There are some great snorkeling reefs right off the beach – we hang out on the left-side (facing water) of Hawksnest and snorkel the reefs. This part of the beach is less crowded because of the difficulty of getting into the water (small sea urchins watch out in the rock crevasses). The water is perfect and the snorkeling on the left side is great, but you can see evidence of coral destruction due to continual abuse by people that do not think that ‘staying off the coral’ applies to them – sad. Plus, the water temp in the area has been getting higher every year and if having its toll on the coral in general. Still – much more beautiful coral and fishes compared to HI. On the far-side of Hawknest is the picture perfect Gibney beach (http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Beaches/gibney.html) that is used in some Hollywood movies (and has interesting history) – last year we did the short swim/walk over to Gibney, but this time we just enjoy the view. After snorkeling and sun bathing for Robin (sun avoiding for me) we head off to Cruz Bay for some snacks and Happy Hour at Woody’s (http://www.woodysseafood.com/) right in the middle of Cruz Bay. We get a table right out front and watch the world go by. We get some appetizers – that have Shark Bites which is fish that is coated with a spicy sauce, and some Conch Fritters. I had an excellent Mango Daiquiri and Robin get a Bushwhacker (a rum concoction that tastes like a chocolate shake) - http://www.vinow.com/wwwtalk/read.php?4,44260. Our friend sticks with beer – so he gets to drive back to the villa.

Part 5: {what time/day is it? Sunday night?}

Oops! I forgot to mention the Owner’s Update that we went to on Sunday morning. So let’s step back ½ a day to Sunday morning. We were offered 5K SPs for an Owners Update. We normally do not go to the Owner’s anything while at WSJ, but I wanted to see the Bay Vista units and discuss the Virgin Grand (Hillside) villa refurbish. I made an appointment on Saturday at the Concierge Desk for 10:30AM Sunday morning and picked-up our gift. The gift was one of the waterproof wallet-sized cases at says Westin St John on the side. I use this as my wallet for the trip. I already had a generic one, but this one is slightly larger.

The Owners Update lasted about 2 hours, but not because they were holding us hostage or giving a hard sell. The SVO sales person was very pleasant (Fran?) – hardly any selling at all and we spent most of the time talking about her living experiences on STJ. Fran knew about TUG and may have been the one that sold the 3Bd villa to jerseygirl (or had dealt with another Tugger – Betsy? Is that jerseygirl? I can’t recall…). She drove us up to the BV villas and I got lots of photos of a 2Bd (non-loft). I will post the photos when I get a chance to organize and upload. Overall, they were real nice in regards to the layout and furnishings. They had 2 things Robin loved and that was a nice large kitchen and a large bathroom and especially shower (ours is small). However, they do not have a pool close by and the balconies are not private. She pretty much left us alone – I would have like to see the 2bd lofts but she said none were available to view although there were people looking at another villa (a 3bd perhaps?). The 2bd lofts are on the top floor – so remember that if that is important to you (as it is us).

We decide that while our 2Bd TH has flaws we like out unit better – especially for the price. However, the ‘deal’ was that they would buy our unit back from us for the original 1999 price (~$16.5K) and put that towards a 2Bd loft for $58K in our season (week 24) as a float, or pick up an EOY for 50% of the EY price ($29K). So it would cost us only ~$13K to trade our EY for an EOY. Plus, they were giving us SPs and would allow for a same day Explorer package – they call this a ‘flip’ (can’t remember the terms exactly – I will update when I can find the document). Actually a reasonable deal (in SVO terms), but not good enough – if they had their own pool and more private balconies we may have been more tempted. The ‘closer’ guy could tell we weren’t going for it – so his ‘exit’ interview was short and sweet (“this week only” – yeah… right).

Back to Sunday night…

After a short nap - we drove to Cruz Bay and took the back route that goes around the outside of the Cruz Bay. [Take a left (instead of right at the tennis courts - on the way to town after the road splits) and head around the inlet, keeping to the left (while staying left) as much as possible – up a steep hill and then a sharp left (at white picket fence) and down a steep hill.] This will take you to the road that comes into Cruz Bay from the south shoreline. I prefer this way into town since the normal direction can lead into heavy traffic – plus it is a little like a roller coaster (with the girl’s screaming) and gives you a feel of how the locals live – and also some beautiful $$$ homes along the way. This road takes you past The Gallows, Zozo’s and the Beach Bar.

We park in front of the Fish Trap restaurant (http://www.thefishtrap.com/) and decide to eat there. We were disappointed with the Fish Trap last year (compared to the year before), but had heard a new Owner/Chef (from the recently closed Stone Terrace down the street) had taken over. http://www.on-stjohn.com/ It was pretty good and much better than last year. They also are now selling fresh fish there – for those looking to BBQ/Cook at the villa – a little pricey relatively for STJ but an excellent selection. When dining in STJ – make sure you seated by a fan – the body can get hot after eating and if the breeze stops – the sweating begins. btw, A/C at STJ restaurants means they have fans – most are open-air.

We head back to the villa for a good night sleep.

DavidnRobin said:

got a case of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale ($36/case – yikes, but worth it – we are picky about our beer

Click to expand...

Last week in the Bahamas, a case of Coors Light was $45 and that's the cheap beer!

We stuck to the rum!

Good post so far. I will need to print this out once complete, for our trip next June. It will be our first trip back in 5 years.

tomandrobin said:

Good post so far. I will need to print this out once complete, for our trip next June. It will be our first trip back in 5 years.

Click to expand...

Thats what I did before I left .I had been saving all the good threads on WSJ on TUG then pulled out the places that interested me.

tomandrobin said:

Good post so far. I will need to print this out once complete, for our trip next June. It will be our first trip back in 5 years.

Click to expand...

Hopefully I will finish before next June...
we took about 600 photos...

Part 6 (relaxing resort day):

Monday was pretty uneventful – we had a large breakfast in the villa and decided to have a ‘resort day’ where we hang out at the resort pool and Great Cruz Bay. I got a chance to do some reading and set-up a day trip to the BVI. I set-up a day trip to the BVI (British Virgin Islands – need passport) to go to Virgin Gorda/The Baths on Bad Kitty through Calypso Charters on Wednesday. http://www.calypsovi.com/kitty.html The Bad Kitty is a new boat and is a ‘wave piercer’ – fast and smooth – more on this later.

We had lunch and drinks at the WSJ Pool Bar (Snorkels) and just played around (and napped). It was quite relaxing – we don’t generally hang out at the WSJ resort when we stay there, but many people do – there is certainly plenty to do. There is a Steel drum player by the pool, and have little games like bobbing for sodas (for kids) and beers (for adults). The beer was nothing I would drink (e.g. Bud and lite beer) even for free. They did have some sodas and beers that were specially marked for prizes (don’t know what they were). I did find it funny that people (kids and adults) were hoarding the free sodas and beers that they got – especially where some kids got none at all and others had as many as they could hold/hoard – and sadly not sharing with the kids that had none (not really the kids fault, but shame on the parents that didn’t having their kids share) – heck… they are only sodas…

Anyway - while they do not have a swim up bar – the waitresses will bring you a drink in the pool. Very nice – the main drinks of the islands is rum punch, Planters Punch, Painkiller, and Bushwhacker – I think the link to Woody’s (or The Beach Bar…?) that I gave before have the recipes to these drinks.

You can get any of the non-mechanical water toys for free usage from Cruz Bay Sports by signing your name and unit number. We got some floating mats and floated around the smooth bay – went out to the water trampoline. Pretty uneventful day, but very relaxing. To get towels you need a special card that is given with your room keys. It turns out that a lot of non-WSJ guests were using the resort facilities and taking towels.

On Monday night we had BBQ the chicken breasts (marinated with a Pear-Vinegar salad dressing) that we brought from home - along with some white rice and veggies and ice cream sundaes for desert.

Part 7: (beach day)
On Tuesday we wanted to have a beach day. The water in the distance from our villa (outside of Great Cruz Bay) looked a little rough with wind blown white caps so it was difficult to tell the conditions of the north-side beaches. We decide to try Honeymoon Beach (http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Honeymoon.htm) which is south of Caneel Beach/Resort (http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Beaches/caneel.html) - http://www.caneelbay.com/ We did a beach day at Honeymoon last year and it was great. You have to walk in about ½ mile form Caneel – so that keeps a lot of folks away. We park in the Caneel Resort public lot and walk in – turns out that there were quite a few waves when we got out there so decide to walk back. Knowing that the conditions may be sketchy at the other beaches – we head back to Maho Bay since it well-protected as compared to most of the other beaches. We had already been to Maho, but this time we went on the other side where there is a fine snorkeling reef. It was relatively smooth at Maho. We spend pretty much the entire day just relaxing on the beach. Again we took sandwiches, SN Ale, soda, snacks and plenty of water.

That night we had our anniversary (of our engagement at WSJ) dinner at Zozo’s (http://www.zozos.net/) – we did not have reservations, but didn’t need them. We got a great table along the front balcony railing and although the sunset had already occurred – the full moon was rising and illuminated Cruz Bay and the distance pretty well. We had a great anniversary dinner and Zozo’s was good, but not as good as the Chateau Bordeaux dinner we had last year (http://www.stjohnrestaurants.com/chateau.htm). Although expensive, it wasn’t as pricey as Chateau Bordeaux was.

We had a long relaxing dinner with a bottle of Cakebread cellars (Napa) Sauvignon Blanc (http://www.cakebread.com/wines/display_wine.cfm?wine=SB_2006.html) , and some great tasty cocktails. We passed on desert since were too stuffed. We head home and had the rest of the leftover ice cream by the villa pool, and watched the full moon. I had hope that we would get over to Coral Bay for the Full Moon party at Miss Lucy’s (RIP), (http://www.frommers.com/destinations/stjohnusvi/D47914.html) but we were too tired and had too much to drink to get over to Coral Bay safely (or back safely).

Great report, David! Love all the details and links!

Part 8: (BVIs on the Bad Kitty)

We got picked up at 7:30 on the beach next to the Westin Ferry Dock by a dinghy that took us out to the Bad Kitty (http://www.calypsovi.com/kitty.html) that is moored in great Cruz Bay. Cruz Bay Watersports will not allow the dock to be used by other charters so the dinghy pick-up on the beach was necessary. No big deal, but it is pretty weak that the dock cannot be used for Westin Guests/Owners for a quick pickup/dropoff. There were the 4 of us and another Westin couple that got picked-up and taken out to the Bad Kitty. As mentioned before – the Bad Kitty is a wave piercing catamaran-style boat that can hold about 34 souls (ocean-lingo for passengers) and is very calm ride and pretty fast (~30mph) – we also went over to the NPS dock in Cruz Bay to pick up the rest of the passengers – about 16 people in all along with a captain and 2 helpers. They serve a continental breakfast and have an open bar. No one is drinking at 8AM, but the muffins, fruit and OJ is pretty good way to start the day.

The Bad Kitty takes a route that goes on the far side of Tortola to get to Virgin Gorda (where The Baths are) – this is a much calmer ride than heading thru the Sir Francis Drake Chanel against seas. It is a picture perfect day and the Bad Kitty is incredibly smooth. The other charters were bouncing along in the waves and we are cutting right thru. It was about $140pp and a $25 Customs fee – and well worth the price. We had gone to VG and The Baths 2 years ago on New HorizonsII (http://newhorizonscharters.com/) and while that was a good/fast ride – this was much less bumpy and much roomier. Last year we rented a bareboat 26’ Prowler thru See&Ski (http://www.seeski.com/) and hired a ‘captain’ (http://www.usviservices.com/whoweare.htm) to take us to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. He was not an officially a captain (meaning not his real job - but he had a 6-Pac license and knew the waters well) and we were not allowed to pay him – we just paid for the boat/gas and he gets a free day on the water (plus ‘tip’) – it was a great way to go to JVD and other secluded snorkel spots. I don't know if he still does this - he gets flack from folks in the biz. However, for a long trip to VG the Bad Kitty was perfect – it would have been a long ride in the Prowler.

Anyway – we quickly (~1 hour) make it to Spanish Town in Virgin Gorda to check-in thru Customs (they take care of it – passport required) – do some quick shopping and then off to The Baths which is close by. The Baths were packed! There were a few Cruise Ships in STT that day and many had made there way over. We had to moor pretty far off shore and swim in (you always have to swim in, but this was a good distance). They give you snorkel vest or floating devices for those that needed help – also the 2 crew members follow in front and behind – so very safe – but a good swim/snorkel. A few kids and old folk (older than us…) made it will little problem. It can get wavy at the beach, but today was relatively calm. We had done The Baths before and didn’t want to deal with the crowds so Robin and I stay behind and decide to snorkel around the outside of The Baths. It was a great way to see the Baths and the ocean-life was abundant. After about an hour the rest of the group had gotten back from the tour and we snorkeled-swam back to the boat.

We then headed off to Cooper Island (http://www.cooper-island.com/) for lunch – nothing special, but it was good to eat so the rum drinking could begin. After lunch – we headed off to the Caves of Norman Island (http://www.bareboatsbvi.com/norman_island_caves.html). The boat moored outside of the Caves and then you snorkel to the Caves. The Bad Kitty required that everyone wear snorkel vests since it is deep and can get choppy. I hadn’t worn a snorkel vest before – and while geeky – I actually really liked it. It allows you to sit and float if necessary – and gives you a feeling of protection especially for those long snorkels or in water that has notable current. The crew headed a tour thru the 3 caves on Norman Island (but you could go on your own) – the colors of the coral at the mouths of The Caves were pretty unique – sort of a teal-purple that I hadn’t seen before. Plus the underwater life was fantastic especially on the side of the island. After about an hour snorkel we headed back to the boat.

We then took off to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke (http://www.bareboatsbvi.com/jvd_white_bay.html) – a place Robin and I love (and many others – a true Caribbean island experience). This is our 3rd trip together to WSJ and every year we have made it to White Bay. White Bay has a famous bar called the Soggy Dollar (http://www.soggydollar.com/soggydollarbar/) – known as this because there is no dock at White Bay and you have to jump in the water to get to the beach - also claim to teh original Painkiller - but others claim the same. The Bad Kitty back-up to the beach – so it was only waist deep (not that it mattered) to get to the beach. We skipped the Soggy Dollar and walked down the beach to Seddy’s One Love Bar (http://www.bareboatsbvi.com/jvd_one_love_bar.html). One Love is famous for their Bushwhackers – and they did not disappoint. Something about the way they make them there that has yet to be reproduced by other bars – and believe me – we have had them a dozens of USVI bars. We had met the owners of One Love last year when we hired the captain – and Raquel and Seddy were there along with their adorable kids. I swear these kids have probably never worn shoes – One Love has sand for a floor and couches on some planks in the corner. The electricity had just come back on when we arrived (common occurrence in JVD) so the blender for Bushwhackers was ready – yippee!

After relaxing and a few BWs – we headed back to the Bad Kitty (we were last aboard – again…) - Bad Kids on the Bad Kitty – and we headed back to STJ. On the way back – Robin and I had a chance to go on the top deck – it was picture perfect cutting across to STJ. We had to pass thru Customs in Cruz Bay and then headed back to Great Cruz Bay (WSJ). Overall – the Bad Kitty experience was fantastic and I would highly recommend – especially for those that may suffer from motion sickness – our friend had no issues at all.

After we rested – we headed off to Cruz Bay and went to the Rhumb Lines (http://www.rhumblinesstjohn.com/home.html) – always good and we always seem to end up at the same table – they have Pan Asian food – and we all order the Ultimate Pad Thai (extremely spicy – pet-pet-pet in Thai terms) along with a variety of Pupus (killer shrimp, chicken and shrimp satays and calamari) – yummy. And head back to the villa – stuffed – tired – and our mouths on fire. Uhoh – our vacation is coming to an end… (or is it? spoiler alert...).

Part 9: (Beach Day – part 2)

Why is my throat scratchy? Uhoh… Achooo! Why are my sinuses stuffy? Achooo! The beginnings of a cold!? NO! yes...

Must be all the in/out from AC to Heat/Humidity – along with being wet so often – you would think that all the rum would have killed any bugs – vacation is almost over – I will hang tough.

btw – I forgot to mention that last Saturday – I noticed the LR fan was not working – and called maintenance to come fix it. They took it away on Saturday and a new one showed up while we were away on Wednesday – it was nice to have it back, but we had been running the AC a bit colder because of the lack of fan. Also in the ‘forgot to mention’ bucket… I think it was Tuesday that a fire alarm went off in the building below – I was doing laundry (and someone was showering) and the water went off for a few minutes – and then came out in a dark rust color (thus why I will not drink the tap water or use the freezer ice – we buy tons of water and ice during our store run) Anyway… our white clothes turned a nice rusty color – at first I (Robin…) thought I messed up the laundry, but was reprieved when we figured it was the water (later the freezer ice was brown) – yuck, but good for keeping the stuff cool in our soft-side cooler. Our friend got splattered with rust-brown water when the water came back on. (sorry, but funny). I didn’t really think much of it – just one of those things that happens in the USVI.

Back to the story… (Trunk Bay – and the birds…)

We decide to have our 2nd and last beach day by going to Trunk Bay – the most popular of north-side beaches – and likely one of the most photographed beaches in the world. There is only 1 cruise ship in port so shouldn’t be too crowded. Cost is $4pp to get into Trunk Bay – this is a famous NPS spot and has the only NPS underwater trail. They have showers, food stand, rentals and even have a lifeguard on duty - whose duty seems to be to tell the single-horn butt fish (aka snorkelers) to stay the hell OFF the coral (!!!). We are well stocked and are lucky to find an open space in the parking lot (otherwise you have to park on the road and with all four wheels off the pavement – and our 4WD is big). We head to the north side (left facing water) where the crowds are less and a good reef to snorkel (most snorkel the Cay in the middle of the Bay where the underwater trail is). We find a great shady (as possible) spot and settle in for the day. Trunk Bay is famous and popular for a reason – it is a jewel (and best visited when not crowded – not too too many today). We spend the day in the water and on the beach to dry off – and when it gets too hot – back into the water. http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Trunk Bay.htm

Later in the day we go over to the snack bar to get some burgers/fries – we get a bunch and while I paid - our friend goes over to get condiments and lays the burgers/fries down on a picnic table and WHOOSSHHH – the seagulls are on it in a flash (now I know why there is a big sign that states No Refunds…) – it gets crazier when I re-order a couple of burgers and while walking down the steps 2 birds swoop down and try to snatch the food from my hands! Actually hitting me in the chest… Of course I had no idea they would be so aggressive and they cause me to drop the burgers on the ground (I guess the taste of first hamburgers was just too much for them…). That’s it! – We will wait to eat later – those were some expensive burgers. You would think there would a bit more warning – like beware of the birds – they will actually bash into you… or something. It was sort of funny in a surreal (Alfred Hitchcock) sort of way. Anyway – be forewarned…

The day was great – we stayed pretty late – their were 2 weddings on the beach – brides in flowing white gowns on a beach – beautiful, but unfortunately the wind (and sand) had started to kick up – it was lovely anyway.

We go back to the villa to get cleaned up for dinner. We end up going to Morgan’s Mango (http://www.morgansmango.com/) – an excellent restaurant. We have great food all week – and never needed reservations - great thing about going to STJ in a slower season. After the meal we go back to the villa and start to pack- and attempt to finish the rum we bought. Luckily we failed in that venture. http://cruzanrum.com/

Part 10: (Returning Home – Nope… Day from Hell)

I am not even sure I should write about this day as I am trying to forget it (at least until I get my next AMEX bill…). Most know the end of the story, but the start of it was like this – to the best of my memory… as I was very sick with cold and fever (it turns out).

Okay – not a good choice to drink the Cruzan Rum last night – while it felt good then – I woke up (did I even sleep…?) really hurting. WSJ had sent us a letter on Thursday that said that said (in summary) that we should leave our bags outside our door at 10AM (check-out) and they will be picked up for the ferry. Also, that based on our flight schedule (that I remember as being late afternoon…) to be at the ferry dock to depart at 1PM and they will get us to STT. No problem (right…) - we drop off our bags – head off to Cruz Bay for some last minute shopping (Mongoose Junction), then return the 4WD back to O’Connor at WSJ, and time for a quick lunch. During lunch the weather really kicked-up sending food, umbrellas and even thing else not bolted down… flying – then the heavy rain. I saw it coming and saved our food/drink – and managed to get a protected table. The weather had been great all week (it rained one during the night).

btw – when we got back to WSJ - we drove by our villa and our bags were still sitting there (in the sun). I was not happy about this and we picked up our bags and took them to the lobby. This of course messed up their ‘system’, but I didn’t care – I didn’t want our bags (with valuables, etc.) sitting out in the heat and sun. We had already called 3x for the bags to be picked up and talked to 2 people. Turns out that they were scheduled to be picked up around 11:30, but that is just crazy to have them outside unprotected.

We got ready to get on the ferry and we were off for STT – it turns out because of the weather we had to go to RedHook instead of Crown Bay – and the taxi-bus will take us from there. It is about a 45 minute on the Taxi-Bus through the busy streets. At the end of the taxi-bus – I decide to dig out our tickets – depart 2:50PM!!!! Uhoh – it is going to be close. We already had our boarding passes, but the airport (AA counter) was a madhouse. Plus – our baggage hadn’t arrived yet. The van with our luggage came and I try to get to the self-service stations to get our luggage tags… nope – won’t process. Turns out that we know have to pay $15 per bag and the line to get luggage tags is long. No way we will make this flight – we could have made it (barely) if they could have gotten us our baggage tags – but they (AA) could give a crap. We were late – we were out of luck (w/ boarding passes in hand) even though Robin was in the front to the Customs line – we get denied. All because they must get their $15 per bag.

[I won’t go into how rude the AA reservationist were – or incompetent. Plus, I was sicker than a dog –and that did not improve my ‘attitude’ – a term the AA person actually used] This guy could pretty much be me at this point... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW4c6vxQZDo

We were late (our fault) – and if I had bothered to check our departing time earlier – I would have done the time math to realize that the 1PM ferry was too late to get us to STT. Problem was that since we had boarding passes – I could not get an alternate flight thru the 1-800-AA number – and had to wait another hour to get the STT AA people to cancel us from their systems (and another hour trying to get a flight). Out friends had only carry-on at this time and were able to get a flight to PR and then MIA (overnight) then home to SFO. Since we had bags – we couldn’t take this flight since the turnaround time in PR was too short. Our friends’ barely made it – running to the plane as the gate doors were closing (and kicking off the two people had scored their seats). It turns out that most Caribbean AA flights are overbooked. Being on ‘standby’ is not going to work – no way I am turning around on Saturday without a seat assigned.

Time is up - and the Westin ferry is leaving at a specific time – we have no flight (other than ‘standby’ on the next day (Saturday)) and have to head back to the Westin if we want to stay there. I must say the Westin folks at STT (and the resort) were fantastic and sympathetic. Perhaps the fact that I had a letter from the Westin stating that they have us covered for getting to STT helped? Any which way - they were great – they even got us a private taxi-bus to get back to the Westin ferry at Redhook – which was waiting for us. This ride sucks once – much less twice in one day. I am feeling miserable – and worried about our fate.

Part 11: (*“There and Back Again” *Bilbo Baggins – The Hobbit)

After returning from Mordor (AA at STT) – we make it back to WSJ around 6:30PM. We get up to the Front Desk and they already know the story and have a room key for us. We are exhausted – I need to lie down quickly (or fall down). Abi at the front desk was great – gets us a shuttle and our bags will be right there. We end up in 4112 (a 3Bd pool villa) – one of the older ones. I state that we only need a one bed, but he tells me that is the only open room/villa due to a conference they are having. “Honey - Take me to bed and quick” (and not for a good reason…). I hit the bed, but have to call AA and try and get home. What zaniness – I must have been on the phone to AA for an hour (easily). First – I can’t get an assigned seat for Saturday – Sunday has a ~$1000/tix change fee (no sh*t) – and $310 per tix charge for Saturday or Monday. I start to change my flight to Monday – and I call the Front Desk to see if they could put us up until Sunday night. Yes!, they can accommodate us – without even a mention of a charge – so I don’t have to bring up the departure letter I have (which they are obviously aware). Anyway – I call back AA to confirm the Monday flight (same schedule). Turns out in the 20 minutes I take to call them back – the flight cost has increased and the change fare to $450 per ticket (Annie! Get my Gun!) – anyway – after going over my story again (that I had arranged another flight but could not make it because they had us on their plane) – they put me on hold for about 30 minutes and finally come back and said that they will have the extra $150 per ticket and give us the original change fare ($620 for the two of us – what we paid pp for our RT ticket from/to SFO/STT) – like they are doing me a favor…

Anyway – we have tickets for Monday and WSJ will put us up (nice). We get down to the WSJ restaurant and have some food – I can barely eat, but know I must. We call home to make sure our house and cat are taken care of – and call our friend to tell him we are going to miss his 50th BDay party this weekend. Work is crazy/busy and I have meetings on Monday – not going to be there…

The lower BD in the villa has mosquitoes that seem to come from no where – so we use the BD upstairs. I am feeling awful. I wake up around midnight shivering and sweating – I don’t want to wake Robin so I go to the other BD (separated by those weird sliding doors that I had closed for bug protection) and I am visibly shaking. I wake up in the middle of the night with the sheets soaked – I hadn’t realized until then that I had been running a fever. Wake up in the morning with the sheets tossed, but actually feeling somewhat better. We hangout in the villa and wait to leave our bags at 11AM (like asked) and go to the front desk. I felt bad for Housekeeping that we used all 3 beds during our short stay there. The Front Desk tell us to come back at 2:30 and get our room for the next two nights – I am glad to hear it is for 2 nights because I do not want to move again. In the meantime – relax by the pool. We get lounges in the shade and there is a nice breeze – I am not going into the water today. We just relax – watch the Iguanas – and the soda/beer bobbing (again – same scene) with Steel Drums being played. Tugger Transit (Frank) comes up to introduce himself – very nice to meet – he must have recognized us from the photo thread {great idea} – and we talk TS (and story) for a while. We also get to meet his family (wife and son) – he tells me that TUG was wondering where I was and I tell him to say ‘Hi from WSJ’ - no computer for us during our week.

We go back to the front desk around 2:30 and we get a 3Bd pool villa in the refurbished units (4312) – sweet! Again – I state that it wasn’t necessary –we only need a 1Bd – but we our told – just relax and enjoy ourselves – Thank You WSJ folks (I owe them a letter of thanks).