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Trip Report - "30th Wedding Anniversary" - Part On
Trip Report - "30th Wedding Anniversary" - Part On
St. John – 30th Anniversary Trip 2011
“Let’s go back to St. John”, my husband suggested when we were trying to decide how we wanted to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. “It’s the only place we’ve been that you’ve loved so much that you cried when it was time to leave.” YIPPEE!!!
5/4
After many, many months of planning and anticipation, we were finally on the STT tarmac.
After our “requisite” shot of rum, I headed to the baggage carousel, while HT walked over to the Budget kiosk.
Pulling out of the Airport in our little rental jeep –remembering to “keep left”, we soon found ourselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic! (Unbeknownst to us, it was “Carnival” week on St. Thomas!) It was 3:30PM, and we still needed to shop at Cost-U-Less before catching the ferry. It was after 4:00 by the time we reached the store, and becoming fairly obvious to us that we wouldn’t make the 5:00 ferry. We’d so wanted to reach our villa on STJ before dark
.
We were finally on the road again by 5:10 – plenty of time to make the 6:15 – or so we thought. It seemed to take forever to get across island as we crawled along with the traffic congestion – 5:30… 5:45… 5:50… YIKES! Pulling up to the dock, we heard the ferry whistle blowing – announcing immediate departure!
As the Roanoke pulled away from the harbor, HT impulsively picked me up and swung me around. We were jubilant; we would soon be on our beloved St. John !
!
There was a gorgeous sunset after-glow as we wended our way up and over the hills on Centerline road. HT maneuvered the twisty, narrow road like a pro – while I read the directions to our villa, and called out landmarks: Shipwreck Landing… Miss Lucy’s… Tourist Trap… Take a left on Sugar Bird Road…
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783810396/" title="IMG_0057 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/578 ... d3582d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0057"></a>
Dusk soon gave way to dark as we drove through Coral Bay, but HT still managed to find the short gravel driveway that led us to our villa for the week: Beas Maison.
Walking up to the front door, we were greeting by a large hermit crab. The house is lovely, and tastefully decorated; the view amazing. We quickly unpacked and settled in – then spent the remainder of the evening reading in the breezeway since it was too windy on the deck.
That night we slept like babies; a cool breeze blowing through our windows; the waves lapping the shore far below, and the rustling palm fronds “singing” our lullaby.
May 5th.
We both woke at sunrise – raised our heads – muttered a collective, “Wow” (as we gazed at the view out the sliding glass door at the foot of the bed), and promptly fell back to sleep. We woke again – probably an hour and a half later. This time muttering a collective “How beautiful!” – before, again, falling back to sleep.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783812888/" title="IMG_1834 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/578 ... 351881.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1834"></a>
We finally woke up (for real) around 0800.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783017855/" title="IMG_1849 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/578 ... 178894.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1849"></a>
I made breakfast (bacon, eggs, fried potatoes), while HT explored the grounds. We enjoyed our meal out on the veranda (which became a daily ritual) – then prepared for our first snorkeling outing.
HT’s choice of Little Lameshur turned out to be an excellent one! The entry into the water was easy; the bay wasn’t too deep; the water was calm; the sky was blue.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783804934/" title="IMG_0022 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/578 ... bb3775.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0022"></a>
Our equipment worked perfectly: my new fins are great, and HT’s mask fit so well that he didn’t even need his nose plugs. (See HT in lower right corner of above picture.) He had stuck them into his pocket (just in case) – then realized, after we’d been snorkeling for a while, that he’d lost them
!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783634006/" title="IMG_0950 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2602/578 ... 61587a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0950"></a>
There’s just nothing like that first “snorkel moment” – when, after donning your gear at the water’s edge, you glide out across the beautiful, calm, turquoise water; an underwater paradise unfolding beneath you.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783045637/" title="IMG_0379 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/578 ... 3c6a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0379"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783042853/" title="IMG_0378 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/578 ... 5b96_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_0378"></a>
We enjoyed a pleasant, easy snorkel; saw some pretty coral, some colorful fish, and HT saw a stingray.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783773540/" title="IMG_1170 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2162/578 ... 93d8_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_1170"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783702434/" title="IMG_0231 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5268/578 ... 4fe1_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0231"></a>
After a couple of hours, we paddled to shore and, as we were removing our fins, HT spotted his nose plug’s little case bobbing at the surf’s edge
.
We drove over to East End to get a better “gestalt” of all we can see from our balcony, then returned to the villa where HT washed off our equipment while I got to be first in the shower.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783811454/" title="IMG_1832 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5265/578 ... 37de_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_1832"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783054109/" title="IMG_0400 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/578 ... 9300_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0400"></a>
Later we toasted our successful first whole day on STJ with a tasty rum drink then retired to the breezeway to read.
May 6
Another great night’s sleep! We were a bit disappointed to see the sky filled with gray clouds.
We slept in, so decided to skip breakfast and have an early lunch at Skinny Legs.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783088571/" title="IMG_1841 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/578 ... 5d91_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_1841"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783091737/" title="IMG_1844 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/578 ... d0da_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_1844"></a>
HT had the grilled pepper/onion parmesan burger, and I had the blue cheese burger - just as good as we’d remembered. After lunch, we checked out the cute little shops in Coral Bay, where we found the whole nutmeg we’d been looking for. (We’d bought some before we left on vacation, but somehow managed to leave it at home
) – then drove out to Josephines – where we got some nice bell peppers.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783086429/" title="IMG_1839 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2468/578 ... f39283.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_1839"></a>
The clouds had started breaking up, so we decided to go back to Little Lameshur and snorkel the rocks on the left – since we’d only snorkeled the right side yesterday.
The coral isn’t real healthy, but we did see some interesting “critters” – including my first Cuttlefish! For valentine’s day this year, HT and I gave each other a Cannon D10 underwater camera. On my “wish to see/photograph list” for this vacation were cuttlefish, sting ray, spotted eagle ray, octopus, and sea turtles. SO, I was thrilled to be able to check one “critter” off my list.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783526610/" title="IMG_0785 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3420/578 ... 539a14.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="IMG_0785"></a>
There were five of them swimming together. I happily followed them around – taking picture after picture – for about a half an hour while HT swam out around the point. He saw a 4’ barracuda, and two turtles (one a “close encounter”).
To be continued...
“Let’s go back to St. John”, my husband suggested when we were trying to decide how we wanted to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. “It’s the only place we’ve been that you’ve loved so much that you cried when it was time to leave.” YIPPEE!!!
5/4
After many, many months of planning and anticipation, we were finally on the STT tarmac.
After our “requisite” shot of rum, I headed to the baggage carousel, while HT walked over to the Budget kiosk.Pulling out of the Airport in our little rental jeep –remembering to “keep left”, we soon found ourselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic! (Unbeknownst to us, it was “Carnival” week on St. Thomas!) It was 3:30PM, and we still needed to shop at Cost-U-Less before catching the ferry. It was after 4:00 by the time we reached the store, and becoming fairly obvious to us that we wouldn’t make the 5:00 ferry. We’d so wanted to reach our villa on STJ before dark
.We were finally on the road again by 5:10 – plenty of time to make the 6:15 – or so we thought. It seemed to take forever to get across island as we crawled along with the traffic congestion – 5:30… 5:45… 5:50… YIKES! Pulling up to the dock, we heard the ferry whistle blowing – announcing immediate departure!
As the Roanoke pulled away from the harbor, HT impulsively picked me up and swung me around. We were jubilant; we would soon be on our beloved St. John !
!There was a gorgeous sunset after-glow as we wended our way up and over the hills on Centerline road. HT maneuvered the twisty, narrow road like a pro – while I read the directions to our villa, and called out landmarks: Shipwreck Landing… Miss Lucy’s… Tourist Trap… Take a left on Sugar Bird Road…
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783810396/" title="IMG_0057 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/578 ... d3582d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0057"></a>
Dusk soon gave way to dark as we drove through Coral Bay, but HT still managed to find the short gravel driveway that led us to our villa for the week: Beas Maison.
Walking up to the front door, we were greeting by a large hermit crab. The house is lovely, and tastefully decorated; the view amazing. We quickly unpacked and settled in – then spent the remainder of the evening reading in the breezeway since it was too windy on the deck.
That night we slept like babies; a cool breeze blowing through our windows; the waves lapping the shore far below, and the rustling palm fronds “singing” our lullaby.
May 5th.
We both woke at sunrise – raised our heads – muttered a collective, “Wow” (as we gazed at the view out the sliding glass door at the foot of the bed), and promptly fell back to sleep. We woke again – probably an hour and a half later. This time muttering a collective “How beautiful!” – before, again, falling back to sleep.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783812888/" title="IMG_1834 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/578 ... 351881.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1834"></a>
We finally woke up (for real) around 0800.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783017855/" title="IMG_1849 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/578 ... 178894.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1849"></a>
I made breakfast (bacon, eggs, fried potatoes), while HT explored the grounds. We enjoyed our meal out on the veranda (which became a daily ritual) – then prepared for our first snorkeling outing.
HT’s choice of Little Lameshur turned out to be an excellent one! The entry into the water was easy; the bay wasn’t too deep; the water was calm; the sky was blue.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783804934/" title="IMG_0022 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2772/578 ... bb3775.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0022"></a>
Our equipment worked perfectly: my new fins are great, and HT’s mask fit so well that he didn’t even need his nose plugs. (See HT in lower right corner of above picture.) He had stuck them into his pocket (just in case) – then realized, after we’d been snorkeling for a while, that he’d lost them
!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783634006/" title="IMG_0950 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2602/578 ... 61587a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0950"></a>
There’s just nothing like that first “snorkel moment” – when, after donning your gear at the water’s edge, you glide out across the beautiful, calm, turquoise water; an underwater paradise unfolding beneath you.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783045637/" title="IMG_0379 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/578 ... 3c6a_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0379"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783042853/" title="IMG_0378 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/578 ... 5b96_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_0378"></a>
We enjoyed a pleasant, easy snorkel; saw some pretty coral, some colorful fish, and HT saw a stingray.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783773540/" title="IMG_1170 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2162/578 ... 93d8_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_1170"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783702434/" title="IMG_0231 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5268/578 ... 4fe1_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0231"></a>
After a couple of hours, we paddled to shore and, as we were removing our fins, HT spotted his nose plug’s little case bobbing at the surf’s edge
.We drove over to East End to get a better “gestalt” of all we can see from our balcony, then returned to the villa where HT washed off our equipment while I got to be first in the shower.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783811454/" title="IMG_1832 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5265/578 ... 37de_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="IMG_1832"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783054109/" title="IMG_0400 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/578 ... 9300_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="IMG_0400"></a>
Later we toasted our successful first whole day on STJ with a tasty rum drink then retired to the breezeway to read.
May 6
Another great night’s sleep! We were a bit disappointed to see the sky filled with gray clouds.
We slept in, so decided to skip breakfast and have an early lunch at Skinny Legs.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783088571/" title="IMG_1841 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/578 ... 5d91_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_1841"></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783091737/" title="IMG_1844 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/578 ... d0da_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_1844"></a>
HT had the grilled pepper/onion parmesan burger, and I had the blue cheese burger - just as good as we’d remembered. After lunch, we checked out the cute little shops in Coral Bay, where we found the whole nutmeg we’d been looking for. (We’d bought some before we left on vacation, but somehow managed to leave it at home
) – then drove out to Josephines – where we got some nice bell peppers.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783086429/" title="IMG_1839 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2468/578 ... f39283.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_1839"></a>
The clouds had started breaking up, so we decided to go back to Little Lameshur and snorkel the rocks on the left – since we’d only snorkeled the right side yesterday.
The coral isn’t real healthy, but we did see some interesting “critters” – including my first Cuttlefish! For valentine’s day this year, HT and I gave each other a Cannon D10 underwater camera. On my “wish to see/photograph list” for this vacation were cuttlefish, sting ray, spotted eagle ray, octopus, and sea turtles. SO, I was thrilled to be able to check one “critter” off my list.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36006979@N05/5783526610/" title="IMG_0785 by LinwardT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3420/578 ... 539a14.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="IMG_0785"></a>
There were five of them swimming together. I happily followed them around – taking picture after picture – for about a half an hour while HT swam out around the point. He saw a 4’ barracuda, and two turtles (one a “close encounter”).
To be continued...
Life is an adventure.
Treasure each moment.
Treasure each moment.
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paulandtracie
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Great start Linward! Love your photos and nice views from your villa! Nothin' better than a tasty blue burger at Skinny's~ 
I've got 2 tickets to paradise~Pack your bags we'll leave tonight!
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