Trip report and pictures May4-11

[mlr214]

Hi Everyone,

Its been over a month since we returned from our second trip to St.John. It was a wonderful trip/babymoon. Our week went by so quickly and since we've been home we've been so busy. Here are some of the highlights and a link to all of pictures.

Travel: We had early flight out of DC at 6am but were on STJ by 2:30. Used Rachel for taxi, she was busy and we booked kind of late so she had friends of hers drive us. Great/easy trip both ways and Rachel was great to interact with, we'll defiantly use her in the future. On our first trip we did public taxi and it we had a terrible near-death experience, we'll never do public taxi again. Rachel is GREAT.

Our flight home wasn't until 4:30. It was great we got to have several hours on beach that morning. We did Francis again since it was one of our favorites and closest to house. This was the only day we were the first on beach but it was wonderful. It was probably the best weather day the whole trip so it made it even harder to leave. We were expecting lines to be long at airport since it was Saturday but we actually got through in less than 20 minutes.

Villa: The Little Easy. Great cottage for my husband and I. Technically sleeps 4 but I think 4 adults would be a little tight but good for a couple or small family. No A/C wasn't that big of a deal except for at night, would have been nice to have it a little cooler. View from decks, especially upper one were fantastic and best part of house. Watching sunrises and waking up on STJ is such a great experience. It is so peaceful, feels like you're the only one up on island. We loved having breakfast on deck and had fun watching the sugar birds visit every morning.

Food:

We ate in villa or on beach about 1/2 the time.

Our favorite restaurant was Miss Lucy's. We had lunch and dinner this year both wonderful.

Donkey diner for pizza, apparently right before it closed. It wasn't the same as last year, kind of a dull vibe. Pizza was good but long wait and we couldn't call in order ahead b/c phone had been disconnected.

Shipwreck-second visit, food isn't that great but good for lunch and view.

Aqua bistro-good light meals was really convenient to our villa.

High tide- first and last meal on island. love the fish tacos

Deli Grotto-got lunch here on day. Not sure if it was what we ordered but we didn't think it was that good, kind of bland sandwiches and service wasn't that friendly

Beaches:

Favorite beach this year was Gibney. It was a wonderful day, my husband snorkeled right side of rocks and said it was really clear, great coral and fun fish. So few people on beach due to size, water was calm and view was excellent.

Francis was another favorite, we went there 3 times through out the week. Snorkeling on right side was good. Very shallow so it good for beginners and pregnant ladies like myself. I had my favorite turtle encounter here. I was sitting on the beach and kept seeing a turtle pop his head up, after about 20minutes I couldn't resist so I went in. He was very friendly and interactive. I snorkeled with him for about a 1/2hr. He would come up and surface right next to me, I wasn't trying to get close to him but he kept coming near me. It was really awesome.

Maho was our favorite last year and still good this year. Saw many turtles, my husband snorkeled the left side and said it was good. Last year we got a good sunset there but no luck this visit.

Cinnamon and Trunk were also good. We got rained out at Cinnamon, we tried to wait it out but after about 45min we packed up and went shopping for the rest of afternoon. Trunk was just as beautiful as we remembered but the water was rough that day.

Little Lameshur was also fun, good snorkeling along left side and fun looking at ruins. My husband loved the drive almost as much as the beach. Defiantly need jeep with 4WD.

Weather: We knew that going in May was going to be a bit risky since there are many reports of rain during May. We got rained out of Cinnamon one day and started raining as we were leaving Francis one afternoon. One day we woke up to rain and it lasted until 1pm, this was a bit of a bummer but my husband had fun making dark and stormys to pass the time while I napped. Overall not terrible weather but no fun to have rain on vacation.

We can't wait to return. We're expecting our second baby in a couple of months so we'll probably have to wait to return for several more years. I've already started searching for a villa with interior bed rooms and great views.

I hope everyone with upcoming trips have a great time. Take in every minute, it goes by way to fast. For everyone else, especially all of you that have just returned, hope you enjoy the pictures. Sorry, there are a lot but its hard to narrow it down.

http://stjohnshare.shutterfly.com/631

[michigan girls]

Loved the pictures! The ones from Gibney were particularly beautiful. Don't know how I've never managed to get to this beach before - definitely making it there in August. Glad to see the views from Little Easy - it's on my short list.

[sherban]

Looks like fun, you're a trooper!

Thanks for sharing.

[suzanna945]

Great report and loved your pictures! Thanks for posting.

[mlr214]

Thanks everyone,

Gibney was beautiful. The palm trees and the way the sun light up the beach and water were really wonderful. Also the view of Hawksnest is really nice. Hope you guys enjoy it on your trip. It was also fun to hike up to Peace hill and see it from above.

[mlr214]

I realized that I posted the page for the first picture in the slide show and not the main page. I also posted pics of the sunrise,birds, and underwater if you click back.

Heres the link I meant to post.

http://stjohnshare.shutterfly.com/21

[michigan girls]

oooh - underwater pics = my favorite.

Can't get enough turtle pics, no matter how many I see. Glad you got one of the shark at Maho. I tried in April, but never got a good shot of him.

[ColumbiaSCTraveler]

Thank you so much for the trip report!
A babymoon! Love it!
Looks like y'all had a little cloudy weather at times, but y'all definitely made the best and most of it!