usvi-on-line
April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
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MadCityMom
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:45 pm
April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
Trip Report (Part I)
April 26-May 4
Our travelling party consisted of my husband and I, our two girls (5 and 2.5), our babysitter (STJ Newbie) and a newbie couple without kids. We had been waiting so long and our time had finally arrived. We chose to stay at a park-sleep-fly the night before, ordered Applebees to go, toasted wine from styrofoam cups then to bed early until the 4:40 a.m. wake up call – although it was not needed – I couldn’t sleep a wink. Made it through TSA with only losing the frozen orange juice and frozen mixers from the Polar Bear cooler (technically they are liquid) and our newbie friend getting the full “TSA Hug”
as he called it.
After a long, long travel day we made it to St Thomas – our driver from Christopher Taxi was waiting (I can’t remember her name). We got some frozen drinks gathered our luggage and started off. It was Carnival so the ride through Charlotte Amalie was SLOW. We expected to have lots of time at Red Hook before the 5 pm ferry but made it just in time. After the 5pm ferry, Terry from Carefree Getaways was waiting as was one of our cars from C&C. We packed into Terry’s and C&Cs vehicles and headed to C&C for the second vehicle. They had to be reminded of the 20% discount promised on their website. Both vehicles were rough upon sight, but if they ran who cares, right? Finally made our way up to Leeward St. John in Rendezvous Bay. Upon seeing the views, our Newbie friend Greg gave me a spontaneous bear hug and “THANK YOU!” Those views are nothing less than stunning! The endless view from the pool to the Caribbean Sea with Ditliff Point in the distance and nothing in between!
Our villa greeter informed is that the fridge was out but there was a replacement fridge in the villa and a new fridge was being delivered on Monday (this was Friday). The temporary fridge was full size and not a problem and they moved all of the food as promised into the new stainless fridge when it arrived on Monday. No worries at all.
Leeward was a fantastic villa. It worked out perfectly with the separate bedroom building with two masters each with a balcony on the upper level and a king room and two singles with views on the lower level. It allowed the kids to go to bed early and those who wanted to stay up later to do so without worrying about being too loud or keeping them up. The pool and pool deck were great. All bedrooms have nice ensuite baths. Every room has an amazing views. The gardens were lovely – we saw a beautiful white crane-looking bird walking quietly through the gardens.
First night our friends had ordered some excellent provisions from Sam & Jack’s. Antipasto platter, potato salad, pasta salad – this was a very welcome treat and much better than other provisions we had ordered in the past. The food was delicious and hit the spot!
Saturday morning we were a little slow to get up and organized, but finally did some needed stops at Starfish and Sam & Jack’s (ran into one of the House Hunters International buyers at Sam & Jack’s – “aren’t you the House Hunters International guy” yep, it was – what can I say, I have them recorded and watch the St John episodes often to get my “St John fix”). The guys were taking forever at Starfish and Starfish liquor (although they claim they did not – I was just impatient and was not quite on island time yet!) Picked up my two flat rate boxes at Connections. Would definitely do that and the Polar Bear cooler again! Finally off to the beach by noon! Hawksnest first as it is my husband’s favorite. It was really lovely and beautiful – great taste for our newbies. A couple hours later we packed up for Trunk (stopping at the overlook for the obligatory pictures). They loved Trunk as well and tried some snorkeling. Saturday night we grilled brats and hotdogs that we had packed in the Polar Bear cooler and enjoyed the evening views off Leeward.
Sunday morning we got a much better start time to the day, up and out the door after breakfast we decided to try Cinnamon for the day. It was quite lovely. I had forgotten how expansive it is and the multiple blue hues of the sea. We all really enjoyed Cinnamon and it was nice to have Rum punch after swimming all day. We packed some snacks but didn’t pack lunch and thought we’d stop off at the Beach Bar for an early dinner and some live music. Sat at a table down on the beach and the girls loved being by the water and could run around. Inhaled our food, had some cold drinks - OK now, we are definitely on island time! Tough to break away but we had a big day tomorrow.
Monday! Cruise ship friends day! Very coincidentally a few weeks before we left we learned some good friends along with their sister and brother-in-law) were going to be stopping for their first port in St Thomas on their cruise. My husband unloaded all of the girls and gear at Cinnamon (our newbies stopped to buy a UV shirt (which turned out to be a non-UV UV Shirt) at Mongoose Junction and then followed.) We told our cruise ship friends exactly what they needed to do and hubby drove down to the dock, parked at Slimman’s, walked to the dock and waited for them to arrive on the 9am ferry. Soon enough they joined us at Cinnamon. We had all the chair set up and the cooler stocked with a box of Chardonnay and plastic wineglasses (because we are a classy bunch), Presidente, cheese, crackers, watermelon, wraps from Starfish, etc. It was a nearly perfect day and our friends had a blast. Mid-day we decided they just needed to see the villa, so we packed everyone in two cars and head to Leeward. They were thoroughly impressed – everyone took a swim and more drinks before sadly my husband had to take them to catch the 3pm ferry! BEST DAY EVER!!
Except brother-in-law left his swim trunks at the Villa which made for some comic relief during the week. Never found out if he had another pair on the ship.
[So to update on our Durango from C&C – on the way back from dropping them at the ferry my husband insisted on a new vehicle from C&C since every time you would unlock it the alarm would go off and when the alarm wouldn’t turn off in the Starfish parking lot that was the last straw. He returned home with a beat up Explorer but develops an affinity for this car for the rest of the week even though the dirty seat belt ruined his new shirt on our way for family pictures with Eliza. Incidentally our newbie also exchange their Jeep with C&C during the week because the first one didn’t have a working horn and the back flap wouldn’t close and became inhabited by a bird at one point during the week. And of course all cars had check engine lights on. But it made for an interesting week. And we got 20% off right?!
]
Monday night, the guys made filet mignon, shrimp and salad (we brought a whole choice tenderloin and the shrimp in the Polar Bear) and a lovely bottle of red wine on sale at Starfish. This is right up there as the best meal of the week. I would definitely bring that in the Polar Bear again. It worked out really well. Our poor friend Greg got burned through the UV shirt! Lesson learned! A few more drinks and then off to bed as tomorrow is BVI day!
April 26-May 4
Our travelling party consisted of my husband and I, our two girls (5 and 2.5), our babysitter (STJ Newbie) and a newbie couple without kids. We had been waiting so long and our time had finally arrived. We chose to stay at a park-sleep-fly the night before, ordered Applebees to go, toasted wine from styrofoam cups then to bed early until the 4:40 a.m. wake up call – although it was not needed – I couldn’t sleep a wink. Made it through TSA with only losing the frozen orange juice and frozen mixers from the Polar Bear cooler (technically they are liquid) and our newbie friend getting the full “TSA Hug”
as he called it.After a long, long travel day we made it to St Thomas – our driver from Christopher Taxi was waiting (I can’t remember her name). We got some frozen drinks gathered our luggage and started off. It was Carnival so the ride through Charlotte Amalie was SLOW. We expected to have lots of time at Red Hook before the 5 pm ferry but made it just in time. After the 5pm ferry, Terry from Carefree Getaways was waiting as was one of our cars from C&C. We packed into Terry’s and C&Cs vehicles and headed to C&C for the second vehicle. They had to be reminded of the 20% discount promised on their website. Both vehicles were rough upon sight, but if they ran who cares, right? Finally made our way up to Leeward St. John in Rendezvous Bay. Upon seeing the views, our Newbie friend Greg gave me a spontaneous bear hug and “THANK YOU!” Those views are nothing less than stunning! The endless view from the pool to the Caribbean Sea with Ditliff Point in the distance and nothing in between!
Leeward was a fantastic villa. It worked out perfectly with the separate bedroom building with two masters each with a balcony on the upper level and a king room and two singles with views on the lower level. It allowed the kids to go to bed early and those who wanted to stay up later to do so without worrying about being too loud or keeping them up. The pool and pool deck were great. All bedrooms have nice ensuite baths. Every room has an amazing views. The gardens were lovely – we saw a beautiful white crane-looking bird walking quietly through the gardens.
Saturday morning we were a little slow to get up and organized, but finally did some needed stops at Starfish and Sam & Jack’s (ran into one of the House Hunters International buyers at Sam & Jack’s – “aren’t you the House Hunters International guy” yep, it was – what can I say, I have them recorded and watch the St John episodes often to get my “St John fix”). The guys were taking forever at Starfish and Starfish liquor (although they claim they did not – I was just impatient and was not quite on island time yet!) Picked up my two flat rate boxes at Connections. Would definitely do that and the Polar Bear cooler again! Finally off to the beach by noon! Hawksnest first as it is my husband’s favorite. It was really lovely and beautiful – great taste for our newbies. A couple hours later we packed up for Trunk (stopping at the overlook for the obligatory pictures). They loved Trunk as well and tried some snorkeling. Saturday night we grilled brats and hotdogs that we had packed in the Polar Bear cooler and enjoyed the evening views off Leeward.
Sunday morning we got a much better start time to the day, up and out the door after breakfast we decided to try Cinnamon for the day. It was quite lovely. I had forgotten how expansive it is and the multiple blue hues of the sea. We all really enjoyed Cinnamon and it was nice to have Rum punch after swimming all day. We packed some snacks but didn’t pack lunch and thought we’d stop off at the Beach Bar for an early dinner and some live music. Sat at a table down on the beach and the girls loved being by the water and could run around. Inhaled our food, had some cold drinks - OK now, we are definitely on island time! Tough to break away but we had a big day tomorrow.
Monday! Cruise ship friends day! Very coincidentally a few weeks before we left we learned some good friends along with their sister and brother-in-law) were going to be stopping for their first port in St Thomas on their cruise. My husband unloaded all of the girls and gear at Cinnamon (our newbies stopped to buy a UV shirt (which turned out to be a non-UV UV Shirt) at Mongoose Junction and then followed.) We told our cruise ship friends exactly what they needed to do and hubby drove down to the dock, parked at Slimman’s, walked to the dock and waited for them to arrive on the 9am ferry. Soon enough they joined us at Cinnamon. We had all the chair set up and the cooler stocked with a box of Chardonnay and plastic wineglasses (because we are a classy bunch), Presidente, cheese, crackers, watermelon, wraps from Starfish, etc. It was a nearly perfect day and our friends had a blast. Mid-day we decided they just needed to see the villa, so we packed everyone in two cars and head to Leeward. They were thoroughly impressed – everyone took a swim and more drinks before sadly my husband had to take them to catch the 3pm ferry! BEST DAY EVER!!
Except brother-in-law left his swim trunks at the Villa which made for some comic relief during the week. Never found out if he had another pair on the ship.[So to update on our Durango from C&C – on the way back from dropping them at the ferry my husband insisted on a new vehicle from C&C since every time you would unlock it the alarm would go off and when the alarm wouldn’t turn off in the Starfish parking lot that was the last straw. He returned home with a beat up Explorer but develops an affinity for this car for the rest of the week even though the dirty seat belt ruined his new shirt on our way for family pictures with Eliza. Incidentally our newbie also exchange their Jeep with C&C during the week because the first one didn’t have a working horn and the back flap wouldn’t close and became inhabited by a bird at one point during the week. And of course all cars had check engine lights on. But it made for an interesting week. And we got 20% off right?!
]Monday night, the guys made filet mignon, shrimp and salad (we brought a whole choice tenderloin and the shrimp in the Polar Bear) and a lovely bottle of red wine on sale at Starfish. This is right up there as the best meal of the week. I would definitely bring that in the Polar Bear again. It worked out really well. Our poor friend Greg got burned through the UV shirt! Lesson learned! A few more drinks and then off to bed as tomorrow is BVI day!
Last edited by MadCityMom on Thu May 09, 2013 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
So glad you had a great trip. Really enjoying your report. So many happy memories in the making. Our guys were your kids' age when we first fell in love with STJ now one is graduating from college Sunday. sniff! Love the park-sleep-fly option with early flight. We've done it from Boston a couple of times and it makes so much sense because you end up paying almost that much in long term parking or hiring a car.
Really looking forward to the rest of your report even tho it's a little painful because we have almost a year to wait.
Really looking forward to the rest of your report even tho it's a little painful because we have almost a year to wait.
Trip report 2009
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
Trip report 2008
So good, so good, so good!
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
Trip report 2008
So good, so good, so good!
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... highlight=
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:21 am
- Location: Western NY State
Re: April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
Loving your report! Tell more 
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chloe_jade416
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 2:31 am
- Location: Dallas, TX
Re: April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
Enjoying your trip report so far. Now that we're past the villa booking process for our first trip (lots of fun, but lots of work 
), focusing on the other details of our trip is our next thing to do.....and trip reports like yours really are very helpful!
Agree with Agent99, park and fly can be so well worth it when you consider the cost and convenience, especially for those early AM departures. Have done it ourselves when traveling to other islands and would definitely do it again.
Also love those water views from your villa! That water color is mesmerizing. Will need to look at Leeward as an option for a future visit. Does it have interior access bedrooms? From your description, sounds like it may.
Also see you traveled with 2 young kids, as we are. Will definitely be taking notes!
Looking forward to reading more.
), focusing on the other details of our trip is our next thing to do.....and trip reports like yours really are very helpful!Agree with Agent99, park and fly can be so well worth it when you consider the cost and convenience, especially for those early AM departures. Have done it ourselves when traveling to other islands and would definitely do it again.
Also love those water views from your villa! That water color is mesmerizing. Will need to look at Leeward as an option for a future visit. Does it have interior access bedrooms? From your description, sounds like it may.
Also see you traveled with 2 young kids, as we are. Will definitely be taking notes!
Looking forward to reading more.
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michigan girls
- Posts: 595
- Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:06 pm
- Location: West Michigan
Re: April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
Loving your report, can't wait to hear about your BVI day!
Funny thing about your Durango, ours did the horn thing too - it was annoying, but it also made us laugh, so we let it go
Funny thing about your Durango, ours did the horn thing too - it was annoying, but it also made us laugh, so we let it go
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Teresa_Rae
- Posts: 2053
- Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:44 pm
- Location: Downstate IL
Re: April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
If you don't mind my asking, how did you handle things with the babysitter..i.e. pay? This is an interesting option that I've pondered, but it would just be so expensive that I'm not sure it's doable for us. I assume you paid for her flight, and for a bedroom for her to stay in...what about meals out (since dinners are so pricey)? Did she go with you to the beach every day?...did she ever stay at the villa with the kids so you could have an adults-only day at the beach? I'm very curious about the logistics
Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
- Mark Twain
- Mark Twain
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piscesgirl0314
- Posts: 598
- Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:31 pm
- Location: Chesapeake, VA
Re: April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
LOVING your report. This is actually MY favorite view on island. We've stayed on that side twice and will be in and around the same area in June...can't wait!
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MadCityMom
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:45 pm
Re: April 26-May 4 - Trip Report (Part I)
I'm happy you are enjoying the report! Hopefully Part II to come later today!
Chloe_jade - All the bedrooms at Leeward are interior access from the bedroom building which is just a few steps from the main building. We felt very safe with the kids and babysitter in the lower level and we were just upstairs on the main level.
Teresa_Rae - For our babysitter, we pay for everything for her (flight, her own room at the villa, all food, drinks etc.), except for spending money for souviners etc. She stayed with the kids back at the villa one night so my husband and I could go out with the couple traveling with us for drinks and a nice dinner. She's in her early 20s so at night after the kids would go to bed, she would hang out with us have a few drinks etc. She's like part of the family. It is a huge help to have an extra set of hands to get the kids up (especially our 2.5 yr old) and ready in the morning, to bed at night etc. They love her - she teaches 2 yr olds at a daycare for her job so she's great with kids. Sometimes they listened to her better than they listen to us.
Chloe_jade - All the bedrooms at Leeward are interior access from the bedroom building which is just a few steps from the main building. We felt very safe with the kids and babysitter in the lower level and we were just upstairs on the main level.
Teresa_Rae - For our babysitter, we pay for everything for her (flight, her own room at the villa, all food, drinks etc.), except for spending money for souviners etc. She stayed with the kids back at the villa one night so my husband and I could go out with the couple traveling with us for drinks and a nice dinner. She's in her early 20s so at night after the kids would go to bed, she would hang out with us have a few drinks etc. She's like part of the family. It is a huge help to have an extra set of hands to get the kids up (especially our 2.5 yr old) and ready in the morning, to bed at night etc. They love her - she teaches 2 yr olds at a daycare for her job so she's great with kids. Sometimes they listened to her better than they listen to us.