St John Trip Report
 

We're back from another trip to our beloved STJ. We have met so many great people from "another forum". We also got together with friends that we had met last trip who have now moved to St Thomas.

Uneventful day in. Used a private taxi and water taxi with a family of four. We could hardly believe that we were checked in at Gallow's Point before 3:00pm. Our beverage order from Mixology arrived promptly. Went for some small plates at La Tapa and called it a night.

Day 2
Picked up our Jeep Wrangler and headed off to my favorite beach I believe thus far, Maho. DH saw a couple of turtles right out the middle. Had lunch at The Banana Deck. We then headed off to Starfish Market to pick up a few supplies. A word about cooking in. I think breakfasts and light lunches would be fine, but for the two of us, I don't really think it is that cost effective to eat dinner in unless you bring some basic condiments with you. I won't do it again. You will also notice that we have a few favorite restaurants that we keep returning to. Sunday night we had a large group from the other forum for a gathering at The Beach Bar. We had a great time. I couldn't believe how many people were on the island at one time from one forum. Called it an early night, I had to watch the Survivor Finale.

Day 3

We charter the boat Lion in da Sun with two other couples for the whole day. Our friends from STT ended up chartering their own boat as well and they and a friend who was visiting came along on their own boat. Ours would only hold 6 guests. Did a quick snorkel spot near Whistling Cay then cleared customs in Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke and headed over to Foxy's. In all of my trips to Jost, I had never made it there. Well, Foxy was sitting right there, so we got to meet him and he told he few jokes. He is no longer singing. We then headed over to Sandy Cay. What a perfect little desserted island. Then off to Sydney's in Little Harbor for an excellent lunch. I had the lobster salad and it came with cole slaw and the crunchiest, best fries I have had in a long time. I think we were all starving because all plates were clean! We ended the day bobbing in the water at Ivan's drinking the rum punch that I had brought. Perfect weather and perfect day. Got take-out from Uncle Joe's BBQ and we were a done deal. Uncle Joe's was tasty as always and a good deal.

Day 4
Time to be lazy after a whirlwind couple of days. Lunch at The beach Bar then back to Gallow's Point for some pool and hot tub time. DH did some snorkeling right at GP and thought the reef there was great and pretty healthy. No barracuda sighting. He even looked under the swim platform. Take-out Cafe Roma for dinner tonight.

Day 5
Drove all the way to the far reaches of the East End. That road is crazy twisty and steep. There are some hills that you get to the top and are still not sure which way it is going to turn, kind of like the top of a roller coaster. There are a few like that elsewhere on the island too. We stopped at Vie's and went to her beach. No garlic chicken as DH had his heart set on Skinny Leg's. Stopped at Sloop Jones store and then headed to Skinny's for lunch. They do have yummy burgers. I like there Greek Salad with chicken too. Very fresh. After lunch we went down Fish Bay Road to have a look. We were looking for Great Cruz Bay Road but missed it. They are now in the process of developing Ditleff Point. New road there and everything. Tonight we took the ferry over to St Thomas to meet our friends for dinner. We went to Wikked at The Yacht Haven complex. It was good and a very nice setting on the water.

Day 6
Drove out to Salt Pond and did the hike to Drunk Bay. That is a really cool spot. Hung out at Salt Pond for a while after the hike. We then heard that the swells were way up on the North Shore and that Trunk Bay was essentially "closed". Good choice that we picked the other end of the island today. Ate at Skinny's again and stopped at Maho on the way back but the water was pretty churned up with very little beach. Cooked steaks on the grill tonight.

Day 7
Woke up to a rainy morning. Apparently there was a tropical depression nearby. Did a little shopping and had a nice lunch at The Balcony. Very good fish and chips made with Mahi mahi. Our cell phone was not working, so we returned to GP to hear an urgent message to call home from my mother-in-law. Seems that our 18 year old geriatric cats time was rather suddenly up and she had to be put to sleep. She was fine when we left, but at that age, anything can happen. We were sad so we just stayed in and did a little packing. Hot dogs and leftovers for dinner.

Uneventful day home. Both of our flights actually arrived a little early.

Couple of things. Construction is still going on at The Grande Bay resort and the jackhammer is back in action carving out the hillside. Didn't bother us, but Lavender Hill must be pretty loud during the day.

Weather was fantastic until the last day and can't complain about that!

We saw a lot more wild life this trip. I have finally found the elusive donkey!!! We had a couple of sightings. The East End Road and next to Skinny's. The was also herd of cattle traipsing right up middle of The North Shore Road. We also saw a Mongoose chasing after something and the usual assortment of lizards, iguanas, chickens and goats.

It was another fantastic trip. Can't wait to return. The day on the water was a great time and we will be doing that again.

Oh, I'm so sorry to read about your kitty, Brenda. That can put a real damper on an otherwise fantastic trip. It happened to us two years ago with one of our dogs.

But I'm glad that St. John is continuing to please you! You're becoming quite the expert by now. Every time I read one of your trip reports I think that I'm going to have to see St. John for myself one of these days. Thanks for another great report!

Have you booked your return trip already? :D

Hi Emily,
Yes, the kitty thing was very sad. She was with me longer than my husband! I just wish I could have been with her. She was her usual skinny self when we left. Sorry to hear about that happening to your dog as well. Somehow it is comforting to hear that other people have had to go through that experience of not being at home.

We want to go back to STJ our usual end of November. I'm thinking of booking sooner than later with gas prices. No way are things going to be better anytime soon :(.

Hi Brenda...thanks for the semi annual STJ report! You could start a monthly newsletter! I love the island, as well. Right now we are stuck on Negril as it fits our family needs to a "T". When our kids get a bit older, STJ will be back in the fold. Sorry to hear about your cat :( We are leaving for Negril on 6/23...wish us luck....we'll need it with our crew!

Brenda, I always love to read trip reports about St. John. We're headed there in August, 14th time & still not often enough, and will write my first trip report. You went to my two favorite restaurants - Uncle Joe's & Cafe Roma. The pasta servings at Roma are big enough for two meals. We've stayed at Gallows Point and the snorkeling is good there, not too many people willing to give it a try.

100 more days and counting!!!

Who did you use for the water taxi? We have 4 couples and we wondering if it might be cheaper to charter a private water taxi.

Thanks,
Mike

http://www.dolphinshuttle.com/

We have used these guys twice and were happy with them. I think their rates have gone up with the gas prices. They told us they would honor the lower price when we booked but it doesn't look like they have updated their website yet. It cost us $50 per couple with gratuity.

Brett,
Have fun in Negril. Is the whole family going again or just the twins? You should be a pro by now after making it through the first time with the girls being so little.

When I saw your post, I thought "oh she went again?! I want to go again!" :-) Sounds like it was just perfect. I'm sorry about your cat. :-(

CS: I know you don't need me to tell you to have a great time in Negril, but I'll say it anyway. Have a great time! I'm looking forward to reading about it and I hope to see new pics of the twins. :-)

Yes Brenda...taking the entire family again. It is a lot of work getting there with everyone...but totally worth it once we get on Errol's bus for the trip to Negril from the MBJ airport!

CT, I'll definitely be posting another report complete with photos. It is amazing looking back at last year's photos and the difference a year makes in their looks and size.

Hi brenandg,
Thank you for the trip report. I am also sorry to hear about your kittie. We had a similar experience when we returned from St. John last Oct. The day after we came home, we had to put her down - she was 17.

We recently went to a nearby shelter and adopted a 1 and 1/2 year old. She's a real sweetheart.

Best of luck and be sure to return to St. John. We're headed back again next October.

-Susan

Brenda,
I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. I had a similar experience last December with my 18 year old cat. She was diabetic and took insulin. We got back from our trip the day before Christmas and she was fine. She died the next morning on Christmas day. It was one of the saddest days of my life.
On an up note her sister who is now 19 is still alive and kicking! I'm glad you had fun on your trip. I'm curious,I've never been to the island, but enjoy reading about different places to go. Just wondering what Mixology is? Sounds cool.

Thanks everyone for the "kitty condolences". It means alot that other people understand and have gone through the same thing. To be honest, it hit me harder than I thought it would given her age and all. Maybe it was because I wasn't there for her :(. It's amazing how quick they can go down when they are elderly. At least we still have two more kitties at home to love.

Anguillagirl,
Mixology is merely the name of a business. We order a case of water and alcohol, soft drinks from them and they deliver it. It nicer than having to get stuff after we arrive.

Brenda
Great trip report as usual, sorry about your kitty though...she did have a long(and I am sure wonderful) life :)
Love the check in with JVD you always provide. Did you guys stop in at One Love? We were there in Feb, and Raquel was like "I know you..." the kiddos are adorable and look like pop.

I don't know what it is about Maho Bay... it is not the most beautiful beach on the island, but it is the one that stuck with me after my first visit!!

Thanks for posting...

Hi Jeena,
No we did not make it to the "main" White Bay area this time so no Seddy's or SD. We went with the flow and no regrets about "bobbing" at Ivan's vs the others this time.

I have to confess, I already booked the week after Thanksgiving for STJ. I was just going to peek at airfare and found what I think to be a very reasonable fare in this unfortunate time.

Hmmmmmm, Maho, whats not to like? The canopy like portion of the drive there, the "parking lot" that is a space between the trees, the close proximity to the road to not schlep chairs etc too far, the beautiful vistas, the calm shallow water, the pelicans diving for a meal, the sea turtles that hang out in the middle, not too many people that know about our secret, yet.....