brenandg

This was our fourth trip to STJ in a relatively short period of time and probably our best. It's a small island, so it is pretty easy to get to know people there. I frequent another message board called virgin-islands-on-line.com, so if I refer to forum folk, that is what I am talking about. No other mention of the name since I am posting on Fodor's.

We have always taken the public taxi and ferry. This time we decided to share a private taxi and water taxi with some folks from the forum since we were able to share the cost. We all met at the airport in Charlotte and everything went very smooth. Nice way to go for a change but more expense than I would do for the two of us. We used Dolphin Water Taxi and thought they were great.

We stayed at Gallows Point Unit 11C. This was our second time in this unit. We have previously stayed in 10C twice. I thought this unit had a little face-lift since last time with new couch cushions and dining room chairs.It also looked to be painted. GP was also revamping some of their already lush landscaping. There were many new plants set about to be planted and we saw them ripping up an area and re-doing it.

We had placed an order for our beverages from Mixology before leaving and it had been delivered when we arrived. If you spend $100, delivery is free and the prices are comparable within a couple of dollars to the markets. It was nice to have everything there for the week. We got a case of water, Ting, wine etc. After our speedy check in, we went to La Tapa for appetizers. We had escargot, one of our favorites and shrimp with lobster thermidore sauce. Both were delicious.

Up early for our usual pilgrimage to Jost Van Dyke. We took the ferry and another couple from the forum went with us. They were at GP for two nights before going to their villa. We did the usual White Bay stuff, bobbed in the water, Seddy's, Ivan's, Soggy Dollar. Very relaxing day. We used Greg Callwood's taxi again from Great Harbor to White Bay. Tonight we got take out from Cafe Roma. The food here is excellent every time and the portions are huge.The meat lasagna was excellent. We also had spaghetti and meatball and salad.

Today we went and picked up our vehicle from Cool Breeze. We had to take a Montero as our Jeep Wrangle had muffler problems. We swapped it the next day and were only charged the jeep price. We went and did a little shopping at Mongoose Junction. We had a little medical incident today and I won't get into details, but basically my husband fainted at Mongoose Junction. At least we hope that is all it was. At any rate he woke up disoriented and not in the best of shape so I insisted he get checked out at Myra Keeting Smith, so we spent the morning/early afternoon there. I have to say, we recieved excellent care there. Very nice staff and doctor.After he was back to being himself except for a very sore back from the fall, we went back to GP to find that when the maid ran the dishwasher it overflowed. Our unpacked bags were laying in the hallway and the bottom half of our clothes got wet. Can we just wake up and try this day again? Anyway, GP washed all of our wet clothes and they were soon back with us. This was not one of our better days in paradise until... The Beach Bar Get Together. This had been a couple of months in the planning with the forum folks and my husband insisted he felt better and wanted to go. We had a great time and met lots of people. Afterward we went to dinner at The Banana Deck. The ribeye with gorgonzola and pine nut butter was delicious.

We slept in and then exchanged our Montero for the Wrangler and got going on The North Shore Road. We soon realized that not only was the jeep on Empty, the fuel light was on. We made a quick turn around back to town to get gas praying we would make it. We did. We went to Cinnamon and looked around the ruins a bit. Then off to the beach. It was windy and the surf was rough. We went for a burger at Skinny's. It was excellent but they could sure use a fryer rather than soggy potato chips. But Skinny's is what it is. We really felt like doing nothing tonight and I wanted DH to get some rest so we chilled, watched TV and ordered a pizza from Ronnie's. I don't think it is that great, but it works in a pinch.

The next morning we went to Mongoose Junction to finish that shopping we started. We were going to Deli Grotto to get a sandwich for the beach when we ran into Pam Gaffin. I had done an island tour with her last year so knew what she looked like. We had invited her to the Beach Bar gathering, but she couldn't make it. After that, we went to Maho. I love that beach! It's great for pelican watching. We later stopped at Starfish Market for some provisions. We stopped at their new gourmet market right across from the store. What a great shop!! For those that don't know, Chef Ted Robinson, formerly of Tage is now making gourmat sandwiches for Starfish Market. They had some samples of one of his creations at The Gourmet Shop. Thinly sliced baguette topped with applewood smoked bacon, shredded lettuce and tomatoes topped with the most delicious home made aioli. Yum!!! When we went into the main market, we noticed that all of Ted's BLT's were gone. I know why. Back to GP for some pool and hot tub time. I love the views from the pool. So pretty. For dinner we went to Morgan's Mango for lobster night.

Next morning we went to St John Spice to stock up on our goodies. Ruth and Ron the owners are so nice. May sure you stop in if you are on STJ. They have some great stuff there. We tried to get them to come lunch with us but they had to work. We then met a couple that we know from the forum for lunch at Sun Dog Cafe. They have been living on STJ for 2 1/2 years. All of our lunches were good. DH really loved his jerk chicken tacos and they have specials there every day. We figured it was a little late to go to the beach, so more pool and hot tub time at GP. We debated between Uncle Joe's and the newer Candi's BBQ. We decided on Uncle Joe's and it was very good. We called the order in ahead so we didn't have to wait.

We went to some beaches today. Honeymoon, Caneel and Maho. We then went for a late lunch at Skinny Leg's. I had the Greek Salad with grilled chicken which was excellent. I wanted to take the rest home with some more salad dressing as I didn't put it on the whole salad. The menu says you can get extra dressing for $1, so I asked for more to take home with my doggie bag. The waitress said "I don't have time for that". I smiled and said that I would wait. I am not a rude patron by any means but as a paying customer that is going to tip her, I don't think it was an unreasonable request. She did ask another waitress to get it for me. Jeez. Thanks for letting me rant for a minute. No more complaining, I promise. We got more take out from Cafe Roma tonight and yes, I finished every last bite of that salad.

We had a really fun last day. We hadn't been to the southeast end of the island except when we took the bus to Miss Lucy's last year and I really can't recommend the bus. We went to Salt Pond, what a pretty drive. We then took the hike to Drunk Bay. I'm not sure what I expected, but all I could say when the view came into my sight was WOW! What a beautiful and interesting place. For some reason, it almost felt like a burial ground or something. Amazing how many coral people figures there were. Just a very unique place. There was a great breeze to cool us off too. We didn't make any people figures but the one other couple that was there made a new one. Anyone know if that is Ram Head that you can see to the right when facing the water? We then went back to Salt Pond for a bit and later headed to Island Blues for lunch. This is a really nice spot. I really didn't know where the best lunch spots were so I picked Island Blues because of it's location right on the water in Coral Bay. I'll have to give Miss Lucy's another chance one of these days. I had the blackened Mahi sandwich and it came with a delicious lemon dill sauce. Dh is his pretty much usual cheeseburger, no sense of adventure and really doesn't much care for fish. We then went to Trunk for a while, savoring our last beach for this trip. The surf was rough but DH did a little snorkeling anyway. So sad to leave. We felt like we should go out for dinner since it was our last night. In the end, we decided to eat our leftovers (ribs, Cafe Roma) and got a salad from The Beach Bar to go with it. We found that we ate all of our lunches out and most dinners in. We really enjoyed hanging out at our little island condo at night with the doors open feeling the breeze. In my opinion, the weather this week was perfect Only a couple of brief showers and a nice cooling breeze all week. We rarely even used the AC.

Time to leave. We had one of the breakfast sandwiches from Paradise Cafe in Wharfside Village. I've mentioned it before, but it is a great deal for $4. It is huge. Two eggs, cheese and a meat on an English muffin, bagel or croissant. We used a private taxi on the way back and if anyone is interested, let me know and I will post the information. It was $15pp from Red Hook to the airport, including bags. The AC worked great and only the two of us. Last time I had an unpleasantly sweaty man next to me on a crowded van. Yuck. There was virtually no line at the airport when we arrived. Shocking for a Saturday. Our taxi driver secured us a porter and we were whisked through customs and security. For those who don't know about the porters at the STT airport, you tip them $20 and they put you in front of all of the lines. Well worth it in our opinion because otherwise you have to drag your bags with you all the way until the end until you go through security. Both of our flights home were delayed so at least we made our connection. At the end of the day, we were in Detroit and our bags were in Charlotte. We got them the next day. Thats about it. We had a fantastic time and really, it gets better every time. As soon as my vacation gets approved after the first of the year, I'll start planning for May.

ej,
I was thinking about you while we were there and how you like the West Indian feel and food. When I really opened my eyes, I saw lots of authentic little "joints". Sogo's, Sosa's, Hercules Pate, Sheila's Pot, Mojo Cafe. The locals were lining up at Cap's Place for lunch. I went to the counter to see what everyone was getting and didn't look much further after I saw the fish with heads on them in some kind of sauce. You will also see various local places on the road. I'm sure there are more in Coral Bay. The Coral Bay side may be more of what you are looking for in terms of quietness.

mah1980

Great trip report. You like Cafe Roma as much as we did (we had it twice when we visted in August of this year).

ejcrowe

Brenda, what a fantastic trip report! For the first time I really felt like St. John is a place I'm truly missing out on. And thanks for your post script about the local joints. My mouth was already watering by the time I got to it. Fish heads in a sauce, you say? I'll give it a try!

What do mean about building a coral person? I didn't quite understand that. Where is Drunk bay? I don't think I've heard that mentioned before. Your usual trip to JVD soundede great as usual. If I ever make it down to STJ, I'll print out your trip report and take it with me.

(as an aside: Bad news. Our next granddaughter in line for a trip, the one I thought we'd take to STJ, has now decided she wants to go to California. Ugh. I'd love to figure out how to sway her to STJ without sounding like I'm trying to change her mind!)

KVR

Sounds like you had another good time despite the setbacks. Glad you enjoyed your trip.

ejcrowe

btw, how is your husband faring now? were you able to ascertain whether it was really just a fainting spell?

brenandg

The Drunk Bay Trail begins at the end of Salt Pond Bay Beach. The coastline is on the Atlantic and is wild and rugged. It is not suitable for swimming and is very rocky with washed up pieces of coral everywhere. Really, it is not a "beach" at all. The "coral people" are just that. Folks who have visited have beach combed and made dozens of figures with coral, coconuts husks for heads, seaweed hair etc. Some even have various body parts if you know what I mean. Everywhere you look, there are these figures laying about. Salt Pond is on the far southeast corner of the island.

We never did learn exactly what happened to DH. I was actually trying on bathing suits when it happened and they called me out of the dressing room and had already called EMS. Nothing like that has ever happened to him before and thankfully, it hasn't happened again. He said the last thing he remembers is having trouble focusing. I was a little nervous going anywhere remote, so we didn't really do any hiking until the end of the week. Even being a nurse it was scary because he didn't know where he was and at first was having difficulty standing. He insisted he was fine and wanted to go back to the condo. I said, "you are not FINE" They did some basic testing, but no way was he going to STT for a further workup. Now I just have to convince to go to a doctor now that we are home. Thanks for asking!

Tuxedocat

Howdy! I've been away from the forum (and anything relaxing) for a while and just took a breather to see how the Caribbean tourism was looking. So nice to see some familiar names still around and having fun. Thanks for the great report, brenandg. IMO absolutely wise to have your dh checked out at the clinic. Ahh... I can even wax sentimental about that clinic now. Ejcrowe: I think you'd love the Coral Bay side and I hope you'll get there someday. STJ has so many fun nooks that are not frequented by the average tourist. The menu at places like Sweet Plaintains is really exotic too. How's about saying to your granddaughter "Why go to California when all those movie stars just want to go to St. John? Don't you know Brangelina were there less than a year ago and can't wait to get back there?"

travelenthusiast

Thanks for the great trip report. St John sounds really nice.

boscoe

Nice trip report.

I would love to hear about the private taxi from Redhook.

Thanks!

brenandg

She is a friend of someone who used to live on STJ. Her name is Rachel Brown. cell #(340) 771-2986. Home # (340)776=4385. She is a Nevisian who has lived on STT for 44 years. She has never even been to STJ because she is afraid of boats!! Thinking about her brings a smile to my face. She was very sweet.

CaribbeanSoul

Let's see....if I were in G's shoes....I may have gotten light headed and fainted as well.
1) beautiful wife trying on bikinis as I wait outside
2) having to PAY for the bikini(s)
3) Soggy Dollar Painkiller thoughts in my head
4) Heat and humidity of the VI contrasted to Detroit
5) Killer views from GP make me dizzy all the time
6) Thinking of the final bill to pay for our 2nd, 3rd, 4th trip this year to STJ!!!
All kidding aside...hope all is well with DH. Great report....again. We'll get back there soon when the kids are older (so we can leave them with the grandparents!).

brenandg

CS, You are too funny. That is the first thing the nurse joked about when we arrived..the cost of the bathing suits.

caribtraveler

I love your trip report! It's been a good 4 years since our trip to St. John (we loved it). You make me feel like it might be time to go back! Chef Ted's sandwiches do sound yummy. I'm glad your husband was okay at the end.

CaribbeanSoul: Funny!

TnTWalter

Thanks so much for the detailed trip report.

Very helpful.
Trish

travelgirl2

You've brought back memories. About 18 years ago, we went to St. John, looking forward to an economical stay at Maho Bay Campgrounds. The no-see-ums chewed me up so badly that we had to look for an indoor place to stay. Each tiny bite became a huge welt and it was unbearable.

Was I ever happy when DH found us a room at Gallows Point for our last 3 nights! I have no idea how much it cost, but at that point, price was no object. We were so happy there and loved the indoor/outdoor open shower.

MP07950

Very nice report! We just came back from 2 weeks in STJ and I'll post my report later in the week. But...did want to second your recommendation on tipping the porters at the airport. It is so the way to go and worth every penny!