Good bye St. John . . . 
After a full day, we cleaned up and headed back to Caneel Bay for dinner at the Equator - an open air round restaurant above a 200 year old sugar mill made of stone. But, we discovered they were closed. So, we headed over to their top notch place call The Turtle which has an incredible view of the sunset (see picture). Turns out, they were closed too. But, Caneel's management was hosting a free appetizers and open bar. We made a real nice dinner out of that, then went to a 3rd place for desert. Then, we walked it all off on the beach overlooking the skyline across the bay on St. Thomas. It was a fitting end to a great trip!
"I wanna stay down here & lighten up the load, drive a little while on the wrong side of the road, get this laying low off to a flying start." - Kenny C
OK, the kids are quite sick of me singing Kenny Chesney songs- can't help it! It's part of the St. John experience as far as I'm concerned!
Today was our shopping day ~ our way to help the economy! We all got our tshirts - we went down to Mongoose Junction and to the Wharfside shops. Later, we headed over to the Westin Resort to swim & use the trampolines & other water toys. For the first time, we saw those ugly iguanas. One even fell right out of a tree. The boys fed the iguanas - sorry - i just think they are gross! Nothing cute or cuddly about those reptiles! We had some time to snorkel once more . . . over to Caneel Bay. Again, we almost had the beach to ourselves. This time, we saw funny looking trunkfish and mohogany snappers ~ boy they have BIG eyes! We're all getting cleaned up to eat out for our last night at Caneel's Equator Resturant. It'll be a special way to end the trip.
Keith is already scoping out other villas to rent for another visit. Next time, we need to hike to Reef Bay and take a boat ride over to the British Virgin Islands . . . there's always got to be a "next time." Any takers??? :)
OK, the kids are quite sick of me singing Kenny Chesney songs- can't help it! It's part of the St. John experience as far as I'm concerned!
Today was our shopping day ~ our way to help the economy! We all got our tshirts - we went down to Mongoose Junction and to the Wharfside shops. Later, we headed over to the Westin Resort to swim & use the trampolines & other water toys. For the first time, we saw those ugly iguanas. One even fell right out of a tree. The boys fed the iguanas - sorry - i just think they are gross! Nothing cute or cuddly about those reptiles! We had some time to snorkel once more . . . over to Caneel Bay. Again, we almost had the beach to ourselves. This time, we saw funny looking trunkfish and mohogany snappers ~ boy they have BIG eyes! We're all getting cleaned up to eat out for our last night at Caneel's Equator Resturant. It'll be a special way to end the trip.
Keith is already scoping out other villas to rent for another visit. Next time, we need to hike to Reef Bay and take a boat ride over to the British Virgin Islands . . . there's always got to be a "next time." Any takers??? :)
Our Day on the Boat ~
Today, we saw St. John's north side by boat. Starting out at 9:00 at Cruz Bay, we rented a 25ft double engine boat. We boated around Caneel, Cinnamon, and Moho Bay. We had great snorkeling at Trunk Bay and Waterlimon Bay. At Trunk Bay, we moored way out away from the reef and swam in to snorkel. We saw thousands, really, thousands of little minnows. The kids got a kick out of swimming with them. Another sighting included huge parrott fish. Did you know that parrot fist have buck teeth? Never knew that . . . never got close enough to see that before! At Waterlimon, the boys saw squid, an octpus, and starfish. When Terri & I were swimming in, we saw a spotted sting ray. It was entertaining to see a flounder hiding - or trying to hide - in the sand.
We tried to go around the tip of the east side of the island and didn't get very far. It was very rough and windy. We think the waves were about 6ft swells. Everyone was holding on - dripping wet from the sprays! We gave up - too much for us. Maybe next time.
On our way back, we stopped at Cinnamon Bay and snorkeled some more. We found a plane wreck in the bay ~ we could see the wooden prop and an airplane door. Kevin got to see a 3 foot baracuda. Dad enjoyed an entire beach to himself to take an afternoon nap. Terri & I swam over to the public beach to buy some more snacks ~ we were hungry again. Ok, so the 2 things you never touch while snorkeling are fire coral and sea urchins. Bryan touched them both and got stung . . . he's fine . . . Tyler loved just jumping off the boat over and over again. We ended the day back at the boat rental by 4:30.
Kevin & Bryan hung out for awhile at the Westin. We ate in again. Everyone is quiet & tired! So sad - too many clouds for good sunset pics tonight. We'll get some tomorrow!
Today, we saw St. John's north side by boat. Starting out at 9:00 at Cruz Bay, we rented a 25ft double engine boat. We boated around Caneel, Cinnamon, and Moho Bay. We had great snorkeling at Trunk Bay and Waterlimon Bay. At Trunk Bay, we moored way out away from the reef and swam in to snorkel. We saw thousands, really, thousands of little minnows. The kids got a kick out of swimming with them. Another sighting included huge parrott fish. Did you know that parrot fist have buck teeth? Never knew that . . . never got close enough to see that before! At Waterlimon, the boys saw squid, an octpus, and starfish. When Terri & I were swimming in, we saw a spotted sting ray. It was entertaining to see a flounder hiding - or trying to hide - in the sand.
We tried to go around the tip of the east side of the island and didn't get very far. It was very rough and windy. We think the waves were about 6ft swells. Everyone was holding on - dripping wet from the sprays! We gave up - too much for us. Maybe next time.
On our way back, we stopped at Cinnamon Bay and snorkeled some more. We found a plane wreck in the bay ~ we could see the wooden prop and an airplane door. Kevin got to see a 3 foot baracuda. Dad enjoyed an entire beach to himself to take an afternoon nap. Terri & I swam over to the public beach to buy some more snacks ~ we were hungry again. Ok, so the 2 things you never touch while snorkeling are fire coral and sea urchins. Bryan touched them both and got stung . . . he's fine . . . Tyler loved just jumping off the boat over and over again. We ended the day back at the boat rental by 4:30.
Kevin & Bryan hung out for awhile at the Westin. We ate in again. Everyone is quiet & tired! So sad - too many clouds for good sunset pics tonight. We'll get some tomorrow!
Well, it's going to be hard to top last night - but we did!
Our day started with exploring St. John by car. We went to Cinnamon Bay to swim/snorkel. Then, we hiked the trail along Leinster Bay to Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins. AT the top, we looked out over Sir Francis Drake Channel to the BVI. Beautiful!
We picked up some lost hitch~hikers and crammed in our car. (Really, we did! The poor tourists - honeymooners -were waiting for a taxi in the middle of nowhere.) We rode on to Coral Bay and had a snack at Miss Lucy's at the east end - also the southernmost point of the USA. We had to stop at Skinny Legs - but alas - no pirates there this time. ARRRR- Another stop at the Columbo's Best Smoothies. Yum!
We ate dinner at our villa and grilled out. Later, we all went to The Westin Resort at Great Cruz Bay. The kids swam in the bay in the dark . . . and played on the floating trampolines. That is, until some fishermen hooked some shark nearby . . . then, we called them in. No need to chum the waters! Boy, those kids can sure swim fast!
Quote of the Day: Kevin "I really like these Iguana Eggs." There's a story behind that one!
Our day started with exploring St. John by car. We went to Cinnamon Bay to swim/snorkel. Then, we hiked the trail along Leinster Bay to Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins. AT the top, we looked out over Sir Francis Drake Channel to the BVI. Beautiful!
We picked up some lost hitch~hikers and crammed in our car. (Really, we did! The poor tourists - honeymooners -were waiting for a taxi in the middle of nowhere.) We rode on to Coral Bay and had a snack at Miss Lucy's at the east end - also the southernmost point of the USA. We had to stop at Skinny Legs - but alas - no pirates there this time. ARRRR- Another stop at the Columbo's Best Smoothies. Yum!
We ate dinner at our villa and grilled out. Later, we all went to The Westin Resort at Great Cruz Bay. The kids swam in the bay in the dark . . . and played on the floating trampolines. That is, until some fishermen hooked some shark nearby . . . then, we called them in. No need to chum the waters! Boy, those kids can sure swim fast!
Quote of the Day: Kevin "I really like these Iguana Eggs." There's a story behind that one!
Our night at fireworks in Cruz Bay ended with just a bit of excitement . . . we watched great fireworks and walked back to our parked car to find it had a "boot" on it. We were parked legally - no signage to say otherwise. 3 island fellas were trying to shake us down for $175 to take the boot off - at one point, one of the 3 even mentioned $250. After much heated words from Keith, my 2 phone calls to 911, Kevin & Bryan walking to find help & getting nowhere at the police dept., my husband in a dark, back alley trying to "negotiate," and myself in tears . . . they ended up taking the boot off . . . no charge. (Although, Tyler, always looking to lighten the mood, did want to start walking the streets taking up a monetary collection.) They knew we were getting the police involved & that suddenly changed their mood. They said they were just doing it for the sake of the kids. OK - enough excitement for a LOOONNNGG time. I think we'll take taxi's everywhere! We were able to laugh about it later. Yep, thought you'd like to hear about that one!
We went back to our "old stomping grounds" today ~ Caneel Bay! It was great to share it with the kids! Caneel is still remote & removed! We had Honeymoon Beach to ourselves and snorkeled there and at Caneel Bay. The water was amazing . . . the fish were everywhere! Saw blue tangs, seargant majors, parrot fish, baby grouper, needlefish, angelfish, and more!
Today, down at Cruz Bay, they had their annual Carnival parade. It was crazy! As Bryan put it, "There were a lot of overweight people in very little outfits!" They played steel drum island music the whole time ~ very different, but fun. We didn't stay for the entire parade ~ we heard that it lasts usually for 3 hours!
On the way back, we drove to the famous lookout at Trunk Bay. We'll snorkel there another day. The views were breathtaking.
Tonight, we'll watch fireworks. We are eating in tonight ~
This was a long day of travel . . . to Atlanta, to St. Thomas, 40 min. taxi ride to Red Hook Ferry, and 20 min. ferry ride to St. John. Boy, was it hoppin' when we arrived. It's Carnival in St. John, Cruz Bay is packed with people and music fills the streets! We ate dinner right on the water . . . we got to our villa . . . no air conditioning in one of the bedrooms. That's OK, a service man has already come by to fix it! We found a grocery store still open, so we grabbed some breakfast & lunch meals. We'll sleep in tomorrow . . .
Looking forward to another trip!
Here we go again ~off to St. John ~ only this time, the whole family is going!! We're making memories! Check this out . . . pics and stories to come from St. John!
"Oh I wish I was there tonight, on Jost Van Dyke, Sipping on some Foxy's Firewater rum. Or kickin' back with Ivan, With all my friends down in the islands. Wouldn't take much for me to up and run. To another life somewhere in the sun." ~ Kenny C<
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