Day 3: Sunday - Maho, Skinny Legs, and Woody's
Today felt like our first real full day. Finally my mellow was on! Woke to the sounds of goats and the quiet of Coral Bay. We toasted up some bagels and had a quick breakfast at home. Cereal for the kids. Of course, being our first day our typical first day beach is always Maho. It is the best for the kids and honestly, I would be totally fine going there every single day! ON our way from Coral Bay to Maho I managed to confuse myself and we ended up by Annaberg!
Yes, this was my 8th trip and it still takes me awile to get the 2 roads straight. Sad but true. Fortunately for us, I am clueless, because soon I noticed a handsome couple walking two beautiful puppies and immediately knew it was PIA & Les! We said quick hellos and made plans to see each other later in the week for dinner! They headed off on their walk and we headed to Maho. Really, this time!
Maho.
Or as we call it in our family ... Maaaahhhhhhho emphasis on Ahhhhhhh.....
I really, really love Maho. The island was a bit browner than usual from the lack of rain (we didn't have a DROP the entire time we were there ... well during the day, I think there were a few night showers). Still, so very beautiful.
Soon the little man was busy at work in the sand
Happy People
I truly enjoyed the independence both kids displayed on this trip. I was still mama and responsible for organizing the herd (packing lunch, dry clothes, drinks, and towels), but they really held their own and enjoyed floating, digging in the sand, playing with critters and generally could entertain themselves for HOURS on the beach. It was also VERy nice to not have to plan for naps. Well ... for their naps. This was our first family trip to St. John without diapers and naps! I thought 2.5 years was pretty easy, but looking back, a 2.5 year old is a LOT more work than a 4 year old!
FACT: I read THREE and 1/2 books on this trip. 'Nuff said!
We lounged, read, played, relaxed, jelled for a few hours and before we knew it our bellies were rumbling.
Lunch time! Also, somewhat of a loose tradition - Skinny Leg's for lunch on the first full day. I know there is also great debate about Skinny's, particularly the NASTINESS of the bathrooms. I realized on this trip (having two lunches there and using the left and right bathroom) that the RIGHT HAND bathroom is WAY grosser than the left. Aim for the left. The right, also a true fact, smells like pee. Just remember...as with all things on St. John, keep left!
I don't care if the bathroom smells, I love, LOVE, LOOOOVE their burgers. I don't know if its the "beach hungry" or what, but nothing tastes finer to me than a big, fat, juicy blueburger and an ice cold beer or as was the case this day, a Coconut Swizzle.
We've ordered and are waiting
Hung decided on the special of the day - bacon BBQ swiss burger. I think he approved.
Did I already mention that I was having the blue burger? I did didn't I? I heart the blue burger. Totally. I know its just a burger but for me its my "[i]I am here, I have arrived, this is for real, I am on St. John[/i]" moment. Weird, I know, but true.
Post burgers we shopped around. I am not a mama that is above bribery and more than once the statement "[i]do you want to stop at Skinny's (or Lilly's) and get your treat? Then you better be nice and behave![/i]" Worked like a CHARM. The kiddos picked out a treat and soon we were off.
We decided to drive out to the End of the East End and take it all in...again.
Someone just couldn't hang
Love it out here. So simple and peaceful.
We took a drive up Dreeket's (or Drekett's? or maybe there's a c in there?) to take a look see.
Don't forget to KEEP LEFT.
Eventually we made our way back to the cottage and relaxed. Relaxing on this trip for the most part = Kids watching a movie while the hubby and I alternated between reading and napping. PERFECTION. 3 1/2 books, I say!
My little man was eager to unpack his goodies
Post-relaxation/napping/reading/movie watching, we decided to take a trip to town. Primarily because I was displeased with the coffee in the house and needed to get to St. John Spice for some Kiss of the Jumbie coffee and to HOPEFULLY say hello to Ruth.
From our house to Cruz Bay, via the North Shore was almost an hour. In my mind, it was shorter. I was thinking 30 minutes from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay + 10 minutes further to the house. In reality it is more like 40 minutes from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay (using Lilly's as the Coral Bay marker) and another 10 from there to our Cottage. This was, for the most part, fine for us. We did have a couple of "my tummy hurts" from the back seat through out the week, but no actual tossing of cookies. Something to think about if you have people with you who may be sensitive to the hilly, windy ride. I was grateful it was just the 4 of us on this trip and I wasn't playing tour guide to newbies. I would have worried they were not happy, had I been.
So we head to town.
How did they know we were in town?
We hit St. John Spice. NO RUTH :( but that's ok. We got our coffee and inquired about her schedule. Sorry, Ruth, didn't mean to stalk you!
Max likes your hats.
We caught a gorgeous Cruz Bay Sunset
My cutie pies
I think they have Rum
I also peeked into Bamboo jewelry, a first for me. I am not sure if they are new, or just new to me, but I loved their stuff. I have a necklace with 4 charms
- two small disks - one with each of the kids name, a petroglyph key (a gift from Vicki), and a starfish from RI Patton. When I looked into their cases I couldn't believe that they had a very similar idea! I coulda been rich! They have a round disk charm with the longitude and latitude of St. John engraved on it. As soon as I saw it I knew it needed to be added to my collection! I had to order it, but it would only take a couple of days. Order in, we decided we were ready for some eats.
Another first for us on this trip was dinner at Woody's. I have to admit I have been pretty judgy about Woody's. The Happy Hour scene with people hanging out and spilling onto the road just never appealed to me. Ok, honestly, it downright annoys me! However, as we walked around it looked quiet and we decided to give it a shot. Hands down the BEST waitstaff service we had all week. Hands Down!!!! The food was plentiful and very good. Nothing particularly unique but great for us. We ordered several appetizers - Calamari, chicken wings, chicken strips and grouper fingers, and a couple of drinks.
Mama ... happy and relaxed
Beach bunny approved as well
Grouper Fingers
Stuffed after dinner, we decided to take a little walk toward Mongoose.
Beautiful Moon
Somehow we were convinced to hit the playground
While the kiddos played we watched a group of people playing croquet on the field.
Beautiful CruZ Bay night
The fields lights went out promptly at 8:30 pm and we took that as our cue to head back to Conrad's to get the car and head back over the hills to our cottage.
Tomorrow: Francis, Tap Room, Island Blues
Day 2: Breakfast at Mafolie, Pool Time, and Heading to St. John and the Lameshur Cottage
Woke up to a beautiful, crystal clear sky. The view from our room.
We were all pretty hungry, considering we had made dinner out of a few granola bars, some pretzels and gummy bears the night before, so we headed down to take part in the free continental breakfast. The breakfast was adequate and there was a lovely breakfast attendant lady who refilled coffees and generally made sure we had what we needed. Continental breakfast consisted of: orange juice, coffee (no cream or 1/2 and 1/2 ... one of my pet peeves), english muffins, toast, waffles, variety of cereals. I would have liked a boiled egg or some fresh fruit, but it served its purpose and we were no longer starving!
View from the Restaurant
I think the only reason I got them to eat breakfast before pool time was because they were pretty hungry!
The DIVA
Happy Campers
We wrapped up breakfast and decided it was time to hit the pool.
Pretty irresistible
The kids loved the pool. They love any pool! We met the resident 3 legged kitty, which fascinated Max, and just eased into our first island day.
I thinks its safe to say they have a firm handle on how to relax.
Though the pool was lovely and comfortable, soon we were all itching to make our way over to St. John. We had booked the next 9 nights at the Lameshur Cottage and were eager to see it firsthand. Though I made it to St. John last March, the rest of the family hadn't been to back since June of 2009! Everyone was excited to make their way to the island we love! We decided to get cleaned up, check out and catch a taxi to red hook.
Mafolie called us a cab and I checked us out. Really nice taxi driver who filled is in on some of the history of St. Thomas and the surrounding islands. He was a pleasure to talk with, and before we knew it we were at the ferry dock. We had a little time to kill so we decided to get a snack. It was the cheapest meal of the trip. Chicken, fries, rum with a splash of pineapple, and a watermelon soda - $12.
I had never seen this soda anywhere, but the man in front of me ordered it and I was intrigued. It was pretty good. Though, Hung's rum with a splash of pineapple was better!
Soon enough, it was time to buy Ferry tickets. For the four of us and 4 bags it was $24. Though it was a Saturday, the ferry was pretty quiet, not crazy at all. Soon enough Cruz Bay was coming into view. I left everyone at the dock and headed straight to Conrad Sutton's to pick up our island ride, a jeep liberty. Great condition as usual and a breeze to pick up. I headed back to the dock to pick everyone up and as is our routine, dropped the hubby off to order Uncle Joe's takeout. Uncle Joe's, while totally 100% worth it to us - it is the ONLY requirement Hung has for the trip - can take a little while. Our routine is for Hubby to hop out and order, then run to Pine Peace to do a quick stock up for the house. By the time we are back, it is ready and waiting.
There is much debate about where to get groceries, which is cheapest and/or most convenient. Starfish is the most like a US grocery. Pine Peace is more like a 7/11 on crack. It is a bit grungier, a bit more crowded, but they have everything you could need. and I think it is way cheaper. That and they are very helpful. I grab a little cart and go to town stocking up on the basics there. Our standard shopping stock-up is: bacon, 2 kinds of bagels (they have the best damn bagels), butter, eggs, milk, cream, bread, peanut butter, jelly, cookies, chips, pretzels, 12-pack of soda, 6-pack of beer, bottle of rum (or 2), OJ, a couple small frozen pizzas, apples, bananas and water. I got all of that for $130. I thought that wasn't bad. Though I was on island and I tend to loose all sense! I was in and out, and back on our way to Uncle Joe's and our first drive out on the North Shore road.
Ahhhhhh.....its good to be back!
I had booked the Lameshur Cottage. It is an adorable cottage way the hell out past Salt Pond!
When I told Ruth where it was she looked at me like I said we were staying on mars! Same difference to her :) The cottage was just barely past Salt Pond. About 10 minutes or so from Lilly's market, Aqua Bistro, etc.
The cottage is extremely well maintained, spotlessly clean, and adorable. I loved it! There is no a/c, so I would consider this a November - April (maybe May) spot, but it got fabulous breezes and had plenty of fans for air circulation. There were tons of books, DVDs, and games. There are a fair amount of stairs. There are two driveways, one up and one to the side. If you park in the lower lot, you have two flights of stairs up to the cottage. Information that would be good to know. I was glad my mama wasn't with us :)
The lower set of stairs
The view from about mid-way down the stairs
IF you go up the upper driveway (which they tell you not to use because its a bit tricky to back out of) you have 1 flight of stairs up to the cottage.
Another thing I would have liked to understand better is that it is really Lameshur Cottage(s). There are two on the property. They share parking, the stairs and at the top of the stairs, to the left is the main cottage (ours) and to the right another smaller cottage (two lovely ladies were staying there the same exact dates as us).
The smaller cottage from our cottage door
It is still plenty private, I suppose if either groups was excessively loud you would hear it but we barely heard them at all. I am not sure they could say the same :( Though we tried to be cognizant of the noise level with the kids.
You enter into kitchen/living area.
Off of living room to the left is a bright sunporch with a twin bed.
Through the living area there is a very spacious and clean bathroom/laundry area.
Down the hall past the bathroom was the Master bedroom with French doors to a small deck. (view from the deck back into the room)
Out on the deck and around the corner, there is a lanai and hot tub.
The view from the cottage
There is not a water view from the cottage, but mountain views all around. I think Hung missed the water views and the kids missed having a pool, but for the money this cottage could not be beat. $150/night! Remember this trip began with the thinking "Ella has spring break, we're going to have to pay for a spring break camp, we might as well go on vacation"....again, not logical but I will use any ExCUSE!
The owner, Russ, is an absolute pleasure to work with and obviously takes great care of the place.
We settled in, I felt immediately relaxed. We were pretty hungry so we dug into our late lunch/early dinner from Uncle Joe's.
I love the Chicken
Hubby goes for the ribs! He even got an additional order of ribs to guarantee he'd have leftovers! This is one order of ribs. The other was already in the fridge!
Settled in and fed, we decided to head to the beach. Lameshur and Salt Pond are both close by, so we decided to head to Lameshur for a late afternoon swim.
It is a little rocky to enter, so someone convinced her daddy to give her a lift!
Beautiful late afternoon, it was virtually empty
Someone else got right down to the business of playing
Happy People
That smile makes it all worth while! She is her mama's girl
Heaven on earth
Soon everyone was in on the action
As the sun started to set it began to get buggy so we packed it in and headed for the house, with a pitstop at Lilly's for some ice cream (it would not have survived from Pine Peace to Lameshur without a cooler)!
Tomorrow: MAHO, Skinny Legs, and Woody's!
