I had to think back how many times my husband and I have been to St. John since the first time we visited the island back in 2003. After doing a little digging I realized that this would make our 17th trip down to my ‘other’ happy place. For this trip I wanted to try a different villa. Don’t get me wrong, we loved Arc Du Soleil, but we already stayed there a couple of times. So after searching and looking at all these different villas, I found one particular that struck my eye – especially because it had an outdoor TV. How cool I thought. I found out that it is rented through Catered To. I contacted them and the villa was available for our dates. I made the deposit and we were officially booked at Marathon Villa. 

Unfortunately our friends from our last trip couldn’t join us this time, but luckily our other friends that we traveled with to St. John prior to the pandemic wanted to go back with us. However, they now live in Florida, so we had to coordinate our flights. This meant that we would meet up at the Crown Bay Marina the day of our arrival. A few weeks before our trip, the reality of returning back again to St. John was setting in and I couldn’t be happier. I know we do go to Key West a lot and I do love it, but there is something about St. John that just draws me back.

Saturday, 10.26.24 – Arrival Day

Usually our direct flight from Newark to St. Thomas is around 9:30 in the morning give or take a half hour. However, when I booked our flights for this year, the time was 7:45am. Wow I thought we are going to have to get up extra early for that one. Then again we were arriving at noon so the trade off was that it would give us more time to enjoy island time longer for our first day. 

I had my alarm set for 3:45am, but didn’t need it. With the anticipation of the trip kicking in, I woke up on my own at 3:30am. After freshening up I woke up my husband and made sure we had all of our belongings. Our car service showed up right on time at 4:45am. We said good bye to our newly adopted cat, Kobe. I felt terrible leaving him, since it was the first time he would be without us since we welcomed him to our home back in July.

Once we arrived at Terminal A, in Newark airport we headed through TSA. There wasn’t much of a line so we went through with ease. We had about an hour and a half before our boarding time of 7:10am so we walked up to the United Club Lounge. We grabbed a couple of seats at the bar and ordered a couple of screwdrivers. Well we made it to the airport and that’s the first step I thought. (I was so nervous that I would have overslept and miss our early flight like I did years ago.)

Soon it was time to head down to our gate. Once they gave the go ahead, we all boarded the plane. As we were settling in, the captain came on the intercom and mentioned that there may be a bit of a delay. Apparently there was a dent on the side of the plane and they had to have a crew come out from the other side of terminal to give it the approval that the plane was okay to fly. Just great I thought. It seemed like we were sitting there for quite some time. Thankfully they allowed anyone to use the lavatory if needed while we waited – which I had to use. Then the captain came back on the intercom and told us that everything checked out and we were good to go. Also that they would try and make up the time during the flight which is about 3 hrs. and 30 minutes.

When we got onto the runway I looked at my FitBit and we were about an hour behind. I wasn’t too concerned about it, since our friends were scheduled to arrive in St. Thomas an hour after us. Plus I already had booked 4 tickets for the Crown Bay Ferry to take us over to Cruz Bay at 2:15pm.

The flight was mostly uneventful. We did fly over some large thunderheads but the pilot did a great job avoiding them, so the turbulence wasn’t that bad. Finally I could start to see St. Thomas come in to view and I started to get a little tear in my eye. My husband looked at me and I told him they are happy tears, which they were. I was so happy to get back to my other happy place.

The landing as usual was quite abrupt due to the short runway. We all deplaned and I could feel the warmth and humidity instantaneously and it felt wonderful. It must have just rained as well, because the ground was all wet.

We walked all around the airport (which it seemed like) into the baggage claim area. I was disappointed that there weren’t any welcome rum shots. I think it was due to the fact our flight landed about a 1/2 hour later then what they expected because one of the ladies behind the counter asked me which flight we were on. No worries I thought, rum soon come.

Since we had carry on we walked right outside to grab a taxi. We were put into a large luxury black van. I thought that means they are going to wait for more passengers to fill it up, but nope – The taxi driver got in and it was just us. It was a quick 10 minute, if that, ride to the Crown Bay Marina. We planned on meeting our friends at the restaurant Tickles, that is located right next to the marina. When we arrived, the ferry was already there, so we were able to put our luggage on the ferry while we waited for our friends. 

We walked into Tickles and found a couple of seats at the bar. 

The bartendar came over and asked what we would like to drink. Of course I ordered a rum punch. I tend to shy a way from rum punches due to all the suger, but when I am in the Virgin Islands all bets are off. My husband ordered a vodka and soda cocktail to start. He received a message from our friends that they had arrived. Talk about great timing. I watched the bartender make my drink and there was a heavy pour of rum going on. 

She served us our drinks and we cheered to ourselves. Vacation has officially begun. I took one sip and yes it was strong, but I didn’t care. Not before long we could see two familiar faces getting out of the taxi near the dock. Our friends Kevin and Carol made it! I walked out to welcome them and show them the way to the restaurant. We all hugged and walked back to Tickles. We still had time before we had to get on the ferry so we ordered drinks. After catching up for a few, it was time to take the short walk over to the ferry. There was already a line, but we didn’t wait long.

Unlike last time, we choose to sit on the main level inside since it was quite steamy out. (Last time we wound up sitting down below and experienced some rough swells on the way over and nearly got sick.)

This time there weren’t any storms out at sea so it was most likely going to be a very calm ride over and it was. While we were in route, I reached out to our villa greeter, Abby. Since we had to first get our jeep rental at Bougainvillea Leasing, and our villa was literally on the same road as our previous villa, we didn’t need directions. Abby told us that she would be waiting for us by the entrance to the Virgin Grande Estates. The 45 minute ride over felt like forever, but eventually I saw Cruz Bay come into view. We were almost there! Again a few tears came out, but I immediately wiped them away so no one else would see.

When we made it to the dock, we had to wait for the crew to unload all of the luggage. Being that we were seated in the main level, we were able to exited fairly quick. It was a bit of a challenge finding our luggage, but we managed to pick through and find all 4 bags. 

My husband suggested that he would walk up to the jeep rental and we would take our luggage to Cruz Bay Landing and wait for him there. While he walked up the hill, we dragged all of our things to Cruz Bay Landing. We ordered drinks to-go since we wouldn’t be waiting too long. Once we got our drinks and walked back to the road, within minutes my husband showed up in our bright blue 4 door jeep rental. At least it won’t be hard to find our jeep in that color I thought. We all hopped in and loaded up our luggage.

My husband has a great memory when it comes to the roads in St. John. I don’t know how he does it but he does. We made the windy and steep drive all the way up to the Virgin Grand Estates. When we arrived at the gates, there was Abby waiting for us. She gave us a wave and we followed her to the villa. It was a quick drive from the entrance. Once we parked in the driveway it was that time for the unveiling of a new villa. What will it look like? Will it look like it does on the website? 

Abby escorted us to the main door and once she opened it, we all couldn’t believe how beautiful the view was. Similar to Arc Du Soleil, you are high up overlooking the Westin and Great Cruz Bay. It almost felt like we were slightly higher up then the other villa. Nevertheless it was absolutely gorgeous. 

After Abby gave us the tour, I offered her a glass of water as I grabbed one of the beers from the fridge that I had from my provisions order. (Once again I used Landlubbers Logistics for our provisions and would highly recommend them. They even picked up our arrival meal from Sam & Jack’s Deli.) We chatted for a few, before she had to get back to work.

After everyone was all unpacked and settled in, it was time to jump in that beautiful pool. I didn’t realize that my husband brought up our luggage and unpacked our things. The sun was setting and you could not have asked for a better start. 

As the sun set behind the clouds, you could begin to har the coqui frogs. I just love that sound of them chirping. I know they are originally from Puerto Rico, but their sound always makes me think of St. John. Eventually we freshened up in time to watch The Yankees in the World Series. While the game was about to start, we dining on the arrival meal I had ordered from Sam & Jack’s. I thought that having to reheat a meal when we arrived could be a bit cumbersome, so I choose a variety of cold items. We had chilled grilled shrimp skewers with a mango salsa, bruschetta with roasted peppers and mozzarella, a greek salad of chick peas, feta, etc. and caesar salad. Our one friend Carol is a vegetarian (but eats seafood) so I had to shy away from any sort of meat. With that order, we didn’t miss it. The food was delicious and the portions were quite generous.

After dinner we tried to use the outdoor TV but it wasn’t working, so we wound up watching the game inside in the main living area, which was fine since I think the TV was maybe a 53 inch? I wanted to stay up to watch the entire game, but as usual, the travel day always takes a lot out of me. Carol also headed in as well so we said goodnight while the guys stayed up to watch the game. (Good thing I didn’t stay up, they lost anyway.)

Sunday, 10.27.24 – Caneel Bay, High Tide

Since the curtain wasn’t fully closed, as soon as the sun started shining it woke me up. I think it woke up everyone early. I looked out of the window and it was going to be a gorgeous day. Once I found a bathing suit to wear, I went downstairs to the main area. Our friends were already up and coffee was made.

I had shipped a couple boxes of toiletries ahead of time to the Catered To office. I made sure I shipped them at least 2 weeks ahead and I am glad I did because they made it only a few days before our arrival date. And the one thing I shipped down is my favorite coffee – Cuban Coffee Queen from Key West. I poured myself a cup and was so excited to spend our first full day on St. John. I preheated the oven to put a quiche in the oven that was part of my Sam & Jack’s Deli order. I did have eggs in the fridge, but I didn’t feel like cooking. 

About a month ago my husband and I were talking about what should our first beach be for our trip. I thought about how I read several months ago that the Caneel Bay Beach was now open for visitors. Last time we were at Caneel was back in 2016 having dinner at Zohos (the old Sugar Mill / Equator restaurant location).

Our very first vacation to St. John in 2003 was a week stay at Caneel. We had since split trips up between Caneel and the Westin and then eventually went the villa route. However, we would always make a point to visit Caneel throughout our time on St. John. I was devastated to see what had happened to Caneel after Hurricane Irma / Maria. I knew returning to Caneel may be a bit sad, but I wanted to see it again. So with that, we agreed our first beach would be Caneel Bay. 

Everyone was eager to get to a beach, so after breakfast we quickly packed up all our things for the day. We grabbed the cooler, chairs, snorkel gear and of course towels. Once we loaded up the jeep we were on our way to Caneel Bay! We made it through the roundabout in town and then followed the signs towards the North Shore Beaches.

Our first stop was the Cruz Bay overlook. It was a perfect morning and it looked so beautiful. I quickly got out of the jeep to take a photo. Then we made another stop to show our friends the Caneel Bay overlook and told them that’s where we were going. I noticed there wasn’t anyone on the beach yet.

We made it to the entrance to Caneel Bay. The entrance still looked the same with the stone gates that were there prior to Hurricane Irma. Immediately I started to feel a mixed sense of both sadness and happiness. I couldn’t believe we were going back to Caneel, even though it was just to the beach. There was someone at the gate and my husband told him that we were there to go to the beach. He gave us directions and told us to park in the second parking lot. 

We drove along the road and you could see all of the vegetation taking over the grounds. Hidden in the tall grass were the mushroom shaped lights I remembered that lit up the pathways at night. We made it to the parking lot and both my husband and I recognized that it was the parking lot where the taxis used to park at and wait to take guests into town that were staying at Caneel.

No one else had arrived yet so we could park anywhere. We grabbed our chairs and all of our other belongings and walked down the path. As we walked you could see how the rest of the property was fenced off. Portions of the sugar mill ruins and the old Sugar Mill – Equator / Zozo’s restaurant were somewhat visible as we walked on by. 

The path then took us around the old portion of where breakfast used to be served at Caneel. Then the beach appeared and it was so surreal. I could see the dock with the old Caneel Bay sign that used to greet visitors when they arrived by ferry still hanging. 

Since no one else was there yet, we had the entire beach to ourselves. Once we set up camp, I took my phone and made the walk on to the dock to take it all in along with some pictures. It felt so surreal to be back to Caneel. 

Memories of when my husband first visited Caneel back in 2003 started to circle in my head. I could see all the old beach front rooms still standing there destroyed from the hurricane. It was so sad to see. It felt like Caneel Bay has been lost in time and forgotten. 

My husband then spotted a flower growing out of one of the old beachfront rooms. Maybe it was a sign that someday it will come back, I thought as I took a photo capturing the flower. 

There is the somewhat newly relocated Zozo’s restaurant that occupies the old bar and lunch area. Unfortunately it was closed for low season and the awning was removed making it look also like it had been abandoned, but I assume when it is open the place looks beautiful.

We spent the morning enjoying the water. It was warm and calm that day. While we were enjoying our time at Caneel, we noticed a few people venture onto the beach. 

So much for being the only ones, but it was good to see other people wanting to see Caneel.

While my husband and I were sitting on our chairs, a couple walked by us and they too looked a little bit shell shocked after witnessing the destroyed rooms. They asked us if we used to stay at Caneel and we told them about our first time there and they too used to stay at Caneel years ago. We both agreed that we hope the place does return to what it used to be.

After a few more times in the water, we were getting hungry. Plus more people were arriving and we had our fill on the beach. We grabbed all of our things and walked back up to the parking lot to our jeep.

As we walked back to our jeep, more people were coming down the path. The parking lot with our jeep was accompanied by many more jeeps. We were leaving just in time.

Since we hadn’t been to High Tide yet, I suggested that we should stop there for a bite to eat. Once we got to Cruz Bay, my husband parked the jeep at Slim Man’s Parking Lot. 

We walked to High Tide and sat down at a table since the bar was full. I remembered how High Tide is known for their rum punches so that is exactly what I ordered. Everyone else followed suite, besides Carol – she went with a proscecco. The rum punch tasted so good. 

As we waited for our lunch ordered, I looked up at the tv screen hanging over the bar. I completely forgot it was football Sunday. The NY Giants weren’t playing until the following night so we weren’t paying attention too much – not that we are anyway with how terrible their season has been going. 

Everyone enjoyed their lunch. When we were done with lunch, we stopped in the High Tide gift shop to get a few things before getting back to our jeep.

Our next stop was Starfish Market. Since it was a Sunday the place was busy. I grabbed the ingredients to make my red sangria, along with some other needed items – like laundry detergent, bottle water, etc.

My husband made the drive back up to the Virgin Grand Estates to our villa. We joked that we were home. After we unload our things at the villa, it was the perfect time to jump in to the pool. However first I had to make the sangria. We tried to turn on the outside tv again, but we could not get it to work. So thankfully we had a large screen tv inside where we could catch some of the football games. 

It was a relaxing afternoon and everyone was having a great time. Then I thought to myself, I really don’t feel like going back out for dinner. Then I looked in the fridge and we still had so much food leftover from Sam and Jack’s Deli that I suggested we could just eat the leftovers. No one seemed to mind so that’s what we did. 

We turned on the Sunday Night Football game inside, but no one really seemed interested. So Carol suggested we play cards. She pulled out a deck of Old Maid. I haven’t played it since I was a kid, but we had such a great time playing. Eventually it was time to turn in. I knew we were going to the Lime Out the next day and I didn’t want to feel terrible. Plus our motto in St. John is, early to rise and early to bed. 

Monday, 10.28.24 – The Windmill Bar, The Lime Out, Captain Johnnycakes

When I woke up I heard my husband calling me from down below to look outside (apparently he woke up before me as I slept in a little). I looked out the window and there was a beautiful rainbow. Overnight I did here some rain, but it appeared to have cleared and the weather looked perfect for a day out in Coral Bay.

It had been years since my husband and I have driven to the “other side” of St. John to Coral Bay. Usually we reserve a day to go to Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar Bar, but this year we thought that we would change it up a little. I had read a lot about the Lime Out restaurant (so to speak). Well actually it is a floating restaurant / food taco truck if you will. You basically have to take a boat shuttle from Coral Bay to get to it. Once you arrive, you have to swim to one of their lily pads (aka floating chairs). I thought that we had to try it at least once if we were going to Coral Bay. 

So after doing a little research I reserved a boat shuttle with a fellow by the name of Captain Johnnycakes. He coast the same amount as the regular shuttle that the Lime Out uses, but I thought having a private shuttle, we could leave whenever we wanted to, instead of waiting for the shuttle.

After taking a couple of photos of the rainbow, I put on my bathing suit and freshened up. I was pretty hungry that morning, so I put the leftover quiche in the oven to reheat for a little bit. Meanwhile, I grabbed some bacon from the fridge and cooked up about half of the package. Once breakfast was ready everyone had a bite to eat. 

I booked the shuttle with Captain Johnnycakes for 1pm that day, so we did have some time before heading over to Coral Bay. My husband and I thought about checking out this sort of new place called the Windmill Bar. I saw posts of the place on social media and was blown away by the views. I checked Google Maps and the place was very close to where our villa was located. 

So after breakfast and a few more cups of coffee we packed up our things for our trip to Coral Bay. I also packed several dry pack bags for all of us to transport our phones to the Lime Out. We also tried to work the outside tv again, but with no such luck (even replaced the batteries in the remote). We were able to turn the tv on, but it was stuck on one channel. You couldn’t get to anything else. 

Ironically my husband got a call from the villa manager asking us how our stay was. It was the perfect time to ask if they could send someone over to get the tv working. The NY Giants were playing Monday Night football and I thought it would be fun to watch the game outside. And since the Yankees were playing in the World Series that night as well we could have that game on, on the inside tv. When we were all set, we hopped into the jeep and headed to the Windmill Bar. 

My husband manuevered, as usual, the windy and hilly roads up towards Susannaberg where the Windmill Bar is located. All of a sudden we spotted this small wooden sign that read “The Windmill Bar”. We almost missed it. My husband turned in and drove up the rocking roadway. Immediately the ruin of a windmill appeared. Then you could start to see the outlining of what seemed to be a wooden structure. There was only one other vehicle since it was just past 11am (they open at 11am). Once the jeep was parked we walked up the stone pathway and saw a few people working on the property. It looked like they were constructing a new bar of some sort. 

To the right of the entrance there was a small bar and then the view appears. I couldn’t believe the view. It was literally jaw dropping. I immediately walked over to the ledge and to take few photos. 

As I studied the view, I realized it was Hawksnest Bay and part of the Caneel Bay property. I thought how ironic since we were at Caneel the day before. There was even a guy playing steel drums. I love the sound of steel drums. I thought how much better can this get?

I walked back over to the bar where everyone was contemplating what to have to drink since we were going to be having a few at the Lime Out. We opted for several Titos and soda with limes. While the bartender was making our drinks we walked back over to the view and grabbed a table. The chairs reminded me of the old chairs at the Smokin’ Tuna in Key West. They aren’t the most comfortable, but the view makes up for it. The bartender brought over our drinks and asked us if wanted anything to eat. We thanked her but were good with our drinks. 

We were looking at the time and realized we should get going to make it to Coral Bay in time. It was so hard to pull away from that view, but then we decided that we would come back later to catch the sunset and have dinner. Plus there was live entertainment that night as well. 

As we were leaving people were starting to show up. We joked again how we seem to be the first where ever we go. My husband took the reigns once again and began the drive to Coral Bay. I wasn’t exactly sure where to meet up with Captain Johnnycakes (I just love saying his name), but according to the directions it shouldn’t be too hard to fine. It said somewhere near the fire station – wherever that was. It was just about 12:30 and I was starting to get antsy. I thought that the drive to Coral Bay was at least 30 minutes, but when I looked at the directions on my phone it said it would take us around 20 minutes. I could have sworn the last time we did the drive it took us longer to get there. However, it wasn’t before long you could start to see the views of Coral Bay. It was so pretty.

Maybe we would make it in 20 minutes. We actually did except when we got into Coral Bay we weren’t sure where to go. My husband mentioned that if we kept driving we would be on our way towards Salt Pond so we pulled over on the side and luckily there was a taxi parked. My husband got out of the jeep and asked for directions. It turned out we did make the wrong turn by Skinny Legs (my fault). So we turned around and went back the way we came. When we got to Skinny Legs we saw the fire station. I didn’t realize it was right next to the restaurant. We also hadn’t been to Skinny Legs in quite some time, and I wanted to revisit the place, but unfortunately they weren’t opening back up from low season until a few days later for their annual Halloween party.

We found a spot to park. I only took with me was my phone, a form of payment and the keys to our jeep. Everything fit perfectly in my dry bag. I started to look around and didn’t see any indication where Captain Johnnycakes would be? Then I saw this little flat looking boat with a hand written sign. I thought to myself that may be him? Then all of a sudden a gentlemen walks out from I don’t know where asking us if we were looking for Captain Johnnycakes. I told him we were, and revealed to us that it was him! We had to first sign waivers before we walked on over to his little boat. I started to laugh because I thought no way is this thing going to fit us all. 

The boat was docked a few feet from the shore line so we had to walk in the water before getting in the boat. When we put our feet in the water we were stepping in seaweed. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience but we managed to all get in to the boat. He then passed out green beads for us to wear so he will know how to spot us when we tell him we want to head back. Then we were off. Captain Johnnycakes told us we could leave our shoes and our shirts on his boat during our time at the Lime Out. It wasn’t before long I spotted the green box like structure in the water and the surrounding lily pads. It looked like it does on the website. It isn’t guaranteed that you will get a lily pad all to yourselves and you cannot reserve them.

With the way the boat is built, Captain Johnnycakes was able to pull up right next to one of the Lily pads, that luckily didn’t have anyone sitting in it. I was the first one off the boat and I was able to go from the boat directly to the lily pad without even slipping or touching the water. Even the people sitting in the next lily pad applauded my success. Next was my husband, Carol and then Kevin. Then Captain Johnnycakes took his boat back towards the dock. 

Once we got set in the lily pad, a server walked out onto the floating like walk way and explained to us what to expect. First before anything you had to give her either a credit card or a cash deposit. Then she passed over a tube that had the menus with drink holders and a place where I could place my credit card. I passed it over and she told us that the taco special of the day was a seared tuna taco. As we looked over the menu I saw a drink that got my attention called the Danger. The drink consisted of thai chili infused 100% blue agave tequila, fresh watermelon juice, fresh lime juice, pineapple simple syrup. Why not I thought? When our server came back to take or order I was the first to tell her what I was going to drink. Since my husband had to drive us all back later, he ordered a beer and so did his friend Kevin. Carol wound up ordering a margarita. We decided to order a couple different type of tacos that we could all share. So the tacos we agreed upon were several shrimp tacos and a few of the tuna tacos. 

While we were waiting for our drinks I was getting a bit hot from the sun so I jumped into the water. I looked down and noticed a rope which keeps the lily pad stationary for the most part. I was curious to know how deep the water was and someone also in the water near the next lily pad over told me it was about 6 or 7 ft. I thought it would be deeper. The water felt refreshing and our drinks were about to arrive so I pulled myself back onto the lily pad. It is definitely easier going in the water, then back onto the lily pad. Our drinks arrived in the tube that our server pushed towards us. Each drink was served in a tumbler which kept the drinks ice cold. The Danger drink was tasty with just the right amount of heat and spice. Soon our server came back with a couple of containers that held our tacos. So we pushed our tube back towards her where she could place the tacos. I thought the concept was fun and it worked!

My husband opened up the containers and the tacos looked delicious. I wasn’t really hungry so I passed on the tacos, but everyone seemed to enjoy them. While they were enjoying the food I noticed more people being dropped off by the regular Lime Out shuttle. Then I saw in the distance Captain Johnnycakes. I thought he would go all the way back, but he also mentioned there was another couple he brought out just before us, so he was waiting for them. I recognized the other couple since they were the only other ones wearing the green beads. When they were ready to go, they waved to him and he motored over to pick them up.

Luckily the clouds started to roll in giving us a reprieve from the sun and heat. We decided to order another round and relax a little longer. I was looking at the merchandise they had hanging and I was going to buy a few things, but then I realized I didn’t want to have to carry all of it back in the boat. I know they sell their swag online and decided I would just order some things online. It is just easier. When we finished our drinks we told our server we were ready for the check. She came back with the check along with my credit card. I asked her that I am not sure how to tell Captain Johnnycakes that we are ready to leave? So she turned around and yelled “Hey Johnny, they’re ready!” Wow I guess that’s how you “call” him over. Soon he motored towards our lily pad where we all made it back into his little boat. The ride back was just as quick as the ride to the Lime Out. 

We grabbed our shirts and shoes and walked back out towards our jeep. I thanked him for taking us out and would recommend him 100%, even though he likes to talk A LOT, but still he is a hoot. Everyone enjoyed the Lime Out, but it is probably one of those things – one and done. Would I do it again? Sure, but it isn’t one of those things like going over to the Soggy Dollar Bar, etc. 

You can read my full review of the Lime Out here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147409-d16884942-r979032076-Lime_Out-St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

We had towels in the jeep, so we tried to try off as much as we could before loading back in. On the way back to Cruz Bay, I had my husband pull over so I could get a picture of us at the Coral Bay overlook. 

When we came back to the villa, we still had some time to enjoy the pool before freshening up for dinner. I was getting excited to catch the sunset at the Windmill Bar.

Once everyone was ready we got back into the jeep and my husband drove all of us to the Windmill Bar. As we pulled into the parking area, there was someone standing near the entrance. They were charging $5 to park? How else would you get to the bar unless you took a taxi. Luckily Carol had a $5 on her and we paid the young man.

You can see a video of the drive to the Windmill Bar here: https://youtu.be/Fnc97PUBHlU

The parking lot was filled with an array of jeeps of all different colors. We weren’t first this time. You could see all the people up at the bar. I think everyone else had the same idea – go to the Windmill Bar to see the sunset. Well actually they do advertise that on their social media and I can see why with that view.

We managed to find a table to accommodate the four of us. The bartender/server recognized us from earlier. She came over and took our drink and dinner order. She pointed out to us that the wooden block on our table has a red plastic flag attached to it. When you need, or would like another drink, simply raise the flag and she will come over. So inventive I thought. For dinner, I decided to go with a caesar salad and the grilled mahi. The menu is pretty basic, burgers, fish tacos, salads, etc. but the prices are reasonable and you can’t go wrong with the backdrop. They are also known for their macaroni and cheese and ice cream. Both my husband and Carol ordered a side of the mac and cheese. 

The entertainment was already in high gear, Eva and Mark. Eva had a wonderful voice and the music sounded wonderful.

You can watch a video of them performing that evening here: https://youtu.be/3A8S9DmxHW8

We were able to watch the sun set. Unfortunately the way the sun was during that time of year, it set behind the island and not over the water so much. It was still beautiful but not what I was hoping for.

Our food arrived and everything was delicious. I must say though, the macaroni and cheese was served in tiny and I mean tiny side dish – like the size you have your buttered rolls on while you are waiting for your main course. On the other hand, Carol and I couldn’t believe how good the red wine was. Carol asked our server if she could find out what it was. She came back and we were very surprised – it was yellowtail red jammy blend. Go figure. I thought it was something like a cabernet or even a malbec. Regardless, it was delicious. 

You can read my full review of the Windmill Bar here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147409-d23119262-r979031887-The_Windmill_Bar-St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

We spent the evening listening to the music and enjoying the beautiful evening. I noticed after the sun set, a lot of people left. There was still a decent crowd, but not like it was when we first got there. It was nearing the time for Monday Night Football and the World Series. What a night of great sports to watch I thought – our NY Giants and Yankees! 

My husband made the not so long drive back to the Virgin Grand Estates. The distance wasn’t bad, but the lack of lights on the road made it a bit challenging for my husband. I don’t know how he drives on those roads. I never have, and no one else ever seems to volunteer to try it. I don’t blame them. When we got back to the villa, the outside tv was on. It works! I went over and was able to find the channel the game was on. The guys went inside to put on the Yankee game. 

Disappointingly neither team was playing well that night. With not much hope for either of them winning that night, I headed up to bed for the evening.

Tuesday, 10.29.24 – Trunk Bay, St. John Brewers – Tap Room, Woody’s, Lobster Night at Morgan’s Mango

Again I was the last one to get up, but it was only around 8am. My husband already had the coffee made, so when I went down to the kitchen I poured myself a cup. The weather looked beautiful once again and I thought what perfect day to go to Trunk Bay. It was another picture perfect morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and stare out into the view of Great Cruz Bay and beyond to St. Thomas. No one was really hungry so I was off the hook for making breakfast. I would have, but if no one was hungry why bother? 

My husband filled the cooler with some beer and bottled water while I grabbed the towels and our snorkel gear. When we were set, we loaded up the jeep and we were on our way for the day. I made sure we stopped at the Trunk Bay overlook to take another picture of the famous overlook. I have so many pictures of it, but I can never have enough.

When we pulled into the parking lot at Trunk, there were already people parked in the lower lot so we have to park in the upper lot. After we paid the admission (which is only via credit card, no cash accepted) we walked over to the water sports shop so Kevin and Carol could rent snorkel gear. I was debating about renting a pair of fins, since I only packed our snorkel masks, but decided not to bother.

We walked out on the beach down towards the left side which seemed to be not as crowded as the right side of Trunk. The clouds were preventing the sun from appearing, but again it was still so pretty. Once all of our chairs and our belongings were set up, we all went into the water. 

It was so warm and calm. The sand felt so soft on our feet. We even saw a few fish swim around us. As we floated in the water, it started to rain. We figured if we get out of the water now we are going to get wet anyway. So we road out the rain in the water. It didn’t last too long.

Once it passed, I grabbed my snorkel gear. Kevin and Carol wanted to snorkel the underwater trail since they had never done it before. I was thinking about going with them so I followed along for a bit. I saw a few fish and a sting ray along the way. Then I was starting to feel a little tired because I didn’t have my fins – stupid me I thought. I wound up turning around and swimming back towards our camp on the beach. As I was swimming back I noticed I wasn’t making any headway. So I figured the easiest way was to swim to shore was to walk back. Turned out it was a lot easier.

I made it back and sat down in my chair. My husband and I enjoyed a cold beverage while Kevin and Carol were snorkeling. When they eventually returned, they told us about all the wonderful fish and sea life that they saw. Inside I was kicking myself for not continuing on. I have done the underwater snorkel trail before, but it had been years. I was happy for them though, that they saw so much.

While we were drying off, we noticed people pointing out at the water. We walked over and it was a stingray just swimming up and down the shore line. He was quite close too.

When we had our fill of Trunk Bay we packed up our things and walked back to the parking lot, but first we stopped to wash off our feet. There were so many people there that we had to wait in line. I don’t think I have ever seen Trunk Bay so crowded before? And we weren’t that late in the day either. We made it back to the jeep and the parking lot was completely full. There was no empty parking spots to be had. Good thing we arrived when we did. 

As we left Trunk Bay we saw a couple waiting for a taxi to come and pick them up. Most likely Westin guests I thought to myself. Hopefully they didn’t have to wait too long. We would have obliged, but with 4 of us in a 4 door jeep wrangler, there wasn’t enough room. 

Since we went to High Tide the other day, we thought as a change of pace go to Mongoose Junction. I wanted to see if we could go to the bar at the Sun Dog Cafe, aka the Gecko Gazebo. I know it is a tiny bar, but I enjoy sitting there. My husband managed to find a parking spot and squeezed the jeep into the space. We had just enough room to get out of the jeep, but had to be very careful. When we walked in to Mongoose, it was quite busy, probably due to the iffy weather. (It rained on and off all day.) I went up the stairs towards the Sun Dog Cafe and no such luck. All the chairs were taken. So we opted to go in to the Tap Room. 

When we walked in, the air conditioning was blasting and I was wearing a wet bathing suit. It wasn’t the greatest combination but I powered through it. We grabbed a couple of seats and ordered a few drinks.

Being it was a Tuesday, and also Lobster Night at Morgan’s Mango, I didn’t want to eat anything too large to ruin my appetite. I had booked reservations over a month ago for the 4 of us at 5:30pm. Kevin and Carol wound up sharing the nachos and my husband ordered a burger with fries so we could share the fries. Well I wound up eating most of the fries. I was dipping them in the different hot sauces that are made at the brewery. My particular favorite was the pineapple green habanero. 

After our lunch we hopped back in to the jeep to head back to the villa. Along the way we stopped at the market that is located right before the Westin for a few things that we needed – such as paper towels, etc. We walked in and I could not believe how cold it was in there. You could see your breath when you spoke. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Even the cashiers were wearing sweatshirts. Note to self, next time change out of your wet bathing suit if we’re not going straight back to the villa. 

We gathered our groceries and headed back into the warm air, thank goodness and in to the jeep. My husband drove us up the hill back to the Virgin Grand Estates. I wound up throwing a load of laundry in the washer that was at the villa. We joked that the washer and dryer were fit for an apartment. You would think a glorious villa like Marathon would have a decent washer / dryer. I mean they worked fine for bathing suits, shorts, etc. But if you threw in a towel to wash, good luck if that thing would ever dry.

We spent the afternoon relaxing again in the pool. It was then time for us to get ready. We all wound up getting ready quickly. So my husband suggested to go back in to town early and stop somewhere for a drink before dinner. We made the trip back down to Cruz Bay and parked at Slim Man’s. It was almost full and got there just in time. 

We were going to check out Cruz Bay Landing, but all the seats at the bar were taken. Next option was Woody’s. 

When we walked up the street I saw the table right by the order window was vacant. Perfect I thought. We sat down and gave our orders through the window. As usual I went with a rum punch. We hadn’t been to Woody’s for a while so it was fun to sit down and watch the traffic go by. The Tap and Still across the street was also buzzing with a lot of people. Again I don’t remember seeing St. John so busy during our previous visits. 

It was nearing 5:30pm so we finished our drink and made the walk down to Mongoose Junction. As we got closer to Morgan’s Mango we saw people already lined up the stairway. 

Well I guess we aren’t first again. It was just about 5:30pm and they were still setting up the restaurant. We only waited a few minutes and once they opened, one by one they seated each party. When it was our turn, we were seated at a perfect table. It was along the balcony and at the end, out of the way of people. I love that.

Our server came over, but Kevin and Carol excused themselves to the restrooms, so she left. Eventually she came back to tell us about the specials that evening and to take our drink order. Then I noticed she also had several more tables to tend to. Unfortunately we waited over a half hour for our drinks. I get it, everyone came in at the same time, but at least serve us our drinks. I can wait on the food. Anyway, after that hiccup, she came back to take our order. I started with the tuna ceviche special and for my main course I went with a pound and half lobster. My husband also choose the lobster and the fried calamari to start. Our friends ordered the filet mignon and the coconut crusted grouper as their main meals. I think they each had a salad of some sort to start.

Luckily our first course came out in a timely manner and the food was delicious. Next came out were our main courses. I was so glad I ordered the lobster. I was debating about trying the grouper, it did look wonderful by the way, but opted for the lobster. The pound and a 1/2 size was plenty. Everyone enjoyed their meals which was a relief after the way it started. 

I had recently saw a thread on Tripadvisor about where is the best key lime by in St. John? I thought it was kind of funny because that’s a question you usually see on the Key West travel forum. Most of the responses seemed to point to Morgan’s Mango. I mentioned it to Carol so she decided to order a slice for the table, along with an espresso martini. My husband ordered an espresso and I had a glass of port.

The key lime pie came out and it looked wonderful. I was going to pass, but I had to try it. When I tried it, I couldn’t believe how good it was. It turns out that they make the key lime pie with a white chocolate mouse topping vs. the traditional meringue and/or whipped cream. I highly recommend trying the key lime pie there, it was that good. 

You can read my full review of Morgan’s Mango here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147410-d1046366-r979032286-Morgan_s_Mango_Restaurant-Cruz_Bay_St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

We asked our server for the check and we gave Kevin and Carol cash for our half. I noticed that the bill said $144 for the two lobsters. So I think it makes the lobsters $48 per lb. if I did the math correctly? I bit pricey but the lobster was really good. Kevin wound up paying with his credit card. When the server came back with his card, he grabbed it and dropped it. It literally went through the floor below. My husband got up and went outside of the restaurant, down below to look for it. Somehow and someway he found it. The card must have hit something and wound up right in front of the porch area. It didn’t go directly underneath where you wouldn’t be able to access it because of the lattice covering underneath.

We were all so relieved and with that we walked back to Slim Man’s to retrieve our jeep. My husband once again drove us back to the villa. We made it back in time to catch the world series. The Yankees wound up winning that game so we went to sleep feeling good about it. Little did we know that good feeling would be short lived.

Wednesday, 10.30.24 – Cinnamon Bay, The Windmill Bar, Ted’s Supper Club

When I woke up, I peaked outside and it was a bit more cloudy then I expected. It wasn’t raining so that was a positive sign. I quickly got dressed and headed down to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. This time I was first so I had to make it. At least I will get the first cup I thought. Once everyone was up we decided that the next beach we would go to was Cinnamon Bay. We had never taken Kevin and Carol to that beach when they joined us several years ago. 

No one was really hungry after all that food at Morgan’s Mango, so I was off the hook (again) for making breakfast. When everyone was ready we packed up all of our things and loaded in the jeep. This time I also packed an extra bathing suit in case we decide to stop somewhere before returning to the villa. Along the way we had to first stop at one of the dumpsters along the way to through out our garbage. The sun was trying to come out a little, but the clouds were winning.

When we drove past Gibney there were already 4 jeeps parked at the entrance and it was just after 9am. I guess you have to get there by 8am if you want the first spot. We then drove past Peter Pay and made it to Cinnamon Bay. Once we grabbed our things we walked down towards the beach. My husband and I noticed that a lot of the vegetation that used to hover over the pathway was cut back and it looked more manicured. Once we got to the beach we walked down towards the right end of the beach. We kept walking almost to the end where all the rocks are to set up our things. I prefer being away from everyone on the beach. It makes me feel like we’re the only ones there. It was the perfect spot. 

Within minutes of setting up our chairs, we all ventured in to the water. I noticed there were some waves more so then normal. While in the water, I looked down towards where we walked and you could see all the people arriving. I was so glad we walked all the way down to the end.

We spend a few hours just relaxing on the beach and tossing around a football in the water. The sun never really came out, but the water still looked beautiful. 

We were all getting hungry so we figured it was a good time to pack up our things. The rocks served as a great spot to quickly change into a dry bathing suit. As we walked closer to the entrance, I couldn’t believe how much the beach filled up with people. I can’t imagine what it is like during high season if this is still considered the slow season.

We made it back to our jeep and headed back towards town. Everyone wanted to go back to the Windmill Bar so my husband kept driving. Since it was during the day, there wasn’t any parking fee. When we walked up to the bar, they were doing construction again. I am curious to see what it will look like once everything is complete. We grabbed a couple of seats along the ledge and ordered a couple of drinks. 

I had contacted Chef Ted, from Ted’s Supper Club to cook us dinner that evening. We had such a wonderful dinner the year before when he cooked for us, that I wanted to make sure Kevin and Carol had the same experience. I also remembered how many courses he cooks up and it is quite filling. So we wound up ordering a lighter lunch. My husband ordered the nachos, a BLT for Kevin and peel and eat shrimp for Carol. The Windmill Bar is pretty basic when it comes to the food, the drinks are served in plastic, but it is the view that makes the place special. There wasn’t any steel drum music this time so all we heard was the construction. We noticed that there was a webcam behind us so we went on our phones and could actually see ourselves. It was quite funny. 

Next it was time to head back to the villa. Chef Ted was scheduled to arrive around 6:30. We still had time to relax by the pool, but I didnt’t want to feel rushed. We all freshened up and I made sure to wear comfy clothes. I knew we were going to embark on a lot of food.

Chef Ted showed up right on time with all his pots, pans and coolers filled with his wonderful food. I love how he sets up everything and you just sit back and watch him work up his magic.

He even sets up the table and takes out the trash when he leaves. As we were waiting for our first course, I noticed he kept going back outside and then back to the kitchen. I wound opening the door and saw he had a cooking station set up outside. 

The first course he presented us was his tuna stuffed pan fried dumplings. Wow they were good. Then he served us his infamous foccacia bread.

I warned Kevin and Carol to only have a small piece because in the past I have ruined my appetite by eating too much of the bread. Plus it is great leftover the next day with eggs. 

Our next course was split up. The women had rock lobster served over eggplant, while the men had seared sea scallops over gnocchi.

We each sampled each other’s plates and everything tasted as good as it looked. Next he served us a refreshing salad featuring the local Josephine’s Greens and a blistered tomato.

I think after that course I was good. Literally I couldn’t eat anymore, however when he presented us with the main course – potato wrapped mahi I couldn’t pass it up. I did manage to finish it because it was that good. 

When we were finished with our main courses, no one could move. We were all about to enter a food coma. So we wound up going inside in to the AC and turn on the tv to watch the Yankees.

Chef Ted suggested he would wait a few before serving the dessert, which was his molten lava cake. Yes there was more. Chef Ted brought out the dessert and served it on the table by the tv. I couldn’t even look at it, but then I did. Maybe just a little bite. Well a little bite turned into eating the entire thing. I didn’t think I had it in me, but the cake and the gooey center of dark chocolate was so sublime. 

As usual when we were done Chef Ted cleaned up the kitchen, his outside station, along with the table we dined at outside. We gathered our cash and paid the bill which I believe was $145 per person, (plus added gratuity) which is worth it in my opinion. If you factor in all the courses at a regular restaurant, you would most likely pay way more. We thanked him again and he was on his way back to Fish Bay.

I was so tired after all that food that I didn’t stay up too much longer. In a way it was a good thing so I couldn’t see the Yankees lose the World Series. 

Thursday, 10.31.24 – Rainy and Cool Halloween

Throughout night I could hear the rain come down on the roof above. I thought that can’t be good and it wasn’t. When I got up, it was still pouring out. The skies were so dark you could barely make out St. Thomas across the way. 

I don’t think this is going to be a beach day I thought to myself. I slowly got ready and walked down to the main area and my husband was already up. He made coffee so I went into the kitchen and made myself a cup. I asked him where Kevin and Carol were and they were still in their room. I guess they didn’t have any reason either to get up early. As I was enjoying my coffee, I was getting a bit chilly so I walked back up to the bedroom and grabbed a zip up hoodie I brought. I was so glad I brought it. I looked at my phone and it was around 73 degrees, but maybe because of the dampness from the rain, it felt cold. Even when we walked back inside into the kitchen, it felt warmer. I reached out to my sister back home in NJ and she told me that it was supposed to be 81 degrees there. I couldn’t believe it was going to warmer in NJ then in St. John in October.

To pass the time, I wound up grabbing the deck of the Old Maid cards. I suggested to my husband why don’t we play a game while we wait out the rain. We played a few rounds and eventually Kevin and Carol emerged from their room. Kevin wound up sleeping in while Carol streamed some show on Netflix on her phone.

We told them we were just playing Old Maid while we were waiting for the weather to improve. Usually I don’t mind a villa gravity day, but with the cool rain there was no way anyone was getting in the pool. Everyone was getting a bit antsy so when the rain subsided we hopped back into the jeep.

I was thinking that maybe we could go back to Mongoose Junction and do a little shopping and grab a drink at the Sun Dog Cafe bar. When we got into town, everyone else had the same idea. We first tried Mongoose but there was not a parking spot in sight. Then we made it to Slim Man’s Parking and he was full as well. Where are we going to park? We drove back around past the ferry dock to see if there was any parking spots open near the customs building. No such luck. I suggested we could always park in front of Bougainvillea Leasing? 

My husband said he will circle around one more time, but then we noticed a sign at the Lumberyard that said parking. We pulled in and noticed there were signs with a QR code displayed on them. We pulled up to a space and I got out of the jeep. I used my phone and the QR code brought me to a “pay for parking” site. So I am entered in our license plate number and my credit card information. Done! We were good for a couple hours. What a huge relief. I had no idea this parking lot even existed? I am not sure if it is new or not. Another jeep pulled in as well to park. I noticed too at the end of the lot was the new restaurant the Speakeasy. Unfortunately it didn’t open until 5:30pm so we made the walk down the hill towards Mongoose Junction.

When we got to Mongoose I checked the seats at the Sundog Cafe / Gecko Gazebo and there were a couple open. I suggested that my husband and Kevin take those seats while Carol and I do some shopping. As soon as Carol and I walked into one of the shops below I got a text from my husband that a couple of seats opened up. Carol wanted to keep on shopping so I went back up to claim my seat.

I was so happy we were finally able to sit at the bar. I just find it so cute and love how you can see all the people walking around from there. To drink, I ordered the Deep Eddy Swamp Tea which consisted of lemon vodka, housemade iced tea and a dash club soda. When the bartender served me the drink and I took a sip, wow it was sweet, but I got used to it. 

Carol came back to join us but she still wanted to do more shopping. I told her how I noticed this one shop when we first walked in called “Made In St. John” that I wanted to check out. I saw these sweatpants with a donkey on it and I thought it was so cute. It also made me think how we hadn’t seen any donkeys this trip. Even when we went over to Coral Bay. We only saw a lot of goats, but no donkeys. So we walked down to the store. No one else was in there besides the woman behind the register. Immediately I gravitated towards the sweatpants and found a small. I knew they were technically mens sweatpants, but things always shrink after you wash it several times. Then I found a couple of cute shirts for myself. Then I thought I better get something for my husband. So I found a long sleeved t-shirt. It was so soft. I thought he is going to love it. So with my pile of clothes I went to the register. As the young lady was ringing me up she started talking to us. She mentioned how she used to live in the UK, etc. Very friendly nice woman, but after I paid, we couldn’t break away. We started to do the slow walk towards the door and she just kept going on and on. 

Finally there was a point where we were able to say thank you and get back up to the Gecko Gazebo. My husband asked us what took so long and I explained what happened. There was still another seat available so Carol was able to sit down.

Carol wound up ordering food, so I ordered another drink. We were planning to make Greengos our next stop. While I was waiting, I saw a familiar face walk by. Several years ago, my husband and I were at the Gecko Gazebo in a similar situation. The weather was kind of iffy so we stopped in for a drink. The girl behind the bar was stressing out because she was filling in for her friend who normally works there. She also told us her regular job was cleaning villas and had no idea how to make drinks. So when my husband ordered a bloody mary, he gave her instructions of what to put in it. And then when a server came to the bar with a drink order, he would tell her how to make it. It was quite comical. So when we ran into her we mentioned the story and she said she remembered. And that she tells her friends that story all the time. 

The rain subsided so all was good in the world. Once we were all ready we walked down to Greengos. We found a couple of seats at the end of the bar. At this point I was pretty hungry and we had no dinner plans. So I went ahead and first ordered a margarita and then the mango glazed shrimp and my husband ordered the taquitos appetizer. Kevin ordered a couple of tacos. Carol just stuck with a margarita since she just had something to eat at the other place.

The food came out quickly and it hit the spot. I was trying to think about where we should eat that night? I knew once we got back to the villa, we weren’t going to feel like going back out – especially with the weather. I then remember reading about how you can get pizza delivered to your villa. I wasn’t sure if they would deliver all the way up in the Virgin Grand Estates though. So I quickly went on my phone and the first place that popped up was Ronnie’s Pizza. I gave them a call and the girl on the other end on the phone said that they absolutely deliver and asked where our villa was located. She said that their delivery time was around 6:15 – 6:30. I told her that was perfect. I wound up ordering a mushroom pizza and told her the name of our villa. Dinner was planned!

When we were done with our drinks and food, we made our way out of Mongoose Junction. I noticed all the kids were walking around dressed up in their Halloween costumes. I almost forgot it was Halloween.

We walked back up to the Lumberyard and hopped back into the jeep. We were getting low on a few provisions, so we had to make a stop along the way back to the villa. This time we avoided the ultra cold store near the Westin and went to Starfish Market. Plus they have a larger selection of items. After getting our necessary provisions (beer, hard seltzer, etc.) we made it back to our villa.

It was a perfect evening for another round of Old Maid. While we were playing I got an alert on my phone that our pizza is on its way. I felt like I was using Door Dash. When the driver arrived my husband opened the door and paid him. (I thought it was weird that he didn’t knock on the door, he just texted us that the pizza was there.) Maybe that’s how they do it there I don’t know. Anyway, so my husband brought in the box. We weren’t hungry yet so I figured I would put it in the fridge and reheat it later when we were ready. However, before that move, I told him to open the box for me to take a picture. The pizza looked great and who would of thunk it? You can get pizza delivered to your villa!

After a few more rounds of Old Maid it was time to heat the pizza. I wound adding a little extra virgin olive oil on it and some more seasoning just in case. When the pizza was ready I called in everyone for a slice. The pizza was delicious and it totally hit the spot. I will have to remember that for future reference. 

When we were done with dinner, we turned on the Thursday Night Football game which was the Texans vs. the Jets. I only watched up to the first half and then turned in, hoping for a better weather day.

Friday, 11.1.24 – Sun is Back for Our Last Full Day – Hawksnest Bay, Ocean 362 

I woke up earlier then expected because the sun was shining through the curtain on the sliding glass door. It was a beautiful morning. I was so happy that the weather had turned, especially being it was our last full day on St. John, which I am never ready for. When everyone was ready, we loaded up the jeep for one last beach adventure. This time we decided on Hawksnest. I was thinking about Francis, but I remember how it tends to be quite shady in the morning. Then there was also Maho Bay, but when we went last year it was so crowded and especially with the snack shops and what not – I didn’t feel like going back. 

Getting to Hawksnest isn’t as long as some of the other beaches, but once we reached town and turned on to the North Shore Road, we wound up behind another jeep. However, this jeep had an elderly couple behind the wheel and my husband and I were holding our breaths. The driver wound up driving almost in the center of the road – way over the line. The only time he moved over was when another vehicle would be approaching. And even with that, there were a few times that I didn’t think he was going to clear the oncoming traffic. I am always amazed how there aren’t more accidents on St. John with people learning to drive on the “other side” of the road.

Ironically the jeep pulled into Hawksnest. We opted to park farther up the lot. When we arrived on the beach, there were more people then I expected already camped out on the beach. I think since everyone was stuck inside the day before with the rainy weather, they wanted to get out as soon as possible with the sun back out. We didn’t walk very far before finding a spot to set our chairs out on. While we were getting our things in order, I noticed there were waves. And I mean waves with white caps. I don’t recall ever seeing Hawksnest like that. I even saw some kids riding the waves in.

The water still looked so pretty that neither of us waited to long before jumping on in. It was still early enough in th morning that the water felt slightly cool, but after a few minutes of swimming around I warmed right up. We all took turns trying to ride in some waves. I wasn’t as successful as both my husband and Carol. It was fun trying nevertheless.

For our last night I decided to make reservations at Ocean 362. The last time my husband and I were at Gallows Point for dinner, it was when Zoho’s used to be located there. Originally I was thinking of the Terrace, but I thought it would be nice to catch the sunset while we were waiting for our meals to be served. Between our 5:30pm dinner reservations and getting everything ready for our departure the next day I was getting a bit anxious to go back to the villa.

So around 1pm we grabbed our things and made the short walk back to the jeep. While we were walking back we noticed a bunch of young guys with long hair hanging on the beach. They seemed to be a little out of place, but it looked like they were having a good time.

When we made it back to our villa, I went ahead and threw in one last load of laundry. I also had to check us in for our flight, but it wasn’t until 4:30pm the next day. Since Kevin and Carol had an earlier flight at 2:30pm back to Florida we knew it wouldn’t be enough time if they choose to go with us on the 11:15am Crown Bay Ferry. So they would have to take the 10:00am ferry to Red Hook instead. 

With everything in check, we headed back into town. We thought we would get in a little early and maybe hit High Tide or the Beach Bar for a beverage before dinner. As usual my husband took the reigns and drove us back to town. Slim Man’s Parking lot wasn’t full yet, so we were able to park our jeep there.

We walked down towards the Beach Bar passing by the old Rum Hut. It does look like it will be a sushi place of some sort with all the wooden construction they had going on.

Last time I wanted to go to the Beach Bar, but it was too crowded and we couldn’t find a seat. This time we walked in and there were four seats right towards the end of the bar. So we all sat down and looked over the drink menu. I immediately knew what I wanted to drink – a buschwacker. It had been a while since I have ordered one, since they are pretty filling – like an adult milkshake, but I really didn’t have to much to eat that day so I didn’t think it could ruin my appetite.

I was looking around while we waited for our drink orders and saw that directly behind us was another bar inside. I didn’t realize the Beach Bar expanded like that. It was cute inside and good to know. 

My drink arrived, and boy was it good. I wish bushwackers are loaded with so many calories of yummy goodness, but wow it was delicious.

As I was enjoying my drink, I realized it was time to check in for our flight – actually past it. With a couple of clicks on the United app we were all set.

It was nearing 5:30 so we started walking down towards Gallows Point. As we were walking down the road, it started to rain. Not enough to get drenched, but enough to know I didn’t think we were going to see a sunset at dinner.

As we got closer to Gallows I noticed we were walking right past a grave site that extended on both sides of the road. I don’t recall ever noticing it before? It was kind of interesting to see -some of the dates on them as we walked by. 

When we made it to Gallows we took the stairs up to the bar area at Ocean 362. The hostess seated us at 4 seats at the bar, which I requested on the reservation. There was just one other couple sitting at the end of the bar. The place was empty but then again it just opened up.

Our bartender took our drink order and then told us that they were out of the red snapper. I was a little disappointed because I was going to have that for my dinner. I asked her if they had any specials and they did not. So my only other options for seafood (as a main course) that evening was the halibut (which obviously is imported) and octopus. With those two to choose from, I decided to go with the lamb chops. My husband and his friend Kevin also ordered a carnivorous meal, the NY Strip steak and Carol went with the halibut. 

To start I had the crab cake and my husband had the sea scallops. While we waited for our appetizers, I took in the view behind the bar. Even though the sun wasn’t out, it was still beautiful – especially watching the boats sail by. 

When our appetizers arrived, I was very hungry and couldn’t wait to dig in. My crab cake was tasty, but nothing out of the extraordinary. My husband’s sea scallops looked good and sampled a piece. They were pretty good. 

Next up were our main entrees. My lamp chops looked picture perfect, but my husband’s steak was undercooked. Luckily Kevin preferred his steak more on the medium rare side, so they swapped plates. I tasted my lamb and it was good, but felt a little under seasoned and a bit overcooked for my liking. 

You can read my full review of Ocean 362 here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147410-d5528792-r979032536-Ocean_362-Cruz_Bay_St_John_U_S_Virgin_Islands.html

When we were done with our dinners, no one was really up for dessert so we paid the bill and walked back towards the Beach Bar. Along the way I looked up and saw the Lovango Rum Bar and there was live music playing. I suggested we should go and check it out. So we walked up and into the rum bar. It looked so fun and the vibe was great. The place reminded me a bit of General Horseplay in Key West – especially when the bartender was smoking some sort of herbs for a drink. 

There weren’t any seats available at the bar, so we just stood around and ordered a couple of drinks. I walked outside and saw that there were a few tables scattered about and the guy on the guitar was finishing his set. 

If only we came here earlier I thought to myself. I walked back in and saw food being served to a couple sitting at the bar. The kale caesar salad and the pizza that looked it came out of stone oven made my mouth water. Next time we have to come back here I kept telling myself.

We waited for the music to return, but unfortunately he was done for the evening. We finished our drinks and walked back down to the Beach Bar. The place was jamming with a live band. We secured a spot near the bar, but out of the way so we could watch the band play. 

You can watch a video of them jamming in this clip I took: https://youtu.be/qz18rYEZdqM

While we were listening to them, my husband pointed out that they were the guys we saw earlier at Hawksnest. How funny is that? They were a fun band to listen to from New Orleans. My husband and I even danced to a couple of songs. I figured why not it’s our last night? We were having a great time, but I knew we should probably head back to the villa and get some sleep before our long travel day. 

Of course the last night was the best night, but reluctantly walked with everyone back to the jeep at Slim Man’s. My husband drove us all back up to the Virgin Grand Estates to our villa. I took one last look at the view of St. Thomas at night before heading to bed. 

Saturday, 11.2.24 – Going Back Home

Why is it the day you leave you have a completely different mindset then when you are about to go on vacation. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. However, it happens every time and it is to be expected. I should be used to it by now. We all woke up early since we had to be out of the villa no later then 9:30am. Plus our friends were going to be on the 10:00am ferry back to Red Hook.

We all packed up our things and went through the fridge and tossed anything that was opened. Next was to take out all the garbage, not that we had a lot since we ate out the night before. I did a once over in our room just to be sure I didn’t leave anything behind – especially our passports. With everyone all set we wound up leaving around quarter after 9:00.

It is always sad to drive away from a villa you spent an entire week at. Before making it back to town, we stopped at one of the dumpsters along the way to through out our trash. My husband had to return the jeep so he wound up dropping us all off near Cruz Bay Landing (like how the trip started). Kevin and Carol still had time to have something to drink before they had to wait on line for the ferry.

My husband and I were going on the 11:15 am Crown Bay Ferry so we could linger around a little longer. I wheeled up our luggage and put them off to the side under the bar. I remember that is the place they usually tell you to leave your luggage. Ironically one of the staff saw what I was doing and he said how I must be a veteran. I smiled and walked over to sit down at the bar. There were only 3 seats together, but the bartender asked the elder gentleman at the end of the bar to move over. He easily obliged and I thanked him as we all sat down. 

Since I had several cups of coffee at the villa, I was in the mood for an adult breakfast beverage. So when the bartender asked me what I wanted I ordered a Titos screwdriver. I had a feeling my husband would want one too but wasn’t sure how long he was going to be dropping of the jeep. Kevin ordered one too and Carol didn’t want anything to drink. By the time my husband walked down to join us, it was time to say goodbye to our friends. We wished them safe travels and soon they were on their way to the ferry. While we were trying to pass the time, a very nice elderly couple sat down. We chatted with them for a bit before we had to roll our luggage down to the Crown Bay Ferry.

When we got to the ferry dock, we didn’t have much time to spare. Right after I checked us in, we had to gather around to listen to the safety speech. I don’t know why but when he mentioned about if everyone enjoyed their stay on St. John I started to get upset. Maybe because the way he said it, it made it feel so final that we were leaving. Then it was time for us to load into the ferry. We choose to sit inside, covered from the sun. (Why is it always such a beautiful day when we leave St. John?)

The trip over to St. Thomas was uneventful. I was feeling better and looking forward having a bite to eat and a drink at Tickles. As we neared the dock, my husband commented on how it looked like Tickles was closed. I checked my phone and it said that it should be open and it was just about noon. So once we docked at Crown Bay, my husband and I started walking over towards Tickles. Immediately the crew on the ferry told us that Tickles was closed. And not closed and will open in an hour – it was closed down. What do we do now? 

There was a taxi driver near us and he suggested that we could always go into Charlotte Amalie and walk around for a bit, but my husband thought it would be easier to go the airport. Our flight wasn’t until 4:30pm and it was only noon. What are we going to do? The last thing I wanted to do was to sit in that terminal squeezed up against someone else’s arm for several hours.

It was a quick drive from the ferry dock to the airport. Once we got out of the taxi, my husband noticed a little restaurant of some sort that was outside of the terminal. We decided to check it out since we had all the time in the world. When we walked up to it, there were a couple of tables and chairs. There was a window open to place your order. My husband and I ordered a couple of beers. The lady behind the window moved over a little hand written sign which was the menu of what food they were serving that day. There were a couple of options, such as mahi and rice, etc. It wasn’t anything I was really in the mood for, but as we were enjoying the nice cold beer, people that worked at the airport began showing up placing their lunch orders. Usually that is a good sign the food is good if the locals eat there. 

 Then I needed to use the restroom and I asked the lady behind the window and she said to go inside and there are restrooms. It was so odd, I opened the door and it was part of the actual airport, but the entrance to the terminal was blocked off. 

When I returned to our little table I remembered there was a restaurant right outside the airport and heard good things about it. I peaked down the roadway and could see it from where I was sitting. I looked up the place on my phone and it was called Ashley’s. I wasn’t sure if it was open so I gave a call. After the second try someone did pick up and said that they were open. We asked the young lady from the food stand about the place. She was so sweet that she came out and showed us where to walk to get to it. So we decided to give it a go. We finished our beers and walked down the road and walked in to the restaurant. Not what I was expecting…. There was another couple finishing up their lunch and noticed there was a small bar. We were going to grab seats, but there were already a bunch of locals sitting there and it would have been a tight fit – especially too with our luggage in tow. 

So we sat down and saw the food that they were serving was set out in metal trays behind the counter. Almost like a cafeteria. I think I will pass is what I first thought, but my husband was starving. He walked on over and the lady behind the counter told him all the options. Seafood, macaroni and cheese, rice and beans, goat curry, etc. Not taking any chances (especially right before flying) he choose the mac and cheese, along with the rice and beans. He walked back over with the food and it did look okay. After a few bites, he said there was no flavor so he walked back to the counter and saw a bottle of homemade hot pepper sauce. He wound up drenching the food with the pepper sauce. It was not a good decision. Then the lady came out from the counter and started to chuckle a little. She said that the pepper sauce is very spicy and you have to be careful. Oh boy. When my husband finally started to feel himself again, we both had enough and walked back to the airport.

Still with plenty of time, we wound up sitting at the bar area right near the baggage claim area. We enjoyed a couple of drinks while watching all the people arriving with huge smiles on their faces. I was so jealous, but then again that was us just a week ago. 

Finally it was getting close enough for us to go through customs and TSA. I am still so happy how you don’t have to fill out any paperwork anymore. I would always get nervous if I filled out the customs form the correct way. We walked in and there was barely a line at customs so we only had to wait a couple of minutes before being called to the window. The customs agent asked us a couple of questions and that was that. We made it through TSA or at least I thought. While I was waiting for my bag to come through, I saw that it was put aside along with a lot of other people’s luggage. What could possibly be in my bag that would cause an issue? 

We had to wait for them to go through a few other pieces of luggage first before they opened mine. As the TSA agent went through the bag, he pulled out two bags of ground coffee from Cuban Coffee Queen that I was bringing back from our villa. (I didn’t want to leave it there.) After a couple waves of a wand, the coffee was cleared and put back into my bag. And then my husband mentioned how back in the day, people used to try and smuggle things in ground coffee. I had no idea??

Relieved and so ready to get back home, we still had some time to spare. So we walked down to the Duty Free shop to check it out. I remembered last year how they added a bar and tvs to the place. When we walked in, it was quite busy, but we managed to get a couple of seats at the bar. It was perfect too, since they had on college football game on to watch to help pass the time. I took the opportunity to walk around and check out the prices. I couldn’t believe it – the prices were higher then what they are in NJ? I couldn’t understand why? I remember coming back home with a cardboard box filled with duty free liquor years ago. All well – we really didn’t need it anyway.

While we were waiting, I got a notice on my phone that our flight was delayed. At least it was only delayed about 20-30 minutes. We wound up talking to an older gentleman. He was telling us how his wife recently passed and he was there with his sister to scatter her ashes. It was a sad story but he was a nice guy to talk to for a bit. 

Eventually it was that time to get in line and board the plane. They never told us what delayed the plane, but I didn’t care we were on our way back home.

The flight was uneventful and I finally got to watch the movie Barbie out of curiosity. I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t bad. I also witness some beautiful clouds out the window as we got closer to the NJ/NY area.

Our flight landed about 20 minutes late and met up with our car driver. We made it home around 10:30pm that evening. I was so tired I couldn’t even think about unpacking. Before turning in we made sure we spent some time with our newly adopted cat Kobe. At first he wasn’t sure who we were, but after a few pets he was back purring his little boots off.

We had such a wonderful time exploring new restaurants and trying out activities we had never done before. The weather might not have been picture-perfect, but it didn’t matter—I was in my other happy place, and that’s all that counts.

Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog – as always much appreciated!

…..until next time!!