This is the last post on 3 Parrots Island, I am blog moving once again.
The Man and I have started a project and you're all welcome to visit our new internet home:
http://www.stthomasblog.com
The cons: some of the entries to be posted over there might be regurgitated entries that you've already read here.
The pros: you'll finally learn my real name.
It's Nicci.
And the Man? is Scott.
Nice to meet ya'll :)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Weekly wrap-up
Junebug:
Her last day was a Saturday, and I really wanted it to be a beach day, so she, myself and T (the Man had toe surgery the previous day and was not allowed near sand) all went to Secret Harbour on the East end of the island for lunch, and some napping in the sun. We were tired (hungover) from T's bday dinner and drinking the night before, and a day on the beach would hit the spot.
Here's a shot of T and myself waiting for lunch. If we look tired and drained it's because we were:
Here's a shot from my beach chair of the water and floating raft; there are condos surrounding the beach, and a great little beach bar/resaurant called Blue Moon Cafe. It's a cool place to spend an afternoon:
We sucked down some frozen drinks and enjoyed the day, it was definitely relaxing and a good way to spend your last day on St. Thomas. Here's a shot of T and JB in their beach chairs (the bday boy is out cold):
We left the beach about 4 and headed to the grocery store, for her last night we decided to hang at the house, hit the hot tub, have some lobster and snacks and play some Guitar Hero. We loaded up on food, got home, cooked it up, and hung out until around midnight when we all crashed out. The next day T took her to the airport for her morning flight, and that was that. I hope you enjoyed your trip lady!! It was an awesome 10 days :)
The Family:
My family is here for a visit, my parents/aunt/uncle. They flew in separately and both arrivals were screwy. The original plan? My aunt/uncle were to arrive from England Wed night at 8pm, my parents were coming in Thursday at 3:30. Perfect. I worked Wednesday day, the Man picked me up and after a quick dinner we hit the aiport, arriving just at 8 to see people coming through the gate. There was only one flight due in at that time, and my aunt/uncle weren't on it. Weird. So I went to the car where I had left my phone (it was in the car during dinner as well) and sure enough there was a vmail from them, left about 20mins earlier. When they got to Miami there was an issue with immigration, my aunt's fingerprints weren't matching up and they took them both into a little room to the side to figure it out. Sure enough they realized she was not a terrorist and released them, but their flight had already departed, leaving them to get a room (on their dime!!!) for the night.
Their new arrival time was Thursday afternoon, 4:20. Okay, we can do this. I was working Thursday - the original plan called for the Man to pick up my parents, bring them to the restaurant so they could have a drink while I finished up, and all of us would leave the restaurant at 5 and go home. Now the Man would show up at the airport at 4 to meet my parents who would already be there, wait for my aunt/uncle's flight, and the five of them would straight to the house. T had agreed to pick me up at work and take me home. Cool. I talked to mom that morning, told her that my aunt/uncle's flight had been delayed and that the Man would meet them all at the airport. We were all set with the new plan, until mom left me a vmail about 11. They were in Boston, ready to go, and their direct flight plane had mechanical issues. The people in charge told them you can either A) wait for the issue to be resolved, although we don't know how long that will take or B) jump on this other flight, which is not direct and goes through Puerto Rico. My parents jumped on option B as they just wanted to get here, and my mom's message told me they weren't arriving until 6:30. Okay.
I called the Man, told him about my parents screwed up flight, and we figured he would grab aunt/uncle, then come back into town to meet me at the restaurant, and we would both go to the aiport. Okay. I texted T and told him I probably wouldn't need him to drive me home, but he said he was coming in for a drink anyways. When T showed up at 5 I clocked out and he and I banged down a couple of drinks. As we sat there I called the Man and told him it didn't make sense for T to take me all the way home, but instead T would take me to the airport where I would meet the Man and we would both meet my parents. Cool. Another drink later T mentioned he was driving his mom's SUV, not his Wrangler. 'Oh!', I said, 'Then you have room for a couple more adults and a suitcase right?' 'I guess I do', he said. I called the Man, told him to stay put, T and I were going to get my parents and bring them home. And one drink later that's what we did.
Thursday night we grilled out and had some drinks while aunt/uncle tried to figure out their jet lag. Yesterday a few of us went and did a big grocery shop at the price club, and then we grilled out again. Today we are hanging around at home, by the pool, with the sun. Tonight we have dinner reservations, tomorrow is our beach day and on we go for their two week visit. I'm psyched they're all here.
I'll spare you my Saturday thoughts as this entry is pretty long at the moment, instead I'll leave you with one last picture of JB and our cute little yellow, who was taste-testing her bikini strap:
Her last day was a Saturday, and I really wanted it to be a beach day, so she, myself and T (the Man had toe surgery the previous day and was not allowed near sand) all went to Secret Harbour on the East end of the island for lunch, and some napping in the sun. We were tired (hungover) from T's bday dinner and drinking the night before, and a day on the beach would hit the spot.
Here's a shot of T and myself waiting for lunch. If we look tired and drained it's because we were:
Here's a shot from my beach chair of the water and floating raft; there are condos surrounding the beach, and a great little beach bar/resaurant called Blue Moon Cafe. It's a cool place to spend an afternoon:
We sucked down some frozen drinks and enjoyed the day, it was definitely relaxing and a good way to spend your last day on St. Thomas. Here's a shot of T and JB in their beach chairs (the bday boy is out cold):
We left the beach about 4 and headed to the grocery store, for her last night we decided to hang at the house, hit the hot tub, have some lobster and snacks and play some Guitar Hero. We loaded up on food, got home, cooked it up, and hung out until around midnight when we all crashed out. The next day T took her to the airport for her morning flight, and that was that. I hope you enjoyed your trip lady!! It was an awesome 10 days :)
The Family:
My family is here for a visit, my parents/aunt/uncle. They flew in separately and both arrivals were screwy. The original plan? My aunt/uncle were to arrive from England Wed night at 8pm, my parents were coming in Thursday at 3:30. Perfect. I worked Wednesday day, the Man picked me up and after a quick dinner we hit the aiport, arriving just at 8 to see people coming through the gate. There was only one flight due in at that time, and my aunt/uncle weren't on it. Weird. So I went to the car where I had left my phone (it was in the car during dinner as well) and sure enough there was a vmail from them, left about 20mins earlier. When they got to Miami there was an issue with immigration, my aunt's fingerprints weren't matching up and they took them both into a little room to the side to figure it out. Sure enough they realized she was not a terrorist and released them, but their flight had already departed, leaving them to get a room (on their dime!!!) for the night.
Their new arrival time was Thursday afternoon, 4:20. Okay, we can do this. I was working Thursday - the original plan called for the Man to pick up my parents, bring them to the restaurant so they could have a drink while I finished up, and all of us would leave the restaurant at 5 and go home. Now the Man would show up at the airport at 4 to meet my parents who would already be there, wait for my aunt/uncle's flight, and the five of them would straight to the house. T had agreed to pick me up at work and take me home. Cool. I talked to mom that morning, told her that my aunt/uncle's flight had been delayed and that the Man would meet them all at the airport. We were all set with the new plan, until mom left me a vmail about 11. They were in Boston, ready to go, and their direct flight plane had mechanical issues. The people in charge told them you can either A) wait for the issue to be resolved, although we don't know how long that will take or B) jump on this other flight, which is not direct and goes through Puerto Rico. My parents jumped on option B as they just wanted to get here, and my mom's message told me they weren't arriving until 6:30. Okay.
I called the Man, told him about my parents screwed up flight, and we figured he would grab aunt/uncle, then come back into town to meet me at the restaurant, and we would both go to the aiport. Okay. I texted T and told him I probably wouldn't need him to drive me home, but he said he was coming in for a drink anyways. When T showed up at 5 I clocked out and he and I banged down a couple of drinks. As we sat there I called the Man and told him it didn't make sense for T to take me all the way home, but instead T would take me to the airport where I would meet the Man and we would both meet my parents. Cool. Another drink later T mentioned he was driving his mom's SUV, not his Wrangler. 'Oh!', I said, 'Then you have room for a couple more adults and a suitcase right?' 'I guess I do', he said. I called the Man, told him to stay put, T and I were going to get my parents and bring them home. And one drink later that's what we did.
Thursday night we grilled out and had some drinks while aunt/uncle tried to figure out their jet lag. Yesterday a few of us went and did a big grocery shop at the price club, and then we grilled out again. Today we are hanging around at home, by the pool, with the sun. Tonight we have dinner reservations, tomorrow is our beach day and on we go for their two week visit. I'm psyched they're all here.
I'll spare you my Saturday thoughts as this entry is pretty long at the moment, instead I'll leave you with one last picture of JB and our cute little yellow, who was taste-testing her bikini strap:
Enjoy your weekend!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Kayakers
I snapped a picture of two people boating on by the other day:
Upon closer inspection I saw just how small their 'craft' really was.
Upon closer inspection I saw just how small their 'craft' really was.
It looks like a kayak/dingy that's been MacGyver'd with a motor.
So why are they tiring themselves out with the paddles?
All I know is this, there have been whales spotted out there, and (albeit harmless) sharks, and I think I would want a little more boat around me in the big blue sea.
But that's just me.
Kayak on adventurers!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Creepy crawly Wednesday
I was a few steps behind the Man last night when he spotted something on this blue tarp and yelled for me to grab the camera.
Can you see it? Do you even want to?
It's near the bottom, here is a close-up:
Can you see it? Do you even want to?
It's near the bottom, here is a close-up:
We thought it was a poisonous centipede GAG and judging by the size of the stinger on it's butt (on the right in the pic above) I worked myself up to full paranoia about seeing one of these anywhere in the house.
After poking a stick near it (which it aggressively bopped with it's head - um Hello? Attacking a stick? This thing is fierce!) we got it to crawl on the stick and moved it to a neighbor's yard, which made me feel much better. I'm pretty sure it's not going to bother sneaking into our house when the neighbor's is much closer.
After we got home from dinner we looked this creature up, and it's not a centipede at all, it's a caterpillar (aww...). A Frangipani Hawkmoth (Pseudosphinx tetrio) to be exact.
There's your lesson for the day!
For the record we YouTubed videos of actual poisonous centipedes, which are large and FAST and I DON'T WANT TO SEE ONE IN PERSON!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Junebug's Visit - Day's Seven, Eight and Nine
I believe it was Day Five or Six that JB's trip was extended through the following Sunday, which was cool, more time to play! Unfortunately I had shifted all of my waitressing around to be free when she was here, so I worked the next three days. Which meant I was not dragging my camera around.
Wed: I wake up, and go to work from 10 - 5, and then 5:30 - 10, so I am pretty much out of the game. The Man had some work to catch up on also. I believe JB got up, had coffee and relaxed before heading out with T to hang with him. T works for himself, so it was pretty easy for him to shift his schedule around. They went around the island, went up to Paradise Point, had some lunch. Etc. All of them came into my second restaurant for dinner and drinks, and that night I got home and we pretty much hit the sack.
Thurs: I wake up and go to work from 11:30 - 5. The Man works as well, and I believe T and JB spent the day together. I think. I know she and the Man dropped me off at work, so I believe she relaxed around the house for a great portion of the day. Did you stay there for the day? I really have no idea. I do know all three of them came to pick me up at work, and we stayed at the bar for a few drinks until hitting up a restaurant, The Banana Tree, for dinner. I do know we were pretty buzzed, and JB got a little hammered (I do have pictures of that...good blackmail). We pretty much went home after dinner and passed out. Well JB passed out. We all 'went to sleep'.
Fri: I wake up and go to work, 10-5. The Man went to the hospital on this day to take care of his stubbed toe that was not behaving. The night we all had plans with out other buds to go out with T for a birthday dinner. I got a text in the middle of the day that the Man had stitches and other nonsense, so T took him home and was picking me up from work. T and JB showed up at five and we went home to shower and get ready. Don't ask me how I got out of work on Friday night, I have no clue. The Man stayed home - basically he stubbed this same toe a year ago, and it misbehaved. He had some stuff done to it back then, but it never really healed properly, so this time when he stubbed it the doc went in and took care of business. So he stayed home for the dinner and the rest of us went out. Ate. Drank. Drank some more. Hit up a bar. Drank some more. And home we went. To sleep.
Wed: I wake up, and go to work from 10 - 5, and then 5:30 - 10, so I am pretty much out of the game. The Man had some work to catch up on also. I believe JB got up, had coffee and relaxed before heading out with T to hang with him. T works for himself, so it was pretty easy for him to shift his schedule around. They went around the island, went up to Paradise Point, had some lunch. Etc. All of them came into my second restaurant for dinner and drinks, and that night I got home and we pretty much hit the sack.
Thurs: I wake up and go to work from 11:30 - 5. The Man works as well, and I believe T and JB spent the day together. I think. I know she and the Man dropped me off at work, so I believe she relaxed around the house for a great portion of the day. Did you stay there for the day? I really have no idea. I do know all three of them came to pick me up at work, and we stayed at the bar for a few drinks until hitting up a restaurant, The Banana Tree, for dinner. I do know we were pretty buzzed, and JB got a little hammered (I do have pictures of that...good blackmail). We pretty much went home after dinner and passed out. Well JB passed out. We all 'went to sleep'.
Fri: I wake up and go to work, 10-5. The Man went to the hospital on this day to take care of his stubbed toe that was not behaving. The night we all had plans with out other buds to go out with T for a birthday dinner. I got a text in the middle of the day that the Man had stitches and other nonsense, so T took him home and was picking me up from work. T and JB showed up at five and we went home to shower and get ready. Don't ask me how I got out of work on Friday night, I have no clue. The Man stayed home - basically he stubbed this same toe a year ago, and it misbehaved. He had some stuff done to it back then, but it never really healed properly, so this time when he stubbed it the doc went in and took care of business. So he stayed home for the dinner and the rest of us went out. Ate. Drank. Drank some more. Hit up a bar. Drank some more. And home we went. To sleep.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Sunday = Beach
Today's picture comes from Trunk Bay, on St. John.
That's me, in the hat, facing the water watching our bud, S, do his part to start the 'wave'. Unfortunately no one else joined in...although the family to the right enjoyed watching.
That's me, in the hat, facing the water watching our bud, S, do his part to start the 'wave'. Unfortunately no one else joined in...although the family to the right enjoyed watching.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Saturday Thoughts
- I love the Keyword Activity blog stat. Due to my various posts I am currently #1 in Google searches for 'bar like cheers' and 'cutest reptile'. I'm #8 for 'kill spiders by the pool'. I'm #9 for 'lizards in st. thomas'. Put that in your pipe.
- I'm PMS-ing this week, which explains why I've had a bottomless, insatiable appetite. Ugh. However I've had more water than beer, and should get points for that.
- Lipstick Jungle is my new favorite show. It's full of cliches and moments-you-can-see-coming, but still, it's juicy and gossipy - and I love it.
- I am never buying Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe. Not even for a poor man. She's in the Paris Hilton stage of her life...her movies bomb, no one cares about her singing - she's just a paparazzi target at the moment. And it's sad.
- The Man gets the stitches out of his toe on Tuesday. Woohoo!
- My parents/aunt & uncle are flying in Wed and Thurs for two weeks. Woohoo!
- Last night was my last waitressing shift after 5pm. Woohoo!
- I'm saying it now, Obama is going to be our next president. I don't see how it doesn't happen.
- Clinton shouldn't feel bad, she's been a trailblazer.
- It's ridiculous how much money J Lo is getting for pics of her new babies. What is the matter with this world? They're BABIES. Fuck.
- I'm PMS-ing this week, which explains why I've had a bottomless, insatiable appetite. Ugh. However I've had more water than beer, and should get points for that.
- Lipstick Jungle is my new favorite show. It's full of cliches and moments-you-can-see-coming, but still, it's juicy and gossipy - and I love it.
- I am never buying Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe. Not even for a poor man. She's in the Paris Hilton stage of her life...her movies bomb, no one cares about her singing - she's just a paparazzi target at the moment. And it's sad.
- The Man gets the stitches out of his toe on Tuesday. Woohoo!
- My parents/aunt & uncle are flying in Wed and Thurs for two weeks. Woohoo!
- Last night was my last waitressing shift after 5pm. Woohoo!
- I'm saying it now, Obama is going to be our next president. I don't see how it doesn't happen.
- Clinton shouldn't feel bad, she's been a trailblazer.
- It's ridiculous how much money J Lo is getting for pics of her new babies. What is the matter with this world? They're BABIES. Fuck.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Junebug's Visit - Day Six
Day Six was another wake-up-when-you-want day, and I chose this day (Junebug's last...ish) for a girl's day - shopping, lunch, etc.
Around 11 she and I headed down to Yacht Haven Grande for some lunch, we chose a restaurant called Fat Turtle. Yacht Grand opened last year, and there are a few restaurants in there, all of them have outside seating. We grabbed a table by the waterfront, ordered a couple of beers and salads, and hung out for an hour or so enjoying the view.
Yacht Haven is aptly named, it's a harbor for yachts over 65 feet in length, so it's pretty humbling to sit there and gaze at these giants. Here's a couple of shots taken from our table:
A shot of JB and I clinking our beer bottles, cruise ship in the background (docked at Havensight):
She picked up some stuff for people back home, we wandered around for awhile, and finally called it an afternoon around 4:30.
We got home, showed the Man our purchases, and hit the showers. T came over around 7 and we all piled in the truck for dinner at the Agave, one of our favorite restaurants. JB was taking us out to dinner as a thank you, so we chose our favorite place. I get one thing, and one thing only there, King Crab legs. SO GOOD. All four of us ended up ordering them, and a couple of hours later we were full, with buttery fingers and crab shells all over the table.
We drove home after T and JB shared a dessert, and crawled into bed. Thanks for dinner JB!! That rocked :)
Around 11 she and I headed down to Yacht Haven Grande for some lunch, we chose a restaurant called Fat Turtle. Yacht Grand opened last year, and there are a few restaurants in there, all of them have outside seating. We grabbed a table by the waterfront, ordered a couple of beers and salads, and hung out for an hour or so enjoying the view.
Yacht Haven is aptly named, it's a harbor for yachts over 65 feet in length, so it's pretty humbling to sit there and gaze at these giants. Here's a couple of shots taken from our table:
A shot of JB and I clinking our beer bottles, cruise ship in the background (docked at Havensight):
After a nice lunch, and a wecome re-introduction of healthy salad to our systems, we got in the truck and drove around to Havensight, right around the corner. Havensight is one of two cruise ship docks, and as a result it has a TON of places to shop for everything jewelry, t-shirts, souvenirs, etc. It has the same shops as Charlotte Amalie (waterfront) does, but it's easier to park and it's slightly nicer (in my opinion).
Here's JB wandering down one of the row of stores:
She picked up some stuff for people back home, we wandered around for awhile, and finally called it an afternoon around 4:30.
We got home, showed the Man our purchases, and hit the showers. T came over around 7 and we all piled in the truck for dinner at the Agave, one of our favorite restaurants. JB was taking us out to dinner as a thank you, so we chose our favorite place. I get one thing, and one thing only there, King Crab legs. SO GOOD. All four of us ended up ordering them, and a couple of hours later we were full, with buttery fingers and crab shells all over the table.
We drove home after T and JB shared a dessert, and crawled into bed. Thanks for dinner JB!! That rocked :)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Junebug's Visit - Day Five
JB's visit started with a bang, with two big trips to St. John and Jost. Once the Super Bowl party was over we all shifted into quieter (read: less drunk) activities.
Monday we woke up, tired and groggy from the night before. Needless to say the kitchen, living room and tiki bar were a MESS, but that's pretty normal after a party so I wasn't too bothered. After a long time drinking coffee I finally got to work on the mess, with JB helping once she learned the system, a perfected system after quite a few parties.
Once that was finished the Man, JB and I took ourselves to Magens Bay to recover on the beach. It was a beautiful day, very sunny and hot and a perfect place to sit and read, or chat, or nap - whatever. We got lunch, sat some more, JB and I went swimming, sat some more while we dried off. T came down to meet us around 3-ish, and we packed up and went home around 4.
T was taking JB out to dinner that night, at a great place called Havana Blue (it's in the Marriot) and the Man and I had big plans to Sit On The Couch and Watch TV.
And that's what happened. I have no pictures from this day, but I'm sure you can visualize.
On another note - anyone else get a glimpse of the eclipse last night? I kept popping my head out from work, and after I got out I raced home to grab my camera and laid down on the deck to try and take a pic...but it came out fuzzy. It was cool to think that everyone I know, no matter where they lived, could see the same moon - and I fully understand the universe is huge, and I know how it works and all, but when you think that your bud in San Fran is looking at the same sky you're seeing in St. Thomas it makes you feel pretty small.
Monday we woke up, tired and groggy from the night before. Needless to say the kitchen, living room and tiki bar were a MESS, but that's pretty normal after a party so I wasn't too bothered. After a long time drinking coffee I finally got to work on the mess, with JB helping once she learned the system, a perfected system after quite a few parties.
Once that was finished the Man, JB and I took ourselves to Magens Bay to recover on the beach. It was a beautiful day, very sunny and hot and a perfect place to sit and read, or chat, or nap - whatever. We got lunch, sat some more, JB and I went swimming, sat some more while we dried off. T came down to meet us around 3-ish, and we packed up and went home around 4.
T was taking JB out to dinner that night, at a great place called Havana Blue (it's in the Marriot) and the Man and I had big plans to Sit On The Couch and Watch TV.
And that's what happened. I have no pictures from this day, but I'm sure you can visualize.
On another note - anyone else get a glimpse of the eclipse last night? I kept popping my head out from work, and after I got out I raced home to grab my camera and laid down on the deck to try and take a pic...but it came out fuzzy. It was cool to think that everyone I know, no matter where they lived, could see the same moon - and I fully understand the universe is huge, and I know how it works and all, but when you think that your bud in San Fran is looking at the same sky you're seeing in St. Thomas it makes you feel pretty small.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Junebug's Visit - Day Four
After two early mornings JB's fourth day was finally a day to sleep in. Ahhh!
We woke up, had coffee, had breakfast, she helped me with the bird's brekkie (you cut a fine apple JB!) and basically we just relaxed into the morning.
Around 9:30 - 10am I started cooking; Day Four was, of course, Super Bowl Sunday sigh.
While I cooked JB and our bud T went out to do a few errands: JB had to return her Kmart purchases that she no longer needed, and they stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things.
When they got back home I put JB to work helping me cook, the Man and T made the sure the bar was set up and we hung out that way until the late afternoon. Our buds were set to arrive around four, which really meant 5:30 - gametime was 7pm our time. We all showered up, changed, grabbed some drinks and got ready for the big (disapppointing) game.
It's really hard to garner enthusiasm for this post.
I don't have a lot of shots from this day, mostly just our buds around the bar.
Everyone anticipating:
Finally it's time!
Hugh and Billy during the National Anthem:
Web and K:
JB and T (and K):
The party was fun, and rowdy. We chowed on lasagna and sauce during halftime and everyone entered food comas in the third quarter. The game, while thrilling, was nail-biting towards the end, and we all grew quiet in the last minutes. I remember standing next to Billy just staring at the TV, dumbfounded. And pissed.
After the game was over everyone went into 'let's help clean-up!' mode, but I urged everyone not to worry about it. The morning after parties I clean up no problem, but when you have four or five people piled in your kitchen all trying to 'clean' and 'organize' you usually just end up with a clusterfuck.
80% of our party were Pats fans, 2% were Giants fans (good friends, but Giants fans nonetheless) and the rest were just hanging out. The Pats fans pretty much took off shortly after the game ended, the Giants fans popped champagne and, as we tried to hold our tongues, attempted to calm the Man and I by telling us how lucky Boston has been in the past five years(I swear T, one more 'GEEEE-MEN!!!' out of you and you were going over the deck. I'm half kidding.) - and everyone else kind of shuffled away in sleepy food coma mode.
I'll take bets right now on everyone who thinks the Giants will make it to the playoffs. Anyone?
Crap. My bitter is showing.
I love T again, he's safe to sit on the deck. Until the Sox play the Indians.
But enough about sports, this is about JB (Lakers/Dodgers fan, in case you were wondering), and in her first five days it's safe to say she had a killer time between boat trips, partying and hanging with our crew :)
We woke up, had coffee, had breakfast, she helped me with the bird's brekkie (you cut a fine apple JB!) and basically we just relaxed into the morning.
Around 9:30 - 10am I started cooking; Day Four was, of course, Super Bowl Sunday sigh.
While I cooked JB and our bud T went out to do a few errands: JB had to return her Kmart purchases that she no longer needed, and they stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things.
When they got back home I put JB to work helping me cook, the Man and T made the sure the bar was set up and we hung out that way until the late afternoon. Our buds were set to arrive around four, which really meant 5:30 - gametime was 7pm our time. We all showered up, changed, grabbed some drinks and got ready for the big (disapppointing) game.
It's really hard to garner enthusiasm for this post.
I don't have a lot of shots from this day, mostly just our buds around the bar.
Everyone anticipating:
Finally it's time!
Hugh and Billy during the National Anthem:
Web and K:
JB and T (and K):
The party was fun, and rowdy. We chowed on lasagna and sauce during halftime and everyone entered food comas in the third quarter. The game, while thrilling, was nail-biting towards the end, and we all grew quiet in the last minutes. I remember standing next to Billy just staring at the TV, dumbfounded. And pissed.
After the game was over everyone went into 'let's help clean-up!' mode, but I urged everyone not to worry about it. The morning after parties I clean up no problem, but when you have four or five people piled in your kitchen all trying to 'clean' and 'organize' you usually just end up with a clusterfuck.
80% of our party were Pats fans, 2% were Giants fans (good friends, but Giants fans nonetheless) and the rest were just hanging out. The Pats fans pretty much took off shortly after the game ended, the Giants fans popped champagne and, as we tried to hold our tongues, attempted to calm the Man and I by telling us how lucky Boston has been in the past five years(I swear T, one more 'GEEEE-MEN!!!' out of you and you were going over the deck. I'm half kidding.) - and everyone else kind of shuffled away in sleepy food coma mode.
I'll take bets right now on everyone who thinks the Giants will make it to the playoffs. Anyone?
Crap. My bitter is showing.
I love T again, he's safe to sit on the deck. Until the Sox play the Indians.
But enough about sports, this is about JB (Lakers/Dodgers fan, in case you were wondering), and in her first five days it's safe to say she had a killer time between boat trips, partying and hanging with our crew :)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Survey
Yet another break from the Junebug recap to survey-up:
Two Names You Go By: NJaney (on here), my real one (out there)
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: White spaghetti-strap tank, black flip-flops
Two things you want (or have) in a relationship: Humor, trust
Two of Your Favorite Things to do: Go out with friends, read in a quiet room
Two things you did last night: Watched TV, folded laundry
Two people you Last Talked To: The Man, the girl at the deli who took my order
Two Things You're doing tomorrow: Waitressing a double shift, drinking a Heineken (inbetween the shifts)
Two Longest Car Rides: Drove with my family cross-country from CT to CA, a spring break trip CT to FL
Two Favorite Drinks: Beer, juice
Two Things About Me you may not have known: I took piano lessons for nine years, I was a TimeLife operator (for almost two months)
Two jobs I have had in my life: Shoe sales, receptionist
Two Movies I would watch over and over: GoodFellas, Star Wars (any of them)
Two of my favorite foods: Anything salty and cheesy
Two places I'd rather be right now: I'm here
Two Names You Go By: NJaney (on here), my real one (out there)
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: White spaghetti-strap tank, black flip-flops
Two things you want (or have) in a relationship: Humor, trust
Two of Your Favorite Things to do: Go out with friends, read in a quiet room
Two things you did last night: Watched TV, folded laundry
Two people you Last Talked To: The Man, the girl at the deli who took my order
Two Things You're doing tomorrow: Waitressing a double shift, drinking a Heineken (inbetween the shifts)
Two Longest Car Rides: Drove with my family cross-country from CT to CA, a spring break trip CT to FL
Two Favorite Drinks: Beer, juice
Two Things About Me you may not have known: I took piano lessons for nine years, I was a TimeLife operator (for almost two months)
Two jobs I have had in my life: Shoe sales, receptionist
Two Movies I would watch over and over: GoodFellas, Star Wars (any of them)
Two of my favorite foods: Anything salty and cheesy
Two places I'd rather be right now: I'm here
Monday, February 18, 2008
Junebug's Visit - Day Three
Day three was Saturday, and we were up early once again to catch a boat - this time it was a catamaran owned by our friend Joe. The Man bartered a cat trip for a website with Joe, so we called up eleven of our closest and all met up on the dock in Red Hook around 8:30am. Our destination? Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands (passport required).
Some background on Jost - pronounced Yohst - via Wikipedia (I'm just getting familiar with this island myself...): A few hundred people live on Jost Van Dyke. The island is accessible by private boats and ferry service from Tortola and Saint Thomas (via Saint John). The most frequent mooring destination is Great Harbour. The popular Foxy's Bar and the other bars in Great Harbour now host a modest crowd year-round and are filled with thousands of partiers on New Year's Eve (locally known as "Old Year's Night"). Located in nearby White Bay is the Soggy Dollar Bar, another famous beach bar on the island. The Soggy Dollar is reputedly the birthplace of the popular drink known as the Painkiller. The Soggy Dollar bar is appropriately named because of the difficulty of navigating one's boat over the coral reef to reach the beach where the bar is located. It is a common practice for boaters to anchor beyond the reef, swim to the beach, and pay for their drinks with wet money.
This was our second trip to Jost and JB's first. I was excited because we were going to Foxy's, a first for the Man and I. Foxy's is the destination of the infamous New Year's party; one of the biggest New Year's parties in the world. Needless to say we're dying to ring in a New Years there.
Anyways, with our passports in hand we all boarded our bud's boat and set sail. Here's a shot of JB and our bud T on the front of the cat as we left American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook (the same place the car ferry to St. John leaves):
The trip over there took a little over an hour, having had breakfast before we set sail we all started boozing pretty much as soon as we got on the boat. Joe was opting to sail over vs. motor over, so we enjoyed conversation and the view on the way. Here's a shot of our buds D&D taking a pic of me taking a pic of them (she and I waitress together):
Here's a shot of JB and I on the boat (I'm covering up her Lakers hat, don't ask me why I'm being a brat, I don't even follow basketball!):
Here's a shot of Jost as we sailed in. Joe moored and we took a couple of dingy trips to get on the island:
We snapped this while Joe's mate took our passports in to clear us:
A shot of the ferry schedule (in case you're in the area):
After being cleared we picked our bags up and trudged across the soft sand into Foxy's for lunch. Foxy's, which sits right on the beach, is a huge open-sided pavilion with tables and chairs everywhere. The bar area is way in the back, and around the corner from the bar are the restrooms. Here's a shot from the back of the restaurant (the bar's on the left):
And another shot from in front of the bar:
As you can see the ceiling is COVERED in t-shirts, hats, flip flops - all bearing signatures and comments from past-partiers. I wasn't prepared to nail anything up, but I can promise you when I return I will be securing some sort of Pats/Sox/Boston wear onto that ceiling. If I can find a Yankees shirt to cover up that would be a bonus ;)
We hung at Foxy's for lunch and drinks, we were probably there a little over an hour. It's a cool place, and I can only imagine how it must look on New Year's. I wish I could tell you what I had for lunch; I do know I had a couple of Painkillers with my meal. Here's a shot of myself, JB, our friend Leslie (above me) and Joe's girlfriend Ashley (in the middle). Ashley was our wedding photographer:
After lunch a few of us went into a little shop just outside the restaurant to grab some t-shirts, and then it was back on the boat to sail around to Soggy Dollar beach.
As we hadn't been in the water yet just after I snapped this pic of Soggy Dollar I put my Heineken down (way to mix the booze NJaney!) and jumped off of the boat into that luscious ocean water:
I think I swam to the beach with a couple of other people while the Man took my beach bag and camera over on the dingy with another group. I think. Painkillers and Heinekens are making the rest of this day a little foggy.
Soggy Dollar beach is a way chill area; there's a bar (of course), a little t-shirt shop (of course) and the people there are either tourists from the states on a boat excursion or a yacht, 'tourists' from another island on a private boat, or Jost locals. We grabbed more drinks, found some chairs, and settled in for a couple of hours of just limin' around.
A shot of my Painkiller on my chair arm looking into the water:
A shot of JB and T in the water:
Me buzzed and mugging for the camera:
Some dude playing the most addictive game ever:
I don't know the name of the game, but here's a brief description: you nail an upwards-facing hook onto a tree or wall. You then tie a wooden circle-shaped piece of wood to a long piece of string and secure it on a ceiling, or upper tree trunk. Standing about 10 feet back you gently swing the wooden ring and try to land it on the hook. The guy in the pic swung it as I took the shot, you can see the end of the string almost touching the tree on the left. It's totally addictive and we're trying to figure out a place on our deck to put it. So I can drive myself nuts at home as well as Soggy Dollar.
A shot of our group on the beach:
A shot of a local walking into the bar with two leashed goats (I'm guessing she's local, who brings goats on a boat?):
Last beach shot, these five white chairs that were so perfectly postitioned I took about 15 pictures of them:
We wrapped it up at Soggy Dollar late in the afternoon and dingied back to the boat. As we sailed around to a restaurant for dinner (don't ask me where we went...no clue) we were a rowdy drunk crew in the boat singing along to the radio and taking stupid pictures. Here's a shot of JB and I:
...and another one (I so pretty!):
I did manage a sunset shot:
Some background on Jost - pronounced Yohst - via Wikipedia (I'm just getting familiar with this island myself...): A few hundred people live on Jost Van Dyke. The island is accessible by private boats and ferry service from Tortola and Saint Thomas (via Saint John). The most frequent mooring destination is Great Harbour. The popular Foxy's Bar and the other bars in Great Harbour now host a modest crowd year-round and are filled with thousands of partiers on New Year's Eve (locally known as "Old Year's Night"). Located in nearby White Bay is the Soggy Dollar Bar, another famous beach bar on the island. The Soggy Dollar is reputedly the birthplace of the popular drink known as the Painkiller. The Soggy Dollar bar is appropriately named because of the difficulty of navigating one's boat over the coral reef to reach the beach where the bar is located. It is a common practice for boaters to anchor beyond the reef, swim to the beach, and pay for their drinks with wet money.
This was our second trip to Jost and JB's first. I was excited because we were going to Foxy's, a first for the Man and I. Foxy's is the destination of the infamous New Year's party; one of the biggest New Year's parties in the world. Needless to say we're dying to ring in a New Years there.
Anyways, with our passports in hand we all boarded our bud's boat and set sail. Here's a shot of JB and our bud T on the front of the cat as we left American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook (the same place the car ferry to St. John leaves):
The trip over there took a little over an hour, having had breakfast before we set sail we all started boozing pretty much as soon as we got on the boat. Joe was opting to sail over vs. motor over, so we enjoyed conversation and the view on the way. Here's a shot of our buds D&D taking a pic of me taking a pic of them (she and I waitress together):
Here's a shot of JB and I on the boat (I'm covering up her Lakers hat, don't ask me why I'm being a brat, I don't even follow basketball!):
Here's a shot of Jost as we sailed in. Joe moored and we took a couple of dingy trips to get on the island:
We snapped this while Joe's mate took our passports in to clear us:
A shot of the ferry schedule (in case you're in the area):
After being cleared we picked our bags up and trudged across the soft sand into Foxy's for lunch. Foxy's, which sits right on the beach, is a huge open-sided pavilion with tables and chairs everywhere. The bar area is way in the back, and around the corner from the bar are the restrooms. Here's a shot from the back of the restaurant (the bar's on the left):
The bar menu:
And another shot from in front of the bar:
As you can see the ceiling is COVERED in t-shirts, hats, flip flops - all bearing signatures and comments from past-partiers. I wasn't prepared to nail anything up, but I can promise you when I return I will be securing some sort of Pats/Sox/Boston wear onto that ceiling. If I can find a Yankees shirt to cover up that would be a bonus ;)
We hung at Foxy's for lunch and drinks, we were probably there a little over an hour. It's a cool place, and I can only imagine how it must look on New Year's. I wish I could tell you what I had for lunch; I do know I had a couple of Painkillers with my meal. Here's a shot of myself, JB, our friend Leslie (above me) and Joe's girlfriend Ashley (in the middle). Ashley was our wedding photographer:
After lunch a few of us went into a little shop just outside the restaurant to grab some t-shirts, and then it was back on the boat to sail around to Soggy Dollar beach.
As we hadn't been in the water yet just after I snapped this pic of Soggy Dollar I put my Heineken down (way to mix the booze NJaney!) and jumped off of the boat into that luscious ocean water:
I think I swam to the beach with a couple of other people while the Man took my beach bag and camera over on the dingy with another group. I think. Painkillers and Heinekens are making the rest of this day a little foggy.
Soggy Dollar beach is a way chill area; there's a bar (of course), a little t-shirt shop (of course) and the people there are either tourists from the states on a boat excursion or a yacht, 'tourists' from another island on a private boat, or Jost locals. We grabbed more drinks, found some chairs, and settled in for a couple of hours of just limin' around.
A shot of my Painkiller on my chair arm looking into the water:
A shot of JB and T in the water:
Me buzzed and mugging for the camera:
Some dude playing the most addictive game ever:
I don't know the name of the game, but here's a brief description: you nail an upwards-facing hook onto a tree or wall. You then tie a wooden circle-shaped piece of wood to a long piece of string and secure it on a ceiling, or upper tree trunk. Standing about 10 feet back you gently swing the wooden ring and try to land it on the hook. The guy in the pic swung it as I took the shot, you can see the end of the string almost touching the tree on the left. It's totally addictive and we're trying to figure out a place on our deck to put it. So I can drive myself nuts at home as well as Soggy Dollar.
A shot of our group on the beach:
A shot of a local walking into the bar with two leashed goats (I'm guessing she's local, who brings goats on a boat?):Last beach shot, these five white chairs that were so perfectly postitioned I took about 15 pictures of them:
We wrapped it up at Soggy Dollar late in the afternoon and dingied back to the boat. As we sailed around to a restaurant for dinner (don't ask me where we went...no clue) we were a rowdy drunk crew in the boat singing along to the radio and taking stupid pictures. Here's a shot of JB and I:
...and another one (I so pretty!):
I did manage a sunset shot:
We got to the restaurant and all piled around a table. The buzz was starting to wear off and most of us were drinking water. I think I had some sort of pasta dish, a bunch of people had lobster. It was tasty, but we were weary and ready to start on our way home.
This is the last shot on my camera from that day; me quietly waiting for my meal:
When we got on the boat after dinner we all found a spot and shut our eyes. Joe was sailing back and it was going to be a couple of hours. I believe it started raining about 20 minutes into the trip, and although I was laying on an uncovered part of the boat I pulled my towel around my shoulders and pretended not to feel the raindrops until our pal Billy (I think it was him) came over, woke me up and told me to go inside where it was dry. Which I did. There was a half-circle couch wrapped around a coffee table, and nine of us were passed out around it, a jumble of legs, arms and bodies. We all slept the whole trip home, and when we got back to the dock we piled out of the boat, mumbled 'Thanks' and 'Goodbye' to each other, went home and went to bed.
An awesome day for sure. I can't wait to go back.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sunday = Beach
Hello Sunday!
It's noon my time, and usually we are at the beach by now. We took a break last Sunday as Junebug left and we needed to recharge after her fun-filled visit. We were planning to go today, but we like our beach days to be sunny, like this:
But unfortunately this is the weather today:
So we ain't going.
Normally on the island it can be rainy on one side, and clear sun on the other...but we live near Magen's Bay, so we know it's a crappy day to be over there. Our buds usually get there early, and we texted them a little bit ago to see how warm it was, and they answered back 'We're huddled under umbrellas'.
Not fun.
Instead I'll get some things done around here: start a book (True Evil by Greg Iles), fill two photo albums, clean the bird cages, advance my band in Guitar Hero and maybe some laundry. I might even work out. So there.
However I'll post a nice beach picture for you, because that's what I do on Sunday. Enjoy our tootsies, on Magen's Bay, a month ago:
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Saturday Thoughts
* Like her or not you have to admit it's nice to see Britney get back on track with her family's help.
* I've been watching Roger Clemen's downfall with a smirk (fully aware of my Patriots woes, don't think I'm a hypocrite), but after watching him squirm and get shot down by the judge on ESPN I felt a little bad for him. I can't imagine what it's like for such a public person, once worshipped, to go down in flames in front of the whole world. How do you play ball with your kids, or have coffee with your wife with all of that pressure on your shoulders? God.
* Anyone out there still watching Lost? Are we loving the new episodes?
* I'm drawing a blank at the moment.
* I'm so glad not to be waitressing today.
* I'm a little hungover, and gray bird is calling for breakfast right now Guess What! Breakfast!! Good MORNing! Good MORNING!! BREAKFAST!! I'm going to go shove an apple in his beak (with love of course...)
* I've been watching Roger Clemen's downfall with a smirk (fully aware of my Patriots woes, don't think I'm a hypocrite), but after watching him squirm and get shot down by the judge on ESPN I felt a little bad for him. I can't imagine what it's like for such a public person, once worshipped, to go down in flames in front of the whole world. How do you play ball with your kids, or have coffee with your wife with all of that pressure on your shoulders? God.
* Anyone out there still watching Lost? Are we loving the new episodes?
* I'm drawing a blank at the moment.
* I'm so glad not to be waitressing today.
* I'm a little hungover, and gray bird is calling for breakfast right now Guess What! Breakfast!! Good MORNing! Good MORNING!! BREAKFAST!! I'm going to go shove an apple in his beak (with love of course...)
Friday, February 15, 2008
I
am tired.
I *almost* miss my office job where I could sit most of the day and surf the 'net. I've waitressed 26 hours so far this week, and I have another 12 today; my second double of the week.
Waitressing full-time down here was not the plan, however I'm still pulling 2 night shifts at the pizza joint; that ends on 2/27. Which can't get here fast enough. After that I'll be down to 4 day shifts, M-F, ending at 5.
The good news is my day shift today should be pretty slow, I need to remember my Soduko book.
Enjoy your Friday!
I *almost* miss my office job where I could sit most of the day and surf the 'net. I've waitressed 26 hours so far this week, and I have another 12 today; my second double of the week.
Waitressing full-time down here was not the plan, however I'm still pulling 2 night shifts at the pizza joint; that ends on 2/27. Which can't get here fast enough. After that I'll be down to 4 day shifts, M-F, ending at 5.
The good news is my day shift today should be pretty slow, I need to remember my Soduko book.
Enjoy your Friday!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day!
I'm leaving the Junebug Recap for today for a dose of 'island'.
In case you happen to be in the area there are five bar/restaurants in the Havensight area that are getting together tomorrow night for an Anti-Valentine's Day event.
See the invite below:
As I understand it you need to get your hands on one of the passes above, and as you visit the bars you get that bar's stamp on the back...:
In case you happen to be in the area there are five bar/restaurants in the Havensight area that are getting together tomorrow night for an Anti-Valentine's Day event.
See the invite below:
As I understand it you need to get your hands on one of the passes above, and as you visit the bars you get that bar's stamp on the back...:
...and you get a free T-shirt. Which is cool. People like free shirts.
But all I keep imagining is drunk people waving their passes in some bartender's face tomorrow late-night screaming "Wherresss miiii staaaammppppsss!!! *hiccup* Waaant mmyyy shiirt!!!!!"
Good luck to those bartenders.
Anyways, the Man and I have no plans today. I'm working until 5, then we'll probably watch TV and chill out. This is our sixth Valentine's Day together, and usually we hit up a cool restaurant for dinner, but this year we're hanging low. When I came home last night I printed out six of our pictures, wrote a few things on them and planted them where the Man would find them this morning: on his laptop keyboard, by the coffee mugs, in the egg container, by his vitamins, on top of the silverware and on top of the main power component to our TV/stereo. I get a kick out of making them and watching him find them. He's a big cutie.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY BLOGGER PEEPS!!
SMOOCHES
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Junebug's Visit - Day Two
There's a ton of things that the Man and I love about St. Thomas; one of those things is our close proximity to St. John. It's the smallest of the Virgin Islands, and the most pristine by far. 80% of it is protected conservation land and it's a popular destinations for backpackers and hikers who enjoy one of the handful of camp-grounds on the island.
Note: The Man and I have never hiked on this island, so I have no information on that. I can, however, tell you everything you need to know about sitting on one of the beaches and drinking yourself silly.
Whenever we have guests stay with us we always incorporate a St. John day into their stay, for JB that day was her second day. To get to St. John you can take the car-ferry (out of Red Hook) or the people-ferry (downtown Charlotte). We always bring our truck over, and we like to catch an early ferry, like 9 or 9:30, so St. John day is an early morning, we leave the house around 8.
Here's a shot from the deck of the ferry:
You pull into the parking area, turn your car around and back onto the boat. It's somewhere between $40-50 for a roundtrip, there are four car ferries that go back an forth all day (two separate companies). One ferry takes about 30 mins to get to STJ, the other takes 45. If you choose to build a house on St. John this is how all of the bits and pieces make it over there. Ferry trip by ferry trip. Blows my mind how long that would take.
Once we get to St. John we drive into their (very small) downtown area for breakfst. Here is where we always park:
It's somewhere between $5-10 depending on how long you're there. There is street parking available, but it's a pain to hunt down and we're usually starving by the time we get there. There are many great places to eat on STJ, but we always have breakfast at JJ's Texas Cafe:
I always get the basic breakfast: two eggs, toast, hash browns and a sausage patty for $8.75. Add coffee and juice and I'm good to go. SO good. Plus a great place to sit and watch the small bustle of the area.
Once we're done with breakfast we do one of two things - depending on our guests. STJ has some great shops right around JJ's, and it's fun to browse for an hour or so, or we jump back in the truck and hit the beach. Here's a shot of me...:
...taking a shot of an alleyway surrounded by shops:
JB decided against shopping, so we jetted straight off to the beach. STJ is easy to get around, there's basically two main roads going up either side of the island. Stay on it long enough and I believe you circle right around to where you started (don't quote me on that). One the way to our first beach we pulled off to grab some pictures. Here's JB capturing the beauty:
There's a TON of beaches on STJ, but we like to hit these three: Hawksnest, Cinnamon and Trunk Bay. On this day we decided to bomb right out to Trunk, we had been a couple days before JB got there and the surf was leaving little beach area on the other two.
Here's a shot I took of Trunk Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see:
Once we got to Trunk we parked, paid to get in (it's the only beach that charges an entry fee: $4) and set up our chairs. The weather was NOT cooperating, and we sat and scowled at the sky. Here's a shot of me, wrapped up (it was cold) and wishing for the sun to appear:
There was a brief rain shower around noon, and the sun was still hiding. So we did what anyone would do, popped open the cooler and started drinking. We watched a group of 50 people appear from a cruise ship excursion and cracked up as they started wrestling with their snorkel gear. Soon enough they were in the water and the three of us continued our defiant wait for the sun.
And you know what? It paid off; around 1:30 the sun FINALLY came out to play, and the Man and I were relieved that JB would actually get to see how beautiful STJ could be. We stripped down to our suits, grabbed our sippy cups and floaty noodles and jumped in the surf. The water was turquoise and beautiful and we bobbed for a good hour just soaking in the awesomeness.
Here's a shot of JB and me:
We usually grab a 5:30-ish ferry back to St. Thomas (they stop running at 6), and you're always starving around 4, so at 3:30 we packed up our beach gear and took JB to our other favorite place on STJ, Skinny Legs.
Skinny Legs is a bar/restaurant owned by a couple of Boston guys (one who passed away a couple of years ago). It's a local place, and we heard about it at a gift shop sometime last year. It's becoming more well-known though. It's open-sided and surrounded by three or four little gift shops. They serve the best burger on the island, and we LOVE it. Of course JB is a vegetarian, and I forgot what she ate, but I do know she enjoyed going there:
Here's a shot of my yummy burger and pineapple Pain Killer:
We say it's the best burger on the island, but the truth is anything would taste awesome after a day of drinking on the beach. But it is a kickass burger.
Here's a row of t-shirts from one of the shops:
Here's JB and I sticking our heads through the sign:
After eating we drove back to the ferry, and enjoyed the sunset ride back to St. Thomas:
Here's a shot of JB and our bud chatting on the way home:
After we got back to STT we decided to grab some food and more drink at Duffy's Love Shack (which is a entirely other post). Suffice it to say we made JB and our bud order the infamous Shark Tank drink which comes with a double shot of 151 Cruzan Dark rum:
Note: The Man and I have never hiked on this island, so I have no information on that. I can, however, tell you everything you need to know about sitting on one of the beaches and drinking yourself silly.
Whenever we have guests stay with us we always incorporate a St. John day into their stay, for JB that day was her second day. To get to St. John you can take the car-ferry (out of Red Hook) or the people-ferry (downtown Charlotte). We always bring our truck over, and we like to catch an early ferry, like 9 or 9:30, so St. John day is an early morning, we leave the house around 8.
Here's a shot from the deck of the ferry:
You pull into the parking area, turn your car around and back onto the boat. It's somewhere between $40-50 for a roundtrip, there are four car ferries that go back an forth all day (two separate companies). One ferry takes about 30 mins to get to STJ, the other takes 45. If you choose to build a house on St. John this is how all of the bits and pieces make it over there. Ferry trip by ferry trip. Blows my mind how long that would take.
Once we get to St. John we drive into their (very small) downtown area for breakfst. Here is where we always park:
It's somewhere between $5-10 depending on how long you're there. There is street parking available, but it's a pain to hunt down and we're usually starving by the time we get there. There are many great places to eat on STJ, but we always have breakfast at JJ's Texas Cafe:
I always get the basic breakfast: two eggs, toast, hash browns and a sausage patty for $8.75. Add coffee and juice and I'm good to go. SO good. Plus a great place to sit and watch the small bustle of the area.
Once we're done with breakfast we do one of two things - depending on our guests. STJ has some great shops right around JJ's, and it's fun to browse for an hour or so, or we jump back in the truck and hit the beach. Here's a shot of me...:
...taking a shot of an alleyway surrounded by shops:
JB decided against shopping, so we jetted straight off to the beach. STJ is easy to get around, there's basically two main roads going up either side of the island. Stay on it long enough and I believe you circle right around to where you started (don't quote me on that). One the way to our first beach we pulled off to grab some pictures. Here's JB capturing the beauty:
There's a TON of beaches on STJ, but we like to hit these three: Hawksnest, Cinnamon and Trunk Bay. On this day we decided to bomb right out to Trunk, we had been a couple days before JB got there and the surf was leaving little beach area on the other two.
Here's a shot I took of Trunk Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see:
Once we got to Trunk we parked, paid to get in (it's the only beach that charges an entry fee: $4) and set up our chairs. The weather was NOT cooperating, and we sat and scowled at the sky. Here's a shot of me, wrapped up (it was cold) and wishing for the sun to appear:
There was a brief rain shower around noon, and the sun was still hiding. So we did what anyone would do, popped open the cooler and started drinking. We watched a group of 50 people appear from a cruise ship excursion and cracked up as they started wrestling with their snorkel gear. Soon enough they were in the water and the three of us continued our defiant wait for the sun.
And you know what? It paid off; around 1:30 the sun FINALLY came out to play, and the Man and I were relieved that JB would actually get to see how beautiful STJ could be. We stripped down to our suits, grabbed our sippy cups and floaty noodles and jumped in the surf. The water was turquoise and beautiful and we bobbed for a good hour just soaking in the awesomeness.
Here's a shot of JB and me:
We usually grab a 5:30-ish ferry back to St. Thomas (they stop running at 6), and you're always starving around 4, so at 3:30 we packed up our beach gear and took JB to our other favorite place on STJ, Skinny Legs.
Skinny Legs is a bar/restaurant owned by a couple of Boston guys (one who passed away a couple of years ago). It's a local place, and we heard about it at a gift shop sometime last year. It's becoming more well-known though. It's open-sided and surrounded by three or four little gift shops. They serve the best burger on the island, and we LOVE it. Of course JB is a vegetarian, and I forgot what she ate, but I do know she enjoyed going there:
Here's a shot of my yummy burger and pineapple Pain Killer:
We say it's the best burger on the island, but the truth is anything would taste awesome after a day of drinking on the beach. But it is a kickass burger.
Here's a row of t-shirts from one of the shops:
Here's JB and I sticking our heads through the sign:
After eating we drove back to the ferry, and enjoyed the sunset ride back to St. Thomas:
Here's a shot of JB and our bud chatting on the way home:
After we got back to STT we decided to grab some food and more drink at Duffy's Love Shack (which is a entirely other post). Suffice it to say we made JB and our bud order the infamous Shark Tank drink which comes with a double shot of 151 Cruzan Dark rum:
When you order a specialty drink from Duffy's you get a sticker applied to you and you get lei'd, which JB is showing off in the above picture.
We made her shoot the shark (which we saved to send home to our nephew...)...:
...and then we tucked into our food and booze.
And that ends the pictures for Day Two. After Duffy's we drove home and pretty much passed out. Day Three also had an early rise, and it was going to be a wicked cool day.
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