Warning, this is a loooong trip report. I hope you enjoy it!

Day 1 – Sunday July 24th: So, this trip I decided to injure myself before heading out on vacation by twisting my knee/leg while filling an auxiliary kittie water bowl. It involved some slipping, falling, etc.,…(oh, and maybe some wine). Woke up at 3:00 a.m. in anticipation of the 5:00 alarm and went “uh oh”. I could walk but it was somewhat painful. After trying to get a little more sleep we both got up before the alarm, did the last minute stuff while waiting for the taxi. I found an Ace bandage to wrap around my leg and we were off. I use automatic cat feeders and a daily visit by the pet sitter when we’re gone (and others checking on them too) but it was almost heartbreaking to see them looking at me like “where are you going mommy? Where’s my food?”

Even before the stupid leg injury I had decided to use miles to upgrade us to first/business class on our flights to St. Thomas. I had received confirmation on the Tampa – Miami leg, but none on the Miami – St. Thomas leg, the one that really matters. So at the airport we check right in with priority/first class agent and get our confirmation. Yippie! Off through security without any problems and get a little breakfast before the flight. Those little airplane bottles of Grey Goose in the carry-on came in handy there. They also came in handy on the Miami – St. Thomas flight because they only served OJ or water pre-flight in business class. We had an OK breakfast on that flight, an omelet and fruit and your choice of biscuit or bagel. OMG, that was one of the best biscuits I have ever had!

No problems in St. Thomas, bags off the plane quickly (love the “priority tags” on them), then the squishy taxi ride to the ferry dock. I sat next to a real nice young couple on their first trip to the BVI, they were staying at Bitter End Yacht Club and had a few questions about the BVI in general. I hope they enjoyed themselves!

As for the leg, it held up all day but I was moving pretty slow. Jack complained some about having to carry both carry-ons, especially since mine had the laptop in it, but he survived. The plane from Miami to St. Thomas involved boarding and de-boarding by stairs (old 757) so that was fun, and the ferry guys were very nice about helping the old gimpy woman off and on the ferry.

The ferry ride was uneventful; lots of other newbies who I also hope had a great stay. Before leaving the ferry dock I called Jerry’s about the car I had reserved and what ferry we were on, and it is a good thing I did because although I couldn’t hear what he was saying at the time, he said “did you call and reserve a car? I don’t see you on the list?” Of course good ole Jerry was there to meet us and fixed us up with our usual Jeep Liberty even though he was all out of vehicles. I think the one we got (the silver one) was being used by one of his guys and they had to clean it up and put a little petrol in it. Thanks, Jerry, you are the best!

So we’re off to Brewer’s Bay with a stop at Bobby’s in Cane Garden Bay for a few provisions. Jack is of the opinion that the AC in the Jeep wasn’t working good enough and called over to Jerry’s to see if he had one with a better AC (it takes my husband a few days to chill…). They said no, but if he brought it by the next day they would check it out and see if it needed some “juice”. The “next day” he decided to wait another day and then that day came and went and he decided to put up with it. I love what they told him: “just put the windows down, mon, you will get de breeze”.

We got to the villa in Brewer’s Bay around 4:00 p.m. and unpacked a few things and then headed down to the beach. Ah, it was so good to be “home” and we were so glad to see that the Bay was nice and clean except in one spot where the ghut comes out. It was Sunday and we were pretty much the only non-locals there. Made the best ever “BLTA” sandwiches (BLT plus avocado) for dinner. That M&M Bakery 8-grain bread is really good. After a looooong day we called it an early night.

Day 2 – Monday, July 25th: I finally started reading the book The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof (her “Adventures in Caribbean Cooking, Eating, and Island Life”) and in chapter 3 about the Dominican Republic she mentions trying the popular Dominican orange drink called morir soñando, which translates to “to die dreaming”. She goes on to say that she suspects when her time comes she won’t die dreaming of an orange drink but it will include “snapshots” of their months in the Dominican Republic. Well, I now know that mine will include a snapshot of that first glimpse of Brewer’s Bay upon waking up that first real day of vacation, from bed no less! Just breathtakingly beautiful.



We get up rather slowly, enjoying sleeping in, and then make some coffee and breakfast. Luckily, a previous guest had left some coffee in the freezer but we had to drink it sans Bailey’s since we hadn’t been to the store yet.

Jack is still not chillin’ about the Jeep and calls Jerry’s again with a plan that we would go there the next day and have them take us over to Soper’s while they “worked on it” (so glad that that plan never panned out…). He then makes his daily call to his business back home to make sure all the children are playing nice (not..) and that work is actually getting done. For some reason this always gets on my nerves (he always talks real loud, for one thing, like they can’t hear him all the way from Florida if he doesn’t) but I put up with it. We then head into town for provisioning, which starts at the Tico Cash ‘N Carry, my favorite store on the island (hehe). We get enough wine, rum, etc. for a week and check with them as to their hours the following week during Festival. Make a note to make sure we go the next Saturday, which we do.

Second stop is Riteway and we got about a week’s worth of food there, including a $14.00 gallon of ice cream! What the heck, you only live once.. We got a case of Bud Lights at Tico but we wanted Caribs too, but it was noon and we really really didn’t want to go to Bobby’s in the thick of things, so Jack thought he might find some at what used to be the One Stop (now “A Value Store” or something like that) on the way back up the hill. Nope, none to be had except a few cans, that won’t do. So he decides we need to go back and go to Bobby’s, but then gets the idea that he might find some across the street at the little store next to the laundromat and Guns and Chickens. Oh, they had them alright, $2.00 each and not very fresh. Oh well, it saved us a trip to Bobby’s that day and more time to get beach time in. Went down to Nicole’s for our first “cheeseburgers in paradise” and they were delicious as always. Good to see Nicole and Gina again. Went for a lovely swim (well, we call it swimming but it’s really just dangling for hours from our blow-up “Doodles”. We did some BBQ chicken on the grill for dinner and spent hours stargazing and reminding each other how much we love this place.

Day 3 – Tuesday, July 26th. Well, he is finally over the rental car’s issues and we head down to Smuggler’s after I check on the kitties via e-mail with the pet sitter (they are fine, yay!). It was raining on the way there and off and on while we were there. Got there about 11:30 and there weren’t very many people there at all, but that would soon change. First a large power boat, “Magic Moments”, shows up and the six passengers swim to shore. (I would later find out that this is a pricey excursion from a cruise ship in St. Thomas). The “beautiful people” head to Stephen’s bar just as I was walking up there (still kinda gimpy..) and they got there before me. They start asking all kinds of questions like “what is a Bushwacker?”. They finally let me get our Caribs while they decide on Bushwackers or Pink Bikinis…I think Pink Bikinis won out because at least one of them was wearing one. They also asked me about Painkillers as they were headed to “Josht” next.

The next boat to come screaming in is a large dinghy with about 4 young folks in it who proceed to shore with a huge cooler. There is some sort of table over by where the old beach bar is and they commence setting up their party area. The dinghy driver takes off in the direction of Soper’s and soon thereafter another larger one (I guess you would call it a RIB, right?) shows up packed with more kids (I would say college age) and they all grab beers or drinks and commence to party down. There were probably 15 – 20 of them, and I think they may have been from the 2 SeaTrek boats that we had seen in Brewer’s Bay the day before. I asked Stephen if that was another “bar” down there, and he said no, just a party area. We still enjoyed the beautiful water and the people watching was primo, but it’s just not like it used to be…

After reading Malcolm’s posts on TTOL about the great Indian food at Sky we decided to go there for dinner. I also suspected we might see him and Candace there as that seems to be his Tuesday “habit” these days. Yup, as were up on the deck taking pictures here comes da Ting with Malcolm in it, followed by Candace and two other ladies on foot. Guess the Thing can’t make it up the steep driveway with that many people in it.

Chatted with Malcolm and Candace a bit and enjoyed a great dinner. We had sushi for appetizers that Candace recommended and I had to have Malcolm’s favorite, of course, the Chicken Vindaloo. Jack had the Shrimp Saagwala (it has spinach and a curry sauce) which he is still raving about to this day.

Day 4 – Wednesday, July 27th. Jack says “what do you want to do today?” to which I replied “nothing”, which is basically what we did. A couple of rides down to the beach to “dangle” and cooked up some steaks on the grill for dinner.

Day 5 – Thursday, July 28th. Another lazy day of eating, drinking and limin’ in the Bay. Later that afternoon Landcrab gives me a shoutout on Facebook that we should hit Quito’s tonight to see him play as it may be our only chance since next week is Festival week. So we have to cramp our style a bit so we can make it out and about. Glad we did, we had a fun night hanging with Landcrab and Wanda and their entourage. Malcolm was there too, of course. We sat at the bar and watched everyone else dance the night away… and of course Quito was awesome. I didn’t do a very good job of taking pictures that night, left stupid camera setting on “Sunset”…

Day 6 – Friday, July 29th. Not sure what we did this day, probably the usual – eat, sleep, drink, go for a swim, drink some more, repeat…. This is when we first started to worry about the tropical storm possibly headed our way (Emily).

Day 7 – Saturday, July 30th. We had planned on going into Road Town for more provisions anyways, but it had a double purpose with the possibility of a tropical storm or hurricane. We stocked up on extra wine and rum at Tico Cash ‘N Carry and then hit Riteway for food and other supplies. I was expecting it to be a madhouse with people stocking up for the storm, but it was just a normal Saturday shopping day. We get back to the villa, get all the stuff put away, and were sweating like crazy. Make a quick lunch and then head down to the beach for a swim. We have to be on good behavior again this afternoon because later we are going to Landcrab and Wanda’s house for a party.

The party is a costume party and the theme this year was “Nature’s Little Secrets – things you would see in and around the BVI”. I had advance notice of the theme so was able to come up with goofy hats and T-shirts for Jack and I (I was a landcrab and he was a cheeseburger in paradise – no pictures of us in the hats that I know of, but I’ll take a picture of the hats and put them in the album). This was a really great party, lots of great food and drink, and a special appearance by Mr. Elmore Stoutt, a retired high school principal and lead singer of the “Sparkplugs” back in the day. He regaled the crowd with songs and stories of the history of the islands, especially Tortola, accompanied on the guitar by his son (?) I believe. It was a real treat! Also enjoyed seeing Gary and Terry (calsail) again and their motley crew. They were all dressed as flamingos, it was great. Candace was a can of Off bug spray and Mal was a BVI lifeguard (not too much creativity there, just borrow a lifeguard’s shirt… just kidding, I never would have thought of it!). Landcrab and Wanda and their son and guests were roosters (homemade rooster “combs” tied on their heads). Landcrab had been complaining on Facebook about “Bruce Brewster” the rooster who would sit in a tree right outside of their bedroom and do the rooster thing every morning way too early. Of course Landcrab sang a few songs too. Sadly, we had to leave relatively early while one of us (not me!) could still drive to the other side of Brewer’s Bay.

Day 8 – Sunday, July 31st. We had to be on good behavior most of the day yet again because we had plans to go to The Elm in Cane Garden Bay for dinner and the music. This is a “must do” for us every trip, as we love the BBQ and the entertainment. When we went in January with my husband’s brother and family at least one of them claimed it was their favorite meal of the whole trip (my nephew’s fiancé also commented that she was pretty sure they are goat ribs and not pork – the nephew is a vet and she’s a nurse so it’s probably true, which is fine with me, I love me some goat meat!).



Well, it was definitely an “epic” evening, with the Elmtones playing, accompanied by David Thrasher (the artist who used to have the studio behind Coco Plums), Landcrab singing, and Robert on sax. They expanded Malcolm’s usual table to accommodate him and Candace, Mike and Jean (Jeannius), Landcrab and entourage, and Gary and Terry and crew. Dat was one big table! We sat right behind them at our own table. It was packed and there was lots of dancing and partying. I have a video of Landcrab singing Inky Dinky Donkey but so far I have not been able to upload it. Issues with how I recorded it on my Lumix, I guess…maybe some day.

A rainy ride back to Brewer’s Bay and a wonderful night’s sleep.

Day 9 – Monday, August 1st. I check online for the latest on the storm and Jack makes his call to the shop to make sure everything is still there (it is…) and then he decides we should go into Cane Garden Bay for lunch. He loves fish sandwiches and wanted one from Big Bamboo. I tried to talk him into going to Myett’s instead but no luck. I think next time he will listen to me… The Bushwackers were good but I am not a fan of their food anymore. The service was good, though, so at least they had that going for them. 

I wanted to go into town and hookup with everyone for the parade, but I could tell Jack was really not into it (too many questions – when? where? how?) so we skipped it yet another year. I heard from several sources that it was one of the best parades ever (I wish I could write “parade” the way Mic at Soggy Dollar Bar says it – puh-rod, maybe?) so we missed out. Next year!

Took a little walk down the beach, took a few pictures, and wanted to check out the Glass Blowing Studio but it was closed. Went back to Brewer’s, had a nice swim, and cooked dinner at the villa. Just another day in Paradise.

Day 10 – Tuesday, August 2nd. We are very relieved that TS Emily is going to pass south of us. Wake up to rainy weather, but rainy weather brings rainbows! Saw one of those “horizontal” or “ground” rainbows across the way at Jost but didn’t do a very good job of capturing it with my camera. We decide this would be a good day for shopping. Couldn’t decide which direction to head in, but I had mentioned I wanted something at Aragorn’s so we decide to start there.

On the way:



Well, wouldn’t you know it, the only time in all these years Aragorn’s is closed (I guess because of the weather and Festival). My purchase of a piece of large iron artwork for the house will have to wait. So then we set out in search of food. Cyber Café was open but we wanted to try something else, so on the road again we go. Pusser’s/Charlie T’s – closed. Boathouse at Manuel Reef- closed. Peg Leg’s at Nanny Key – closed. It is now down to Jolly Roger or Pusser’s at Soper’s Hole and we are pretty sure Pusser’s will be open so that’s where we go. We always enjoy Bella’s drinks and it was nice sitting at the bar watching them bring a couple of the Voyage boats back to the marina. Our lunch was good and we ran into Gary and Terry there too. Chatted with them for a bit, did a little shopping, and headed back to Brewer’s. I think this is the only day we did not go for a swim down at the beach, the weather was just too crappy. We did enjoy just reading and relaxing on the deck at the villa, and cooked another yummy steak dinner. This was right after I posted my “No Emily and a Decent Sunset” post, when all of a sudden Wham, a big wind came out of nowhere, and the lounge chairs seemed to levitate off the deck. Got everything secure and went inside to couch potato it for the rest of the night – no star gazing tonight!

Day 11 – Wednesday, August 3rd. Slept okay, despite squalls on and off all night. You sure know it’s raining hard with that tin roof just a pounding! So we just hang out at the villa, going down for a swim (in the rain, as it turns out). Check in with the pet sitter again and she tells me the kitties are getting fat! They know how to work those automatic pet feeders to get morsels out whenever they want, in addition to their daily rations. I miss them! Dinner at the villa – this might have been our fajita night, not sure, and prepared for our day trip to Jost Van Dyke the next day.

Day 12 – Thursday, August 4th. Jack really wanted to do two trips to Jost this time, but with other activities and the weather, it just didn’t happen. We catch the 9:30 ferry and it is surprisingly almost empty. Up top only one other tourist couple and a couple of young guys going over to camp and a guy with his welding stuff, and a lady with her child below. The driver took it pretty easy on the way over with some decent size seas, but of course we were treated to one big splashing. Who cares, I needed some cool water on me! I was so happy to see Bun there with his taxi, as last time we were there it was a big hassle getting a taxi – “you must see de mon in the taxi shirt first”. The other couple was getting a car and the young guys are hoofin’ it, so we are the only passengers. Come to find out the guy with the welding stuff was there to work on Bun’s taxi, so we had to wait a bit for him to help the guy get his stuff off the ferry. No problem. Soon we are off to White Bay which we had almost all to ourselves… but not for long. Good to see Mic again, even though he couldn’t remember my name – maybe he will next time. Chatted a little with “GlennR” although I didn’t know it was him, dummy me (the LSU hat should have given it away). He was suffering a bit from a birthday party the night before. After a couple of Painkillers we hit the water. Ah, heaven on earth. Then the boats start piling in, both charters and daytrippers. Also chatted briefly with “bfoxg8r” and crew, they were having lots of fun (I was the old lady with the Gator visor…). As lunchtime approached and the daytrip boats (“Adventuress and Adventurer”, new to me, both cruise ship excursions from STT I believe) were filling up the beach at SDB, we decided to meander down the beach in search of food. I wanted to get a pizza at Ocean Sea but Jack wasn’t in a pizza mood and we ended up at our usual, One Love. Bushwackers were good, beers were cold, and food was good.



Enjoyed the beautiful water for a while before having to head back to SDB to settle up with Mic and wait for Bun. We always bring dry clothes so we don’t have to ride back on the ferry in wet bathing suits. After a little shopping and a drink or two we get changed and wait for Bun. Bun arrives and we’re off to the ferry dock, when about halfway there I look down and realize I am not wearing my shoes… We are sitting in the back so I can’t really get his attention and ask him to turn around, so when we get there I ask if he would take me back to get them. These are not your everyday cheapo flip-flops, they are my beloved Earth “Cabo”s and they weren’t cheap. Bun says “you don’t want to pay me to go back and then back here again” and I say I will, then I ask him to call SDB to see if Mic had left yet, knowing that Mic is always on that 5pm ferry back to Tortola. He calls but Mic has already left, but his “brother” is there, so he asked me where I left them (right outside the restroom by that little bench) and sure enough, his brother finds them. The guy makes what I am pretty sure is a special trip to bring me my shoes, and I am really really happy! I had asked Bun if I should tip him and he says no but of course I did, but I think the real tip was the big hug and kiss he got from me and the “woo-hoo”s from the ferry guy and Bun! So, the daytrippers from St. Thomas may clog White Bay at times (more and more, it seems) but the wonderful people of Jost will always keep me coming back for more.

Day 13 – Friday, August 5th. I am jolted out of a dead sleep by the phone ringing at 7am. WTF? Turns out it was the owner’s cleaning lady wanting to know what time we were leaving the next day. I tell her (in my groggy, somewhat irritated voice) that unless the tropical storm delays our flight into Miami we will be out early in the day. She says to call her if not and I say I will. I had already gotten the OK from the owner to stay another night if need be.

Today is the day of the Donkey Races in Carrot Bay and I really don’t want to miss it. Jack is not enthusiastic (again with the when? where? and how?...) I talked to Landcrab and pretty much got the scoop and we head down there about 2pm. We see Malcolm and Candace at Clem’s and join them for cold ones while awaiting the others. Neat little local bar, had never been there before. A bit later we learn that everyone else had descended upon Cruzin’, so we head down there as well. I was hoping to get some local fare from the festival grounds while waiting for the races, but bar stool gravity got me and Jack went ahead and ordered a beef patte from Lena. Enjoyed delicious Rum Punches while the big debate raged – would he or wouldn’t he? By this I mean, would Landcrab participate in the donkey races?



We enjoyed chatting with Landcrab and his son Daniel (aka “Rymer”), Mal and Candace, Gary and Terry, and others. Saw one “heat” of the donkey races, which was over in a flash. Really, it was not about the races for me but to see our island friends again one last time and to enjoy watching the locals enjoy their festivities. Did Sir Crab race? I don’t know, but I did see a picture of him and Daniel upon donkeys…

Made it back to Brewer’s Bay in time for a lovely sunset swim in the bay, our last one. Because we had had such a wonderful 13 days we didn’t feel too sad about going home. Did most of our packing while trying to eat and drink the rest of the way too much food and booze we had. Some decent stargazing too, but only a couple of shooting stars.



Day 14, Saturday, August 15th. We had planned to wake up early because we needed to catch the 10am ferry to STT, but at 6am I am awakened by music coming from down in the bay. The Brewer’s Bay festival party had been postponed because of the storm and they were starting to set up, so of course you have to have music playing… Drifted back to sleep for a bit only to be awakened before 7am by the telephone. Again, the cleaning lady! Again, in my groggy, somewhat irritated voice, let her know we would be leaving around 9am and would lock everything up. This is a new cleaning lady at the villa that I have never met and I feel kind of bad acting all grumpy with her. We go ahead and get up and finish the packing and cleaning (I cannot leave a messy villa!) and head down to Jerry’s to drop off the car and get the ferry. With the windows down in the Jeep and the CD blaring one last time, I say to Jack “the one time I wish you would drive a little faster, you are poking along…” I am always a bit nervous that the travel plans will come off as planned, and with the iffy ferries these days I want to make sure we get there on time.

No problem, of course, and I am happy I have that little rum and coke in a water bottle I fixed up before leaving the villa (mostly rum, don’t want to waste the rum!). I left several bottles of wine, beer, and some food at the villa for the owner, who arrived a few days later. Landcrab, you would’ve had that beer and some wine if you hadn’t fallen victim to the lure of rum punches and donkeys the night before. 

All travel home went smoothly (the usual drill, our version of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” – Jerry’s rental car, ferry, taxi, drinks at bar, flight 1, drinks at bar, flight 2, taxi, HOME!). Bought a couple of bottles of rum at the duty free shop at the airport for my son and his girlfriend, we have a Labor Day party at his house coming up and we have to have rum! Got our upgrades to first/business class again and the meal on the STT – MIA flight was really not bad, a ravioli dish for me. I think a nice roll and butter was involved as well, but I am still dreaming about that biscuit from Day 1… Got a little annoyed when the flight attendants wouldn’t refresh our drinks because they were told to “sit” by the captain because of turbulence coming into Miami due to TS Emily. Good thing we still had a couple of those Grey Goose minis! Oh, and of course I had to tweak my stupid leg injury a bit putting my (heavy because of laptop) carry-on in the overhead bin, one little weird wrong turn on that foot, but at least we didn’t have the stairs to contend with on de-planing this time.

Our checked bags are pretty much the first ones off again (thank you “priority” tags) and we catch a taxi and are home before dark. Almost all of our previous trips involved the late flight out of San Juan, getting us in to Tampa International at 10:30 at the earliest, and I really like this much better, even though we don’t have one last morning on Tortola. The kitties are sooooo glad to see us, the fatsos, and we have some dinner and a few glasses of wine before going to bed. We like to come home on Saturday so that we have Sunday to decompress before having to go back to work.

Some people ask us, don’t you ever want to explore other islands in the Caribbean (this was our 12th trip)? Well, yes, we do, but only if we can still go to Tortola twice a year. Just need to win the Lotto I guess…

Link to pictures