Trip Report June 19th-27th.

June 19th-

Up at 5 for 2 hour drive to Charlotte, NC. Drive only takes 1 1/4 hours, sit and wait for 10:50 flight to St. Thomas. Plane is over booked but after they bribe enough people we leave at 11:15. Get to St Thomas 10 minutes late. I took some of the regular’s advice and called Smith’s Ferry Company and set up a pickup at the airport. Walked out of the terminal and there he was with a sign. Picked up the bags and we were off to the ferry dock. Bought 4 round trip tickets plus pickup and drop off at the airport for $64.00 dollars each. Ferry was 45 minutes late leaving but I was already on my third Red Stripe so I didn’t care. After taking the ferry we will never fly into beef Island again. Got to West End at 5:15. Hertz had our truck ready to go and we were off to meet our friends at LBBR. This was our third trip to LBBR and the first for the other two couples. Two of the couples had beachfront deluxe rooms and the other had hillside ocean view. Our rooms were on the first floor (501,505) of the beachfront deluxe buildings. The views were fantastic. Our friends were given the wrong room because the resort was full. Instead of the hillside ocean view they got a one bedroom villa. It had a kitchen, living room and a large covered patio with grill. We ended every night with drinks on the patio. We met our friends at the pool and then went to dinner at The Jolly Roger.

June 20th-

Up early for the buffet breakfast at LBBR. Took the truck to Smugglers Cove for the next 5 hours. Our friends were floored by the beauty of Smugglers. Chris was there with his bar and we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon trying to drink him out of booze. We went back to LBBR for lunch at the pool bar. Started drinking Painkillers at the pool and then things get a little fuzzy. No one could drive so we hit the Pelicatessen for some snacks. Last thing I can recall is my wife putting cold towels on my brand new sunburn. Deep Sleep!

June 21st

Get early phone call from friends to see if I can make the Day sail. Tell everybody that I am fully recovered and ready to go. We meet for breakfast and then head to Soper’s Hole for a day sail on the Aristocat. We charter the boat for ourselves so no little brats will ruin our trip. It only cost an extra $20 per person. The day sail was a highlight of everyone’s trip. We stopped at the Indians for a snorkel (Barracuda, Jellyfish). Then went to the other side of Norman Island for the second snorkel (Boat Battery and tire) and then went to The Caves (a lot of people). In between we stopped of for a couple of beers at the Willy T. John and Sandy served great food and were excellent hosts. Got back at 5:30 and had dinner at Pusser’s Landing. Wings and pizza were very good. Hit Ben’s local supermarket for beer and snacks. Finished the night on the patio.

June 22nd

Up early for breakfast. Leave for a hike of Mt Sage. Hike was nice and short. Views were a little hazy but still great. Left Mt Sage and drove to Roadtown for some shopping. After some shopping we went to Brewer’s Bay. Had lunch and hung out for a couple of hours. Wings and beers at Pusser’s landing. Finisher the night on the patio.

June 23rd

Up early for breakfast. Off to the airport for our flight to Anegada. We took the FlyBvi day trip. We got the best spot on the beach near The Big Bamboo. Saw two 4-5 foot rays, dozens of fish and a beautiful turtle while snorkeling. Had a fantastic lobster lunch and then hung out playing Frisbee and football until it was time to fly back. We had dinner at Palm Delight and then went to the Bomba Shack for a little dancing. My friends were quite impressed with the Shack. The only problem was that same [censored] who whistles during every song. He is there every time we go. Man is he annoying. He finally left when the fuzz got there. Should have stuck with Red Stripes but I had some rum punch instead. Going to bed was a little fuzzy.


June 24th

Wake up with bad hangover. Drive my friends to nanny Cay for some scuba. Drop them off and come back for some much needed sleep. Wake back up at 1:00 ready to start drinking again. Pick up friends after scuba. They had 2 very good dives. Got back to LBBR and just hung out until dinner. Dinner was at Brandywine Bay. We arrived at the Brandywine about 30 minutes early, so we had drinks on the veranda. The views were spectacular. At 7 Davide came out and went over the unbelievable menu. We split 4 appetizers and 2 pasta courses. We each got a different main course (Buffalo, Filet Mignon, Duck, Sea Bass, and Tuna). We then split 4 desserts (Chocolate Mouse, Tiramisu). Then we went back out on the veranda for more drinks. Davide came back out to talk with us. When he found out I was part of TTOL he broke at the Grappa.

We all decided that this was the best all around dinning experience any of us have ever had. The food, service and presentation were fabulous. Our wait team was great (thanks Spice). It was really cool hanging out with Davide after dinner. I will never go back to Tortola without spending at least one night at the Brandywine.

June 25th

Early breakfast and the off to Jost. Split the day between Soggy Dollar and Foxy’s. Soggy dollar was fun until all the day sails got there. It was still a good time but it was packed. The owners of the Dollar need to fire that nasty woman who works the clothes shop I. refused to buy a t-shirt from that woman but my wife got a nice beach towel. Next time I will spend time and money somewhere else on White Bay. We played for a while on the water trampoline. Left for Foxy’s at 2. Drank there until it was time for the ferry. Got back to LBBR and had drinks on the patio until it was time for dinner at Quito’s. Dinner was very good and the band was even better
June 26th

Early breakfast and the off to Smugglers Cove for the day. Drink beer, play football and snorkel all day. Last night so we go back to Pusser’s Landing for cheap wings and beers. Spend last hours drinking on the patio. Say goodbye to our friends who are flying out early on Sunday.


June 27th

Breakfast at 8 then off to the ferry dock. 9:15 ferry to St Thomas is right on time. Leaving Sopers Hole was behind really sucked. Everything in St Thomas was closed because it was Sunday. Left our bags with the cabby and had lunch at the Hard Rock. Flight to Charlotte left right on time. Back home at 9:00.


Highlights;

1. Brandywine Bay for Dinner
2. Aristocats daysail
3. Anegeda
4. Smugglers Cove
5. Breakfast and Accommodations at LBBR


Lowlights

1. Leaving



Point of Interest:

After having grappa with Davide I decided to investigate this beverage. I could only find information on Grappa in one book. It was the department of Transportations Hazardous Materials Guide. The following is its designation:

Grappa (Italian)
Hazard Class: 3 Flammable
(Triethylenetetramine, ethanol)
UN# 1992, Packing Group I
Other labels needed: Not for Human Consumption