WOW!!!!! Where do I begin?!?!?!? It was AMAZING…of course!!! And we are already scheduled to head back for next year….YEAH!!!!

First off, the villa rental people were extremely helpful over the last year and the villa was WAY understated! The views from the veranda over Mahoe Bay were breath taking, sunsets were worth a million bucks and the house ROCKED!!! Beachcomber is the place to stay! We were literally 30 feet from the ocean, probably less!

Second, I owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Nick at Leverick Bay Resort. He is the most wonderful man and was very nice to our family. We met him at the Friday night BBQ the first night we went and then we met up with him again on our last Friday night on island. We arrived on Thursday and I had taken all kinds of pictures at that time. When we were at the Friday Night BBQ, the mocko jumbies had come over and picked up my 8yr old son (Tristan) and I got some fabulous photos of it all!! Somehow every single picture I had taken from Thursday to Saturday had been erased from the card, including the photos with Tristan in the arms of the mock jumbie. I was so upset! I called Nick on the following Friday morning asking if he knew if I could “arrange” for it to happen again and gave him the story of what happened. He was soooo understanding and made it all happen again that night before we left so I could get those pics again! He was probably the nicest person I met on the entire trip, whether he had done for me what he did or not.

Okay, so now for the report:
Thursday Feb 9th: We arrived at EIS on American Eagle at 1:40pm after flying over night from Seattle. By far the best way to get there is overnight! It seemed like we had just left Seattle and we were already touching down on BVI! No flight issues what so ever and all the planes left on time (within 10-15 mins when we left San Juan). But…we arrived with no bags. Yes, we checked bags, but in the end it worked out! We spoke with the agent in the airport, she first said she found our bags in Miami and they would not be to EIS until the next morning. By the end of the conversation she said our bags would be on the next flight in from San Juan. Hmmm….how can that be if they are still in Miami and the flight she said they are on has already left San Juan? WHO CARES!!! They were actually on that flight and I was doing the happy dance when I saw them!!! We had to pay a fee on the meat we brought in to the customs people, no biggy. We went over to Trellis Bay and had some awesome sandwiches at the Cyber Café, frolicked in the sand and got eaten alive from mosquitos and no-seeums. My brother, flying in from Maine, also arrived with no bags (he was on the flight our bags were on), only he was told his bags were in Philly still and that he would not see his bags until tomorrow because of the ferry schedule to VG. He was a little unhappy since it was a carry-on sized bag that they made him check in Philly when he changed from US Air to American. They told us they would be on the 11am (?) ferry on North Sound Express and we would need to meet the ferry at the dock…no problemo. Off we left to meet the island rep for the house and taxi to take us away. Exciting ride on the boat since the skipper hit a BIG tree in the water so we motored slowly to the ferry docks! Arrived at the house and we were all in awe! More than we had expected! We were all hungry so we ordered from the Bath & Turtle delivery of 3 pizzas, 3 bottles of Mount Gay rum and 4 6-packs of soda…something you DEFINITELY don’t see in the states! He delivered rum to us!!!! Off to bed after an exhausting day.
Friday Feb 10th: woke up and thought I was dreaming! After 360+ days of countdown it was all so real! Had some breakfast, unpacked, signed for the rental car and off to town to buy some provisions for the house. We started at Bucks at the VG Yacht Harbor and we were having problems finding some of the things on our list so purchased what we could find there and then headed down the road to another store. Landed at RTW where we stocked up on the liquor and mixers then moved on to Rosy’s. This is by far the best store! The prices were much more reasonable than at Buck’s, too. By this time we were sweating since it was a little sticky that day and my brother’s bag was not on the ferry like it was supposed to be. We got back to the villa and dove into the pool and then jumped out and ran into the ocean!! Got on the snorkel gear and headed out into the bay. Saw my first turtle and we swam along with him for a little while!! Lots of fish, too. The reefs were looking a little worn, damaged and covered over with sand. Not sure if this was because of the winter storms throwing the sand around or what. It was all still beautiful. Ran into town and met the ferry that had my brother’s bag and around 4pm we started getting ready for the Leverick Bay BBQ. Arrived around 5:30 and staked our claim on a table on the beach. It is happy hour until 7pm and let’s just say it is a DEAL! We had 5 bushwackers and 1 virgin pina colada and it came out to $20!!! Needless to say we made a few runs to the bar in that 1.5hrs left of happy hour!! At 7 we hopped into the big line of people waiting to get some grub!!! The food was fabulous!! Homemade salads, the roasted pig had to have been the best I have ever had, ribs were awesome, steak and fish were heavenly!!! And they are not stingy in their helpings!! DEFINITELY recommend this as a stop to everyone on TTOL. At around 8:30 the sky walkers or mocko jumbies came out and put on a great show. The band was extremely good and it was fun to dance along and see all the people getting into the groove. They picked up Tristan and paused for quite awhile for us to take pics and he was so darn excited when he came down I thought he was gonna pass out!!! Left around 9:30 to head home to bed.
Saturday Feb 11th: Headed out into the bay to get some early morning snorkeling done and then packed up for the Baths. The adults were charged $3 per person for access, which I know we did not pay when we were there in July ’04, but oh well! Got down to the Poor Man’s bar and rested for a few minutes, took a few pics and then headed to Devil’s Bay. My parents (first time on BVI) were amazed with the rock formations and the beauty of the area and halfway thru Tristan looks at me and says: “this is the best field trip ever!!!” I am so happy he was enjoying himself, but how could he not, right?!?! This trip to the Baths was a far cry better than our last trip! I looked at the cruise ship schedule before we left for the trip and saw that Saturday there was only supposed to be 2 smaller cruise ships in port and decided that was the day to go and it was a GOOD choice!! There was NOBODY there and we were there around 10:30-11am so it was not very early. I think the fact that there was not that many people there made it so much better. We staked claim under the “umbrella” and headed out for snorkeling. I must say that a few times I got a little nervous with the dingy’s that were coming in and out of the bay. There were a LOT of people going a little too fast and not being very careful and coming right up the beach to drop people off. I was nervous since my son was in wonderland with the snorkeling and the people on the dingy’s got a little too close for comfort. Is there not some “restriction” on the speed they can go and how far they can come in? Anyways, we saw 2 barcudas up close and lots of fish. No jelly fish like last time we were there, which was a relief. Try telling the happy, go-lucky 8-year not to touch the cool looking things that float in the water!!!! NOT EASY!!! When we were done we stopped at the Poor Man’s bar to get some souvenirs and the “beverage” back to the top. Had lunch at the Top of the Baths (Jerk Chicken is forever etched on my brother’s mind as being the best ever) and the food was good. The service was without a smile or any conversation, but hey…whatever!!! Left the Baths, back to the villa for some RELAXATION! We ate some of the steaks we brought with us for dinner that night.
Sunday Feb 12th: Just a day of relaxation. Never left the beach and the patio area. Lots of swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing. My brother, husband and I left for the Mineshaft because we were told that there was a full moon gathering, but there was no one there when we arrived!! We asked the server when the party would start and she told me the full moon was Sat night and that they did not have a party?!?! Was I wrong to think that the full moon was the 12th not the 11th?? Regardless, we enjoyed the breeze, a few Caeve-ins and then headed back tot eh villa. A much needed lazy day.
Monday Feb 13th: We planned our day “sail” with Double D charters to happen on the 14th. We wanted the have a catamaran sail, but to do Norman Island, David told us it would have to be on their powerboat because of the time constraint and traveling time. Again, oh well!!! More laziness in the morning for us and then we headed over to Little Dix Bay for their lunch buffet which was good. The shop there was great and walked away with some fun goodies. Back to the villa for some laid back lounging….and beverages. Headed over to the Mineshaft for the sunset, food and drinks. Calamari, ribs and mahi mahi was great but the blackened grouper was NOT very good! It was not blackened, first of all, it had salsa or something dribbled over it and it tasted like it was frozen and then defrosted in a microwave. OH WELL! It was still a great night.
Tuesday Feb 14th: Happy Valentine’s day!! We got up early and headed over to the yacht harbor and met Corinne and David. At first I was a little scared when I saw the condition of the boat. I know nothing about boats, but when I saw Bondo on a couple places, I got a little nervous. My brother used to work for Hinckley boats and he told me it would be fine, and he was right. Corinne was amazing and so very pleasant. We decided on Norman Island and she went over the itinerary with us. First to the Underwater Garden, 2nd the Caves, 3rd to the Willy T for lunch, 4th to the Indians and finally the RMS Rhone wreck site. Our trip out was great. The underwater garden was nice (I think it was off of Cooper Island???) but the Caves were PHENOMENAL. Now the last time my husband and I did the Caves, it was okay. This time was so much better! The amount of fish was crazy and the waters were calm making it easy on you once you are in the caves. The Indians were less than what we remembered from the last time, but still well worth the stop. My son, again, was in heaven. We radioed in our meal choices to the Willy T and made our way over. For all discussions about taking kids there during the day: NOTHING HAPPENED!!! Tristan was the only child on the boat, but there still was not much happenin’ and I would not hesitate in bringing him back….during daylight hours. Now after looking at the “photo album” that was on the bar…I would NEVER bring him back at night. Of course my brother and husband were mooning over this book and I was strictly in awe that women actually did this kind of stuff!!! I have been to MANY fraternity parties, being a sorority girl myself, and I never saw stuff like that!! But moving on….it was still fun to board the “pirate” ship and have lunch. My son was excited to tell all his friends back home about it! Over to the RMS Rhone and Black Rock. Strange that you feel almost sad about the whole thing although it really had no impact on my life or my family. It was also strange to swim over it and see the propeller and the size of it. It was all amazing! The seas were really rolling at that point since it was late in the day and there was a “wave front” coming according to Corinne. We headed back to the yacht harbor. Got to see Morgan Freeman’s boat, which was cool and then we went on our merry way back the villa. Beer:30 for all the adults!!
Wednesday Feb 15th: We did NOTHING all day!!! I love that!!! We made no plans to do anything…just the way I wanted it! I was my 3rd wedding anniversary and we were spending it the way we wanted to! We had reservations at the Rock Café at 6:30 so when the time came we headed over. The setting was just as I had hoped and the food was GREAT! I had the Anegada Lobster pasta and the chunks of lobster were enormous. Another great meal on the island! Back to the villa for final evening relaxation….and drinks!!
Thursday Feb 16th: NOTHING!!! Not sure if I brushed my hair that day…Kidding!! Sat around on the beach and built sand castles. The water was a little murky from the front that came in so snorkeling was not an option, but I was relaxing so I was A-OK! Made some calls to the Virgin Gorda Villa Rental people to see about booking Beachcomber again for next year only to find it is already booked for Feb!!! AMAZING!!! So I asked about the other villas on the beach and put a hold on Caribbean Wind which is just 2 houses down. Walked over there to do a walk through since the people had just left and the housekeeping staff lets us mingle through it! This, of course, just got us jazzed for coming back next year! Parent’s met with a realtor (yes, they like it so much they were thinking of buying land and building a retirement villa for themselves!!) and went over to a neighborhood that is being developed where their next door neighbor would have been Morgan Freeman!!! They are still thinking of the venture, but I think it is on the back burner for now!
Friday Feb 17th: Final full day on the island and it is all sooo sad!!! Thinking of ways that we could “miss the plane” and stay behind for another day or 2!!! After a day of relaxation we headed back over to Leverick Bay. We started our wonderful vacation at the BBQ and we planned to end it that way! Met up with Nick and met his wife, a lovely lady! Enjoyed happy hour and our drinks, ate fantastic food and then went home to pack.
Saturday Feb 18th: Up EARLY to catch the 6:45 ferry out of Leverick Bay back to Trellis Bay. Our plane was delayed about 20 mins, which was fine. We scheduled at least a 3hr lay over in San Juan just in case of delays out of EIS. No problems getting back. Left EIS at 10:20am and arrive in Seattle at 8:45pm. We flew from JFK to Seattle on American, in first class. I seriously wish that there was an age restriction on first class passengers. Now keep in mind…I have a child…he has flown since he was in my belly (flies to Maine every summer since he was born, sometimes twice a year), so I know the hardship with flying with baby and the crying, etc. But….I also sought council from my pediatrician before his first flights to find out ways to make the flight more comfortable for him as well as all the people caught in that small area with him. His advice: children’s Dramamine since it will make him fall asleep and it always worked like a charm. Now…the people that sat behind and beside us (mind you, this was all the same family) when they boarded the plane looked at my husband and said: “I may have to pay for your ticket when this is all said and done.” Indication #1 that we were in for a bad 6hr flight! There was a mom, dad and 3 LITTLE boys. Mom started the flight with feeding them candy…to calm them down. Indicator #2 of the problems ahead. The 2 oldest boys sat behind my parent’s, and they were kicking their seats before the plane even left the ground and the mom nor dad said stop. Indicator #3. When the plane took off, the youngest let out blood curdling cries and then middle son decided baby was getting all the attention and then he started to cry, causing oldest boy to follow suit. This was how the ENTIRE 6 hour flight panned out. MISERABLE. I would have rather sat in economy, in the back of the bus completely uncomfortable than have to hear that screaming in my ear. The topper: they changed the baby’s diapers right there in the seat for all to smell. Pleasant, don’t you think?? At the end of the flight I wanted to walk up with my palm out and demand my money back from him!!!

This was a great trip in the end! My husband and I were already hooked and now I have included my parents, brother and son in the DIF and “we go to come back.” Thanks to all the TTOL’ers that helped in the months leading to departure. You guys have always been a treasure chest of info. It rained 1 day and only for about an hour and I could not have asked for a better vacation. Pics are coming soon…it took me 3 days just to do this. Sorry for the length, but it all needed to be said. Left lots out since it was getting long-winded!

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