Kind of long, sorry!!! I’ll try to hit the main points and not get too long winded, but no guarantees!

Trip to VG, Mahoe Bay, Caribbean Wind villa from Feb 14th- Feb 24th. Travellers: Chris (husband), myself (Carrie), Tristan (9yr old son), John (dad), Debbie (mom), Chad (brother) and Tara (old HS friend). Chad and Tara came from ME the rest from WA.

Wed 02/14 Arrived on time with all checked bags (if you can believe that!). We flew SEA to Dallas to SJU into EIS. Arrived EIS just after 4pm. Chad and Tara had an unexpected change of departure from Portland to Boston because of inclement weather. They went Logan to Newark to SJU to EIS. They also arrived on time shortly after 6pm. First group took the NSX 6pm ferry after having FABULOUS sandwiches at Trellis Bay Cyber Café. It’s become tradition and something we look forward to after a long 12hrs of flying. Mahi Mahi sandwich is to die for! Tara and Chad hit the 8pm NSX ferry after “some drinks” at Trellis Bay Cyber Café. L & S had the rental car waiting for us at the ferry doc in Spanish Town, as well as the villa rep, who led us to Caribbean Wind. Of course the villa was amazing and we were very happy. We had Island Concierge deliver some provisions for our arrival so we had some food, and pretty much everything we ordered was there and put away.

Thurs 02/15 4 yr wedding anniversary for Chris and I…a day of provisioning, snorkeling and lounging around. We hit all the markets: Rosy’s, Buck’s and RTW and got what we needed. Back to the villa for some swimming, drinking and sun tanning (or burning for some!). That night we decided to go “laid back” for our anniversary dinner and headed to Gun Creek to catch the ferry over to Biras Creek and the Fat Virgin. We had some drinks at the Last Stop bar and talked with some of the locals. The bartender made us all laugh as she was mixing our drinks and asked us how strong we wanted our drinks! Fat Virgin had some mouth-pleasing food! Chicken roti and ribs were a hit. It started to spit some rain, but didn’t rain on our parade!

Fri 02/16 Up and out the door around 10am for some Zinc and then off to the Baths. The reflection from my son’s goggles had burnt his face around his eyes and we wanted to prevent further damage! Arrived at the Baths only to find safari trucks everywhere and cruise ship people being herded like cattle in all directions. We braved it anyways since this was Tara’s 1st trip to BVI and the Baths are a must for 1st timers! Down the path to Poor Man’s bar for a drink. There were people EVERYWHERE! After a few pics and a few sips….we were off to Devil’s Bay. The trip thru the rocks took forever with all the people, but we made it only to be surprised….what happened to all the people?!?! We dropped towels and bags and hit the water to cool off and snorkel. I have to admit, I was shocked, angered and worried after being there for about a ½ hour. As we made our way into the water, a dinghy came roaring into the bay and came right up on the beach to drop off passengers! Then backed out (without looking) and roared back out. 1 person doing that ok….but it happened all afternoon! At one point my son and I were heading out to the rocks and I was looking down and then all of a sudden off to my left I see a propeller and the bottom of a boat within 10 ft of me flying by! I finally decided we needed to get out of the way or get hit! There were quite a few people there that had a complete disregard for the safety of others. We left and headed to the Top of Baths for a late lunch. Service was better than in the past and the food was fabulous as always. Jerk chicken wrap was THE BEST! That night we hit the Friday Night BBQ at Leverick Bay. As usual, fantastic and I absolutely love the band. Tristan, Tara, Mom and I boogied on the dance floor after dinner. Mocko Jumbies came thru and picked up Tristan and he was as happy as a clam. I saw Nick, but did not approach him since he was talking with people at the bar, I was sure I would see him again.

Sat 02/17 We had a boat reserved with Leverick Bay Water Sports. Met up with Mike at the stand, got on the boat and off to JVD. We made a pit stop at Monkey Point. AMAZING snorkeling! Fish everywhere! It was so clear and full of life! I would have to say, by far the best snorkeling we have seen in the 3yrs we’ve been to BVI. A must do again! We hit Foxy’s next for some drinks, lunch and shopping. Saw Foxy helping with the sound checks (live music that night??), had a great chicken sandwich. Met some ladies from Bellevue, WA…strange to be so far away from home only to meet someone who lives so close to you! Off to Soggy Dollar. Caught a ride with Claude instead of taking the boat….not sure why!!! He dropped us off and then the guys decided to go back over to Foxy’s and bring the boat over! Got a Painkiller and tried to find a nice place to sit and enjoy….but there was WAY too many people there! I felt like I had warped to Hawaii with all the people! I was a little disappointed. I guess it’s better in the evening when everyone is gone, but it was so crowded! Back on the boat over to Sandy Spit to walk around and take pics, then back to Leverick Bay. Nick and Monica were there running the gas depot and we stopped to talk a little. What wonderful people! They are so nice and lovely to talk to! Back to the villa for dinner.

Sun 02/18 We did NOTHING!!!! Sat on the beach, drank, ate, snorkeled and talked. That night we arranged to have a meal made in the villa by a gentleman named Caswell. He was wonderful. We had Anegada lobster, crab cakes, Caesar salad and molten lava chocolate cake. YUMMY!!! After dinner, the young-ins (sorta of!) headed out to Mineshaft to introduce Tara to the Cave In. Got in just before closing, got our drinks and pics taken behind the bar. Then off to Chez Bamboo for some rum and cokes. Back to the villa for late night discussions of old HS memories!

Mon 02/19 Tara’s last day. All we did again was lounge. New people moved in for 5wks next door and they were OBNOXIOUS!!! There must have been 6 kids all under the age of 8 and they did nothing but yell, scream, etc and the parents were provoking it! Nothing like respecting others around you! That night we went to the Rock Café so we could celebrate Tara’s departure as well as introduction to BVI. The rain and wind rolled in so we were forced to eat inside. We tried to make the most of it, but we were overrun with cruise ship people. The staff seemed more concerned with pleasing the cruise ship patrons than us and it took a little over 1hr to get our food. Drinks were coming just as slow so we started ordering 2 at time!!!! The food was still great and we will definitely go back again. The live music was a less than desirable….in fact it was ear piercing. Not sure who it was, and it may have been an off night, but I was not impressed. We arrived home only to find that a catamaran was anchored in Mahoe Bay. I thought that there was no mooring or anchoring in Mahoe Bay???? And this boat was extremely close to the reef!! It was rocking and rolling in the winds and waves and we were all watching to see if it would slip on the anchor and be beached! It was gone early on Tues morning, tho.

Tues 02/20 STORM SURGE!!! Monday night thru early Tues morn was nothing but hi winds and torrential down pours! Woke up to overcast skies, huge waves in the bay, rain and wind! As we headed to the ferry to drop Tara off for her departure, the sun came out, but the winds were still there. Back to the house for more lounging and relaxation.

Wed 02/21 We were supposed to have another day of boat rental, but the waves were so enormous and there was no seeing anything if we tried to snorkel. We called Mike and he cancelled the reservation for us. Unfortunately, we missed out on snorkeling at the Dogs. Something to look forward to next year! We decided to head over to the Bitter End to check it out that afternoon. Hit the Last Stop bar again for a drink and then caught the ferry over. Great resort, not my style tho. I prefer the privacy and versatility of a villa. There seemed to be so many people in such a small area! I felt like I was visiting a Sandals or something. It was still a beautiful place and we were able to enjoy their lunch buffet, but I’m pretty positive that I wouldn’t actually book a stay there. Visiting and then leaving worked for me! Headed back to the villa to swim and body surf on the big waves. As I was out in the water, just a few feet from the “drop off” were the surf comes in, my husband was on the beach talking to me and then said he just saw a small yellow shark (name??) swim past. Of course I high tailed it out of there since just saying shark scares you initially….but then I jumped back into the water after a few moments on the beach! Their harmless (??) so I decided not to let it ruin it for me!

Thurs 02/22 2 days until departure so we decided to just enjoy our time (and the neighbor’s loudness) at the villa. The water was still a little rough, but it was dying down and the visibility was getting better. We were eating in hordes since we wanted to try and get rid of as much food as possible before departure. Caught the weather report that night since we were heading to dreaded ORD (Chicago) as one of our stops on the way home. Of course it was talking snow….let’s get stranded in BVI….the villa was still available until Wed….but Dad vetoed the idea. We all needed to get back to work and school!!

Fri 02/23 Headed to the Flying Iguana for breakfast. I had amazing bushwacker French toast! Will definitely head back for those again! Back to the villa….the waves had calmed and the water had cleared up a lot. Back into the water for some snorkeling. Saw our 1st turtle of this trip! What a way to end it! Started the dreading packing later in the afternoon and then off to Leverick Bay for the BBQ send off. Met up with Nick and Monica and talked for a bit. I was supposed to meet up with JD (Daix) and Judy, but was unsure of what they looked like. Nick was nice enough to take me over and introduce me. We talked for a bit. What great people! We’re total strangers yet Judy came right up and hugged me and we talked as if we’d known each other from before! We parted ways to eat. We did a dine and dash since we needed to be up and catch the ferry to BI in the morning. Said good bye to JD and Judy as we walked out and asked that they pass it on to Nick and Monica. I was sad to leave so early.

Sat 02/24 started our trip home only to get stuck in purgatory for 2.5 days (Chad went thru Newark and arrive in Portland a ½ hr before schedule….lucky dog!!)! Flights worked like a dream until we reached ORD! As we sat at our gate and watched the blizzard outside….we finally got the announcement our flight was cancelled. It was all down hill from there. In the end, we left Chicago on Monday at 3:10pm….only about a ½ hr off schedule…AMAZING when you looked at the departure screens! We had a connecting flight at LAX with Alaska (met Lana Lang <Kristin Kreuk> from Smallville….Tristan was in LOVE!!). We arrived at the Alaska gate for our departure a ½ hr before boarding only to find that they put all 5 of us on stand by instead of assigning seats as we were told. There were 15 people ahead of us on stand by! Dad called American airlines and somehow they worked their magic (not really since 5 people got bumped from the flight to make room for us!!!) and got us on the plane. We arrived in SEA a little after 10pm. Dreading the baggage situation….we hit baggage claim. American Airlines had upwards of 1,000 bags unclaimed and 4 out of our 5 were there!!! When I approached the baggage rep he told me I was lucky to have found the 4 bags (ringing endorsement for their airline let me tell ya!) and that I should check Alaska’s bags for the 5th one. Sure enough, there it was! Took the limo home and hit the sack…..only to dream about being in BVI again!

We’re already discussing our options for next year. Looks like we are going to do a bareboat charter and are in discussions with Joann at Catco!!!!

Sorry for the length….but it was a FABULOUS trip and I can’t wait to go back!!!! Pics are coming, I have over 100 digital and another 100+ that I took on my Canon Elph Sport that were just developed and put on disk.

Thanks to everyone with the suggestions, help and ideas!!!

Cheers <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />