Finally got around to getting our Trip Report together. This is long, but I have actually condensed it from our original. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />
Here's our photos:
http://community.webshots.com/user/tbrownncFriday, December 16, 2005Up around 2:00 am finalizing a few things around the house. Cooked some country ham biscuits for our wait at the airport. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
Transportation service arrives at 4 am.
Left RDU at 6:05am to ATL. Sat in RDU for about 30 minutes on the runway, but that’s not a problem, we have 1 ½ hr layover in ATL.
Arrived in ATL and went straight to our gate. It’s a pretty sight to see the gate that says St. Thomas!!! Boarded the ATL flight to STT a little late, due to an ice storm in Atlanta and we were waiting for a flight attendant. Finally boarded at 10 am instead of 9:20am.
Ordered my “bloody mary” and toasted to each other on our vacation. Arrive late into St. Thomas 3pm(ish) instead of 2:25pm. Which made us late catching the 3:30 ferry to Tortola., but that’s not a problem because there is a 5pm ferry and the Petite Pump Room is right there at the ferry dock.
Had a wonderful ferry ride to Tortola, it feels sooo good to be back! Arrived in Soper’s Hole about 6pm, went thru customs, and met up with Denzil Clyne. Picked up our brand new jeep and off we go to meet up with Uschi at Sebastian’s to take us to Coconut Point. The Orchid is perfect for us! Immediately unpacked and sat on the patio.
Saturday, December 17, 2005Called our friends Gary and Gerry “On Eagles Wings”. They are in Anegada. They want to meet up with us on Sunday and take us to Norman Island
(and spend the night on their boat!) WOW <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
So today we will head over to “our favorite place on earth” Jost Van Dyke. We hustled around and headed to the West End at 9:45am to catch the 10 am ferry. When we got to the ferry we recognized a lady from last year. Last year she was bringing lobsters to Abe’s in Little Harbour. Tommy chatted with her for awhile and she said she really appreciated us recognizing her and speaking to her. Arrive on JVD and we head over to Soggy Dollar to see if our old friend Olivia is at the Superette yet. Our goal for today is to visit old friends, collect our 2 free painkillers (from SKMAN) and that’s it.
We run into Uncle Wendell (Olivia’s husband). Olivia is at the Pink House getting it ready for the next guests. So we chat with Uncle Wendell.
Decide to head to the Soggy Dollar and look for our names on the chart. This is the first for us. Stan and Karen were here a week earlier and left us 2 Free Painkillers. [color:"red"]
THANK YOU.[/color]
Got to see Debbie and the new guy: Mic (aka The Soggy Man).
Some TTOL’ers are staying here that we have never met: Eugene and Paula (ZAPPRINT), so we want to meet up with them. Debbie says they were around for breakfast, but doesn’t see them right now. So we hang around and have another Painkiller and Banana Painkiller.
We head back to White Bay Superette and get to meet up with Olivia. She is so nice and remembers us. We chat for awhile and head back to Soggy Dollar to see if we can find Eugene and Paula. We asked Debbie, are they here? Yes they are! So we introduce ourselves and get some pictures!
Our day is starting to get away from us so we say our goodbye’s and head over the path to Ivan’s. Renee remembers us! Ivan is out back working on a cabin, so we drop our bags and holler for him and follow his voice. Lots of hugs when we find him. He is working on another new cabin. We head back to the bar and grab a cold beer and sit and smile, and sit, and smile some more. It just doesn’t get much better than this.
Stan and Karen left us a credit at Ivan’s!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> Thank you AGAIN SKMAN!!! We are not sure how we are going to repay you guys! Bunn picks us up at Ivan’s and we head back to catch the 5 pm ferry back to Tortola.
Sunday, December 18, 2005 and Monday December 19, 2005Today all we know is that it is Sunday. The sun is up, the waves are crashing, and the sky is [color:"blue"]“Caribbean Blue”.[/color] We hear from Gary and Gerry and they are underway from Anegada and will pick us up around 1pm at Trellis Bay. The plan is to head to the Bight, spend the evening there and do some snorkeling.
Get to Trellis Bay and grab a picnic table and a beer. We see On Eagles Wing arriving!! They dingy over to the dock and pick us up and off we go! This is a first for us and we are so excited.. We are completely out of our element, so they have to tell us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. I’m not a high maintenance women, I only need two things: my coffee black and my beer cold… <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
We head to Marina Cay and get some fuel and off we go to the Bight. What FUN this is.
Head to The Pirates for dinner, and then over to Willie-T’s
(where we close it down, it’s not that big of a story, they actually closed early.) We head back to the boat and sit and talk the rest of the evening. The dingy is a challenge for me. I’m curious how sailors can drink and get in and out of the dingy successfully. It must be an art. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Devil.gif" alt="" />
This is my first night on a sailboat, so I’m a little nervous. I wake up only a couple of times; otherwise my night went well.
Wake up the next morning and it’s all good. Eat a little breakfast and head over to the Caves for some snorkeling. The visibility is really good so we decide to take the underwater camera. WOW, lots of fish and best of all: we see a turtle! Click, Click! That’s a first for us.
Head over to the Indians and Tommy and Gary go for a snorkel. The underwater visibility is starting to decline, but it’s ok.
We head to Road Town. Gary and Gerry are leaving day after tomorrow, so they need to do some things to their boat before they leave. What a great sail back to Road Town! We decide to meet at Bananakeet tomorrow night for the sunset and dinner.
We were on the boat for 27 hours, that’s another first for us. These are all new episodes in our life!
Return to Coconut Point and hit the sack.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005It rained quite a bit during the night. Woke up early and a black and white kitty has adopted us. We have named her Coco. Our plans for today are to head for Smuggler’s Cove, pickup some provisions, and then Bananakeet to meet up with Gary and Gerry.
Head out to Smuggler’s Cove and I’m glad Tommy is driving. You never know how deep those puddles go on the road to Smugglers. Took a video of our ride to Smuggler’s
(it turned out pretty neat). There was only one other couple there when we arrived, so decided it was a good time to take some pictures. There are 2 cruise ships arriving today, so I’m sure the beach will get a bit crowded. Tommy immediately gets his snorkel gear and in the water he goes. I finally get out of my “lazy” mode and put on my snorkel gear and join Tommy. We spend about 2 to 3 hours at Smuggler’s and decide to return on the road that comes out at Soper’s Hole. We need to pick up some provisions at Harbour Market.
We have noticed a lot of people riding bicycles…why? Why put yourself through that while on vacation? Just my humble opinion, I don’t exercise while on vacation. The only exercise we get is bending the elbow!Time to pick up some provisions. Harbour Market has a great selection.. Pick up some champagne and orange juice for a treat on Christmas Day.
Return to Coconut Point, clean up and head to Bananakeet around 4:30pm.
I get one of those “fru fru” drinks, which isn’t my style at all and immediately drop “cherry juice” on my white shirt. Ok, it’s time for a beer…
Gary and Gerry arrive and we enjoy each other’s company immensely. WOW, what a great place for sunsets!!! Eat a great dinner and say our good bye’s. We know our paths will cross again. We have great stories and memories to get us through until next time.
Tommy and I decide to head to Quito’s since Quito is playing tonight and we have never heard him live before. Get a couple of drinks and sit on the deck, relaxing and hearing some great music. It’s been a terrific day.
Wednesday December 21, 2005I finally realized this morning that the time of day doesn’t really matter. We are no longer in a hurry or in a mode to do anything. Any set agenda is meant to be broken. We lazed around most of the morning, it rained this morning and it provided us with some great rainbows. Decided we want to go to Anegada on Monday, so we call Smith’s Ferry to make a reservation. No advance reservation needed, just show up about 15 minutes before 7am. Silly us.. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/busted.gif" alt="" />
The morning turned out very cloudy and rainy, that’s ok it’s all good. We’d much rather be here in the BVI with it cloudy and rainy than at home. Prepared our day to go to Brewer’s Bay. We’ve never have been there before.
Not too many people here at Brewer’s probably because it’s cloudy and a little rainy. We sit at Nichole’s and have some lunch. We’ll have to come back on a sunny day and do some snorkeling.
Go to Road Town and do some shopping. Head back to Coconut Point via Ridge Road and Ballast Bay. Stop on the way at Skyworld on this cloudy day. Go up to observation and feel like we are enveloped in clouds. Oh well, it’s all good!
(At least it’s not crowded <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cool.gif" alt="" /> )Spend a quiet evening at Coconut Point.
Thursday, December 22, 2005The weather today is great. Another beautiful day in the BVI. We want to spend the evening and enjoy Ivan’s BBQ, we head to CGB and look up Glenn. No problem, he will take us over and pick us up around 10 pm. We have all of our stuff together, so we head over to JVD. This is another first for us Glenn drops us off
“smack dab” in front of Ivan’s. How cool is that?
Chilled the rest of the day and met some new friends: Gillian and Rod. They are on a powerboat “Island Time”.
Rueben starts to play around 4. We really enjoy listening to him.
Ivan served his BBQ around 7:30, and as always it’s great!
We head to Great Harbour around 9:30pm where Glenn will pick us up around 10.
There’s a Clippership in Great Harbour and a lot of people are at Foxy’s.
Glenn shows up right on time and we head back across the water to CGB.
What a great day!!
Friday, December 23, 2005Wow, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and it doesn’t seem possible. We have made reservations with Kuralu for today so we head over to Soper’s Hole.
One of our destinations today is Sandy Spit. We have never been there before so we’re excited.
WOW, Sandy Spit! We immediately put on our snorkel gear and hop in the water. Tommy sees a spotted eagle ray! Cool!!
We then go over to White Bay and anchor in front of Soggy Dollar. We decide to hop in the water and swim in (another first!) with our soggy money. Tommy plays the ring toss and nails it! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
We head back to Soper’s Hole. Before heading back to Coconut Point we need to stop at Harbour market, but first a bathroom break. Stop at Pusser’s and notice a couple that looks familiar: it’s Gillian and Rod (we met them at Ivan’s the night before). So we go over and speak with them. They invite us back to their boat for drinks. So off we go!
Around 7:30pm we head back to Coconut Point for a quick shower before going out to eat. We head to Sebastian’s for dinner. We end up sitting next to a couple and their daughter and start up a conversation. They turn out to be really great people. They are going to stay at Ivan’s later in the week.
Saturday, December 24, 2005Today is going to be another lazy day; it’s overcast and a little rainy. But, it’s Christmas Eve Day and we are in the BVI!!
We planned on heading back to JVD today, but missed the 10am ferry, so we’ll just stay on Tortola today and see what adventures might happen. “Things happen for a reason” is our motto.
We head to Stanley’s for a cheeseburger. The cruise ships are in and CGB is very crowded.
Head over to Road Town and browse around the shops.
Stopped at Big Ben’s on the way back and notice they have some plastic cups in the freezer with some pink and green liquid. I asked them what it was and all she would say is that “it’s special”. That’s all she would say. Hmmmm..
Have a pleasant evening at Coconut Point on Christmas Eve!
Sunday, December 25, 2005Christmas Day in the BVI!! Today we will spend on JVD. Caught the first ferry from West End to JVD. The ferry is FULL!! We barely got on. I guess everyone wants to spend the day on Jost Van Dyke. We head right over to Ivan’s and put the champagne and orange juice in his cooler.
Spend some time over at the Soggy Dollar and talk with Mic and Debbie. A boat from St. John shows up from Woody’s and the beach gets really crowded so we head back over to Ivan’s where it’s a little quieter.
We have to keep an eye on the time as we are catching the 5 pm ferry back to Tortola.
Today is a day of relaxing and just enjoying today.
We plan to meet up with KARENMMC at Foxy’s; another TTOL’er we haven’t met yet. She is also from North Carolina. Foxy’s doesn’t open until 5 pm, so we head over to Ali Baba’s and then catch our 5 pm ferry back. Sorry we missed you Karen! Maybe next year.
Monday, December 26, 2005Today is an early morning. We are headed to Anegada for the day, catching the 7 am ferry from Road Town. We hop on the ferry and the engine won’t start, not a good sign. The Captain says “give me 5 minutes”, so we get off and 5 minutes later we load back up. We head out and stop at Virgin Gorda to pick up some people, then onto Anegada. After arriving in Anegada we look for Dean Whitley who we have rented a jeep from. He is a really nice guy. We head out to Pomato Point and West End Point. The water is beautiful! We then decide to head to Cow Wreck since last time we were here we didn’t get to spend any time there. We arrive and we are almost the only ones there. Put on the snorkel gear and do some snorkeling. Tommy finds an empty conch shell while snorkeling. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />. Stopped snorkeling for a lunch break and head up to the bar where we meet another TTOL’er: KATHY07. We chat it up and have lunch. Leave for Bones Bight, and miss our ‘path’ and end up at Windless Bight. Windless Bight is “really” windless. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cool.gif" alt="" /> Headed off to Loblolly Bay and there are tons of people there, so we turn around and head for Flash of Beauty. Very nice, it’s only us and one other couple. We did a lot of beachcombing here. Head off to the Settlement and take a long look at ‘conch’ island then head to Nutmeg Point. Today is a very hot day. So off to Neptune’s Treasure to meet Randy and get some cold beer. We had never met Randy, so we immediately introduced ourselves and thanked him for hooking us up with Dean Whitley for our jeep rental. We talked with him about our good TTOL’ers, Gary and Gerry. We had time for a couple of beers and we see the ferry heading in, so off we go to the ferry landing. Dean is waiting there for us.
Nice ferry ride back to Road Time.
Tuesday, December 27, 2006Before catching the ferry to JVD we head over to Voyage Charters and check out weekly rentals on catamarans for maybe next year. We toured the 55ft cat. NICE….REALLY NICE!
Caught the 10 am ferry to JVD. IT WAS PACKED WITH PEOPLE. We weren’t sure we were going to get on, but we did. Ran into the couple from Washington State that we had met at Sebastian’s the other night at dinner. We finally introduce ourselves and share a taxi ride with them to White Bay.
We walked over to Soggy Dollar and talked with Debbie.. No conch fritters for lunch, so we go for the chicken roti. Have a couple of drinks and head back to Ivan’s and meet some new friends: Jane from Maine (she is staying 5 months at Ivan’s), Dean from Maine (he is staying 3 months at Ivan’s), and then our new friends from Washington: Susie, Heinz, and Andee. We just hang out today and catch some rays and try to empty Ivan’s cooler. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/pirate.gif" alt="" />
Leave around 4:30 to catch the 5 pm ferry. Have dinner at Jolly Roger and it is packed! So we sit at the bar and order the BBQ ribs and a veggie pizza. Great Meal!!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005We are going to spend another day on JVD. Run into Mic (The Soggy Man) and chat it up with him. It looks like the Northern Swells are coming in because “the pond is looking fuller!” Today is a day of the following goals: swim, sit in the sun, snorkel, sit in the shade, talk and then repeat the above many times.
Catch the 5 pm ferry back to Tortola and head back to the Jolly Roger for dinner.
Thursday, December 29, 2005One more day before we have to leave to we get up early and catch the 8 am ferry to JVD. Meet up with our friends from Washington and rent a jeep for the day. The jeep delivery is late, very late:
but everything happens for a reason. We run into Uncle Wendell and he asks if we are staying for Ivan’s BBQ. Unfortunately we are not since we have to catch the 5 pm ferry back to Tortola. Uncle Wendell says: No Problem, I’ll take you back, that way you can stay at Ivan’s. This is terrific!! If the jeep delivery hadn’t been late, we would have never run into Uncle Wendell. So we have the entire day to explore JVD by jeep. We head over to Foxy’s Taboo and have lunch and run into Clive from Patouche Charters. We then go over to the Bubbly Pool; we have it to ourselves for awhile. Leave the Bubbly Pool and take the jeep up Ridge Road. WOW, what views. This is a first for us; it’s not for the faint of heart though. The roads are rocky, they go straight up and then straight down, but it was GREAT!
Get back to Ivan’s around 6pm and Rueben is playing.
Enjoy Ivan’s BBQ immensely. Uncle Wendell arrives and we leave Ivan’s around 9:30pm.
This has been a terrific last day on JVD!!
Friday, December 30, 2005Our morning mood isn’t very festive today. We have to catch the 10am ferry back to STT. Stop by Sebastian’s and talk to Uschi and get some pictures. Return our jeep to Denzil Clyne.
(They remembered us because every time we road by Denzil’s place, we beeped and waved.) Head to the ferry landing and get our tickets with Smith’s.
Instead of taking the regular ferry, the ROCKET shows up and we get to ride it over to STT. This is a nice ferry! Bar inside, air conditioned, and outside seating. This is another first!
Get to STT a little too early so head up to the Petite Pumproom for some lunch before heading to the airport. Reminisce about our 10 day vacation and begin talking about our return in December 2006. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />
Get to the airport 2 hours before departure and review all of our video and pictures we took.
Board the plane on time back to ATL, then on to RDU.
IT’S BEEN A GREAT VACATION!!!
