Welcome to the Chronicles of
~ the St John Adventures ~
Saturday 6/5/2010
What a day! I guess it all started last night when we finally started packing - at 8pm. We finally finished around 10:30 or so, and so went to bed with multiple alarms set at 4am. Recently, we have been having some pretty intense thunderstorms. And when I say intense, I mean like lightning that can make it seem like you are in a bad horror movie, accompanied by torrential rain, power outages, downed trees and limbs. Of course, to me, this is just a fabulous photo op! Unfortunately, most of the time, its late at night, so I don't get up. But every once in a while, you get lucky, and it starts before you go to bed! Here is one from just such a night:
Now, this wasn't from last night, but it certainly looked like that (worse, actually). Incidentally, that bright spot is the moon, and this was shot from our back deck. I thought for sure the clockradios were going to start flashing 12:00 with the way the power was flickering. Luckily, I also knew I had set my watch! Well, the thunderstorm happened a little after midnight, and 4am rolls around way too quickly! Showers and final packing went pretty much without a hitch, and we left the house within 15 minutes of the time we had wanted to. It was funny driving down to Bradley (the airport). It is probably a 20 or 25 minute drive. When we left the house, everything was soaked. Getting into Conn, it was totally dry. It is amazing how localized the rain was! Dropped the car off at the Park & Fly we use, no problem. Checked our bags, and found out that they were heavy, but again, no problems, because Carol had upgraded us when she checked us in! Probably would have cost us the same as the upgrade for the luggage and overweight fees! And you get treated pretty good in the front of the plane! The flight to Philly goes off without a hitch, and say goodbye to the rain showers that were rolling in as our 737 taxied out from the gate. The Philadelphia Airport is pretty darn big! We had quite the walk from the gate we arrived at to the gate we were catching the next flight from. We were 20 or so minutes late getting in, and with the walk, we pretty much got to the next gate, sat down, and got called to board. This flight is on a Boeing 767, and yes, we are still in first class. But it is not like any 1st Class section I have ever been in. Now, I know I have led a sheltered life (NOT), but I have not ever sat in a seat on a plane that looked like it belonged on a Star Trek, the Movie. Here is what they looked like, complete with control consoles!
Now, First Class on this plane is pretty small, just 3 rows! But very roomy. This is all there is to First Class on this plane.
And the view is pretty good, once we got a little altitude!
One thing about these seats, they recline! And Carol is taking full advantage! I have never seen her sleep on a plane before (it drives her crazy that I can do it at the drop of a hat!). Okay, maybe the upgrades are worth it, after all! The battery on the laptop is dropping out, so time to sign off. Talk to you later, when we get to the island!
8:00pm - St John! Well, we made it! But let me pick up where I left off! A little after I signed off, we started to descend into St Thomas. Here was our first view of land!
You keep going down, down, down, until finally you are lower than some of the houses that you are flying by!
And about the time you figure you are starting to seriously run out of air between you and the bay, you land. As in a second or so after you see the jetty, you hear the landing gear squeal. It is interesting. I thought only St Marteen was like that! Then it is down the stairs (yes, there are no jetways in St Thomas - thank goodness it wasn't raining!), thru the heat and humidity to the terminal building. And if you are like me, you say to yourself, Welcome back to the third world! I have read that many of the people who come to St John feel that blast of humidity, and feel "Vacation!" I feel it, and I start seeing things differently, because I am no longer safe and sound at home. Not in a paranoid way, but in the way that Carol comments that my driving subtley changes the closer I get to NYC. It is a gear that shifts. And then I am comfortable. We met Rachel, our taxi driver (I had reservations) at the luggage pickup area. Now, Rachel is as old as dirt, and small. She heaved my 63 pound suitcase around like it was nothing! And she has never been to St John, because she hates boats, so she won't take the ferry over. But she is a sweetheart. If you ever come over here, let me know, and I will get you her number. We make it to Red Hook, where we pick up the ferry. There are tons of kids (over a hundred, easily!) on the ferry. It turns out that they start celebrating 4th of July early here. This was the kick off of Carnivale, and it started tonite with a steel drum festival. We met Duane, our greeter, at the pier (I am starting to get good at finding my name on a piece of paper in a crowd). Nice kid. He walks us across the waterfront, where 10,000 steel drums are arrayed, from all sorts of different groups, each sporting a banner. There is food in vendor stands, people selling stuff, and kids everywhere. I have never seen the pier area that busy. We take Duane's pickup (with me in the bed with the luggage) to the car rental place, and get our Jeep. Then I follow him (Carol is riding with him so Duane can tell her the highlights while we drive) to Villa Caribe. I should mention here that driving in St John is an experience. First, they follow the old Brit custom of driving on the left side of the road. Now, I have done this - in a British car (you know, the kind with the steering wheel on the right side) - but it is a little unnerving intially doing it in an American car! And the roads tend to be a little on the small side, and very hilly! But it is fun. So we get to Villa Caribe (remember I told you the roads were steep - the driveways are steeper!), and it is stunning! We go thru the whole place, checking everything out, and finally settle in. These pictures are from their website, but they truly are dead on accurate, so I am not going to try to top them with my point and shoot. Here is the pool deck:
In the first two pictures, the building in the background is the kitchen, dining and livingroom. Here is what the livingroom looks like.
In the third picture, the building in the background (yeah, they are totally separate from eachother) is where 2 of the bedrooms are. The doorway to the left is where we have staked a claim (and yes, we could sleep in all of them - after all we are here long enough!). Here is the interior:
One cool thing about this bedroom is that it is the only one with an outdoor shower (and no, I am not grossing the neighbors out - you really can't be seen in there. But it really is nice. I will have to shoot it sometime in the trip. And to think we couldn't convince anyone to come with us! If you now change your mind, just let us know when to meet you at the ferry! So, now we are going to go head into town, get something to eat, and maybe stop at a food store for some supplies. But we are here!!!!
Keep Smiling!!!
|
|
All Images and Accounts of this Adventure are strictly the doings of the Author, and have Nothing to do with the Official Positions or Opinions of Timethief Photography, its affiliated divisions, or anyone associated with the company. If you have any issues with the accounts, how people or places are portrayed, or with any statements of fact, take it up with him! Of course, he'll probably be off on another adventure!
Copyright 2000-2010, Timethief Photography
|