2010 Summer Vacation
St. Thomas is a U.S. Island, 1100 miles SE of Miami, 50 miles east of Puerto Rico.
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The trip down to St. Thomas went perfectly.
The moment we got off the plane Dan wished he had brought a whole different wardrobe. It was 95 degrees and 95% humidity. A person only needs shorts, cool shirts and flip flops for St. Thomas weather in August. We brought plenty, but could have easily fit everything actually used in a small carry-on duffle bag. After picking up a Hertz rental car we headed over to the Condo to get settled in, then on over to an outdoor restaurant called Love Shack for a delicious burger.
Thoughts on renting a car from Hertz: After getting all signed in, Hertz pulled a last minute surprise by stating that Hertz cars were not allowed on St. Johns. Had this been disclosed sooner, we would have avoided Hertz. When they explained this rule, my heart sank because one of our key reasons for renting a car on St. Thomas was to take a day trip to visit some of the shops and beaches on St. John's. In the future, I will do business with an agency other than Hertz. There are plenty to choose from on St. Thomas, none of which impose such restrictions.
First Tuesday
At just after 6 AM, a fortress of boats headed out to participate in a Blue Marlin fishing tournament. The proceeds will benefit the local boy scout council. Later in the day a boat race was scheduled to occur right off the shores of Sapphire Beach, but stormy weather has a way of changing plans.
It was hot & humid most of Tuesday, but that was just fine with us.:
Late Tuesday evening dinner
First Wednesday
6 AM Wednesday walk along Sapphire Beach
A walk along Sapphire Beach Wednesday afternoon.
First Thursday
On Thursday morning we decided to go snorkeling. We joined 25 others aboard one of the boats that was docked right in front of the Condo. After setting sail the crew treated everyone to a continental breakfast of homemade blueberry muffins and juice. The warm tropical winds then propelled the boat to our first destination, which was about 100 yards off of Honeymoon Beach on St. Johns. After snorkeling there for about an hour, the crew treated the passengers to a delicious buffet luncheon. We then headed to a beach along Christmas Island. The water was warm and crystal clear at both beaches. While snorkeling we spotted a Barracuda and a Stingray. A very wide variety of other colorful fish would swim close enough to almost touch. The coral scenery was absolutely breathtaking. We never knew how beautiful the underwater world is. We sat near the bow of the sailboat. The warm tropical rains during portions of the trip were refreshing and welcome.
The sun has a way of zapping the energy from a person, so we spent the evening talking on the patio and watching the boats return from fishing.
Friday
Friday was a relaxing day. We had a nice dinner in Red Hook.
Saturday
Saturday morning we headed back to Red Hook for breakfast at Molly's, then to Charlotte Amalie for some shopping.
Beautiful Sunrise
Different views of Sapphire Beach, taken from the entrance gate.
Breakfast at Molly's:
Scenery at Molly's
Downtown Charlotte Amalie, Diana found a new dress.
Sunday
7 AM Sunday Morning:
One of the staff members from the village knocked on our door this morning and handed us a slip stating that we are under a hurricane watch starting tonight.
We drove to Coki Beach because we had heard that the snorkeling was the best on St. Thomas. The local gentleman who rented fins and masks also offered me a few dog biscuits to feed the fish. The coral formations were picture perfect. I lost count of the various species of fish. One of the fish took a nip out of my finger as I broke apart one of the biscuits. Hundreds of fish swarmed so close that their fins actually tickled. It seemed like a half hour. Diana said it was actually closer to two hours. Before heading out I had applied a thick coating of sunblock 50. The salt water must have washed it right off. I've not had a good sunburn in ten years.
One of the biggest treats of the week for Dan was to watch a father/son combo play some peppy beach music. The father played a guitar while his young son played a steel drum. I posted the video on Youtube.
The day we arrived in St. Thomas we had dinner at Duffy's Love Shack. The burgers there were so good that we returned Sunday afternoon. The talk of the town was the approaching hurricane. The hot humid weather has given way to cool, brisk winds. Cloud formations have moved in. The boats normally docked directly in front of us have been moved to safety. We were told that Earl will hit during the middle of the night.
We closed the steel hurricane doors Sunday night. The wind beat against them and rattled them all night.
Monday
Very
early on Monday morning the strong winds came straight from the North. A tree outside the front door gave way to
the strong wind gusts.
It
landed between the building and the parking lot, doing no harm to the cars or
the porches. We heeded the advice of one of one of the maintenance staff
members and moved our car up the hill to an area free of trees.
The power, phones and internet for the whole island went out at about 3 PM. Dan decided to take a walk along
Sapphire Beach to experience the hurricane. A few crazy elderly ladies had the
same idea on their "bucket list" as well.
By 5 PM, we were pretty sure that the strongest winds had come and gone. But we were wrong. Very powerful wind gusts came in on the back side of the hurricane. Fortunately we had purchased a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter. That covered us for dinner Monday and Breakfast Tuesday
Second Tuesday
Tuesday morning - Sunrise over St. Johns. That was the one brief glimpse
of the sun to reach St.
Thomas all morning. The power remained out all day for the eastern end of
the island. The condo complex fired up their emergency generator.
Dan drove to a small Ace Hardware in the nearby town of Red Hook to pick up an
extension cord for the fridge. The sales clerk held a flashlight to escort Dan
to the extension cord section of the pitch black store. We took a walk along Sapphire Beach
during
the afternoon. The heat returned today. The boats are gradually
returning to the docks in front of us.
Second Wednesday
On Wednesday morning we took a short ride aboard the ferry to the St. John's town of Cruz Bay. We planned to visit the shops there, but most were closed because they were without power. The few that were open were on generator power. We decided to have a late breakfast atop of an open air restaurant that overlooked Cruz Bay.
Final Thursday
On Thursday morning Dan & Diana both had a severe case of the "our dream vacation is over" blues.
Even though the flight from St. Thomas landed 30 minutes early in Charlotte, our plane waited 40 minutes for a gate to open up. Our next flight (Charlotte to Chicago) pulled away from the gate about an hour late. We then waited next to the runway another half hour. Then, instead of flying over Cincinnati and Indianapolis, the Captain of our US Airways jet decided to be safe by avoiding a highly charged electrical storm. So he looped our plane west around St. Louis and came in behind the storm.
One of Dan's friends (driving his black 2010 Lincoln Town car limo) personally made sure that we had a smooth ride from O'Hare to Wheaton. We arrived home at 1:40 AM on Friday morning, 261 hours after we left.
About the Condo:
The walk from the condo to Sapphire Beach is a two minute brisk walk. This 1-bedroom condo is situated in a gated community where the landscaping is continuously being manicured. The condo is air conditioned, has a full bathroom, large balcony, good sized dining / living area (with a TV and sleeper sofa), a kitchen with fridge, stove, oven, microwave, blender, toaster, coffeemaker, full sets of tableware and cooking utensils. The bedroom has a closet, dressers, king sized bed, with pillows, sheets & bath towels. Once guests have checked out, a professional maid stops by to wash the sheets & towels and clean the condo. The pool and upscale covered open air restaurant can be seen from the front door, as can the 24/7 laundry room (five washers and dryers). Washer / Dryer tokens ($5 per set) are available at the office, which is open 8:30-4:30, Monday to Friday. The office Wifi is on 24/7 so a person needing internet access when the office is closed can sit under a covered outdoor patio just outside the office at any time. The nearby town of Red Hook has over a dozen restaurants, two grocery stores, shops, car ferry / passenger rides to St. Johns. Photos of this condo (taken by another photographer) are shown below.
Looking back, we truly enjoyed our "Livin the dream" vacation at Sapphire.
(the kitchen can be seen in the photo under "Saturday"-shown above)
Those interested in staying at that condo: email quiet9454@aim.com for contact information.
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