We arrived on Easter Sunday about 1:30 in the afternoon. Sherri greeted us at the airport with her infectious smile and within 15 minutes, we had our luggage and our Jeep!
OMG- Drivin’ on the LEFT!!! Look out!$%#&#....Yes, it’s a good thing Sherri met us as we never would have found Caribia Cottage on our own. What a beautiful Vista of Charlotte Amalie and Water Island, etc. It took my breath away! Sherri did a wonderful job in provisioning our kitchen so all that was left to do was jump in the pool! Whippeeee! We had intended on making steaks our fist night but listening to a few on this forum, I decided to take most of our meats down myself. Packing them in freezer paper then newspaper and putting them in the deep freeze. It worked great but they were still hard as rocks when we got there! We made shrimp with rice creole instead.

We went to Magen’s Bay a few times. This is my favorite place on the planet. I swam with a small turtle for at least 1/3 of the length of the beach and it took me to its Mommy who was extremely large. It was a wonderful experience. I had wished I had taken an underwater camera. Something to be considered by everyone who loves to snorkel. Of course the pelicans were feeding and that experience is awesome as well. We had dinner at Mafolie and enjoyed the staff, the view and the food. I would recommend this establishment to everyone. It was a very enjoyable evening. Jacob makes great cocktails! The service was tops!

Tuesday was my 50th Birthday and I had the most marvelous day. Sherri connected us with a local who made the best key lime pie we have ever tasted. Her husband, a local fisherman caught us two Caribbean lobsters. We had never tasted them but we have a lot of experience cooking Maine Lobster. Shelly (the lady who made the best pie ever) gave us some pointers and let me tell you, it was the best lobster we have ever had. It is all in how it is cooked. They were not tough at all and the meat was very sweet. The trick to preparing any lobster is not to overcook it. I had the best birthday ever!!

We drove to Coki Beach one day. We didn’t get past the lack of parking. Way too many people for us, so we drove to the Toad and the Tart. Unfortunately, we were too early to see anyone. Then we discovered Sapphire Beach. This has become my second favorite place on the planet. The beach is extremely beautiful and the snorkeling was wonderful! I met a couple of fisherman at the bar at Mafolie who suggested I snorkel out about 150-170 yards on the right hand side. Did so and was rewarded with the most beautiful fan coral I have ever seen. Although it did appear that some stores were boarded up, the people who worked there were very friendly and we had a very nice lunch at the Banana Cabana! It was a lovely day! We talked to several different people staying there and they all said they love it! Red Hook is not far away and they go there for dinner most of the time.

Although most of our dinners were spent enjoying the vista Caribia Cottage provides, we also ate out one night at the Banana Tree Grill. This restaurant also provided us with a memorable evening. Great food! The fresh grouper was served with a lovely lemon caper sauce that was to die for….

I truly enjoyed the pool at Caribia Cottage. Swimming each evening overlooking the night lights of Charlotte Amalie was so lovely. The cottage has a very interesting history as well. We learned from the current owner that the Villa and Cottage were originally built by a Broadway Producer who used to entertain many Broadway headliners there. When he died, and the property was purchased by the current owner 30 years ago, much memorabilia was left behind of the stars that visited. It was fun knowing I was swimming in the same pool used by Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Angela Landsbury, Roddy McDowell and so on. The original cottage attached to the Villa was destroyed in a hurricane but was rebuilt by the current owner and it is a perfect place for a romantic getaway for lovers who enjoy a beautiful view! Oh yes, and the Iguana’s! There were tons of them! Living on trees and bushes surrounding the Villa and Cottage. I started naming them and Chuck told me not to get too attached as we only had a few days left…

On Friday, we went down into town. Neither of us are shoppers but we enjoyed walking around and spent time looking at the great architecture and history of the town. We had lunch at Tickles on two separate occasions. We are boaters on Lake Erie and we felt very comfortable at the Marina. The food was good and the atmosphere was a lot of fun!

We had a very memorable vacation and as Chuck wrote to the owner before we left, “We are leaving part of our souls here…” If you are interested in viewing a slide presentation of the pictures Chuck and I took, feel free to do so at the following:

Deb and Chuck on St. Thomas

We’re planning our next trip already…

Deb

"A bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day"

Wow that is so nice that someone was there to meet you and help you get to your condo! Did you rent the condo from her? We own a timeshare with the Marriott and will be staying there- I don't think they will be meeting us at the airport!!!! I am really interested in the Lobster!!! And the pie sounds amazing! How would I find out how to get some? We will be arriving on 6/12/2009. Also I was wondering? Did you say you brought meat with you? Did you fly and if so, was it cheaper bringing it with you, versus purchasing it there? Just curious?? During our condo stays, we usually like to eat out one meal a day, so we can sample the island food, plus it saves alot when you have a group!

Hi Larry 5747,

No, Sherri works for McLaughlin Anderson. I met her on this Forum and she has been wonderful from day one. If you want to hook up with live lobster or the best key lime pie on the face of the planet , you can contact the baker and fisherman's wife, Shelly at shelly@vicakes.com. I recommend her highly! Did you see the pictures of the lobsters? They were huge!

Yes, listening to many of the smart people that contribute to this forum I decided to bring down my own meats. We checked out the meats at every store we went to like Plaza Extra and found that what I was told was true. The price of meat is much higher than in the States and with the exception of the meat counter at Marina Market in Red Hook, I would not have been pleased with the quality either. My recommendation would be to take your own meat down even if you have to pack it in a separate suitcase. I will continue to do this in the future. We flew from Cleveland to Newark and Newark to STT. As I mentioned everything was still frozen hard when we got there. I should mention that the only meat I did not bring down was shrimp. I asked Sherri to pick us a bag of large frozen shrimp on the island and as the picture shows, the shrimp was beautiful. As an example of the price difference, I brought down NY Strip steaks I purchased at 7.99 Lb. at home. We saw them on Island for 28.00 per Lb. That's a significant savings. (One steak would make up the price of the extra piece of luggage).

I do hope your daughter's wedding is everything you and she have been dreaming of..

Deb

"A bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day"

Thanks Deb, wow that is a huge price difference! So in restaurants is meat just as high? So I guess we should eat alot of seafood, huh? So how exactly did you pack the meat? And did you take alot of other stuff with you too? I was so surprised when I read on the airlines website - if you travel within the US including VI, you have to pay for your luggage, but if you travel outside of the US, you don't? Don't you think it would be the other way around? Or maybe there is some reason that I don't know about. Oh well, like you said it appears to be one steak equals 1 piece of luggage!!!! ha ha

Thanks,
Nancy

Great trip report and glad you had such an enjoyable visit - thanks for sharing!

But $28 per lb for NY Strip? No way! You surely must have mis-read the price!!!!!!!!

I bet that she was checking the price at Marina Market. Although it is my favorite grocery store on STT it is very expensive, we went to pack a cooler and I didn't notice until the checkout line that my pack of fresh stawberries was $19, yikes! I traded them out for some apples and oranges.

Molly

Molly, I'm glad you enjoyed your visit. If you like to snorkel, you'll definetly have to get back and go to Coki beach. It's alot of fun.

Sorry you also miss the Toad and the Tart. Great food!

As far as bringing food with you. We've never had a problem. We bring chicken, shrimp, sausage, bacon....things like that. We have a food saver and we just use that, put the food in the freezer and then into the cooler right before we leave.

I like the option, especially if you have a kitchen, to cook your own food sometimes. I don't really like going out for 3 meals....just can't eat that much in one day. Certainly does save you money.

Enjoyed your trip report!!!

"I want to wear flip flops for the rest of my life!"

Hi Connie,
Sorry I have so many questions, but this is all so new to me! You said you put your food in a cooler? So do you check the cooler? Because you can't carry on any of that stuff can you???

Thanks again,
Nancy

Yes Larry5747, some folks purchase their meat at home, put it in the freezer. Recommend use a soft-sided cooler (Polar Bear cooler is one heck of a great cooler). The night before your flight you do a "trial" run and take the meat out of the freezer, put it in your cooler and then weigh the checked bag (we usually put the cooler inside our checked bag with our clothes. You could also just check the cooler separately). However you do it, the checked luggage cannot exceed whatever your airline maximum weight.......50LBs is usually the max. Then, put the meat back in the freezer. The morning of your flight, the last thing you do before you head out the door is put the meat in the cooler and get on your way. The meat is usually still frozen hard when you get to your destination. We don't even put an icepack or anything in the cooler. My family came down from Indiana last week. They started out at 3:00 a.m. in the morning and didn't get to the house on Water Island until 9:30. The meat in their cooler was still frozen when we put it in our freezer at the house.

Nope no misunderstaning on the NY Strip price and yes, it was at marina Market!

"A bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day"

Debfishes,
I am so happy to see you did a trip report! I was hoping we would hear from you soon!
It was a real pleasure getting to meet you and Chuck! You were I believe, one of the most excited people getting off the plane that I have ever seen! lol! You are a true ray of light! I am so glad that you had a wonderful Birthday, with tasty Lobster and Key Lime Pie, Shelly is the best! I have only seen part of your video, still waiting for it to down load, but what I have seen so far is AWESOME! Are you going to post it on You Tube? Maybe I would have better luck getting it.
I am very blessed to have two jobs that I love, villas and weddings! I get to meet people when they are happy!

Hi,

I'm Chuck,

Sherri, regarding the download time on the video you are correct. It mostly depends on the connection speed but if you get youtube faster I'll have to look into it.

Glad to hear you like working weddings. I spent 50 years working with brides at the Studio. Back in the 90's we did as many as four or five each weekend during the season but now-a days there just is not as many marriages, too many other choices for relationships.

And as for our excitement when arriving on your Island, you were the spark that lit the fire. As Deb mentioned, your guidance and enthusiam helped us settle in properly. I can't thank you enough for all you did.

Incidentally the meat at the Marina Market was very good. They must have a real old fashioned butcher behind the counter. We picked up a couple pork chops and they were cut perfectly and delicious as well.

The $28 NY's at Marina Market are Kobi Beef -- yes pricey!! - regularly $12.99 for NY strip there - last week I got a dozen NY's at Cost U less for $7.49 lb. and they were excellent - but they are usually $11.99 lb. there.

I love this website! You guys are the best! And so very helpful! Can't wait to write my own trip report when we return From St. Thomas!!!!Hopefully then I will be able to "pay it forward" and help someone else like all of you are helping me!

Thanks!
Nancy

I'm glad to hear that that striploin at Marina Market was Kobe because that was what I was thinking when I saw that price but thought it would be facetious to post as I honestly didn't know that anyone here carried Kobe. My food supplier commented that "prime" would be higher than "choice" but ...

Just to reassure the average visitor, the price of meat here is not overboard. If you have some favorite cuts that you can't do without, Plaza Xtra's main butcher is "George" and he's a total gem. If you want a special cut like a crown roast, give him a couple of days notice and it will be right there and at a reasonable price.

The meat he has out there on display is always good. I've known George for over 20 years, worked with him in a previous life (!) and he's a dedicated butcher.

Cheers!

Larry, if you're going to use a small cooler, you can carry it on. We did that with just myself and husband. When we went with 12 people we had 2 coolers, the hard sided kind. We had 8 - 20 somethings with us who need to know that there is always food cooking to feed their hungry stomachs.

"I want to wear flip flops for the rest of my life!"

Chuck,
So nice to see you on the forum! Hoping we see more of you here! You are good at what you do and no I never did get to see the whole video, we have wi-fi. I got see up to and just after your Shrimp Dinner. Anyone else having trouble? Yeah, if you would consider You tube, it may it may be easier to get. Looks as tho you are hired tho!

You cannot go wrong with meats from Marina Market and for fish, it is the ONLY place I recommend.

Nancy, Pay it Forward...... One of my all time favorite movies! If we could all live by that theory! I WILL be looking forward to your trip report!

Chuck and Deb,
I finally got to see it! Took at least 30 or so minutes to down load.
Excellent! I'll have to figure out how to do that!

Deb,
Yeah, I have to say, I think you had an EXCELLENT 50th Birthday!

Thanks Sherri! Yes indeedy!!

Sorry it took so long for it to download. Chuck is going to post it on Youtube so others who may want to see them will be able. Didn't he get awesome architectural shots in Charlotte Amalie?

And the Iguana's...Oh how I love those Iguana's!!

Deb

"A bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day"

Hi Deb and Chuck,
Please let me know after you post on You Tube! I never could get it to download on my computer So keep me posted I really want to see your pictures!

Thanks,
Nancy

kudos well-deserved, sherri, shelly and caribia cottage (and that town and harbour view... whew!)

shelly's email is shellycakesvi@yahoo.com... thought i'd throw that in!

best to you,
anita.

"do the best that you can in the place where you are, and be kind."
--- scott nearing

Deb, finally some one who loves Magens as much as I do! I feel sorry for those who go from the airport to St. John and never experience the beauty of STT. 1st thing we do is rent our lounge chairs that you can actually stretch out on. get some pool floats and go to the left down the beach,. Most of the cruise ship crowd tends to congregate together off to the right . Then to the bar for the BEST bushwackers on island, there is nothing better than floating in the water with one in your hand. Did you know that the large house offt to the right of the beach is where the famous shot of the Clintons dancing on the beach is. I always thought that was such a phony shot,but if "Unchained Melody" came on I would have Digger on his feet!!! I also love the little shop and the pizza!

Last year my daughter, grandkids and I rented a great condo on Sapphire beach, loved the beach and pool. Did a day sail on New Horizons out of the marina there, by that time our son was there so we totally loved the drinks, all the kids had to do was get Mom up the stairs to bed! My poor husband stayed home to keep our business going.

Last summer our trip alone with the grandkids was to Cedar Point it is over a 6 hour drive for us , we are 2 1/2 hours W of Chicago. Always the favorite part of this trip is going to Put In Bay, what a fun island! Do you boat there?

When we go down to STT we just usually take snacks, water and sodas. There are soft sided coolers with wheels and a handle, they just fit down the air plane aisle. Then we have them when we go to the beaches on St John and great for wet suits and towels for the ferry trip back. I found one of these coolers at our grocery store for $20 and used it several times before it died. I later got another at Sams and I have seen then at Target..

This year we took daughter and kids to Fl for 11 days, 4 at WDW then on to the gulf side. Our 40th anniversary is next month and just knew we would plan an island visit ,just for us. Well you know how God is when you make plans, when we got home from Fl we found out our daughter lost her job due to corporate downsizing. She was in the medical field in insurance billing and felt pretty secure about her job. She is a single Mom and the child support only goes so far ,

so, not knowing how long we will have to support them we have put our plans on hold. She said this is a very humbling experience.Thank God we are in a position to help her,besides,we didn't really want to retire did we?

Hope my little note finds you all employed and planning your next trip to the islands,We will be back!

Hello Lolly!

Yes, Magen's Beach was voted one of the best 10 beaches in the world for very good reasons. The bar there has something to do with that. I've have been there many times over the years and never had a bad meal. Their Bushwackers are the BEST! We also discovered "Udderly Delight" this trip. We had never stopped there before. It's on the road leading to Magen's. They have really great ice cream. MMMM Yummy!

This economy is really hurting so many through no fault of their own. I hear daily here in Northern Ohio about someone who has lost their job. Of course the Auto Manufacturing Industry is really big here as well as southern Michigan. It's scary. I am indeed Blessed to have a secure position but pray daily for those who have negatively been touched by the current financial crisis in the U.S.

Chuck and I live about an hour east of Sandusky and Cedar Point. I grew up being able to enjoy it often in the summer. Put-in-Bay is a great island with a lot of historical significance for us on the "Northern Coast". Did you stop at Lonz's winery while you were there? They make a great wine! Yes, we have brought our boat there as well as Kelly's Island many times.

So sorry to hear that you have to put off your 40th Anniversary celebration. When you do get to have that celebration, if you decide to return to St. Thomas, I would highly recommend Caribia Cottage to you. The view is unbelievable and it is very reasonably priced. It is a nice easy drive from there to Magen's Bay...

Best wishes to you and your family Lolly. I do hope your daughter finds employment soon!

Deb

"A bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day"

I have been wanting to download your trip ever since you posted it and finally found the time to wait for it to download. Wow, that was a beautiful view you had from your balcony and the food you and your husband prepared looked wonderful. I loved the way you did a video of your trip and shared it with us.
We're going in July and this has made me excited even more. It will be our 3rd time.
Thanks again,
Lynn

Thanks Tiger1- Hubby tried to post it on You Tube but the file was too large. He offered to edit it down, but I just couldn't bare to see it change. I came home from work last Tuesday and he made a lovely dinner and showed me the "movie" for the first time. When the steel band started playing "Isn't She Lovely" in the background, I "lost it." I am truly a Blessed person...

I hope your July trip is wonderful! I understand your excitement more than you could ever know.

My heart is still there....yesterday, I found myself going over to the relocation forum...."Stop that Deb"

"A bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day"