. . . is not enough
Sunday, May 31, 2009
By midweek I already new the time was flying by too quickly. We only had a couple days left and I had not gotten to really snorkel at all nor had I made it to Solomon Beach yet.
Days 5 & 6 . . .
Wednesday I had a bright and early 9am meeting at Caneel Bay resort. I'm not sure how that will turn out in the end. They liked my designs but not the shirts - I need to look into more color options. We'll see. I returned to the villa after that and the plan had been for the group to go BACK to Caneel for brunch and hit all the surrounding beaches. Instead, everyone got ready and left for Waterlemon.
Waterlemon is a small cay off Leinster Bay and has excellent snorkeling. You can get there a variety of ways but typically we park near Annaberg and walk back. I'm guessing it's just over a mile (and it's flat - yeah!). The beach is rocky and there isn't any shade so it's not really a place to setup shop and hang out. However, the bay has a grassy bottom and I have never not seen turtles, rays and conch there. One thing I did miss was the field of giant seastars the first year. I have seen them since but just not in the huge numbers that had apparently gathered there the first year we visited. There is quite a current around it so I was unable to snorkel it the first year. Once I got my handy inflatable vest though I've been able to easily snorkel there during our other visits. I missed it on this trip too as I stayed home with J. The group saw turtles and rays of course (a Waterlemon staple). They also saw a tarpon and octopus plus the usual barracuda and array of tropical fish.
Everyone was tired from the long day at Waterlemon so that afternoon included some pool time and dinner in town. We opted for Cafe Roma. Though the location gets wonderful reviews I can't say I loved my meal. There are some really good Italian restaurants back in PA and also at home in C-bus. It takes a lot to impress me with that type of cuisine. It wasn't bad it just wasn't great. We should really have opted for someplace with a more tropical menu. J was not too happy here so D took him home while we got our food boxed up. With the guys gone, the group of us girls decided to wander through the shops at Wharfside before taking a taxi back to the villa. Unfortunately most of the shops were already closed so there was not much purchasing that happened - maybe that's a good thing.
Thursday was our last full day on the island. I had two morning appointments that I turned into three. T and H joined me at both, well they shopped at various stores while I met with vendors at others. First we hit The Marketplace on the south end of Cruz Bay. Next we headed into town to Mongoose Junction where I did my only sort of cold call stop. I had spoken to them but did not have an appointment. Luckily the person I spoke with was there and she loved my shirts. She's placing an order! After work it was time for play, and the three of us headed to Solomon Beach - FINALLY! It's a hike to get to Solomon but it's worth it (and it's not a horrible hike). It's small and secluded but is ridiculously picturesque. The water seems to be even clearer than the other beaches. I love it. We didn't bother to snorkel but just lounged in the sun and floated on the waves.
I returned to the villa to pick up D and J and then we met T and H at Honeymoon beach. Honeymoon is next to Solomon so it's far easier to get to with J. This was our last beach. Sigh. It was an awesome time though. I snorkeled first with T. We saw rays (the hugest ray I have ever seen - at least 4'x6' if not larger). Then we headed over to the reef where it was like being in an aquarium. There were parrotfish, squirrelfish, wrasse, angelfish, grouper, sergeant major, blue tang, butterfly fish, blue chromis and bristle worms just to name a few! We hardly swam around at all as they were all right there in one group of coral.
I went back to shore and D took a turn. Of course as soon as he gets out there the fun starts. T sees an octopus and D gets called back from the opposite end of the bay to see it. It's only about 15' offshore but I couldn't get to it with J of course - very frustrating! Luckily D swam back to let me use his mask and check it out. Then once it was on the move T swam back to let me see it again. It kept changing colors and being quite defensive about being followed (understandably) so they left it alone. It was just as well because the two rays we say earlier headed farther out into the bay to join up with a few more - plus down the bay from that was a spot of coral with another diverse set of fish including a huge tarpon. There was a ton to see. It was a great way to end the day and the trip.
Day 7 - heading home
Friday we got up and packed like crazy people - well maybe that was just D and I since we had our stuff and J's. It was a bit harried. We left promptly at 10am (check out time), dropped off the keys & the rental car then waited for our noon ferry over breakfast at Mojo Cafe.
I got to meet the artist I worked with - Chelsea. She helped us cart our bags over to the ferry and we were on our way. J was a crazy man in the STT airport because it was nap-time. Luckily he fell asleep on the plane - yeah! He didn't wake up until the 16-month old a few rows up started screaming. I wonder if babies are more instinctual than adults, like cats and dogs who are visually upset upon entering the veterinary office and hearing and smelling the other animals. J could not go back to sleep with this baby howling but at least he stayed calm and played and we were preparing to land. We landed at J's usual bedtime and had more than two hours to kill. We let him eat AGAIN while we all had dinner at Chili's. He was so tired by the time we took off that he was unable to fall asleep. It was so sad. He couldn't get comfortable which I can understand. It was a short flight though and soon enough he was in his travel crib at his aunt Jenn's back in Dallas.
posted by Shannon @ 31.5.09,
