Full day in Coral Bay

I have not spent nearly as much time in Coral Bay as I have in Cruz Bay. So when I finally had an entire day off I decided that it was a perfect chance to show Mike and Naomi the other side of the island.

We went to Donkey Diner for an amazing breakfast, mine even had chirzo. Then we went out to Salt Pond and hiked Ram's Head.

The new thing that I did was snorkeling in Salt Pond Bay. I am getting better at the whole snorkeling thing and starting to enjoy it a little more. 

I really wanted to hike around to Drunk Bay, but we only did about half of the trail, because by then it had been plenty exercise and were ready to move on to something else. 

Our last stop before heading back to Cruz Bay was Tourist Trap. We had a delicious plate of nachos, fish taco and a great lobster roll.

Goofing around!

Today, I wanted to do something which would not have been a first, but I desperately needed a pedicure. Unfortunately, this is a one at a time thing around here, so you need a little more time than I gave myself for. So instead Alesia and I bought m&ms and I pulled her around in a wagon. You will never believe this, but she criticized my parking job! Then I went home and made shrimp stir fry for Mike and Naomi.

Happy Hour Hopping and Ocean Grill

This is the time of year for visitors on St. John. It seems that everyone has a few additions to their group which makes our normal happy hour hopping a bit more complicated! I met up with Jillian and her sisters at Woody's. Then I had told Mike and Naomi that they had to try La Plancha's sangria so we went there next. We had 9 people so we basically took over the whole bar. I was at the opposite end from Jillian and Chris and I LOVE this picture. Jillian said it looked like she was taking a picture next to a photo of some sailor just off the boat.

After happy hour I ended up getting separated from everyone, so I went back to Mongoose and ended up at Ocean Grill trying everything that everyone else ordered. Great shrimp scampi and whatever seafood smorgasbord Chris ordered. The music was a lot of fun as well.

Brunch, Beach, Bar

Naomi and Mike are in town visiting, so today, I did not so much do something I had never done, as I did what I always do with someone new. We went to church, then brunch at Rhumb Lines, then the beach at Cinnamon and then over to Robert's for happy hour. Leah and Robert were having a band practice so we got serenaded a little as well. We stayed long enough to see the stars and then went to Cafe Roma for dinner. I wish every day was Sunday!

8 Tuff

Today I watched 8 Tuff miles from the top of Gifft Hill before heading to work. This road race takes place on Centerline Road between Cruz Bay and Skinny Legs in Coral Bay. There are a variety of fun themed water stations and even a beer pong table around mile 7. It is St. John after all. I considered running the race for about a second, but that did not happen. I guess there are about 364 days to start training for next year!

Waterfront Dinner

Today's new adventure on St. John was dining at a place that I had never eaten dinner before. I had been admiring the scallops at Waterfront Bistro for quite some time, but I had yet to eat them. It was Amber and Larry's last night on St. John, so we went to dinner with Dave as well. It is always wonderful dining by the ocean as you hear the waves come in, and the food was excellent. We tried the fresh mozzarella with caviar and their conch ceviche for appetizers. I will admit that the ceviche was an even better way to eat conch than fried in a conch fritter, but catching and cooking conch myself is not going to be something that I try again anytime soon. Way too much work! Overall a very good dinner and I will eat their again, and not just for lunch.

Sunset in Chocolate Hole!

Today I worked from 7:15 AM - 10 PM. That doesn't particularly leave a lot of time for new adventures. I did however take a moment from corralling children to enjoy a first for me, a great sunset over Chocolate Hole. I wish I would have gotten to enjoy the view with a glass of wine instead of watching to make sure no one got hurt while showing off jumping into the pool, but alas, life happens! Still a nice sunset view and a good night. Another first was watching the movie Dolphin, if you have been one of the unfortunate who has had the pleasure, my only advise is rent Free Willie next time!

40 New Adventures?

It seems like several people have decided to give up Facebook and other internet related things for Lent. I decided that I am going to do the opposite and instead put a little more effort into the things that I have already started.

After a year on St. John I have done a lot of what the island has to offer. However even on a 9 x 4 mile rock, there are plenty of things that I have not yet done. So for the next 40 days I am going to make an effort to try something new every day. Today was easy, I had the day off and Amber and Larry are visiting. So we went on the Ram's Head hike.

I had not done the trail before so I phoned a friend for instructions. We walked through where to turn and I was instructed that finding the trail head, "is difficult but not impossible." Well we came to the first choice and this was it, so not difficult. 

Finding where the trail continued on this beach however, was a bit more challenging. It was a wonderful day and I really enjoyed the hike. I had a great quick swim in Salt Pond when we got back as well.

We had breakfast at Donkey Dinner on the way and drinks at Tourist Trap on the way back. Overall a really great day in Coral Bay.