We drove our coach 76 miles, a bit over an hour of driving, from NIRVC in Dallas, Texas to Gordonville, Texas.
Here’s the map route, heading north:
We picked up our coach from NIRVC in Dallas, where it had received its annual servicing while we were away:
Paladin sat in the steps for a while:
Denton Buc-ees:
Gainsville:
Our destination, another Thousand Trails:
I’m getting a bit of a backlog of posts, so I’m going to increase the pace to weekdays.
So you can look forward to new Sinclair Trails blog posts Monday through Friday. No posts on weekends.
All good things come to an end eventually, and such it was with our USVI vacation.
Driving (on the left, as was the style at the time) our rental car to drop it off:
A couple of cruise ships:
The buses on the island are open air things like this colorful example:
Vodka:
Passing by the end of the airport runway:
Rental car return:
The tiny one-terminal airport:
Some lunch:
“Last sip in the Virgin Islands” on the back of a coffee shop:
Our plane arriving:
Boarding the plane was a bit of a snafu; they announced general boarding, and everyone rushed forward, but they turned people away for not boarding with their group. Then everyone was lined up outside while the plane was still being cleaned:
Boarding:
STT to MIA:
A plane selfie:
A view of the cockpit:
Takeoff:
In the air:
We splurged on business class for this leg. and enjoyed the snacks and beverage:
And dinner:
Miami:
Miami airport:
Skytrain:
We probably should have taken the skytrain, but weren’t sure where it went; we ended up walking the entire length of this terminal; fortunately we had some time to spare:
MIA to DFW:
Another plane selfie, this time in premium economoy:
In the air:
On arrival in Dallas, we caught a taxi back to the hotel:
Hotel room:
The next morning, breakfast at the hotel restaurant:
Then we checked out and picked up Paladin from his hotel:
Paladin:
He was very happy to see us:
It was a great vacation. We’d love to visit there again in the future (and the third of the main Virgin Islands, Saint Croix).
Our second boating excursion in the USVI was on a power boat, circumnavigating the island of Saint John, including a couple of snorkeling stops, and lunch at Lime Out, a floating taco bar.
Fantastic day in the USVI
This was a fantastic way to see St John, including snorkeling in the national park (sea turtles & stingrays!) and a unique lunch experience at Lime Out (shrimp tacos!). Our crew of Captain Brandon & Mate Lacey took great care of us and made it a highlight of our trip to the USVI. They were so accommodating and even had ways for non-snorkelers to enjoy the warm water, such as a floating mat attached to the boat, allowing everyone to get in on the fun.
The boat (first on the right) in the marina:
Lacey made sure our beverages remained full:
Captain Brandon:
The first snorkeling stop:
An interesting rock:
Spray:
We stopped for lunch at Lime Out. a floating taco bar. Jenn’s Tripadvisor review:
It’s the experience
This was one of the most unique and memorable dining experiences I’ve ever had. We took a day cruise around St. John specifically because it had a stop here for lunch. It’s expensive, but how many times are you going to be able to eat a taco on a floating pad while fish swim around your feet, eating any scraps you might drop? The drinks are strong and the tacos are pretty good, but it’s all about the experience.
Our boat:
Swag for purchase:
We sat on a floating circular seating, with a floating table ferried between the restaurant and seating to deliver the menus, drinks, food, and swag:
The menu:
Nobody was allowed on board; our server called out across the water:
Selfie:
Tacos:
There were lots of fish swimming below us, waiting for dropped crumbs:
A glimpse of the bar along the edge of the floating restaurant, and more floating seating:
Lacey in a fish taco costume:
On the way to the next spot:
An interesting house; something simple and isolated like that would suit us nicely:
The second snorkeling spot:
I wasn’t into snorkeling, so Lacey kindly put out a tethered float for me:
An underwater video I recorded of the fish under me:
Jenn:
She took my phone and captured some great shots, including this stingray:
Fish:
A turtle:
Continuing on, past the Annaberg sugar plantation (where we visited the previous day):
A nice catamaran:
Customs office ruins:
Yacht:
Nice houses:
National park mooring pay station:
A very enjoyable excursion.
As previously mentioned, the US Virgin Islands consists of three main islands, and a bunch of minor ones. We were staying on Saint Thomas, but another highlight of this trip was to cross off another national park, in our goal to visit all of them. The nearby island of Saint John mostly consists of the Virgin Islands National Park.
It is possible to take a passenger ferry over to the island, and walk to the park visitor center, and explore the town of Cruz Bay (where the ferry docks), but we wanted to explore more of the park, which is best done by car. So we headed to the car ferry dock.
Here’s a car ferry loading; the cars all back on, to make it easier to drive off at the other side:
The departing ferry, and another arriving:
We made it onto this ferry, the Big Red Barge:
The cars are packed rather tightly:
Arriving at Saint John:
Driving off:
Why did the chicken cross the road? They’re all over the place:
Jenn got her National Park passport stamps:
Info in the visitor center:
Visitor center gift store:
Selfie:
The visitor center was undergoing some renovations:
Virgin Islands National Park sign:
Trunk Bay is one of the most popular parts of the park; we hoped to be able to stop here, but they have very limited parking, so we skipped it:
Maho Bay is another (too) popular beach:
But we were able to find parking at Francis Bay, a less popular but still very nice beach:
We had a picnic lunch on the beach:
Parts of the beach were a little rocky, but the sand was very soft:
Underwater photos:
Jenn swimming:
Video of fish:
Looking like a merman:
Continuing on, we visited the historic windmill of the Annaberg sugar plantation:
A turtle:
Goat:
Donkeys:
Lots of steep roads:
Back to the car ferry:
A nice swim, fascinating history, and great to visit one of the more difficult to reach national parks.
We visited Magens Bay Beach, one of the most popular beaches on Saint Thomas.
There were lots of Pelicans at this beach, diving for fish:
A video of a pelican diving into the water:
Pelicans taking a break:
Jenn:
More videos of pelicans:
Swimming selfie (with a thick sheen of the reef-safe sunscreen):
A pelican having some lunch:
A very nice beach and swim.
During our US Virgin Islands vacation we did two boating excursions. The first of which was on Jenn’s birthday: St John & Surrounding Cays Full-Day Sail and Snorkel Experience — a six-hour trip on a sailboat, with only six guests (including us), an open bar, lunch, and two snorkel sessions included.
Great day in the USVI
We had a great time sailing with Captain Denby and Mate Rusty. The wind was a bit blustery the day we set out, but they knew all the best places to go to beat the weather and still enjoy our snorkeling. Lunch was delicious and we really loved being with a laidback smaller group.
Here’s the sailboat in the marina:
Leaving the slip:
Sails unfurled; so peacefully quiet when sailing without the engine:
Preparing to anchor in a bay for some snorkeling:
Jenn snorkeling:
The Big Red Barge car ferry (we were on that another day) and some fancy houses:
Underway again:
Nice boat:
Anchoring again:
The Pizza Pi boat, a floating pizza restaurant:
Boats can come up alongside the Pizza Pi boat to order pizza:
Jenn snorkeling:
Selfie:
Lunch was pasta salad and BBQ chicken:
Little Saint James island, aka Jeffrey Epstein’s “Island of Sin”:
Sailing:
Back to the marina:
A very enjoyable excursion. Highly recommended.
I thought I’d do a post about some of the food we enjoyed during our USVI vacation. (More exciting activities coming in subsequent posts.)
One nice thing about our Airbnb condo was that it was a short walk from some restaurants, including Sun & Sea Bar & Grill, which was below the swimming pool, right on the water. Here are the one side of the drinks and food menus as a sampling of the offerings:
Jenn enjoying the view:
Beverages:
The restaurant:
A fun thing was there were a bunch of fish that hung out next to the restaurant, as staff and patrons would occasionally throw leftovers to them:
Our food:
A pelican on the dock:
For breakfast the next day we went to Picaso’s Coffee Bar, a few minutes drive from the Airbnb:
We brought the coffee and food back to eat on our lanai:
We got ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches on traditional “dumb bread” (kinda like a US-style biscuit or scone):
We went to a grocery store to get more food, including freshly ground coffee beans:
A lunch at Señor Pizza in Red Hook:
Heading to Margaritaville, one of the other restaurants an easy walk from the Airbnb:
Menu:
A cat wandered through, looking hopefully at diners:
Beachside beverages:
A rainbow; you can also see the Sun & Sea Bar & Grill restaurant (and its floating dock), and above that the Airbnb:
Food:
A cannon:
Back to the Sun & Sea Bar & Grill again another evening:
Someone arrived at the restaurant by boat, and a pelican enjoyed perching on it:
Back to Margaritaville again:
One thing I wasn’t impressed by with Margaritaville; they had an easy-to-miss notice that they automatically added an 18% tip to the bill, but also included a tip line; if one weren’t paying attention, it’d be easy to significantly overtip (as I did the first time we were there). I usually tip 20-25%, but this just seemed sneaky (I did still add a small tip to bring it above 18%, though):
(As a Kiwi, I still find tipping kinda gross, even after 22 years in the US. But it’s the system.)
On our last night, we made a dinner at our Airbnb:
While in the US Virgin Islands, we stayed at an Airbnb in the Point Pleasant Resort on Saint Thomas.
Here’s a map, with a marker for the resort where we stayed:
Jenn’s review of the Airbnb:
This was a fantastic place to stay during our trip to St. Thomas and Alan was a very gracious and responsive host. We wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again. We particularly enjoyed the gorgeous views right on the water and the easy walk to restaurants, which was just perfect after a day of sightseeing. Watching the pelicans dive for fish in the bay and the iguanas sunning themselves was wonderfully entertaining.
The Airbnb condo had a great view, above the water, and a short walk to restaurants, a swimming pool, and beaches:
A small but functional kitchen:
The bathroom:
A wraparound lanai:
Such a great view:
Rainbow:
Two or three iguanas sunned themselves in the tree below the lanai:
And it was fun to watch the pelicans diving for fish:
They sometimes visited the tree to dry off, too:
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Catamarans in the bay:
The nearby swimming pool:
The resort is gated, with a guard chicken:
A rather steep driveway:
A nice place to stay; we’d definitely stay there again.
To celebrate Jenn’s big milestone birthday in February, we had a six-night vacation on the United States Virgin Islands of Saint Thomas and Saint John.
The USVI consists of three main islands (and a bunch of minor ones) in the Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico.
This post is about our travel from Dallas, Texas to Saint Thomas, USVI.
But first, after dropping off our coach at NIRVC (as in a recent blog post), we dropped off Paladin at a cat boarding place:
His room:
Checking out the play area:
Even a fish tank to watch:
Then we headed to a hotel near the airport for the night, since our flight was very early in the morning:
We left our truck at the hotel. The next morning, at 3 AM, we took a taxi to the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airport.
Here’s our plane:
A map of our flight from DFW to CLT:
A plane selfie; we wore masks for the flights out, just in case:
The plane needed to be de-iced before we could take off:
Dallas from the air:
Sunrise above the clouds:
Charlotte, North Carolina:
A one hour connection, so we rushed to our next gate:
Rocking chairs in the terminal:
A map of our second flight, from CLT to STT:
Boarding the plane:
Takeoff:
Several other passengers were masked, but many were not; it’s no longer required:
USVI:
Arrival:
We were picked up by our rental car, and taken to their office; we booked a Jeep to handle the hilly terrain on the islands:
Driving through downtown Saint Thomas; notice that they drive on the left side of the road on the islands, though the cars are US ones, with the steering wheel on the left; that took a bit of getting used to:
We stopped for some groceries on the way to our accommodations — and notice the chickens; there were free-range chickens all over the islands:
Next time, a post about our accommodations.