So sad... today it's back to the real world, but, we did have one last day in paradise...
We decided to do some more snorkeling for our last day, so we headed out to Coki beach.
I guess the fact that there were four cruise ships in harbor contributed to the significant crowding at Coki beach. It was absolutely packed with fat ugly Americans. Yes, I realize that everyone that lives on the island is an American, and yes, I realize that I was just another fat ugly American among the mass of pasty, jiggling, overflowing flesh, but, nonetheless (or maybe because), it was a pretty sickening sight.
The snorkeling might have been okay, if there hadn't been masses of morons kicking up clouds of silt and standing on the coral.
The one real treat was seeing a school of reef squid. Squid are fascinating animals to me, and I really enjoyed just floating on the water watching them glide in and through their weightless truly three dimensional world.
Coki beach was by far the most commercialized beach we visited on St. Thomas. There were numerous stands selling food and drinks at the edge of the beach, with waiters who wandered the beach hawking their offerings. There were also stands renting snorkeling equipment, beach chairs, and umbrellas. While not nearly as obnoxious as the beaches at Antigua, it was definitely reminiscent of that experience.
Apparently, I am also too much of a loner when it comes to snorkeling, as Jeanie made a point of chastising me for constantly "wandering off" and causing agita with the rest of the group having to spend too much time looking for me. I didn't realize that I needed "watching." Its not like I have been swimming since almost before I could walk, or started SCUBA diving when I was ten.
Needless to say, the mid-day at Coki beach was not the highlight of my vacation.
Around 2:00 PM, we decided to pack it up and return to the condo to shower and change.
The water around St. Thomas seems unusually salty to me, so it felt good to shower off the sand and salt and change into some dry clothes.
After all of us were showed and changed, we drove in to Havensight to drop off the movie at Blockbuster and to pick up a ring Bob had purchased the previous day.
We decided that we wanted to try some place new for dinner. Fortunately, Bob has an incredibly good sense of direction, and he was able to use it to great effect to find the way to the Elysian Beach Resort at Cowpet Bay, where we dined on the water at the casually elegant Robert's American Grille.
Robert's turned out to be a great find. We arrived just in time for the start of Happy Hour, and Blair the bartender was more than eager to mix up a different tasty cocktail for each of us. The two for one Happy Hour special made our round of cocktails by far the most reasonable of the entire trip - $12 for all four!
Unlike our other restaurant experiences, the service at Robert's was exceptional. Jeanie had a cup of she-crap soup which was to die for. I had a bowl of black bean soup which was wonderful, with just the right amount of island spice kick to make it interesting. For our main course, Wendy had a petit filet mignon which was cooked just right, Bob had a delicious seafood pasta in a marinara creme sauce, Jeanie had a delightful chicken in a cherry creme sauce which we shared along with the scrumptious lobster crab cake appetizer I had ordered as my entrée. The total bill for dinner came to $75 for the four of us, which seemed quite reasonable given the location, service, and quality.
We decided we were too full for desert at Robert's so we didn't even bother to look at the desert menu.
On the drive back, we passed through Red Hook, and even though I was stuffed, I had a hankering for another Cold Stone, so I convinced Bob to make a detour. I guess I was a bad influence, as we all ended up getting ice cream, and all felt like we would burst after eating it, although at least for me, I would have popped happy.
Upon our return to the condo, it was time to clean up in preparation for our impending departure. Since the condo has all tile floors and throw rugs, cleanup was a fairly simple matter of shaking the rugs and sweeping, then wiping down the counter tops and cleaning the bathrooms. After we finished cleaning, we packed our bags and loaded as many as would could into the car in preparation for our 6:00 AM drive to the airport.
Between the snorkeling, sun, cleaning, and large meal, I was more than ready to hit the hay and call it a day.
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Posted by David at August 12, 2004 03:14 PM | Categorized under: A day in the life