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Random Stuff - WSJ, June '14 - Hill Folk

Arriving friday in good old building 33. Can't wait, the pool looks great.
 
ksqdomer said:
Arriving friday in good old building 33. Can't wait, the pool looks great.
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We have beach chairs to leave on Friday...

Another great dinner with Ted (Teds' Supper Club) at our villa for our anniversary.
 
DavidnRobin said:
I was trying the panorama function on iPhone 5

Btw - if you want to use a cell phone (w/o roaming... Ouch) - Verizon does not work - AT&T does
(That has to be a 1st) - only my phone works.
Click to expand...

Oh cool. Just got my iphone 5 a month ago and didn't even not know about this function!
BTW, I have had AT&T for years...never had any issues in St Thomas or St John.:) dumb luck I guess...
 
I meant to say AT&T works and Verizon doesn't.
BVI today.
 
well we are on the 5:30 ferry. Why don't you hide them next to 33 or 34?:whoopie:

DavidnRobin said:
We have beach chairs to leave on Friday...

Another great dinner with Ted (Teds' Supper Club) at our villa for our anniversary.
Click to expand...
 
Got lucky with our boat day to the BVI yesterday - tropical front came in last night. Dark and gloomy outside - not many boats out. Weather for the last 2 weeks has probably (overall) been the poorest we have seen since we started visiting in 2006 (mid-June). Saharan dust has kept it pretty hazy, and while okay with me while on beach - I like sun for snorkeling - makes all the difference (esp with UW photos/videos).

Upside it that it has been ~5F cooler than in the past (83F vs 88F)
 
ksqdomer said:
well we are on the 5:30 ferry. Why don't you hide them next to 33 or 34?:whoopie:
Click to expand...

We will be leaving (unopned) food-stuff in the Free Cycle - so you may want check out when you arrive.
 
Did you use Bad Kitty again, or did you do some other type of boating to the BVI?

Since you've been there a lot, which boat trips have you taken? Any boats you really like? Some you just hate?

Thanks for any pointers. I'm counting down to next May.
 
We have done a few over the years - and things have been fluid. Especially since the WSJ dock rule that is enforced now.

I prefer charter with captains that have only a '6-PAC' license so we can be with just the 4 of us (and at the most 2 more). Plus, you can (sort of) choose your own destinations.

This year we did a sail (46ft Jenneau monohull) with Survivan - which was great (Robin loved sailing...) - with 3 snorkel spots. They moor in GCB. We didn't travel that far, but I really miss sailing.

The other charter was professional with a very good Captain - I won't mention name because while the Captain was very competent his personality had something to be desired and it sort of rubbed me wrong - wasn't a big deal (the girls liked him because he was cute). He kept bad mouthing past customers, and nothing pleasant to say about past passengers - which is unnecessary information - plus too talkative. I will not be using him again.

Next time I am tempted to us the Naughty Nymph boats - which is WSJ's outfit. A big reason is that thy can use the WSJ dock versus a Tender pickup/drop off. They cost about the same. Not sure if you can choose your destination - for example we no longer desire to go to JVD (White Bay) - although if you never been, then definitely worth seeing.

For a large charter going to The Baths - I would go with Bad Kitty, but you will be with other groups that can be hit/miss. Others go to The Baths but BK is smooth and fast.
 
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DavidnRobin said:
Always fun to meet other Tuggers - we had drink and snacks with ferndale (Joy) and her family down at their 3Bd pool villa. Nice folks - they said the Scuba diving was great and made me miss diving. They had incredible video of a large octopus.

I didn't see any construction issues, but wasn't looking closely. Her DH mentioned an AC problem that was quickly fixed by Maintenance - but they didn't mention any other issues. I like the 3Bd pool villas, but think they should have tiled the main floor (like ours) instead of having it carpeted.

It seems more crowded this week - lots more 4WD parked outside our buildings. During last week we had the pool area by our building to ourselves much of the time. A neighbor was mentioning to me that yesterday evening a large group from the BV villas invaded our pool area - interesting... I hope this does not become a common occurrence as I do not think their MFs pay for VG pools.
Click to expand...

I know this is a few days old, but we just got home last night. Had a great week in our 3 bd pool villa. Did have issues with upstairs a/c, but within 10 minutes of calling they had a repair guy there. A temp fix was done for Sunday night and by 1030 am Monday it was repaired. The first repair worked for a day, and then it required a second repair, but that was accomplished within a few hours of our call. I didn't notice any major issues - a few cracked tiles out by the patio drain, and the first floor should definitely be all tile - but that is probably more of a personal preference. I was very pleased with the caulking and maintenance of showers and tubs - I have definite mold phobias around wet areas, and there was none of that!! We used the pool and hot tub daily.

It was lovely to meet DavidandRobin. Amazing how much we have in common!!
 
I hope your trip home was uneventful - saw some bad weather in your neck of the woods.
btw - your scuba video with Steve Simonsen is on Vimeo (not YouTube) - looks like whole family was in it. His Hermit Crab Migration is on Vimeo as well.

Rained all day yesterday - but was beautiful today - lucky for us. Went to Salt Pond - go a great video of a spotted eagle ray that I will share after I get home. Too many turtles to count - many small ones which I assume is a good thing.
 
Luckily stopped raining by Thursday morning
Got a chance to spend our last full day at Salt Pond Bay
Robin is an excellent sea-life finder this trip
Good-sized Spotted Eagle Ray
Managed to get a quick video before it flew away
http://youtu.be/P3bdwErVQRY
 
tomandrobin said:
Not sure if I like the grill being together, will find out next year. I really like that umbrella stand for the lounges. Overall, the pool area looks great.

10 months, 2 weeks can't get here soon enough.
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It may not show in photos, but the 2 grills have pretty good separation and lots of counter space in-between. They had to move the old BBQ over to the other side because of a wheelchair ramp placement to be ADA compliant (you can see ADA water entry/exit chair in photos as well). Interesting that while the pool area is ADA compliant - there are still curbs leading to the villas on the bottom level (and of course no way for a wheelchair to get to upper level).

Overall - the pool/patio area looks good - increased amount of shade and chairs/lounges. Someone comes in the morning to rise the umbrellas and lower in the evening. Someone cleans the grills in the morning. However, grill lighting can still a problem (as evidenced by missing forearm hair from my right arm...).
 
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polly0014 said:
Welcome home! Thanks so much for sharing! Great pics!

How were the dreaded mosquitos?
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Missed this... the mosquitos were not bad this year - much better than our last visit where we had to hide out in the water to prevent from being bit. Strange - when we first arrive - they do not seem to bother me - then a few days in the bites come - by the end of trip they seem to not bother me again. I suspect I am getting bit - but just an immunological response as the body adjusts. Spraying on back of legs/arms - and elbows/knees and feet seems to work best.
 
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I finally had a chance to upload a few videos to YouTube... and will do more when I get a chance. The camera worked well (but should have played with it more to get best performance UW) - cloud cover most of the time was a deterrent on getting sharp videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlcsthcusuM&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5XBUKwidwqKKZpEW0OO_mg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwS1rmTKJxk&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5XBUKwidwqKKZpEW0OO_mg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQJhY17-BV0&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5XBUKwidwqKKZpEW0OO_mg
 
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DavidnRobin said:
I finally had a chance to upload a few videos to YouTube... and will do more when I get a chance. The camera worked well (but should have played with it more to get best performance UW) - cloud cover most of the time was a deterrent on getting sharp videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlcsthcusuM&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5XBUKwidwqKKZpEW0OO_mg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwS1rmTKJxk&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5XBUKwidwqKKZpEW0OO_mg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQJhY17-BV0&feature=c4-overview&list=UU5XBUKwidwqKKZpEW0OO_mg
Click to expand...

Awesome footage - crystal clear! Thanks for sharing.
 
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