Stunning St Johns

So I woke E at 9am, as promised, actually right on the dot as I was awake plenty beforehand and basically twiddling my thumbs until the clock struck 9. We got on the move but were hankering for some good grub to kickstart the day, so we found the greasebowl that is Fishy Tails. Right next to the barge that would take us to St Johns, and not too long a dash in the POURING rain, so it looked good enuf.

Yes, it was raining. Hard. Possibly the worst day we could have chosen to go to St Johns but since we were leaving the following afternoon, we didn't really have a choice. Breakfast was a huge affair, our meals being better suited cut into 3 and served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But anyone that knows me knows I don't like leaving anything on my plate, so in it went - crossiant (normal), bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, greeeeeease. We took photos to prove its massiveness.

We waddled out of the restaurant and the rain had thankfully eased - was that a slice of blue I saw in the sky?? - and got on the barge. Wasn't too expensive considering it included our fare as well. A short while later and we were there - St Johns, another US Virgin Island but especially untainted as 75% of it remained national park. But there were still tourists.

With the rain nipping at our heels, we found the animal shop owned by 2 gay guys obsessed with finding the latest "Chewy Vuitton" toys or dog-carrying dogs to pick up something for L's Rhodesian Ridgeback Babe (dog knows what a dog like THAT could want from in there) then had a starter drink at a nearby bar with a cute bartender (naturally we were pulled there by some crazy magnetic force). I knew we'd end up back there for Happy Hour.

The weather really didn't improve, but we made the most of it by driving little Suzi around about... not being that big, we kinda circled the island before we knew it then thought we should look at some of these famous stunning beaches. Well, yes, they were stunning. And swimming somewhere you can look back onto the shore to see just palm trees and forest behind is somewhat unique in today's world.

Cinnamon Bay was a highlight, we got there just as the sun was shining its last rays and the rain clouds descended from the other side of the sky. A beautiful picture. Then it was bay after bay, just a shame not really the weather to enjoy them. Really glad we had a car.

Bailed for the Barefoot Cowboy, a bar we purely went into to escape the rain (and cold) and also because it sounded intriguing. Turned out to be a bit of a Southern American dive that served meat, meat or meat if we were hungry and "a great kind of rum punch" if we were thirsty. One drink and we were out of there. No interest even in tonight's band. Probably the Redneck Hooligans.

Took another drive around hoping for somewhere else to drink by the beach, but they don't really have those places in St Johns, so we found ourselves back at the cute bartender bar, much busier during Happy Hour. We asked what the Happy Hour deal was - everything for $3. Including shots of Cafe Petron ($85 a bottle in Oz)? Why, of course! Bring it on.

So we ended up slamming several cocktails and Cafe Petrons, and then I had to navigate back to the dock (just around the corner) and then BACK the car onto the fast-filling barge. Eek! Managed without a problem, and even had a nice conversation with the barge operator about Rastafarianism.

E spent most the ride back on the phone to her mum, worrying as always, and I tried to straighten up. Probably shouldn't have gone so hard on the drinks but now I had to get back home regardless - just breathe. We seemed to drive forever but eventually found our way home. L called and suggested we meet at the local down the road for dinner. I suggested she pick us up. So we made our way to Sibs in her car.

Our waitress was a bitch but we found it entertaining. Stuffed our faces with portions again too big for us, even though I just had a chicken caesar salad - gotta love American culture - and plenty of drinks. Well lubricated, we decided to give ourselves a sleep in the next day. Our final day in St Thomas.