St Croix, Gem of an Island

St Croix is the largest of the US Virgin Islands and one of the least traveled. Every cruise ship in the Caribbean stops across the way at the over touristy St Thomas. So if you like shopping and crowds etc. then that's your place to go. But if you want a more island feel, try St Croix.

While technically you don't need a passport to get to/from the island it is certainly recommended in case of the errant thunderstorm forces you to land on another island. But don't think this is a US location, it's not. It is much more island than you might think.

Renaissance Carambola Resort

There are a number of hotel options but the Marriott Renaissance Carambola Resort is probably the best choice.

1) rooms all have at least a mini kitchen so you can prepare food and not spend $100+ for dinner every night.

Sleeping porch

2) rooms all have wonderful sleeping porches that come with cushions and are screened in. You can move a table out there(some units have round patio tables) and dine out there to the sound of waves.

3) it has an awesome dive shop on location - Sweet Bottom Dive Center.

4) all the other amenities you expect at a resort, pool, bar, gift shop with wine, beer and snacks, spa beautiful grounds and one of the nicest beaches available year round.
5) Friday night free entertainment with the Fire Gypsys and Moko Jumbies (who apparently make the rounds of the hotels on the island)

Ok since I mentioned the dive shop let's talk about that first. Sweet Bottom is the #1 ranked shop on the island. They have awesome instructors who work with the absolute novice and get them open water certified in a week. (Child got her scuba cert here) they can also run you through advanced specialties and take you on night dives. The reef is 100yards off shore, no boat, no long trip to get to a dive site, just gear up and go!

Child off to get her scuba cert!

It's a big island. It has a dry eastern side, a rainforest in the hills and spectacular views all over. You can drive around It in a day if you don't stop at every opportunity.  And if you're staying more than a few days I would totally recommend a car.

Old sugar mill

There are lots of old sugar mills you can stop and visit in fields >>
You can also visit Point Udall the eastern most point in the US. The views are spectacular! Buck Island Reef National Monument is also a fun half day visit by boat.

One of the absolute don't miss places is Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge. It is a 15-20 minute drive on a *small* sandy road, through mangroves and other fauna that scrapes the side of the car to get to the beach.   But once you get there it is stunning! If you've ever seen the Shawshank Redemption you will immediately recognize this as the beach scene at the end of the film. The water is clear, fish are visible and the beach is long, white and pristine.  The Refuge is only open limited months during the year due to turtle nesting, and only on weekends from 10-4. Be sure to take your own food/drinks and gear because there are no concessions and also very little shade.

Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge beach aka Zihuatanejo

St Croix also has two small cities Christiansted and Frederikstad that have historical forts that you can visit.  St Croix belonged to Denmark until the early 1900's - who knew? But it's passed through many countries ownership over time, including France, England, Spain eventually becoming a US territory.

Christiansted Fort

Frederikstad Fort

Just be warned, if you fly United and change planes in Puerto Rico, this is the ride to St Croix!
(You can also get there on JetBlue, American and Delta :)

NOLA expect the unexpected

Spring lead us to New Orleans this year, oddly, a place we had never been.

Let's just say it was the city of the unexpected. We traveled with the tween child and almost 88 year old mother (in-law) and we all tend to like the same types of things: history, food, museums, food, historic houses, food, good wine (ok, adults only on this one) and we are all happy walking or taking public transit.

I rented a house on airbnb that was on the edge of the French quarter and Marginy and what appeared to be an easy walk to Bourbon street and Frenchman's *the* streets to visit. OK so great, it's all about location, right? (more on that later) As expected, the house was perfect for our five night stay.

We ventured out into the Big Easy our first afternoon in search of FOOD! Mona Lisa's was the choice for a late lunch and it was basic Italian that filled us up. We wandered down Royal St into the heart of NOLA, got a feel for things and then headed home.

The next day we found our way to the Louisiana State Museum. There are two (unexpected) that flank the St James Cathedral, in the center of the FQ. Not realizing they were different, we chose Cabildo first which had an exhibit on the history of Mardi Gras, expected, and one on Katrina, also somewhat expected. The Katrina story was told in the first person by those who stayed in the city through the storm. It was moving and horrifying and makes you hope that you NEVER experience what these people went through before, during and after the storm. (Some of the politics of the Katrina situation still exist today.)

Presbytere on the left, St James Cathedral, Cabildo on the right

Another day we hit the Presbytere' which provides the history of NOLA and surrounding areas from the beginning of well, record keeping.  This is the museum for history junkies and we suggest you start your visit here if you are a museum/history hound. We also visited the 1850 House, one of the few original historic houses in NOLA you can actually visit. Most you just view from outside - unexpected! :(

Day two we started later with brunch at the Court of Two Sisters. This place is a little deceiving from the outside. It's been around for a long time and has a huge interior court yard with tables. Brunch was nice and had all the usual items and a few NOLA specialties. And of course there is live jazz being played all the time :)

Then we got on the St Charles Streetcar at the edge of the business district, rode it through the garden district, which is almost the polar opposite of the FQ. Big houses, lush gardens, all beautifully up kept. It takes you past Tulane and Loyola which are right next to each other (unexpected). You can get off at Magazine Street for shopping etc.
The street car is a great way to see the other parts of the city and (unexpected) it's only $1.25!! Or $3.00 for an all day pass. 

Tip: Streetcar also has a riverfront line which is a nice run too.

Pretty much always a line

We followed up the street car excursion with cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde, a must in NOLA. It is chaotic and busy and open 24/7 and you seat yourself.  Somewhat unexpected, they only serve coffee, hot chocolate, water and beignets. The wait staff work 8 hour shifts and they have to pay for what you order before you get it, then you pay them. It is an assembly line process in the kitchen trays, plates, beignets, sugar, coffee and then check out with a cashier. The kitchen is eerily quiet!  We asked about how much powdered sugar they go through in a day and the waitress said they put two 50 lb bags into the hopper each hour, on average.  Do the math:
2 x 50 x 24 = 2400 lbs/day!

Tip: if you don't care about visiting the original location, find them in the Outlet Connection mall on the Riverwalk which is smaller, but cleaner and didn't have a wait!

Since we traveled with the tween we also visited the Audubon Insectarium and Aquarium. Both are a little pricey but if you have kids, it's a good place to take them so they feel like it wasn't all about the adults. There is also a steamboat ride that leaves from the waterfront, just behind Cafe du Monde.

If you want a really outstanding meal make a reservation at The Pelican Club. It will not disappoint you. They only serve dinner and are located at 312 Exchange Pl, which is a small pedestrian street located off of Bienville St. The menu is what they call "Funky Creole" but it was so much more than that. Fish, rabbit, lamb, duck, and of course beef, chicken and pork entrees. We ate for two hours and enjoyed every morsel. I savored the Louisiana Cioppino in it's own pot!


OK, so I haven't mentioned the biggest unexpected. I thought we had a a house in the best "location," close to all that we wanted to see and do. You hear about what fun this city  is, how Bourbon Street is THE place to visit, the music is great, there's all the history and culture.  But the big unexpected is Bourbon Street is 13 blocks of seedy bars, over 21 clubs and strip joints. Maybe it's great at night if you are into that scene but during the day it is depressing. Bars open 24/7 means drunks 24/7 on every corner and staggering down the streets. The child, who has been on 4 continents and seen more than the average kid, was very uncomfortable the first day when we trekked down the street for a block, until we grasped its reality.

In stark contrast to the Bourbon Street and all it represents, another unexpected was the visit to the first convent and girls educational institution in America! The Old Ursuline Convent, part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, is the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley and has a very long and interesting history.

Given this city has a large volume of tourists/conventions, lots of higher education institutions and NFL team and good weather year-round, it was unexpected that a large majority of people here are poor. It is apparent in the homeless you see on the streets and in the parks. Houses in the FQ which you expected to be "just so" where in disrepair. Crime is such an issue that everyone has bars on the windows and many display signs that say "We love NOLA PD, we just don't have enough. Walk in groups!"  ?!!?

The good unexpected was finding a block or two that would be shut down to traffic to allow for street performers. We heard some really talented people and groups on Royal St outside Rouses Market and in front of St. James Cathedral. People stand or cop a seat on the curb and listen. Tips are always accepted and some sell CDs.



So for as much recovery as this city has made since Katrina, it has a long way to go. We enjoyed our visit and there was certainly enough to keep us busy and interested for six days but we also felt like there is a misconception of the city and what it offers visitors. It has amazing potential.  The people are warm, friendly and proud of their traditions.

And yes, the food is, as expected, awesome! (Make sure you seek it out. There's just as much bad as there is good.)

Out of DC: Alexandria

Tourists visit DC all the time but rarely get out of the capital city. But just a short Metro ride away on the blue or yellow line is the amazingly historic city of Alexandria, VA. At one point, Alexandria was part of the District of Columbia and there are a couple of original city markers still left around the city. The city was officially established in 1748 but has history that dates back even farther.

Torpedo Factory artwork :)

Nicknamed the Port City, Alexandria had and still has a thriving waterfront. Part of the Old Town historic district, the waterfront has restaurants, shops and art galleries. 

A must visit is the Torpedo Factory on Union Street. This three story building, which originally built torpedoes during WWI has been turned into not just an art gallery but houses studios for the artists and holds classes. There are all types of artists from paint to ceramics and stained glass to textiles, wood to jewelry. It's a great place to pick up a unique piece of artwork.

If you're into history, there are loads of historic houses, small museums and other sites to visit in the Port City.

Original Apothecary in Old Town

Stabler Leadbeater Apothecary Museum - Fairfax St
This is an amazing place that exists exactly as is was on the day it closed. It operated from 1796 until 1933 as a compounding pharmacy and distributor. It made drugs for sale in their retail shop, along with paint and anything else that involved chemistry. It also sold chemicals and drugs to other smaller apothecaries and doctors, not to mention directly to individuals. The upstairs laboratory is very cool with jars, cans, drawers and boxes that still contain various medicines and chemicals. They have a letter on display from Martha Washington requesting castor oil. 

Lee-Fendall House

The Lee-Fendall House on the corner of Washington and Oronoco Streets is off the beaten tourist path but well worth a visit. This historic house has original furniture, architecture and remained in the Lee (as in Robert E Lee) Family from the acquisition of the land in the late 1700s to 1903.  







If you are in Old Town on Sunday, visit 219 Restaurant for brunch. Cuisine is somewhat southern but beautifully presented and well executed. Eggs Benedict with Salmon, Fried Chicken and Waffles, Grown Up Mac n Cheese... all come with mimosas and great service!  Located at, where else? 219 King Street.

There are over 40 sites in Alexandria that are National Register of Historic Sites, including those mentioned above, a slew of African-American sites and other buildings and districts. Not to mention the oldest continuously operating farmer's market in the country that dates from 1752.

So the next time you visit DC, take a trip across the Potomac to Alexandria, VA. You won't be disappointed, unless you don't have enough time to see everything!

5 Concepts for How to be a Good Traveler

I feel like when I'm off to a new place, whether in my own country or not, I want to be a good guest. People travel for many reasons but mine is the opportunity to immerse myself in a new place and with that comes trying to not be 'that traveler' [or see Rants from a Sassy Stew] but really experiencing the place I've chosen to go.

Read up before you go

Know what's what. Read up on travel sites or TripAdvisor comments or in a guidebook [I've found Rick Steves gives good, practical advice] what the local customs are, such as:

• Typical dinner time? (10pm in Spain)
• What to expect for breakfast (meats & cheese in many parts of Europe) 
• Is there a holiday while you are there that will close historic sites or banks? 
• When is the best time to visit certain sites (i.e.: Eiffel Tower first thing in the morning, provided it's not summer!) 
• Are the beaches sandy, pebbles or rocky? Do you need to bring your own towels? 

Dress the part

Is it a place that has religious customs that expect a certain type of dress such as a head scarf or no bare arms. Or are you going somewhere that has topless or clothing optional beaches? The Cote d'Azure was a real eye opener on my first trip there. Shorts are also questionable in some places and so are sneakers. Even the color of your clothes can be 'problematic' [white in Japan is for funerals.]

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Cote d'Azure rocky and topless beaches

Try the local cuisine

Don't be a wimp! Eat what and more importantly WHERE the locals eat. Ask the front desk people if you're at a hotel, ask locals or a police officer - they always know where to eat, even outside the US! Be polite when ordering if you're not sure what something is on the menu. Ask the server what they recommend or is there a house speciality.

Caribbean lobster

Beyoglu Fish Market, Istanbul

France

Always learn a few key words in the local language 

This is where I get to tell you that PLEASE and THANK YOU get you SO far anywhere you go. If you can manage other key words or phrases, that will make your trip an even bigger success. Just making the effort will mean a lot to a local!

Be polite

This really doesn't need an explanation. Just be nice.

To quote Rick Steves:

"Go as a guest; act like one and you'll be treated like one. In travel, too, you reap what you sow."

Travel Must Takes

You know, those things you have to take when you travel. I'm talking about beyond the basics of toothpaste, band aids and dental floss. Every traveler has stuff that gets packed regardless of where or for how long they are going. Here's my list of eight don't forgets:

Plastic bags

Not even zip locks. I'm talking about the kind you get at the grocery store when you checkout. Countless times these have come in handy for wet clothes, opened shampoo bottles or the shells we found on the beach.  Usually I wrap shoes in them on the outbound trip so they keep the rest of the clothes clean and don't take up extra space.

 Coffee, sugar and my mini French press. 

I admit it, I'm a bit if a coffee snob. I'm not one of those people that has to get my double espresso, macchiato with skim milk and a shot of hazelnut coffee shop snob, but I also never had a cup of coffee from one of those in-room machines that tasted any better than tar. I use the in-room machine to heat the water and then enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Since I don't drink crap coffee at home why drink it on vacation?

String bag

Another little thing that comes more in handy than you
might think. Who wants to lug around a big backpack or even purse when you are out sightseeing or on a hike? Conference totes work ok too. Zipper pockets hold the phone or camera. It's easy to pack flat and makes bringing back stuff simple. Or you can toss it if it was a freebie.

Big scarf or pashmina

They say that the blankets on a plane get dry cleaned after use but I'd rather use a big scarf or pashmina as my blanket, thank you.  And you never know when you'll be stuck next to one of those travelers. They also come in handy if you're visiting a country where you may need a head scarf.

 

Sanitary wipes

Who knows who was in that seat before you? I've seen people change diapers on the tray table! Or when a bathroom is out of paper towels? Or worse yet, TP! Or when the kid gets a little messy. There are a thousand uses for these wonderful little things.

Snacks

Granola bars, peanut butter crackers, chocolate bar. Staving off the growling stomach while in the air or after the crew comes back from a dive and they are ravenous, I've always found its worth it to schlepp some snacks along on every trip.

Cough drops

Good for the plane, good when someone gets a sore throat, good for the annoying coughing passenger next to you.

Triple antibiotic

Solves so many problems it's hard to list them all. Just take it.


What's on your list of must takes?

So Who is Your Travel Agent?

I get asked this a lot and it's always fun to reply: ME!

But I work at it. Some trips harder than others.  Maybe that's because our family likes to travel a certain way? 

If you looked at my TripAdvisor travel style you'd see beach goer, history buff, upscale and like a local. Which means we don't camp. (heaven forbid!) But we don't have the wealth to do the fist class airfare (every trip) private yach, villa with chef, butler and pool boy.  Then we're not Motel 6 people either. We prefer Marriott over Hilton but not over Four Seasons or the Ritz. And mostly we like to see wherever we are from the locals perspective.

[Note: NatGeo just published How to Be a Good Traveler in 10 Easy Steps which includes how to explore like a local]

So put that altogether and what you get is a lot of research and a lot of work. Generally I start with Google Earth and pick a spot that we think we want to go or try to zero in on an island or country or the city and plan from there.

TripAdvisor is always my first stop I look at all the hotel offers based on what our family tends to like. Beach. pool. Historical sites. If we are headed to a city, we usually want to be close to all the attractions.  If I don't find a hotel to our liking on TripAdvisor then my next stop is VRBO this is the be-all end-all for home away from home rentals and I've had great success finding us places to stay. Generally I use vacation rental by owner if were going to stay somewhere for a long period of time say 10 days or more. This way we have a place to come back to at the end of the day where we can make a simple meal and relax and not be forced to eat out every meal and be stuck in a  hotel room.

Just like buying a property it's all location location location. This is where you really have to do your work if you care about where you're staying. I tend to look at what is most attractive to us, check the map and see if any of the properties I've found match up. And you can't take the listing as truth on the location.  I've seen apartments listed in NYC as Upper West Side that are on 121st Street. Ummm, no. Note even close. Make sure you get an exact address before you book.

UWS = 59th to 110th

I just recently tried Airbnb.com for the first time. Again, gotta really look at the map and know where you want to be. I asked one owner about public transit near his rental and he said "there's a bus stop but you don't want to use public transit, it's not safe." Ok, apparently you don't want to rent your house. NEXT!  

After finding suitable hotel/housing next comes airfare. Usually. Sometimes I find a great place but airfare is prohibitive so I have to drop back and punt. [insert The Azores here]

The Azores - Gotta find the 'off season' to go here.

I like to first check Hopper to see what they have to say about timing of buying a ticket to our chosen destination. Then it's on to kayak.com to dig out a fare. I've always found the best days to find a cheap(er) flight is early Sunday morning or Tuesday. Usually I set up a daily email and watch the fare for a while before I buy.

But the one thing I always do is once I find flights I like, I go through the process of buying them so I can see how filled the seats are on those flights. If I have a lot of lead time then I'll do this a couple of times before I buy the ticket. I try to take note of how many seats are filled the first time and then look and see if they've filled up and do I need to buy sooner rather than later.

[Side Note: On a recent trip to Turks and Caicos the first time I looked at the flights and found one I like and then looked at the seating chart and realized I needed to book sooner and I bought tickets 8 months in advance of the trip. Otherwise we would've been able to get flights at all.]

Make sure you always check directly with the airline site and don't just go with what you see on Orbitz or Travelocity or even Kayak you want to make sure that the flight that you're seeing is really a good flight and you could actually get it as it's offered.

Once you've got your location your hotel and your airfare booked you're ready to go and the rest is easy. If you're a scuba diving family like we are then you have to make sure that you've got reservations on the dive boat for the days that you want to dive going to the places that you want to go.

Will Cypha aka rental car

Otherwise the only thing left his car rental, if you need one. If we're traveling stateside I go through Hotwire.com because I don't really care who I rent my car from as long as it's got four wheels and it's going to hold the amount of luggage that we're going to carry. Hotwire always gives me the best deal for car rentals often times it's half or even less than half of what the carriers are offering out right.

Ultimately you have to know what kind of traveler you are before you book the hotel or airfare or make the first travel plan.  

When It's Not What You Think

So we spent two weeks over the holidays in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos and it is beautiful. It's warm, sunny, the water is super clear. Diving was great [according to my divers.] Food was delicious. Really lovely.

But it wasn't what we thought it would be.  In fact, once you get past the beauty, weather and food, it was a lot like the Jersey shore in July. Grace bay is this 13 mile stretch of white sand beach with calm water and the bodies are practically on top of each other.  Granted they are in resort lounge chairs vs. the typical towel or beach blanket at the shore but there were people EVERYWHERE. And they were all American.

What you expect when you research TCI

This is what it's really like.

TCI totally caters to Americans.  In fact, their official currency is the US dollar, which is nice since you don't have to pay an exchange rate or additional fees on credit cards. Oddly, for an island that is so "American," very very few places take American Express.  [Note to travelers like us: Take your Visa or MC!]

We are the type of travelers that like to immerse ourselves in the local culture, history, food etc. That was really hard to do when everyone I spoke with was from somewhere else. All of the resort staff were Haitian or Jamaican. I met ONE person during our two week visit that was born and bred in TCI. And I talk to everyone! I ask where to eat, what to see, where to go. Most were stymied and the concierge at our resort just stared at me like I had asked to book a tour to the moon.

Thankfully we had our car, Will Cypha, who we drove all over the island looking for the elusive TCI culture, history, local flair and 'downtown' Provo, which we found doesn't really exist other than on a local map. 

Will Cypha - He spoke Japanese

The Christmas Eve "Funky Junkanoo" was as close as we came to any cultural activities. And we heard the Thursday Fish Fry is a good time, since the holidays fell on Thursday we missed that.

 

We did come across one historical site at Sopadilla Bay Hill.  Rock carvings from soldiers on lookout during the 18th and 19th century.  Here's the oldest one that dates to 1767 and another from 1832.  

But it wasn't a total loss - we had great food & drinks at Bugaloo's!

We did an all-day snorkel trip with Caicos Dream Tours on January 1st. That was fun!

Mind you, it wasn't a horrible trip by any measure. It was just not what we expected given all that we had read and researched prior to booking our trip - in April 2014!  [Yes, 8 months in advance and  reasonable airfares were difficult to find.]

I guess  'don't believe everything you read' is the lesson here. I am a big researcher before I book a trip and I feel like this wasn't quite an #epicfail but I certainly needed to have done more to ensure we went on the type of trip we enjoy.

So if you're an adventure traveler, history buff, museum monger or like to do all the locals stuff, Provo, TCI is not the place for you.

If you're looking for a place to unwind, take in the sun, hang on the  beach and enjoy the calm waters and eat great seafood, then TCI is the perfect place for you!

P.S. If you venture a trip to TCI, be sure to give yourself at least THREE hours on the return trip to the airport, you will need it. PLS is the worse island departure experience we've ever encountered.