Stone Cottage

 

I am torn between telling you about Stone Cottage and not. After all, there are only 52 weeks of the year to rent it. I am tempted to keep it to myself!
Guess that I will let you in on the secret. Stone Cottage is a gorgeous little villa on the cool North side of St. Thomas. It is small, only enough room for two people. Sherri and Jeff, the owners, have done a beautiful job of building and decorating it. The cottage is set into the side of a hill, with lush tropical trees and flowering shrubs all around. There is a wrap around balcony that provides you with a stunning view of Inner Brass and Outer Brass Islands. A nice plunge pool and lounge chairs make for a lovely, private area to enjoy cocktails. If you choose to cook, there is a kitchen, complete with stove, fridge, and many pots, utensils, even herbs and spices. The decor is Island cool, with rattan furniture and refreshing citrus colors.
As this was our second time visiting Stone Cottage, Sherri and Jeff made us feel like we were returning home. Sherri met us at the airport and escorted us(in our rental car) to the cottage. She gave us a beautiful welcome basket, complete with goodies and snacks. We chatted for quite awhile. If there is anything that you need while you are there, from a masseuse to a nice bottle of wine, Sherri can hook you up.
If you enjoy just relaxing by the pool, walking to the beach, reading a book, and cooking your own meals, a car is not absolutely necessary. I highly recommend renting a car, though. Driving is on the left here, which can be a challenge(that is why I always let my Husband drive). The vistas and views are absolutely stunning! Shopping at Havensite is world-class. St. Thomas is a destination that provides so many things to do,and also the best of relaxing on the beach. We only ate out a few times,but every meal was excellent.
One night, Sherri and Jeff called us to invite us out to dinner, what a delightful surprise! We went to Tickles, a restaurant at Crown Marina. Tickles is a nice little restaurant with very good food. The atmosphere is friendly, with equal share of locals and "Yatchies". We had a wonderful time with Sherri and Jeff. They told us more about themselves, great stories about St. Thomas when Jeff was growing up there, and Sherri's stories of arriving there as a young woman from upstate New York. The evening flew by quickly,and it was so nice to feel like one of the "locals". Sherri and Jeff are a fantastic couple,very down to earth and funny! We could not ask for a better end to the most excellent vacation that we have had in a very long time!

Hull Bay Photo

 

This is a Photo of Hull Bay. In the backround are Inner Brass and Outer Brass Islands. This is one of my favorite(non-fish) things to paint!

St.Thomas

My vacation in St. Thomas was so excellent that I will have to break it into several blogs. St. Thomas is not known for its' diving, I realize that. I feel as if that reputation is undeserved. I saw many healthy corals, and thousands of juvenile fish. I love that macro stuff, and there was much of it. I saw several fish that I had not seen before,including a Redlipped Blenny and a Juvenile Dusky Damselfish. The Damselfish couldn't have been more that an inch long, but it was a little orange and indigo gem. I am starting a painting of him today, hope to have it available on my web shop soon.
The only wreck dive that my Husband and I went on was to visit the wreck of the Cartanzar. The Cartanzar was a derelict freighter that was moved from Amalie Harbor and set by Buck Island Cove. It was then broke into three parts by Hurricane Hugo. It was an interesting wreck as an illustration of the force of a hurricane(even under water). We saw a moray eel,and a cleaner shrimp. The dive master held the shimp up to pose for the camera, pictures were taken. I guess that little guy is famous in someone's photo album! Although it was a nice dive, the boat was just packed. If you've been in this situation, you know how it goes. Everyone mobs the divemaster with their cameras each time she discovers something new. I know that it can't be helped, but we made certain that our next dive was a shore dive!
Hull Bay is very close to Stone Cottage, the place that we stay when we go to St. Thomas. I can't wait to tell you about it and it's owners, Sherri and Jeff( but I will). Hull Bay is a very small cove, with a few boats moored right in the bay. We started our dive from the boat ramp, which made it very easy to unload our tanks. Most of the interesting stuff is to your right as you face the water. It is a very shallow dive,less than 12ft. This means we had a least an hour bottom time. This is my favorite thing! Lots of time to explore all the little nooks and crannies. So many baby fish! Shoals of Silversides and really healthy coral. We were told that there is a drop to about 40ft. at the outside of the reef, but we never made it that far because we were so interested in everything that we were seeing at the shallow depths. One word of caution: the boat ramp is slippery with algae( found this out the hard way). Hull Bay Hideaway, the bar at the beach does a decent bar-burger. The Locals tell me that I was lucky to have such a calm day, many people enjoy Hull Bay for Board Sports because there is quite often a chop on the water. Either way, I will always look back on this trip as the one where I fell in love with shore diving!