We were the first to arrive (9:30) and parked in the lower lot. This is a mistake, park in the higher lot. You will see that when it's time to leave there are 15 of the pick-up Taxi's right behind your jeep. They will gladly move but it's a hassle. On a side note - the people of St.John are very nice and very friendly, I did not see one person that was unfriendly (well maybe one).
I think the reviews about Trunk are misdirected. If you are looking for a fantastic beach THIS is the one. We pay the fee (well worth it) and walk into the most incredible view in the world. The water is bluer here then anywhere I have ever been, the sand is ultra soft and feels like velvet, you sink 3 or 4 inch's into the amazingly white powder. The ocean is crystal clear. We stand there stunned. WOW.
Looking around there are perhaps 3 other people on the entire beach. We walk to the left and find a spot where the sun will hit us and camp out. Unpacking the wooden chairs that were at the Trade Winds we figure out how they work and relax. Waves are crashing in front of us and it is perfect. There is no other beach on St. John that can compare with this.
Slowly the beach starts filling in with people, The lifeguards arrive and I go on thong watch.
I have heard that snorkeling is not great at Trunk and even though there were moderate waves I wanted to see what the scoop was. I walked about 1/2 mile to the snorkel trail and entered the water. Before I knew it I was being churned like I was in a washing machine. UP, DOWN UP DOWN, before I knew it was in in 20 feet of water and fish were doing somersaults below me. The pressure on my chest was actually making it uncomfortable for me to breath. AND it was getting dark.
I made a circle and headed in, content to try another day. The excessive wave action and the surprising deepness of the water made it a quick snorkel.
I walk back to our set up and as luck would have it, a group of Italians have setup next to us and one woman is thong enhanced. Now let's make one thing very clear. If DJ owned a thong, this would not be a bad thing. BUT, to be honest, if you live in Wisconsin, thongs are not one of the things that are in the bottom drawer . . . . at least not for swimming :-)
We go for a swim and the warm, clear water and the magic happens. We're turned in to giggling children. In fact this is something that we saw over and over and ONLY saw it at Trunk. We see a group of older men, looking like they should be on the Soprano's speaking Italian, what are they doing? Jumping up and down in the waves laughing. We see this over and over, age means nothing on this beach.
The complaint I often hear about Trunk is that it's crowded. Well , it's MORE crowded then the other beaches but, really, who cares. Is it a bad thing to be around a lot of happy people?
As I said, there are many people but they are happy people and are all friendly. A funny thing happened. At the Beach bar some New Englander made fun of how I said WisCONsin. Now, I'll admit that Midwesterners do not sound like east coasters so it was no big deal. HOWEVER - while we're basking in the sun a group of Cruisers (you can tell by their towels) spread out beside us and we exchange pleasantries. As I'm laying there I replay the 2 sentences in my rum induced haze . . . . . . OH MY GOD! I ask "Where are you from" (hoping I'm wrong). "We're from WisCONsin". In fact they live 40 miles away from us. I tell myself not to talk the rest of the trip.
DJ and I break out the Rum/7Up and lime and soak up the happy!
ANOTHER thing I want to mention. Patriot fans. YEA YEA YEA - ya won the Super Bowl, big deal, been there, done that, blah blah (We're cheeseheads). When your on St. John, don't come to the beach in full New England Patriot regalia. This family of 6, gets off the taxi and every stitch of clothing down to their black socks says Patriot including their jersey's. I'm here to get away from the world!!!!!
As our skin begins to heat up we decided to call it a day before the sun does any damage. We shower up at the showers and get the sand off our feet - HINT - always carry a gallon on water in your jeep to wash off sand. Refreshed, we jump into Robin and cruise to Cruz Bay for a bite to eat.
Rumbalaya is a great place for a ocean side lunch, it's just this side of the Beach bar near the ferry. Very relaxing and friendly, their Quesadadillas are great. As usual, it's a $30 meal OH - I forgot, for some reason I had a Kraut Dog at Trunk. I ask myself to this day why I wanted one but, I saw it and had to have one. It was pretty good, VERY large dog (as are all dogs on St. John . . . hmmmmmm)
That night we ate at Island Blues again and DJ wants you to know that the pasta salad is YUMMY! She had it as a side the 1st time and asked for ONLY it the 2nd time. $4! I had blackened chicken that was pretty darn good.
Tomorrow - donkeys in the jeep, The east end, Vie's and Francis Bay
