Headed Home - Day 9

What a day. I repeat. What a flippin' day. Our original flight out of San Juan departed at 4:30 but a couple of months ago it was changed to 6:30, so we had all day to kill in town. The plan was to take a taxi to Barrachina's (a restaurant) and have a drink or two with lunch - maybe walk around the Old Fort since it's pretty close by. Barrachina's has a complimentary luggage hold for late afternoon flights - or so the Internet says.  It was the first time we've been able to chose the last disembarkation time. Having a sort of leisurely morning, instead of rushing, was very appealing. Hahahaha. Last laugh on us. Someone in the group actually read the paper and informed the rest of us that Blu (and everything else) closed at 8am. So much for leisurely mornings. (One would think since this is our 3rd Caribbean cruise we would've remembered that. Apparently not.)  We met at 7:30 for our last meal.

We still had an hour or so after breakfast before our number (32) was called at 9:25. Spending it up on deck 11 in Reflections wasn't so bad. We all went through pictures and videos reminiscing about the fabulous time we had this past week. We heard the number 30 (and anything up to that) called about 9:15 so we were on alert waiting to hear ours. The room had gotten significantly more crowded in the last half an hour or so, and there were attendants checking them in. Weird, we thought. Soon after that servers came around with trays of mimosas and champagne for everyone. Hmmmm, we knew they do that when you arrive, we just didn't remember them sending us off with a drink in the past. You know we all took one. LOL.

It was when one of the crew picked up the mic and welcomed the back to backers (passengers cruising back to back cruises) that we freaked out. OMG! I don't think any of us have moved that fast all week!! We never heard 32 called!!! You can't make this stuff up. Wth? Apparently, when they call 30 it means everything past 30 too. And we're just supposed to know that? Smh. We flew out of there. It appeared that Customs has cleared our a bit -  imagine that - we were among the last of departing passengers. Let me just say there were very few unclaimed luggage bags left in the open room. In the past, grabbing a porter was a great way of bypassing the long Customs lines. One would seem to think it would be a good idea this year as well. Not so much. We had a great porter, who piled that dolley higher than you could imagine, got in line and waited. And waited. And waited. It was absolutely crazy how long it took. Jim and Kathy were literally the last ones out of the building. We closed it down. There were four agents for the regular line and one for passengers with porters. It took forever. The regular line went much faster. You just can't make this stuff up.

Finally through Customs we tried to get a taxi to take 8 passengers with luggage to Old San Juan. When we managed to get one he refused to take us because the traffic downtown was so bad today due to some kind of festival. (We found out it's the SanSe Sebastian Street Festival, the biggest festival of the year.) Sigh. Really? That should've been our first sign. The second taxi guy agreed to take us but did say the traffic was horrendous downtown.  As we progressed through the city it was obvious he was right. It was like a parking lot. Thinking ahead, we ended up agreeing it may be the smartest move to just go straight to the airport. Our driver was only too happy to make a U-turn right there in the middle of the street.

I believe it was around 11:00 when he dropped us off at the airport/zoo. To say it was packed would be an understatement. We couldn't check in earlier since we were off the grid with no internet and it was too late to check in online, so we just had to wait. You can't check in at the airport until four hours before your flight. That put us at 2:30. We had a few hours to wait. Our scout (Rick) found a spot we had gone before, on the other side of the airport, where we could grab a beer and snack. They only had light beer and the food didn't look that appealing but Bob found us a decent sandwich at the coffee shop two doors down. With more free time, we pulled our cameras out to transfer photos and videos, and see if we could figure out why the videos from Bob's phone wouldn't play and why my camera died - we thought it was the battery but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I just don't know. Will have to figure that out when we get home. I noticed the place seemed to be cleaning out. Lord have mercy, I look up and they're pulling gates closed, cleaning up the kitchen and closing up shop! Seriously? It was 1:00. Smh. 

Hauling all of our bags back to the main concourse, it was just as busy as before. And we still couldn't check in for an hour and a half. After standing there for a while Rick got bored (imagine that) and came back a little later with four cans of local brew with cups. LMAO. That boy is something. The guys stood right there in the middle of all that chaos drinking beer. Oh! And in the middle of that the screening center we were standing in front of pulled their gates and shut down. Security came out of nowhere. Wth? Someone had left a bag on the belt and not claimed it. Well crap, do we need to move? Is there a bomb that's gonna go off in there? Obviously we must not have been but so concerned because we didn't move. We just stood there watching everything unfold. In the end it was some drunk or high chick that simply forgot her bag. Smh. You can't make this stuff up. 

I had bought some internet time earlier and tried to check in online. It didn't work and we thought it was because it was too close departure time. Sarah had the international package and it worked long enough for her to get a message saying our flight had been changed yet again. Ooohhhhh. That's why we couldn't check in. All of us were anxious to get rid of our luggage and go find a place to sit down and chill. Finally it was 2:30 and we attacked the kiosks to check in and pay for the extra bags. After a number of failed tries the damn thing finally told us it couldn't fulfill our request and to see a customer service assistant. Joy joy. 

In the meantime, Sarah's had gotten far enough to get a non valid ticket printed. It said our flight was rerouted through Charlotte and our final destination was Newport News / Williamsburg airport. What? How can they change destinations on us? We arrive at 11:45 and our cars are in Norfolk. That's just crazy. An agent came down the line asking if she could assist us. When we explained the problem she told us there was bad weather in Miami (which is where we were scheduled to fly into) and that flight was cancelled. Our group was shown to Priority Customer Service where were again told the flight to Miami was cancelled due to weather. And since we were rerouted because of weather they were not responsible for ground transportation to get us to our original destination. Again, you just can't make this shit up. No matter what we said the agent stuck to her guns and so did the supervisor. Thankfully, we're traveling with a lawyer who isn't buying it. 

At least we all got TSA Pre✔️, right? We'll take small victories. Oops! Seven out of eight got it. Rick didn't. You can't even imagine the line to get through security. They had a ton of stations and scanners open and it still took forever. It was after 4:00 before Rick made it through. Needless to say he was not a happy camper. It just reinforces to us that we need to apply for TSA Pre✔️ and be done with this crap. It's $85 for 5 years. Well worth every penny. 

There was a very small, crowded Margaritaville restaurant down by our gate (it was the only place to sit down and get anything). As some customers finished, we swiped their tables. The flight boarded at 6:00 and we were cutting it a tad close since they were so busy - it was taking a while to get served. Walking to the gate we checked the boards and lo and behold our flight was boarding and on time. Hmmmmm. They told us flight was cancelled. Obviously they lied. We believe they overbooked the flight and since we didn't check in yesterday they gave up our seats and booked us on whatever flight they could to get us close to home tonight. We're flying American Airlines by the way. Just throwing that out there. The only Southwest flight going out of San Juan today was 8:00am and there wasn't any way we could make that so we went with American. 

Jim tried working some magic with the agent at the gate. That didn't work either. That guy had a major tude from the get go and had no interest in helping us. However, when we mentioned that the flight we were told was cancelled was boarding and on time, he totally changed the story and said it wasn't the flight going to Miami, it was the flight leaving Miami that was cancelled because of weather. Uh huh. Not buying that either. Our scheduled flight was boarding and on time and we're supposed to believe that everyone on that plane has a final destination of Miami? So Miami is grounded? We have accepted that they have changed our destination but cannot accept they bear no responsibility to get us to Norfolk. That's what we're trying to get them to arrange. By the time we land in Newport News it will be midnight. We aren't going to be able to get any kind of taxi to take us and our luggage from there to Norfolk. Can you make this up? I think not.

We landed on time in Charlotte and had about an hour before the last leg to Newport News. Jim tried his best to get something out of the agent here. As helpful as he tried to be there wasn't anything he could do either but did suggest we contact the AA Complaint Department. In the meantime, Bob got on the phone and rented cars for us - a van for the Riddles and the Comstocks and a car for us. Thank goodness he had the foresight to do that. DE and Sarah's son picked them up so they were good to go. We landed about 11:30 and had our rental vehicles and bags by about midnight. Not too much traffic to worry about that time of night. Oh wait, I almost forgot! I went to the restroom before we left and as I was washing my hands, this automated voice said, "Washing hands helps prevent the spread of germs. Thank you for washing your hands." Seriously. What the bloody hell? Consider me punchy. I'm sure whoever was left in the airport could hear me laughing. It got worse when Regina washed her hands and didn't get thanked. I have never ...

Another DEism - "Do you know what's gonna go good with alcohol tomorrow? My lips!"

The ride home was uneventful. We stopped by Walmart at 1am (or later) to pick up bread, bananas and peanut butter. A PBJ with some milk sounded like it would hit the spot. It was at least 2:30 by the time we got into bed. What a day. What a flippin' day. At least we're home. Safe and sound. (ETA: I'm happy to report that our Orange Truffle Baileys made it in one piece. Very happy campers.)

(Also ETA: On the drive over to the airport the next morning it was snowing its butt off. Back to boots, coats and scarves!)

Another DEism - "I need some prompting. My pegs are full!"

St. Thomas - Day 8

Pulling into St. Thomas is always beautiful. This sunrise was no exception.

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

We had another early morning - had to make the most of our last day! We went upstairs for breakfast at the cafe, grabbed our stuff and we were deboarding when the ship docked. Our taxi met us right outside security with a sign. That's how it's done!! It was about a half hour drive to Sapphire Beach Marina, where the boat was docked. And it was a beautiful drive. Honestly, I was surprised. So far what I had seen of St. Thomas I had not been impressed with. The first time we came here we shopped in the morning and had a not so great excursion to Buck Island in the afternoon. Last year we went to Coki Beach. Coki Beach is a decent beach with decent snorkeling but it's in a rough area. The rest of what I had seen looks like home, It doesn't look like an island. The views we were treated to today were incredible. Today I finally fell in love with St. Thomas.

Dropped off at the marina the rest of the gang was already there waiting for us. The boat was beautiful. It's 55 years old and meticulously kept. Captain Rick and Deb made up the crew. They could not have been better. Both were extremely personable, loved what they were doing and went out of their way to make sure their passengers had their best day ever. We sure did. 

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

The others on board was a group from Missouri. Mom & step-dad, son & wife, best friend & wife. Larry was the son. Larry was a funny dude. He was throwing down some Bud Light like it was candy. Every time Deb walked past him he was ready for another one. Just about everything that came out of his mouth made us LOL. He was the epitome of a good old southern boy. I used the word boy loosely. Larry was a big dude. A big teddy bear. We motored out until we hit some wind and they started putting the sails up. They had put all of our bags underneath, had us stuff loose things in pockets and told us to hold on. When the wind hit the sails we started heeling over. Holy crap, what fun that was!!! Larry was laughing his butt off at us because we were the first ones to be able to touch the water. When the tables turned on him it was hilarious!! He was terrified he was going overboard at first. Smh. That boy ain't right. He made that trip. The thing is, he's a really nice guy. He's just a simple, honest, down to earth guy. We accepted him without judgment and just enjoyed him. He appreciated that. 

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

It felt so good to sail. It's just so peaceful. Our first stop was Honeymoon Beach, St. John. See? We did go to St. John. Jim even swam to the beach and stood on it. So he's really been to St. John. The water felt amazing. It felt quite a bit warmer than Barbados. God it's such a gorgeous shade of turquoise, it's just hard to describe. But I can still see it in my head. The snorkeling was really nice, especially by the small reef was swam to. While we were in the water Deb was busy getting our lunch together. Rick's wife does most of the cooking but Rick said he was up early cooking the chicken this morning. All of it was delicious, and the presentation was beautiful. Deb picks the flowers on her way to the marina in the morning.

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

After lunch we sailed to our next spot, Christmas Cove, St. Thomas. The sailing in itself is just so peaceful and relaxing. No more heeling, much to our disappointment. When we anchored, Deb showed us where the turtles usually are and the reef we'd swim out to. She said she would be in the water with us so we could go as a group and she could point out different things we may otherwise miss. The water, again, was incredible. I know I keep saying it but it's true. I don't think I'd ever get tired of those views. Deb said swimming the reef was like swimming in an aquarium. Boy was she right. Wow. That was the best snorkeling we've ever done. It was amazing!! We had to have been out there for a good hour and it flew. You're in a whole different world under there. My camera wasn't working and the pictures just don't do this place justice.

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

None of us were ready to leave this spot but we had to be back on the ship by 4:30 and Rick was trying to get us back to the marina by 3:30 to ensure we had plenty of time for the half hour drive back. It was a sad sight to see the marina in the distance. None of us were ready for this day to end. We'd been admiring Deb's long sleeve Nightwind t-shirt and we happy when Rick said they had some for sale. He only had long sleeves in extra large sizes so we ended up with short sleeves but that's ok.

The taxi ride back to the ship was an experience. It was almost like the St. Lucia ride all over again. This guy (never did get his name) was not a smooth driver. He hit the brakes hard and punched the gas the same way. Add that to the curves and speed ... well let's just say it wasn't a good combination for me. I think part of the reason he was driving so aggressively was to make sure we got back in time, but honestly, I'm not sure he didn't drive that way all the time! Bob and I were in the far back seat (there were three bench seats behind the front seats) and my stomach did not enjoy this ride. I swear if it had been ten minutes longer I may not have recovered. The funniest part of that ride was the speed bump that apparently our driver didn’t see. He went over that thing so fast that Bob and I both went airborne in that back seat. You should’ve seen our faces when we looked at each other. I’m sure our expressions were about the same as finding out we weren’t on St. John. The only difference in being airborne, though, is that I had a lot more room to fly than Bob did. LOL His big ole head made a dent in the roof of that van. It will forever have Bob’s mark on it. I laughed until I couldn’t breathe. It was priceless!! And you know when I get that tickled, everybody is laughing. Bob wanted to go to the sauna. It was all I could do to get back to the cabin. I don't usually get motion sickness but this guy rocked my world - and not in a good way.

We went upstairs to the cafe so I could make some iced mint tea in hopes that would settle my stomach quickly. Between some water, the tea and a piece of pizza I was starting to feel better. Regina had mentioned trying the thermal pool (for whatever reason we hadn't been in there before). That sounded like something I could tolerate (the steam room just wasn't happening for me this afternoon) so we suited up and headed that way. (Thalassotherapy. A mineral rich warm pool with hydrotherapy jets to stimulate and tone tired aching muscles. Excellent for treating cellulite, arthritis and general muscular and joint aches and pains.) When we got there, Regina was in the hot tub soaking it up. The water in the pool felt wonderful - it was warm but not hot. There were curved pipes the release bubbles for lounging. There is also a tall spigot on each corner of the pool for massaging sore muscles. Each one varies a bit in the intensity. I revelled in standing under the strongest one, letting it pound on my neck and shoulders. It felt wonderful! Where the hell have we been for three whole cruises on this ship that we've never tried this pool before? I do not know. But I do know I won't let another one go by without spending time here. Between the pool, the massage spigots and the hot tub? Limp dishrag. Just sayin'.

So after an incredible day in the sun on the water, a challenging ride back to the ship (at least for my stomach - I've learned my lesson on riding in the far back seat), and now lounging in a spa pool, we have to shower and get dressed for our final dinner. (I know, that was a long sentence.) Moving fast was really not an option. Plus I think we were dragging it out a bit. It wasn't my favorite meal in Blu but that really didn't matter. Luis (sommelier) came over to hook us up with his usual smile and wonderful personality. Those are the ones you really remember. Cari asked if he was still there - she and Matt loved him too. There were only two at the table who had packed the first item, DE and Sarah. Show offs. The rest of us dragged our feet back to our cabins like we were going to our executions. It's been such a magical week and it has flown by so fast, almost like we've just blinked and it's over. Hands down, the best one of the three we've done so far. It wasn't the islands. It wasn't the blue skies and turquoise water. It wasn't the best snorkeling we've ever done. It was the people. We just had a ball hanging out with great friends. I haven't laughed this hard, this much in a week since ... well, ever. Thanks guys for taking this trip with us. We really did have the time of our lives.

St. Maarten - Day 7

Our excursion today was sailing on the Passaat (which means Tradewinds in Dutch I think). The sailing ship is 105 years old, owned and operated by a couple from Holland, Mirian and Pieter. This excursion got great reviews on trip advisor. (Note to self: that doesn't always mean that it's an awesome excursion.) My antenna was already up with these folks back in October when she said she would call after Halloween for our credit card number to hold the spots, and she didn't. I checked with her again in December just confirming we were still booked (as I did with all the excursions we had booked). The original email from them said they could arrange transportation to and from Simpson Bay for $14 per person round trip. I requested that but she never addressed it in any subsequent email. We didn't know quite what to expect and figured we'd go down to the taxi area and if we couldn't find anyone holding a Pasaat sign with our name we'd just get our own taxi. (ETA: When I finally checked email again on Sunday after we were home there was an email from her on Friday, January 8, saying she had arranged email. Why she waited that long I have no idea but with no cell service and limited wifi from the time we left home Friday morning on, I never saw it.)

Check in was at 11:00am according to the paper work we had. That meant we had to have breakfast and be in the port area in time to regroup if our transportation wasn't already arranged. We didn't know how far away Simpson Bay was. Holy crap that place was a flippin' zoo. Might've had something to do with the fact that there were four ships docked that day. Ya think? Fast forward, we finally get someone to assist us in hailing a taxi big enough for 8 and he asks us where we're going in Simpson Bay - it's a big place. Well hell. We don't know. After we went through a couple of guys one of them took Bob back inside and pulled up the company online and got an address. Thank the Lord. Then we get a taxi. Bob. Bob was a trip and a half. The guy had us in stitches the whole time. He was awesome. His real name was Veejay but he went by Bob. Makes sense to me. It was 10:50 and my Bob asks driver Bob how far away we are. Driver Bob said about 25-30 minutes. My Bob told him check in was 11:00. Driver Bob laughs. Not gonna make that he says. But the ship doesn't sail until 11:30. I think we're fine. The views winding through St, Maarten were gorgeous. There are mountains, beaches, incredible turquoise water - what more could a person ask for? Unbelievably, we got behind a bulldozer going 10-15 mph on this two lane road winding across the mountains. Bob kept us entertained. At some point a car tried to cut him off, or something, and he laid on the horn and cackled like Ahmed. We died LOL. We fell a little bit in love with Bob. He even gave my Bob his card with his US phone number on it so if we come stay on the island we can call him. How cool is that?

We made it to Skip Jack Restaurant (the drop off) with a few minutes to spare but Mirian was chomping at the bit waiting for us. The rest of the passengers were already on board. We piled into the dingy and motored out to the ship. It was pretty from a distance.

It was kind of beat up and neglected looking up close. Mirian said she sent a car for us. I don't believe it. They just came across as very unorganized and disheveled people. While it was nice to be on the water, it was a little disappointing to us that they weren't stopping at a good snerkling spot. Just a swimming spot. And apparently there wasn't enough wind for sailing so he just motored around all day. Really not the same effect. But it was relaxing, the scenery was beautiful, the food was really good and the company was entertaining. So it was a good day, just not a fabulous day. Not an excursion we'd recommend or repeat. The ship had potential but was in desperate need of some TLC. It appeared their company was struggling. Not sure how much longer they'll be in business. Regina accidentally got a glimpse of their living quarters trying to find the restroom. She was horrified at the condition saying there was stuff thrown everywhere and she didn't know how the boat was afloat. Topside looked way better than down below. While they were nice people, be this will not be a high recommendation on tripadvisor.

One of the highlights of the day was seeing planes fly in over the beach to land at the airport. I've seen the pictures of this from the beach and it is almost terrifying how close those planes fly right over top of beach goers. But it sure was fascinating to watch from a boat!! LOL

The food served for lunch was a meal, and it was pretty good. Mirian made a remark about not having enough fish for everyone because she didn't get a meal form from our group. Well, she never asked for one. Whatever, another strike for this excursion. But we enjoyed it nonetheless.

DE was fascinated with this "vortex" or "black hole."

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

One of the other passengers had this really cool Piranha Joe's t-shirt on we all really liked. How cool to find out there was a little shop in the duty free area that sold them. We all got one except Rick and Regina.

Pretty cool story, huh?

Rick was freakin' out because he couldn't find his glasses, so off they went try and solve that mystery. By the time we got back to our cabin we didn't have much time before we had to get ready for dinner. Ricky was all worked up because it seemed his glasses fell out of the bag and were gone. That really sucks. He needs his glasses to function. I would've been upset too. That's a big deal. A little later it was discovered that Kathy had them all along. Thank God. She was one of the last ones off the ship and saw them sitting on the table, thought they were theirs and tossed them in her bag. What a let down it was to see those blasted luggage tags on our bed this afternoon. Reality still refusing to set in. I'm determined to milk every moment out of this week.

Another beautiful sunset this evening.

Ricky was in a much better mood at dinner. As much as we didn't want to dress up, it was lobster tail night at Blu, so a no brainier there. They always serve Baked Alaska for dessert with the lobster. You just can't go wrong with that. Gabriel treated us to his disappearing credit card trick at the end of the evening. Jim and Rick are still looking for their cards. Haha. He just so damn cute. 

There was a comedian in the theater tonight. He was really good. I'm not sure there's an accent he can't do. I'd definitely see him again. (Lost the Celebrity info that said his name - Ugh.) The Liars Club was on at 10:30. Three crew members are given a word to define and the audience tries to determine which one is the correct answer. The three crew members on the hot seats were Nathan, Kim and Mark, all of whom were good sports and enjoyed the game, however many times they've done this. I can't wait to get back on the grid to find out if these are actual words. (ETA: They actually are - I looked them up ... on the internet. LOL)

Pandiculation 

Nathan - said he was a condom model in a previous life and it was an allergic reaction to latex

Kim -full body stretch

Mark - the process to encourage pandas to mate  

Haweshole 

Nathan - pause in public sp asking when nervous 

Kim - hole in the side of ships for mooring last lines

Mark - someone who extorts money with the threat of violence 

(They used this word last year so we already knew that one, plus Bob knew it from working on ships.)

Chubble 

Nathan - seeing something with your eyes and being disappointed 

Kim - brand of condoms

Mark - aerobic motion of putting on panty hose (he demonstrated this extremely well - hysterical)
(ETA: Believe it or not, this is true. Here's the Urban Dictionary definition: Chubble - noun, verb - to move or to be like a mass of fat, to chubble. ALSO: one who chubbles is a chubbler.)

Assapanick

Nathan - when a group of people stare at you

Kim - body double that looks better than you

Mark - native name for flying squirrel

Each one concocted a far fetched, crazy story about the word, explanation and definition. They were hysterical. Between Andrew and this show we were all laughed out. It was about midnight but the time we got back to the cabin and ready for bed. I was done and went to bed without journaling. It had been a long day. 

Tomorrow St. Thomas. Last day. Man this week has gone fast. 

St. John's (Antigua) - Day 6

I don't even know where to start with this day. Fro. I guess I'll just roll with it. We wanted to get an early start this morning because everything we've read (yes Kathy, on the Internet) says the earlier you go to Trunk Bay the better. The later it gets, the more crowded it gets. The plan was to just grab a taxi to the beach. As we made our way through security and the shopping area Bob found the information booth and asked a lady about a taxi to Trunk Bay. This is where the story gets good....

Daddy Long Legs made it there several seconds before I did so I didn't hear her response. I was there in time for him to turn around to me and say .... Wait for it .... Wait for it .... "This isn't St John. We can't go to Trunk Bay." Wait, "what?" Where the hell are we then? (Later in the day Jim did a very good impression of an island woman saying to Bob, "You've got the the wrong island, boy! ... But we do sell maps!") Seriously. What. The. Hell. Apparently, we were in Antigua. It's a whole nother island!! BUT, the capital of Antigua is ... yup, you guessed it ... St. John's. You just can't make this stuff up. Smh. All this time and all these stories we've told everyone about the Lobster Cruise in St John. Lies. All lies. Not intentional of course but lies nevertheless. I don't even know what to say. All we can do, have done, and will do, is laugh our silly asses off. As we boarded the shuttle to Long Bay Beach (on Antigua) Jim said, "Right church, wrong pew." Our 20 minute ride (what the lady who said we were on the wrong island told us) ended up being at least 45 minutes. It took forEVER! And we laughed all the way there. 

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

Ya know, it all started making sense now. When Bob and I were researching things to do in St John we kept reading (on the Internet) that ships don't dock in St John. That's why you can't take excursions from St Thomas to St John. Humph, we thought. They don't know what they're talking about. OUR cruise line docks in St John because we've been there! We've always wanted to go to Trunk Bay because the "snerkling" is supposed to be great! There's a national underwater park that you snorkel. Everything we read said you had to take a ferry from St Thomas to St John and then a taxi to the beach. Sounded very complicated. Why would you do that when you could just take a taxi from port when you docked there? Well now we know. "They" (on the Internet) were right!! Honestly, you really can't make this stuff up. All this time we've told everyone how beautiful the water in St John is. Guess what? I have no flippin' clue what the water looks like in St John!! Confession time Padre!

As we boarded the shuttle bus, Jim said "Right church, wrong pew." We laughed all the way there, the whole time at the beach, all the way back and the rest of the night. Guess we'll be doing the same tomorrow when we fill Rick and Regina in (Regina wasn't feeling good today so they stayed on board). What else can you do? Driving through town Bob spotted Gigi Plaza.

How cool! He quickly snapped a picture so we could show that to her back at the cabin. When finally got to the beach it was just ok. The water was rougher than normal and murky. There would be no snerkling today. So we rented chairs and umbrellas and settled in. You know by now someone had to pee. I swear I feel like I've spent half of this cruise in the bathroom. There was a restaurant right behind us that wasn't open yet so their rest rooms were locked up tight. We walked down the beach to see what else we could find. Found another restaurant that didn't open until noon. But we could use her rest room if we bought a drink. No problem!! The local beer here in Antigua (I'll get the hang of this new island yet) is Wadadli. Less then 9 oz and about 4% alcohol. We can drink a few of these. :) 

Leroy found us pretty quickly. Leroy had fresh bottled aloe for sale. He even brought along a huge aloe leaf for proof it was real aloe. Jim needed aloe. For his feet. They were not happy campers. So Jim told Leroy he just wanted enough for the tops of his feet. He didn't want a whole bottle. A half bottle size for $5 would be good. Jim told him they would talk at noon. Leroy was back at 11:59 with a half bottle. Then I told him I'd take a half bottle as well. Off went Leroy. He came back to take care of Jim's feet. Jim told him he would do his own feet, he just wanted enough for his feet. I have no clue what daze we all must have been in to let this scene go down without documenting it on film. Leroy put aloe Vera juice all over Jim's feet, and Jim enjoyed it, yes he did. However much he protested, we know better. 

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Williams)

The water was pretty cool at first but quickly warmed up after a few minutes. DE was diving for shells and found a nifty piece of driftwood to bring up. There were spots on the floor where it felt like gravel. DE would bring up a handful at the time and we'd pick through it, finding little tiny shells. Unfortunately, we arranged with our driver to pick us up at 1:00 and the time flew quickly. We were wishing we had said 2:00 or 3:00 but with no way to contact him and a whole bus of people that wasn't going to change. In the end it worked out good because we were wiped and that beer gave several of us a headache. Probably because all we had for breakfast was oatmeal. Lesson learned. The drive back was pretty uneventful until we hit town. I saw this sign that caught my attention. I could explain it but it's better if you just see for yourself. 

As I was looking at the different options my eyes stopped on one in particular. And you know I have no filter. It came right out of my mouth. Out loud. Cock soup mix. What in the hell? The British lady behind us quickly piped in with, "I'll have three!!" LOL I turned around and said, "I have one and that's enough." To which she replied,"lucky girl!" Again, you can't make this stuff up. I think one of us also threw in, "You like that?" - the Kirk Cousins saying. But wait, there's more!!! Look at the bottom of the picture. Jim's personal favorite, "Nice up yuh pot." There are no words. 

On the way back to the ship I stopped to take a few shots of the local island band playing. Nothing like island music is there?

We get back to the ship, drop off our stuff in the cabin and go find some grub. I was covered in salt so rinsed off before crawling into bed for a well deserved nap. We we're exhausted. I know. Rough life, right?

A shot of the beautiful sunset from our balcony.

Later down in Blu we were pretty obnoxious, with one liners flying left and right. There were times we were crying and choking. Yeah, I'm sure we drew some attention. We couldn't help it. Towards the end of the evening an older gentleman sitting near us said they were dying laughing just because we were laughing so much and didn't even know what we were laughing at. He also said he wanted one of whatever I was having. LOL. I know they were glad to see us finish our meal. Oh wait! I haven't even talked about the meal!! And it's worth talking about ....

We knew halibut was on the menu tonight. They usually have it once during the week. I took the advice of our server, Billy Boy (from Jamaica) and started with the summer rolls (delish), creamed white bean soup (he said best we'd ever taste) and halibut for my entree. Then I ended all of that with some kind of white chocolate something with fresh fruit and granola. I can't be hungry tomorrow, right? Tomorrow night is lobster tails.

Back in the room getting ready for bed, Bob very seriously looks at me and said, "I really don't think it's THAT funny." OMG. I lost it all over again. We didn't even know what island we were on and had made plans to go to a beach on a different island and he doesn't think it's that funny? Dude. It's funny. Thank God it wasn't an excursion through a company that was planned and merely a taxi ride. Thankful for the little things. Tomorrow we think we'll be on St Martin. I'm not sure of anything anymore.