Had a great trip across the Anegada and have spent the week at the Pelican Resort Hotel overlooking Simpson Bay. Aileen made it across easily and never got sick. She just went to bed in St Croix and woke up in St. Maartin. Actually, she did stay up for quite a while on the crossing, but did well. We anchored in the lagoon and one of the first things we did is make a trip to Budget Marine where we ended up trading in our old dink and getting a new one. words cannot express the difference in these two boats and we are incredibly happy to be cruising around in our new AB.
We also rented a car and Aileen thought it would be great fun to head to the beach. I remember how ironic it was in the movie Castaway where Tom Hanks is given a welcome back party with all the fixings like lobster shrimp and all the great things he had to eat for so long. Beaches get a bit tiresome for me especially when they are hotel or public beaches. Aileen of course doesn't see them everyday so it was good for her. We did have fun and we have seen most of the island this week cruising around in our super small car. We took the dinghy out two days ago to Maho Bay to watch the planes take off. Maho is a pretty famous spot and even if you've never heard of it you most likely have seen it in some funniest videos clip or online. The threshold for the local runway is separated from the beach by a fence a one lane road and usually more than a dozen half naked beach goers with cameras. As the planes turn to launch they blow sand, rocks and usually a few people into the water. It is kind of like being hosed down with a sandblaster. Well when in Rome do as the Romans do and all that so we checked the flight schedule and timed our visit to Maho to coincide with KLM's 747. A mere 737 just doesn't have the kick a 747 does. Long story short we will be picking sand out of our bodies for the next month, there are no decipherable photos and we all had a blast. Kinda reminded me of working on a flight deck again.
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Well were back on the water again. We've added a new member to the crew for about ten days or so. Aileen our daughter just graduated college and is taking a break. So far we have toured San Juan, Culabrita and now Buck Island. I must say that I'm quite impressed by the water here. While the coral is typically dead in most places some is coming back. Add to that great structure, crystal clear water and huge fish and you have a very nice place to spend some time. If you ever get this way I recommend it. Aileen seems to be enjoying herself despite her best efforts to critique everything. Hopefully she will continue to enjoy herself. Tonight we make a 110 NM leap across the Anagada ( OhMyGodda) Passage to St. Martin. Hopefully she will fare well.
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Wow it's been a long time since I wrote anything here. To those of you who have complained, all I can say is this island time thing is getting a hold of me good. Now let's see where did we leave off? Oh yes guests.
We hosted our friends Jim and Kelly from Seattle for 10 days and had a great time. We were kind of unsure how we would do with guests for that long but it went smoothly and it was due in no small part by effort put forth by Jim and Kelly as well. We took them to Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas and timed our trip perfectly with the St. Thomas Carnival. Lot's of partying as well as fireworks. The fireworks were very nicely done and it was a lengthy presentation. We also went snorkeling on Buck Island.
The next day Sunny was acting very odd which in and of itself is quite normal, but this was different. She insisted we do a raft up with Bristol Rose and Spectra. In the end we did raft with Spectra but Bristol abstained. We had a surprise birthday party for me. I certainly didn't expect that especially after last year but she did it again. It was a lot of fun and I got the usual your 40 presents like Aspercreme and Bengay, but Mel made some really cute presents and Trish and Robert re-edited the local travel magazine into a very cute and hilarious rag all about Sunny and I. The pictures in there were priceless.
Sunny flew to Memphis and took her sister on a road trip to Texas and Arkansas to see William and his new wife Bonnie. They also sat around ate and went shopping a lot from what I can see. Sunny got to go to the Big Wal-Mart in Bentonville, AR. How fun, too bad I elected to stay put.
Sunny is back again and we are cruising in St. John right now. It is really nice weather here and hopefully it continues. We fly back to Seattle on the 4th for Aileen's Graduation then we fly back and start heading for Grenada.
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