After Josh’s return from Germany, our friends from Chicago, Janet and Opie, arrived. As I mentioned in a previous post, Josh has awesome college friends. Janet and Opie also went to Cornell and are included in this most excellent group of people. Since we have traveled to other tropical locations together, usually resulting in sunburns and a few other mishaps, we knew we needed to be on our toes. The Neuberts brought us a great collection of boat games (which bring us hours of entertainment) and my replacement phone. So, I am back in business…so to speak.
The night of their arrival, we were anchored in Christmas Cove on St. James Island, where we enjoyed dinner and catching with Carl and Sarah. After a morning snorkel, we headed over to Caneel Bay (St. John) and into St. John Brewing for lunch. Over the years, Opie has gotten Josh and me interested in craft beers. Josh and I are always looking for new, interesting beers, and seek out breweries and brew pubs when we can. Our next stop is Jost Van Dyke for clearing into the BVI and a quick drink at Foxy’s. We decide to head over to Tortola for the night and drop our anchor in Cane Garden Bay. Janet and I went for a morning walk with Jacques and noticed a school bus full of kids stopped in the middle of the street. We suspected they were picking up a student, but when the bus remained stationary for several minutes, it peaked our interest. Well, it turns out that the bus driver stopped the bus at the bakery to get himself a morning snack. Ah, island life! We headed to Marina Cay for happy hour at Pussers with great live music. We checked out Trellis Bay on Beef Island. This is a funky, “artist” community, which hosts full moon parties complete with mushroom tea. Back at the boat we purchased produce from a local boat woman. She drives her skiff from boat to boat in an anchorage selling produce and crafts. She was lovely. Looks and sounds just like Penelope Cruz. Lovely!
The next day brings us with a spirited sail to the North Sound of Virgin Gorda, one of my favorite places. We spent time at Saba Rock, Bitter End Yacht Club, and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Josh and Janet spent some time here restoring Josh’s computer after it crashed. Thank God Janet was here as she has great technical skills. Putting these two on just about any technical task means it will get completed. This gives Opie and I a chance to sit back and relax…since we have nothing to offer in the way of help. Thank you Janet! We had a nice sail back to St. John to clear back into the US. We were able to put the anchor down at Water Island with just enough time to make it over to Frenchtown Brewing for tastings and debriefing with Carl, Sarah, and Sutton