Final Travel

June 12… Sunny and warm San Juan Puerto Rico. Good morning. It’s 9:15am and we’re on the ground. Next up St. Thomas. The flight to St. Thomas is quick, beautiful and uneventful. We pass on the complimentary Rum (Coconut or Pineapple) as the greeter welcome us to the Virgin Islands (named after the missionary nuns who were the first Europeans to occupy the islands) and make a beeline to the rental car and a half hour drive to the east end of the island and Red Hook. We find a nice little outdoor café with a few Iguana begging for scraps and enjoy a couple veggie burgers and salads. We settle into little apartment and check out the St. Thomas Yacht Club, grab a swim. Oh man, the water is beautiful, azure seas don’t do justice, warm, tasty… perfect. Ten minutes in the water and Quinn finds the pointy end of an urchin barb. The locals grabbed us some tweasers and vinegar (the acid dissolves the crystal encasing of urchin spines) and we performed minor surgery on the beach. Not a big deal luckily and Quinn was back in the water in no time. Back to the airport to pick up the team. Manny, Romain and Kristopher. After a nice dinner in “Yacht Haven Grande,” the local parking lot for mega yachts, we end up cruising the backstreets of downtown before making it over to the airport. At the gate we bet if Manny will partake in the free shots. Quinn says “oh yes, definitely.” Dane votes no. Dane wins. We sign all the papers and load up the car and drive the windy road back to the east end. Bit treacherous as we weave and bob on the left hand side. It’s still day one of driving and the rhythm of driving on the left on a little two lane wiggly, hilly road at night has the full attention of the kids in the back seat. Good fun had by all. We make it safely to Red Hook and unceremoniously drop Dane, Kristopher and Manny at the Ferry. They catch the 11pm boat to St. John. Romain, and the three of us head back up the hill to our little apartment perched on a hilltop overlooking BLAH BLAH bay, the Ritz Carlton Resort and off in distance the St. Thomas YC. Must have been a great ride across the bay as the moon was just rising and lighting up the night.