Scary money moves

This morning we got our plans all together and made payment on a sailing school.

We'll be attending: http://www.delmarvasailingschool.com with Captain Mike and our buddy that we love to travel with. It'll be early summer of 2018 and will mostly complete the expensive part of the planning for our upcoming retirement. We've a couple more classes to go, but this is the high dollar one. On the docket for winter will be upgrading my diving certificate from Open Water to Advanced Open Water and the enhanced air certificates. Then sometime next year we'll get the class from the American Sailing Association for Catamaran, and perhaps Celestial Navigation. We'll see how that goes.

It's pretty exciting to get all this set up. We're really hoping it all goes well and there's every chance it will. Our big early summer class will be back home by my parents (25 minute drive from their house) and we'll make it a big old road trip.

Here's to spending storm money on boating!!!!

Cruzin the U.S.V.I. with Steve

Here are a few more pics from our vacation. They're all from the day we spent with our friend Steve. It was a pretty great day. 

That pic is of a sugar mill, long abandoned.



These are the resident wild donkeys. :D They're quite friendly.



Steve took a pic of Crys and I at the sugar mill.



Steve and Crys on the power-cat he borrowed for the day to take us around looking at stuff.



Crys and I and the friend we traveled with. He does not want his face on the internet.




Overlooking a bay with our hesitant buddy, and Steve was playing with the panoramic feature.




The gang on the power-cat.



And this is the sea turtle we saw that day. Pretty damned cool if you ask me.

Virgin Islands trip October 5 to 10

We left work at about 3 PM, a friend and we. We got to Denver pretty quickly. Stopped outside the TSA and had a snack that Crys prepared for us all. Then we got in while they were trying to close the TSA operation. Apparently this makes them somewhat angry. :D The friend and I both got groped. It was a little bit fun, mostly annoying. 

Then we had a 3 hour wait for the first plane from Denver to JFK. It was a bit of a drink fest :D. Then we drank a bit on the plane. Then we got to JFK and tried to chill as much as possible before boarding our next plane to the USVI. That went well, but it started to feel a bit long.... and with only 2 on board bathrooms....... it got a little ........ too intimate. 

At the USVI, Charlotte Amalie, they drove trucks up to both ends of the plane and got us all off quickly. It wasn’t too much of a wait for our ride back to the B&B with Helen. That was a pleasant way to get here. She let us check in early and we got to chill and shower before heading out for some exploring. That included a round of beers and some fries at the Tap & Still. After that we went to a great Indian food joint. Pretty much the best Indian food we’ve ever had. During one conversation at dinner the propritess was asked about the speed limit in town as we hadn’t seen a sign. Her response? “No one gives a shit”. :D This is coupled with the odd notion that one can drink, but shouldn’t be drunk while driving. Funny differences.  Then another round at the Tap & Still and a walk home. 

Folks here are genuine. We’ve had 3 strangers reach out to make our stay enjoyable so far. None of them had any connection to us. It was just them being nice. One nice fellow overheard us chatting about a liquor store and saw our general direction and he was moved to let us know, “don’t go there, don’t go there, it’s much cheaper 2 blocks down and one block inland”. :D

Tomorrow Crys and I will try a scuba class for open water. If it goes well we’ll do another on Monday and then we’ll be all Scuba certified. 

We’re having a great time. It’s pretty fun to travel with friends. That’s what we’re finding out. :D

Today, Saturday, was pretty fun. 

Crys and I walked to Red Hook Dive Center and did our first 2 dives for our Open Water PADI certificate. We started with blueberry waffles and eggs cooked up by Helen at our B&B about a 10 minute walk from Red Hook. Then it was a nice walk down the hill to the dive center. We did paperwork, a little refresher test and got Crys a new snorkel that keeps the water out better. A couple folks went along on the dive boat and did a bit of scuba while we took our class. We both did fine and Crys even started having fun! Probably important to note that starting out Crys had a bit of trepidation and the dive master, Andy, was patient and supportive. That was well appreciated. Can’t say we noticed very much about the two really cool dive spots we went to that morning, we were very busy learning all the ways you can die underwater. 

Then we joined our buddy at a bar at Secret Harbor beach. That was fun. By the end of the night we’d hooked up with our friend Steve and we got to bed happy and tipsy and tired.

We’ll have to see what Sunday holds :D.

Today was a bright and shining day. It was day 3 and we woke up to a delightful breakfast made by Helen, our hostess. Coffee and eggs with fried potatoes and toast. It was fab. :D

Today our buddy suggested visiting the nearby island of St John. St John is lightly populated and 3/4 a national park. We were joined by the friend we came to the island to visit (Steve) and his recent runnin buddy Olivia. (BTW Olivia was pouring the heavy drinks the night before that led to several types of shenanigans). We made it to the ferry to ride the 10 minutes to St. John and Steve and Olivia made it just before the boat took off. There, we did a quick stop for water and snacks and a rented Jeep and we were off. 

Steve drove since here in the USVI they drive on the left based on a heritage of Dutch rule that established the custom. We took in the views, saw beautiful countryside and did little hikes here and there. We stopped at a beautiful beach called Trunk Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches. Look it up. You’ll see.

 We saw the house built by Oppenheimer on a property filled with tragedy. We saw sugar plantation ruins with their legacy of slavery and green grass growing on the sad stains of the past. The beach was incredibly delightful. We spent hours there. Then we stopped for a quick lunch and a beer on the way back to the ferry to St. Thomas. Notable on this trip is the resident sadness the folks that call the islands home carry following their double hurricane whammy a bit over a year ago. Some small islands that were lush with trees where pelicans used to nest have been stripped bare of vegetation and soil and are simply barren rock, whole forest sides on the hills are still stripped and rocks show through where there was triple level rain forest before. While it’s still beautiful and amazing to us, it holds a sad spot in their eyes while they look out on it. 

Tonight we ordered pizza and had it on the front veranda. This spot is pretty darn cool. Two Sandals By The Sea, I recommend it.

Tomorrow Crys and I will finish the last 2 open water dives for our PADI certification. Our buddy might go along to snorkel (for a small fee of course). We’ll see how it goes. Life is good, today was grand, yet again. 

Monday, U. S. Virgin Islands.

This morning we got up at a semi decent hour and had our egg & cheese waffle  sammiches with fresh juice and coffee/tea. It was a nice breakfast for the 3 of us on the deck looking over Red Hook Bay. We do love the convenience of having breakfast here without having to think about it. 

Then Crys and I went down the hill to Red Hook Dive Center for our 3rd and 4th open water dives for our PADI certification. Andy and Captain Don were there and ready to go. A couple friends of theirs were there and ready to go, along with a nice teacher fellow from the Island. They’re so nice, helpful and supportive, and there to do what ever makes the day more pleasant. Andy is the dive master for this, Captain Don and he trade off on Captain and dive master duty. It’s pretty fun to watch them discuss skill tests and the best ways to go about each. Today Crys did her CESA swim along with donning and doffing all the gear in the water. (I did that yesterday). She did great! Most of the work was on Dive 3. Dive 4 was pretty much all exploring a reef along with watching our air and doing a slow controlled ascent along with the proper safety stop. We saw a sea turtle. In fact on dive 4 we got the joy of diving like we will from here on out. Andy led the dive as is common for a first dive in a new spot and we got to see the reefs, the wildlife living in them, the fish, the amazing turtle that swum by and the floating islands of Sargasm sea weed that the islands are experiencing this year. On at least one occasion the floating weed was so thick we mistook it for the boat! Another word on the sea turtle. The friends that dove along on this trip did a “tank bang” to get our attention and we got to turn and watch the turtle swim up and past us. As it went past it pivoted just a tiny bit in the water to take a long lazy look at us as it gently swam past. It was one of those amazing moments, the ones you hope to get.

We passed. 

Afterward, Crys took a couple wildlife pics right outside the dive center

It’s funny, we set this trip up to get to get out on boats and start getting some familiarity with the ocean in prep for retirement. The SCUBA cert came to me in one of my weird morning reveries when I wake up and have to pee. Setting it up came together more by chance than design, but it gave us a chance to have a task while we were here and focused the trip in a fun way. We had also hoped to get to see our friend Steve, and it led us to invite our other buddy to come along with us. It’s neat when everything works out. 

This afternoon the 3 of us have spent some time drinking and celebrating. We’re now chilling in the room while the rain abates. Then we’ll hike down to Secret Harbor and see if we’d like to chill in the water while the sun sets, then have some dinner and drinks. Tomorrow perhaps our friend Steve will pick us up and we’ll explore a bit on a boat he has access to. Maybe Olivia will tag along. 

Time to see what’s up at the beach. Again. it’s pretty dang decadent.  

The beach was good at Secret Harbor. We did a bit of night swimming . Then cocktails and dinner. Life is good. 

Tuesday in St Thomas:

Today started with breakfast from Helen, today it was a quiche with a potato crust. It was quite tasty. Along with the fresh juice, yogurt, coffee tea and toast. Yum.

Then we met our friends Steve and Olivia. Steve got a borrowed power cat boat and we went out exploring. He took us all over the U. S. Virgin Islands. We had lunch at their secret bar on a beach, saw blow holes, dragon holes, hidden caves and lots of cool stuff. We had to hurry to return the boat at 2 PM through a stiff current and wind which made for a delightfully energetic ride. I got lucky and got to ride on the front of the boat. Wham bam whoosh and spray!!! After we rode around and met Nekid Moses at a tiny secret beach. Apparently it’s about to be gated off by the rich folks who have bought the private land on that road. It would seem that there is a lot of that going on following their double hurricane from a year ago. It drives the local folks kinda crazy. The beach was down a crazy long staircase with most of the boards in place. It was really cool. We then took off to Secret Harbor for the happy hour food. 2 item pizza for $6. 

My hit of the day was the key lime pie at the lunching spot. It was delish. 

A note on Steve. He grew up here in the U.S.V.I. and has amazing and entertaining stories to tell. Many of the spots he showed us are places he and his friends found together. There’s a good bit of the history of the islands he shares with us, and he knows all the good happy hours to hit for an inexpensive dinner. He’s a good friend we met at Valley View some years ago and we’ve always meant to come visit. He was surprised when we actually did, and cleared some of his work schedule to spend time with us. 

Crys and I finished up the day at Fatty’s bar where Olivia works, Steve met us and we played a couple games of pool while having a Cruzin Confusion with Cruzan Black Strap Rum on top. I liked it, Crys? Not so much. Crys got to see the bioluminescent plankton, which is apparently pretty cool. 

Tomorrow will be the long ride home. 

Pretty sure we’ll be back. 

Travel day dawned bright and clear. Many of our days here were overcast and a bit rainy. The last three have had enough sun to get to appreciate just how beautiful this corner of the world is. The sparkling sands and turquoise waters are no myth. And if they are? We’re living the myth, which is always something to aspire to. :D I’m up early, typing up my notes and cleaning them up a bit. Crys and our friend are sleeping in a bit. I’ve chatted with Helen and made sure our ride to the airport is set up along with some other fun details, like she’ll extend check out till noon for us today in view of our 4 PM flight time, also that she’ll let us load our luggage and she’ll pick us up in town where ever we choose to have lunch. :D 

It’ll soon be time to wake the sleepyheads and have breakfast. 

Travel day back was long as most travel days are. Our plane was a tiny bit late leaving St. Thomas but got to Miami in plenty of time. 



The only hitch was in getting off the place, when we all had to sit back down while customs had a little chat with someone.... Our friends and my plane to Denver was just fine. The taxi to the take off was so long that I did begin to think we were actually just going to drive to Denver....... It was pretty darn chilly too. Denver was 38 degrees when we landed. That's a bit less warm than the Carribean or Miami.

Then he and I drove home. Crys went on to Las Vegas to help out her dad and bro. I've got stuff all put away now and the house is settled down.