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2011 Girl's Trip - Last Day
2011 Girl's Trip - Last Day
Sunday November 6th
Girls's Trip Last Day
We whipped up a breakfast of scrambled eggs and cleaned out the refrigerator. Breakfast was followed by more packing and a shower since it was already turning into a hot, humid day. (Why are ALL last days like that?!) We finally got everything packed and loaded into the car. We stopped for gas and one last stop at the dumpsters. We dropped off two people with the luggage and returned the rental car and they dropped us off back at the ferry dock.
We took turns doing some last minute shopping. Lori and I were enjoying the AC and talking with the sales person in St. John Spice Kids when my phone rang. The 11:15 downtown ferry was cancelled. We headed back downstairs and after seeing Valerie's disappointment at the thought of missing shopping we decided to take the next ferry to Red Hook instead. We called Rachel to let her know the change in plans and bought our tickets. It was hot even once the ferry got moving. I could feel the sweat running down my back and a sunburn developing on my face and arms. I was not looking forward to dealing with the heat in Charlotte Amalie.
I bid goodbye to my happy place and watched it grow smaller and smaller until the ferry pulled into Red Hook. Rachel was there waving to us when we arrived. She showed us that the temperature reading on the thermometer in her vehicle showed 98 degrees! I'm sure that the actual temperature was a few degrees cooler since we were parked on hot pavement but it was still a hot one! Rachel played some of the songs on her new Scotty McCreery CD during our ride and sang along on the ones where she'd already learned the words. When we arrived in Charlotte Amalie it looked like a ghost town! Rachel explained that there were no cruise ships in that day and being Sunday most of the stores had closed. Rats!! If I'd known that I would definitely have stayed on STJ longer!
Rachel dropped us off at the Green House and arranged to pick us up two hours later. I was already groaning because I didn't know how I was going to entertain myself and keep cool until then. Val and Chris took off on a mission to find any stores that were open. Lori and I were just looking for a cool spot. First stop was the Belgian Chocolate shop because I knew that they always kept that nice and cool. We checked out all the merchandise, chatted with the sales people and lingered over the chocolates that we bought. That took all of about 10 minutes and then we were off again. We ran into a guy on the street who asked if we'd stop at a particular jewelery store and tell then he'd sent us - he was getting paid for each person he sent. We headed in that direction and got waylayed by another guy with the same story. We went into that store first since we were standing right in front of it and the first guy came running down the street yelling. No need to get upset - we would go into BOTH stores and give them both credit for sending us in. That made them both happy. We just wanted to get somewhere air conditioned. As we perused the jewelery we were attracting bored sales people like ants to a picnic. Lori started making up things to tell them about where we were from and that sort of thing so we entertained ourselves by teasing the sales people with stories about how our better halves spoiled us with expensive jewelry and how we were looking for diamonds, etc. That just whipped them into a frenzy so we gave them some excuse and hightailed it out of there before they caught on.
We headed down the street and went back to the Green House to check it out by having a drink before deciding whether to eat lunch there. We'd passed someone try to get people to go to Gladys's and they were touting how it was completely air conditioned. The Green House was open air and if it was too hot there Lori and I decided to lobby for lunch at Gladys's. It was miserably hot and clammy at the Green House and just as our drinks arrived, our other two parties showed up. They ordered drinks too and we sat there sweating and decided that there would be no way to comfortably eat in that heat so we paid for our drinks and headed off to Glady's. Ahhh....it was like heaven there....cool and comfortable and the food was great too. We lingered for a long, long time until it was time for Rachel to pick us up again.
We got to the airport and I was sweaty and grimy....just the way I hated for the long trip home. I cleaned up the best I could in the ladies room but couldn't bring myself to put on my long pants, etc. since my sunburn acquired on the ferry that morning was beginning to "glow". I slumped into a chair to wait and was thankful that power and heat had been restored at home although heat was the last thing that I wanted at that moment. The first leg of our flight was pleasant - there were empty seats so we were able to spread out comfortably. The second half of the trip from Miami was miserable. The flight was packed and the plane was hot and stuffy.
I couldn't wait to get on the ground even though it was cold and still snow covered in places! The men had left my car at the airport earlier in the day so we were able to grab our luggage and head out right away. The amount of damage along the road on the drive home was astounding. Trees branches were down everywhere and were cut back just enough to keep from impeding traffic. It was going to be a long haul to clean up the mess and we were back to being f-ing brilliant for missing the entire storm while we were gone!! I got home around 1 AM and just had to take a shower to wash the sweat and grime away. I fell into bed exhausted but took a few minutes to make some mental plans for my next trip. Can't wait!!
Girls's Trip Last Day
We whipped up a breakfast of scrambled eggs and cleaned out the refrigerator. Breakfast was followed by more packing and a shower since it was already turning into a hot, humid day. (Why are ALL last days like that?!) We finally got everything packed and loaded into the car. We stopped for gas and one last stop at the dumpsters. We dropped off two people with the luggage and returned the rental car and they dropped us off back at the ferry dock.
We took turns doing some last minute shopping. Lori and I were enjoying the AC and talking with the sales person in St. John Spice Kids when my phone rang. The 11:15 downtown ferry was cancelled. We headed back downstairs and after seeing Valerie's disappointment at the thought of missing shopping we decided to take the next ferry to Red Hook instead. We called Rachel to let her know the change in plans and bought our tickets. It was hot even once the ferry got moving. I could feel the sweat running down my back and a sunburn developing on my face and arms. I was not looking forward to dealing with the heat in Charlotte Amalie.
I bid goodbye to my happy place and watched it grow smaller and smaller until the ferry pulled into Red Hook. Rachel was there waving to us when we arrived. She showed us that the temperature reading on the thermometer in her vehicle showed 98 degrees! I'm sure that the actual temperature was a few degrees cooler since we were parked on hot pavement but it was still a hot one! Rachel played some of the songs on her new Scotty McCreery CD during our ride and sang along on the ones where she'd already learned the words. When we arrived in Charlotte Amalie it looked like a ghost town! Rachel explained that there were no cruise ships in that day and being Sunday most of the stores had closed. Rats!! If I'd known that I would definitely have stayed on STJ longer!
Rachel dropped us off at the Green House and arranged to pick us up two hours later. I was already groaning because I didn't know how I was going to entertain myself and keep cool until then. Val and Chris took off on a mission to find any stores that were open. Lori and I were just looking for a cool spot. First stop was the Belgian Chocolate shop because I knew that they always kept that nice and cool. We checked out all the merchandise, chatted with the sales people and lingered over the chocolates that we bought. That took all of about 10 minutes and then we were off again. We ran into a guy on the street who asked if we'd stop at a particular jewelery store and tell then he'd sent us - he was getting paid for each person he sent. We headed in that direction and got waylayed by another guy with the same story. We went into that store first since we were standing right in front of it and the first guy came running down the street yelling. No need to get upset - we would go into BOTH stores and give them both credit for sending us in. That made them both happy. We just wanted to get somewhere air conditioned. As we perused the jewelery we were attracting bored sales people like ants to a picnic. Lori started making up things to tell them about where we were from and that sort of thing so we entertained ourselves by teasing the sales people with stories about how our better halves spoiled us with expensive jewelry and how we were looking for diamonds, etc. That just whipped them into a frenzy so we gave them some excuse and hightailed it out of there before they caught on.
We headed down the street and went back to the Green House to check it out by having a drink before deciding whether to eat lunch there. We'd passed someone try to get people to go to Gladys's and they were touting how it was completely air conditioned. The Green House was open air and if it was too hot there Lori and I decided to lobby for lunch at Gladys's. It was miserably hot and clammy at the Green House and just as our drinks arrived, our other two parties showed up. They ordered drinks too and we sat there sweating and decided that there would be no way to comfortably eat in that heat so we paid for our drinks and headed off to Glady's. Ahhh....it was like heaven there....cool and comfortable and the food was great too. We lingered for a long, long time until it was time for Rachel to pick us up again.
We got to the airport and I was sweaty and grimy....just the way I hated for the long trip home. I cleaned up the best I could in the ladies room but couldn't bring myself to put on my long pants, etc. since my sunburn acquired on the ferry that morning was beginning to "glow". I slumped into a chair to wait and was thankful that power and heat had been restored at home although heat was the last thing that I wanted at that moment. The first leg of our flight was pleasant - there were empty seats so we were able to spread out comfortably. The second half of the trip from Miami was miserable. The flight was packed and the plane was hot and stuffy.
I couldn't wait to get on the ground even though it was cold and still snow covered in places! The men had left my car at the airport earlier in the day so we were able to grab our luggage and head out right away. The amount of damage along the road on the drive home was astounding. Trees branches were down everywhere and were cut back just enough to keep from impeding traffic. It was going to be a long haul to clean up the mess and we were back to being f-ing brilliant for missing the entire storm while we were gone!! I got home around 1 AM and just had to take a shower to wash the sweat and grime away. I fell into bed exhausted but took a few minutes to make some mental plans for my next trip. Can't wait!!
Hahahahaha!!! Well to add a little more insight....it was a girl's trip this year because the men didn't want to travel with Newbie. She had been a school teacher and could never go on prior trips because they were during the school year but she retired earlier this year and pretty much informed us that she really wanted to go along this year. We gave her a chance, but if it were up to me alone I would NOT ask her again. I don't think we have to worry about it though because STJ is just not the type of place that she's looking for and that's perfectly fine. I was just totally taken by surprise by her lack of insight because she'd been there before (albeit briefly). She'd also seen our pictures from prior years so I'm not sure why she had the impression that there would be chaise lounges and cabana boys. That STILL baffles me!
I really enjoyed reading about your girls' trip. It provided me much insight as I am planning my own girls' trip in May. I have only been fortunate enough to spend 3 days on STJ and that was in 2003. The girls that will be going with me have never been before. They have been on Caribbean cruises and one girl spent her honeymoon at an all inclusive in Negril. I now realize the importance of explaining to them that there will be no cabana boys and chaise lounges and that they will need to work out in the mnonths ahead so they can easily hike to beautiful beaches,snorkel long distances,and still have the stamina to hike back. I do NOT want to spend a week with someone like your newbie.