The four of us are all back together again, for the first time in a long time. Thinking back, it was probably last year around Christmas time that we were all in the same place at the same time – almost a full year! Unthinkable not so long ago, but that’s the reality now. And, while we don’t want to think about that just now, it won’t be for very long, so we had best enjoy ourselves while we can!
First things, first - back from the chillier climes we'd experienced the previous week (I had to wear long sleeve t-shirts, and *GASP* socks!), it was time to get comfortable again. As you can see, Jason wasted no time getting his island on, although truth be told, he'd dress that way in a snowstorm if he thought he could get away with it!
Here he is, "chillin'" with his best friend...
There were some folks visiting the island that put out an SOS on the VIOL STJ travel forum stating that they had missed packing the
charger for their underwater camera, and asking where they might be able to buy
one on island. It didn’t look like they’d be able to, but Leslie happened to
have an extra one that she said they could borrow, and they invited us to have dinner
at their villa when we dropped it off, so that’s what we did on our first night back.
We really enjoyed meeting Lisa and Michael, their daughter
Katie and son-in-law Mike, and Lisa’s parents, Joyce and Wally. Katie and Mike
were on their delayed honeymoon and decided to make it a three generation
affair! They grilled steaks and we spent several fun hours swapping stories
until the travel day finally took its toll and we had to head home!
Wednesday morning came much too early – especially for
Leslie, Shane, and myself, who all had to work. Leslie was doing her local
regular babysitting gig, Shane was at the Westin working for Cruz Bay
Watersports, and I was on the computer working on schedules for an upcoming
soccer tournament in Florida. Unfortunately, my work day lasted a little longer
than we had hoped for, so I was unable to join the rest of the gang when they
went in to town for the Animal Care Center’s open house event.
Thursday we joined our new friends at Salt Pond Bay, on the
other side of the island. They got there before we did, and had secured one of
the prime spots at a picnic table at the far end of the beach. While Leslie,
Katie, and Mike snorkeled, Shane and I took Lisa on the hike to Ram Head, the
southernmost point on the island. When we returned everyone had lunch, then
Michael and I “guarded our stuff”, while the others took the trail over to
Drunk Bay. There was a big group snorkel after that, and then we all packed up
our stuff and headed to the Tourist Trap for happy hour drinks, appetizers, and
conversation.
The week was flying by! On Friday Jason and I snorkeled in
Klein Bay during the day while everyone else was at work. Saturday came and –
you guessed it – we were back in the water again, this time out on the east
end, at Hansen/Long Bay/Pelican Rock.
Sunday is the day when a lot of locals, as well as visitors,
play beach volleyball (one of Jason’s favorite leisure time pursuits) at Cinnamon
Bay. The three of us headed there and while he joined in the games Leslie and I braved
the sandblasting winds and chilly (?) water. We had our snorkel gear with us, but never
took it out of the bag the whole time we were there. After Leslie and I had all
of the sun, wind, and rain that we could stand we let Jason know that we were
leaving. We offered to let him stay longer but he said that he’d go tell the
others goodbye and thank them for including him. He was back right away to let
us know that he’d been offered a ride home and that he had decided to stay and
play some more after all!
I was grilling pork tenderloin for dinner that night, one of
Jason’s favorite meals, so I was starting to get concerned when darkness was approaching and he wasn’t back. Our neighbor said that he was probably
hanging out with the others at a local watering hole enjoying post play
libations, and that someone would almost certainly bring him home once they were done. Sure
enough, we heard a car stop at the top of the driveway, some voices exchanging
pleasantries, and there he came down the hill, no worse for the wear and tear. As
it turns out, he had been invited to a party but told them he’d have to take a
rain check because his dad was making a special meal for him!
Monday – Christmas Eve! While Leslie was baking a boatload
of cookies, the boys and I decided to take the Fish Bay/Beach hike/rock
scramble to the Reef Bay Trail up to see the petroglyphs. We had been at that beach a little earlier to
check on snorkeling conditions, only to find surfers there (so you can guess
how suitable it was for snorkeling!). At that time we gave directions to a
group that was looking to do that same hike. We ran into them at the bottom of
the Reef Bay Trail and they said that the muddy trail has dissuaded them from
hiking the spur to the petroglyphs. We found it to be muddy as described, but
not to the point where we couldn’t or didn’t want to continue. All of the rain
we’d been experiencing gave us, in addition to some mud to deal with, a
waterfall at the end of our trail!
We hung out for a while, and even found a path we could
scramble up to another waterfall, probably 100 feet above the main one. As we
were heading back to from whence we came, we heard thunder rumbling ominously in
the distance. About the time we got back to the junction of the Reef Bay and
Lameshure trails, heavy rain drops began to pound the overhead canopy of
leaves. By the time we made it back out of the forest and on to the beach we
were in the middle of a full blown squall!
I really wasn’t too crazy about walking along the beach, out in
the open, while keeping an eye out for lightning bolts, but the only other option
was to duck under the nearby trees, which didn’t seem like a great idea either.
So we just continued back towards Fish Bay, figuring every step got us a little
closer to the comfort of the car. We made it back safely, if not a bit wet, and
with a good story to tell!
Christmas Eve has, as our family has "matured", evolved to fit the
current circumstances, but this year’s was a leap forward (?) in that regard.
No driving around to see light displays, no sitting in a room around the glow
of a fully decorated tree surrounded by presents. No, things were very
different this year. But we were all here together! And though hot chocolate
and egg nog may have been conspicuous by their absence, there was rum! And
there were new family traditions born, sort of anyway. We played an old
favorite board game of ours, Liar’s Dice, then the boys taught us a drinking
game that they had learned in college, at which of course they kicked our tails!
Did I mention rum? So off to bed with visions of (from?)
sugarcanes dancing on our heads….
Christmas arrived with not a bang, nor a whimper, but rather…
a crowing! Or, more accurately, a lot of crowing. You see, there are a lot of
wild chickens that roam this island, many of them roosters. And contrary to
popular belief, they don’t necessarily wait until dawn to crow. And when
one of them crows, there always seems to be at least one more that feels
compelled to answer. But so it goes. And a Merry Cock-a- Doodle-Do Christmas to
you!
By decree, and also aided somewhat by practicality, there
were to be no presents exchanged this year. After all, what more could we give
to each other than the gift of moving to St. John? We did get a couple of small
gifts for Shane and Jason, but didn’t even wrap those. Christmas was now a
blank canvas which we were free to make whatever we wanted it to be. So, what
would we do? How about…going snorkeling (except for Shane, who learned more of the meaning of living in a tourist destination, since he had to work) ??? Or even better, hiking to a place to
snorkel! Off we went to downtown Cruz Bay, parked behind the National Park visitor’s
center, and set off down the Lind Point Trail, our destination – Salomon Bay!
This past December may very well go down as the wettest in
history, or so we’re told. I do know that it rained a lot, and the infamous “Christmas
winds” had also arrived! We expected the trail to be muddy
and slippery, and in some places, just plain wet – and we weren’t disappointed.
But I don’t think any of us expected the conditions we’d find at trail’s end,
when we popped out of the woods and on to the beach. It was sunny and calm, the
sand white, the water a clear turquoise – a picture perfect Caribbean beach
scene. And we took full advantage!
We snorkeled the length of Salomon Bay, the point between it
and Honeymoon, then another bay, and another, and another! Before we knew it we
were a lot further east than we’d been when we got in the water! But it was a
gorgeous day, so retracing our swim was no problem. Once we got out, and had
finished the hike back to town we realized that we were starving! There was
nothing open in Mongoose Junction, which was the closest place to where we
were, but we were happy that when we stopped at the Lumberyard complex, just up
the road, that Driftwood David’s was open! As always, we were greeted warmly by
David and by Nikki, and the sandwiches and drinks hit the spot!
Back home we all got cleaned up, took care of Champ, and while the others napped, watched TV, and generally hung out, I got to the task of preparing Christmas dinner. That’s always one of the things I like best about the big day, and the standing rib roast I had scored at Starfish Market a couple of days earlier would ensure that I wouldn’t be forced to make massive changes to the menu. After the feast we topped it off with Leslie’s cookies then lapsed into a food coma!
I did catch Leslie looking a little bit sad a time or two. I
hadn’t given her the one present she had asked for – adopting Patches, the dog
that she had part-time fostered (and fell in love with) during the time that
she was down here without any other family members. We had had her over for sleepovers a few
times, including once this past week, but I wasn’t sure if adding her to our
family permanently would really work very well for us.
Soon, all too soon, we had another reason to be sad. All of a sudden it was Thursday, December 26 – the day Jason was to fly back to Florida. It had been a whirlwind nine days, and now, as we were preparing to take him to the airport on St. Thomas to leave, it struck me just how much it meant to have had him around. Sure, we had grown used to him being away, and Leslie’s “momma sense” kept her in tune with how much she missed him, but until I spent these last few days with him – often not even doing anything more than just being in the same room, I didn’t realize how much I did. But it was sure making itself clear now.
We made it across Pillsbury Sound on the car barge and
across St. Thomas to the airport without incident. We dropped him off outside
the departure gates, hugged him goodbye and watched as our little boy – make that
young man, disappeared into the terminal. And with that, our wonderful
Christmas week came to an end. He was moving on to follow his dreams and we had
a car barge to catch back to ours.
