We broke camp for the last time on this trip and departed Edwards about 7:30 am for home.
The skies were clear and we had an easy drive over the Tehachapi Mountains to Bakersfield then north on Highway 99. After driving up the San Joaquin for what like an eternity (the last miles are always the hardest) we arrived in Grass Valley about 3:30 pm. We decided to park the RV at the Nevada County Fairgrounds for the night and take our time to unload and straighten things up in the RV.
It was great to be home! Everything was in order in the house, the weather was great, and there were sure signs of spring in the area.
It was certainly a trip of a lifetime and a memorable experience - 13 states, Mardi Gras, The Florida Keys, The Dry Tortugas, a Reunion Cruise, 5 Caribbean Islands, 2 Spring Training Baseball games, and 6300 miles driven in the RV towing the VW Bug. Whew!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 45) - Phoenix, AZ – Edwards AFB, CA
We left the RV Park in Phoenix about 7:30 am and headed west on I-10. The weather remained clear and mild. We decided to head north from Quartzsite, AZ along the east side of the Colorado River through the City of Lake Havasu up to I-40. It was actually a pretty drive along the river with lots of resorts/RV parks on the river that looked interesting. This jog north allowed us to avoid the congestion near San Bernardino and the LA suburbs east of town.
We considered continuing on past Edwards AFB and driving another two hours to Lemoore NAS just west of Fresno. We thought the better of it however, and spent the night at the Edwards AFB, FAMCAMP. This is the same place we stayed the evening of Day 1, way back on February 1st. It is a lot warmer now, and we arrived under clear skies and the temperature in the high 70s.
Tomorrow, we have a straight shot directly to Bakersfield, then up Highway 99 to Nevada City. We have been gone a long time and are looking forward to getting home.
We considered continuing on past Edwards AFB and driving another two hours to Lemoore NAS just west of Fresno. We thought the better of it however, and spent the night at the Edwards AFB, FAMCAMP. This is the same place we stayed the evening of Day 1, way back on February 1st. It is a lot warmer now, and we arrived under clear skies and the temperature in the high 70s.
Tomorrow, we have a straight shot directly to Bakersfield, then up Highway 99 to Nevada City. We have been gone a long time and are looking forward to getting home.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 44) - Las Cruces, NM – Phoenix, AZ
We got an early start and had a smooth and uneventful trip along I-10 under clear skies and mild temperatures. We also had an In-And-Out Burger for lunch along the road in Tucson. We must be getting close to home - can Starbucks be far behind?
We are staying at a RV Resort west of town. It is a nice park and appears to be another snow bird retreat with a lot of extended stay RVers from northern locations. There are also a number of permanent park model RV sites and a RV travel club outing from Banning, CA here at the moment.
We are staying at a RV Resort west of town. It is a nice park and appears to be another snow bird retreat with a lot of extended stay RVers from northern locations. There are also a number of permanent park model RV sites and a RV travel club outing from Banning, CA here at the moment.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 43) - Elk City, Oklahoma – Las Cruces, NM
The weather didn’t cooperate and we left under rainy skies with a forecast of more to come. A storm had come down through the night and dumped a fair amount of snow in the area east of Albuquerque. The New Mexico road conditions web site was reporting packed snow and icy road conditions on I-40 east of Albuquerque for the rest of the day and the NWS radar showed a small, but fairly strong system moving east. So, we decided to push west as far as Amarillo, then SW towards Las Cruces, NM (near El Paso).
The roads were good (not Interstate, but 4-lane divided U.S. highways). It continued to rain and we even had a few snow showers at 6500 feet as we crossed the mountains south of Roswell, NM. We passed through Ruidoso Downs, the site of a famous quarter horse race track and resort in the mountains. There is a Museum of the West there which we didn’t have time to stop and see – maybe on the next trip. After a long downhill ride from Ruidoso we arrived under clearing skies at an RV Park in Las Cruces, NM near I-10.
Before arriving at Las Cruces, we also stopped at the White Sands National Monument in the desert east of Las Cruces. We wished we had more time to visit, but got a brief look at the impressive white gypsum sand dunes and a tour of the small NPS museum at the Visitors Center. The White Sands area is also home to the U.S. Army Missile Test Range and the Trinity Site, the site of the first atomic bomb test.
It was a long day, but hopefully all the weather is behind us and we have clear sailing ahead.
The roads were good (not Interstate, but 4-lane divided U.S. highways). It continued to rain and we even had a few snow showers at 6500 feet as we crossed the mountains south of Roswell, NM. We passed through Ruidoso Downs, the site of a famous quarter horse race track and resort in the mountains. There is a Museum of the West there which we didn’t have time to stop and see – maybe on the next trip. After a long downhill ride from Ruidoso we arrived under clearing skies at an RV Park in Las Cruces, NM near I-10.
Before arriving at Las Cruces, we also stopped at the White Sands National Monument in the desert east of Las Cruces. We wished we had more time to visit, but got a brief look at the impressive white gypsum sand dunes and a tour of the small NPS museum at the Visitors Center. The White Sands area is also home to the U.S. Army Missile Test Range and the Trinity Site, the site of the first atomic bomb test.
It was a long day, but hopefully all the weather is behind us and we have clear sailing ahead.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 42) - Little Rock, Arkansas – Elk City, Oklahoma
We left the RV park at 7:30 am and had a long and uneventful drive to Elk City, Oklahoma – about half way between Oklahoma City, OK and Amarillo, TX. The roads were dry, it wasn't too windy, and, despite the cowboy song, the skies were partly cloudy. We arrived about 4:00 pm at the Elk City RV Park. Business is not exactly booming at the park as it is still late winter around here – everything is brown and nothing is growing just yet. It is a convenient place to stop for the night however, and rest up for the mountains ahead. The proprietor, Norman Bates, is also very nice.
Tomorrow is another long driving day to Albuquerque, NM. They are expecting some weather there tonight, but it is expected to have moved on by the time we get there late tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully the roads will be O.K. The forecast for the rest of the way after Albuquerque looks pretty good, so we may be good on weather after tomorrow.
Tomorrow is another long driving day to Albuquerque, NM. They are expecting some weather there tonight, but it is expected to have moved on by the time we get there late tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully the roads will be O.K. The forecast for the rest of the way after Albuquerque looks pretty good, so we may be good on weather after tomorrow.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 41) - Gadsden, AL (Alexandria) – Little Rock, Arkansas
We got an early start this morning, leaving about 7;30 am. The drive to Little Rock by way of Birmingham, AL and Memphis, TN was a little tedious, with wind, occasional rain showers, and a fair amount of traffic near the cities. We arrived at the North Little Rock KOA about 3:30 pm and settled in for the night. We have another long drive tomorrow with our planned destination an RV Park in Elk City, OK (west of Oklahoma City).
Right now, the extended weather forecast for the rest of our trip west along I-40 looks pretty good, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for an uneventful journey home.
Right now, the extended weather forecast for the rest of our trip west along I-40 looks pretty good, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for an uneventful journey home.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 40) - Cordele, GA – Gadsden, AL (Alexandria)
After checking the location and movement of a line of relatively severe weather working its way through Alabama and Georgia, we decided we could make it through the front without a lot of problems. So, we left the RV Park in Cordele about 9:30 am and headed NW over secondary roads towards our destination, River Country RV park in Gadsden, AL. As it turned out, we didn’t experience any severe weather but it did rain most of the way. The weather was clear and breezy when we arrived and the forecast is for more sunny skies tomorrow. The park is O.K. for an overnight stay. It is right on the Coosa River and Lake Gadsden. It had been raining here pretty much continuously for the last two days and the ground is soggy. In fact, we cannot dump because all the park dump sites are full and the town wastewater site has been overwhelmed – “Sweet Home Alabama”.
We met Paula and Dallas Smith at their house about 20 miles away from the RV Park and went to dinner with them at a very popular (and very good) local catfish restaurant, The “Top O’ The River”. We had the local favorite: ½ pound of fried catfish filets, hush puppies, french fries, coleslaw, corn bread, and fried pickles. This was not health food, but very well prepared and a delicious sample of traditional southern food. Paula is an old friend from high school who went into the Army, made Colonel and retired with a PHD. Her husband Dallas, is a retired Army helicopter pilot. They both retired from a nearby base and have lived in the area ever since.
We hope to get an early start tomorrow and reach Little Rock by way of Birmingham and Memphis. We are finally heading home!
We met Paula and Dallas Smith at their house about 20 miles away from the RV Park and went to dinner with them at a very popular (and very good) local catfish restaurant, The “Top O’ The River”. We had the local favorite: ½ pound of fried catfish filets, hush puppies, french fries, coleslaw, corn bread, and fried pickles. This was not health food, but very well prepared and a delicious sample of traditional southern food. Paula is an old friend from high school who went into the Army, made Colonel and retired with a PHD. Her husband Dallas, is a retired Army helicopter pilot. They both retired from a nearby base and have lived in the area ever since.
We hope to get an early start tomorrow and reach Little Rock by way of Birmingham and Memphis. We are finally heading home!
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 39) - Tampa, FL – Cordele, GA
We left the RV Park around 9:00 am and hooked-up the VW in a nearby grocery store parking lot after getting a few supplies for the trip. It began raining shortly after we left and by the time we reached Ocala, FL it was raining really hard with reduced visibility on the highway. There were several accidents and many people just pulled over to the side of the road to wait it out. We got off to get gas and it finally happened – we got caught in a tight situation at the gas station and we had to unhook the VW to extract ourselves (We cannot back-up when towing.) To make the event really special, we had to do this in the middle of a driving rainstorm without much shelter at the gas station. After we got dried off and back underway, the rain eased up a bit and we had an uneventful trip under clearing skies the rest of the way to a Georgia State Park in Cordele, GA.
We are staying at a great state park called the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park. The park is on a large lake and has a military museum, army equipment (tanks, artillery pieces, etc.) on display as well as a WW II and later collection of military aircraft, including a B-29 bomber. There is also a large hotel & conference center, an 18-hole golf course, and a boat marina in the park – all run by the State of Georgia. The park is first class and looks like a great place to come for a conference or an extended camping trip. The RV sites are mostly pull-through and all have water, electricity, and TV. No sewer hook-ups, but there is a dump station in the park.
There is another strong weather system due in the area tomorrow, so we are going to try and get an early start and get to Gadsden, AL before the worst of it arrives. We will be visiting with high school friend Paula Smith (Schell) and her husband Dallas then starting home on Saturday.
We are staying at a great state park called the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park. The park is on a large lake and has a military museum, army equipment (tanks, artillery pieces, etc.) on display as well as a WW II and later collection of military aircraft, including a B-29 bomber. There is also a large hotel & conference center, an 18-hole golf course, and a boat marina in the park – all run by the State of Georgia. The park is first class and looks like a great place to come for a conference or an extended camping trip. The RV sites are mostly pull-through and all have water, electricity, and TV. No sewer hook-ups, but there is a dump station in the park.
There is another strong weather system due in the area tomorrow, so we are going to try and get an early start and get to Gadsden, AL before the worst of it arrives. We will be visiting with high school friend Paula Smith (Schell) and her husband Dallas then starting home on Saturday.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 38) - Tampa, FL
After a long day and short night yesterday, Judy awoke feeling pretty bad with her sinuses hurting. So after a trip to the same nearby urgent care center, she got an allergy shot and a prescription for an antibiotic (Z-Pack). She was feeling tired, so she decided to skip the baseball game today and rest-up instead.
Pat was feeling a little better and left for the 1:00 pm Phillies – Toronto Blue Jays spring training baseball game at the Blue Jays stadium in nearby Dunedin, FL., stopping along the way at the Phillies spring training stadium (Brighthouse Field) in Clearwater. There was a B-squad game in progress when I was there and minor leaguers and rookies were practicing while the major league team travelled to play the Blue Jays. The Phillies spring training complex is fairly new and is a first class facility.
The Blue Jays stadium is small, fairly old and doesn’t have very much parking. I had to pay $8.00 to park in some guy’s front yard. The field has a homey, minor league feel about it and the mostly Phillies fans in the stadium had a good time watching the Phillies beat the Blue Jays 4-2 under warm and sunny skies.
Judy was feeling better after I returned from the game. We had leftovers for dinner and went to bed early to rest-up for the next phase of the trip.
Pat was feeling a little better and left for the 1:00 pm Phillies – Toronto Blue Jays spring training baseball game at the Blue Jays stadium in nearby Dunedin, FL., stopping along the way at the Phillies spring training stadium (Brighthouse Field) in Clearwater. There was a B-squad game in progress when I was there and minor leaguers and rookies were practicing while the major league team travelled to play the Blue Jays. The Phillies spring training complex is fairly new and is a first class facility.
The Blue Jays stadium is small, fairly old and doesn’t have very much parking. I had to pay $8.00 to park in some guy’s front yard. The field has a homey, minor league feel about it and the mostly Phillies fans in the stadium had a good time watching the Phillies beat the Blue Jays 4-2 under warm and sunny skies.
Judy was feeling better after I returned from the game. We had leftovers for dinner and went to bed early to rest-up for the next phase of the trip.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 37) - Tampa, FL
I wasn’t feeling much better in the morning, so I decided, with Judy’s encouragement, to go to an urgent care center and get an antibiotic to treat the sinus infection. We found a “Doc-In-A-Box” urgent care center nearby that caters to Snowbirds. The doctor confirmed a sinus infection and prescribed a “Z-Pack” antibiotic that I picked up at a CVS/Pharmacy across the street. We then returned to the RV and rested and did laundry at the RV park laundry center. After resting into the afternoon, we left for the Phillies/Atlanta Braves game in the Orlando area about 4:30 pm.
The game was played at the Braves Spring Training Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center in the Disney World Complex south of Orlando at Kissimmee, FL. According to the GPS it was 74 miles away - about an hour and a half drive. The game was scheduled to start at 7:00 pm, so by leaving at 4:30 pm we thought we would have plenty of time to get there. What we and the GPS didn’t know however, was the impact of Tampa Bay rush hour traffic and the time it would take to get into the ESPN complex, park the car, and walk into the park. All this added an hour to the trip and by the time we got seated, we missed the first inning.
The park is new and looks pretty much like a major league ball park. It has seating for about 20,000 people and all were filled. There were a lot of Phillies fans there along with a lot of hometown Braves fans. The game had the feel of a regular season with a lot of vocal fan interaction. We had great seats right behind home plate on the Phillies side, near the dugout and 4 rows back. We decided to leave in the bottom of the 8th inning after all the regular players left the game. We then had an unforeseen delay when we wandered around the wrong parking lot for about 30 minutes looking for the car. The ride back was much quicker and uneventful. We got back to the RV park around midnight and went to bed right away after a long and tiring day.
The game was played at the Braves Spring Training Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center in the Disney World Complex south of Orlando at Kissimmee, FL. According to the GPS it was 74 miles away - about an hour and a half drive. The game was scheduled to start at 7:00 pm, so by leaving at 4:30 pm we thought we would have plenty of time to get there. What we and the GPS didn’t know however, was the impact of Tampa Bay rush hour traffic and the time it would take to get into the ESPN complex, park the car, and walk into the park. All this added an hour to the trip and by the time we got seated, we missed the first inning.
The park is new and looks pretty much like a major league ball park. It has seating for about 20,000 people and all were filled. There were a lot of Phillies fans there along with a lot of hometown Braves fans. The game had the feel of a regular season with a lot of vocal fan interaction. We had great seats right behind home plate on the Phillies side, near the dugout and 4 rows back. We decided to leave in the bottom of the 8th inning after all the regular players left the game. We then had an unforeseen delay when we wandered around the wrong parking lot for about 30 minutes looking for the car. The ride back was much quicker and uneventful. We got back to the RV park around midnight and went to bed right away after a long and tiring day.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 36) - Ft. Lauderdale - Tampa
The ship docked at Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) about 7:00 am and we were in the 2nd group to depart. We had put our luggage in the hall the night before with tags indicating what departure group we were in. Staff picked it up that evening, so when we left in the morning, we only had hand-held baggage to carry-off the ship. We used a small roll away suitcase and backpacks. We quickly picked up our luggage on the dock and cleared customs without difficulty. The luggage was sorted by departure group and lots of porters were available, making it easy to find and get to the taxi cab stand. We took a cab back to the hotel, and thankfully, found the RV and VW just as we left them.
After putting cruise clothes away and sorting clothes we needed for the next phase of the trip, we left for Tampa about 11:00 am. We headed west through the everglades, then north through Ft. Meyers along the west coast of Florida to the Tampa Bay area, arriving about 4:00 PM.
We crossed a septacular bridge on the way north on I-275: The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, spanning Tampa Bay from Bradenton, FL to St. Petersburg, FL. The bridge is beautiful and is considered by many as one of the top ten bridges in the world. It is 5.5 miles long and 191 ft above the bay at its highest point. It is a cable-stayed concrete bridge modeled after a bridge in France. It was completed in 1987 and replaced a steel cantilever bridge with two spans - the first completed in 1954, and the second in 1971. Twelve hundred feet of the old southbound span toppled into the bay in 1980 after it was rammed by a freighter in a heavy rainstorm. Thirty-five people were killed in the disaster including those on a Greyhound bus and six cars that drove off the broken span in the rain. One person survived when his pick-up truck landed on the freighter.
We stayed at the Bay Bayou RV Resort on the north side of Tampa Bay. Actually, the name of the town where the RV park is located is Oldsmar, FL. The park is really nice, a Good Sam Top 100 park, and has a lot of “snowbirds” there for the winter, mostly from places like Canada, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, etc. Pat was fighting a sinus problem, with a lot of congestion, so after an early dinner, we went to bed.
After putting cruise clothes away and sorting clothes we needed for the next phase of the trip, we left for Tampa about 11:00 am. We headed west through the everglades, then north through Ft. Meyers along the west coast of Florida to the Tampa Bay area, arriving about 4:00 PM.
We crossed a septacular bridge on the way north on I-275: The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, spanning Tampa Bay from Bradenton, FL to St. Petersburg, FL. The bridge is beautiful and is considered by many as one of the top ten bridges in the world. It is 5.5 miles long and 191 ft above the bay at its highest point. It is a cable-stayed concrete bridge modeled after a bridge in France. It was completed in 1987 and replaced a steel cantilever bridge with two spans - the first completed in 1954, and the second in 1971. Twelve hundred feet of the old southbound span toppled into the bay in 1980 after it was rammed by a freighter in a heavy rainstorm. Thirty-five people were killed in the disaster including those on a Greyhound bus and six cars that drove off the broken span in the rain. One person survived when his pick-up truck landed on the freighter.
We stayed at the Bay Bayou RV Resort on the north side of Tampa Bay. Actually, the name of the town where the RV park is located is Oldsmar, FL. The park is really nice, a Good Sam Top 100 park, and has a lot of “snowbirds” there for the winter, mostly from places like Canada, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, etc. Pat was fighting a sinus problem, with a lot of congestion, so after an early dinner, we went to bed.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 35) - At Sea
Some of the 82nd group that brought pictures and scrapbooks from our Okinawa days decided to get together this morning and pass them around. Bob Hailey took the lead, and reserved a conference room on the ship for 10:00 am. Bob had converted a lot of old photographs into digital format and planned to show them on his computer. We brought several scrapbooks and Okinawa Wives Club magazines. It worked out really well as the room had a 60” flat screen TV and a rear screen LCD projector. All Bob had to do was plug in his computer and start a slide show of the photographs. We also set out our stuff on a table for people to look through.
Robb Hoover also had a CD with current photographs of Okinawa and Kadena AFB. One of the old 82nd crewmembers (Charlie McBride) had recently been to Okinawa to visit one of their children who is stationed there. We put the CD on the computer and were amazed how the island has changed. Little was recognizable to us as much of the island and the base has been developed and modernized. There were also pictures of Okuma, the military recreation area in the north end of the island, which seems not to have changed significantly. Almost everyone in the group came to the conference room and we all had a major dose of “déjà vu” .
General Urschler (Reggie) had written a letter to the ship's captain earlier in the cruise, requesting a special tour of the bridge and engineering sections for our group. The captain agreed, so we also had a tour of the bridge scheduled for 10:45 am this morning. We met the ship's Events Coordinator, went through individual security checks, toured the bridge and had a special briefing from one of the ship’s junior officers (one of the few Americans on the crew that we met). The tour was very interesting and focused on how the ship is run. It is essentially a high tech machine, run by computers with redundant back-up systems, and overseen by an experienced crew . The ship's systems are run by electric power fueled by huge state-of-the art diesel engines.
After the tour, we returned to the conference room for more 82nd reminiscences until we adjourned for lunch.
Dinner was a a low-key affair and almost everyone retired early to pack and get ready for our arrival at port in the morning. We got our bags into the hallway around 9:00 PM and went to bed.
Robb Hoover also had a CD with current photographs of Okinawa and Kadena AFB. One of the old 82nd crewmembers (Charlie McBride) had recently been to Okinawa to visit one of their children who is stationed there. We put the CD on the computer and were amazed how the island has changed. Little was recognizable to us as much of the island and the base has been developed and modernized. There were also pictures of Okuma, the military recreation area in the north end of the island, which seems not to have changed significantly. Almost everyone in the group came to the conference room and we all had a major dose of “déjà vu” .
General Urschler (Reggie) had written a letter to the ship's captain earlier in the cruise, requesting a special tour of the bridge and engineering sections for our group. The captain agreed, so we also had a tour of the bridge scheduled for 10:45 am this morning. We met the ship's Events Coordinator, went through individual security checks, toured the bridge and had a special briefing from one of the ship’s junior officers (one of the few Americans on the crew that we met). The tour was very interesting and focused on how the ship is run. It is essentially a high tech machine, run by computers with redundant back-up systems, and overseen by an experienced crew . The ship's systems are run by electric power fueled by huge state-of-the art diesel engines.
After the tour, we returned to the conference room for more 82nd reminiscences until we adjourned for lunch.
Dinner was a a low-key affair and almost everyone retired early to pack and get ready for our arrival at port in the morning. We got our bags into the hallway around 9:00 PM and went to bed.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 34) - At Sea
With our last island behind us, the ship headed back last evening towards Ft. Lauderdale. We slept in and didn’t do too much other than eat and enjoy a casual day on-board the ship.
Dinner tonight was the last formal (dress-up) event on the cruise. Some people wore tuxedoes and formal dinner gowns, but most people (us included) were not that formal and wore suits and nice dresses. We had a great dinner again, and lobster was the main dinner entrée selection. Towards the end of dinner, the entire dining room staff including all the head waiters, waiters, assistant waiters, wine stewards and cooks, etc. marched through the dining room as a group waving towels and singing (in about 82 different languages). The head dining room manager thanked everyone for coming on the cruise and everyone responded with a great round of applause for the staff. We then had a special dessert – Baked Alaska to top-off a great meal.
After dinner we went to the show in the main theater. It was sort of a grand finale production by the cruise singers and dancers. There are about twelve of them – all young, energetic, and excellent performers. They were accompanied by the house band (about a dozen or so musicians) also very good. The show was called “Remix” and included several Rock/Pop production numbers with international themes. It was very well done and was a great way to wrap-up the major cruise events.
When we returned to our stateroom, we again had another “Towel Origami” experience. We still cannot figure out how they do that.
Dinner tonight was the last formal (dress-up) event on the cruise. Some people wore tuxedoes and formal dinner gowns, but most people (us included) were not that formal and wore suits and nice dresses. We had a great dinner again, and lobster was the main dinner entrée selection. Towards the end of dinner, the entire dining room staff including all the head waiters, waiters, assistant waiters, wine stewards and cooks, etc. marched through the dining room as a group waving towels and singing (in about 82 different languages). The head dining room manager thanked everyone for coming on the cruise and everyone responded with a great round of applause for the staff. We then had a special dessert – Baked Alaska to top-off a great meal.
After dinner we went to the show in the main theater. It was sort of a grand finale production by the cruise singers and dancers. There are about twelve of them – all young, energetic, and excellent performers. They were accompanied by the house band (about a dozen or so musicians) also very good. The show was called “Remix” and included several Rock/Pop production numbers with international themes. It was very well done and was a great way to wrap-up the major cruise events.
When we returned to our stateroom, we again had another “Towel Origami” experience. We still cannot figure out how they do that.
New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 33) - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
We docked in the harbor of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands at 8:00am. St Thomas, along with the other 50 or so of the Virgin Islands, is an unincorporated territory of the U.S.
The residents are subject to United States taxes, but are not protected by the U.S. Constitution, nor can they vote in congressional or presidential elections. Doesn’t seem fair to me. However, within one hour after docking, we were off on our last island tour, this time in open safari-type vehicles.
We drove along Skyline Drive, a road along the top of the ridge with beautiful views in every direction. We saw the Equinox in port far below, easily the largest ship in the small harbor. Unlike some of the other islands we had visited, St. Thomas was overall a clean and well ordered place. We saw an iguana in a tree along the road, fierce-looking but a relatively harmless lizard.
We stopped on a hill above Magen’s Bay, considered one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It was very beautiful and we want to return to St. Thomas to lie on its pink sands someday.
The residents are subject to United States taxes, but are not protected by the U.S. Constitution, nor can they vote in congressional or presidential elections. Doesn’t seem fair to me. However, within one hour after docking, we were off on our last island tour, this time in open safari-type vehicles.
We drove along Skyline Drive, a road along the top of the ridge with beautiful views in every direction. We saw the Equinox in port far below, easily the largest ship in the small harbor. Unlike some of the other islands we had visited, St. Thomas was overall a clean and well ordered place. We saw an iguana in a tree along the road, fierce-looking but a relatively harmless lizard.
We stopped on a hill above Magen’s Bay, considered one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It was very beautiful and we want to return to St. Thomas to lie on its pink sands someday.
We then drove to St. Peter Great House, a resort on a high hill overlooking St. Thomas. It was a beautiful home in a beautiful setting – the prettiest botanical garden yet.
We were back at the ship by 1:00 pm in time for a great lunch in the Oceanview Café on the 14th deck. The ship then left the harbour about 5:00 pm for Florida.
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