Fun – Page 43 – Sheila365

April 4 – Just another day in paradise.

Friday, April 4.

Sunrise view from the v-berth hatch:

LameshurSunrise

The winds have turned nasty, 25-28 knots out of the east. Here in Lameshur Bay, we are very protected, so you’d hardly notice. We’re staying another night. Tan-a-na is going to make a run for Road Town on Tortola to check back into the BVI, as they discovered an error with their visas – they expire today, instead of the day they leave. The guys are heading back to Jost, I think, for the night.

So we look forward to a very relaxing day and night here. We made the right decision, as Tan-a-na told us that they had a terrible passage to Road Town. 6 foot waves, 28 knot winds, rain. Once in Road Town, the winds were so strong, they couldn’t get an anchor set, so they made a run to Norman for the night.

Nestled into Great Lameshur, we went for a long snorkel this morning.

Now, what is it they say about snorkeling among a school of baitfish...? — Now, what is it they say about snorkeling among a school of baitfish…?

In the afternoon Susanne, Laura and I headed ashore to hike the Lameshur Trail. We got lucky and missed the rain completely. We had gorgeous views from the hills along the trail.

View from the Lameshur Trail, overlooking the plantation ruin and Little Lameshur Bay.

View from Lameshur Trail. Great Lameshur Bay in the distance, Little Lameshur Bay in the foreground. That lone boat in Great Lameshur is ours.

Looking SSW from Lameshur Trail. Reef Bay in the foreground.

Another dinner aboard tonight and then we will head back to the BVI in the morning.

April 3 – New day, new country.

Thursday, April 3.

This morning we topped up the water tank, got some ice and emergency provisions (i.e., Dove Bars) before heading out from Great Harbour.

Destination: St. John’s of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since we’ll be leaving BVI and entering USVI, we have to visit Customs & Immigration to check out before leaving here, and check in at Cruz Bay once arriving in St. Johns. This is our first time to go to USVI by boat from BVI and deal with the Customs/Immigration thing. I’ll let you know later if it’s worth it.

We didn’t go ashore in Cruz Bay other than to clear customs. We caught a ball in Caneel Bay and ate lunch, then waited through some rain showers for the other 2 boats’ crews to come back to make a plan for the night. The original plan was to stay in Leinster Bay on the north side of St. John’s. But we’re getting intermittent rain stroms, and the wind is really kicking up now. So, the NE swells would make for a very rough mooring. Instead, Monte suggested Lameshur Bay on the south side of the island. Maggie stayed in Caneel Bay, since they were unable to anchor if it turned out they didn’t get a mooring ball. But Tan-a-Na and Jim’s Dream decided to make a run through the rain for a very remote and unspoiled Great Lameshur Bay, and got two of the last remaining mooring balls in time to watch a beautiful sunset.

A rain shower in the distance, from Lameshur Bay.

Sunset over Great Lameshur Bay, St. John's, USVI — Sunset over Great Lameshur Bay, St. John’s, USVI

April 2 – Sandy Cay.

Wednesday, April 2.

Today we took a daysail to Sandy Cay. It was a beautiful day for it. This is our 3rd trip to the BVI, and this is our first time to stop here.

Susanne and Laura are getting the hang of this sailing thing…

sailorsintraining

We set an anchor and ate lunch on the boat before snorkeling to shore for a walk around. Tan-a-na joined us. Unfortunately, Maggie’s windlass was not working, so they had to sail on to Cane Garden Bay.

Tan-a-na and Jim's Dream anchored off Sandy Cay. — Tan-a-na and Jim’s Dream anchored off Sandy Cay.

We had intended to moor overnight in White Bay, but its been getting a bit stormy and the wind is really picking up and driving up big NE swells so it would be too rough in there tonight. Instead, we all ended up back in Great Harbour for one more night.

We cooked up our first meal aboard tonight. This is not roughing it!

April 1 – Destination Jost van Dyke.

Tuesday, April 1.

We got up and headed out for our first snorkel of the trip at the Caves in Privateer Bay on Norman.

Afterwards we sailed to Great Harbour on Jost and all three boats met up again.
We took the taxi-ride-from-hell to Abe’s in Little Harbour for dinner: 11 ginormous lobster, many painkillers from the honor bar, and nonstop stories and laughing. 🙂

It’s a good thing we ordered “medium” sized ones, i’d hate to see the “large” ones!

Afterwards we spent the evening dancing at Foxy’s – and seeing some of the more bizarre sights of the trip.

Some found objects from today:

March 30 – Viejo San Juan.

Sunday, March 30.

We headed out to visit Old San Juan this morning. Caught a bus right outside our hotel. The old town is a beautiful place to see. Here are some of the sights….

A guard turret in the old wall — called a garita.

A view looking out at the sea from one of the garitas.

The colorful building facades:

A view of the stunning Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, built in the early 16th century.

We went back to the hotel in the afternoon to meet up with Susanne and Laura. Then we all went back to Old San Juan. We ate dinner at a restaurant Irene recommended – El Jibarito, and I recommend it, too! Great home cooked Puerto Rican dishes. They also make a yummy sangria.

St. Paddy’s Day selfie.

🙂
May your week be a short one.
May your weekend come soon.
May your friends and your loved ones help you carry the tune!

Birthday!

We enjoyed a nice night on the boat last night, and spent a leisurely morning at anchor. We were back home in time for me to bake a cake for the birthday boy. And, taking liberties with being the big kids that we are, that’s what we had for dinner! #notgonnagrowup

Polar vortex strikes again.

While we were driving home last night from Louisiana we watched the temperature drop from the 70s to the 40s in a matter of minutes. By the time we got home it was freezing in our neighborhood. Spring is only 17 days away, but it’s a tad chilly here!

Tonight I joined Doray, Laura, Irene and Ann for dinner to celebrate Lori’s birthday. Back home in time to wait for the rain and sleet to come in from the west. I hope it lingers over the lake.

An interesting chandelier from Justine’s tonight:

The road home.

What a party! John and Debbie were awesome hosts for the ball last night. Dancing and merry making ensued til the wee hours. Today we’re headed for home. But first we drove around town one more time.

This is a shot of the lovely cathedral downtown:

One of the trees along the parade route, be-decked with beads:

We met Asha & Shekhar, Maxia & Ralph, and Patrick and Rita for brunch at Blue Dog Cafe. The food was absolutely DElicious. If you are anywhere near Lafayette you should stop in for a bite. The place is lined with artwork from George Rodrigue, a native of these parts, and who also co-owned the cafe until he passed away last year. I took a shot of one of his many works in the cafe:

We made it back home tonight, and were greeted by temperatures in the 20s! Brrrrr.

On the drive home today I saw that the bluebonnets are already in bloom along Highway 71 (!) Early, but hopefully a good year for them.

More later!

We’re having a ball.

We had a gruelling Saturday: breakfast at Poupart’s bakery, driving around seeing the sights and (for me) reminiscing; poboys for lunch at Old Tyme Grocery – the world’s best poboys by the way; another parade (and more beads) this afternoon; then off to get showered/shampooed/shined so that we can get dressed up to attend the Krewe of Triton Mardi Gras Ball!

140301

Road trip.

We’re goin’ to see the Mardi Gras!

Got my swamp-fix.

Yummmm, mudbugs for dinner!

I love a parade!

Our bead-haul from tonight’s parade.

Big bloomers.

Tonight I went over to Laura’s for a girls’ night in: wine, pizza & a movie (The Help). She had this large bunch of lilies in a vase on the counter. The blooms were enormous – as big as your head. Very pretty. And very fragrant.

Oh YEAH!

So sweet. I’ve been rooting for this team for 37 years. This season made it all worth it. Congratulations Seattle!!!!!

Sunday funday.

Sandwiched between the snowpocolypse of last week and another cold front due in tomorrow night was a beautiful day with temps in the 70s and winds blowing in the 20s. We headed to the lake and Lori and Dave joined us. We sailed up and down the lake for about 4 hours and enjoyed being out in it.
Good crew!

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on:

Share on: