The Final Days

We're down to the last couple of days but trying not to think about it. In our last trip we didn't go to Trunk Bay, so this time we decided to go back, given that there weren't any cruise ships in port. As over exposed and over traveled as this beach is, I can still see why. The beach is huge, easy to access, and gorgeous. We went as far down the beach (to the right as you're looking out) as we possibly could, so no one was on our right for the day. Our lunch meat had spoiled, so we actually settled on peanut butter and jelly for lunch. We were like kids, and it worked just fine. My wife has always had a fear of snorkeling / scuba, but she wants to join me on these and today she was going to try. She did well, no panic, stayed close to me, and with good equipment, she enjoyed it. After this and a few hours of reading and walking the beach, I decided to get some drinks for us at the food stand. Grabbed the cash out of the backpack, got the drinks, and headed back. This would come back to haunt me. I took a longer snorkel this time, and late in the evening, we left. Back at the house I was pulling things out of the backpack, and realized that i had also pulled out my license when getting the drinks back at the beach. And put it in my pocket. And then went snorkeling.... So after a trip back to Trunk on the way to Rhumb Lines that produced no license, I came to the realization it was gone. On the list of important things to lose, this isn't really too bad. No cancelling of credit cards, no loss of cash, and certainly no loss of passport to get through security / customs. So now I'm back in Texas and ready for my trip to the local DMV.

Our final full day, we head to Mongoose Junction for some gift shopping for our family members, and for me this meant some chilling out with a cup of coffee while my wife did the shopping. Always a challenge to find something to bring back to our son from paradise. Next time, we're bringing him and his little sister. We settle on some t-shirts, enjoy our lunch at Sun Dog cafe, then go back to the house to prepare for our last beach trip. We go back to Francis, me for more snorkeling, my wife just to enjoy the beauty, soak up the sun, and read. One note on Francis snorkeling. It's easy to head out towards Mary's Point, but there is a current that you fight on the way back. There are so many places to stand, you can rest, but still, it's longer coming back. After viewing the sting rays and the snorkeling on the east side of the beach, we're ready to go back.

Our travel day back begins with packing and straightening the house up, along with some breakfast and coffee. My wife convinces me to catch the 11am ferry rather than the noon for our 2:15 Cape Air flight, a wise decision. I had decided to just go on the downtown ferry a few minutes later. When we got up to the counter to buy those tickets, there was a sign indicating that the downtown was not running that day, so we scrambled onto the 11am ferry, literally some of the last people to get on a full ferry ride. The cab gets us to the airport a little before noon, but on a Saturday, it was packed.

The customs line was snaked around the airport, and the Cape Air attendant couldn't get the printer to work, so despite being the only people at the counter, it took awhile. Eventually she hand wrote our boarding passes, something I didn't feel very good about. The customs line looked as if it would take forever, but actually moved pretty fast. We get through customs and into security, and they did have to check our boarding passes with a supervisor before letting us through. We come to find out that we are the only people on this flight, and they load us up a half hour early. We're thrilled. On the wings they load the carry-on bags, so my backpack and my wife's camera bag (big one, several thousand dollars worth of equipment) go into the wing. The pilot takes us to the end of the runway, and we take off. My wife looks to the left.... The hatch over the carry on bags is literally flopping in the wind. The ground crew failed to latch it. We notify the pilot, who quickly and sharply turns the plane around to land us once again. The hatch is closed and we're on our way. Another 'fun' Cape Air trip. Pretty rough travel over Puerto Rico, but we land safely and with all our bags intact.

Our fourth trip was maybe the most relaxing of any trip we have taken before. In the past we have gotten out the door in the morning quickly and wedged in trips to the BVIs and tried to pack in as many beaches as possible. This time we were more chilled, just hanging at the house and staying at one beach for an entire day three times. We still love this place. Our kids are getting old enough now that we could enjoy a trip to St John with them and they would enjoy it as well. I think the next time we go that will be the difference. Time will tell.