St Thomas Day 7
More issues and more beaches...
I slept in a little bit this morning and once up, I immediately started checking my camera and sd card again. Still nothing. I guess I was left to only having 1 camera and a GoPro for the rest of the vacation. See, this is why I always have a backup camera since I took the hubby on his first cruise in 2010. I knew there was a reason that I would always need more than 1 camera and extra batteries. I come prepared. I was still distraught over the sd card and how I was going to fix that problem. But, the hubby said we'd go to the store later and get some rice and try that. I mean it works for phones right?
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The kids were up and I made eggs, bacon and toast and then we packed for the day. Today was going to be a beach day. We were trying to alternate days between beaches and booked excursions because excursions are pretty pricey.
Since the girls had picked Secret Harbor for a beach day yesterday (because of the non-existent jump platform that was removed from the water), that meant today was going to be Brewers Bay for sure. I forgot to mention yesterday as we were waiting on the hubby to haul himself up the hill to get the vehicle at Secret Harbor, we were waiting along the side and did see the jump platform sitting along the side area of the parking lot. So that's where it went! I wondered if it was being repaired or something?
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We headed out and over to Brewers Bay. Brewers is on the other side of the airport and by the college. It's a pretty big beach and has TONS of shade along it to sit at. That makes it really nice. There is a bathroom and showers but no restaurants or anything.
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This would be our spot for the day. There was hardly anyone here! It was like this last time we were here too.
We headed down to the water and noticed there were sections of just crushed coral and shells and we immediately knew we were about to spend the next hour hunting for seaglass!
We spent quite some time searching and found quite a few pieces of seaglass. We both had a bag full. I spotted an airplane coming in. It's not the same experience as being at Maho or even at the beach beside the airport in Aruba, but still interesting to watch.
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Ok, time for some snorkeling while the girls continued to beachcomb. Neither wanted to snorkel with me so I guess I'm on my own.
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There are plenty of Ballyhoo in St Thomas. It was one of the first places I had ever seen them back in 2010
Somehow I managed to miss getting this Juvenile French Angelfish in the entire picture. I also managed to miss turning my camera on the underwater setting as well since the pictures start off with that horrible green tint. I guess I'm still traumatized by yesterdays loss.
I also managed to cut off this Feather Duster in the coral
I found a squirrel fish trying to hide from me. They are such unsociable fish.
Ah ha...what do we have here? A lizardfish trying to blend in with the sand
Alrighty then...I have finally discovered my settings on the camera were wrong. Go me!
A Magnificent Feather Duster worm
Then...whoop there it is, whoop there it is....turtles!
There were thousands of little silver fishes in this area close to the beach
I headed back to rest and told the hubby I was thirsty. Snorkeling makes you so thirsty, especially when you get saltwater in your mouth. I did manage to see what looked like a food truck up at the road and the hubby went up to investigate.
The hubby came back with ice cold drinks AND food! See this is why I love him. He can read my thoughts even when I don't say anything. He got these things called pates (pronounced pah tays) and they had seasoned chicken inside. They were SO YUMMY! We've never had these before. The bread was good too. So anyone who doesn't know what a "pate" is (as I didn't know either) you can get them in beef, chicken, fish or conch and they have seasoning on them (such as parsley, rosemary, bay leaves, thyme, cilantro, salt and pepper...all kinds of combinations) and the meat is very juicy. It is in a type of pie crust dough that is crispy and they are fried in vegetable oil for a few minutes.
Sakari was busy talking and was very vocal about it, using her arms and hands, and she was just going on and on and on. I had to take a picture. (I'm surprised she can even use her arms after last night) Yes, she caught me.
We decided we were done here and wanted to move on to another place. We packed up our things and headed out. Parking is on the road and there's a long walk to get there.
Along the waterfront
NCL GEM was in town. Yep, we been on that one.
Along the way, the hubby ask me where we were going. I wanted to go somewhere new that we had never been to. I pulled out my MapsMe and took a look around. "Well, we've never been to Cowpet Bay before. so let's do that!" It was on the way home and I figured it would be a good choice.
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When we arrived, we were trying to figure out where to get in. There was a gate and you needed a code to raise it. Hmmm. I told the hubby there has to be another way and as we were getting ready to back out, there was a car behind us. They decided to pull up beside us and we told them we were trying to get to the beach. They told us the code and in we went. There were parking spots all over the place, between the parking spots for the people staying there in the condo's, so I really didn't understand why there was a gate. How are people supposed to get in??? I guess we got lucky.
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We gathered our beach bags, snorkel equipment and chairs and had to walk down a bunch of stairs and across some grass to get to the actual beach...and oh em gee....it was nice!! So beautiful! It was definitely my kinda beach.
I started using my phone for most of the "above water" pictures because my batteries were dying quickly for some reason. It was like they really wasn't charged. I was getting aggravated with the whole camera issue.
I told the hubby "This is the type of place I like staying in". Maybe if we come back we should check it out. I love when they have palm trees on the beach. There was plenty of shade.
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Sakari took off and came back with some flowers and sat down in the soft sand. I could see the wheels turning and she was about to create something.
Meanwhile, I spotted a cute little surfer dude
Sakari disappeared again and came back with some palm tree leaves. She was about to make a masterpiece.
I did over hear someone say "there's a turtle out here" but I waited awhile before I went out and by the time I was out there, it was gone. I "snorkeled" and I use that term lightly because honestly, there was absolutely nothing to see but grass and some spiny sea urchins lurking in the sand. If only the people bobbing up and down in the water with a drink in their hand knew what was below...waiting at any moment to puncture their little feet.
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I decided to take a walk down the beach. People had said there's snorkeling on the left side of the beach by the rocks. While I'm sure there was something to see, it looked pretty rocky and it was in an area that was past the ropes and it did have a few boats in it. I thought maybe that's what the area is used for...the boats pulling in and out. I didn't see anyone over there, so I decided not to go in.
I came back and Sakari had made a beautiful headband for Kiera. It reminded me of being in Hawaii or something. I swear sometimes our new iphones take better pictures than my cameras now.
The hubby decided to wander off and find the restrooms and the kids decided to wander off and went to the pool. I'm sure it's for guest only, but we were guest...if only for the day. I guess it had a waterfall and all.
Hubby went to the pool bar to get us drinks. He said the guy there was really rude. Pop will cost you $4 each and he got a cup of ice to pour it in as well.
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We just hung out for awhile, enjoying the view. Then decided it was time to pack up and leave. The hubby went to go get the girls from the pool and we started our long walk to the parking lot at the top of the hill.
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On the way home, we stopped at the Red Hook grocery store to get a few things and SOME RICE!! We needed more pop, bread, eggs, syrup and the kids wanted some chips. I did manage to find a bag of rice...thank goodness.
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On the way home, the kids were saying they were hungry again so we stopped at.........McDonalds. This is the same McDonalds we went to last time (with Kendra) and the staff was SO SLOW and rude. Well, this time wouldn't be any different either. Very very slow and not friendly at all.
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Yes, their prices are a little inflated, but still probably cheaper than the price of all these groceries. Man groceries are expensive here. We decided to just eat in the parking lot before heading back to the condo.
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Once we arrived at home, everyone headed for the showers and dry clothes.
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I immediately headed to the kitchen for a bowl to put my rice in. It was time to do some repairs...hopefully. In went the camera and the sd card.
I headed to the lobby to ask about the laundry and where to get quarters. They had them prepared in little packets of $5 each packet. I took $20 worth, exchanged our wet towels and headed back. I did ask them how to get clean towels and wash rags for the condo and they told me to throw them out the door and they would deliver clean ones. By the time I got back, they had already delivered them. Now that's service!
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Sakari and I went to the laundry area and started washing their clothes. Kiera didn't help. She has officially been initiated by St Thomas and the Caribbean sun. She was so red from searching for seaglass earlier at Brewers Bay and I told her to put on her rash guard but she didn't. She said it needed washed and it smelled. Well, better to wear something that smells dirty and fishy than to get burned. She decided to take her chances and now she was paying the price. She way laying with her butt up in the air and moaning. I slathered some good Aruban Aloe on her that I had brought along and she just continued to moan. I don't think she believed us when we told her about the Caribbean sun being brutal.
The girls were out of clean clothes, we were still ok for a few days, so we would just be washing theirs tonight. They had 3 washers (and one was not working) and I believe 4 dryers. Washing was $3 and drying was .25¢ for every 6 minutes. So it cost us $1.25 for drying basically and I even thought that was a bit of an overkill. We probably could have gotten away with only $1 for drying.
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When I got back to the condo (we did go back and forth while waiting on the wash and drying) I talked to an ex co-worker for about an hour. It was good to catch up on what she had been up to since she quit. After I got off the phone with her, I wrote my own resignation as well. :( I have loved my current job of Clinical Manager but managing 3 different counties had taken a toll on me and I was ready for something new. You see I got a call, while we were on our way to the airport leaving for St Thomas, offering me a job. It was an offer I just couldn't refuse. Better benefits, more money, more vacation time, sign-on bonus and the facilities were outstanding (relaxation rooms with massage chairs, cafeteria's and so on). I just couldn't turn it down. I felt bad. I love my work family I have right now. They have taught me how to speak a little Russian and I've met some life-long friends with them. But, it's time to move on.
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We hung out on the deck until dark because the breeze was so nice. Then once the laundry was done, we retrieved it and the hubby and I headed for the bedroom to watch a little tv, had some popcorn then to bed we went. We had a big day tomorrow....not to miss. Kiera was excited for it to get here...but I was a little nervous about her condition.
UP NEXT...more camera issues + great day
