I'll confess...I'm actually writing this the day after St. Thomas, on a sea day morning, because I was so worn out from having fun yesterday that I fell asleep last night before typing a single word. I think that's only the second time all winter that I've done that (although sometimes I couldn't get on wifi at night and so didn't post until the next morning). I'm slipping!
We were awake early yesterday, as the thrusters moved the Emerald Princess into position at the Crown Bay pier. After breakfast in the dining room (no special treats, but just wait and see...), we returned to the cabin to get packed for our last Water Island beach day of the winter. Since Honeymoon Beach on Water Island offers very little in the way of amenities, we have to be fairly self-sufficient when we go there. Ice in water bottles, plenty of drinks, beach toys, blue tarp...G even stopped by the International Cafe to pick up some pastries to tide him over until we returned to the ship hours later (and also providing me with my splurges for the morning).
We were meeting Jenny and Bill on Deck 4 outside the Medical Center, but were also hoping to meet up with Dr. Smith (Lynn) and her husband. It was their 5th wedding anniversary and we couldn't think of a nicer place to spend it than Honeymoon Beach. Alas, she had a cardiac patient come in during the morning, and was unable to leave the ship. I suppose that happens frequently in a doctor's life!
So, Jenny, Bill, G and I left the ship about 10:00am to walk over to the Water Island ferry from Crown Bay Marina. Of course, along the way, we have our routine: G stops to feed brioche to the iguanas, and we have to walk by yachts and discuss which one we'd like to own. Jenny said that, for her, it's all about the cup holders (hilarious, Jenny!); G says that his has to be all white. Me...I'm not fussy. Anything over 75 feet in length will suffice. There weren't nearly as many yachts there as there were over the holidays and in January; even if we weren't going home soon, it seems the season is winding down on the islands.
On Water Island, we walked up the hill, then down the hill to the beach (although G hitched a ride on a golf cart up the steepest part of the hill). And we were so pleased to see the looks on Jenny and Bill's faces when they had their first glimpse of Honeymoon Beach. It reminds me so much of Gilligans Island lagoon beach...gentle waves (if any), lined with palm trees, set in a deep bay.
It became very quickly very hot yesterday. Someone back on the ship said it was muggy; I'm not sure I even recognize muggy after four months on the islands. But it was so hot that, for the first time this winter, the soft, white sand of Honeymoon Beach became too hot to walk on barefoot. And that's saying something! (Edited later to add: we were told that the Real Feel temp had reached 104F. It was HOT!)
Jenny, Bill and I snorkeled a bit, and I took frequent dips in the water just to cool off. Bill and G purchased a brat and hot dog from Heidi's Beach Grill, but I was happy eating not one, but two pastries that G had brought from the International Cafe. Except for stollen at Christmas, these were my very first pastries of the winter. And they were scrumptious!
Jenny and Bill took the 2:15pm ferry back, but G and I wanted to extend our last visit as long as possible and took the 3:30pm ferry back. There had been four big excursion boats that anchored off the beach for lunch at Heidi's, but none of them were returning to Crown Bay- they had passengers from the three cruise ships at Havensight- and so we couldn't hitch a ride back. While we were sitting in the shade before we left the beach, the resident dog (G named him Bosco but a little girl informed us that she was a girl dog) sprawled out under the bench G was sitting on and I saw him rubbing her belly with his foot when he thought I wasn't looking. The man needs a dog, but my allergies and our travel schedule just don't allow for one!
The walk back to the ferry was HOT. I do believe that this was the hottest day we'd seen all winter. Even the breeze while crossing to Crown Bay on the ferry wasn't enough to cool us off. We wasted no time returning to the ship, plugged in our phones (because we'd almost exhausted the batteries in our excitement to talk/ Internet/ photograph using free AT&T Internet) and took long, cool showers. That G didn't even go to a hot tub first tells you how hot we were.
We were up in Skywalkers for sailaway (always beautiful from St. Thomas), and I made one last phone call to Mom. Too soon we were losing our signals, and put our phones into Airplane Mode for the last time this winter (except for the plane ride home, of course). I can't tell you what a happy thought THAT was! Oh, I'll miss being on the Emerald Princess immensely, of course, but I will NOT miss slow/ expensive/ non-existent wifi!! At all!!!!!
We went to the 5:30pm performance of comedian Al Katz in the Explorers Lounge before dinner. (Another 30 minutes of my life I'll never get back...haven't I learned by now?). Joshua Seth was doing his hypnotist act in the Princess Theater and I have learned not to go to that, so after dinner we went first to the Wheelhouse Bar to listen to four members of the Emerald Princess orchestra playing jazz, and then to Club Fusion to listen to band Sol Provider. They have made us feel so welcome this winter. We will miss their incredible talent as a band, but we'll also miss them as very kind and friendly individuals.
G then wanted to go back to the Wheelhouse Bar to listen to another set by the Emerald Princess orchestra, and so we did, but I was fading. Finally, my contacts were mutinying...it was time to get them out. And that's when I just didn't have enough energy left to blog.
But what a great reason to be tired: a wonderful day on a beach and a musical evening on a cruise ship!
Photos 1 and 2: yachts at Crown Bay Marina
Photo 3: the first glimpse of Honeymoon Beach from the top of the hill
Photos 4 and 5: the beach was almost empty when we first arrived
