Saturday, December 30:
Flew Spirit Airlines for the first time. ATL-FLL-STT. I usually fly the non-stop Delta ATL-STT route but this route is not available everyday. Spirit was fine except for the extraordinary amount of small children that were on the flights, especially from ATL-FLL. Lots of screaming and crying. Thank God for noise-cancelling headphones. I never dealt with this on my Delta flights.

Arrived in STT. Took a while for the luggage to arrive. I was getting a little nervous as I thought my bag may have missed the connecting flight. There was a long line for taxis but it moved quickly. Got to the ferry dock with no problems and boarded Native Son, which was the next ferry out. I think those guys must be used to seeing my face that they think I’m a local and don’t hassle me when I exit the taxi. LOL! I take my own bags to the ferry counter. The ferry ride was exhilarating, to say the least. We were hitting some swells outside St. Thomas and the ferry was rocking!

Customs at the West End ferry terminal was very slow. They kept about 30 of us waiting for 15-20 minutes before someone decided to come to the booth to start processing our passports. Go figure…

My friend, Karl, picked me up from the ferry terminal and took me to Nanny Cay, where I would be resting my head for the next 5 nights.

I had no complaints about my room at Nanny Cay. It was clean and spacious. Good water pressure – no power outages (a first!) The view overlooking the marina was very nice. I thought it was odd that I had to sign a form to receive a remote control for the TV in the room. In fact, I had to sign for a hairdryer and an iron, among other things. First time I’ve ever had to do that in the BVI. Hmmm…

I enjoyed eating at Genakers (love those jerk pork sandwiches) and Peg Leg Landing. I always missed breakfast so I never got to experience the French toast or pancakes.

Notes on Nanny Cay: I liked Nanny Cay but I don’t think I will stay there again. It was just too isolated for me. I usually stay in Cane Garden Bay (Mongoose, Elm, Quito’s, Shan’s Bungalow) and I enjoy the proximity and variety of the bars and restaurants there. I also have many friends who work or live in that area so I missed their company. Maybe if I was on a boat, I would feel differently. Nice place but not for me.

After I settled in, Karl and I met up with Bill, a guy who Karl had taken on one of his tours. He was staying at Lambert (talk about being isolated). Bill had invited us both to his friend’s catamaran for drinks. It turns out his that friend is a big-time interior designer from New York (don’t ask me his name). We all met at Peg Leg Landing first, then we had a nice evening on the cat, conversating and drinking. Karl, Bill and I then headed down to CGB to Quito’s for the “Old School Party” where they play old school R&B music all night. They will have this event every last Saturday of the month. It was so crowded that we couldn’t get in the door so we skipped that and took Bill back to lonely Lambert Beach.

Sunday, Dec. 31:
I went into town with Karl and his niece for errands and shopping. I stopped at Crafts Alive to spend time with my friend, Joseph Hodge, who is an artist. He is so knowledgeable about the island that I love to have conversations with him.

Later that night, we went to C&F for dinner – my first time! It was delicious and they give you so much food. I had the grilled seafood in garlic butter sauce. It was sooo good. Karl and I decided we would take a nap before we headed out to Trellis Bay for the New Year’s celebration but we ended up sleeping through midnight! We woke up, looked at each other, said Happy New Year and went back to sleep. Oh well, I guess we were too stuffed with food to care. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/snore.gif" alt="" />

Monday, January 1:
Happy New Year! My first day in Cane Garden Bay and there were 3 cruise ships in town. What a madhouse! But I really didn’t mind because I was on MY side of town. I was so happy to see that beautiful crescent beach when you first come over the hill! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> I popped in Myetts and said hi to Karim and Prince. Then I stopped by the Big Banana to say hi to my two favorite waitresses there. Quito’s was closed so I wasn’t able to see Fitz that day.

Karl had a party bus tour so he picked me up when they stopped in CGB. I rode on the bus for the rest of the tour. The tour stops at all the beach bars and also includes rum shots on the bus. The people on that bus were a hoot – it’s a wonder any of them could walk back to the ship! We stopped at Bomba’s and I ended up taking a picture with Bomba himself. As many times as I’ve been there, that was the first time I met the infamous Bomba.

After all that madness, we cleaned up and had dinner at Peg Legs. I had this wonderful beef filet with a horseradish sauce. We then headed back down to CGB to see Elvis White perform at Myetts. What a treat! The turnout wasn’t huge but it was a nice sized crowd – enough room for dancing. I ran into my friend, David Archer, the owner of Shan’s Bungalow and Director of Human Resources for the BVI . We’ve been friends since I rented his bungalow and we keep in touch often. It was good to see him.

Tuesday, January 2:
Karl was conducting an off-road tour that day so I took that time to take advantage of Nanny Cay’s beach and pool. I didn’t spend that much time in the pool because I prefer the beach. The beach at Nanny Cay is great for sunning but not for swimming. Had another jerk pork sandwich at Genakers.

I accompanied Karl later that afternoon to his track practice. He is a track and field coach and he wanted me to meet the kids that he trains. He’s a very busy man. Then I got to meet his mother for the first time (yikes!) We couldn’t help but hit it off – she has a wonderful personality. He told me afterwards that I passed the test!

Later, Karl and I met some friends for dinner at Capriccio di Mare. I had bruschetta and spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and red peppers. Very good.

Wednesday, January 3:
Another day at CGB, another multi-cruise ship invasion. This time I got to say hi to Fitz. He teased me about my coming back so soon (my last visit was Nov. 2) and that I’m going to have my Belonger status in no time!

After my last day in the sun, Karl and I went to Palms Delight for dinner. We wanted to be near Bomba’s for the full moon party that night. Now, I go to Palms Delight every time I visit but this is the first time that I had to wait 1 hour and 30 minutes for my food. Some people had gotten up and left since the wait was so long. But we weren’t in a hurry and I wanted my ribs!

After dinner, we headed down the road to Bomba’s. Quito and The Edge were playing there that night so that was a special treat. In the crowd, was the rapper, Nas, and his wife, the singer, Kelis (“my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard”). They had chartered a yacht and had come ashore for the party. Looked like Nas was enjoying the local food and Kelis was really enjoying the drinks!

Thursday, January 4:
Time to head on home (sigh). Took the 10:00am ferry to Charlotte Amalie. My flight didn’t leave until 3:50pm so I dropped my bags at the taxi stand and went into town. I had lunch at Glady’s Café as I always do. I love this place! The service and food is outstanding. If you ever get the pleasure of having Pauline as your waitress, then you’ll know what I mean. Took the depressing cab ride to the airport and waited for my flight home to stormy Atlanta.

Next trip: May 24, 2007 Music Fest Time!
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