Well getting here to VG for my better half and I seems often to be an adventure but certainly not "half the fun". We've had every sort of dysfunction in air travel you can imagine except the only one that truly matters That's when the metal tube hits the ground when it 'ain't sposed to' and with excessive force. But with three flights to EIS, something often goes wrong and we've spent a couple unplanned nights in San Juan, a night in Chicago and the coldest night of my life in the Miami airport. They could save a fortune if they turned off the AC when the normal people left and only stranded passengers were present. Often we have been scheduled to arrive at EIS in time for an early evening Ferry to VG only to land too late for that, enjoy the cyber cafe and take the last ferry---or arrive too late for that and stay on Tortola. Our luggage on 3 occasions has decided not to accompany us, but having not found more suitable owners, has shown up the next day or so here or at home on the trip back. Luckily we have not had anything stolen, but with all the stories of others, our carry ons look like an electronics store shopping bag.

So this time for the first time in quite a while we were flying Delta out of St. Louis to St. Thomas. There is of course the 4:30 shuttle from the hotel to the airport, sleepy cranky types like me putting up with the "birdseed for breakfast" crew singing christmas carols. But when we were supposed to be loading, for the first time ever over the speaker in the waiting area of the gate I heard the Captain's voice. I had seen several crew coming and going and talking to people at the door to the ramp.
"It seems we are locked out of the cockpit. Might be an electrical problem, but we are working on it and hopefully will have the problem solved shortly"
Now if I was the captain--note to George--have somebody else give an explanation for the delay. The picture of the captain pulling and tugging and kicking the door to the cockpit is not helpful.

"This is where they get us, Babe" I said to my new bride of 33 years who is used to each time me telling her this trip will be smooth as silk. I gave up early with "it's still okay, babe" this trip. I figured we were screwed on the connection which was just about an hour in Atlanta. From previous experience that is one big frickin airport and planes of the same fleet always seem to land in a different concourse that needs a hike to rival the batan death march or a high speed train. So I knew that much delay would cause us to take a flight that would have us spending the night on STT. Not a big deal, might as well be adjusted to being screwed early.

Well lo and behold, somebody must have found the captain a key and we were only about 15 minutes late leaving ST. Louie and pretty soon he's on the speaker saying we are going to arrive 10 minutes early. Now most of us were happy that we would make our connection. But then I got to thinkin. If we can leave 15 minutes late and arrive 10 minutes early. Why didn't they tell me that and let me sleep another half hour and maybe not caught another early rising sunshine christmas carol singing fellow traveler on the second shuttle--maybe caffeine starved grumpy sleepy types like me.

So we get to Atlanta--walk ten miles--okay only seemed that way--one concourse to another--but they were loading--PERFECT.

Get to STT on time. Now it was 2:40 or so but really only 6 hours of travel time since leaving St. Louis--outstanding. I am beginning to think cocktail hour on the deck on VG before the sun goes down. So we get the bags, my spouse has caused hernias in taxi drivers and airport luggage folks in 40 states and 3 foreign countries, schlept them out to the taxi area--get crammed in a van and off to the ferry dock. Well there is a 4:15 Fast Ferry to Roadtown and a 4:30 Smiths that goes WE and RT. Being the brilliant TTOL reader and former frequent user of the STT-RT ferries, we bought those Fast Ferry tickets and headed upstairs to toast our good fortune (and my brilliant itinerary planning) with painkillers as we filled out the documents for C&I.

Sure enough we load up on that big ole Roadtown FF catamaran as the old Smiths Ferry is docked in front of us. Climb to the top deck and chat with some nice folks headed for a Moorings Charter. And we had more time to chat than I really wanted. Long past 4:15, we were chatting. Well past the time the "chumps" on the Smiths Ferry left we were chatting. About 5 some crew member tells us that it will be "a little while" as there is a problem with papers on one "individual" that will be sorted out soon. Well the not so well traveled thought it was a poor passenger. Being the cynic, I said there is no way it's a passenger they would have left em in a heartbeat. So we waited "a little while" . Nothing.

Then the best of enterprising capitalism made the wait easier. The guy in the pump room would take orders and kneel down reach the drinks under the bottom rail on the deck to our tallest member of the "we are screwed" group on the Roadtown Fast Ferry and waiting became not as bad as before. But then sunset gave way to pitch dark and even the liquor couldn't keep the natives calm. We thought about pinching the babies on board or singing off key--natural as can be for me--chanting, something that would make the US officials want rid of the boat. Alas at 7:00 they got tired I guess and the crew came aboard and we got underway.

.Being the knowledgeable mariner I am. I said "Ah this baby will fly, Babe. Just wait tell he opens those engines up."

If you ever heard a smoker coming down with a cough from a cold--that is what those engines sounded like. Bout half way to ST. John it coughed harder and for a moment we were dead in the water. No fooling my sometimes gullible spouse this time

"Great, we're adrift in the dark, nothing to eat and will have to climb off this sucker and we will miss the ferry".

Well she had me there. My only weak comeback was.
"Which would you rather have, an engine conk out on a boat in Pillsbury Sound or a plane coming into Beef?" --
However clever it sounded, I didn't get that look of agreement that you want.

Anyway in a second the engine was running, but not a healthy running and on our trawler I am used to the slow scenic speed, but really wasn't much to see and it was becoming a long day.

So customs in roadtown while I figured they would be in a hurry and ticked off for having to work so late, were rummaging through a lot of luggage in front of us, catching some miscreants not paying their duty.

Alas about 9:15 we roll our bags into Marias by the Sea in RT and they were nice enough to feed us and had a room.

Coming over to VG this morning on Speedy's ferry at planing speed. My spouse asked me a stumper.
"Why doesn't Speedy have a STT ferry?"

Beautiful weather, Beautiful place to be. "Once ya git here""