Part 3 - land based
Long Bay Beach Resort

I always love Long Bay's Beachfront Cabana! What a wonderful place. It felt so luxurious after being on the boat to take a shower without worrying about water use - wow. We tried to stay on the north shore of the island during our four days. Spent time at Soper's Hole enjoying the antics of the pelicans, watching fish and doing some shopping - gift buying for friends and family.
Favorite dining:
• Pisces - best eggs benedict around
• Jolly Roger (go on a quiet night and you will be entertained by a local heron that hangs out there)
• Sugarmill - excellent food, service and atmosphere
• North Shore Shell Museum - quite the local experience - wonderful!

We also spent some time peeking in on the setup of a huge wedding event. A local was married, with the reception held at Long Bay. Four companies were hired out of San Juan; they brought over 17 employees; and 2 large containers filled with wedding items (from tables, to chairs, to china & crystal, to a huge outdoor covering in case of rain). The 17 employees worked 36 hours to set up the event. Not sure how long it took to tear it down. I can't imagine the cost of that wedding!

Oh and for anyone interested in the Bushwacker quest - the results are in and it seems the winners are Bitter End (made by Rolita) and Trellis Bay Cybercafe! Wonderful.


Part 4 - The Trip Home
An Interesting Experience

Well, an awesome trip has to have some hiccups, and I guess ours was the return home. We arrived at the Miami hotel at almost midnight on 7/3. We were to take an Alaska Air flight non-stop from Miami to Seattle, departure 8:00 am on 7/4. So, we set the alarm for 4:30am, arriving at the airport at 6:00am. We drug all our bags and our ice chest to the Alaska Air counter to find a deserted area with a small sign reading the last Alaska Air flight out of Miami was on 7/3. They would return to Miami in November. They were sorry for any inconvenience and if we required assistance to call their 800 number. Of course, I called the 800 number to get a recording that the offices were closed and to call during normal business hours (Seattle time). I tried to convince everyone that this was a sign - a sign we should just go back to Tortola! Of course, they all agreed we should, but no one did. We were sent to the Information desk, and were told Alaska Air had pulled out of Miami, but knew nothing about the passengers booked on flights. I finally found a VERY HELPFUL American Airlines Manager who spent at least 45 minutes trying to unravel this mystery. We had been rebooked by AK Air on other flights - just a matter of finding out what flights. Well, Ak Air had split us all up - but we all managed to get to Seattle yesterday. I'm hoping for a free ticket for each of us out of the "inconvenience". Larry and I returned via Houston on Continental; Lisa & Rick via Chicago on American. On the flight from Houston to Seattle, we were seated behind a man who was "disruptive" (possibly mentally ill combined with alcohol?) - it was a very LONG flight. He was arrested by the federal authorities upon arrival in Seattle. The good news is that we did make it home, so poor Larry could go to work bright and early this morning.

DREADED ISLAND FEVER has absolutely set in! Can we go back NOW…