This was an extended stay so I don't want to cram it all onto one post. Here's the first chunk.<br><br><br>DAY I, Thursday 12-06 Flew Cleveland - Atlanta - STT. Random-searched twice. Must have looked too WASPy. Meeting 4 others in BVI for Tina’s B-Day surprise. Actually had to hide one couple at both terminals since we had closely scheduled flights. <br><br>Overnighted in STT. Many thanks to my TTOL buddies for the Hotel 1829 recommendation. Outstanding. What a charming place! Had a great dinner at Blackbeard’s Castle. We were reminded of the ultimate goal when told not to venture out after dark. It was a beautiful, star-filled stress-free night on our balcony.<br><br>DAY II, Friday 12-07 Lack of tourists has prompted the ferries to cut back on frequency. Had to grab an 11:00 from Red Hook since we didn’t want to leave at 8:00 from CA. Our cabbie was a frail old guy who had pulled up & over the parking barrier. I had to push him out and anguish all the way to Red Hook cause this dude would not exceed 20 mph the entire ride. No worries, the ferry was late…of course.<br><br>A wonderful ride to West End. I had nearly forgotten how darn big/long St John is. Blew through customs, grabbed our car from Jerry (I highly recommend this guy) and shot over to Prospect Reef. Couple #1 (Tim & Leslie) were already there so I took Tina to their room pretending it was ours for the surprise meeting. I rattled the key and banged on the door. It opened and there was Tina’s best buddy & hubby. She lost it! 12 months of planning and secrecy executed to perfection. Damn, I’m good!<br><br>We hit Pusser’s in Road Town for the obligatory Painkiller w/mug for Tim & Leslie. The girls began their quest for trinkets at the huts across from Pussers. Leslie spotted this little statuette of a man “praying”. Upon closer examination, he wasn’t praying but rather playing…with himself! Some fertility thing. We and the shop-keeper rolled on the floor over that one. <br><br>Then off to Smuggler’s for some quality limin’. Surf was up a bit stirring the sand…not good snorkeling but great sun. Tim and I chummed-up with Chris (the cash beach bar) while the girls continued their quest for trinkets, etc with the very nice ladies selling their wares there. Oh yeah, Bob is still fine, too.<br><br>I’ve been looking for the perfect beach villa for a while now so my quest was to go see the few that looked good on the net while I was on-island. DeeTee’s buddy, Cynthia, was first on the list with Smuggler’s View villa (right there at Smuggler’s at the last turn toward the “parking lot”). This place is great! Easily sleeps 8+. Open & airy. Nice kitchen, hot tub and veranda. She’s spiffin it up real nice too. This is a quality villa with about a 2 minute walk to maybe the best beach on Tortola. She also runs TortolaPrivateChef. This broad is a real hoot! A very nice lady. Thanks CRose.<br><br>We all wound up driving to Jolly Roger for dinner. We took the worst “road” on Tortola all the way around the point (not the Belmont Road but the low road that swings way out and dumps you right beside the JR...you’d love it Ray). I had the most awesome Lobster Alfredo for dinner…around $18. Louis wasn’t around so I’ll have to meet him later. Met Robin of Kuralu and the girls played with his new puppy. Witnessed some young lady taking a flaming body shot from a middle-aged guy’s navel. I do believe that they had it backward!<br><br><br>DAY III, Saturday 12-08 Our room at PR was a basic bed and bath on the second floor facing East. No A/C but the Trades were in our face and kept it cool. Below is what I’d describe as a courtyard. An open triangular area between the rooms and the Channel. First thing after sunrise I went out onto our veranda only to see around 100 young-uns assembling bicycles. Turns out that they’re here to race in the BVI Expedition 2001, an “adventure race” a la Eco Challenge. They had a mean course laid out from Tortola to JVD to Tortola to Norman to Ginger to Salt to VG to Tortola with running, bicycling, kayaking, rappelling, swimming over 4 days.<br><br>Chatted with one of the dolphin guys from DolphinsPlus who are running the PR dolphin program. For what its worth: Pen is approx 100x70 and is 12 ft deep housing 4 dolphins. Though fenced, is open to the sea flow from the Channel. The 4 dolphins were either rescued from shoddy outfits or born in captivity. US Dept of Agriculture regulates the appointed curator for DolphinsPlus in Key Largo. Same person is responsible for the BVI dolphins. This guy went on for 45 minutes about how well they care for the dolphins and I considered his concern to be genuine. <br><br>Off to the North Shore Shell Museum for a late BIG Breakfast. Ate too much, got in a little fungi. I just can’t get enough of Egbert’s tales of yore. Unfortunately, being off the beaten path, Mr. Donovan’s pickings for customers is even slimmer than others’ since 9-11. He points us to Trellis Bay for his current best shelling spot volunteering to clean-up any we find.<br><br>Bounced into Road Town for a little shopping on Old Main St. (Cubans @ Little Denmark, trinkets, libations & mixers).<br><br>Off to CGB for beach strollin and Painkillers. 2 for 1 at Big Banana…Yeah Baby! Strolled down past the Wedding Bar to look over Cindy's On-The-Beach Villa. Outstanding setting, sort of isolated as funny as that sounds at CGB. Stuck around for Elvet’s BBQ at Elm’s. Great Guy! Huge serving of outstanding BBQ for $10. Don’t miss this one! Treated to Elvet’s “Seven Dwarf’s Rum” distilled back in the bushes for his use only. Best darn sippin’ rum that I ever had. Rocked in the swings, strolled the beach and wound-up jamming with Quito ‘n da Edge. <br><br>Days 4 - 10 to follow <br><br><br>Dave<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 1/4/02 01:01 PM.</EM></FONT></P>