ONE DARK NIGHT ON TORTOLA

My daughter's wedding was over; the happy couple were on their way to spend the night in Trellis Bay before heading to Little Dix resort on Virgin Gorda in the morning, the guests had gone back to their respective accommodations in and around the West End of Tortola, and I had driven back to my villa rental with a bridesmaid, a groomsman (my daughter and son), the groomsman's girlfriend and one very tired out hair and makeup friend. We had just gotten into the house, collapsed onto the couches and began to talk about the fabulous day we had experienced, when I jumped up.

"Oh NO!!"

"What mom?" asked my daughter, Shonah.

"We forgot to get Ashleigh's dress and the top tier of the wedding cake!" I couldn't believe I'd forgotten her wedding dress, of all things. I had no idea where it was. She got changed in one of the rooms at Long Bay Resort and had asked me to make sure to take it with me when we left. It was my responsibility to get it back home to Vancouver when our holiday was over. "We have to go back and get it."

Shonah said she would go with me and we both went to get changed out of our wedding clothes. I dreaded driving back, in the dark, down those hills and switchbacks from our place on Windy Hill to Long Bay but I had no choice. We hopped into the SUV and set off.

When we got to the resort, all evidence of the wedding reception - other than the tent and tables, was gone. So was any sign of life. We drove down to the cabins on the water and got out of the car. "Let's go knock on the grooms parents door. That is where Ashleigh got changed and maybe they have the dress." Shonah said. We headed down a dimly lit sand path to the cabin and knocked on the door. There was no answer.

"Maybe they're around the front having a nightcap on the patio. Let's go see." I said. The only source of light between the cabins was that of the moon, and we carefully picked our way to the beach side. There, light from the inside the room streamed through the french doors and lit the patio and we could clearly see that there was no one in sight. We had no idea which rooms the groom's brother and friends were staying in, but we assumed that they were most likely all hanging out in one of them, rehashing the days events like we had started to back at the villa before realizing we had to come back here. We decided that the dress was probably safe in the room and we could come back tomorrow for it. We picked our way back to the SUV and climbed in. I was about to start the car when my daughter let out a squeal and began to bat at her hair. "What? WHAT??" I instantly began to feel panicked. I mean, there's all manner of huge bugs and spiders in the tropics. Everyone knows that and my mind always goes to the worst place in cases like this. I am thinking tarantula!!

"Something was in my hair!!! It just fell out and brushed my cheek and it felt wet." She too sounded panicked, albeit somewhat less than I felt.

"Get out! GET OUT!!" I yelled as I opened my door and jumped out. "We're not getting back in this car until we find it." I was completely freaked out as I began to search, by the dim light of the dashboard and a bit of light that trickled in from a distant porch, my heart pounding in my chest. As we both searched for whatever it was, I was thinking 'I have no idea how were going to get it out. I am not touching whatever it is.' Just then Shonah spotted it. There, on the dash just by the knob for the radio, was the tiniest frog I have ever seen. He couldn't have been more than an inch long. "THERE! It's a frog!" She laughed. "Oh my GOODNESS. So it is. How are we getting him out?" I wasn't going to touch him. "MOM! It's just a frog." Shonah sounded disgusted with me. "Yes and some are poisonous. You don't know if this is one." So we fished the rental papers out of the glove compartment, keeping an eye on the frog all the while, and then Shonah gently flicked him onto the papers and then out of the car.

"Get in and shut your door, QUICKLY!!!" We both shot into the car and slammed the doors, and, after a long beat of looking at each other, broke into peals of laughter.

"That poor frog was probably more scared than we were, Mom. It was so tiny!!"

"Look at me," I held out my hand, "I am shaking!"

I was still shaking as we pulled out of Long Bay and on the road that would take us back to our villa. Out of all of the things it could have been, a tiny frog was probably the least of them - but still!

As we chuckled about it on the drive back, we both agreed that we'd never forget this night.

I have written before about my BVI themed Pandora bracelet. Not every bead is a Pandora bead - the conch shell, the starfish and two small crystal separators aren't. And yesterday I added another nonPandora bead; a small enamel frog to remind me of that night on Tortola.

He is now part of Sandra's Selections in my Amazon shop. You can get both him and his friend by clicking on the link below.

                                         

BVI SUNSETS

Dreaming of sunsets in the BVI today.

Sunsets are like a gift from God at the end of the day "Here, feast your eyes on this and don't forget that I am still here, even though it's about to get dark." Yay God!!

DON'T STAND ME UP

There are a few things in life that I can't stand:

People who spit where others have to walk.
People who spit when there are people right there watching (it makes me feel like throwing up - seriously, I have to fight down the bile sometimes).
A shower that keeps changing temperature.
A dog that barks incessantly for no reason.
People who slam doors when others are trying to sleep (or make other noise that isn't necessary).

But I think the one that I hate the most, so much that it makes me livid, is BEING STOOD UP.

I drove 45 minutes, from my hotel, in to Road Town over a hill that makes me nervous and roads I don't much enjoy driving due to other lousy drivers to meet a woman I met on the beach a few days ago. She had already stood me up once when I had offered to drive her to Long Bay to spend the day together at the pool there; she was supposed to arrive at 11:00 and I waited until 11:45 before finding out she wasn't coming (via a comment on here).

We arranged to meet at a place called The Watering Hole, which I had never been to and had no idea where it was. I looked it up on line and then on a map. There are no addresses here, just vague area's. This one said it was on Wickham Quay I. There's a lot of stuff on Wickham Quay I!! And so I drove around for about 10 minutes trying to find the darn place and had to pull over and ask someone. When I arrived, finally, it was 11:00 on the nose. She said she would be there from 10:30-11:00. To say I wasn't happy when I looked around and she wasn't there would be an understatement of huge proportions. I was truly angry. It took me so long to get there, in blazing heat. I drove around and around on roads I was completely unfamiliar with, which I hate doing - especially here where one is on the other side of the road and often on roads that has room for only one car so someone has to back up. I bought a drink and sat and waited for half an hour just in case she was late. She wasn't. I just don't understand why, when arranging to meet someone, you wouldn't wait an extra 10 or even 30 minutes just to make sure they're not running late. And especially when the person is in an unfamiliar country, for crying out loud. I honestly can't recall when I was so angry. I spent the drive back to my hotel trying to calm myself down so that the entire day was not ruined.

I went back to my beach chair, that I left at precisely 9:45 to go get her, on Apple Bay and enjoyed the sunshine again. That worked on my boiling blood. I probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as angry if it wasn't the second time she'd stood me up. I think I was as angry at myself for allowing her to do it to me a second time as I was at her for doing it.

After a couple of hours on Apple Bay, I drove up to Long Bay to use the pool for a bit and stopped into the office to ask for Carlotta. She's the event planner at Long Bay resort and did a stellar job of Ashleigh and Rob's reception. She was there and remembered me and the bridal couple. It was lovely to see her and we chatted for 15 minutes or so before I had to let her get back to work.

By the end of the afternoon, the sun and pace of this place had worked it's magic and my blood was no longer at the boiling point. But I still say that to stand someone up twice in a few days is beyond rude.

My View from Little Apple Bay - right in front of Sebastian's.

My View from Little Apple Bay - right in front of Sebastian's - tomorrow I plan to be on that island in the distance.

SPA MORNING - BEACH AFTERNOON

The day dawns sunny with puffy clouds high in the sky. I have decided to go back to Sopers Hole to Serendipity Spa and have a body scrub, rain or sun. I am still peeling and it looks disgusting. They said that the treatment would get rid of all of the dead skin and I don't want to go home looking like this.

When I get there, the fellow I spoke to yesterday isn't there, it's two women. They are from India and they don't speak English very well consequently I can't make them understand what I want. I have decided to have the package that includes a massage and facial along with the scrub. They call their boss, the guy from yesterday, and I tell him what I want. I hand the phone to one of the women and he translates.

The room for the massage etc. is right off of the reception area, divided by just a curtain. And the curtain at the moment has enough of a space between the two panels that I can see inside. I don't like that much - I like privacy.

I go in and get ready and she starts with the body scrub. It feels and smells great. After about 45 minutes of scrubbing she tells me to get in the shower and wash it all off. I am kind of horrified when I see the shower. It's tiny, it's old, and the door is a DOOR - like a wooden door so no light gets in except for a small window in it. I ask if there's a light but there's not. So I leave the door open a bit while I shower off. This is certainly no luxury spa, but their prices hardly reflect that. Someone had suggested, when I asked on TTOL what to do in the rain, to go to the spa on Peter Island. I wonder what that place is like.

I get back on the table for the massage part and it feels great. 45 minutes later, she says she is done. I ask about the facial. She looks confused. "Facial? You want facial?" "Yes, I asked for the package." "Package? You want package?" Oh dear. She calls her boss. I ask, "What did I just have done?" "The body scrub." "That's it?" "Yes." So I decide to leave it at that as it seemed to include the massage and is almost $100 less than the package, meaning the package wasn't really all that good of a deal at all.

I leave there well oiled, my hair as well as she did a scalp massage with oil, so I go straight back to my hotel to wash my hair.

It's still a nice day out and I decided to go to Cane Garden Bay for one more visit. I like that beach as the water is really clear and the bottom all sand. And on Sunday's The Elm has a famed bar-b-que and live entertainment from a band called The Elm Tones that I have read about on TTOL and it's supposed to be very good.

It starts to rain as I am driving there.

When I pull into the parking lot behind all of the bars, the rain has died down to a drizzle so I head to the beach. All of the wind and rain from the previous day or so has fouled the water. It is just like Anegada - no longer crystal clear and clean. I can't see the bottom at all. Bummer! And I braved that horrible hill to get here!

I go up to Myette's bar and see one of the couples I met from the last time I was here. We sit at the bar and chat for an hour or so until the sun comes back out then I head to the beach for some rays. I find a spot where the water is actually still quite clear and walk in but right away the white angel fish start bumping my legs again. Did I mention that from before? The same fish that followed me around Loblolly Bay are here but these ones bump into my legs and arms and nibble at me. It doesn't hurt but it freaks me out. So, today, I never get in above my thighs before I have to turn and dash out as fast as I can.

I decide not to wait for the bar-b-que to start as it's 4:30 and it doesn't get going until 6:30 and the music at 7:00. It's that darned road that I hate driving, especially at night. It's stressing me out thinking about it and it doesn't help that I can clearly see the cut in the trees for the road down into the bay from the beach and I keep looking at how high it is where it starts and how steep it is. As I really enjoyed the ribs at Myette's the other day I decide to order them again and then go home.

Cane Garden Bay.

Cane Garden Bay.

As I am just finishing up, the very handsome bar tender, who has the day off today, walks in from the beach and goes behind the bar to make himself a drink. He is talking with the other bartender and I can hear a very British accent that I didn't notice when I was here a few days ago (because he hardly spoke). I ask him where he is from and he says 'London, born and bred." He's only been here for 14 months. I ask him what brought him here and he tells me he was writing a novel set in the Caribbean and wanted to be here to learn more about the people and the culture. He's ready to leave though, he doesn't like the smallness of island life or the work he is doing - bar tending. His dream is to live in New York and be a published author - he's just finished his novel. He gives me his web site address and I promise him I will go have a look at it. I give him my card and tell him if he ever writes a script, email it to me.

Stephen, the handsome bartender.

It's dark by the time I leave so I could have stayed for the other bar-b-que after all, which I can hear is in full swing just down the beach. But I am okay with it and eager to get the drive over with. To be honest, the worst part of the drive going back is meeting another car coming at you on a curve as you head down the hill, and as long as that doesn't happen it's not as bad as going up - that's just awful, cars or no cars. And, happily, I don't come across any cars on the curves. I so wish there was a way for me to accurately convey what it's like going up hill, coming to one of those hairpin curves when you're on the inside. The blacktop is actually vertical right in the elbow of the curve. I wish I could stop to take a photo of it to show you but there's NO WAY one can stop on those hills... you'd never get going again. I've heard stories of people rolling back because they were going too slow. Terrifying.

I get back in time to watch the end of Celebrity Apprentice on the TV instead of having to download it like I have done for every other episode. John Rich won! YAY!!!

WHAT TO DO, AND WAY OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

I wake up to more rain, torrents of it. I think that, perhaps, the rainy season has started and it's not going to let up before I go home.

Not sure what to do, I post on TTOL asking what there is to do in the rain here. I don't get any replies before I decide to drive to Soper's Hole - a small marina with some nice shops that I remember visiting when I was here two years ago. There's also a Spa there. Maybe I will go have a body scrub to get rid of all this peeling skin. Sounds like a plan!

When I park and walk across the road, there's a fellow in a white van from a sail charter company. He waves me over, tells me his name is Captain Pete, and asks if I am interested in going for a sail. I tell him I had thought about it but decided not to. He then say's, "Where are you staying? At Sebastian's?" I am taken aback by this and ask how he knows that. He tells me he has seen me there, in the restaurant and outside at the table on my laptop several times. He said he saw me there last night and was going to come over and talk to me but I got up and left before he could do it. He asks if he can take me on a sail now and I lie and say I am meeting someone for coffee. He then asks me what I am doing tonight and my first thought is 'oh no, here we go again', but say "I have no idea, I don't really make plans. I am on vacation." He says he would like to take me out for a meal or to hear some good music. I tell him that's nice of him but I really don't know what I will want to do by this evening. He says he will drop by Sebastian's tonight. Great.

He drives off and I bypass the shops for now and go down to the docks for a look at some of the boats.

A really beautiful sailboat.

Love the name of this boat.

I finally get to the shops and go into one or two and then, as I am walking past Pusser's I see a young mom and her 2 year old daughter that I met while at Long Bay yesterday. I say hi and she invites me to sit with them so I do. I guess I am meeting someone after all! The mom is Melissa and the daughter is Stella and she is super cute. They had spent 4 or 5 days on a sailboat with some relatives and are now at Long Bay until tomorrow when they return home to Seattle. As we chat, she tells me that she took a taxi here and needs to go into Road Town because the bank machine here is not working (probably out of cash - as usual). She said that when she went into Road Town yesterday, it cost her $50 in fare. I tell her that I have a car and will take her into town to the bank there. She is very grateful and so, while they finish a bite to eat, I go to the Spa to get a brochure because I think my idea of a body scrub is brilliant and will go another day, and then for a quick look in some of the shops.

We head into Road Town and I park in the big lot by the sea and we walk to the first bank. It won't take her card. Stella is making some noises and pointing and, when we turn to look, there's a huge blueish crab in the corner of the tiled area - he's pressing himself right into the corner like he is terrified. I can't believe he climbed four stairs to get there. When we leave I am wishing I had taken a photo but figure I will on the way back, but when we return, he's gone.

We go to Scotia Bank and she get's what she needs and we head back to the car and then to Long Bay. I stop at Sebastian's on the way to get into a swim suit and then spend a lovely and SUNNY!!! afternoon in the pool with my two new friends. Stella seems to warm up to me and I help her go to the top of the small slide there and her mom waits at the bottom in the pool to catch her. She is fearless and goes straight down and then wants more. She goes for a dozen times or more and then, suddenly, freaks out at the top and needs to be carried down the steps. And that's it for the slide.

Someone just woke up from a very short nap and doesn't want to have her picture taken.

The best we could manage.

There's an outdoor movie night, a Disney film. at 7:00 at Long Bay. Melissa decides to try to get Stella to have a nap before it starts and so I head back to Sebastian's. I am invited to come back for the movie but I decide to stay in. I head down to the restaurant so I can use the wifi - that is the biggest drawback to this place, no wifi in the room, only at the restaurant. As I am sitting there, Pete, the boat captain I met earlier, shows up. I see, now that he is standing, that he has a very bad limp and that his left arm seems useless, curled up into his side. I ask about it and he tells me he had a stroke a couple of years ago. We sit and talk and he says that he wants more business from the internet but can't figure out how to get it. I take a look at his website and instantly see why he's not getting it. The site is dated and amateurish. Also, in a Google search of BVI CHARTERS, he is buried on the 8th page. He asks how he can improve the site and we spend the next hour talking about that.

After a bit he asks what my plans are for the next few days and again, I tell him I don't really have any. I have three or four places I still want to go to and I will go as the fancy hits me. One is Jost Van Dyke and he tells me he will take me there on his sailboat. I know he does this for a living and that he charges $100 for a day sail, but I am not sure if he is offering as a customer or as a friend thing and doesn't expect pay. So I ask; How much will he charge me, and he thinks a moment and says "If there are other people coming, nothing. If just you, $50." It's a good deal but still twice as much as the ferry. But then, I'd have to take a taxi from the ferry dock to White Bay. And I'd have to leave at 5:00 - the last ferry off of the island. This way, there'd be more leeway. But I don't want to give the guy the wrong idea because I am not interested in anything more than friendship.

I am so not used to handling this sort of situation. It's way out of my comfort zone.

DRIZZLE, RAIN, DELUGE

When I dial my cell phone voice mail and there's no message, a woman's voice says, "Not much to tell you." Well, that's how I feel about blogging today.

Yesterday morning, I was at Sebastian's outdoor area, on the computer, killing time until Jo's daughter dropped her off as planned. She said it would be around 11:00 and when she still wasn't here at 11:45 I began to wonder. Then I checked my blog for comments and Jo had left two saying that she wouldn't be coming by after all. I was pretty bummed as I was looking forward to the company.

So I headed up to Long Bay Resort alone, planning to enjoy their pool and deck chairs for the afternoon but just as I pulled in, it started to drizzle. Drizzle soon turned to rain, and then rain to a downpour. So I sat at the outdoor bar, half under cover, wrapped in a towel, and got to know the bartender - a very pleasant woman.

Again, it was a bit nostalgic being up on the pool deck as that is where Ashleigh, my daughter, had her wedding reception. I will never forget walking up the stairs and seeing the setting for the first time - it took my breath away, it was so beautifully transformed. Now it's just a regular pool deck with deck chairs lined up, waiting for sunshine and sun worshipers and it's hard to picture it as it was that night.

The pool deck all 'decked' out for the wedding reception.

The pool deck today. And look at the clouds on the hill, where the weather is coming from!

I tried waiting it out, but after an hour or more, I gave up and drove back to my hotel room. And good thing I did because, no sooner was I in my room than the downpour turned into a deluge. I mean, it rained so hard I couldn't hear the TV at the highest volume setting.

So - a day spent in my room, watching TNT movies (Lake House, The Last Samurai) and then went down to the restaurant for a bowl of lentil soup.

Exciting stuff, huh? But what is great is that even on the worst rainy days it's still WARM here. I LOVE that!!!!!

APPLE BAY AND BANANAKEET

Note: You can click on the photos to get the full sized version and see all of the detail!

Seeing how my plans to go to Jost Van Dyke were off, I decided to stay at my hotel for the day as the beach here at Apple Bay is really nice, even if the waves are a bit rough, and I haven't spent any time on it yet.

The weather has been iffy. Rain then sun then wind then more rain then sun. I need to keep this tan for when I get home so I can make everyone jealous! I'd like to get about twice as dark, actually. But with this intermittent sunshine, not sure it's going to happen.

I take a walk down the beach a bit to see if I can find Malcolm Boyes' beach-front home and I think I found it but not quite sure. He is someone I was really looking forward to meeting on this trip as he seems like a friendly and fun fellow but, to be honest, I couldn't have timed my days on Tortola better if I was trying to avoid him. He left a couple of days before I got here and arrives back mere hours after I leave.

The waves here are rough and there's a yellow flag out just down the way warning of strong undertows. This beach is a surfing destination when all of the conditions are right, which I think is Jan-Feb. I wade in a bit and the bottom is soft sand with no rocks, there seems to be no fish to nibble at me, and once past the breaking waves it's quite lovely.

Cheryl surprises me and stops by while I am sunning on the beach. She is one half of a couple (Pete is her husband) I met while at Neptune's Treasure. They came the second week I was there and took the room next to mine. They are going to Bananakeet for dinner tonight and want me to join them. We had talked about this before they left Anegada. Her timing is great because I had just been thinking about them and wondering if they'd be there tonight, as it's their last night on the island, or if they'd already gone. So I plan to meet them up on the hill where the restaurant is, at 5:30.

I am really dreading driving that hill again and especially coming back in the dark, and so toy with the idea of getting a taxi. But that seems silly when I have a car and I did drive it in the dark when I was here a couple of years ago, albeit with someone else in the car with me. I have determined that I took a lot of bravado from the people who rode with me back then. Now I am alone and have only my own courage to draw from and, honestly, I don't have that much for driving these roads.

If you look at the first video I posted yesterday of the hill from here to Cane Garden Bay, you'll notice on the 5th hairpin curve there's a yellow sign on the left; that is the driveway for the restaurant. It perches on the side of the mountain with incredible views over Tortola and the water to Jost Van Dyke.

I had asked for restaurant recommendations on TTOL and Bananakeet was one that was mentioned several times; their spring rolls and satay were highly recommended. I order both and the spring rolls were fine, I don't know that I'd order them again but the satay was really delicious. I also ordered the chicken and black bean Pad Thai for the entree and it was very good but I barely ate any as I was quite full from the appetizers. I brought the rest of it home and now I need to find a way to heat it up for dinner tomorrow night.

The restaurant is a great place to watch the sunset but, unfortunately, there isn't much of one tonight as it is very cloudy. The mist covers the top of the hill we are on, just behind us.

The drive home went without incident. It wasn't that difficult really. It's just those hair pin curves that are so hard to stay in your own lane when negotiating. I can't do it so just honk my horn as I approach and pray to God that there's no one coming.


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CANE GARDEN BAY

Today dawned sunny and clear and I am so happy to see that sunshine again.

After breakfast of scrambled eggs with a pastry basket (yummy biscuit, and a muffin & banana bread which I am too full to eat so save for tomorrow's breakfast) I pack my beach bag and hop in the Sidekick to head over the hill to Cane Garden Bay.

Now, when I was here two years ago, I drove this road at least 20 times. The house I rented was on Windy Hill - the hill between Sebastian's and CGB. Long Bay Resort - where Ashleigh was married, is just past Sebastian's. So there were many, many trips between the two points in the course of the week. But that was two years ago. And although I recall the road with pretty perfect clarity, my recall of the actual steepness of the hill and sharpness of the curves has softened with time.

Oh. My. Dear. Lord.

I didn't take a video of the road up the hill, that would be lunacy - trying to hold the camera and negotiate those hair pin curves - but here's a video someone else took.

And, as an aside, here is a video someone took of the hill I drive to get from from the north side of the island (Sebastian's) to the south (Road Town). And let me tell you, these video's do not do the incline or tight curves justice. At. All.

I did take a video of the road down from Windy Hill to CGB but my card filled up half way through so I didn't get all of it. I will on another trip and post it.

I arrive in CGB without incident, other than a racing heart, and parked behind Myette's. I walk down to the waters edge for a look. The beach here is really nice with soft sand which goes all the way into the water with no rocks or coral underfoot. The water is clear and warm, and there's lots of bars and restaurants. When a cruise ship or two is in town, this is the beach the excursions take everyone to so I am glad to see that there aren't any ships in town today because the beach is almost deserted.

Last time I was here I was with Shonah and Amy, and we went into the little gift store that Mayette owns but never went into the bar/restaurant. I have seen many pictures and videos of it online since, and can't wait to see it for myself so I head in there. I am no sooner up the few steps off the sand than a man welcomes me into the place and asks me to sit at a table with him. His name is Julian and he captains a small motor boat and takes visitors back and forth to other islands for day trips. He is very friendly, too friendly after a short period of time, and starts making unwelcome overtures to me. Soon a friend of his - a tall, super skinny Rasta with the requisite knit cap hiding his dreads - joins us and he is very 'friendly' also. I don't understand how most Caribbean men seem to think they are God's gift to women and there's nothing more a white woman would want to do than jump into bed with one of them. And, so far, the guys who have behaved like this aren't anything at all to look at. There's a gorgeous young fellow behind the bar named Stephen and he is polite and friendly, but not forward like these older and decidedly un-handsome, un-couth men. Now if he were to show interest.... but of course why would he - to an old broad like me? It's all rather backwards and sad, really!

View of the beach from Myette's.

Julian.

In the course of 4 or 5 hours at CGB, I meet two couples from the states who are really nice. And I meet another woman, Jo, who is there alone; her husband left yesterday and she is here until June visiting her daughter who lives here. I have made it clear to Julian, who also told me he's been married for two years to an American who lives in Philadelphia, that he has absolutely zero chance of getting lucky with me (as he put it) and so now he has moved onto Jo. She makes the same thing clear to him after a while, and then the Rasta starts in on her. He had tried earlier on the beach, and now he's trying again. She tells him that she is trying to be nice about it but he is being too forward and she doesn't appreciate it. He finally gives up and leaves her alone. She tells me that she really likes this beach but she doesn't want to come back if this keeps up. But her daughter drops her off on the way to work and so she's kind of stuck. I offer to have her dropped off at Sebastian's and we will go together to Long Bay Resort and hang out at their beach and pool as this unwelcome attention won't be an issue there. She is thrilled and gladly accepts. When her daughter arrives to pick her up it is all arranged for Friday. I can't do it tomorrow as I am supposed to be meeting Captain Fishy and his son and we are all going to Jost Van Dyke together.

While I am lounging on the beach, I can smell bar-b-que and it's an incredibly mouth-watering aroma. I wish I knew where it's coming from and what it is. A bit later I decide to order the appetizer size of ribs at Myette's and BINGO! that is the aroma that was wafting down the beach. That never happens to me; where you smell something great being prepared in a restaurant and then manage to order that very thing. They were absolutely delicious, and very tender - which is the most important thing when it comes to ribs.

I stop in the gift shop on my way out and find a great design on a t-shirt that is so appropriate for me and this trip. I don't wear the typical t-shirt as I can't stand the neckline but I buy one to cut out the design and sew it onto a t-shirt I will buy that I prefer.

I mean, how perfect is this???

I also buy a bag of caramel popcorn because I had been craving just that very thing a few days ago. Later in the evening, when I sit at an outdoor table at Sebastian's and peruse the net while carefully (the teeth aren't perfect yet) chewing on one piece at a time, the moist air turns all of the rest soggy in the bag. Lesson learned: don't buy popcorn in the Caribbean.

While I am sitting at that table, one of the staff come to tell me there's a phone call for me at the desk. It's Captain Fishy and he's sorry to tell me that the trip to Jost Van Dyke is off as he is embroiled in some tax issues in Road Town that will take a few days to sort out (he had delighted in telling me he hadn't paid any taxes here for seven years as he has friends in high places in the tax office. But it seems the staff have all changed and it's caught up with him).

I am disappointed as I was really looking forward to going there with him as he knows so many people and had arranged for Foxy's son to pick us up at the ferry terminal. Oh well, I will go by myself another day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Wednesday morning I went back to Mexico to have the crowns placed. I was really nervous as my gums were still quite sore and the thoughts of having them poked and prodded didn't appeal. Turns out, the needles for freezing my mouth up weren't so bad but the rest was, in some ways, worse than the first appointment. But now it's all over and they're all in place and I have a smile I no longer have to hide or be ashamed of. It's a dream come true!

Dr. Arce asked if he could take a picture of the two of us together and I said yes. He wanted me to smile with my new teeth but I was so frozen I couldn't do it. Also, I didn't wear any makeup to the appointment because, what with his hands all over my face plus the water spraying me etc, I thought I'd wait until later in the day. Then he asked if he could put before and after pictures that he took of my teeth up on his FaceBook page. I said he could. Then I asked if I could 'friend' him and he said he'd like that. It took me a while to find him on there but once I did I saw the photo of me and I look HIDEOUS. So I put one up on his FB page that I took of me with a proper smile. It's the same one I have as my FB profile pic at the moment.

Dr. Roberto Arce - isn't he handsome?

The teeth have to settle in a bit yet. It will take a week or so for the gums to settle in around them. Until then, eating is difficult. First of all, the teeth are part one of two steps that need to be done and so, until I come back and get the lower teeth all done, they aren't going to fit together well with my lower teeth. Secondly, whenever I bite down on something with even a little resistance, the new teeth feel like they push up into the gums a bit, and feel 'tighter'. I asked Dr. Arce about this and he said I need to just eat soft food and soup for a week or so and it should be better after that, but I will always have to be careful.

I was all done and out of Mexico by 12:30 and at the airport by 1:30 which meant I had a lot of time to wait for my flight out of Yuma to LAX, but that was okay by me. I prefer that to madly rushing, worrying that I might miss the flight. I tried to read but ended up falling asleep for a bit - I still had Xanax in my system from the morning and it really makes me tired.

I took another two of them once I was on the flight to Washington DC, which left at 10:20pm. It was a four and a half hour flight but I slept like a log through most of it (and I paid for an upgrade to get a window seat with 5" more leg room and was it EVER worth it). When I woke up and heard that we were starting our descent, I honestly felt like it had been about 30 minutes since we had taken off.

The weather was miserable in DC, raining sideways. I was glad to get on the plane to St. Thomas and hear from the pilot that it was 83 degrees there; everyone else seemed happy as well because a huge cheer went up from most of the passengers.

Landing in St. Thomas was fabulous - so humid and hot. And it smelled just like I remember the Caribbean smelling. Those of us taking a ferry to Tortola were told to wait together in one area and then we were all directed to pile into a 15 passenger van driven by a jovial Caribbean woman. When I asked how much we owed her, she asked how many suitcases I had. I guess they charge by the case. I only had one so I paid $10.

The ferry was in when we got there but they weren't boarding yet. Rather, they were piling loads of cargo on it. People who had gone shopping on St.Thomas for the day I guess. From the looks of it, quite a bit was for bars and restaurants. There were some large personal items as well and then , of course, lots of luggage. Once all the cargo was loaded, then we were allowed on. The boat was very big inside, not unlike a SeaBus. The water was pretty rough in spots so we really bounced along the waves; which I happen to love.

It was about a 50 minute run to Tortola and as we pulled into the harbour I could see Pussers, where Shonah, Amy and I had drinks and conch fritters two years ago. I could see the little blue huts where locals sell island wares to the tourists. And once I was through customs and walked down the street to my hotel, the same road side stand selling freshly squeezed juice was there. I was so overwhelmed with being back, I got kinda teary. I am so so excited to be here.

One thing though, I seem to have the most incredible timing when it comes to planning holidays - first it was the dentist conflicting with Easter. Now it's tomorrow, when I need to go into the stores to get stuff to take to Anegada with me that I couldn't pack (such as shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, bug spray, hair spray, etc.) it seems most everyone will be closed in celebration of Will and Kate's wedding.

How do I manage that? I mean, I don't even try.

I just got back from having some chicken roti at Pussers, washed down with a Painkiller. It was delicious. I sat there looking about, hardly able to believe that I am back. New smile; in the BVI's....

Happy Birthday to ME!

FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION

I feel guilty that I haven't posted a whole lot on here lately. I see my readership drop off and I know that I am losing people every day. It's hard to know what to write about when all I am doing is working.

It's been a lot of fun though... the working thing. Such a great show; lots of laughs and really great people. I am sad when I see the number of binders (containing the lined script and my notes) lined up on the shelf near my desk at the office, each one representing a completed episode. We are off on haitus this week and when we return next week we start episode 118. How did it go by so fast? With one more week of hiatus in March, that leaves only 8 weeks before we wrap the show on April 15th. We are all hoping to hear, sooner than later, that we are coming back in July for season two.

So what to do in the two months off between April 15th and (hopefully) coming back in July? I could try to get on a couple of MOW's (movies of the week). But then life is all about work, work, work. And what do we work for if not to be able to follow our passions in our free time? My passions are my kids (who are all grown up and don't really want mom around all the time any more), my faith, writing, and travel. As you know I have been longing to get back to the Caribbean since I was there for my daughter's wedding in February 2009; I can't believe they've been married two years next weekend! But then - I can because it seems like a lifetime ago since I was in the beautiful British Virgin Islands. How I miss that place.

SO... SO.... I AM GOING BACK!!!!!!!! YIPPEEEE!!!!!!!

Just this past week, I booked a flight (FABULOUS price on Ticket Pilot - ended up being $860 including taxes!!!), one night on Tortola at Beef Island Guesthouse in beautiful Trellis Bay (I arrive too late for the ferry to Anegada), a 17 night stay at Neptune's Treasure on Anegada, a 9 night stay at Sebastian's On The Beach on Tortola, and one night on St. Thomas for the early flight home the following morning.

I arrive on Tortola to start my stay on my BIRTHDAY, April 28th. Best birthday present to myself ever ever ever.

Before I head to the BVI though, I am flying to Yuma Arizona where I will take a taxi to the Mexican border and walk across to the small town of Los Algodones, spend a week at a B&B, and get some much needed dental work done. I have wanted to do this for years. I hate the dentist; I have a very deep seated terror due to growing up in England where the dentistry hadn't changed much in 200 years (or so it felt like) and one dentist slapped me across the face when he was done (I was 6) for being the 'worst patient he had ever dealt with'. So I haven't been in the past 20 years or so, I only go when in a lot of pain. I have a few teeth that need fillings; I'd like to have the mercury fillings replaced with porcelain; I need some bridges; and I want some veneers on the top front teeth. I plan on using this year's tax return to pay for the work, so I will see how much I get back and how much the estimate is. But I have high hopes that I will be able to get most of it done as the prices are 70 - 75% LESS than here in Canada. I have spent the last year researching getting dental work done in Mexico and there are highly qualified dentists that cater to the US and Canadian people and we actually account for most, if not all in some cases, of their business. I have every confidence in the clinic I finally decided on, TLC Dental. I just hope I can behave in the chair and they don't feel like slapping me.

So ... this blog is about to get a whole lot more interesting in the months to come. I hope you all stay with me, and a heartfelt thank you to those of you who have. I appreciate each reader and I LOVE getting feed back.

CRAZY ROAD!

I just found something on YouTube tonight and had to share.

I drove this road almost every day we were on Tortola last February. It was the road from Long Bay Resort to the house, Elm Villa, that I rented. At the end of the video you can see a fork in the road. Our driveway was another 100 yards or so up on the right. If you took the fork to the left, you went down a huge hill to Cane Garden Bay.

I drove this route back from the wedding at NIGHT. TWICE. Because we left without Ashleigh's dress and so Shonah and I went back for it.

Great memories. Crazy hills! You can read about my first attempt at driving Tortola here. It continues here.

Me Taking a Hair-Pin Turn on Tortola