TROPICAL HAIR WARNING

WARNING: People who only like looking at pictures of beautiful people should read no further as I have posted pictures of myself looking my absolute worst. I honestly haven't shown anyone most of these pictures, I look that hideous, but in the interest of education, I have humbled myself and exposed myself to the world looking my... as I said... absolute worst. You've been warned!!

I used to be a hairstylist - many moons ago. So it kind of figures that I am fussy about my hair. Like a dentist, it is one of the professions where you can't do your own work so I am very picky about where I go for cuts and color and when I find a good stylist, I stick with them. Since I was 19 I have had three hairstylists; Christopher, of Christopher and Claud Hair design - the salon I apprenticed at - cut my hair from the time I started working for him in 1977 until 1985 or so when I decided that traveling to Vancouver (where he moved his shop from Surrey - where I worked, to downtown Vancouver) was too much for a mom of 3 small kids. So I found George in Langley, where I lived. He had his own salon, Amadeus, for the first few years then he sold it and joined the huge new Spa Utopia and I followed him there. I stayed with him until 2009 when my son started dating a hairstylist and when it became apparent that she was most likely going to be a permanent part of our family, I thought I should start to go to her as a gesture of acceptance. Turns out she is a FANTASTIC hairstylist. Dare I say the best I've ever had? I think I dare. So I have been very happy for the past few years with how my hair looks. Recently, my son was offered a fabulous job in Calgary and so they are moving there later this year. Now what will I do?

Anyhow, this all to say - I am very fussy about my hair!!

So when I go to the Caribbean, I have a terrible time with my hair. I have fine hair with a bit (and I do mean a BIT) of a kink in it (can't really call it a curl). When I am in the humidity of the tropics, it goes instantly limp and sticks flat to my head. Add to that the constant breeze in the islands and it looks TERRIBLE!!! (Wind is the other enemy of fine haired people). When I was headed to the BVI for a month, I asked my (now) daughter in law if she could give me a loose perm so that I'd have some curl and body to work with and, when I went swimming, I wouldn't have to worry about getting my hair wet and losing whatever I had managed to do with it that morning. She said that, due to the highlights in my hair, a perm would just burn it and cause breakage, which I pretty much knew she would say but I was hoping perms had advanced some since I was a stylist. So the whole time I was there, I looked terrible. I mean really terrible. And I have the pictures to prove it.  (I should add that, as makeup slides off your face about 10 minutes after it is applied when in the tropics, I am wearing little to no makeup in these photos which definitely adds to the 'terrible' factor).

I am posting this picture so you can see what I look like at home and also because the feed for this blog always posts the first picture and I sure don't want it to be one of the following!!

This one taken not an hour after having a shower and doing my hair!!

Walking around in the suffocating heat of Road Town for a day resulted in this lovely look.

This was probably the hottest day I have ever experienced and I was so overheated I thought I might pass out... my hair certainly did!

Here I tied back some of my hair at each side to try to 'poof' it out a bit.  Didn't work as well as I'd hoped.

I honestly look so bad and so different than I do here at home that an island fellow I met and spent the last day of my trip with had no idea who I was when I friended him on FaceBook just two days after getting home. And when I told him who I was he replied, "WOW!! You look TOTALLY different." Yeah, I know. Thanks.

I did a search online to see if there were any tips or information on this problem out there in internet land and it turned up a few tips that I will try on my next trip:

1. Use shampoo and conditioner for FINE hair. This will add less weight to the hair.

2. Mid-day, use a dry shampoo (I love the one from Tresemme that adds volume). This will immediately absorb oils from heat and sweat and put some life back into your strands. Just spray at your roots, flip your head over and shake. Then brush your hair well. It will be good as new! (I don't know why I never thought of this). When I would blow-dry my hair in the morning, I could feel the heat of the day coupled with the heat from the blowdryer causing my scalp to sweat,  wetting down the roots I had just worked on to get some lift so this one is a MUST for me to try.

3. Use an anti-humidity hairspray (again, I recently discovered that Tresemme makes one and it's amazing in the humidity of Vancouver's rain forest so perhaps it will work as well in the tropics).

So these are great for keeping styled hair looking 'great' all day. (We will see how it works on my next trip). But what about after a swim? Am I still going to look like a drowned rat as my hair dries flat and stringy with a bit of a kink? It's not long enough for a pony tail.

I'd love to hear what you other fine-haired readers do for this. And I don't want to hear from people with naturally curly hair complaining about how their hair frizzes out in the tropics, I really don't. You have no idea how lucky you are. I'd give anything for frizz. I have yet to see someone with naturally curly hair look dreadful on the beach. It just doesn't happen. Any curl... ANY... is better than flat greasy looking hair.

***UPDATE:  Took a trip to Grenada and the Grenadines for 3 weeks, 10 days of that on a sailboat and all three of the above tips really worked, especially the dry shampoo!  YAY  Pict's are on the posts about the trip which start HERE.  I mean, still not like at home but WAY better than the month in the BVI.  And an island fellow who I met on the beach one day (looking terrible with my hair pulled back in clips) was a taxi driver and picked me up later that same day to take me for dinner and when he saw me come out of my hotel room - well, lets just say his jaw hit the floor.  I look SO different when my hair looks good and I have a bit of makeup on!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My Granddaughter

This is the first Christmas with a very special little angel in the family. I am so blessed with riches money just can't buy.

Thank you for your faithful readership this past year. I am almost at 40,000 visits. This time last year I was at about 20,000 and that took two years so it has doubled this year.

I am hoping that 2013 will bring lots of new TRAVEL material to write about... hopefully some of it will be in the BVI.

Blessings to you all!! May you have a wonderful Christmas with family and loved ones.

NIGHTMARE

A couple, following their dream of owning a catamaran and chartering it in the BVI, calling the boat Knotty Dream, has had their dream - literally - dashed.

What a nightmare:

Here's the full album: Lagoon 450: Sandy Spit

Here is the video of the day they bought the boat:



So, so sad.  I can't imagine the distress and the replaying of the situation over and over in your mind and imagining how it would have turned out had you done things differently.

According to what I've read on a BVI web board, the owners were on board, they had just taken delivery of the vessel three days prior; he put the boat on autopilot while going below to the head.  His wife was also below in the galley.  They hit the reef that is just off of Sandy Spit and were hard aground.  Most of the damage occurred in removing them from the reef.

Lesson to be learned (there always is one):  never leave the helm unattended when so close to land.

WEST END COTTAGES, ANEGADA

Back in May of 2011, when I took a month-log trip to the BVI, I spent more than half of my time in those beautiful islands on Anegada. I wrote a post about a long walk I took along the beach from where I was staying, Neptune's Treasure, to Cow Wreck Beach. Along the way, I came across the West End Cottages that were being claimed by the sea, due to Sea Grape trees being removed from the property* a few years earlier. If you go to that post, you will see photos I took of the ruined cottages.

In the year and a half since I took that trip, the dredging of sand so close to shore, in a futile effort to shore up the doomed cottages, has had devastating effects on the beaches to the east of the West End, on the North shore of the island, to as far as Cow Wreck Beach and perhaps further. My friend posts many pictures of Cow Wreck and it's easy to see what has happened to what was once a beautiful, wide, white-sand beach at Cow Wreck.

Cow Wreck before the erosion

Cow Wreck now

These pictures are of the exact same piece of beach, you can see the shadow of the only few palm trees at Cow Wreck in the 'before' pic.

Directly east of the dredging, on the north side of the island, the devastation is immense. I walked this beach in 2011 and it looked nothing like it looks now. When I was there it was wide white sand on a gentle incline from the vegetation to the sea. There was a lovely shallow swimming spot and it was like being in a swimming pool. That is now gone and the water is very deep. The erosion is right up to the vegetation and trees have begun to fall. The coral that makes up the foundation of the entire island is now exposed. That was not visible before at all.

The pictures below are of the this beach, just different perspectives. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the beach from the perspective of the second pic or you would really see the difference. But trust me, it is profoundly different.

The beach immediately to the east of dredging BEFORE it eroded

The beach immediately to the east of the dredging, on the North Shore as it looks now

After seeing the pictures, I felt compelled to write to the owners of the West End Cottages property to voice my frustration and concern as to what their futile efforts have wrought on the island. Below you will see the conversation, and their response which is filled with half-truths and lies:


Sandra MontgomeryWest End Cottages Anegada
18 hours ago near North Vancouver ·
Have you taken stock of the massive damage to the beautiful beaches of Anegada your fruitless recovery attempt has done? Those cottages are NOT saved. No, they are not in the sea where they might have ended up, but they are broken and useless and need to be demolished. Meanwhile, the beach - all the way past Cow Wreck, is eroded and trees have fallen down. Go take a walk down to Cow Wreck and look at the erosion and the roots of the palm trees all exposed. By next summer, those lovely trees will be down as well if you don't STOP this folly. You are destroying the environment of what was a very beautiful and mostly unspoiled island. It is criminal.

West End Cottages Anegada Hi Sandra, we thought about deleting your comment because of it's ignorance but instead we are going to take this opportunity to use it to educate you and any other "experts" out there.

The western half of Anegada is almost entirely a giant sand bar made of sand while the eastern half is almost entirely coral. That said, over time, the coastline of Anegada is in a constant state of flux. In your short lifetime and in your even shorter time of visiting Anegada you might not realize that the coastline changes. This is very well documented over 100 years and continues to be studied. The BVI government has a new development plan in the works for entire island of Anegada that recognizes this and proposes a 200ft set back from the sea on future developments. What is happening to the beach at Cow Wreck is the same thing that happened to our property and is the same thing that is happening at other properties all over the island.

Additionally, our project is a multi year effort which is not complete. The first phases have beenbefforts to stabilize the beach which have been successful and the next phase is to stabilize, the effected cottages and make them habitable again for future enjoyment. To unnecessarily demolish them without trying to rescue them would truly be a waste. For the record, out of the 7 cottages on thenproperty, 3 were completely unaffected by erosion and are used regularly, 3 will be rescued and one was demolished.

The next phase after that will be to landscape the property and make it more beautifulnthan it has ever been.

Just like you, we love Anegada. This property was purchased out of love, in it's darkest hour, with half of it in the sea and everyone saying that it could not be saved. Well, through miraculous effort and two years of blood sweat and tears by all involved, we have kept this property from becoming a disaster zone in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The project is still not complete so of course it doesn't look finished.
Now that you have this information about the property and the natural forces that shape the island, I hope you will look at things differently the next time on Anegada.

Sandra Montgomery This is such a lie. The beach at the West End Cottages only began to erode after the Sea Grapes** growing there were removed by the owners of the property... THEN it eroded. As for the erosion down the beach from you to Cow Wreck - this has not happened over years of time. It began almost as soon as you began dredging and has continued at an alarming rate - it has taken less than 18 months for the beach to be reduced... AND the beaches between you and Neptunes Treasure are now the widest that residents have seen in many years. This is due to sand lost from the pump-out drifting with the current and resting there... also taken less than 18 months for it to happen. And you say this is natural - just a coincidence that it occurred at the same time as you began dredging?

Kimberly Francis · 2 mutual friends
If they removed the (sea grapes) then they are guilty of disturbing the natural environment period

Sandra Montgomery Also, out of seven cottages, only one was completely unaffected. Two were in good shape. The other FIVE were severely affected. I walked through that property in May of '11 and saw this with my own eyes and have the pictures to prove it.

West End Cottages Anegada This is really getting to be a little much. You really should do some research and stop relying on hearsay of you are going to post things like this.

The prevailing current on the north coast of Anegada flows from Cow Wreck towards the West End. Not the other way. (let me just interject here that this proves my point; of course the sand would be removed from the north coast if the current flows from there to the West End - a point I made later on their FB page that resulted in them banning me) That entire portion of the coast has been eroding for many years as evidenced by what has happened on the west end. Do you think the erosion was only on our property and not on either side or anywhere else?

As far as the buildup on the Neptune side, what happens in the summer and spring months the wind blows from a more southerly direction which builds sand up on that side of the property since there is many square miles of shallow sand area and no barrier reef to block the sand flow. In the winter, which is approaching, the beach will shrink again. At the same time, more sand will be replaced on the cow wreck side and at cow wreck as the winter currents flow. The entire coastline changes constantly. When one area builds up another shrinks. This is a process that has happened for thousands of years. You are only noticing what has happened in a very small snapshot of time.

For example, construction on sandbars in north Carolina an Florida face the same issues. People built on property that may not be there in another few thousand years. So let's enjoy it while we can. We hope that you will be able to enjoy the beaches of Anegada with the rest of us in peace.

Additionaly, There are no mangroves on that entire part of the coastline as that is not their native environment. We have not removed any plants from the property at any time either.

West End Cottages Anegada As for your last post, thank you for admitting to illegally trespassing on our property on Facebook.

That's funny you have this documentation, if you you look through our photos on our page you will see the interiors of the three cottages currently in use.

Anything else you would like to say?

Sandra Montgomery I was walking from Neptunes to Cow Wreck along the beach. The only way to continue that walk, when vegetation grew down into the water rendering the beach impassable, was to cut down a small road and then through your property. A long-time resident of the island told me to walk that way and to ignore the signs saying otherwise. So I did.

And the changes in beach that you claim are seasonal have never happened until you started dredging. The beach at Cow Wreck has never been so low that the roots of the palm trees were exposed until now. There are mature trees between you and Cow Wreck that have fallen down. Are you claiming THAT happens every year?

Sandra Montgomery And YOU may not have removed any plants from the property at any time, but the previous owner DID.

West End Cottages Anegada Have a blessed day...

And so that is all they have to say about my final points. Not surprising.

I also wrote to Orlando Smith, the Premier of the BVI, to voice my concerns. He replied today with assurances that he had no idea this was happening and that he would "ask the Town and Country Planning Department to look into it as well as make the Minister of Natural Resources aware." I was very pleased with this reply until I found out that a Minister in the BVI government is (allegedly) a part owner of the company that is doing the dredging. Talk about a conflict of interest!! If that was happening here, it would be all over the news and there would be a huge backlash. But, apparently, that is the way in the islands and no one is surprised by it.

I am so sad and frustrated. I am sure my feelings are miniscule compared to those make their home there. They see the devastation every day they walk out onto the beaches. If I lived there, I don't know how I would handle it.

Taken in July 2012, just a few months ago. And the owners claim that the operation has been a success.

*Although I never saw the property, or pictures of the property, with the Sea Grapes there; I do have it on good authority from several sources that indeed there were Sea Grapes and that they were removed by the previous owner. If I can obtain photos of the area before the removal, I will share them with you on a future post.

**Earlier I wrote that the vegetation removed were mangroves. This was due to information I received from those who saw it before it was removed.

PUBLISHED FINALLY

I am happy to be able to tell you that article I wrote way back in March is finally available to view on the online magazine about the BVI.

You can find it HERE. ***UPDATE: The article is no longer at this link. I have written to the webmaster to find out where it might be archived.

THE LONG YEAR

Today, right now, a year ago, I was in the air on my way to the BVI with a new smile and a sore mouth.

This has been one of the longest years I can ever recall. It seems so long ago that I was in hot and arid Arizona. Forever since I took a long walk on the beach from Neptune's Treasure to Cow Wreck Beach and Hidden Treasure. Ages since my daughter told me she was pregnant.

It's been quite the year. My son got engaged. My daughter had a baby - thus I became a grandparent!! I moved away from the town I had lived in for 28 years to a brand new town clear across the other side of the map of the lower mainland. I had the time of my life for a month in the BVI and for another month shooting Flicka 3 in Kelowna. I made some new friends in the business and in the BVI. As a fledgeling travel writer, I sold my first piece to an online magazine. I FINALLY went to a Coldplay concert!!!!!

All in all, it's been a fantastic year and I am so blessed and grateful for it all. Tomorrow I turn 54, rushing towards the dreaded 60. But a year that takes as long to live, and is as full, as this one was seems to slow that ominous clock's ticking quite significantly. Here's hoping the remaining years of my 50's go as slowly. Let's hope all of my remaining years do!

Either way.....Carpe Diem!!

BVI EPIC ADVENTURE

I came across this video a couple of weeks ago and it absolutely took my breath away. It captures the vibe of the BVI, on video, in a way I haven't seen to this point. It actually caused me to tear up. Well done Benjamin Williams!!! He works for GoPro Camera and I'd say they are lucky to have him as his photography and editing skills are top notch!

Enjoy!! (Turn up your sound...way up!)

The British Virgin Islands-An Epic Adventure from BRW Media on Vimeo.

You can find his media FaceBook page HERE.

WRITE AWAY

I couldn't explain it, but the evening of the day I wrote the post about Rick Moore, I was struck with a very strong feeling that I was one step closer to my dream of spending a lot more of my year in the Caribbean. There was nothing specific I could point to and say "this is why", but nevertheless it felt like something had broken open for me in a spiritual way. What came to mind was a visual I had when reading the book Thornbirds. In the story there is a sheep farm that has a long private dirt drive leading to the house from the road, and along the drive there are 12 big gates that have to be opened and closed as you get to them and through them. So one had to stop the jeep, get out, open the gate, drive through, get out, close it, and continue on - repeating the process a dozen times. I felt like I had just opened and gone through the first gate of that road.

The next morning I had two offers for writing in my email, as a direct result of that post. One was for a new online magazine about the BVI and one was from Rick himself who has a doctor friend who read the post and wanted an expanded version to go into two medical journals.

I am still waiting for more information about the journals but a few days ago I wrote my first paid-for travel related article. I am thrilled, to say the least, and am hoping it will lead to more opportunities to write about the places I love so much.

The article won't be available to the public to read for a few weeks yet. As soon as it is I will post a link to it. But until then, here is a taste to pique your interest.

When my daughter told me that she and her fiancé were planning to get married in the
British Virgin Islands, I will admit I was hesitant. It seemed like a daunting task to plan a
destination wedding in a location which no one we knew personally had ever visited.
Not only that, we didn’t know anyone who had even planned a destination wedding thus
we had no one to go to for advice. To complicate matters, my daughter was still living in
London and I was in Vancouver right up until a month before the date. But as she was
from Vancouver, Canada and he was from London, England, their choice of a middle
ground, as it were, seemed ideal.

After 6 months of emails, phone calls, tears, excitement, frustration, and at times feeling
like a blind person working in a dark room - the time to pack our bags and head to the
Caribbean was upon us. We had done all that we could and the rest was up to the
wedding planner we had hired, the resort’s event planner, and fate.

It was the most beautiful and perfect wedding I have ever attended.

There were one or two things we had tried to have happen that never did, there was lost
luggage, and there was a struggle with the wedding planner for where exactly the
ceremony would take place but, in the end, the location trumped everything. So if you
are looking for a spectacular setting for your special day, and you don’t mind a little
effort to get there, then nowhere on earth could be more beautiful for a wedding than
the BVI.

If you are considering a BVI wedding, here are a few things that might help you from our
experience:

I can't wait until you can read the rest. And I hope there will be many more articles to come!

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!!

BLURB!!!

I got a great GROUPON deal Saturday for a photobook from BLURB for $20 ($45 value). So I spent the entire day yesterday creating it. I am so happy with the results and can't wait for it to get here.

I upgraded the paper quality, endpapers and linen cover, with the dust jacket and it only cost me $11 extra including priority shipping.

Below is the link so you can take a look at it. You can even order one for yourself if you like and I will make a small commission!

MY PARADISE

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

I am missing the islands and I decided to make a video of White Bay, Jost Van Dyke because I couldn't find one I really liked on YouTube.



I hope you like it.

OH VANCOUVER!!

It's been miserable since I got home - raining and COLD!!! And that isn't just me not being able to acclimatize because the furnace has been coming on. It's actually COLD!

I arranged to meet a good friend in Vancouver for the day on Sunday and it ended up being partly sunny and actually warmish when the sun was out. We met at her place near Gastown for brunch and then went for a walk. (I had lunch on Saturday with two of my kids but I can't talk about that just yet. UPDATE June20: Ok now I can - I am going to be a GRANDMA!!!! - but I won't be called grandma or grannie or nana. I like Nona but my daughter doesn't so we will see. The baby is due December 23.)

This city can be gorgeous when it wants to be. I hope it 'wants' to be more often and soon. That was our only good weather day since I got home.

Memories of sand between my toes and humid air warms my days and haunts my dreams. My head is still back in the BVI.

SECURITY, SECURITY, STUPIDCURITY

It cost $7 to drive literally 3 minutes to the St. Thomas airport. My hotel was as close as you could get to the terminal without being on a runway so I was shocked at the cost seeing how it was only $10 from the airport to the ferry when I arrived, and only $3 from the ferry to Neptune's Treasure on Anegada.

I hate clearing security. And on this trip I have attempted to get liquids through in my carry on luggage that I didn't put in the zip lock bag as it was already full. And I can report to you that I got them through without detection EVERY SINGLE TIME. We're talking 5 times through security because I went through from YVR to Yuma, from Yuma to Los Angeles and three freaking times on the way home - that's right, for all three connections on the way back I had to go through security again. Of course I had to clear security in St. Thomas, then on my first stop in Miami the arrival terminal and the departure terminal for the next flight were not joined behind security so I had to exit into the general population area and cross back. In Toronto, I had to clear Canadian customs so had to leave the secure area to do that and then, go back. What a pain in the rear. Anyway, way to go TSA. You didn't see the two small tubes of moisturizer on the way down to the islands nor the two small (a couple of oz's) bottles of Pussers Rum on the way home. Good thing I wasn't planning on blowing up the plane with either of them.

When the plane banked, this island came into view. I have no idea which island it is but it was right out of the St.Thomas airport. I love the look of it.

Another lovely little island. Kind of bat shaped.

This amazing stretch of water went on for miles. I remember my friends from Zero to Cruising saying that they sailed for a long time in water that wasn't more than 12 feet deep and clear as a pool to the bottom. I have a feeling this might be it.

When I arrived at the Miami airport I was hungry and planned to get a meal but, as usual for me, wanted to find my gate first and then buy something at one of the great little restaurants that are all over the place behind the security gates. Well, I guess they don't think much of those of us traveling to Canada at that airport because the departure terminal for West Jet was way down several mile-long corridors to who knows where, and when I got there it looked like the waiting room for welfare and not a shop, restaurant, or even news stand in sight. Nothing. I had to walk for another quarter mile to find a Burger King and a Pizza Hut. No nice restaurants like the part I walked through when I landed. I ended up buying a bag of cinnamon pretzel chips at a news stand. Not exactly lunch

Ugly gate at Miami airport.

Ugly, ugly, UGLY.

When the agent was about to start boarding, she came on the intercom and said, "I have some good news and bad news." There was a collective groan from everyone waiting. "The good news is you will be flying on a brand new 737 with only 30 hours on it so far." Now I don't know how everyone else felt, but this was not exactly good news in my books. As far as I am concerned, that's not long enough to make sure everything is in good working order and it's not going to fall out of the sky. So I was not looking forward to the bad news. Turns out that was just that the plane was so new, there were no TV's installed on it yet.

The plane was so new it smelled like new car. Or new plane, rather.

Spotless new carpet.

Usually the plane wing and engine is crusted in dirt and always looks to me like it's about to fall apart. You could eat dinner off of this one.

Bye-bye, Miami. I wish I could have stayed a bit because I think you're great.

One real concern I have when flying is my swelling feet. By the time I reach my destination my feet look like two loaves of bread. So I was thrilled to find out that I had a whole row of seats to myself on my flight from Toronto to Vancouver and could put my feet up the entire way. Consequently my feel were barely swollen by the time I got home. Seeing how it took two weeks for my feet to go down after arriving in the BVI, I was really thankful for this.

When I was planning my trip to the BVI I was worried about cockroaches and spiders in my room so I bought sticky pads to put on the floors to trap any that strolled by. But I couldn't fit the ones that were shaped like a small box in my luggage. I had opened one up at home and decided to put it down on the floor by my bed to trap anything that might stroll by at home while I was gone. I am very happy to report I didn't need them in the BVI - I never saw a single spider except for a couple in webs in the vegetation, and I never saw a single cockroach at all. But when I got home.....

This thing is freaking HUGE!! Or was before it curled up and died. I hate having a basement room.

I have made a little arrangement to remember my time in the BVI with things I found on the beach along with a card I loved, a Christmas ornament I got on Anegada, and a magazine that captures the color of the water. I will try hard not to worship at this little shrine to my wonderful month in the BVI.

ST. THOMAS

I am all packed and ready to go. I have left all of my liquids and gels that I bought on my first day here (except for the OFF and the bug killer spray) along with a Prairie Dance Club CD and a tip, in my room for the housekeeper. I don't know if she will want all of it but it's there if she does.

I have lots of time before I have to catch the 2:30 ferry to St. Thomas and I want to walk the beach one last time. I cross the road between the building with my room in it to the restaurant and through the outdoor patio area down the stone steps to the beach. On the right I walk down as far as I can until I get to all rocks - this is just a few feet away from the backside of The Bomba Shack. Then I turn around and walk all the way to the other end where there are more rocks.

When I was swimming a couple of days ago, a fellow walked from this end of the beach to where I was right in front of Sebastians and called out to me "Are you Sandra?" "Yes I am." I called back, mystified as to how he knew my name. I got out of the water and he introduced himself as the fellow who ran the Facebook page BVI Network and whose picture I had commented on just an hour or so ago. It was one he had taken of the waves coming in on the sand and I had asked where it was taken and he had replied that it was here, on Apple Bay. So then I replied to that saying I was on Apple Bay at Sebastian's right this moment. So as he had walked by, on his way to work, he saw me and recognized me. We chatted for a while about his work and how long he'd lived on Tortola - 18 years. He makes his living as a web designer and lives at the end of the beach that I have now walked to.

I have noticed, while at this particular beach, how the waves come in in sets. There will be a few small ones and then they will get bigger until about the fourth or fifth one is really big and then it goes back to the smaller ones again. I guess this is what my daughter is talking about when, as a surfer, she talks about sets of waves. It's something I had never noticed before. So I wait for the largest one to hit so I can get a picture of it hitting the big rock that is on the sand here.

The fellow was telling me that, at this time of year, the surf brings in the beach - that is, it dumps so much sand on the rocks that they are completely covered, even this big one, and it goes partway up the retaining wall in front of the houses. That's amazing to me. I had no idea that a beach could come and go like that. He said that, all it takes is a northern wind and the beach will be gone in two days.

At 11:30 I check out and pay my restaurant tab and then get in my car and drive away from Sebastian's for the last time, over the killer hill for the last time.

I drive to Soper's Hole to have lunch at Pussers and take a table right on the water. I order the Shepherd's Pie. When it comes, it's smothered in melted cheese, which I haven't ever done with Shepherd's Pie - or seen done before this, and the meat and gravy is way too salty. So I just pick at it and leave most of it.

I can see that the people who own that gorgeous sailboat that I saw the last time I was down here have arrived from Great Britain and are getting her ready to take her out.

After lunch I pop into one of the gift stores here to buy a couple of presents for people back home and then head out to return the car to Jerry's. After a short wait there for another customer who also needs a ride into Road Town, we all climb into a nice SUV and a very pleasant woman drives me to the ferry.

When I get to the ticket booth for the Road Town Fast Ferry to get a customs form - I already have my return ticket as I purchased a round-trip, the agent tells me that the 2:30 ferry has been canceled. Before I can panic she says that a different ferry service will take me instead, 15 minutes later at 2:45. Phew. So I go to the next window, Speedy's Ferry Service, and sign in for that ferry.

When I get on board, the air is still and stuffy. We get underway and there isn't a lot of air movement where I have chosen to sit but I notice that the big loading doors on either side, just behind me, are open. So I stand in the doorway and not only is the breeze fabulous but so is the view. With the wind whipping my hair about, it reminds me of my boating days. I stand in the doorway on one side, and then later the other, for the entire hour and a half trip.

Bye bye, Tortola!

Loving this!

Oh yes! I'd like to live right there, please.

I didn't realize we'd be stopping in Soper's Hole for more passengers - I had lunch there just a couple of hours ago.

The Jolly Roger, a famed restaurant that is known for its Jerk Prime Rib, a meal I would have loved to try but the teeth just aren't up to it yet.

And just on the other side of the Jolly Roger's parking lot, the family plot. You see that a lot on these islands, people bury their families in the front yard.

An island we passed on the way to St. Thomas. If anyone recognizes it and knows what island it is, please leave a comment letting me know as I have no idea but would like to know.

We finally arrive on St. Thomas and a 15 passenger van/taxi takes four of us at once. We're all headed in the same general direction. Two are dropped off at a business. The fellow left with me wants to go to the airport and when we pull off the main road at the turn off for the airport I figure I am going to be the last one dropped off. To my surprise, my hotel - The Best Western Carib Resort - is right at the entrance to the airport and so I am the next one dropped off. I knew it was close to the airport but I had no idea it was this close.

I get checked in and before I go to my room I sit down at the business center computer to print out my boarding passes for tomorrow. That done, I go find my room which is on the first floor and off of an interior hallway, which I really like. The Best Western I stayed at in Yuma had the doors off of an outdoor walkway and I never feel as safe in that situation. There's a lot of crime on St. Thomas so this is great.

All of the rooms at this hotel have been recently renovated and when I get inside my room, I am really impressed by how nice it is. Especially the bathroom which has a lovely stone tiled shower with a huge rain shower head.

As soon as my stuff is in my room, I head back outside and down to the pool and restaurant area. Apparently the restaurant is Mexican and quite good.

There are several ancient Cannons on the property; these are on the stairs leading down to the pool and beach area.

The Mexican restaurant to the left of the stairs.

And the pool to the right.

And further to the right, the beach area.

I test the waters of the pool and it's a lovely temperature and I am tempted to go back to my room and change into a bathing suit. Instead I head to the restaurant and order a Taco Salad and a virgin Margarita for dinner. It's delicious.

After dinner I head back to my room to repack my bags. My 'purse', which is actually a beach bag, is far too heavy and so I need to get more of the contents into my pretty-full wheeled carry-on bag. I manage to lighten the load considerably and still get the suitcase zipped up but I decide to use the beach bag I bought for the groceries in Tortola (and have been using for taking my stuff to the beach every day) as my purse and to leave the woven grass bag behind - which I love and was a gift from a friend but it has started to fall apart on this trip - just barely started falling apart so it's still got a lot of use in it, but it's not holding what I need it to very well. In the morning I drop the 2 bug sprays into it along with my toothpaste and some moisturizing cream and hope that the maid or someone can make use of it all. Meanwhile, I take a shower under that decadent shower head and then make it an early night as I have to be up at the crack of dawn to catch my 9:15 flight.