Our final day was marked by loading the car and heading to Charlotte Amalie for shopping and lunch. I circled for a full 50 minutes looking for parking. I originally intended on going to Herve’ for lunch, but had to park farther down on the western end of Charlotte Amalie, so we went to Amalia Café in Palm Passage –ohhhhh! What a find. This was a great place with sumptuous, shaded outside seating in Palm Passage and an incredible menu! I had the special, which was lobster and shrimp in a creamy whiskey sauce over pasta. It was a little pricey at $70 for me and my D, who had chicken fingers….and my 2 glasses of chardonnay. But, we were leaving…so….there it is. Dex was kind enough to pay for almost all of our previous meals (even if he just showed up to pay, but didn’t eat with us). My island friends are soooo incredibly hospitable! I keep asking them to let me return the favor in Philly, but they never come….I wonder why 🙂 (I wouldn't come either!)

Oh, and we stopped in to say hello to Jazmine at Little Switzerland (lux jewelers) http://www.littleswitzerland.com/ . I met Jazmine a few years back when she first arrived on STT from New York and was working at Sapphire selling timeshares. Shortly after, she moved on to sell luxury jewelry and designer accessories at Little Switzerland. LS is probably the only Tiffany dealer on STT. So, I went in to say hi to Jazmine and came out with a new Tiffany bracelet to match the necklace she sold me a couple of years back. “Hey” said Jazmine “if you’ve gotta go back to the states today, you might as well look good!” I know Jazmine felt sorry for me and she kept giving me the pathetic "I'm so sorry" look, related to my impending departure. So, she also polished my necklace and sent me off looking divine. Jazmine is fun to shop with. If you are on Main Street, stop in and ask her to show you what’s new in Tiffany or Coach or whatever. She’s super nice and knows her stuff.

Ok, so it was 1:50 and I had a 3:30 flight…and I was standing in Little Switzerland. Whooopsie! As always, a mad dash to the airport….tapping my foot in the rental car return line (yes, blood pressure beginning to rise to the appropriate “Stateside” level) and now I’m laden with extra baggage because of a trip to AH Rise for a case of liquor and some shirts for my D at one of the little shops on Main Street. So, I checked in at the first class counter (no, I wasn’t flying first class, but who cares about small technicalities when I’m dragging 6 bags and a 7 yr old behind me – and the coach line was sooo long – and I figured I had it coming with what I paid for the upgrade on the way down and no champagne - I did it to keep the karma in balance 🙂 ). Then through customs (a breeze) and we made it through the security line just as they were calling “all remaining passengers on flight 134, please board now” – perfect timing (as always – LOL).

A few minutes into the flight, my D spotted a girl her age across the aisle and, within minutes, that girl and I had traded places and she and my D were sharing my D’s “That’s So Raven” DVDs on the portable player and another friend was made. Numbers were exchanged, as they had been with the other “friends” we had made on this adventure. We landed in Philly still dressed in shorts, flip flops and deep tans, as was the rest of our plane.

Bravo St Thomas! We miss all of our friends already and look forward to seeing you all soon. I'm sorry to have missed Manta (we talked on the phone, but never connected) and East Ender (EE, I left my laptop at home - a last minute decision - so no way to email you)

Observation about this trip: ya know…maybe the islanders are too hot in the summer…because everyone was SUPER friendly on this trip. I’ve written about my previous encounters with some grumpy locals (always in summer). Not this time, everyone was friendly and chatty. Even the lady at Avis apologized for being so busy and having a little wait at her counter – wow! I can say that I did not encounter one single grumpy person on this trip (sans the maitre’D at Havana Blue who made the big deal about us being late – “whatever”)

Special thanks to Genie Lupo at USVIP Villa Rentals and Concierge... http://www.usviconcierge.com/ !!

Cheers!