6/29/2006
Today was shopping day. April slept in until about 9:00 and after a bowl of cereal, cup of juice and many cups of coffee – we boarded the Westin Shuttle Ferry to St Thomas about 11:00. We had two main goals in mind. I wanted to get a new titanium wedding band and my wife was looking for a Fire Opal and Diamond ring to give to our niece who just graduated from high school. A local guy on the baths tour yesterday told us to go to a friend of his and tell him Dave sent him. They run the JC Jewelry. The short guy, Jay, looked just like “Tattoo”. They had just what my wife wanted and since there were no cruise ships in, they were willing to haggle. We were able to get a great price and the ring even had a nice tanzanite as the center stone. My titanium band was not as easy to find but I soon came upon one that was just as I was looking at stateside. It was brushed titanium and 14k gold on the sides. In the states it was nearly $300 but here in St Thomas it was $125. I am very happy. We were ready for lunch and found a great place in one of the narrow alleys named “Emma’s Café”. I highly recommend it when in town. We boarded the ferry to the Westin about 4:15 planning on being back to the resort for the Managers Cocktail Party. Soon after we boarded the boat, we were told that the ferry would be delayed while it waited for several folks form the airport. I was OK with that since they waited for us when we arrived. My wife was disappointed she missed the party. The trip over was very rough and when the late arrivals got to the boat, there was nothing but upper level seating. Let me tell you, they were no “happy campers” by the time they got to the resort. They were totally soaked form head to toe with salt water thrown into the air by the boat crashing into the big waves. When we got to or room there was a message that they made reservations at Lime Inn for 6:30, which gave just enough time to get there. I really wanted to take the taxi because parking is a real headache in town. My wife insisted on taking the car “because we paid for it”. I managed to find a place to park up this narrow street and “squeezed” into the spot buy this large root. Dinner was very good. My wife had the chicken special and I had Dijuon Shrimp. It was exquisite. This was my favorite so far this trip. The folks there were wonderful. After dinner we went back to the car only to find that someone squeezed right against the front of our car. In the process of trying to get out, I managed to totally rip off the left rear wheel fairing and move the bumper of our Jeep. This is going to be a very expensive vacation! I stopped and picked up the fairing and threw it onto the back of the jeep. We stopped at the marketplace to get a few things and really had a look at the damage. The whole inner fender was lose and hanging down on the tire. I manage to “persuade” the fairing back somewhat into place but things do not look god at this point. I will work more on it before turning it in. I hope my wife will speak to me when this is all over!