Actually a moderately long report for a short trip. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
As those who read People Talk know I received a last minute offer of a free room at Sugar Plum and for the first time ever that I remember Delta had 30K point seats. Under the duress of many messages from all you TTOLers I abandoned all my responsibilities last week and headed down Monday. Fortunately I convinced myself that taking a few more rock and water samples would ease the guilty feelings.
Flight to STT out of Atlanta was smooth and my bag was the first off the carousel which I took as a good omen. Smith’s 3:30 run was on the Rocket so the ride over was smooth and fast. Denzil was waiting at West End with a nice xtera and I was off to Sugar Plum where it took a moment to build up the nerve to tackle the near vertical drive. My hosts, Kim and Frank had walked down the Smugglers so after dropping off my bags I headed over to CGB to take my first set of water samples. At Myetts Prince saw me coming and had my first JW & soda waiting when I settled in at the bar. Made me feel like I had arrived at home. Walked over to the gift shop where Linda informed me that people had actually been buying the geology book! Hopefully as more than a cure for insomnia. Stopped by CRC on the way back so I could report to Mal that she looks fine and is waiting for his container of more stuff. The surf was up so the rocks were showing but there was still some beach. (The beach went away and came back twice during the week.)
Tuesday morning Frank and I hiked out to the end of Belmont Point where I gathered some interesting rock samples then after a quick stop at CGB for more water samples I headed over to Disaster Management to compare notes with a couple of staffers. Tuesday was Wakumba’s birthday so Cheryl invited us all over to the Jolly Roger for a birthday party. Met lots of new folks and the crawfish etouffee was excellent.
Wednesday we took the ferry to Anegada and rented a car with another couple for the day. Made it to the Big Bamboo just as the cooks arrived and had a rum punch and conch fritter breakfast. When they brought in the lobster everyone picked out the one they wanted for lunch. As it was still early we decided to run over to Cow Wreck for a while and they agreed to hold them until we got back. I didn’t order a lobster so on the way back I dropped off at Neptune’s to look up Big Jim. Found him holding court on the deck at Pam’s Kitchen and spent a great afternoon just limin’ and talking the Mr. Soars. I can testify that Big Jim was not tempted by the parade of ice cream and pastries that passed by us. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
Thursday was another day of gathering more samples after stopping by Nanny Cay to check out the two Beneteaus we will be chartering in June.
Friday I actually laid out on the beach like a normal tourist! Made it all the way through the latest John Gresham book. In the evening I put on my slacks and headed for Brandywine. I just can’t say enough about that place. Davide and Cele are such great hosts and the old fort is a wonderful setting for a leisurely meal. After a light Chablis on the patio the shrimp bisque was excellent and the Australian fillet was superb. Topped off with a little Grappa back on the patio Brandywine is a truly unique dining experience. Watching Davide work in the kitchen I told Cele she better keep an eye on his blood pressure but she replied that he has salami for breakfast! Itallians must have a different metabolism! I wonder if US doctors know about Grappa? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
Saturday I stopepd at Pussers to wait for the ferry. Work on the kitchen is well under way but the good part is that until it is finished the cooks get to work outside. Lorna has recovered from her burn and was busy cooking. Bella is still going 150 MPH behind the bar and I think she is enjoying being able to yell at the cooks. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> The trip home was uneventful if a bit depressing but the 2:30 out of West End was the Rocket again and the check in at STT was unusually fast.
One odd discovery about cell phones. Two years ago I could get a good signal from Sprint on STT from the parking lot at the Jolly Roger and at Bananakeet. In July and October however even though I had 2 or 3 bars it was very hard to get a call through. This time it was impossible even though with an external antenna I had 4 bars. When I reset the phone to allow digital roaming I got a strong signal that dialed but received a recording that said “The Mobile customer is not available”. Dialed Operator and got the same thing. Stopped by CCT who claimed that as my phone was CDMA only they could not set up an account on their GSM system. While they would not admit it, it looks like they are sending out a CDMA signal to prevent use of the STT towers. To complicate things. Somewhere between Rudy’s up on Ridge Road and Bananakeet the phone did connect just long enough to tell me I had voice mail! Not good when you are playing hooky and have no way to call back.
Overall it was a great trip. A bit short but it was free so I can’t complain. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
