We completed our BVI tour with s/v Patronus. What an amazing tour of the islands filled with the sun, sand and sea. We shamelessly savored the taste of painkillers at each and every stop. The kids had a ball playing on the many beaches and monkeying around on both boats. We parted ways with Patronus after The Baths and we sailed back to the Virgin Gorda Sound while they sailed away to Road Town. We reunited with 8 other Salty Dawg boats at the Bitter End Yacht Club.
We enjoyed a couple of relaxing days fulfilling some boat projects and getting school work done. Craig took the girls to beach one afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed my alone time to bake 2 loaves of bread, make yogurt and chocolate chip cookie dough.
Kate's sand man, instead of a snowman
The Bitter End Yacht Club
The outdoor theater that plays free movies nightly. The kids took advantage of this little perk even if they didn't play the movie that was printed on the activities sheet. They were only bothered when the DVD stopped playing half way through. This was a lesson in patience and resilience, right?
As I was walking by this tree near the front desk of the BEYC, my senses came alive once I realized it was real. I LOVE the smell of a live Christmas tree. I was immediately surrounded by warm and fuzzy feelings of Christmas. Aaahhhhhhh!
Some of the wooden statues in the open air front desk area of the BEYC
We made the trek up the very steep hill on Virgin Gorda to have lunch at Hog Heaven. Olga was our waitress, who is married to the owner of Hog Heaven. She is from Dominican Republic and he was born and raised in Virgin Gorda. She was so friendly and quite lively. She loved the girls and spoiled them rotten. As you can see, they are enjoying their strawberry, mango and banana smoothies!
It felt like we were perched on top of the world
View of the Bitter End Yacht Club. Our boat is down there somewhere.
View of the entire Virgin Gorda Sound. Prickley Pear Island to the left, Bitter End to the top and Leverick Bay on the right. What a gorgeous view!
The delicious BBQ pork ribs complete with a Carib beer
Olga took this great family shot!
We bumped into fellow Salty Dawgs, Ron and Leanne, eating a late lunch as well.
While checking out at the Gun Creek Customs and Immigration office, we were lamenting how expensive a taxi ride would be for the 5 of us ($50 each way!) to get up the hill for lunch. Nonsense, right? The customs officer then proceeded to offer us a ride in his personal car AND come back and pick us up. What a generous offer that we jumped at, of course. His name was George and he grew up in Virgin Gorda and has 2 children. He was delightful company and drove like a New York City taxi driving up the very steep island road to Hog Heaven - on the 'wrong' side of the road. I just can't get used to that. And, he was passing people around blind curves. All this in about the 3 mile jaunt straight up the side of the mountain - literally.
Coming back down, George pulled over so I could get this shot of Dove Bay, on the windward side of the island.
Back for yet another happy hour with our fellow salty dawgs, Olivia watches as the fish, eels and lobsters are fed their super.
She is holding a sea cucumber
This is an eel - this one's for you grandma Sandy. Do you think Gonzo would like him?
It's hard to see in this picture, but Kate is sitting at the bar, taking notes and chatting with the lively crowd (vacationing from Stanford!). She had a writing assignment where she had to observe a scene and describe it using all 5 senses. She fearlessly walked up to the bar and asked if she could sit and observe. Next thing we know, she is being served free fruit punch and making friends with everyone around her!
