Day 3 - Chicago Air & Water Show

 We met for a 9:00 am breakfast again.  It’s a beautiful morning!

Then we prepped to leave the slip to find our spot for the day.  Today, we decided to stay within the break wall, a little further from show center but still in line with the flight path and likely a calmer anchorage.

The show started at 10:30 am.  It was incredible!  We enjoyed the water, the planes, lots of food and fun.  It was a fabulous day.

The show wrapped up around 3:30 pm and we headed back by 4:00 pm.  We have reservations at 5:45 but the forecast shows a storm system moving through right at the time we’d be walking to the restaurant so we cleaned up and headed out early.  We went to Chef Art Smith Reunion, which specializes in fried chicken and other southern cuisine.  It was a great meal! 

After dinner, we found Starbucks and Kilwins on our walk back through Navy Pier.  

Then we spent the evening indoors watching the movie Midway and admired the lightning show outside.  It was a fun way to wrap up a great day!

Day 10 - Preparing for Re-Entry

We met at 9:00 am for breakfast.  By now, Rog and Gretchen had already completed a 2-mile walk as they were up early and on a mission to find some items at the market.  

Unfortunately the restaurant in the hotel was unable to prep any food because of an issue with the gas in the kitchen.  So, we headed toward town to find something to eat.  Adema’s grabbed a meat pie from a local shop, one of the only stores open this Sunday morning.  Otherwise the stores were mostly boarded up and closed for the Sabbath.  Meanwhile the streets were crowded with cars and the sound of hymn-singing could be heard.

We ended up visiting Moe’s, the local grocery store, and got some items for a continental breakfast - charcuterie, fruit, muffins, with chocolate milk.  We brought it back to the hotel courtyard and enjoyed our final few hours together.  Thankfully, the restaurant was still able to serve coffee!  

As we discussed the highlights from the week and how difficult it might be to return to our typical routines, we wondered... what memories will stand out later this week?  What images will come to mind when we reflect in a few years?  What moments will we cherish most as we grow old?  

A little before 11:00 am, we packed up and checked out of our rooms.  Adema’s headed out for the airport and the rest of us waited a few more hours before leaving that spot in the courtyard.

The flights were pretty smooth for all of us.  A few delays along the way but by 11:00p we were all safe at home.  

 

Its a beautiful thing to travel, to learn and grow and to return home a changed person.  

I’ve never experienced a trip like this one.  I felt a deeper level of relaxation than I knew was possible.  I honestly could just take in the beauty all around and experience the emotion and gratitude I felt. 

The trip certainly exceeded any expectations that I had.  But what makes it so extra special is sharing it with people that we love.  Each and every unique personality onboard contributed to the special week that it was and I am forever grateful for those smiles, those laughs, that love!

For me, our time together was Heavenly.

Day 9 - St Thomas

Ahh… the final day.  Gretchen told us that her eyes were leaking on occasion, but I think we can all relate.  The morning started off like our typical routine - devotions and coffee on the bridge followed by an incredible meal for breakfast.  Today Amy served waffles and another fruit plate.

We took some time to write in the guest book and reflect on our time aboard Heavenly.  Then we packed up our staterooms and got underway for our short reposition to the marina in St Thomas.  We all found our spots…. A little more spread out than usual… to enjoy our final moments aboard.  Everyone seemed reflective in the moment.

Once tied off at the dock, we prayed over Nick and Amy, took a group photo, and said our first round of goodbyes.

Then we unloaded our bags, had one more Painkiller for good measure and stepped off the boat.  Nick and Amy walked us to the parking lot and to our transfer.  We had another round of good-byes and hugs.  Our time aboard Heavenly and the incredible memories we made with Nick and Amy will not be soon forgotten.

We had planned on our driver Curlson taking us for a 2 hr tour of the island of St Thomas... he was a local historian and very excited to share about the island.  In the end, we decided to cut it a little short and after 1.5hrs headed to the hotel to drop our bags and then walked to town for lunch.  We ate at the Greenhouse… burgers and a beautiful view.

We split up for a bit this afternoon.  Shopping, exploring and grabbing some snacks, before returning to the hotel for a swim.

We were all pretty tired as we were approaching the dinner hour.  So rather than going out, we picked up pizza and ate in our hotel room.  

There was another round of Uno and then we all turned in for the night.  

Day 8 - Water Island

It was a beautiful day… our last full day aboard.  We had a wonderful breakfast of cinnamon rolls and a spinach quiche as well as a local fruit platter.

 

Then we prepped the boat for our next sail.  While loading up the water toys, Nick dropped a clip in the water and we all watched as he jumped in, dove down and found it on the ocean floor.

The sail back to St Thomas was beautiful.  We all enjoyed the time underway and tried to be intentional with our final day aboard Heavenly.

We re-entered the US at Cruz Bay.  This time we all had to disembark and visit the Customs office.  We had a little wait in line but overall the process went quite smoothly.

We had about another hour to get to our anchorage for the night at Water Island, just off the coast of St Thomas.  Once we were settled, Amy prepared our lunch a chicken cashew lettuce wrap.  It was tasty (but a little messy to eat)! 

It was after 3:00 pm by the time we finished which left us little time to enjoy the golf courts on shore (they weren’t available after 4:00 pm) so instead, we all took to the water! 

 

After more snorkeling and swimming, we all cleaned up and enjoyed time together on board.  There was lively conversation, cocktails and at least a few rounds of Uno. 

 

Then Amy served our appetizer on the fly bridge as we enjoyed the sunset.  Brie En Crut is a pastry-covered cheese served with apples and grapes.  Yum!

We had our final dinner together - Braised Beef Short Ribs with Palenta and Maple Syrup Bacon Brussels Spouts. The dessert was a highlight for us all - A painkiller rum cake with coconut macaroon crumble and ice cream.

After dinner, Nick and Amy called us into the salon to enjoy a movie he had prepared of our time together this week.  Throughout our trip, Nick has been taking video and pics and compiled them for us tonight.  It was fun to reflect on some of our highlights.

Then we headed up to the bridge to watch a movie.  Nick set up the projector again with the stars above and cool night air.  It was perfect. 

Below is a pic we all took on the trampoline while underway with Nick’s 360 camera.  We’re all wearing our Heavenly shirts and enjoying the ride.

Day 6 - Anegada

 It was a very full day… and there’s so much to share!  First, though the bad news… today was not a good day for Scott’s sinuses and he spent most of it in bed.  Honestly, its just not the same without him.  

We were up a little early today as we hoped to get underway by 8:00 am.  Realistically it was closer to 8:25 but it was still earlier than usual.  In order to make the schedule work, we all agreed to forego the usual big breakfast and instead just snacked on the pastries and bread provided with coffee.  Speaking of, I cannot tell you how wonderful the coffee is.  Amy switched to a new Caribbean blend on the 2nd day with hints of coconut and so smooth.  Yum… its like dessert in a cup.

Anyway, we hoisted the sails and were on our way for the 8 miles across the open ocean to Anegada.  Anegada is the furthest east of the BVIs and the second largest.  However, its quite different from the other Virgin Islands which are made from volcanic activity.  They literally look like little mountains sticking out of the water with rocky cliffs, etc.  Anegada however is very special.  It is made of limestone and honestly looks like a sandbar in the middle of the water.  Its highest elevation is 12 ft.  The entire island is 11 miles long and 14 sq miles total.  You don’t even see it as you approach other than some palm trees sticking out of the horizon.  

 

But the island is beautiful.  The water is calm on this side of the island and it just feels quiet and relaxed.  

After we anchored for the night, Amy and Nick prepped lunch.  It was tacos with a carne asada and a pineapple salsa that tied all the flavors together.  Excellent yet again!

Then we loaded up the dinghy to head to our 1:00p tour with Johnny from Kelly’s Tours (highly recommend).  Johnny is a year out of high school and works for his brother during the busy season.  His family was one of the original 7 families on this island and has been here for 5 generations.  He had so much info to share and was a lot of fun.

So our group (sans Scott, plus Amy) loaded up in Johnny’s boat and rode 30-35 minutes to the eastern end of the island.  Most of this end is a national park so the land and water was protected.  On the way we saw a large sting ray and several sea turtles in the water.  Then we saw a flock of appx 40-50 flamingo eating on the reef.  In the other direction we saw an even larger group of appx 200.  They were stunning!  I’ve never seen flamingo in the wild and was so excited.  The pictures didn’t do them justice.  As we were moving past and almost out of their area, they took to flight and the entire flock flew past our boat.  It was beautiful.  Did you know the underside of the wing of a flamingo is black?  Or that the young ones are more gray than pink?  Anyway, it was incredible.  

 

From there we went to Conch Island.  A stopping point for conch fisherman for 120+ years where they would remove the meat from inside the conch shell then throw the shell on the pile to dispose of them.   Apparently the conch are selective and won't stick around another dead shell.  So, if the fishermen were to leave the empty shells in their fishing spots, they'd destroy their bounty.  It's estimated that there are 1.2 - 1.9 million shells in this pile.  Its beautiful and a little sad all at the same time.  

After we heard the history of the place, we headed out to the reef to find our own conch.  The reef is the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world.  Its shaped like a horseshoe around Anegada and stretches all the way down past Virgin Gorda.  The entire span of the horizon has a white line from the waves crashing at the reef's edge.  It highlights just how far the reef extends.  

Anyway, we stopped the boat in the middle of two separate coral reef areas and jumped out for snorkeling.  We made a figure 8 around both coral beds and met back at the boat.  In the meantime, our guide Johnny went fishing for conch and lobster.  We watched him dive down, look into the coral and snare the lobster.  The area was beautiful and had many different types of fish and sea life.  We all enjoyed our time there.

 

Once back on board, Johnny taught us about the lobsters.  He had found 1 female (they have pinchers on their back legs to help scrape the eggs off) and 1 male (he had freshly molted so his body was more bendy and pliable). We also saw the conch shell he found for us… including the crab that lives on its shell and the fish that lives inside.  So much to learn!!

Then we took the boat back to conch island where Tyler grabbed a newer shell on the pile to use to crack open our shell.  Once he tapped a hole in the end to release the suction, Johnny was able to pull the animal out of the shell.  It was nothing like I had expected.  We had a quick anatomy lesson, finding the claw that pulls it along the ocean floor, the eyes and mouth, reproductive organs, etc.  Then he removed the digestive parts and cleaned it up for eating. He added some lime and citrus juice to chemically cook the meat and then some salsa and we tried fresh ceviche (conch salad) on tortilla chips right there in the middle of conch island.  It was a fun and new experience for us all!

Another 30 minute boat ride would have gotten us back to the dock but we had some engine trouble.  The boat started drifting through the mooring field.  Once we cleared a large, beautiful (and likely crazy expensive) catamaran, we threw the anchor and Johnny called for the other boat.  Luckily Captain Nick was already at the dock for our pick up and saw what happened so he came and picked us up right from the tour boat.  We all had a good laugh but made sure Johnny was ok before we headed back to the boat with our day’s catch.

Scott was up and seemed to be feeling somewhat better by the time we returned so we shared our stories and pictures over cocktails and appetizers (mozzarella sticks, hummus and ground up olives with pretzels and plantain chips).  Then it was off to our dinner reservation at the Lobster Trap.

It was a great meal with FRESH lobster… we actually placed our order this morning so it was ready for us.  The tables are literally sitting on a dock so the view is incredible - the entire mooring field with the Virgin Islands sticking out of the horizon.

 

The best part was that it was the only time any of us can remember having such a nice meal without wearing shoes to the restaurant.  We had a good laugh.

The dinghy ride back to the boat tonight was another fabulous one.  Quiet, calm, nothing but the water lapping against the boats as you sneak through.  The stars are so clear and the moonlight still highlights the sand on shore.  Its a lot to take in.

Back on board, we sat at the table, enjoyed some coffee and cocktails once more.  We sat and we told stories and laughed… a lot.  Plus Amy brought out some mochi, which is best described as an ice cream ball covered in a rice dough.  They were an excellent end to our day.  Everyone headed to bed by 10:00 pm which feels like quite a triumph to us all.  Typically we have been struggling to make it to 9:00 pm even.