|
We woke up at around 9:30 am, glad that we were able to sleep in. After our busy, fun day in the sun yesterday, it was nice to have a low key day. We went out on the patio to enjoy our morning cereal, coffee, and orange juice. It is always so nice to wake up to such a gorgeous view of the ocean. We flipped through the free magazines that we had picked up at the airport, with articles and photos of the islands interspersed between glossy ads for duty-free shopping in Charlotte Amalie and Havensight, with every wristwatch harmoniously set to 10:10.
Soon the view of the beach was too enticing and we needed to get outside and enjoy it. So we grabbed our towels and headed outside to the beach at around noon. Along the way, we passed an employee who was whistling "Winter Wonderland". We gave a quick thought to the chilly weather at home, and were glad that we were here enjoying THIS kind of winter! There wasn't very much sun today, but it was still warm and we enjoyed the beach and the water nonetheless. As we stood in the water up to our necks and the waves rolled past us, our feet would become buried in the sand. As we wiggled our feet free, small particles were released from the sand and little fish would come over to eat them. Sometimes they would bump into our legs or tickle our toes. Marty and Joan arrived for a visit and Joan came into the water with us, but Marty stayed on the beach. It was, after all, the end of November, and locals tend to find the water at this time of year to be a bit chilly (talk about spoiled!!) We chatted with Joan while we floated lazily in the water. A couple of locals pulled up in their Zodiac and were drinking, singing, and having a grand old time. After a while, we got out of the water, and Marty and Steve walked down the beach to Blue Moon restaurant. We watched an iguana on the beach. They are amazing - they look so much like living dinosaurs! Marty and Steve arrived back at the beach bearing Cajun chicken sandwiches, incredible fries, and frosty cold bushwhackers to drink. We lounged on the beach (watching a wedding which was taking place a couple hundred feet away from us), until 3:30, at which time Marty needed to take Joan to the airport to return home to St. Croix. Joan was very sweet and we wished we had been able to spend more time with her, but there's always next year! After saying our goodbyes, we headed back to the room to use the facilities, and we took a brief break from the beach to sit on the patio for a while. As the sun got lower in the sky, we went back out to the beach in preparation for sunset. We got into the water and watched kids playing football on the beach. Craig and Steve each enjoyed a can of Heineken while we floated around. Craig kissed his can so that he could joke that he was "kissing heinie." After a pretty sunset, we came back to the room and hung out on the patio chatting. At 8:30, we headed to Food Center to get English muffins for tomorrow morning's breakfast. We realized that in all of the chaos of our arrival, we had forgotten this staple. After our quick mission to the grocery store, we decided to go to Latitude 18 for dinner. We always enjoy this laid-back waterfront restaurant, which usually has a band playing. We drove down the long dirt road (halfway between Secret Harbour and Red Hook) to get there. We remarked once again that if you had never been there, you would swear that this bumpy track was not actually a road with a business on it. But soon we arrived and parked the car. This little open air restaurant (with the bar and stage area covered by a roof, and some of the outlying tables covered with a tent) is right on the water, and as you eat you can watch the moored sailboats bobbing on the tide. There is a beautiful view across the water of the lights of Red Hook. We chose a table under the tent and immediately ordered a round of painkillers. As usual, there was a nice breeze blowing here and we were quite comfortable. There was a band consisting of guitar, violin, keyboard, and drums. There was a banner hung up on the stage for WIVI Pirate Radio 96.1, and there were white Christmas lights strung around the restaurant. We enjoyed the music while eating conch fritter appetizers. This was followed by a main course of scallops au gratin with rice pilaf and veggies, which left us stuffed. The five huge scallops were smothered in cheese and were absolutely delicious! We stayed until the music was over (around 10:30 pm) and then headed back to Secret Harbour. We sat on the balcony for a while, had a couple of drinks, and then headed to bed. |
 View from our room  Steve and Craig at Secret Harbour Beach  Sunset, Secret Harbour  Latitude 18  |
|
 |
|
 |
