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We upheld our tradition of spending Thanksgiving in St. Thomas with our pal Marty. This year, Craig, Steve, and I were joined by Craig and Steve’s Mom.
We woke up at 4 a.m., took showers and fed the cats. Steve came over at 5 o'clock for coffee. We packed the car and picked up Mom at 5:30.
We got to Logan Airport at around 6 o'clock and parked in Central Parking. We walked to U.S. Airways and checked in at one of their self-service kiosks. There wasn't a big line at security, and we made it through quickly. We went to the food court and bought some McDonald's for breakfast. After eating at a table, we went to the gate. The plane boarded and took off on time. The three of them sat side by side in one row, and I was across the aisle. I typed on my netbook and the flight went by quickly. When we landed in Charlotte, we got some sandwiches and chips for lunch. Our 11:45 flight was on time. Craig, Steve, and I sat together this time with their Mom across the aisle. My tray table was broken. Craig went to the bathroom and there was no main light in there. This plane needed some maintenance. We were expected to land at 4:19 but we actually landed at 3:55. This was nice, because in past years our flights usually landed earlier in the afternoon. We used Hertz for the first time this year for a rental car because Budget's web site insisted us on charging us their weekly rate PER DAY. Craig hurried to the Hertz counter. We all enjoyed our complimentary welcome shot of rum served by a smiling local woman. I gathered a stack of promotional magazines to peruse back at the hotel. We got the keys to our blue Ford Focus and loaded its trunk with our luggage. This was Mom's first time on the island and as we drove through Charlotte Amalie, we pointed out the cruise ship ports and the downtown shopping district. We saw a pirate boat on the water which was very picturesque. We passed Paradise Point and continued on toward Red Hook. The shocks on this car were seriously lacking as we bounced our way up and down the mountainous roads. We stopped at Food Mart to stock up on groceries. Our room has a kitchenette, and it is nice to take advantage of it. We bought breakfast supplies, snacks, and some alcohol. We got a kick out of showing Mom all of the sky-high island prices since all of the groceries need to be shipped in. As we left the store, Steve called Marty on his cell phone to tell him we were heading to Secret Harbour Beach Resort and that he could meet us there. "Is your mom wearing a blue top?" Marty asked Steve. "Yes..." It turned out that Marty was waiting across the parking lot, stalking us. Once his cover was blown, he ran over to us and we all gave him big hugs. We introduced him to Mom. Marty followed us to Secret Harbour. Craig went into the office and checked us in. We were in room 215, a two bedroom two bathroom beachfront suite on the ground floor that we had stayed in when our friend Beth had joined us here back in 2002. Its kitchen and bathrooms had been upgraded since then. Steve normally sleeps on the couch, but the second bedroom had two twin beds, so he and Mom became bunkmates. We put our luggage into our rooms, unpacked the groceries, and cracked some frosty drinks. It was great to see our pal Marty again. We chatted and enjoyed the sunset view from our balcony. In recent years, we have had our Thanksgiving meal at the Toad and Tart, a tiny English pub which served a fantastic roast turkey dinner. However, its proprietor Anna has retired in the past year, so we needed to try someplace different. Marty had checked out the alternatives and made a reservation at Molly Malone's at the American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook. It was just a short ride from the hotel, and we arrived for our 7 o'clock reservation. They were serving an all-you-can-eat dinner including wine and dessert for $22. A veritable bargain by island standards! The meal featured turkey soup, salad, roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, and cranberry sauce. Wine was included with the meal. The guys drank beer and I couldn't resist a frosty creamy bushwhacker. Everything was fresh and delicious. Craig and Steve asked for seconds and were delivered a second smaller plate with all of the fixings. For dessert we had pumpkin pie with Irish whipped cream. We ate as much as we could while watching football on the restaurant's big screen TV's. Stuffed, we left the restaurant and drove back to the hotel. Our check tire pressure light came on during the drive back to Secret Harbour. Was something truly wrong or was it a faulty sensor? We would need to keep an eye on it. Marty came in and we hung out for a while. At around 11 o'clock we called it a night. Tomorrow would be our annual Cap'n Marty's Island Hop, and we would all need to be up bright and early. |
 Sunset at Secret Harbour  Marty  Thanksgiving dinner at Molly Malone's  Thanksgiving dinner at Molly Malone's: Steve, Mom, Marty, Craig, Steph  |
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