Apologies, apparently when I made albums on my phone, I got dates wrong, I knew we did more on day 5! Let me tell you about the rest of the day!
It’s December 26th, we were up before dawn, go figure, not a new occurance on this trip for some reason, but it afforded us the opportunity to see some amazing sunrises and today was no different! We decided to go down to the beach to watch the sunrise.
We didn’t make it very long and realized why there weren’t other people on the beach at that time…the no-see-ums, biting little suckers! We have bites all over our legs from these things! UGH! They bite when the sun’s not out, hence sunrise, sunset, and if you have one on you, apparently you bring it with you, gee thanks! Anyway…we enjoyed the sunrise as long as we could and headed back to the room for breakfast and to get ready for the day, if you recall, we have a snorkel trip at 1p, but we’re not going to let the morning go to waste!
Back to Charlotte Amalie, park and make our way to the Hebrew Congregation of St Thomas, we tried to get there on Christmas, no go, they were closed like everyone else! I had been to the synagogue years ago on a cruise, unfortunately, I don’t really remember it, the one thing I do remember, the floor is covered in sand, isn’t that grand!?
It’s a beautiful synagogue, and there was a bat mitzvah that was going to happen that morning, we asked if it was alright if we still came in and they were gracious enough to allow us in, we could even stay for the mitzvah if we wanted to, very generous. We wished the bat mitzvah girl and her family much nachas, which is joy, and pride in someone’s accomplishments, she was excited and nervous. Becoming a bat mitzvah, or “daughter of the commandments,” signifies that a young woman has attained legal adulthood under Jewish law. A bat mitzvah is based on the centuries-old ritual of bar mitzvah, or “son of the commandments,” the ceremony for 13-year-old boys. I still remember my bat mitzvah date, November 4, 1984. Not sure if it’s something anyone forgets.
The synagogue was founded in 1796 and has a long and rich history. We toured the chapel, the tributes, the history and then joined the synagogue to support and keep them going, as honorary members, that was something I could support. Look at us, we joined a synagogue!
We left as the family was pouring in from all over the world, what a wonderful time in a young person’s life and what a joy for their family.
When we left we headed back to the car to cross something else off our list of things to do in St Thomas. We went to the Skyride to Paradise Point. It was a must see, we looked at the line and thought, ugh, they’re charging what to go up? Wait, we have a vehicle and we can drive up! Sold! Paradise Point is definitely worth seeing, the view is amazing! On a clear day, you can see St Croix and Puerto Rico! At the rate we were not having luck getting to St Croix, this view and from the snorkel trips are as close as we’re getting on this trip!
It was a windy ride up, but very much worth it! We walked around, PSM had a painkiller, signature drink of St Thomas apparently! I didn’t care for it, but you probably already knew that! One thing we found that we really grooved with was My Brother’s Workshop, an organization ‘Providing hope, faith, and purpose to at-risk and high-risk young people in U.S Virgin Islands.’ Everything in the shop was made by someone from My Brother’s Workshop, we bought a few things because we love to support organizations like that. And we get a wonderful memory from our trip, wonderful.
We checked our watches and knew we needed to get back to Ocean Surfari in Red Hook for our Do It All Snorkel trip! We got there, got our tickets and then went down to the dock and grabbed a bite at Tarpon’s Table. We enjoyed view, being on the dock and the tarpon in abundance. Ya gotta love creative bathroom signs!
And now…you’re caught up, I shared everything we did until we went on the snorkel trip. Was that enough? We definitely don’t let moss grow under our feet!
Sounds like a fine offer, ok we will! Let’s Do It…All! Snorkel!
The days started beautifully with a beautiful sunrise, not setting an alarm, yeah, I’d say beautiful! We had our next snorkel trip booked for 1pm, so we decided to head down to Charlotte Amalie first thing, to see what we could see and we saw!
We were looking for a place for breakfast, specifically at the moment, some decaf coffee for PSM, someone recommended the Parley Cafe and when we found it, we were very glad we did! It was cozy, bright, tropical, everything it should be, and…smelling y u m! We got tea and coffee and two home made pastries, oh yeah!
I texted my dad and my sister, who were in London at the time, what are the odds, I’m on an island in the Caribbean and in the cafe I walked in to, Paddington Bear is on the tv and they’re in London, maybe close to Paddington station!
After a light breakfast, we walked around Charlotte Amalie, a few more people, still not crowded, but the shops were open, the nice thing, not crazy busy since there weren’t any cruise ships in this morning. As with all our trips, we always look for a motorcycle dealership to get a t-shirt. The Harley Davidson dealership, which was a store, was closed, but their merchandise was being sold right around the corner, of course we had to go!
We picked up a shirt or two, I got a magnet and a sticker, and we both got water bottles and some stickers for the bottles so we could bring water with us wherever we went. We have a serious metal water bottle collection, but….we buy them where we travel, it’s a great memento of our trip and they usually have the logo of where we’ve been. I’ll show you our collection some time! Oh brother! We walked around, enjoyed the sights and sounds and then headed back towards Red Hook, we had a boat to catch!
We made our way to Red Hook to Ocean Surfari where we booked the Do it all Snorkel trip! We checked in, got our tickets, and waited for the go-ahead to head to the boat. And now it’s time! We got down to the dock, relinquished our shoes, handed in our tickets, and boarded the boat, the Reef Safari. We got the lowdown from the captain and first mates and we were off! They offered water, soft drinks, juice, no alcohol until we did our first snorkel, so they could tell what type of swimmers we were like and if we were different after a drink! ha ha. They had these cool cups that turned blue if the drink was cold! yes, we took a few, they said we could!
We headed over to Cruz Bay on St John pick some folks up, Ocean Surfari has locations on both islands, then it was off to our first stop. We geared up and got ready to jump in the water. It’s funny, you never know what the temperature of the water is going to be when you jump in, even if you were just in the water earlier, or know that the water is perfect where you are. But nothing to fear, jumped in and ahhhhh… the water was perfect temperature, it was clear in some places, cloudy in others, but just being in the water is enough for me!
I love my GoPro, but I don’t know if I get the most out of it! [I have a GoPro saga for you in another post!]. But I’m so happy not to have to deal with or worry about using my phone under water, no matter how waterproof my waterproof case is!
Back on the boat, off to the next location. We get about 45 minutes to an hour in the water in each place, not too shabby! PSM and I swim together, separate, come back together, swim, point things out to each other, just explore and love being in the water! There weren’t a lot of fish, it was mostly coral, but the coral was stunning, I’m just happy being around Mother Nature and Trident, what more can I say!
Back on the boat, the rum punch and painkillers were flowing as we headed back towards St John, but first…lunch at Pizza Pi VI in Christmas Cove of Great St. James. This was a floating pizza restaurant and it was great! You can see they have seating tied off the boat and we were stopped and the pizza was delivered to the boat! We had plain cheese and pepperoni and the pizza was pretty good! Yes, I ate it, when in Rome and all!
After lunch, we made our way back to St John to drop folks off, then back to St Thomas as the sun was setting, it was so beautiful, we had rain on one side and sunshine on the other, a very rare occurance indeed. The sun took her time setting and it was so worth it, the captain played music and told stories about the area.
One of the things I love about island life is the holidays, people light up their palm trees and boats, just imagine being on the water, after dark and people have their boats trimmed in different holiday lights, what could be better to put you in the holiday spirit?!
All in all, a great day, what more could you ask for? And now…I’m going to go to bed and dream about the ocean, pizza, coral, fish, boats. Mmmmm night!
That’s a great question! I have no idea…most of the time!
When I first started this blog it was a way to talk about things, cheap therapy I think I said, and then random things started popping into my head, and it became a blog about everything, something, and nothing all at the same time! And I’m ok with that!
When I say random and about something and nothing, I remember talking to you about bathrooms, well, specifically if there is only one stall or if it’s a room with a commode and a sink, and a place to dry your hands and store supplies, why do we have to have a separate men’s and women’s room? And my next point, I am thinking, why is it women’s vs ladies? I like when they have a gents and a gals, or a her and his, or something equally clever…come to think of it, I do take pictures of different bathroom signs when they are interesting, I need to do a post and just show those pics.
Oh my…do you see how this is happening? I stated talking about one thing and look at this lovely rabbit hole or bunny trail I have gone down. And that, my friends is how it works, or doesn’t, depending on your opinion!
Some days, I will tell you all about my day, like on the weekends, I tell you where we went, what we did, where we ate, when we travel, I tell you about that, where we went, what we did, where and what we ate, wait, that sounds like a regular weekend! So does that make a vacation just a long, I mean really long weekend? Hmmm… During the week, well, a work week anyway, sometimes I might tell you about my day or some random thought, a movie or book review, or about a past trip. Or if I happen to talk to someone, boom, another thought. I actually have a list of things I want to talk about, just piling up…a thought comes to me and I write it down and then pull it out of the air when I need inspiration or I just don’t know what else to say! But come on…when have you ever known me to not know what to say? Muwahaha.
And here I am rambling about where I get my ideas and I can’t stop, so I’m going to stop, ha ha. Do you have something you would like me to wax philosophical on? Let me know…see if it gets the little grey cells going! Thanks Hercule Poirot!
I think I told you I was thinking about skiing today, but Mother Nature had other ideas, gee thanks…
PSM had to go into work to meet some folks, so I figured since we would be gone/occupied for a few hours, I’d go and hit the slopes for a few, and then we’d meet somewhere new, you know, somewhere off my list!
Since we have four places left to go on our Lebanon Valley Java Journey, let’s get up early, take the dogs for a walk, go to a new place for brunch or at least a drink and a pastry, then he would go off to work, I’d go skiing, etc, but as you know, that didn’t happen! I got up, Bee decided when we got to the end of the driveway, she would not be joining us on our jaunt this morning, grrr…fine…back to the house, collar back on, PSM was still home getting some things prepped to go into work and Ruby and I went for a rainy walk.
We came back and then by the time we got out of the house, we didn’t have enough time to grab anything, so he went off, I went back into the house to take care of things, feed the dogs, laundry, talking to you, you know, stuff. When we was done, he called and then came to pick me up and we went into downtown Lebanon for our first stop at Timeless Cafe. The last time we went, or the first time we tried, it was not a successful venture. The restaurant was crowded and we waited, and waited, and waited for someone to at least look at us and say hello. At that point we were hungry and not interested in waiting so we went somewhere else.
This time, I am happy to say, was a much different and better experience. If it wasn’t on the Java Journey passport, because of that last experience, we might not have gone back. I’m glad we took another chance! Inside, it’s charming, quaint, welcoming, and timeless. Could be all the clocks on the walls set to different times, and the clock hands aren’t moving, so definitely timeless! I just remembered that the first time we went, that was the first time I saw the mugs for the Java Journey and I was intrigued!
I ordered a chai latte, of course, with oat milk, it was pretty good. PSM ordered their signature drink, it definitely wasn’t for him, I think I told you, he’s not a fancy, sweet, or inventive coffee kind of guy, and that’s ok. Someone else probably had it and loved it. I went to the counter and got him a straight up decaf with a little cream, the guy behind the counter didn’t charge me, even when I said I would pay. Score one more for the cafe. PSM was going to have one of their breakfast sandwiches, then a bagel with cream cheese called to him and he answered! They have breakfast sandwiches or wraps that start at 7 o’clock, 8 o’clock, through 12 o’clock, which is what I had: egg, provolone, spinache, and tomato, skip the mushrooms, all on spinache tortilla wrap! I took a chance with the provolone, it wasn’t the best idea, but it was tasty!
We sat, ate, enjoyed, and chatted with the women at the table next to us, they were having baked french toast made with croissants, oh my! We may have to go back! They were also on the Java Journey, we chatted about that, then we asked for some recommendations for things to do, see, eat. Anything that wasn’t on my list already went on it! Thank you ladies!
We tiptoed through the raindrops, got in the jeep and headed on the road, where to? Well, we need to go grocery shopping, soon, not right now. We motored down the road to Jonestown to go to Swatara Coffee, [not sure what happened but their site is under construction, the link is to Google Maps to find them.] another stamp on the passport. I wasn’t expecting to go to another one so soon, but hey, you only live once! Wait, isn’t that what YOLO means? Yes, I am that goofy geek! Thank you very much!
We were wondering why the main drag looked so familiar, did we look at a house out this way? Not sure, but we’ve been through here! We went to Swatara Coffee, it’s a little smaller than the other location in Annville, but it was equally charming. One thing I noticed is that a bunch of these coffee houses sell not only their wares, like t-shirts and hats, some have vendor areas set up, others, like Swatar Coffee, have a specific artist’s earrings for sale, hmm…
The other thing, I’m not used to drinking more than one chai latte in a day! I usually have one in the morning, then it would be a ‘regular’ cup of tea or two, maybe more, but just a teabag, water, and sugar. The days we go to multiple new coffee houses, I’m getting chai, I know, I could get something else, but I want to try their chai latte, so sue me! ha ha
PSM had ordered an egg sandwich, I was not that hungry, but I was thinking a pastry would be nice, and I got their chocolate chip cookie thing! I don’t like chocolate, which you may or may not know, but…I love the cookie part of the thing! It was a thick cookie, some sort of frosting, then cookie chunks on top, let’s just say… O M G! YAASSS! PSM got their french toast muffin, tasty! I enjoyed it at the other location, and now here!
We got there at just the right moment, there was one other person in there, so we got to chat with the girl working behind the counter for a while, we spoke about the Java Journey and she works at the other location and really wants to go to the Whirling Dervish and hasn’t, I showed her pics and really encouraged her to go, but their hours…not easy to get there!
Just as we got to our seats, the place started to fill up! It’s not a very big space, maybe 2 2-person tables, then 2 6-person tables that could be broken up, if needed. In the middle is the coffee bar area, in the back was a room with a few tables. Today the back room had a crochet circle happening, some people were new to it, others experienced, a group of folks crafting and helping each other out. What could be more loverly?!
We got our drinks, I got my chai with mac milk, or macadamia nut milk, I remembered they had it from the other location. Another yum drink! We will definitely be going back, not sure to which location, maybe both, why not?!
After enjoying, laughing, talking with other patrons, we headed out, back towards the house and as we were driving, I suddently realized why it was so familiar! We were right near where the dogs were boarded when we took our 3-week motorcycle trip over the summer! I know I haven’t told you about it yet, I will, it was AH MAZING! I love when things click!
We went to Grocery Outlet, they have a decent selection of vegan stuff for me, score! We were there to pick up salad fixings for the week and see if they had any other goodies! Their prices are really good! The thing about Grocery Outlets, they have the staples, but they don’t always have the same things each time you’re there, and when I talk about goodies, they had Christmas mugs left over with chocolate in them for $1 each! I bought what they had and next year, someone[s] is getting one of these mugs personalized! With fresh chocolate, of course! ha ha
After the grocery store, we were trying to figure out what to do next. It was a chilly, rainy, blech day, we didn’t want to be outside, but we weren’t quite ready to go home. In the same parking lot is Michael’s, the craft superstore, which can sometimes be like kryptonite! I realized I haven’t been in almost 2 months, so PSM pulled into a spot and I went in, just to look, ha ha! I ended up finding some Cricut supplies, normally $18-$20 for $5! You cannot beat it, so I bought a bunch! And I will be using it, some great colors and patterns! Oh, the Cricut, that’s a whole other post!
After I came out, we decided we still weren’t ready to go home and he wasn’t that jazzed about the first playoff game, so we went to one of our favorite activities…mani-pedi! And what that is, a manicure, for the hands, and a pedicure, for the feet! We like Lebanon Nail & Spa of PA, they’re very nice and they do a good job. And PSM’s favorite part…the massage chair, nap time!
Oh, the joy! The bubbles, the jets, the massage chair, the foot massage, oh my! The thing I love about going is to get my cuticles trimmed, my fingernails shaped, and looking cleaner. I’ll be honest, the polish never lasts more than a few days at the most, but my hands look so good! The pedicure, same procedure, luckily, the polish lasts a lot longer on the toes! Just makes me feel purdy!
They finished my nails, I was dry, it’s time to go home! We loaded up, headed home, let the pups out, played with them, and PSM settled in to watch some ‘fusball’. I did something else! I don’t remember! Then about 615p, he headed to the 7th Street Bar & Grill, a neighborhood place we like to go, good staff, good food, and a good local hang out, some of PSM’s co-workers go there and we seem to run into them every once in a while. He was headed there for the game and I hung out with the pups, finished my pho from last night, and worked on the IMRG Chapter 2024 Calendar, I think I told you…I am now the Calendar Queen!
Is that enough for one day? I think I’ve had enough, it’s been fabulous talking with you, but I need to decompress and settle in. Have a fabulous night! See ya’ tomorrow!
Moss does not grow on a rolling stone! And who doesn’t love the Rolling Stones?! ha ha!
We started the morning with a dog walk, well, first it was a snuggle with the dogs, I let them sleep with me last night, I couldn’t resist, they’re so cute and cuddly! After we got out of bed, it was a walk around the blocks, Bee decided she wasn’t going, so I left her at the house and Ruby and I walked around the blocks. It’s a little easier with just one, doesn’t happen very often. And we think that Ruby would walk for days if we let her!
After taking a walk, PSM rode his bike to Hernley’s Indian Motorcycle dealership, PSM needed to get something done to his 2020 Indian Challenger, it was brrrr cold, but he is determined to ride at least once per month and he did it in December, and now January, he’s set for the month! The pups and I jumped in the VW Beetle Convertible, dropped the top, yes we did! I had on a scarf, heavy sweatshirt, among other layers, gloves, and we were off to meet and pick up PSM at the dealership. The dogs, well, Ruby la la la loves going for rides in the car, Bee doesn’t want to be left behind! ha ha
After picking him up, we headed home, dropped the girls off and got them settled in their crate, music on, and off we go! First stop…Timber Creek Coffee, ready for another stamp on our Lebanon Valley Java Journey passports! PSM tried the signature drink, it was very sweet and had a gingerbread cookie on top! He enjoyed it, he loves gingerbread! I wish I could remember what the signature drink was. I’ll do a wrap up post on the entire journey and let you know what they all were! I had a chai with oat milk, it was very good, a place I would go back for a hot beverage! We got a cinnamon roll, a blueberry muffin, a coffee cake muffin, and a gingerbread cookie, the pastries were terrific! Win-win!
The atmosphere was clean, and by that I mean, not cluttered, but welcoming, and warm, not just because of the fireplace. It wasn’t too crowded, we got there just after and before a rush, perfect timing! They also had one of those train station signs that changes messages, it was really cool!
Now, let’s hit the road, we have a 2 hour drive into Philadelphia, or as I used to call it as a kid, and still do ‘Phildadelphia’, no idea why, but it stuck! Bertha, my GPS, did fine until we got to Philly, then she took us off the highway through some very sketchy neighborhood. I told PSM I just want to take him to all the best places! ha ha. When we got out of that area, it got better! We found the Philadelphia Convention Center, then a parking deck about a block away and walked to get in line with everyone else for the Villain Arts Philadelphia Tattoo Festival. The last tattoo expo we went to was in Hawai’i, it was time.
The place was packed! I mean packed! We walked up and down almost every aisle looking, marveling, wondering, considering. Each artist had a sign that was either ‘I have availability today’ or ‘I am booked today’. Some people make appointments in advance with a particular artist they like while they are in town for the expo. We were both looking to see if someone struck our fancy to get some new ink.
PSM has a particular idea, but needs some help making the vision come to life. I know what I want, I just need to find someone to do it. The only artist who’s work ‘spoke to me’ wasn’t doing any original work. All of the artists had samples of their work and some had only what they were going to do this weekend, that’s fair, disappointing if you want something special, but that’s why you make an appointment. PSM found an artist he was drawn to, he was definitely a Pacific Islander. He had availability and idea for PSM, come back about 5p. Sounds good.
We walked around a bit more, by now, it was about 330p and we were running out of steam! We had both been up pretty early and been walking around for a few hours, so…we went outside and went in search of food and found Pho Street on Arch Street. I can’t give you the website, when I click it, it goes to a gaming site, sorry! They had vegan pho for me, wa to the hoo! We ordered big bowls of pho, it so hit the spot! And we did not finish either bowl, can’t wait to have my leftovers tomorrow!
After eating, we headed back to the expo, PSM was going to talk to the artist and if they gelled on the idea, I would drive home to take care of the pups, then come back for him. Unfortunately for PSM they didn’t gel, the design was fabulous, but it was WAAAYYY bigger than he was looking for! We were both bummed, PSM because he has really wanted to finish this one tattoo, me because I was going to pay for it! But not too bummbed because we were both a little tired and thinking about driving 2 hours home and then 2 hours back to Philly, then 2 hours back home…well, you can imagine!
When I told the artist his work was fabulous, but not what PSM wanted he wished me a safe drive home and mahalo nui loa, thank you very much in Hawaiian. The literal translation of mahalo is “in breath” or “life essence.” It means to live in constant gratitude!!! LOVED it! I said a’ole pilikia and wished him well at the expo!
So…home we went. Dogs were happy we were home, there was joy and merriment, wagging tails, lots of kisses, was it for us or for the fact we were home and they were hungry? Who cares, they were happy and we were happy to be home!
Tomorrow, what’s in store? I was thinking about going skiing, but guess what Mother Nature thought, nope, I’m going to ‘rain on your parade’ literally! So… what to do? You know us, we’ll find something to do!
Friday work day is done, now what? PSM called from work and said he’s going to pick me up and we’ll go out to a new place and maybe check out the local motorcycle club, sounds great!
He picked me up from work about about 6/630p and we went to the Gin Mill Restaurant & Tavern, finally! I say finally because we have tried to go on several occasions, but their hours aren’t great. They are open Monday-Saturday until 9p and on Sunday until 8p, not great if you’re out late or riding around and hungry later, and the kitchen closes about 30-45 minutes before the doors, no shade, just hard in the summer when you might want to go out later. But tonight, we got in there in plenty of time!
Did anyone have the fog we did here? It was cr-azy! You could barely see in front of your face! This is what it was like when I was walking the dogs, it was worse for PSM on his way to pick me up! It took him an extra 15 minutes to get home because he couldn’t see!
It’s a lot larger on the inside than it looks from the outside. Great atmosphere, huge bar, two sitting areas off of each side of the bar, not a lot of room to walk behind each side of the bar, but enough to get buy, one of those places where servers kind of have to raise the plates to get buy and not hit you. The place was pretty packed, PSM had been there one other time and it wasn’t this full, it definitely has a different feel when it’s full. There were people of all ages and families sharing a meal together, definitely a local type of place. The decor was fun, a lot of brewery and beer logo signs, things made out of beer/brewery labels, sitckers, and bottle caps, just what you want to see in a pub/local brewery.
I will say, if you’re not a meat eater, it won’t be easy for you, but if you’re going for drinks and a few apps or sides, you’ll be fine. PSM ordered a few mixed drinks, I had hot tea, always happy when a bar/pub has hot tea! It came out in a glass mug, my favorite! I had a Caeasar salad and a side of broccoli, and PSM had their Chinese Takeout Burger. Think…Chinese takeout on a bun with a side of fries, I know right?
We sat at the bar, as we do almost everywhere, which, as you know, we love. Chatted with the bartenders, one of the chefs, which was who convinced PSM to get the burger, from his description, and had a great time on our date night! What more could you want?!
Now…motorcycle club time! We were about 15 minutes from there, but it took a little longer to get there because of the fog! Ugh, should I be drinking London Fog tea? Should I be wearing a London Fog coat? Wow! We got there about 730p, the doors open at 7p, meeting is at 8p. The Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club has their own clubhouse, very cool! We went to one door, no go, we went down around back where we saw other people heading and score! Just outside the door we met the president and treasurer of the group, the president opened the door, led us in and announced we were there, to a great big welcome, it was grand!
We walked towards the bar and met a lot of people, they have drinks, water, beer, soda, they have coffee cans for the money because they can’t exchange money by handing it to each other, so they put the money in the cans, love it! They have a pool table, currently out of commission, waiting on repairs, they have tables and chairs, places for people to sit and chat before the meeting begins.
There were people of all ages and with different types of bikes, this is a motorcycle club, all bikes welcome. It’s similar to the other groups we ride with, but the primary bike in those groups are Indians, because they are the Indian Motorcyle Riders Groups [IMRG], all riders are welcome, but to join you have to have an Indian Motorcycle, same with Harley Davidson groups, that’s fair. This one is ‘come one come all’, you just have to have a bike! At least I think so!
Several people asked who told us about it, I wish I could remember! I was at White’s Harley Davidson, the dealership near our house and someone told me about it, they knew who I was talking about. Apparently you have to be recommended to join, among other rules, they are serious. With our IMRG groups, you only need to pay your dues, for this club, you have to be recommended by a current member, you pay an application fee, then you’re on a 6-week probationary period where you have to attend at least 1/3 of the scheduled meetings/events, then after the 6-week period, the board either votes you in or not. I kind of like it, you need to attend events or meetings to show you’re interested, not just join and don’t do anything, every group has their rules, I’m ok with that!
We socialized with the group downstairs in the bar/pool room, turns out one couple lives on the street right behind us, how cool! then at 830p, we all went upstairs for the meeting. They are very official! We stood for the pledge of allegiance, then they asked if there were any visitors, we were, we stood up and introduced ourselves, then it was on to reading the last meeting’s minutes, then on to new business, including announcements and updates on how some members who were ill, a very caring group!
The couple we sat with, who are the ones who live near us, gave us the lowdown as everything was happening, as they made announcements, talked events, and happenings. There is a banquet next weekend, unfortunately we won’t be able to attend, but it was nice to be included right off the bat.
After the meeting we spoke with a few people, got more information about the group and joining,turned in our applications and money, got a calendar of events, it’s actually a pocket calendar with the events stamped in, love that! Their first ride is in April, so ready!
We headed home, it was a long day and we were done! Tomorrow…new adventure, I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow! Night! Dreaming of being on the bike, when is the fog, rain, and snow going to stop! Vroom vroom!
It’s December 25th, Happy Christmas to one and all who celebrate!
This is not such a bad way to wake up. Some days with the sun, some days before it, some days after, whichever way the wind blows. Yeah, cheesy, I know. But, c’mon…look at that view…sigh.
We had breakfast, since we went to Moe’s Market and picked up supplies, I made breakfast almost every morning, a fabulous egg sandwich, y u m! and headed out to explore. It’s Christmas day, not much was going to be open or available, and that’s ok, we’re going to see what we can see! We head down to Charlotte Amalie, the capital and the largest city of the USVI.
The first thing we wanted to do was to go to the Hebrew Congregation of St Thomas, we thought…what better place for two Jewish kids on Christmas than to go to a synagogue. Alas…just like most of St Thomas, it was closed, oh well. We’ll go another day, promise! We got back in the jeep and looked for a place to park, that wasn’t on heart attack hill! Which a lot of St Thomas is! Oh my!
We went to Main Street, this is the street you probably see in photos of St Thomas, and if you’ve ever been on a cruise to St Thomas, you probably took a shuttle or a taxi to Main Street, this is where a lot of the tourist shops are for jewelery, and cosmetics, and liquor, and…and…and… It’s open whenever the cruise ships come in and since none were docking on Christmas, this street was shut up tight! It was kind of nice to be able to walk down the street and look at the beautiful colors without being accosted, so to speak from shop owners and people who work in them to come in and look at their wares. St Thomas really is beautiful and charming in some areas.
When we came back around towards the water, we heard music and saw lots of people. We walked over and discovered Emancepation Garden and a wonderful celebration happening! It was the Christmas Emancepation Celebration, 175th celebration to be exact! From the article I just linked “A sea of people in red with sprinkles of green and white, traditional treats to fill the belly, and the island’s best renditions of Christmas songs converged at the Emancipation Garden on Monday morning for the 47th Challenge of the Carols as people gathered to be lulled by the holiday spirit.”
What a treat and honor for us to happen upon the celebration and to be swept up in the festivities and excitement! Everyone was decked out in festive wear, sparkling, not just from the sun, but their outfits! Steel drums, snare drums, and brass instruments made amazing music and sweet sounds that filled the air, the ears, and the hearts of all who were ther!
It almost felt like the music would never end! Not that we were complaining at all!
After the celebration, we decided it was time for a swim and a snorkel, so we headed to another beach on our list, Sapphire Beach. We were told it was gorgeous, fabulous beach, and a great place for sunsets. I have to admit, it was pretty, but it wasn’t our favorite beach that we went to. It was nice, the water felt great, but it wasn’t great for snorkeling, I didn’t snorkel for long, ended up taking off the gear and just floating for a few. The sand on one part of the beach was smooth, but a lot of it was the hard, broken shell type of sand. It was also very crowded when we got there, you have to get there really early to get a good spot, not exactly sure where that was, but it was very crowded. We enjoyed our time on the beach while we were there, but for us, it wasn’t a highlight.
After the beach, we were hungry so we went into Red Hook, it was on the way back to the resort, very convenient! We were both in the mood for sushi, so we went to Saki House Thai and Sushi Restaurant. The atmosphere was nice, the staff friendly, and when we walked in, we were the only ones so the service was great! By the time we left the place was filling up.
We orderd green tea, miso soup, sushi rolls, and spring rolls. The spring rolls were by far our favorite! The miso was flavorful but a little too salty for me, the sushi rice wasn’t the best, but I loved the avocado and cucumbers in the roll.
There was Christmas music playing and all of a sudden I hear a little voice singing the parum-pa-pa-pum from The Little Drummer Boy, it wa the cutest thing and I complimented him on the way out of the restaurant. We really did enjoy ourselves, the atmosphere, service, staff, a nice way to spend a Christmas dinner.
We walked around a little, then headed to the resort. We parked and walked down by the beach to watch the sunset and it was stunning. We did what we did the first or second day, we sat for a while, then when the sun set where we were, we moved left, and when it went down there, we moved left, until it was completely down and we made our way back to the room to shower, chill, and crash. Not a bad way to end the day!
We started our day with a beautiful sunrise, had a walk about, joined in an important and joyous celebration, got in the water, tried a new place, and ended with a fabulous sunset, what more could you want?
Happy Monday, Happy Christmas to all and to all…you know it, say it with me! a good night!
It’s day 3 in St Thomas for us, December 24th, Christmas Eve, and our first excursion! It’s a jammed packed day, ya ready?
This was the first excursion we booked, don’t even remember the company, but we were supposed to go on the snorkel cat catamaran, but it turns out the catamaran was only going to two stops, so we opted for 3 and ended up the Breakaway. I’m wrong, just looked it up, and it’s New Horizons! The trip left from Margaritaville, we got a taxi up to the resort, found the launch point, got checked in and took a look around. A beautiful property, but, shhh…we thought our beach was better! We spent a bit watching the pelicans flying and dive bombing into the water, what a site to see!
And now we’re off, have our snorkel gear in hand, one of the things we always travel with when we’re going somewhere we know we’re going to swim. The great thing is we pack so little clothing, everything fits in our travel backpacks. We LOVE the ones we have from eBags, they are the Mother Lode Travel Backpack, I need to do an entire post on the eBags we have, I might sell you on some! The reason I mention them is we can fit all our clothes for the two or three weeks we’re traveling and our snorkel gear, which includes mask, snorkel, fins, waterproof bag, and travel towel. I’ll talk some time about how we pack, apologies for the digression!
We were on the boat, I took my Dramamine when we were taking off, they recommend about 30 minutes to an hour before you go, I take it when we take off. I don’t have a problem being on boats, I live for it, what I have a problem with is the not moving and just rocking, even ever so gently, I do not do well with that, I’ll tell you about that another time! But…I was set. The ones I bought were chewable, ick! They did not have the sweet, orange flavor they boasted. Needed to be washed down with something!
As we took off, we were offered a light breakfast, juice, water, pastries, and fruit, nothing too heavy before we were going to get in the water. The sky was crystal clear, we were even treated to a rainbow, can’t beat that! We sped along, good crew got us up to speed on what we needed to know when we arrived and the music was terrific.
First stop the water was clear, in some places, and not so clear in others, but it was so amazing to be in the water again. I missed this so much! It’s been about two years since we were in the water, and snorkeling, can’t wait this long again! Not a huge amount of fish where we were, but the coral and sea life that was there was terrific!
Back on the boat and a bit of lunch and the drinks started flowing. They said they wait to give us drinks until after the first stop, so they can see what kind of swimmers we are! And if we swim differently after a beverage or two! Second stop was great! There were honu, the Hawai’ian word for sea turtle. All of the honu had passengers! Remoras, I thought they were baby sharks, but not to be! Sorry some of my pics underwater aren’t the clearest, it all depends on where you are and if it’s sunny or cloudy what you’re going to get.
After another beautiful stop, and oh my the water temp was just perfect, you know that feeling you get when you’re just not sure how it’s going to feel and then you jump in and all is right with the world. Well…let’s just say…every time we swam, all was right with the world!
After the last stop, it was back to shore and Margaritaville. We thanked our crew, in voice and cash, then went to change. The one thing I’m not always a fan of is riding back in my wet bathingsuit, only because later in the day it does get chilly and you’re brrrrr a little. We changed into dry things and went into the bar/restaurant to wait until our rental car from 360 Car Rental, really beautiful blue 2023 Jeep Wrangler, was delivered. Can you beat this view? This was the window at the restaurant looking out onto the lagoon/beach. If I didn’t take the picture, I would have sworn it wasn’t real!
We ended up talking to two nice couples, very different individuals. One couple was older and a little limited in their mobility, but ready for adventure, he was a former airforce pilot and she was a huge movie buff like me! the other couple were bikers, PSM had lots to chat with them about!
Once we got the car we headed out and went down to Red Hook for dinner, at Agave, Tequila Bar & Mexican Kitchen. We sat at the bar, which is where we tend to sit at most places. There’s usually availability, the bartenders are pretty cool, and sometimes we get to chat with people hanging out like us. We had two outta three, worked for us. The bartender was great and helped PSM find some things he enjoyed. They had a deep conversation about tequila, whiskey, bourbon, and some other things, he concocted a new drink and had PSM try it, too cool. He also gave him a to-go cup for whatever he was drinking when we were leaving, gotta love that!
It was one of the better meals we had while we were there, I have to say! The gucamole and salsa were both made in house and a real treat. PSM had fish tacos and I had veggie tacos, both were really good and a pleasant way to cap the evening.
After dinner, we walked around Red Hook, then headed back to the hotel to shower and collapse. It was quite the day, not sure we could have fit more into the day! Not sure what’s going to be available tomorrow because it’s Christmas day, but we’ll definitely enjoy whatever it is we end up doing! Happy Christmas Eve everyone!
Got up liesurely, it was about 7am, or a little before. I wasn’t quite prepared to get up and officially greet the day, so I decided it was time for a momm-puppy cuddle session, another good thing. I went downstairs and got the dogs out of the crate, tried to sneak past PSM, trying not to wake him!, and got them upstairs and on the bed.
We settled in and Bee did her thing of circling the bed and settling in and falling asleep almost before her head hit the bed, Ruby did the same, stretched out and proceeded to try to lick my arm clean, no thanks. We were snuggled in for about 2 hours, we cuddled, watch some tv, not even sure what we watched. I say we, but we know the truth, it was really the dogs in control!
Got up eventually, took them to Stover Dam Park for a walk, they absolutely love it there! I chose the wrong footware, go figure, I wore my Chucks, which was fine for most of the park, a few areas were a bit wet, mushy, muddy, and slightly puddley [I made that last one up!] It was a teensy bit chilly while we were there, about 31 out and it was supposed to snow at some point and as we were leaving, here come some flakes, not much though.
Back to the house, feed the dogs, grab our Java Journey mugs and off to Ancester Coffeehouse & Creperie, which happens to be attached to Schnitz Creek Brewery, different. We ordered the drink of the day for PSM, something waayyy too sweet for PSM, but he’s a trooper, did you see…it came with one of those hearts in the foam! and chai latte with oat milk for me. Yummy, not a lot of variation on the chai lattes, in terms of crazy taste, each one is a little different, but ultimately, I usually enjoy it.
I ordered a savory crepe, the Secret Garden, and PSM had a egg and sausage bagel. While we waited, we were chatting, I said hello to the little boy at the table behind us, and I liked his glasses. We started talking with the parents and all of a sudden, the dad says “PSM?” Go figure, they work together! That was fun! We chatted with them for a while, about work, the town they live in, the town we live in, and the Java Journey, how much fun things like this are.
Our food came, y u m! We will definitely go back! Well, actually…to get another stamp we have to go to their other location, not a bad thing! We chatted some more and as we were sitting there, the brewery was taking over the tables around us, they opened at 1130am, and guess what time it was. PSM said we could finish our food and drink and move straight to the brewery!
After the brewery, we realized we needed salad fixings for the week, motorcycle cleaner, and we were contemplating going to a movie, so we headed in that direction, stopped at the Grocery Outlet, one of our favorite grocery stores. They have a good selection, some interesting items, a decent vegan selection, and not very expensive, a win-win! After the grocery store, we decided to check another coffee shop off our list…Sydney Roasting Co.
Turns out, we don’t actually have to bring the mugs with us, as long as we have the passports, we are good to go. Good to know! We orderd a chai latte for me with almond milk for me and whatever frozen, overly sweet drink for PSM. I tried it and agreed for the first few sips, it tasted like coffee ice cream, which I used to love, but 4 sips in…coffee, no thank you! We hung out, enjoyed the atmosphere, added this place to the list of places we might come back to! Loving this whole Java Journey thing!
After finishing, well almost finishing, our drinks headed to Auto Zone, unfortunately, they didn’t have what we needed, oh well, but..the movies await! We went to the local Regal Movie Theater to watch Wonka. LOVED IT! I’ll write another post about it, it was charming! We laughed, we cried, we just really enjoyed it!
After the movies we went to 7th Street Bar & Grill, one of our new favorite hang outs. It looks unassuming on the outside, inside, it’s not big, but it’s nice. They have two pool tables, a bunch of booths and tables, and a nice bar, we’ve only sat at the bar. My only issue with this place…the bathrooms are ffffrrreeezzzinnnnggg! I would say, if you can skip it in the winter, do it! Go in the summer, it will be great! I had a veggie burger and PSM had a reuben. One of the footbal playoff games was on, the Greenbay Packers were trouncing the Dallas Cowboys, on their own field, ouch. PSM started talking to a few people at the bar who could talk football, I was ok with that!
At some point, I headed home to take care of the dogs and left PSM in his football element. Dogs fed, toooo cold and windy for a walk! Took care of a few things around the house, started to talk to you and PSM called and said he was ready to come home. Off I went to pick him up, back home, change into sweats, hang out and talk to you while PSM watches some more football downstairs. Sounds like a win-win! Oh, I also ordered something for my art studio, can’t wait for it to get here!!! It’s all coming together, I can’t wait to share pics and updates!
Tomorrow the demo starts on the kitchen! If you have the day off tomorrow…enjoy! If you have to work…I hope it’s an easy day for you. Whatever you do…Happy Monday!
What a day! PSM let me sleep in and took the dogs for a long walk, it was great, I slept in until about 8am. Much needed after not falling asleep until about 330am, go figure. Even though I got about the same amount of sleep I normally do, there’s something about waking up on your own, no alarm, and after the sun comes up.
After bagels, we went to Harbor Freight to pick up a power screwdriver and craft desk/workbench for me and some drill bits for PSM. We were there the other day and I saw this Yukon, Three Drawer Hardwood Bench and I thought it would be perfect for my art studio. Something I’ll tell you about another time! I love it! The studio and the workbench! Not exactly looking forward to putting it together, but now that I have a new power screwdriver, I’m ready to go! I am now the proud owner of the bench and a Warrior Cordless Screwdriver Kit! Who’s with me getting excited about power tools?!
Next was Lowe’s to purchase the tile we were looking at for the kitchen renovation that starts on Monday, oh my! They had three boxes left, we needed five, go figure…but we found an associate to take the boxes down and found out that they had two more boxes at another location, score! The nice thing…we had appointments for hair cuts across the way, we’ll be back soon.
Across to Great Clips, we’re not fancy-schmancy folks when it comes to getting our hair cut. PSM does miss Sports Clips in St Louis, it was mostly the neck massage he misses. I used to go there too, since I like an almost high and tight, clippers work for me. But…we used to go to Great Clips as well and they do a good job. Let’s just say, having hair this short is great in the summer, but brrrr in the winter!
After hair cuts, we went back to Lowe’s to pick up the tiles, back to the house to drop off our purchases, then on to the Lowe’s in Palmyra, but along the way, we were thirsty, never got anything to drink with breakfast and we stopped into Swatara Coffee Company in Annville. According to the website, Swatara Coffee is a nationally recognized cafe using locally sourced ingredients and elevating Pennsylvania Dutch flavors. Bonus!
What a charming town, we haven’t spent a lot of time there, but we’re going to go back for sure. When the realtor was showing us around over the summer, we went through Annville, and we’ve driven through it a few times, but hadn’t stopped yet, but there are a few places on my list.
When we walked in, I immediately saw the mugs for the Lebanon Valley Java Journey! I got a text about this on Thursday, this is one of the things that happens in this area to get folks out, going to local places, and trying new things. It’s in its fifth year and it’s a trail of coffee shops across Lebanon County. There are 12 participating businesses, you purchase your Java Journey mug, we really liked them! And then at each location, they have a secret drink, which you can only get if you have one of the mugs. Once you make a purchase, you get a stamp in the ‘passport’. At the end, you turn in the passport and you’re entered into a drawing for prizes. You know me…I’m all about the swag!
While we were there, another couple had their mugs, we talked to them about it, then another two couples came in and we talked to them about it. They had done it in the past, and they made a day of it to go to all 12 places in one day! The hard part…the hours for the coffee shops is not condusive to weekday ventures, unless you can go before 2 or 3pm! So… it looks like we have our weekends set up until it’s over March 9th!
We love doing stuff like this, it gets us out and trying new places and cities, helps us explore, and…some of the places on the passport are already on my list of want to try! We are also doing a brewery passport tour, and someone told us about the Scooped ice cream tour in the summer! Cannot wait for that one!
PSM got the secret drink, I forgot what it was, sorry! and I was able to get a chait latte with mac milk, that’s macadamia nut for those not in the know, and we shared a french toast muffin. What a nice treat! I can’t wait to explore more coffee shops! Hmmm…maybe tomorrow morning we’ll try another. The hard part…remembering to bring the mugs!
Back in the car, off to Palmyra Lowe’s, got our tile, asked if there was a Harbor Freight nearby and they said yes, the one we were at earlier! ha ha. Next stop…Sherwin Williams for paint color books so we can figure out what color to paint the kitchen. We need to picks something that will compliment the grey cabinets, white marble countertops, and white-ish stone backsplash. Working on it, but we’re getting there!
Next, we needed lunch! We did a lot and it was time for food! We went to The Rotunda Restaurant and Brewery. This was an interesting place…in the front, or door we walked into, it was a bar/restaurant/brewery with a nice big bar to sit at, great big fireplace, cool decor, and in the back, there is a tiki bar! Yes, I said tiki bar! I did not take pictures of the tiki bar, I will save those for the next time we go!
We saddled up to the bar, placed a drink order, PSM got a flight of beers, I got hot tea, go figure…some of the beers were good, one, not so much, well, in his opinion, I tasted them all and, well, don’t ask me! We ordered food, I got the vegan refried bean tacos, and PSM got a burger. The food was good, the bartender was great, the other patrons at the bar were fun to chat with.
All told, we had a really good time and we look forward to going back!
After the Rotunda, back to Harbor Freight, I forgot something, PSM said he’s done with hardware stores for the day! I agree. Then home to finish clearing out the cabinets in the kitchen, pics of the whole process another time, you’re probably done with this post! After we cleared the cabinets, take the dogs for a walk and it was freezing! Temps in the 30s, winds 30-60 mph! I do love my winter parka and thank goodness for my new hat with the headlamp and the fuzzy lining, I would not have made it, my head was cold!
After that friends, isn’t that enough? Back home to put on comfy clothes, sweatpants were the order of the day! Then off to write to you to tell you about my day! I’m sitting here in my cozy sweatpants, a flannel top and my oversized sweatshirt. And I have a dog sitting under my desk, happily snoring away, what could be better?
Good night my friends. Cannot wait to find out what tomorrow brings! But whatever it is, you know I’ll share it!
Peaches Prattlings 