h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

TJ and I just had the best vacation we've ever had. We were kinda referring to it as our second honeymoon ... but then again, the first one hadn't really ended yet. Enjoy my overly long rundown ...

Sodit, February 28
After 2 hours sleep, we headed for the airport. Our first flight left LI at 5:30am. We landed in Philly about an hour later. Of course we were in Terminal A, and we had to catch our next flight at Terminal F. They had a shuttle bus, but it only went to Terminal C. To go any further would have meant that people wouldn't have to carry baggage far, and they don't want any of *that* nonsense! We had a couple of hours to wait, so we ate the bagels I brought, and waited. We were worried about the big storm coming, and not being able to fly out. Luckily, the snow started falling just as we took off. We were hoping to sleep a bit on the 5 hour flight, but they're wonderful at making the plane go "beep" every time you doze off, and of course they had to keep making announcements. "We'll be serving you beverages in a few minutes." ... "We're serving you beverages now." ... "We're collecting the glasses from the beverages we just served you now." ... "We'll be opening the Duty Free Shop shortly." ... "The Duty Free Shop will be opening in 10 minutes, and here's what's on sale!" ... "The Duty Free Shop is now open." ... "The Duty Free Shop will be closing in 10 minutes." ... "Anyone else for the Duty Free Shop?" ... "The Duty Free Shop is now closed." ARGH! We arrived in Barbados for the next leg of our trip, and were rushed through the airport to get our connecting flight to Bequia. We got to stand around outside ... in the heat ... which we weren't used to ... wearing jeans ... while wondering if they collected and loaded our luggage onto our plane. About a half an hour later, they took half the people waiting and loaded one plane, and took the rest of us about 15 minutes later. It was a really beat up old plane, but still worked! We hopped to Union Island (very scary ... or cool landing ... scary according to me, cool according to TJ), then to Canouan, then finally to Bequia! We arrived at about 5:30pm. And guess what? Our luggage beat us there! They had put it on that first flight, so we luckily didn't have to waste time the next day schlepping to the airport. My parents met us at the airport. My Mom had thoughtfully picked us up a few items for breakfast the next day, and cooked dinner for us that night. It was great to see them again, and my Dad looked great. He basically went from the hospital to Bequia 2 months before, so it was good to see that Bequia had it's usual effect on him. He thrives there. After checking in, we walked down to my parent's house by the water for dinner. By the time we finished dinner, I was finished too. We did the 3 minute walk back to our room, and went to bed at 9:30pm (which is 8:30pm at home ... just about halfway through my regular workday). It worked out fairly well, since we were now on a day schedule, and believe me, Bequia is a daytime kinda place!

Wimpy, March 1
6:55am: BBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!! Apparently, the people next door are doing some home improvement. After a half an hour with the buzz saw, the hammering started. Okay, okay, we're up! We had breakfast on the veranda, which (while noisy) was wonderful! It was warm, sunny, and the view was awesome! It was a little ritual we enjoyed every day. Here's a link to a website that has a great photo gallery of the place we stayed: http://www.bequia-information.com/0000/pages/bequia_details.asp?ID=74 They don't have photos of the view we had from the veranda, but we'll be getting our photos back soon enough. We surprised my folks by showing up bright and early. They're used to waking us up when calling at 1pm! I borrowed my Mom's sink and clothesline to do a little laundry (all hand washing here!), and later TJ and I made our way into Port Elizabeth for some "provisioning" ... mostly drinks, but some snacks. It was our plan to eat out and really treat ourselves. After lunch at the Green Boley (TJ loved his first chicken roti), we headed back to put on our bathing suits and bob in the ocean for awhile. It was the day before Mom's 70th birthday, and my folks made reservations for lobster night at Tanty Pearls. The taxi ride itself was pretty exciting, since the restaurant is perched on the top of a steep, steep road. Dinner was lovely, even if they did run out of lobster.

Wibble, March 2
No construction noise this morning, although it was fairly exciting on another level: I got locked into the bathroom. The handle broke. There were two small windows high up that I couldn't possibly fit through, so I was stuck. TJ found an employee of the apartments sweeping the road, and asked him for help. He figured getting someone else to break down the door is less costly than doing it himself. It took 45 minutes, but I was finally released, after spending the time flashing back to a Dick Van Dyke Show episode where Laura got her toe stuck in the tub faucet. It was pretty funny. Later in the day I showed TJ the basics of snorkelling in Friendship Bay. He had problems with water getting into the face mask, but nobody ever said a mustache makes for a good seal on your face mask! We'll try again another day. Mom's Birthday ... and she's invited us for dinner. Nothing like cooking your own birthday dinner, but that's my Mom.

Thing, March 3
TJ and I headed for Lower Bay where I was going to give him more pointers for snorkelling. He still had a lot of trouble, so we decided to go into Port Elizabeth on another day to shop for a nose clip or a new face mask for him. We had lunch at Coco's, which was wonderful. TJ was falling more and more in love with Bequia, and I was getting to do things I never did on Bequia before. When I visited all the other times, I stayed with my folks, and they're not night people. I was worried about going out at night by myself, so never got to do any of the night things. This was the night I'd finally get to go to the jump-up at the Frangipani. They have a BBQ, and a steel band plays. It was wonderful. We went early to see the sunset, and I got to see the green flash! TJ didn't, but I figure the good luck I got from seeing it extends to both of us.

Poets, March 4
Shopping day for a face mask ... as we go from store to store, we find out that nobody on Bequia has heard of nose clips or nose plugs. *sigh* But, we got TJ a new face mask ... and shortly afterward found a store that sold nose clips. Oh well ... when he tried it, he liked the old face mask with the nose clip and didn't even try the new face mask. Later we had a candlelight dinner by the water at Moskito on Friendship Bay. It just keeps getting better and better ...

Doobry, March 5
We hiked down to Princess Margaret Beach with Mom and Dad so TJ could get some more snorkelling practice, and Mom and I snorkelled a bit ourselves. It wasn't very clear, and the snorkelling wasn't very good. Too rough, and too much sand churning in the water. We hoped it would be clear for our trips! We took Mom and Dad to the Green Boley for dinner.

Dontbry, March 6
Today's the day we took the catamaran Passion to the Tobago Cays. What a wonderful, wonderful day! The sail was just beautiful, and the snorkelling was terrific! The water was crystal clear, and we saw a lot! After snorkelling, they took us to Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau for lunch. On the sail back, I spotted a pod of dolphins, and right after that we saw a pod of pilot whales close to the catamaran! How cool is that? We sat on the netting in the front of the catamaran for an exhilarating ride back! Woohoo! We got back to Bequia in time for dinner, and we went to Mac's Pizza ... mostly because everything else was closed.

Sodit, March 7
We went into Port Elizabeth one last time to return TJ's face mask. On a whim, we took a walk up to Fort Hamilton. As is typical of stupid tourists, we hiked up there at the hottest time of day. Up to the top of the mountain we climbed, only to find out that the fort is really just a wall with 4 cannons ... oh, and a gazebo with someone selling t-shirts ... well worth the hot, difficult hike! We took my folks to the new Mexican restaurant for dinner. In my opinion, the best part of that dinner was the margarita I had ... okay, the two margaritas I had ...

Wimpy, March 8
Today we sailed on the Friendship Rose to Mustique. This trip was wonderful! The Friendship Rose is a 2 masted wooden schooner that was built on Bequia, and used to be the ferry and the mail boat. It's now used for day cruises, and captained by one of the men that built her. They greeted us on the ship with juice in stemmed glasses, and then served us crepes, tea and coffee. When we got to Mustique, they let us off for a couple of hours on our own. We met another couple that had been there before, and were headed to Macaroni Beach themselves. My folks always told me what a beautiful beach it was, so we split a taxi with them, and spent an hour swimming. I got sunburned (SPF48 sunscreen only goes so far), but had a great time. We went back to the ship for lunch, which was absolutely delicious! They served fish that they had caught off the ship the day before. After lunch, they took us to a spot for snorkelling. It was the best snorkelling of the whole trip! The water was crystal clear, and I saw things I never saw snorkelling before! It was great snorkelling hand-in-hand with TJ. We sailed home while enjoying rum cake and tea. We got back early, so headed back to our room to shower, and went to Moskito for dinner again. I just can't get enough of that candlelight dinner by the ocean!

Wibble, March 9
Our last day here, and we took it easy ... just some swimming, and dinner with Mom and Dad. We packed early, so we could head right out tomorrow.

Thing, March 10
9:00am, and Mom and Dad stopped by to say goodbye. We gave them the remaining provisions, and Gideon came with the taxi at 9:30. One last ride on the back of the pickup truck, and we're at the airport. One of the security guards entertained us all by reciting some of her poetry. It's just so different here ... We landed at Mustique to pick up more people, but they weren't there yet, so we loittered on the tarmac waiting for the plane from Union to come in. We made it to Barbados with plenty of time to spare, and were able to wander the shops and have lunch. TJ found a beautiful pair of sapphire earrings, and bought them for me. I just love that man! We kept hearing announcements about our flight being late ... and then not ... and then it was late again ... but maybe not ... finally, we boarded just 45 minutes late. It was a very turbulent flight. So turbulent in fact, that the pilot made an announcement that the high winds caused us to use too much fuel, so we had to stop in Orlando to refuel. But not to worry, it'll only take 15 minutes ... Not! We were on the ground for 2 hours. By the time we landed in Philly, it was the time we were supposed to be landing on Long Island! Half the people on the flight missed connecting flights, but the airline was kind enough to put us up at a hotel, rebook our flights, give us a whopping $5 each breakfast voucher, and send us on our ways. Of course, we were all put up at the same hotel, which only had one van that held 9 people. TJ and I gave up on waiting outside in the frigid air with no coats for the van, and took a cab. Of course, there were the 9 people from the van ahead of us on line to check in ... oh, and the busload of highschool girls checking in ... oh, and the card machine wasn't working, so there were no room keys, so the security guard had to let each person into their room. We finally got to our room at 2:00am for a couple of hours sleep.

Poets, March 11
Our flight was leaving at 8:00am, so we headed back to the airport ... where nobody would accept our $10 breakfast voucher. We made it home by 10:30am, where we finally dropped from exhaustion. I was glad I didn't have to w**k that day, although TJ did.

All in all, it was the best vacation I've ever had! It was also nice to know that TJ and I spent nearly every waking (and all of the non-waking) moment together, and still wanted to spend more time with each other! We did a *lot* of walking on mountainous terrain, but it's inspired us to start exercising. Which we did today ... that's one day ... let's see if we can keep it up. I'm still feeling the effects of switching my schedule around again (back to night shift), but am still all mellowed out. When we get photos back, I'll post a link.

Welcome home

both

*seconds*

Welcome home.

*sigh*

What an absolutely fabulous sounding vacation! I really enjoyed reading about it! Where are we going next?

It did indeed sound like an absolutely wonderful trip.

Glad you're back though!

Shea, your experiences at that airport hotel on the return trip sound a lot like my experiences on a flight back to Boston from the West Coast. There was some kind of overnight wait in New York, so they put me in a hotel, where I got a grand total of 3 hours' sleep.

I'm green with envy about your tropical paradise vacation extravaganza, but you worked hard for it. You deserved it!

Seems almost a waste to stop at the hotel doesn't it, Paul?

Where are we going next? Looks like Ohio again ...

If ever there was a place finer than Bequia, it's Ohio. Imagine! *Two* dream vacations in a row! What a lucky lucky woman you are, Shea.

If ever there was a place finer than Bequia, it's Ohio. Imagine! *Two* dream vacations in a row! What a lucky lucky woman you are, Shea.

Oh yeah ... I'm sure the water's as crystal clear in Lake Erie too ...

Of course it is!









All you need to do it get a water distiller, and put the tap water through it.

More Lake Erie jokes? ;

Heck, if you lick 'em, join 'em.

In the 1960s, I fished in Lake Erie, with my uncle. We caught fish, took them back to my aunt, who cooked them, and we ate them for supper that night. The convulsions went away in only ten days--not!
Okay, we were not harmed by eating those fish, even though they tasted like crankcase oil, as did the tap water (My uncle and aunt lived in Detroit).

You'd need a mighty big water distiller to syphon Lake Erie!

Nah.... we could just get ER to drink it for us. There must be some sort of alocohol content in the thing.


By the way ... welcome back from paradise, Shea.

I don't think you'd want to drink water that had been filtered through him either.

I don't think Evil Roy would consent to being that kind of a filter.

Oh I dunno... he seems prone to drink just about anything.

I sea.

Yep, put it in a bottle or a keg and he'd probably drink that too.

How about if we mixed nutritious things like spinach juice and pureed liver into it? Would he drink *that*?