Our Last Chick Flew the Coop!

Morgan headed back to San Diego on Monday, leaving us behind with nary a backwards glance...happy to be off to the real world :)  I think she was most ready to get home, so she could celebrate her 21st Birthday with all of her friends (and her brother).  Somehow, spending a milestone like your 21st with your parents lacks a bit of the "fun factor" that such an occasion warrants....we gave it our best effort, however.  We hopped a bus to Castries, where we spent a couple of hours wandering about the market and town.  Morgan was able to finish her "gifts for friends shopping".  Not sure what makes Castries a good cruise ship stop, as it was not a very inviting place, but we have fun wherever we go, so no harm, no foul:)   Morgan's first official, legal, drink was a frosty, blended concoction of  Baileys, Amaretto, Spiced Rum, and Coconut Cream, with a lovely swirl of chocolate. 

Notice the Twinkle in Her Eye....

I waited until she finished it before I told her that every ingredient in it was alcoholic.....she was tad bit horrified!  Then it was back to the bus stop & off to Rodney Bay.  We arrived just in time for the heavens to open up, so we ducked into Cafe Xavier for a snack; the Honey BBQ Chicken Wings were quite tasty!  Morgan had her second legal drink there, a very pretty Blue Kamikaze (Just the name brings back some interesting memories, but that is a different story....) that she did not like at all, so Bill & I came to the rescue and finished it for her. 

The Blue Kamikaze

Unfortunately for Morgan, the Patriots game coincided with her Birthday, so after I made her Birthday dinner (Cream of Shrimp Pasta) we headed up to Bosun's to catch the game.  She lasted about a quarter, before bidding us adieu. To compensate, we stopped at Elena's on the way back to the boat (Go Pats!) and got her a big Coffee Gelato.  She was happy :)

No more people on the boat meant back to work for Bill & I.  Our "to do" list is fairly lengthy, with plenty to keep us occupied for while.   Number one on the was tunes, and it took Bill three days to get the new radio and speakers all wired up....but for the first time in a year, we have music that we don't have to turn  the computer on to listen to-yay!  

Sometimes You Need To Make a Mess First

Before You Reap The Reward!

Our toe rails took a beating during Mañana's time on the hard, and clearly needed to be sanded down to bare wood, the redone.  Since we had already done this ourselves once, knew how much time it takes to do properly, and had so many other things to do, we contracted this job out.  Kelly had a few tricks up his sleeve, and the toe rails look great!  Now, he gets to polish the hull :)

Meanwhile, Bill moves on to the new alarm system he is installing: a dang fancy thing, if I do say so myself! It will have pressure sensors on the deck and in the cockpit, which will turn on deck lights & sound an alarm if anyone steps on the deck (Forward, Sides, or Aft).  Hopefully deterring any would-be intruder before they get too far, and send them running...

All this, and a myriad of small jobs, will keep us busy for another 4 or 5 days, but our plan is to be Martinique bound by Monday, January  21st.

We shall see.....

 

I had to add these last two random pictures that I took-the first was taken from our dockside table in Castries (too funny!) and the second was on the way to the airport.

Cruise Ship Dock Line Guard in Castries

The Blue Bags Keep The Bugs & Birds Away

We passed grove after grove of Banana trees, and most has these bags over the Bananas...can't imagine having to bag each bunch by hand, day after day!