Cara's Creations: getting there

it was a usual fall soccer saturday around our place...included sound of music rehearsal...and then the annual company picnic...

then we dropped the kids off at grandmom and grandpop's house...grandparents who are once again willing to host our 4 children for a week while we gallivant around the globe for some sightseeing and sanity-reclaiming time. (and mind you, that's not just caring for them for a week...it's taking them to dance, choir and three soccer players worth of practices and games, too!) god bless grandparents :)

we head south, basking in the view of the latest balloon festival launch

to join our airport taxi drivers for sushi dinner...

and then check into our hotel near the airport for a few short hours of rest before taking off early in the morning.

our flight from detroit was pretty uneventful...we caught the shuttle with a grumpy pilot who apparently overslept...glad we weren't flying delta!

we get checked in and thru security with little trouble and wait at our gate for an on-time departure (how rare!) we land in charlotte, nc, on-time and walk thru the airport in search of a breakfast spot...being just after 10am, we have missed most breakfast hours at the restaurants, minus one place that has a line 15 people deep. we ended up there, nonetheless, and settled into our gate for our breakfast.

the gate area is full of people who are clearly tourists, and ready for caribbean vacations. the guy behind us runs a dive shop on the island. he's trying to sweet talk a group of pilots (who are still in pilot gear, but are departing for vacation) into take a dive with him. one of them is afraid of sharks.

we board with just a small delay (one of the older men with his younger arm candy companions had an issue with his ticket). we are told that there are empty seats on this flight (and when has THAT happened recently!?) we are thrilled to discover that that means that our row has an empty seat next to us.

we settle in to our long flight, kindles in hand, dozing on and off as the flight allows (there was a couple in the row behind us watching something HILARIOUS, apparently, because her laughter through the first 2.5+ hours of the flight was "LOL" literally...)

it wasn't long before our flight was well over the ocean, and when the clouds below us parted enough for us to even look down, all you could see was a sea of blue. occasionally the pilot pointed out an island (like, um...the bahamas...cause that's about all we flew over!) as you may know, long distance flights are at altitudes above the clouds...so your flight is almost always through bright blue, sunny skies...and then it comes time to land. and that's when you discover what the weather is really like at your destination.

in our case....it was storming. it got quite turbulent, but i'm used to that. the ocean was dark and full of waves. you could tell by the surface that it was very windy.

and as we continue our descent, the turbulence increases to a level that starts to make me uncomfortable. most of the time when flying and then landing, you can clearly see the airport and runway as you approach. however, on an island the size of st. thomas, the runway literally begins at the edge of the cliff and continues into the island...but only so far, because there are mountains. therefore, as you are approaching landing, it appears as though you are going to land in the water.

i'm squeezing jason's arm (as i typically do during take off and landing...it's that paranoia that something terrible will happen to us when we're traveling without our children and someone will be left to care for them and...well, you know...) i make a remark about how dark and stormy it is. and how it looks like we're going to land on the water.

and suddenly, it is so incredibly stormy, and dark and foggy...we can no longer see anything out our window. and just as i start to become even more concerned, the plane engines roar into full speed and the pilot pulls us up so hard and fast that the carry-ons i have carefully stowed under the seat in front of me slide out and hit my feet. i push them back and glance out the window....rain is everywhere...and we can only barely see the wing...and we're going up...we hope...because all you can really see or hear is the engines roaring...there is no landmark out the window to confirm that we are indeed getting out of this mess. i bury my head into jason's arm/chest and wait...the inside of the plane is seemingly silent. engines roaring....turbulence, and then, we're above up into the clouds again and there is that blue sky.

silence for a moment. i'm sure it was a minute, maybe two that we were going up. but goodness sakes, it felt like ten.

and then the captain comes on. and basically says - as you may have noticed...we are unable to land. we're just gonna hang out up here for a bit until that blows through.

okay, great....let's just keep flying out over the ocean. we fly and fly. the captain comes back on and says a couple more turns and we're going to try again. goodness sakes...i'm hoping i survive the attempt again (in more ways that one - one of them being literal survival!)

it is turbulent...but we can actually see something as we approach to land. it is still pouring rain. our nerves are shot. but we land. and without too much issue, though with a soaking wet runway and a huge jet, rain and A LOT of wind, i know it was no small feat.

a flight attendant comes on the radio and simply says "our pilot rocks" as we're all clapping. whew.

and then the kicker...the pilot tells us that the st. thomas airport does not have jetways and that we will all be exiting the plane via stairs. in the pouring rain. please hold the rail.

we're all very grateful to be on land. but are SOAKED after de-boarding and walking OUTDOORS through a long corridor to baggage claim.

we get our rental car, baggage and remember to drive on the left...taking only one small detour (i'm sure it was the scenic route) to get to our hotel....we are clearly in the caribbean...and if you've been here, you know what i mean by that...and if not...well, you should find out!

we arrive at the hotel, have to wait to check in, as the storm took out one of the computers...but the front desk manager tells us about when the hurricane just went through and they lost power for 3 - 4 days...and it dragged a lot of beach sand out with it...we're content to wait a few minutes to check in, knowing that our situation isn't that bad. but...i'm very queasy from our flight (and, quite frankly, jason's driving on these roads).

we get lost in our building trying to find our room, and a nice staff member helps us drag our suitcases back into the elevator for the 3rd time (my fault) to get us to the right floor and the right villa...he gives us a tour, and a little caribbean smile as he realizes that the two of us are in this full two-bedroom condo ourselves...so when he shows us the 2nd bedroom with 2 queen beds...he says "you have as many beds as you like!"

the views to the left and right from our balcony...

we're too tired to venture into town for dinner, so we opt to check out the on-site restaurant...advertising 2 for 1 drinks during happy hour...of which we have about 15 more minutes to make to down...and since this resort was built into a cliff, there are different levels of building complexes and it takes us 3 different elevators to get to where we want to go. we find out from our friendly waitress that because the pool is currently closed for renovations, it's happy hour all day everyday - our day is improving! 2 for 1 drinks at all hours!

we have some mango tango margaritas