Day 5--St. Thomas

When we got off the ship in St. Thomas, this is the first thing we saw. This guy was on stilts dancing to music. It was so impressive!! People were giving him tips.

This beautiful tree was the next thing we saw. I love the trees in tropical places, probably because they are so different from the ones where I have lived.

Such beautiful flowering bushes!



The flowers are all so vibrant and have such brilliant color.

We all got on this open sided bus to go to Megan's Bay.

It was a short drive, the roads were narrow, twisty, and steep.

Everyone was taking pictures from the bus as we drove along. Everything was so beautiful.

I love the water, and I enjoy seeing harbors and boats.

This island is populated a lot more than the others, at least it seems like it to me.

We were driving up a steep road and looking down and out at the land and water.

More beautiful water! I do love Colorado with all my heart, but it might be fun to live near beaches and water too.

We stopped at the top of a big hill and got out of the bus to take in the view.

And oh my gosh! One of the most beautiful sites ever, I am sure!

The turquoise water is dazzling!

People on these islands do anything for money. A man had this donkey all decked out in a flowered hat and blanket and would take a picture using your camera for any donation you wanted to give. It probably would have been a better picture with a side view. Oh well. A lot of people were having a picture taken and the man was pretty talkative.

This cute pelican was just swimming around!

Soaking up the sun at Megan's Bay!

Mom found a spot at a picnic table to watch us kids have fun. She just had knee replacement surgery in November and needs to be careful so she didn't want to get in the water.

Steven and I were the first ones to test the water.

It was perfect!!

I didn't sign up to go snorkeling on this cruise. When we snorkeled in Hawaii, I was a little uneasy with the breathing techniques and really had to concentrate--breathe in, breathe out. I had to focus so much on breathing that I didn't enjoy seeing the fish and coral. Gordon and Julie had a full face mask for snorkeling that we tried out and it was amazing!! I loved it!! It was so easy!! If I had known about these masks I would definitely have snorkeled!! There was nothing here to see, but we all a turn to try out the mask. We played in the water and enjoyed ourselves to the max!!

After the beach, we took this sky ride to Paradise Point.

This pretty building was right next to where we boarded the sky ride. I just love all the colors they use in their architecture!

At the top of Paradise Point there was a lookout, some shops, and a restaurant.

We could see so far out into the ocean from up here.

The bay was pretty busy! It would be fun to just stand at the dock and watch all the action.

I can see why it's called Paradise Point!

I don't know what kind of a tree this is, but I remember Grandpa Collins had one of these trees in his yard. When we were kids we played with them and called them bananas and would split them open and play with the seeds inside. It sure brought back some memories.

Larimar is a rare blue stone found only in the Dominican Republic. The color varies from very light blue with a lot of white to deep blue. The soft soothing blue is streaked with white that resembles sunlight dancing on the Caribbean water. It is said to harmonize body and soul and remove stress. I bought a necklace and earrings.

On the way back to the cruise ship we passed this little store and I had to get a pirate picture.

This frog greeted us on our bed when we got back from our excursion.

I was curious about how these huge cruise ships maneuver around and get parked in the right spot when we come to port and how they get back out when we are done. There are always so many ships!! Big and little!! One of my brothers got this picture of the pilot boat that guides the cruise ship and helps it get into position.

Tonight is elegant night again in the dining room. Troy and Judi are looking pretty snazzy!

My beautiful sister and her handsome husband. It's kind of fun to get dressed up!

We were pretty lucky to have the same servers three times. We got to know them and it was fun to talk with them. Arnold told us his family lives in the Phillipines. He has worked on cruise ships for 19 years. He gets on for 6 months, then goes home for 2 or 3 months to see his family and then gets on again for another 6 months. I don't think I would like that kind of a life. Everyone who works on this ship is so happy, friendly, and fun to be around. They have the best attitude!

Delwyn and I both had filet mignon and Wow! It just melted in our mouths!

Another fabulous dessert!! The food is so, so good, I can't even begin to choose what my favorite food has been.

This was one of our waiters getting ready for their performance dancing on the tables.

Tonight's performance was Epic Rock with songs from the 70's and 80's.

Fancy decor on the side of the stage.

A great show!! I really love these programs!

Including fireworks!

After the shows there is an after party in the lobby. Tonight some of the performers were talking to people and giving photo opportunities. Of course I wanted to take advantage!

Cookie, our cruise director is a really good people person! He makes you feel like he knows you personally and cares about you.

Troy and Judi having fun with Cookie!