Monday, May 25, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016 N
64.55.440 W

Memorial Day:  Remembering those who lost their lives fighting on behalf of our country.  Freedom is not free.  

Home schooling question:  Does having your children fix you mixed cocktails count as a chemistry lesson? (Sorry, I’m new at this.  More on this later.) 😊

Normally, I’d say that nothing has changed but this past week so much as happened.  First, Gerry and Nicky have their refrigeration system repaired and are now happy campers. 

Next, my computer went belly up; sort of.  It appeared that it needed to be charged but when I plugged it in, nothing happened.  I wiggled the cords; unplugged and re-plugged the various connections; changed receptacles; you name it, I tried it.  It was soon dead.  As I knew I was returning to Texas for a single day, I decided to order a new cord from Amazon, send it ahead and also made an appointment with a computer store to purchase a new one in case the new cords didn’t work.  I also took the opportunity to order or make a list of everything else I needed and passed the word to Opal and Texas Crewed that if they needed anything, to order it and send it ahead to our daughter and I’d bring it back.  As a result, according to her, the neighbors started talking as she was getting deliveries every day and sometimes a couple of times a day.  The dogs were going nuts!  They went from Mom being home every day, all day long with no visitors for over 2 months, to strangers ringing the doorbell every day, at all hours of the day. 

Then, we learned more details regarding Grenada making a movement to open up to cruisers who had registered for hurricane season with them.  Although we have reservations in Trinidad, we had also registered in Grenada as a backup.  Thank heavens, as we now have somewhere to go to get out of the hurricane belt. 

Grenada has obviously given this some serious thought prior to the islands’ governors’ meeting, as they put into place a very detailed plan the day after the meeting.  First you had to select a date in which to enter their quarantine area.  They are spaced in weekly intervals for arrivals Wednesday – Friday of each week.  They stressed safety but if you didn’t let them know that you weren’t going to make it during that time frame or were going to be late, you would lose your spot (guess that’s where having a satellite telephone comes in handy).  Then you had to pre-purchase that spot; no refunds.  To obtain a confirmation number for that spot, you also had to complete both the health form and the usual entry forms and e-mail them in prior to arriving.  You were also to arrive with ECs (Eastern Caribbean) dollars in hand. 

Now that you’ve secured your spot, you must arrive prepared to spend 2 weeks in their designated quarantine area.  That means, provisioning for the 4-5 day transit, plus the 2 week time in quarantine.  They have set up wifi in the quarantine area, (so we won’t be completely incommunicado) and a method of obtaining needed items.  You e-mail the officials at the quarantine dock with your list of items needed (I would assume this to be a grocery list), they have someone do the shopping for you, then the items are returned to the quarantine dock where you are contacted to dinghy in to get them.  No fees were listed in this service but you know that they won’t be cheap.  No visiting between boats.  No swimming in the quarantine area. 

Once this was announced, 2 more islands (on the way down to Grenada) announced that transiting vessels could anchor overnight for sleep.  I would assume this to mean that those vessels wouldn’t be met by officials threatening incarceration for violating their 12 mile borders.  We’ve heard of a couple of instances where one boat was actually “bumped” and forced to follow authorities into town and another where a sailboat had crossed the BVI/US border, had already tacked back into US waters but was still stopped, “talked to and told to get out” by the BVI authorities while in US waters.  I think they were just making a point knowing full well the incident would be reported far and wide on the “coconut telegraph”.

Trinidad still hasn’t announced when they will be open for cruisers.  The British Virgin Islands are sticking with their September date.  Other islands are opening but each with their own 2 week quarantine restrictions.  This forces us to make more direct transits without visiting the places we wanted to see.  Considering there are between 18-20 islands between here and Trinidad with each having a 2 week quarantine, you can see the math precludes very much sightseeing. 

We thoroughly thought Opal would want to head south straight away, leaving in the first group opening this week.  However, in our last Mexican Train domino session, we learned that they chose to be in the 3^rd group leaving mid June just before Nicky’s visa expires.  They would prefer to sit where everything is convenient and hope that Trinidad will open as soon as they see that they are losing money to Grenada.  With my mini trip to Texas, this worked out perfectly. 

Texas Crewed, on the other hand, did choose to leave in the 1^st group.  They promised to act as reconnaissance and send back scouting reports.  We can actually follow them on our weather app.  They will be getting out of quarantine just as we are entering it. 

This was also the last week for those who are heading back home in an organized convoy and many left even after the announcement was made about Grenada. 

Finally, I believe I’ve relayed before how we learned that we can rent a car for 24 hours for the same price as we’ve been paying for a taxi for doing our big shopping trips, every other week.  So last week, we combined the shopping circuit with my need for a ride to the airport for the mini trip back to Texas to pick up one of our grandchildren for a summer visit.  I was only going to be gone for 2 nights, so to fill up my bag, I grabbed things I knew we didn’t need and bathing suits that are too hard to put on when you’re sweating all the time and stuffed them in. 

Although I was on one of the first (and only) flights of the day, Dale dropped me off the normal 2 hours prior to boarding at 7 am but TSA and Customs didn’t open until 8 am, an hour after I checked in.  Being the 1^st one in line, I cooled my jets leaning against a counter for the next hour.  As soon as the doors opened, I placed my backpack in one container and my soft bag in the next for scanning.  Most of the agents were just standing around as there were only a hand full of people making their way through the screening process but as soon as my bag went through the scanner, I saw that the screener tapped the monitor and thought that it wasn’t working.  She called another, who looked, tapped the screen, and then called a supervisor.  That person looked at the screen and then telephoned for (I guess) a more senior supervisor, who called me over to a separate table and asked the standard questions.  Is this your bag?  Did you pack this bag?  So you know what’s in this bag.  Yes to all of the questions.  Then she showed me the screen.  I do have some experience in looking at such a screen, but I have to admit, I didn’t recognize what I was looking at.  I did have a photo frame in my bag and asked if it could be the hanger on the back.  She didn’t think so and said that she was going to have go through the bag.  Of course, I complied.  Sure, go for it.  She pulled everything out, cautioned me to stand back when I went to catch my underwear from falling on the floor, then pulled out one of the bathing suits I had packed.   

I know its probably unusual, but I pack my 2 piece bathing suits in individual plastic bags so that #1: I can see which one it is, and #2: keep the 2 pieces together.  She ran one of the bathing suits back through the machine and then brought it back saying she was going to have to open it.  OK, no problem.  That is until she brought out another small plastic bag.  The second I saw it, I knew what it was, and thought I was going to die! 

If you recall, it was last year when we thought we were going to be hit by a hurricane and emptied the boat of all personal items and anything valuable, things that shouldn’t get wet, etc.  At that time, we took off a weapon and its ammo and locked it in a safe at home.  When we took off clothing, I found 3 bullets rolling around in a drawer, put them in a baggie, stuffed them between some bathing suits and promptly forgot about them.   That is until TSA found them and I thought I was going to jail. 

We started the same questions again.  Is this your bag?  Yes.  Did you pack this bag?  Yes.  You’re supposed to know what’s in this bag.  I’m sorry I forgot.  Then the next round of questions, are these your bullets?  That’s when I blamed Dale.  If I was going down, so was he.  Then I thought I might need someone to bail me out.  Thankfully, she also asked if I had a concealed weapon’s permit.  It was one of the items I was taking back to leave but yes, I have one!  Yes, I have it with me!  She wanted it, my permanent address, the address where I was going, telephone numbers at both ends, and then she called the cops!

My knees were knocking, my heart was racing, my hands were shaking, so I asked the agent to sit down before I fainted; she said “don’t do that” there’s a chair over there.  Now, I’m trying not to hyperventilate, which is what I was doing to keep from passing out.  I had already taken my blood pressure medicine, so I knew I couldn’t take anymore so soon, but dang!

The long and short of it was, the cops came, did their own computer search, and then one came over and told me that this was a very serious violation.  I agreed, I knew how bad it was (boy do I ever!)  Then he told me that he was going to have to confiscate them.  That’s fine!  They’re all yours! 

I was told I could repack my bag.  They gave me back my ID’s and license and I was free to go.  I still caught my plane.  I noticed that I was the only woman on a plane of Spanish speaking men.  But then I thought, I was also the only 65 year old, white haired grandmother terrorist on that plane too! 

I had a 5 hour layover in Puerto Rico to contemplate the error of my ways.  I never told anyone I had packed those bullets almost a year ago; I forgot.  If the TSA agent hadn’t asked if I had a CCW permit, I forgot that I did.  I’m pretty sure I now have a TSA record and will never be allowed to take the short line again!  In the 5 hours I had, I was passed at least 20 times by cops with K-9s patrolling, TSA agents walking by, other lethal looking (or at least uniformed people) and knew that each and every one of them had my name and photo on their cell phones, with a full description of my crime and were watching my every move. 

In another train of thought, I decided that I’ve probably gotten to the point where I could hide my own Easter eggs.  

The Texas mini trip was a drive-by, and not in a terrorist way.  As soon as I arrived at our daughter’s home, I opened the new computer cords, plugged in the computer and after a couple of seconds, it started to charge.  Success!  Now, the only thing needed is a chip and to remember to back it up every day.  Huh! Fat chance!  The next day, we rose at dawn, grabbed breakfast to go, and made a tour of town to get everything on my list, including the chip.  I even found a currency exchange to pick up the needed ECs.  I packed all of that and the ordered items for the various boats into a single box for the flight back and prayed no one had ordered anything that could be questioned.  As a precaution, I left everything in their Amazon boxes.   

When we left on the return trip, our daughter instructed me to make sure our 7 year old granddaughter, Savannah, kept up with her school work, specifically math and science, and then told Savannah to keep an eye on me, as I’m always losing my lists.  Clearly, I’ve gotten to where I’m a danger to myself and those around me. 

Thank heavens the flight back was uneventful.  Now that we’re back on the boat, Savannah seems to be more excited about motoring around in the dinghy.  She and Papa have already gone in to meet Miss Nicky and Papa Gerry for breakfast and a quick walk around the marina.  Grandma is still settling clothes, setting up school work and a tucking away a few toys before attacking the computer to write a long awaited post. 

Lastly, another corona joke of the day:  You think it’s bad now?  In 20 years, our country will be run by people home schooled by day drinkers…