Lost Picture From St John

While we were in St John, USVI  in June we got a ride one day from a couple on their honeymoon.  We stopped along the road to take a look at the scenery and we took each other's pictures.  We now have the picture.  The picture shows Coral Bay.   Thanks Amy and Joel for the ride and the picture.

September 8-17, 2010... Visit Home (Additional Photos)

September 8-17, 2010... Visit Home

The Litman Mishpuchah (including Renee & Irv from Florida) was gathering in Northern Virginia for Rosh Hashanah, so we thought it a good time to go back to the States and catch up with everyone.  To make it a fuller family experience, we also trekked to Pittsburgh to visit the Johnson Clan.  Flights from Grenada to the US are not frequent, so cobbling together an itinerary wasn’t easy.  But many hours after starting our journey we met Patti’s sister Karen at Dulles Airport and the family whirlwind visit began:  dinner at David & Micky’s (with a belated birthday celebration for Ronnie); temple services with Karen & Ronnie followed by an in-gathering in Centreville; new bow rollers custom ordered in Annapolis; outing at Frying Pan Park with the littlest Litmans Leah & Roi to watch an equestrian competition, see baby pigs, and pet goats; rides in Jay’s hot, red Opel GT; meeting Galen in DC; BBQ at Karen’s; Chinese food at David’s; great big shopping mall shopping as well as the culture shock of Costco after being in Caribbean stores for so long; hair styling by Lauren; and of course as a denouement, pizza.  Aahhhh, America.

Then off to Pittsburgh.  We had rented a car, so our first stop was to swing over to Annapolis to pick up the much needed bow rollers (there are no plastic machine shops on the island of Grenada... so this was just easier.)  Then the 5-hour drive northwest through coal country -- the Appalachian scenery and historic places keeping the ride interesting.  Arriving in Pittsburgh we realized that we had packed a little too light as the temperature dipped into the 50s at night and we didn’t have jackets.  No matter... it’s America... we went everywhere in a car anyway.  We visited John’s parents in their new home in Mt. Lebanon, a beautiful apartment with a terrific view over the valley.  And we probably bored them to tears with our slide show -- 500 of our best photos from the last 15 months aboard the Anhinga!  We were also able to have dinner with John’s brother Stephen and sister-in-law Tracey.  It was good to see them all again.  We drove through John's old neighborhoods and punctuated our visit with dinner at Primanti’s in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.  John’s father was embarrassed for us, acting like tourists and going to this place.  But, where else can you get a sandwich with the french fries in the sandwich?  And to complete the meal, John of course indulged in an Iron City beer, the best beer on the planet.

Returning back to Grenada we couldn’t believe how fast the trip to the States went.  It was so wonderful to be surrounded by family, being there for the every day events as well as special times.  We won’t wait so long to do it again.

September 1-7, 2010... Trying New Anchorages

The southern coast of Grenada has several bays, and we decided to try some of them out.  For about 3 days we moved east to Port Egmont, known as the best hurricane hole  on the island.  It has a rather narrow entrance, but once inside there is a large mangrove-lined cove surrounded by hills.  Very beautiful, and while we were there, only one other boat was in the anchorage.  The water was clear and John used the time there well, scraping the bottom.  We also kayaked out of the cove a couple of times to look around; the difference in the wave height and rolliness inside and outside the cove was astonishing. 

We also tried out Mt. Hartman Bay to the west, a fairly calm bay if you are inside the headland on the east coast to get out of the south swell.  The impetus for this move was that Rough Enough, a blues and boogie woogie band, was playing at the Tiki Hut in Prickly Bay.  Anchoring in Mt. Hartman allowed us to walk across the hill to Prickly.  Hartman has a little cruiser society of folks who put down the hook at the beginning of the season and stay for months.  We were welcomed to the bay by two dinghies as soon as we arrived.  Unfortunately, we anchored a little too close to the marina for the comfort of the workboat going back and forth (even though we were about 1000 feet from the entrance) so we were honked on several occasions and generally harassed.  Not wanting to make a big deal of it, the next day we just pulled the anchor and went back to Clarke’s Court Bay, where we were to go into the marina soon anyway in advance of our trip back to the States.  (BTW - we did get to the Tiki Hut and danced all night to the band.  Thanks Stan and Cora!)

Back in Clarke’s Court, we anchored in a different spot... same bay, different view, new perspective.  The excitement while there was yet another opportunity to help out a fellow cruiser.  A boat leaving for Trinidad discovered an oil leak (spraying everywhere in the engine compartment).  Along with a couple of other dinghies we helped push the boat (a 53-foot, heavy cruiser) to the marina where they would be able to take care of the problem.

On 7 September we moved into Clarke’s Court Bay Marina.  Perfect landing... a welcome outcome as it is always a white knuckle exercise to move into a slip.  Sigh of relief from the crew of the Anhinga!

Port Egmont:  +12° 0' 37.08", -61° 43' 25.08"

Mt. Hartman:  +12° 0' 6.84", -61° 45' 4.32"

Clarke’s Court:  +12° 0' 35.22", -61° 44' 15.48"