CRUISE VIGNETTES 07 Mardi Gras

ST. THOMAS, VIRGIN ISLANDS
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, is a shopping center. We did have time to visit a little of the island, including Blackbeard’s Castle. But the main reason the ship stopped here, is for shopping in the couple of streets lined with jewelry stores. We saw two rings that we liked for Emmy, one she liked especially, but as usual, Emmy couldn’t make up her mind to spend the money. (As stated elsewhere, usually an “Emmy spending delay” is a synonym for momentary.)

At the last minute she said, “Go get it.” Well I had a different idea, so bought both of them, and told her the one she really liked had been sold. I didn’t tell her that I was the one it had been sold to, and didn’t tell her that I had also bought the other one.

We got in a taxi, and asked to be taken to the ship. All of a sudden there was a cloud-burst and everything was flooded, including the street intersection where the taxi ran out of gas. The driver had a can of gas in the trunk, so stood in water half way to his knees as he poured the gas into the tank, but we made it to the ship, with little time to spare.

Since the rings were planned as Christmas and birthday presents, I didn’t want to show them to the custom’s man at the dock in Miami. I didn’t “declare” them on the Custom’s form, I just put them in my inside coat pocket. The rings cost less than the tax-free amount we were allowed to bring with us, but since they weren’t on the form, Custom’s could have still raised a fuss if they found them.

Wouldn’t you know it, the Custom’s man was really curious, questioned this and that, but luckily for me, didn’t notice the small bulge in my inside coat pocket. The surprise gifts got home OK, and to the scheduled recipient at Christmas, and on her birthday a week later, as scheduled.

FLORIDA
When we returned to Miami we rented a car, and spent a few days touring Southern Florida, including the Everglades and the Florida Keys, clear to Key West. The flight back to Los Angeles was without incidence, or at least these days we don’t remember any.