Pam's Trip Report - The End!
Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 11:54 am
Friday, 12/4
It’s a sad day for all. Billy and Maureen were up and out the door before sunrise to get Gorilla and Pepper to the ferry. We are so lucky to have a direct flight - they have to fly through Miami and LA to get home to Boise. I dragged my feet getting up - just didn’t want to face the last day and the inevitable but very glad we have a late flight.
We had been advised to be on the 11:30 ferry to make our 3:10 flight. Good thing we did. The ferry didn’t leave until 12:00, the traffic was awful, the route was not well marked - or we simply missed the signs, we took a few wrong turns but finally made our way to the airport. Manley and Billy went to return the cars and the rest of us checked our bags. For the 3:10 flight we were told our bags had to be checked in by 2:10 - Billy got his bag checked with about 20 minutes to spare. Good thing we didn’t take any more wrong turns getting there!
A note about the car rental - the guys were told that they were going to be charged $75 per car because the cars would have to be cleaned. OK - the cars were pretty sandy but this was news to us. There was nothing in the contract about this and we were not told at the time of rental. There is a sign below the counter in the Thrifty office but none of us noticed it when we picked the cars up, nor was it pointed out to us. The guys disputed the charge and the rental agent backed down. If, or maybe I should say “when”, we go back to St. John, we will consider renting our vehicle there. Renting at the airport made sense for the size of our group this time but having a place to park in Cruz Bay would make things easier.
Airport security was very slow. There were not a lot of people in line but bags were being closely inspected and screened several times. We had time so were not too anxious but it did make me wonder what things are like during high season!
Landed in Boston early so we were able to grab the 6:30 bus to Portland. Although it was a mild evening, the temperature was still a shock. It was hard to imagine that 12 hours ago we were sitting on the balcony of our villa in the sky with a warm breeze blowing and a beautiful ocean view. Ahhhhh, a wonderful vacation.
It’s a sad day for all. Billy and Maureen were up and out the door before sunrise to get Gorilla and Pepper to the ferry. We are so lucky to have a direct flight - they have to fly through Miami and LA to get home to Boise. I dragged my feet getting up - just didn’t want to face the last day and the inevitable but very glad we have a late flight.
We had been advised to be on the 11:30 ferry to make our 3:10 flight. Good thing we did. The ferry didn’t leave until 12:00, the traffic was awful, the route was not well marked - or we simply missed the signs, we took a few wrong turns but finally made our way to the airport. Manley and Billy went to return the cars and the rest of us checked our bags. For the 3:10 flight we were told our bags had to be checked in by 2:10 - Billy got his bag checked with about 20 minutes to spare. Good thing we didn’t take any more wrong turns getting there!
A note about the car rental - the guys were told that they were going to be charged $75 per car because the cars would have to be cleaned. OK - the cars were pretty sandy but this was news to us. There was nothing in the contract about this and we were not told at the time of rental. There is a sign below the counter in the Thrifty office but none of us noticed it when we picked the cars up, nor was it pointed out to us. The guys disputed the charge and the rental agent backed down. If, or maybe I should say “when”, we go back to St. John, we will consider renting our vehicle there. Renting at the airport made sense for the size of our group this time but having a place to park in Cruz Bay would make things easier.
Airport security was very slow. There were not a lot of people in line but bags were being closely inspected and screened several times. We had time so were not too anxious but it did make me wonder what things are like during high season!
Landed in Boston early so we were able to grab the 6:30 bus to Portland. Although it was a mild evening, the temperature was still a shock. It was hard to imagine that 12 hours ago we were sitting on the balcony of our villa in the sky with a warm breeze blowing and a beautiful ocean view. Ahhhhh, a wonderful vacation.
but glad you enjoyed your trip.
the pic's are beautiful !LOVE the RAINBOW from villa deck ! 