Thursday 11/28/13 - Arrival in St. Thomas, Thanksgiving Dinner at Molly Malone's

When last we traveled in September, Craig's multiple sclerosis flared up in Ecuador. This was his first real MS attack since his diagnosis in early 2011. The MS had attacked his brain stem, and had affected his walking and balance. It also affected his vision: he could see out of each eye, but the signals were not synthesized properly, so he had double vision. His sudden illness had made him miss our godson's baptism while in Ecudor, because he couldn't get out of bed.

When we got him back home (thank goodness for wheelchairs in airports, or it never would have been possible), he was hospitalized for 5 days. Heavy doses of steroids alleviated most of his symptoms. Because he still had mobility issues and needed to build up strength again, he was then placed into rehab for an additional 8 days. He continued his recovery at home, with occupational and physical therapists visiting the house.

After 7 weeks, he was well enough to return to work at the beginning of November. But he still felt rather wobbly when walking. We didn't know whether he would be up for traveling right away for our annual Thanksgiving trip. But the airline tickets and hotel had been booked before his illness. Luckily, our annual trip to St. Thomas to spend Thanksgiving with our good friend Marty is generally good for what ails you and involves a lot of beachside relaxation. So we decided to go for it.

Craig, Steve, their Mom, and I flew direct from Boston to St. Thomas on Jet Blue on Thanksgiving morning. The flight was at 10:20 a.m., which means that we didn't have to be at the airport at the crack of dawn, but would still get to St. Thomas by mid-afternoon. At the airport, we got donuts and muffins from Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. At our gate, I ran into a former colleague who had recently moved to Philly. She was arriving at the very gate we were departing from. Weird!

We always enjoy flying Jet Blue. And not just because it's non-stop. When they didn't have Craig's free snack of choice directly on hand, they gave him an alternate in the meanwhile and then soon came back with his first choice. Try that on American or United! Oh that's right; they no longer even offer free snacks. And of course I enjoy that they serve fresh Dunkin Donuts coffee! Craig normally would take advantage of this too, but he stuck with his standard Cranapple. He had given up caffeine after his stay at the hospital, when a single cup of coffee had made him incredibly jittery and jumpy.

Although the flight had taken off on time, we had to dodge some storm systems en route, which meant that we arrived in St. Thomas around 30 minutes later than scheduled. As soon as we walked off the plane, we felt the familiar relaxation of the islands wash over us. This was our 13th trip to St. Thomas. Craig and I had met Marty here in 2000. Though we often thrive on visiting new places, there is a comfort level and familiarity here which is instantly relaxing. As we walked through the airport, we had our complimentary "Welcome to St. Thomas" shot of flavored local rum, and I picked up the slick guide books which are always so fun to peruse when you are sipping a drink and enjoying the view of the ocean from the patio.

We picked up our rental car at Budget. We weren't sure whether Craig would feel comfortable driving here. Craig had only recently begin driving again at home. He had suffered dizziness issues, and had trouble changing his focus when looking from one thing to another. That had cleared up, so he was now at least comfortable driving at home. But here they drive on the left rather than the right, which requires a lot more concentration when the driver is used to driving on the opposite side of the road. We put Steve's name on the paperwork as an additioinal driver. He had experience driving here on several trips he had taken here on his own,and it hadn't bother him. Neither their Mom nor I, on the other hand, wanted anything to do with driving on the opposite side of the road.

We went out to the car, a blue Ford Taurus. Though it was fairly new and relatively roomy and comfortable, the exterior was pretty beat up. This is fairly common for cars on the island, but usually the rental cars are in a bit better shape. I took photos of the various scratched and dents just to make sure we weren't blamed for them.

It was around 4:30, and we texted Marty to tell him that we had arrived. Craig felt well enough to drive, so he got behind the wheel and drove us to Food Center to buy provisions. Marty met us at Food Center on his Harley. This was such a step up from the old days when we used to buy food at Kmart. This was a modern, efficient grocery store which operated at a pace we were used to at home, rather than on island time. When you first arrive, you are ready to settle into your hotel room and relax, which means you want to get the obligatory errands taken care of as quickly as possible. Though the groceries may be slightly more expensive here, the ease of the shopping experience more than makes up for it.

We purchased food and drink to stock our little kitchenette, and then headed to Secret Harbour. We checked into room 322, a beachfont 2 bedroom suite. After we settled in and put the groceries away, we were able to relax out on the west-facing patio and enjoy the view of the beach, palm trees, and the bay. It was like we had never left. We enjoyed chatting and catching up with Marty. The weather was a bit cooler than usual, and the humidity seemed much lower. We opted to turn off the air conditioning in favor of overhead fans and the breeze blowing in through the screen doors. It was a nice change not to have to have the room sealed up.

Before we knew it, it was time to head to Molly Malone's for their all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving dinner. Marty had made the reservation in advance to secure us an outdoor table. The restaurant is right on the water in Red Hook, and there were TV's showing the requisite Thanksgiving football. We were served turkey vegetable soup, salad, wine, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, and cranberry sauce. Mom was tired of turkey, having cooked it over the previous weekend, so she opted for the alternate of Black Oak ham. It was all delicious, and a bargain at $24.13 a person, all-you-can-eat and drink. Steve asked the server if he could get an additional half-portion of food. She said that they only made full portions, so she delivered one each to him and Craig. The food was so good that they couldn't help but finish it. The meal was capped off by a slice of pumpkin pie.

With full bellies, we drove back to the hotel. We watched the end of teh football game we had been watching at Molly Malone's. Marty fell asleep post-turkey in the chair, and we went to bed at 10:45.
Marty

Marty

Thanksgiving at Molly Malone's: Steph, Marty, Steve, Mom, Craig

Thanksgiving at Molly Malone's: Steph, Marty, Steve, Mom, Craig

Thanksgiving dinner at Molly Malone's

Thanksgiving dinner at Molly Malone's

Craig's turkey dinner

Craig's turkey dinner

Marty falls asleep post-turkey

Marty falls asleep post-turkey



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