Part II - The H&J Watson Visit

Well, it is now Monday the 12th of January and after a very windy night that left Holly a little nervous (she had heard the story of the Perry's and Mystic Journey's dragging anchor at Santa Marta) the day arrived bright and sunny. About Holly's unease - I had, for my own peace of mind, dove our anchor the day we arrived and was happpy to see that it was buried so deep that only the end of the arm showed but I understood Holly's concern. Anyway, after trying some more fishing with no luck - Holly told Joe that our Dad would call the one he caught the day before "The Lone Ranger" - we decided to go and explore Fort Barrington, which sat on the north hill overlooking the harbour. We had seen and heard lots of goats up there ever since we had arrived and had actually seen people up there the day before so we know we could get there. Fort Barrington was a fort established around the time of Nelson by the British. It had not been restored or looked after so we weren't expecting any "fanciness". The path we took up and later on down was certainly not meant to be easy. I commented on how hard it must have been to take provisions as well as whatever ammunition they used up the very steep path and it didn't appear that there had ever been any other way up but it was well worth the climb. I prefer the old buildings that have not been restored or fixed up. To me it is easier then to get a grasp on what it must have been like back in the days when the fort was in use.

After exploring the fort and the point of land on which it was constructed we went back down and walked down the beach as far as where the Royal Antiguan Resort had their beach chairs. Incidentally, if you didn't read Holly's comment on the last blog, apparently the Royal Antiguan was robbed at gunpoint the first night we were in Deep Bay. They didn't get much and were caught quite quickly but it just goes to show you that crime exists in places we really don't expect it. We went for a swim before going back to Mystic Journey and spent a quiet evening playing Scrabble and watching an episode of SG1 - we got the whole 10 year series as a Christmas gift. For those of you who don't know, SG1 stands for Stargate 1, a series set in the 1990's with Richard Dean Anderson (McGyver for those of you who remember) We were all surprised it had been on 10 years because it was never mainline popular but Cheryl and I really enjoy it.

Tuesday we decided to go back to Jolly Harbour since the winds didn't show any signs of lessening and in fact seemed to be increasing. The bay was not too bad but the constant wind kept us from enjoying fishing or swimming off the boat as much as we would have otherwise. Besides, Holly had seen a hill at Jolly Harbour that she wanted to climb. We came back using the foresail only as it was a fairly short trip and the time we gained using the mainsail would have been cancelled by the time it took to turn into the wind to put it up and take it down. We were still able to sail at 6-7 kts so it was fun. When we got back we took a mooring ball farther into the harbour rather than anchor out in the bay. Cheryl and I wanted to do this since HotSpot, the server we were using for wifi, was not performing well further out. After getting set up we went into the marina and made the climb up Sugar Ridge. Well, one of made the climb up Sugar Ridge, the rest went about halfway up. I mean I know it was really steep but, you 3 who didn't go up........'nuf said.

Finally, for the last day before H&J went home, we went back into St Johns so the Watson's, more specifically Holly, could do some last minute shopping. We also stopped for lunch in a neat little place that featured roti's so we could sample some island food. I ordered a doubles too which Joe liked but Holly thought too spicy. That evening we again played some Scrabble and watched SG1.

Finally the sad departure day. Holly had checked the temperature in Ottawa and found it was to be -34C so maybe they were a little sadder than we were. (Not really) Joe is like me in that he likes to get to places like airports nice and early so at 11:30 we took them into the marina so they could catch a taxi and we said our farewells.

This is the third set of visitors we have had - Randy and Aleitha Ward, Rob and now Holly and Joe (not counting the Perry's who are not really visitors) and there are similarities - some good, some not so good.The good is the anticipation prior to the visit and the visit itself where we are able to share that particular part of our journey. It is very special and I think provides special shared memories that help keep us close. The not so good is the feeling of kind of an emptiness after the visit is over. This too stays but as a much lesser part of our memories.

Thanks Holly and Joe for taking the time and bearing the expense and taking the "risk?" to come down. It made this part of our Journey special. Since I have never specifically said this to our other visitors, I would like to take the opportunity to do that now - including the Perrys - Julie, Graham, Alex and Amelia. Thanks!!!

Now - we wait with great anticipation and some impatience the arrival of our next guest - Jason. Come On Down!!!!