Dave has told me before that he can always tell when we are traveling home from vacation because I am not always a nice person. My patience with people is just not that great on that journey back home. I don't scream, kick, hit, spit, scratch or even swear at people but I have been known to roll my eyes when someone tries to get through security with a fresh cup of coffee and then has a two minute discussion with security about why they can't take it with them or tries to drink it all there in line while everyone behind them waits. Yes, I am annoyed by this but Dave always tells me to chill out while my response is usually something like "Really, how do you not know in this day and age that you can't bring a fresh steaming cup of coffee through airport security, or that they have to take their damn shoes off. I mean, didn't they at least have to travel to get down here? Can't they just follow the stinkin' rules?"
But this is a chance to prove Dave wrong so from the time I get up, I try to get in the right mind set and tell myself that if I don't pay attention to people and their behaviors then I won't get annoyed.....yeah, let's see how that works.
In the meantime, we have our breakfast, finish our packing, take our last looks from our villa deck and then head out. First we have to return our rental jeep which is uneventful. The rental place is right near the ferry dock so we roll our luggage down and we get our first test. We stand in line to get our tickets for the ferry and there is a guy at the window ahead of us. He finishes his turn and then turns to us and says, you don't have to get your tickets here, you just pay for them on the ferry. Dave thanks the guy for his wisdom, we look at each other puzzled, and Dave steps up to the window anyway and says "We just buy our tickets on the ferry?", of course the nice lady at the counter asks where we are going and we tell her Red Hook and she says that of course we have to buy tickets from her now. All I can think is "Thanks, buddy" but I just smile, say nothing and keep my eyes firmly planted straight ahead so that they do not roll. Dave and I take a seat on the dock to wait for the ferry and he makes a comment about the guy telling us we didn't need tickets and I nicely say, he is obviously going somewhere else and just assumed everyone else is too or he thinks that the rules are the same no matter where you are going. I do make a comment though that we are lucky this is not the Amazing Race and this guy just costs us a million dollars. But since it is said in jest, I have still maintained my nice person image thus far. The ferry ride to St. Thomas is uneventful, as is the taxi ride to the airport. The only slightly annoying thing is Dave's constant summing up how much the driver will make on this one ride mostly because ten people and all their luggage crammed into a van style vehicle for a twenty minute ride will cost no less than fifteen bucks each. So, at the airport Dave reluctantly pays his share of cab fare and we head to the JetBlue desk where we are greeted by a very nice man who I smile at when I ask if he can find us a row on the plane where no one else is sitting. He accommodates our request as well as letting me check in my one bag for fifty-one pounds without a fee as I think the limit is fifty.
Next we have to take our heavy bag over to Customs, fill out a customs form and send our luggage through the immigration super scanner to hopefully arrive safely in Boston. Dave questions why we have to fill out a customs form if we are on a US territory and are going to the US but I don't question, I just smile, fill out the form and zip us through the customs line. Next is airport security and while I see some things that normally annoy me, I try to ignore and just continue through the cattle line. Dave's backpack has to be inspected and re-scanned but for some reason that happens a lot to us, not sure if it is how I pack things in there or what I pack but we never seem to have anything found so? The rest of the trip is cake, the plane is maybe half-full so we do end up with our own row and the flight is smooth while we watch a movie. I have to say that I like JetBlue so far and I hope they don't change things. Good leg room, in-flight entertainment, some snacks for free and first checked bag free. They do fly to many Caribbean locations so I'll have to keep that in mind. Once we collect our luggage at Logan, I call Flight Line and they already have a car waiting to take us home. So, I have made the travel day home with a pleasant demeanor and many memories of where we have been.
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