Christmas morning, we had breakfast on the veranda, listening to the waves break on the reef.
The last day of the trip is always a good time to eat any leftovers that have accumulated in the fridge, even if that means having wings at 8:45 AM.
After packing up, cleaning up, and checking out, we headed downtown to see if anything was open. We parked at the fort, and walked along the boardwalk for awhile, enjoying our last day in the tropics.
There were quite a few people strolling around in the sun, with several restaurants and shops open. I was afraid we might have to head over to Fredericksted to find activity, as word on the street was that there was a cruise ship in that port today, meaning businesses would be open.
We decided to take the ferry over to Protestant Cay, after receiving assurances from the operator that the beach bar was open.
The tiny island is mostly occupied by a resort hotel, but the beach area is public.
It was a very short ride across the water (perhaps 500 feet), to the small dock on the beach.
It was around 10:45 AM, and people were starting to set up for the day at this beach, renting chairs, umbrellas, etc.
The beach bar was indeed open, so we had a refreshing beverage or two while waiting for the lunch venue to start serving.
While we waited, we waded in the warm water, enjoying the view of Christiansted.
After lunch, we were preparing to head back to the main island, when suddenly this guy came out of nowhere and started walking around like a one-man parade.
A little after 1 PM, we boarded the ferry and slowly motored back to the boardwalk.
Our flight wasn't until 5 PM, so we still had some time to wander around downtown and peek into gift shops. The Purple Papaya gift shop happened to have a Cruzan tasting bar, which I believe is the first time I've seen that.
After leaving downtown, we aimed for the airport around 2 PM. Along the way, I wanted to stop and see the Cruzan distillery, but it was closed. (There was a slight chance it might be open, again because of the cruise ship.)
Instead, we we to find a gas station to fill up the rental car. On the side of some random side road, there were a few horses grazing in the yard of a derelict house. There were also herds of goats on the side of the road, in a few different places.
After returning the rental car, we walked over to the airport. The airport was tiny, and was almost empty when we arrived. Can't beat the boarding speed of a half-empty plane that loads from the front and back simultaneously.
We watched the sun set somewhere over the Atlantic ocean, en route to Miami for our connection.
We had just enough time to grab a sandwich for dinner, and get to another terminal, before boarding a full flight to Newark some time around 7:30 PM.
There was some brief excitement when we almost had to de-plane for a tire change, but apparently maintenance decided the flat spot wasn't serious enough to justify that, so we were only delayed 40 minutes instead.
It was around midnight when we finally disembarked in Newark, and then about 2:30 AM when we finally got home. It was 85 F (feels like 95 F) in St. Croix when we left the airport. Returning to 25-degree weather is always a bit of a shock, but it could always have been worse.
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