Almost Touching Heaven . . .

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We’re in St. Thomas!

Being in port almost every day is really great because we can see so many places. But sea days were always my catch up on sleep days. Already I’m struggling to get up in the mornings to go out in the ports when that’s what we do every day!

Eventually I got up though and off the ship. I’m planning to get my open water scuba certification in St. Thomas starting next week. So at least for the next few weeks, today was my only day to just sort of explore the port area.

We’re docked in Havensight, in the bay of Charlotte Amalie. Only a few blocks away is St. Thomas Sky Ride, a gondola lift that goes 700 feet up to the top of Paradise Point. So up I went! At the top is a short little nature trail, a gazebo, a restaurant & bar and a stunning view of the Harbour and neighbouring islands. It was so gorgeous up there. The sun shining, the water sparkling, the rolling hills, the distant islands . . . incredible.

Also up there was a “Sky Jump”, this bungee/trampoline contraption. I never would have done it but Simon (who’s in the Jazz Trio) said he was going to and then I found out the crew rate was on $5 . . . so I did. And it was so much fun! Like being a little kid jumping on the trampoline, except going far higher - and doing it on the top of a mountain overlooking the ocean! How cool is that?

After I came back down from Paradise Point, I checked out the crew spot at the dock where they have a bar, restaurant, pool, volleyball and free wireless internet. And that’s where I am now, enjoying the sunshine sitting at the poolside bar, at least for a little while longer, before I need to get back onboard to start work.

The best part of the day though? As I started up the stairs to get onto the Sky Ride, a family with two young kids walked past me in the opposite direction, having just returned from the top of Paradise Point. And the little boy said to his parents “We were so high! We could almost touch Heaven!” “You’re right, we did almost touch Heaven, didn’t we?”

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