So, here we are, living the good life in the Virgin Islands... 
Yes, believe it or not, I actually did get to go away for vacation.
Our dear friends the Murphys once again offered to share their use of a condo at Mahogany Bay on St. Thomas with us. Because I was "mid-deal" I told them that I was not sure if I would be able to go, but encouraged Jeanie to plan on going regardless of whether I could or not. Because it appeared that there might be a lull in the deal right about the right time, Jeanie and I decided to get a ticket for me on the hope that I would be able to go.
It seemed touch and go for a while, but the fates smiled upon me, and I actually did get to go.
The timing worked out really well. Orals for my current deal were on Monday. Usually, there is a bit of a lull after orals, especially when (as in this case) we are the first competitor to present. It usually takes the client a few days to a week after all of the presentations are complete to make their "downselect." Our vacation plans called for a Wednesday departure, so things looked pretty good. The client did throw us a bit of a curve when they sent us a list of questions - some of which would require re-pricing - late Friday afternoon.
The whole team really pitched in over the weekend and early part of the week to get things to the point where I could even think about going away for a few days. It was really nice - even the more so considering we work in virtual teams, and no one on this team even knew me six weeks ago, and we'll disband as soon as this deal finishes within the next few weeks or months.
The client did throw one more curve by sending us another list of questions at the day after our orals, but once again, the team pulled together to devise a plan that would allow us to meet our deliverable AND allow me to go away. The plan did result in me having to work some on Thursday in the morning (e-mail, conference call) but by 11:00 AM, I was able to shut down the PC and concentrate on vacating.
Thursday, we had lunch at Molly Malone's in Red Hook, and then went snorkeling in Sapphire Bay. After a quick return to the condo for a shower and a change, we had a nice casual dinner at Iggy's On The Beach. The mango coladas were definitely the high point of the dinner - yum!
Yesterday, we chartered a 25 foot fountain center console from Nauti Nymph Powerboat Rentals with captain Raymond Pedersen at the helm, to tool around the USVIs and BVIs. We snorkeled the Caves Of Norman Island which was a unique experience. The caves don't go really far in, but far enough that at the end of the deepest cave, it is quite dark. You don't see that much going in, but swimming out is quite lovely. The most interesting thing in the caves were the large schools of small fish that took refuge in the relative protection of the caves. Unfortunately, this is jelly fish season, and though I didn't get stung, the number of jelly fish floating around was enough to be distracting. The highlight of the stop had to be the sighting of a sea turtle, which looked surprisingly like Nemo!
Next, we snorkeled a really beautiful coral reef. The highlight was a HUGE school of minnows. The school must have been 10-20 feet long, 5 feet high, and a few feet wide. It was just amazing.
Lunch at Pirates Bight was yummy. To me, the most interesting part of the place is the fact that no one actually lives on the island. In fact, the only development is the restaurant. According to Ray, the restaurant is staffed by teams of employees who work four-day shifts.
Our last snorkel was the wreck of the Rhone - a mail ship which sank in the late 1800's. It was disappointing to say the least. You really couldn't even tell that it was a ship - it appeared to just be a scattered debris field. The water was murky (by Virgin Islands standards), the wreck was really too deep for snorkeling (40-80 feet) and there was quite a bit of chop and current.
The ride back was relatively rough - a 25 foot center console boat is really a bit small for traversing open water, even with a highly skilled captain. The smoothest ride is in the very rear-most seats. Unfortunately, these seats are right next to the 200 HP outboard motor which is smelly and very noisy. So, you get queasy and get a headache from sitting up front getting the snot pounded out of you, or you get queasy and get a headache from sitting in the back next to the motor.
While the day was a memorable experience, I'm not 100% sure that it was worth the cost - in time or money. And it was an expensive day - $265 for the boat rental, $100 for the captain, $85 for the gas, $12 for outboard oil, plus the cost of lunch for us and the captain, and of course the captain's tip. Granted, it was split among four people / two families, but still - pretty pricey...
By the time we got back, I was very tired and cranky.
We stopped by the Shop 'n Save - kind of a like an Island version Sam's without the membership requirement - and bought some steaks and veggies for dinner.
When we got back to the condo, I took a shower and then decided a nap might be best for all concerned.
I was awakened by the gentle stirring of my sweeting asking me if I'd rather continue sleeping or get up for dinner, which would be ready in five minutes.
I made the wise choice and got up, and was treated to a really yummy dinner of steak, shrimp, broccoli and corn, with cheesecake for desert.
After cleaning up from dinner, we all decided that a good night's sleep would be a good thing - so we called it a day around 8:30 and headed off to stardust land.
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Posted by David at August 08, 2004 07:39 AM | Categorized under: A day in the life