We tried to sleep in, but were already so relaxed from a long wonderful sailing trip and really didn’t need the extra sleep. So we got up, showered at the Marina building, and cleaned our things out of the boat. Here’s a picture of us, with our boat in the background. This was the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever been on. My wife was a little hesitant about going, she had her heart set on a cruise ship. But by the end, she and I both agreed that sailing beat cruise ship vacations. (She wouldn’t turn down a cruise ship vacation, but this trip had been so relaxing, stress-relieving, and re-energizing she was really pleasantly surprised.)
When Emma came to check the boat in, she carefully went over everything and wanted to know if there was anything that didn’t work or that we’d suggest they check out before the boat was chartered again. I’m very impressed with the great care Conch staff takes for their boats. Emma told us to leave any extra food in the fridge because they had a local woman working there who cleaned the boats. She had a large family and took any leftover food home to them.
We took the ferry back to St. Thomas, and there at the dock was our cab driver. Conch Charters had arranged the taxis for us, and did a great job. We never had to wait or look around for our cabs – they were right on time and had signs waiting for us.
The flight from St Thomas to San Juan Puerto Rico was a little more exciting. Turns out we were in a very small plane. They seated us by weight. They sent my wife in first and told her to sit in front. “Front” as in “Co-Pilot’s Seat”. You have to understand, my wife is not one that craves adrenaline-inducing experiences. Probably has something to do with the prolonged adrenaline-inducing experience raising 6 kids or something. Or maybe it was the warning sign in front of her seat, visible in this picture. It reads “WARNING. To continue flight with an inoperative engine…” Anyway, I could see her anxiety rising as the weather-beaten little plane bounced into the air and started climbing. Just in front of her the yoke pulled back, twisted and turned as gauges swung wildly on the instrument panel. Someone in the back said, “wow, she’s really brave to sit up there.” 
I couldn’t help it, I replied, “No, if you knew her like I did, you’d realize that you are the brave ones.” I turned around, expecting a scolding smile from my wife, but she was too focused on imminent death to have heard me. I’ve never been one to deface another’s property, but if I were to ever graffiti on something I would have scribbled “Orville and Wilbur were here” on one of the seats. But we survived.
From San Juan, we flew back to Dallas where we had an 8 hour layover so we stayed at the Marriott before flying home in the morning.