St. Thomas, August 30 to September 5, 2009

When Julie suggested we visit warm Caribbean waters, because, after all, we would be in the Eastern Time Zone already dropping Amy off at UConn, I have to say I dragged my feet a bit. We had just returned from a terrific vacation in Northern Europe, and at the risk of damaging my reputation as a travel agent who will go to the ends of the earth to keep my Peeps informed (yes, I have a big following of pastel colored marshmallow animals), I must confess that I didn’t think I was ready for another vacation yet.

Once again, Julie was right. We enjoyed a terrific trip, and it made the transition of dropping my baby across the country more tolerable. It reminded us that we could enjoy the couples life, and this would just be a return to Xanadu (no, Olivia Newton-John was not there, and in fact I never saw that movie and have no idea if this reference makes any sense at all).

We also discovered a tie-in to our Northern Europe cruise from Copenhagen, Denmark. It turned out that 150 years after Columbus explored the New World, Denmark laid claim to St. Thomas and what became the other US Virgin Islands. They built sugar plantations, importing slaves from Africa to do the dirty work. As despicable as slavery is to us from our more enlightened perspective today, it had been prevalent throughout world history, and the Danes used St. Thomas as a slave trading port, too. In 1848, just a few years ahead of the United States, Denmark abolished slavery. Rather than adapt to the changing economic reality, most of the Danish plantation owners abandoned their holdings, and the island fell into economic decay.

In 1917, the United States bought St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix for $25 million. According to the local magazine I read this in, that would have been about $300 per acre, which would have been pretty steep at the time. The US wanted it for defensive purposes in World War I, to protect the Panama Canal and Caribbean from German incursion.

We flew from the patriotic stronghold of Boston in the morning and arrived in St. Thomas that afternoon despite a two hour layover in San Juan. We rented a car for the first day so we could buy some essentials (Diet Coke, chips, bran muffins, beer and Cruzan Estate Light Rum). Before getting groceries, however, we took a drive around the island.

As my son Jay pointed out, for some reason cars on islands travel on the left side of the road. Presumably because the U.S. Virgin Islands, of which St. Thomas is a major part, are American, however, the cars are set up like American cars, with left hand drive. It’s always a little disorienting driving on the wrong side of the road, and getting into the car through the same door as we would back home means we don’t have a cue when we get behind the wheel to keep left. Nonetheless, I had no trouble negotiating the winding roads, which at least were wider than the streets in my neighborhood back home.

We drove up to Drake’s Seat, a scenic spot where it’s said Sir Francis Drake would watch the coming and going of ships in the turquoise water far below in the late 1500s. Drake, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England as a world exploring hero and considered a pirate by his victims, was apparently only interested in protecting his booty (or grabbing some more) rather than developing prime real estate, or perhaps St. Thomas would have been part of the British Virgin Islands. Not that the island was deserted when Columbus, Drake or the Danes arrived. Carib and Arowak natives, however, did not fare well upon arrival of the Europeans, who brought disease and forced labor. Then again, military strength and social Darwinism have always resulted in survival of the fittest.

Notwithstanding the ethical dilemmas of history from a remarkably different time and culture, we drove to a site overlooking Magen’s Bay Beach which is dubbed one of the 10 Most Beautiful Beaches in the World by several sources. Unfortunately, with such fame comes crowds. We drove down to take a closer look, and while it is certainly lovely, we decided we wouldn’t keep the car an extra day to return here on this trip.

On we went to the Marriott Frenchman‘s Reef, where we would stay for the next six nights in a fantastic ocean view room. Julie had been unsure about this hotel based on what she had read in guest reviews at some web sites. I always say the reviews say as much about the people as the properties reviewed, and the conditions constantly change. I’ll grant that the elevator could use some primping, and the hallway leading to our room smelled a bit musty from beach goers dripping seawater on the carpet, but otherwise, this is a terrific property. If you’re a person who enjoys great views, you’d love it, because there are many wonderful, comfortable places to take in panoramic views.

Lest there be any mistake, I sell the best land vacations as well as cruises. Call me at 866-554-5553 to book your next great vacation.

St. Thomas/St. John: August, 2006

The Eastern Caribbean may not feature the most ports per cruise, but the overall trip proves to be quite satisfying for several reasons, not the least of which is the excellence of the ports.

On a recent Caribbean Princess cruise, we visited St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Princess Cays. Because we had plenty of time to enjoy the ship on the sea days, we didn't find ourselves rushing back, instead making the most of each port.

Featured in many Southern Caribbean itineraries and essentially every Eastern Caribbean cruise, St. Thomas is a repeat destination for many cruisers, including us. This time, we elected to take the ferry to nearby St. John. Our good friends Mike and Linda, who joined us on this cruise, probably had a better idea: take a shore excursion on a boat from the cruise port over to St. John to visit a couple of great snorkeling spots. That is apparently too simple for our family. Instead, we caught a taxi to Red Hook, where we caught the ferry to St. John, where we then took a taxi to Trunk Bay.

Someone wrote that visiting St. John without visiting Trunk Bay was equivalent to visiting France without seeing Paris. I'm not sure I would go that far, but it certainly is a beautiful beach with great snorkeling. The population of colorful tropical fish isn't as diverse and plentiful as in the South Pacific, but it definitely is quite a satisfying swim.

In the early afternoon, we caught another cab over to nearby Cinamon Bay. With fewer people to enjoy the beautiful beach, this is another excellent destination, though the snorkeling is not quite as good as at Trunk Bay. Soon we were hot and ready to head back to the ferry station at Cruz Bay, where we were supposed to have lunch in the little town at a restaurant regularly frequented by actor Kelsey Grammar of “Cheers” and “Frasier” fame, but somehow we ended up with a Subway sandwich on the ferry headed back to St. Thomas.

We lucked out, finding a Lincoln Town Car to take us up the hill for a scenic view of Magen's Bay on our way back to the ship, and the driver charged only a few dollars more than the price of the regular taxi directly back to Charlotte Amalie. I guess we saved a couple of Jacksons by traveling as we did rather than on a shore excursion boat, and we were in complete control of our own day, which is extremely important to my wife. We had taxi rides instead of a fun boat ride, but the ride to see Magen’s Bay was a nice bonus.. You can decide what works best for you.

Which Caribbean Island's Best for You?

Playa Lagun, Curacao

An ideal Caribbean vacation puts a smile on your face every morning that doesn't fade throughout the day.

While there's certainly history and more serious pursuits as in other parts of the world, that's really not the point of going there.

The Caribbean's all about reaching that state of mind Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney sing about, just kicked back in a lounge chair, barefoot, sipping an ice cold beverage before taking another dip in the warm turquoise water.

Beach At Tulum, Mexico

If you do it right, the only stress is getting there, so I'd recommend  considering air schedules carefully.

From the East Coast, it's much easier, with non-stops to places like Punta Cana and Jamaica, but from the West Coast, you have to plan on having at least one stop, and try to make it a quick connection.

However, there are non-stop flights to Cancun from the West Coast.  You can find beautiful beaches and warm Caribbean waters in the Riviera Maya region.  If you're planning to stay at an all-inclusive resort, you'll want to put this area on your list under convenient and cost-effective.

With great properties by Excellence, Hard Rock and many others, you can enjoy a terrific Caribbean vacation geared to your preferences coupled with easy flights to Cancun.

Wes and Friends at Frenchman's Reef Marriott, St. Thomas

All-inclusive resorts like Sandals and Beaches sometimes render what island you choose as mostly irrelevant, because you may never want to leave the property.

As long as you stay on site, you can enjoy the beaches, entertainment and parties without encountering hassles of transportation.

In that case, you want to focus on a property that's geared to your objectives featuring the amenities you want, whether scuba, golf, kid-friendly activities or rocking nightclubs.

Turtle Seen While Snorkeling in St. Thomas

A resort that suits a family may not be ideal for a couple on a honeymoon.

But you want specifics.

St. Thomas in the Eastern Caribbean has lots of activities.  Julie and I enjoyed a wonderful week there after dropping Amy off for her freshman year at college in Connecticut a few years back.


Because it is one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, there's no problem with language or currency (although this is generally true throughout the Caribbean).

St Lucia Pitons

It's easy to take a boat trip from St. Thomas to neighboring islands like St. John and Tortola for a change of pace, but there's plenty of great snorkeling, beaches and restaurants without leaving the island.

On our recent extended Southern Caribbean cruise, Curacao became my personal favorite Caribbean island.

And sometimes it comes down to making a dream come true.  Perhaps the word Jamaica excites you, or you saw a great spread in Travel+Leisure about St. Lucia and could never get it out of your mind.

By all means, go there next.  Live your dream at least once.

Spoiler alert: Living your dreams can be habit forming.

Wes and Julie at Margaritaville in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

If you truly want my opinion about the best way to visit the Caribbean, I have to say cruising.

Royal Caribbean Solarium Pool

Flying to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or Orlando non-stop is easy from many major airports, and from there you can board a floating resort that will bring a few of these wonderful islands to your doorstep.

There are also Caribbean cruises embarking even closer to home from ports like New Orleans, New York City and Galveston, Texas.

In a week, you'll usually get three or four ports, and while that sounds like a lot of time at sea, you may find by the end that you're reluctant to get off the ship for the final port.

This is especially true if you're on a truly amazing ship suited to your personality.

Consider the cruise Julie and I took recently to the Southern Caribbean.

I can say that every port would make an excellent place for an extended stay.

Eclipse: Rare and Unexpected

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane

Aruba

The Dream Isle of Curacao

Playa Lagun in Curacao

Barbados

St. Lucia

Antigua and Dining Aboard Eclipse

St. Kitts

St. Maarten

St. Martin View from Celebrity Eclipse

To get that many ports took two weeks, and other than St. Maarten (St. Martin), which can be found on many Eastern Caribbean sailings, most have been reached in the past primarily by flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is another great place to visit but is a considerably harder flight from most of the country than Miami/Ft. Lauderdale.

However, recently Princess, Carnival and others lines have added 7 or 8 night cruises from Florida that reach pretty deep in to the Southern Caribbean to ports like Aruba and Curacao.  We saw Carnival Sunshine at several ports on our cruise, and she was only on an eight-night voyage.

That's the nature of cruising.  Cruise lines figure out what the market wants and then make it happen, competing to tempt vacationers to sample their newest twist, whether that be adding new islands or unexpected onboard experiences.

But if you still prefer a resort stay on one island, that can certainly be arranged too.

Don't make it harder than it needs to be. Book through a friendly travel agent.

St. Thomas: October, 2000

Monday morning before we awoke, we arrived in St. Thomas. We had breakfast on the Lido Deck at the outdoor buffet, where we were treated to not only delicious food but also a beautiful view of the white buildings with red roofs rising along the hillsides near the dock. I had a light breakfast of fruit, orange juice and coffee....and a croissant...and scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage.

 

AT THIS POINT, LET ME SAY THAT JULIE AND I HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE IN NEVER HAVING PROBLEMS ON ANY OF OUR EXCURSIONS, BUT FOR ULTIMATE SAFETY, STAYING WITH OFFICIAL TOUR GROUPS IS ADVISED. IF YOU WANT TO BE AS WILD AS US, ANOTHER TIP WOULD BE TO FIND SOME TRAVELING FRIENDS ON THE SHIP WHO CAN SHARE THE COST AS WELL AS GIVING YOU MORE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. OUR VACATION STORY IS NOT INTENDED AS AN EXAMPLE BUT TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE GREAT PLACES TO VISIT IN THE PORTS.

After breakfast, we got off the ship and walked to find a bus stop, which wasn't as easy as it seemed like it should be. We finally learned that the best spot to catch a bus was by a hospital up on a hill, and we sat there waiting for a bus for twenty minutes or so, telling several jitneys and vans that stopped for us that we were waiting for the bus. It turns out that the jitneys and vans were just as much busses as the busses, however, and we took a van for a dollar a piece to an area called Secret Harbor. An extra buck a piece enticed the driver to take us down right next to the beach. A taxi cab will take you straight to Secret Harbor, if you're not as cheap as us. In fact, you can set it up for him to pick you up with whatever standard cab trick you like to employ (i.e., tear a ten dollar bill in half and give half to the cab driver with the understanding you'll give him the rest when he comes back for you).

Secret Harbor is a beautiful beach. Although there's a hotel right there, we still had the beach to ourselves and a half dozen others. We found great snorkeling near the rocks on the left side of the beach. The Blue Moon Cafe, a covered open air bar perched on the beach, provided the perfect place for a Diet Coke during a break, and $2 per soda seemed very reasonable for such a cool place with a great view. After some more snorkeling, we hiked up the hill to find a bus to Magen's Bay, but when we didn't see any for a long stretch of time, we instead flagged down a jitney going the opposite direction. It happened to be a shuttle between the Bluebird Resort, located in the town near the cruise dock, and the Elysian Resort, its sister on an otherwise deserted stretch of beach. We gave the driver a tip for the ride to the Elysian, where we had Diet Cokes ($2.25 each) and split a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich ($4.25) at its cafe on the beach. A three foot iguana joined us briefly, walking around the beach like he owned the place. This is another beautiful beach, but we didn't even go in the turquoise water, since we wanted to take the jitney toward town, having become concerned about making it back to the ship on time. For tip only, the shuttle driver dropped us in town, where we walked around checking out the shops. The people all speak with a dialect similar to Jamaica, mon.

As a special note, Carnival told us about shopping in St. Thomas in a presentation on the night we boarded the ship, and the hilarious cruise director, Greg, handed out free shots of flavored rum which can be purchased in St. Thomas. This presentation turned out to be a lot of fun, although it's not really entertainment. We planned to buy this rum at one of the recommended shops at three bottles for $18, but for one reason or another we put off the purchase until we had already taken a $5 taxi ride back to the smaller shopping center by the ship. If you want to buy the booze to take home, listen to the presentation, and buy it at the recommended shops in town and have it delivered to the ship. We ended up buying some Bailey's Irish Cream for $10.95 and rum for $3.95 at a store near the pier, but we didn't get any souvenir bottles like we planned.

I went to an art auction, which is an event they hold several times during the cruise. They claim to sell art at a substantial discount from gallery prices. They definitely seem to be good values. I have a feeling most aren't super bargains, but some people seem to buy a lot. I just liked watching and listening. By the end of the trip, we almost bought some signed and numbered lithographs by Alexander Chen at $80 each but chickened out. Time will tell if they would have been great investments.

When onboard during daylight, Julie usually laid by the pool and read, taking occasional slides down the water slide or dips in the pool to cool down. If you're interested in such, there is an adults only/clothing optional sunning area on the top level, but we aren't quite that liberated ourselves.

That evening, we went to our assigned dining room table, where we met our waiter, Johan, a young man from Romania, and our waitress, a pretty girl from Slovania. Although we sat by the picture window overlooking the ocean at a table for eight, the other passengers assigned to our table never once came to join us during the cruise, so we enjoyed intimate dining in the deluxe, two story dining room every night.

I started with cold grilled baby vegetables with soy sauce and then a salad with honey mustard dressing. I ordered the filet of sole marinated in Chardonnay and lemon sauce, which turned out to be the best seafood I've ever tasted. I had apple pie a la mode for desert. I also had a glass of Berringer White Zinfandel with dinner. The menu said this was $4, and I was charged $4.50 plus tip, but it seemed too trivial to complain over. I'd give this meal five stars, as one of the best I've ever tasted.

Julie had the grilled baby vegetables followed by tomato and gin bisque. For her main course, she had veal chops, and for desert, tiramisu.

After dinner, we went shopping at the jewelry sale on the ship. Julie bought some ten dollar red earrings to match her new red dress. We continued to the casino for the rum swizzle party (free rum swizzles for an hour) and bought twenty dollars worth of quarters. Julie dropped most of them quickly into some slot machines before giving me the rest while she went to look at one of the other shops. I switched to video poker, and when I hit four of a kind, winning a hundred dollars, I left a winner, looking for Julie so I could brag.

We headed to the Palladium for the comedy show, which had funny moments but was not what I would call great. We decided to check out the 24 hour pizzeria after the show, and, as embarrassing as it is to admit, we had some pizza as a late night snack before returning to the room to watch the movie RULES OF ENGAGEMENT on television. The nightclubs rocked without us.

Marriott Frenchman's Reef, St. Thomas

During our recent week in St. Thomas, our home away from home was an ocean view room at the Marriott Frenchman’s Reef. The comfortable, beautifully decorated room included a balcony with an amazing view of the coast and a refrigerator where we could store Diet Cokes and beer purchased in town.

The beach could be reached by stairs or a combination of stairs and elevators. While not always there in the morning, in the afternoon several large iguanas would greet us along the staircase going to or from the beach.

Because we traveled during hurricane season, the gorgeous stretch of white sand beach was never crowded. The first three days, it was generally deserted, but near the end of the week, vacationers began arriving for the long Labor Day weekend despite a hurricane watch.

On Wednesday evening, there was a Manager’s Reception, which turned out to be a casual version of a cruise Captain’s Cocktail Party. The managers all went out of their ways to come chat with us personally, and it was a pleasant affair overall.

On Thursday, we planned to take a ferry to the nearby island of Virgin Gorda, but a hurricane warning snuffed our plans. While the day included occasional rain, it was still mostly sunny, but the waves got much larger, making the snorkel visibility cloudy.

There’s a pool with hot tubs on Morning Star Beach and also up by the main Frenchman's Reef building. Everywhere we looked, there were beautiful views.

As I mentioned previously, prices for meals and beverages at a deluxe resort are frequently costly, but all the food we had here was excellent. Whether $15 at Coco Joe’s Cafe on the beach or $16 at Captain Cafe in the main building, the hamburgers would definitely fulfill Jimmy Buffett’s dream.



On Friday, we had stormier skies, so we signed up for a ninety minute tour of time shares at Marriott Frenchman’s Cove next door. The units are truly gorgeous, and of course we liked the location, but while we wanted to see what they looked like, our primary objective was to cash in their offer of $100 resort credit, which we used for dinner at Window’s On the Harbour, one of the ocean view dining rooms. Even the salesman understood we were only there for the freebie, and he didn’t even bother trying to bring in a closer or apply much pressure at the end. Before you accept such an offer, however, bear in mind that the time share offers can sound very tempting, and you might end up spending $30,000 or more on the spur of the moment in exchange for a $100 gift. If the odds didn't favor them closing a lot of deals, they couldn't make these offers.

When we arrived at Windows On the Harbour for dinner around seven, we were disappointed to learn they had a buffet on Friday evenings, with a tab of $55 per person. Most of the other diners were dressed casually like people eating at a cruise buffet on a sea day or at Las Vegas fast food. We were disappointed to say the least.

However, we asked the waitress, and she said there was a limited a la carte menu. While the other diners grazed on large portions of what was undoubtedly a tasty buffet, Julie savored Filet Mignon and I had delicious Pan Seared Red Snapper.

The next morning, we took a taxi to the airport. It cost a total of $22 for the two of us, made up in some combination of per person plus baggage cost, so you can see that the Marriott is convenient to the airport. During our flight, we could luxuriate in great memories of our hurricane season escape in St. Thomas. If you’ve wanted to take advantage of those great fall rates but feared storms, give me a call at 310-546-9618 to figure out how to limit your risk while maximizing your travel dollars. Better service leads to better trips.

Coki Beach, US Virgin Islands

If you insist on freshly groomed sand and lounge chairs that obviously get replaced or refurbished annually, then you would never have a reason to leave the gorgeous white sand of Morning Star Beach by the Marriott Frenchman’s Bay. A waitress will cater to your every need as you recline under an umbrella, or you can take a stroll over to Coco Joe’s yourself to soak in the ambiance of a wonderful beachfront bar and grill to enjoy your snack. There’s even decent snorkeling right there.

If you want the best snorkeling, however, you need to step outside your comfort zone to take a trip to funky Coki Beach. We had our rental car until late afternoon on the day after we arrived in St. Thomas, and rather than return to the more pristine Magen’s Bay, we headed for the snorkeling of Coki Beach. After all, the warm water and snorkeling is what we came for.

Coki Beach is located next door to Coral World, which from what I can discern is primarily a place for people who don’t want to get wet to see the marine life from an Undersea Observatory 15 feet below the surface. All I know is that when I swam under the rope in search of an elusive turtle that Julie saw on two separate dives, they threw me out.

The empty parking lot of Coral World tempted me, but we ended up parking on the street. The area looked very much like a third world despite construction projects. I had brought my laptop computer in case we found free internet somewhere, but I left it locked the trunk.

When we got out of our car, a big local wearing a tattered tank top and shorts greeted us with a smile. “Welcome to Coki Beach,” he said in that unique Caribbean accent. He said he would take care of us, walking us through an opening between buildings to the beach. Pointing to a guy who rented old, soiled lounge chairs with broken straps and a shack where an old Rastafarian sold organic smoothies, he gave us the lay of the land. I slipped the guy a couple of bucks, although he really had provided no service. I figured maybe he’d watch out for our car, for which I felt a bit of trepidation.

I put on my mask and snorkel and immediately waded out in the water. Since we were the only ones on the beach other than the locals mentioned above, Julie waited with our stuff. The snorkeling was amazing, the best I’d seen anywhere in the Caribbean other than Roatan. When I returned for Julie to take her turn, I told her I had a feeling I should get the computer out of the trunk before she swam, and she asked me to get her purse, too.

As I arrived where I could see our car, I noticed three locals, each wearing white tee shirts and non-descript shorts surrounding it. Unmistakably, one was about to jimmy the lock while the other two were on lookout. At first, they just observed me, but when they saw I was indeed heading to the car, the two lookouts scattered. The third guy tried to look nonchalant as he wandered off last, but he was guilty as sin, or at least he would have been had he been given an extra couple of minutes. It’s a good reminder to never forget when traveling that no matter who smiles at you and makes you feel welcome, you are a stranger in a strange land, and the locals will generally not be on your side against their cousins.

After a couple of hours, we bought a smoothie. The Rastafarian said he charged $7 because he only used fresh fruit, and if we wanted rum in it, he would charge $8, no matter how much rum was in it. Then again, rum is pretty cheap in St. Thomas, and we had arrived early in the morning, so we ordered the virgin pineapple and banana version. The Rastafarian added a couple of juices, one of which was definitely coconut, and blended them all up. As I watched him prepare my drink, a local policeman came up and told the Rastafarian that he could not operate there. The Rastafarian argued back that he had permission from some local government official, and they went back and forth. In the end, the policeman left, and I had a feeling this same argument took place every day. This definitely wasn’t Pinkberry.

We had a fun day of snorkeling. A highlight for me was a squid I happened to see dart at a fish from his hiding place in the sand, but there were great varieties of tangs, butterflyfish, parrotfish, grouper and many others. (Our underwater photos, as usual, are terrible, but click on them and you can see turtles in the enlargements.) If you insist on great snorkeling rather than simply good, Coki Beach is the place to go on St. Thomas.

St. Davids and the Mumbles Mile

The title may sound like some kind of Arthurian legend, but actually, this post will be about the rest of our third day in Wales.

I became so carried away on mini rants last times that I realized the prior post needed to be wrapped up.  Plus, we had a lot of photos of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail, and plenty of St. Davids Palace too.

After walking back to the town of St. Davids where Jay had parked, we joined a long list of pilgrims who have visited the site where St. David was buried and the Cathedral was built in his honor. 

St. David himself could have easily been considered the Patron Saint of Veganism and Sobriety.  He ate "only plants" and drank only water.

He lived from the year 500 to 589 C.E., so 89 years in an era before penicillin and other modern medical treatments.

I'd like to propose a toast to him for being such a good role model.

Keep in mind that David lived in barely literate times, and his birth has been placed between 462 and 512, and his death anywhere from 569 to 601.  As such, 89 years could be off quite a bit, but probably is about right.

In any case, David is not the patron saint of veganism and sobriety.  He IS the Patron Saint of Wales, the country where he was born.

David founded a monastic community at the site we visited that day.  A true ascetic, he preached the virtues of living a simple life by example as well as words.

The rules for his Monks included the requirement for them to pull their own ploughs rather than using draught animals.  

Monks could not own any personal possessions and were expected to spend all of their evenings either praying, reading or writing, after presumably working all day long at physical labor, except on Sunday, the day of worship and rest.  There was always water and bread with herbs to look forward to breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Yum!

"Do the Little Things" art by Bedwyr Williams

I think the Monks did get to eat honey sometimes, based on the story behind the art project of Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams, who built his structures that house bee colonies based on stories of St. David's bees following St. Aidan back to his home in Ireland. 

David founded several other monasteries and churches all over Wales, and he also ventured into nearby England.

David is connected to the legend of Jesus consecrating Glastonbury. with a legend of David seeing a vision of Jesus who told him that the church should not re-dedicated by man when Glastonbury had already been dedicated by Jesus Himself.  That might have been the genesis of the legend, or perhaps simply confirmation.  Or maybe someone made it up later to attract pilgrims.

David purportedly performed several miracles over the course of his life.  When he died, he was buried on the grounds of the church and palace we visited this day.  On that day, a legend says that the Cathedral was filled with angels, which as I understand it would have been impossible because there wasn't a Cathedral there until 1181.

Anyway, whatever small chapel suitable for an ascetic that was there must have had some really amazing vibes at the time of David's death.  The spiritual feeling apparently remained palpable for generations.

Everyone from King Alfred of Wessex,to the Vikings to William the Conqueror came to this hallowed site to pay their respects to St. David.

In 1123, Pope Calixtus II initiated a pilgrimage to visit the grave of St. David.  He proclaimed two pilgrimages to St. Davids was the equivalent of a pilgrimage to Rome.

That made St. Davids so popular that they expanded the church in 1131 and consecrated a new Cathedral there in 1181.

Learning that the tower collapsed in 1220 brought to mind Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth series of novels, an interesting fictionalization of building a Cathedral and the town that grew around it.

Like any great tourist site, St. Davids was becoming wealthy on tourist (pilgrim) dollars.  According to the St. Davids web site, "There was only one top job for an ambitious cleric in medieval Wales: Bishop of St Davids in Pembrokeshire."

And with business being extremely good, Bishops took advantage of this new money to live in luxury.  After all, these Bishops were basically royalty, usually the second son of a wealthy lord (the eldest son becoming lord of the manor upon their father's death), so they undoubtedly reasoned who better to live in a palace than a leader in the church?

St. Davids Bishop's Palace expanded to total grandeur under 14th Century Bishop Henry de Gower.

Let's just say Henry was not exactly the second coming of St. David, but even in ruins, it is a sight to behold.

Is it any wonder the Reformation sought to change the way things were done in the Catholic Church?

When Henry VIII decreed that he was head of a new Church of England that would supplant the Catholic Church in lands under his rule, St. Davids Cathedral and its grand Bishop's Palace were destined to be plundered.

Still, the ruins remain impressive to this day.

As mentioned in the first post about day three, our new home in Haverford Township echos the architecture and names of Wales, and that includes having a street in our neighborhood called St. Davids Lane (no apostrophe).

Zane Lamprey is not a saint.

He was the host of the TV show Three Sheets on the long-defunct Mojo Channel.  I'm not sure how many viewers knew about that cable channel, much less watched his show, but it was always entertaining for us.

Episode three of the first season took place in Wales.

If you watch it, you will hear about the Mumbles Mile, a stretch of bars in the seaside town of Mumbles where Zane tries to have drinks in ten bars while at the same time interviewing people to make an entertaining show.

The patron saint of productive boozers?  Nah.  Zane's just a guy who came up with a plan to make a living by having fun going around the world for as long as the ride lasts.

Jay knew how much his mom and I liked the show, so he made this a stop on our itinerary.

First, we had to drive from St. Davids, which took us on country roads lined with hedge rows taller than our standing height.

The roads were barely wide enough for Jay's Range Rover to traverse without clipping hedge rows, but these are two-way roads where fairly frequently we played chicken with approaching cars.  Fortunately, both would stop and one would back up to a slightly wider area to let the other pass.

Just to compound the stress, the speed limit is the standard in Wales: 60 kilometers per hour, which feels too fast in a narrow, winding tunnel.

Somehow, we made it through safely, stopping once to take in a coastal view.  There was talk about another four-mile hike along the coast, but fortunately we opted to head straight to Mumbles.

Jay found a good parking lot by the ocean, where Julie snapped a photo that includes the distant "mumbles," small islands from which the town got its name.

England would face the Netherlands that evening in the European Championship semi-final game.  

Watching one of these soccer matches in a pub in Mumbles was also on Jay's list.  It sure sounded like a great idea to me, too.

The White Rose would be our first stop on the Mumbles Mile, just as it had been for Zane Lamprey.

 Multiple TV screens around the pub displayed the game, so it seemed like the right place to be.

  

Standing room only, but the bartenders had no problem with baby Owen coming in, as long as he ordered a beer...I mean as long as he didn't drink alcohol.  So, we ordered our half-pints, this time "real ale" pumped with great effort by the bartender.  We stood where we didn't block others whose eyes were glued to the screens and joined in the watching experience.

When a table opened up, we snagged it.  In my exuberance at having a table, I went to the bar and added pints of the local "real ale" that Jay and I were drinking, not considering visiting additional pubs for half pints.

I wish I had re-watched Three Sheets:Wales before going to Mumbles, refreshing my memory about the Mumbles Mile challenge so I hadn't made this blunder.  Also I would have liked to have the names for specific pubs Zane visited, like Antelope, the "favorite watering hole of poet Dylan Thomas."

Baby Owen actually has an adorable face, but not for social media.

After viewing a good segment of the game, some were getting hungry, as was logical because it was later than our usual dinnertime.

We headed out to find a suitable restaurant, choosing Mumtaz, an Indian restaurant located up the street from The White Rose.

We each chose a dish, and they were all served family style.  While some stuck with dishes suitable for Saint David, a few of us ordered entrees with meat.

Every dish tasted great, though somewhat different than the same items served in the USA.

Let's call that number two on the Mumbles Mile.

This being summer, it was still light outside when we finished our late evening meal, so we headed out to finish walking the Mumbles Mile.  As a side note, England won, advancing to the finals against Spain. 

The revelers in costumes Zane found were nowhere to be seen.  A lot of the pubs apparently closed after the soccer game ended.  While it was not midnight, it was getting dark, and late for our crew with an hour, ten minutes' drive ahead of us.  And we had already reached our quota of drinks for the day, so we didn't have any more ale as we sauntered along.

A few pubs seemed permanently closed.  Jay surmised this was probably off-season for the Mumbles Mile, because students from the two nearby colleges would have returned home for summer.  In any case, Mumbles was a nice town to visit.

Maybe we'll return one day during Spring Break and see the wilder side of the Mumbles Mile, a side that Saint David would likely not approve.  Our family is definitely in the middle grounds between those extremes.