The first indication we had that it might be an interesting evening was the unusual security the passengers had to go through just to get onto the ferry. There were at least 10 TSA and/or port authority cops plus VI cops and a dog. Bob got patted down (and his collar checked?) and my purse was thoroughly searched - tho I didn't get searched. After we boarded the ferry, we watched and observed that different passengers got different screenings. Everyone (besides us, that is - obviously we didn't look too threatening) had to show id's, and some people were pulled aside and their id's were checked against something on a laptop. The locals didn't seem to be fazed, but Bob and I were intrigued.
The opening bands were okay, though they were local bands, and we had a hard time understanding the dialects. The headliners, Third World Band, are "international reggae legends" from Jamaica. They were due to come on stage at 11:15 p.m. But we're on island time down here, so they didn't actually start playing until 12:40 a.m.! We really enjoyed the music, but decided we'd head for the ferry about 1:15 in hopes of beating the crowds.
We knew that the ferries would be running after the concert and assumed that they would be running regularly until then. We were wrong ... There were a few people waiting for the ferry when we got to the dock - at least one had been there since 11:30 p.m. By 2 a.m., when the next ferry was supposed to leave, quite a few people were waiting and were beginning to get restless. Ferry company and security personnel finally headed for the gates, and the crowd went crazy! As the people seated near the gate lined up, people from the rear of the group started climbing over the benches and elbowing through the line to get to the front. Then a security guy opened the exit gate to let 6 or 8 people in ahead of those of us who were lined up, and we really thought there might be a riot. Luckily, they opened the gate and started letting people through. We were able to get a seat in a fairly secluded part of the first ferry, so the ride was relatively uneventful. Once we were back on St. Thomas, all the intoxicated people got into their cars and drove off - right past at least 5 police officers!
After at least 6 hours of sleep :) we had a quiet Sunday morning before we got ready for my afternoon venture. While I've been running (sloooooowly) for a little while, I've only run one race, a 5K, and I did that with Parker a couple of summers ago. Well, I saw an article in the paper here about the 29th annual Jogger Jam, a 2-mile women's only race to raise money for the Family Resource Center. I figured I could do that!
So, I joined 472 other women and girls for the 4:30 p.m. race. First there were some warm-ups exercises, then we all headed to the starting line. I was close to the front, so you can't see me in this picture Bob took of the group after the start, but you can get an idea of the crowd:
One of the high schools had 125 runners (in the gold tees and maroon shorts), and they all started out in a sprint. It really didn't feel bad to pass many of them as I stayed at a fairly consistent pace :)
While I certainly didn't win any awards, I did finish (in just over 20 minutes) and got to watch lots of the runners and walkers cross the finish line. Everyone was so positive and excited about this run!
Bob saw one of the women who works in his office, Willa, afterwards, and took a pic of us that he posted in the office:
He even commented that this had been one of his favorite days here, because we felt like a part of the community. That made all my discomfort worth it!
No comments:
Post a Comment