 I rode to the southeast on a 41 mile route that included the Pistol Hill Road climb. Actually, it's not that difficult of a climb but it comes after an 8 mile slog up Old Spanish trail Road so it's a relief to reach the top. This was back to back 40+ mile rides so I felt good about that.  We have three bushes that have been growing and encroaching on other plants. My intent was to trim them but we discovered they are not bushes but Mediterranean Palm trees!  I wiggled to the base of each and began trim palm fronds and how bout that difference!? Really improved the appearance of the yard. And then.....  .....wow! What an unusual sight. Not that rain was so widespread but that it lasted the entire day.  When it was finished, we had received an unbelievable 1.25" with much higher amounts in the mountains.  The clouds began to clear so we waited to see how far down the mountains, snow had reached.  Mean time, the leaves are changing color and beginning to drop.  The front of our house with our Christmas lights. Merry Christmas everyone.
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 An enjoyable, short video by Global Cycling Network and their participation in the recent Tour de Tucson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9YostVYD40&t=2s  Ahhh, our newly paved road. I actually drive slower now, relishing the sunrise and the smoothness, lol. Sadly, Amy went with some girlfriends to Phoenix for a couple of days....  ....Jack reflects my lack of enthusiasm for the single life. Just a couple of boys lamenting our temporary situation.  I went for a hike with a long time hiking friend, Jeff. We headed for a ravine, just above his head.  The canyoning experience was fun but looking at a map, I realized if we kept going, rather than turn around, we'd intercept a trail that would make a loop of our hike.  No trail, just bushwhacking through the ravine. After....  ....some rooting around and more climbing, we found the trail and finished our 3.5 mile hike. Next day....  ...I jumped in with the Cactus Club's group ride. It was a 45 mile route that included a rest stop at this place. It's a popular destination for bikers.  A guy drove in with a creative Christmas display.  Jack and I awaken on our final day of being bachelors.
 Just picking up yet another drink for Amy! Ok, I was getting something for me and talking to a guy. Lots of Ohio folks down here.  I mostly enjoyed the sunset views from our villa, the view from the pool is of course, good too! The next morning, our departure day....  ...intermittent rain, followed by.....  ....a glorious rainbow. We departed our place at 10am, dropped off the jeep, hung out at the airport for a couple of hours, listened to an announcement that our inbound flight had been struck by lightning so had to go through a comprehensive check, boarded with doubt we'd make our connection in Houston....  ....landed in Houston as our flight to Tucson was boarding...ugh. We sprinted from the international terminal to another and as we approached our gate, yelling "keep the gate open", the agent informed us our flight was delayed to allow late arrivals to board, lol. And with that, we arrived in Tucson somehow with our luggage and....  ...were able to witness this extraordinary event the next day. Unbelievable, really!  So smooth and by the end of the day we rode on our new pavement....  ....which included a stop in front of the Halloween skeleton which has been converted from a Thanksgiving version to a Christmas version.
 We drove to a retail center to look for some items but alas, no cruise ship arrival, no reason to open most of the stores. The above was cool though, turned into a bar.  Hey! The masts from Bezos' super yacht.  This guy was walking along the edge of the pool. I petted him so I can now say, in the wild, I've petted both an iguana and a rattlesnake.  Ahhh, another beautiful sunset. No rain during our visit but that would change in two days..  Amy has been our driver for the week since she has a lot of experience driving the roads on the left side. We rented a jeep because the roads are generally pretty bad. This evening, we drove up a mountain and as a cyclist, the ramps made an impression on me. We ate at a restaurant having fantastic views  Next morning, we went back up the same mountain to an overlook. Awesome.  This view reminded me of southern AZ, only green rather than red/orange. I checked to confirm the ramps that impressed me the night before deserved the recognition. A couple at 30%. Too bad riding a bike here would suicidal. Don't even contemplate being able to ride. I think our next destination will be cyclist friendly. My Ohio friend Marty Sedluk manages to ride fabulous routes on several different islands.  One more look before descending back to our place. And of course, our daily proof of life pic....  ....of our Jack arrived.
 The evening scene from our balcony are incredible.  And of course, the 1-2 evening, passing cruise ships. We waited for darkness on this day so....  ...we could jump in kayaks and follow this guy around as he shown light into the water. We saw lots of fish, stingrays....well, that's about all one can see. Fun experience.  Whoa. Check out this sleek looking vessel, entering the bay.  Yes, that's me. Amy and I rented snorkeling gear and enjoyed our time doing this activity. Amy is far more experienced than I but eventually, while I did not close the gap between the two of us, I became more comfortable. The first day I swallowed salt water and that set me back but by the second day, they were calling me "Neptune". The highlights were a large, orange starfish, stingrays and multiple types of fish.  Ahhhh, another spectacular sunset as we waited for the next day to....  ....go in for another round of sandal fitting and adjustment. I waited on a park bench where there were numerous chickens/roosters. Abruptly....  ....one of them made a beeline for me and skidded to a stop just before reaching me...wtf! Then I heard some of them behind the bench on which I was sitting, murmuring about what they should do about me. So, I got up and walked to a restaurant.  We returned to the villa where we sat, read and looked at the scene about us.
 There are no hiking opportunities on St. Thomas but a 15 minute ride on the Red Hook ferry takes us to St. Johns and the Virgin Islands National Park. The birds fly close to the boat, looking for fish that have been churned up.  We get off in Cruz Bay, take a short walk through the town and....  ....arrive at the trail head. Our goal is Caneel Hill. The trail averages 14% and is a good workout.  The trail is rocky but fortunately, someone recently cut the tall grass and brush from the border of the trail and it made the hike more comfortable than it otherwise would have been.  At the top, there is a structure to climb, getting us above the surrounding trees. Awesome views.  We spent awhile on top, admiring the 360 views and then headed down. My two companions wanted to shop before we boarded the ferry at the top of the hour so I....  ....had a Bloody Mary. The bar is outside, quite small but with a lot of character.  We returned to our villa and watched two cruise ships preparing for their evening departures. Tucked away behind the ships is Jeff Bezos brand new super yacht, parked next to David Geffin's super yacht. We looked for Jeff at some of our hangouts but failed to run into him.  Each day, a friend who is watching our Jack, sends us a proof of life pic. We really miss our boy.
 We board a small boat, captained by an entertaining Courtney for a quick ride to the capital of Charlotte Amalie. We pass a cruise ship or two, Jeff Bezos new super yacht, David Geffin's super yacht while....  ....enjoying the entirety of the ride.. Once arrived, believe it or not, we....  . ...visited a custom sandal maker. The woman shown, Zora, is 91 and has been doing this for 61 years. She was born in the great state of...Columbus, OHIO! How bout that?! The sandals are expensive but they are distinct and very popular.  While Amy and my daughter Olivia spent an hour for the fitting, I walked the streets and settled in at Stonehouse Cafe for a very tasty dish of calamari. We rejoined and hung out for awhile walking the streets before....  ....returning on the boat. After three relatively inactive days of being a "good sport" and accommodating shopping, boat riding, eating lavish meals, drinking far too much, I was ready for something more and got it the next day. First....  ....we ate at the new Westin which was built over the ruins of a hotel destroyed by hurricanes, Irma and Maria, which hit within 2 weeks of each other, in 2017. Another cruise ship transits to the ocean, lit like a Christmas tree.
 We land in St. Thomas and walk down to the tarmac and enter the terminal. It kind of reminded me of my first visit to Santa Barbara with mountains on one side, ocean on the other, mild climate...what's not to like?  We hit a grocery store and checked into our "villa" just before sunset....  ...which was beautiful with a passing cruise ship passing through. One - two of them arrive each day and usually depart in the evening.  The first day, daughter Olivia and Amy participated in kind of a lame exercise, pool routine while I hung out, in shade, at the pool. We ate out for lunch and dinner at restaurants overlooking the water, of course. It was a relaxing first day. OK, so I'm an outdoor active guy in an outdoor, mostly inactive local, yet in time I discovered it's not so inactive. More on that to come but I rationalized my participation as, if I can't take 1 out of 52 weeks of doing nothing (which was ultimately not the case) and it makes the Amester happy, than there is something really wrong with me, lol.  The sun sets on a beautiful scene.  The next day, another cruise heads in to dock.
 I drove to Oro Valley and followed a 48 mile route, kinda hilly. It was good to break out of the 30-40 mile efforts as my endurance is really kind of sucky.  Along the way I paused to take a pic of this horse but lingered a bit too long. The woman walked over and wanted to talk, a lot.  And just like that, another front enters our region. Clouds at first and than....  ...rain. I watched radar and thought I'd have an opening to get in a hike. I drove west to Saguaro West NP, sat in my car for 20 minutes and...  ....got on to the Brown Mountain Loop trail.  The desert looks different just after rain and the small of creosote is strong. I finished the 5 mile hike and headed home. The next morning....  ....SNOW on Mount Lemmon! Only 3" but enough to get the area skiers excited about the season. No snow making equipment at Ski Valley so it will take another round of snow to open the slopes. And with that....  ...Amy and I jumped on a jet, flew to Miami, spent the night at an airport hotel and headed on the last leg of our trip. More to come, of course.
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