December 5, 2024

St. Maartin's & Anguilla 

I heard the best way to see Anguilla was from the water - so I set up a chartered boat for 10 of us to do that on black Friday November 29th. So much fun!! Any day on the water is a great day and this group was a great mix and lots of fun! On the left is my cousin Cathy and Tripod ROD (new nickname he is trying out), my neighbor on ship, Dr. David Austin and his visiting girlfriend Suzanne and Peter Devine (who we found out has not been in water or swam in over 50 years - oopsie!) On the right, is lovely Holly Hennessy (self- proclaimed mother to Captain the Sailing Kitty), the super well-traveled, retired attorney from San Francisco, Scott Hauswirth, Me, Terri Chmurak (nicknamed Wendy Terri by Cathy and I, because we forgot her name and she allows our goofiness!) and Sherrie Cornett - who like Peter didn't care about snorkeling just wanted a fun boat ride! Captain Allen and first mate Andy who kept the drinks flowing rounded out the fun. 

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We meet at a marine close to our Ship's mooring and had 7.5 hours to tour. First, we came out of south side of St Maartins, on the Dutch side, past the airport and headed north to Anguilla, across the canal, with French side of St Martins in the distance. We first went to Rendezvous Bay for a swim, then onto Little Bay to swim and snorkel. We had a lunch stop at Roy's on Sandy Ground Beach,  and another snorkel and swim stop at Meads Bay. The weather was good with a quick shower hitting while we were at Lunch and again on our ride back to the marina. We stayed a little longer at each stop than was planned because Shoal Bay, the furthest out destination was experiencing high winds and waves. 

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TIANMEN MOUNTAIN, ZHANGJIAJIE NATIONAL FOREST, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 13, 2026
Tianmen Mountain , also known as Heaven's Gate , is where the dramatic natural arch is at the top of a staircase 999 steps! This is in a whole different section of the Zhangjaijie National Forest then we did yesterday. Getting up to the plaza at Upper Station, to start the ascent to Heaven's Gate , is quite extensive in itself. First we took a 30 minute cable car ride from the town of Zhangjaijie; then a bus ride you have to strap in for up a series of hairpin turns, for another 30 minutes. Then you climb a couple of staircases to make it to Upper Station . To get to the Peak of the Mountain, you either climb the 999 steps or take a series of 12 escalators inside the mountain. The upper station cableway is currently closed for renovations, so the options above were limited and very crowded.

FURONG ANCIENT TOWN, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 13, 2026
We had arranged for a driver to pick us up at the Zhangjaijie National Forest at 2:30pm, so we could have a much needed break for the 2 hour drive to Furong Ancient Town. That way, we could explore Furong at night, which is the best time to see it, have a bit of a rest and still be in a good position, to see more of the Forest, the next day.

ZHANGJIAJIE - NORTH GATE

By Pat Patrick • September 13, 2026
When we arrived at the Zhangjiajie train station, we had a driver meet us to take us all the way to the little village just outside the North Gate of the Zhangjiajie National Forest, which was about a 2 hour ride.This put us in a great position to get right into the Park early the next morning before the large crowds and access to the top section of the park, in lieu of the more crowded routes, coming in from the base of the mountains from downtown. We stayed at an older resort called Stilt Paradise and the place had a rustic charm as did the whole one street village. It was close to 7:30 pm when we arrived. We went in search of dinner, which commenced a session of pointing at photo's on their billboard and piecing together an order with google translate, to get the basic dumplings and noodles.