It was overcast when I woke up.  Then it rained hard and cleared up again before we left at 9:30 am. 

I still had to pack before leaving, but Grace and Marleen were already cleaning up our Air BnB for our departure.  We were sad to leave such a pleasant spot and our adopted cat Lucy.  I went for a swim and even did 4 laps from end to end (more or less).  Then I took a cool shower because I didn't seem to have any hot water even though Marleen said she had a hot shower.  It wasn't horrible but, knowing that I would be soon cold in NY, I had been hoping for a nice hot shower.  I finished my packing, but I might have forgotten my Birki garden clogs if Grace hadn't pointed them out.  I brought out Lucy's last dish of cat food and some scrambled eggs that Grace had made and covered them with paper towels to try to keep the birds away until Lucy got back to the apartment.  She was in the habit of a walk somewhere between meals.  We will all miss Lucy and hop0e that she finds someone else to feed her. ...or maybe adopt her as their pet cat.

Marleen Whatsapped Kirtland and he agreed to come after us at 9:30 am instead of 10 because we would be ready earlier, but when the taxi came, there was no Kirtland.  He had sent a cousin of his - Bertram, who later showed us where he and Kirtland had grown up in the south of the island.  When we met Bertam, Marleen tried to clarify the trip to the Chocolate Factory, but Bertram seemed to suggest that it was out of the way and would take longer.  Then he recanted on the take-longer part, but we were too anxious about being at the airport on time, so cancelled that aspect of our trip to the airport.  I wanted to mail out my postcards and kept nagging a bit about finding a post office.  Bertram assured me he would go to the post office, but then I noticed we went past where I thought the post office was and seemed to be heading out of Castries so I asked and Bertram apologized for missing it.  We went back and, after some difficulty I found the right building and a slot to put the cards since the post office wasn't open on Saturday.

We continued on and Bertram had promised to stop at a few sites along the Atlantic Coast.  Then he got a phone call and our stops were only two and quite short but he was agreeable to taking our photos with the scenic backdrops.  They must be on someone else's camera because I don't seem to have any. 

He dropped us off at the airport in very good time.  We gave him the tip for Kirtland and hoped that he gives it to him since Kirtland was the best!  A porter took out bags and brought us to the Jet Blue counter to check-in and I gave him the last of my ECs for a tip.  The airport was very crowded and we worked out way through security and got some lunch and managed to find a few seats and then Grace and Marleen did some shopping while I tried to find a seat.  I found one along the back wall and was interviewed for a tourist survey by a very nice woman.  We waited for the boarding call.  We each had different boarding priorities - Marleen was B, I was C and Grace, D so Marleen went first.  We had seats in the second to last row - Marleen kindly gave me her window seat and she took the aisle and Grace switched to the center.   The flight was bumpy but OK.  We landed at JFK at 7 pm.  Immigration was very quick.  After having our photos taken at the kiosks, Grace and I got our receipts and went right through the line.  Marleen, without Global Entry, was very quick too.  I can't believe the Trump administration is punishing NY by not allowing New Yorkers to renew their Global entry status.  I am counting on his not being re-elected and the decision reversed.  It took awhile for our bags to come out but we all got them and then exited to the AirTrain to long-term parking.  We were all surprised that there was no separate customs line or counter.  Marleen drove from JFK over the George Washington Bridge to get to Rt 17 and then the Thruway.  It was a little dicey getting out of the airport onto the right roads and following the GPS until we finally got onto i-87.  When we stopped at the fist thruway rest stop, it seemed as if the Starbuck's and Dunkin Donuts staff were speaking a Creole dialect, just like st Lucia.

I got dropped off first, got into the house, hugged my babies and did some unpacking and other things.  Now it is apparently 2:13 am, but really 3:13 am in St Lucia time so I guess it is past time for me to go to bed.