Our lives unscripted...

Reef Bay Trail

2012-01-30T19:03:00.001-05:00

Two friends and I went on an awesome hike on Saturday! First off, we took the car ferry to St. John which was fun in itself.

The start of the trail is about 5 miles inland from the ferry dock and starts up in the mountains.

The ruins of Miss Marsh's house is one of the first places we pasted. Back in the day you had to get permission from Miss Marsh to continue down the trail. Well, until 1938, when she was murdered for her wedding ring!

In the lower section of the Reef Bay Valley, there is a fresh waterfall that is surrounded by large, smooth rocks with dozens of drawings and symbols that have been carved in to them. These rock carvings and water pools are known as the petroglyphs. The petroglyphs were created by the pre-Columbian inhabitants of St. John known as the Taino indians. Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, and the subsequent annihilation of the native population, the Tainos inhabited the islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea. Supposedly, the carving are next to water so the reflections were sent up to the heavens.

Almost at the end of the trail is the Reef Bay Plantation where they made sugar and rum.

In 1908, on the last day the mill was open, a fifteen year old worker boy died here by being crushed in the gear assembly next to the rollers.

Mmmmm....honey...

Behind the horsemill, about twenty yards inland from the beach, is the well preserved above ground grave of W.H. Marsh. His two daughters are buried nearby. The Marsh family own the mill and much of Reef Bay.

The end of the trail...

We then hiked back up the 2.5 mile trail, not a bad sight at the other end of the trail either...

“love the life you live. live the life you love.” ― Bob Marley

2012-01-22T08:42:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I went to the 15th Annual Bordeaux Farmers Rastafari Agricultural & Cultural Food Fair and it was amazing!!!! It's on the farm land on the west side.

Soup made in Ital clay pots

All the ingredients in Bush Tea

Grinding a coconut to add to soup

Old tires used as plant pots

Pumpkin Coconut Ital Soup

Steel drum band

All the things I bought - Ital pumpkin/coconut soup, blackeye pea fritters, tumeric spice, plantains, soursop, sorrels and local honey!

Our new wheels...

2012-01-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Expensie Champagne in Plastic Cups

2012-01-02T11:10:00.000-05:00

We started 2012 off perfect! At the beach drinking expensive champagne out of plastic cups. I hope the whole year follows the same theme!

Weird hovercraft boat on the beach

Kayo's new beer bottle shaped dog toy

Old Years Eve

2012-01-02T10:11:00.000-05:00

New Years Eve was an action-packed fun-filled day! Unfortunately, Danny had to work until 4pm. On the way to work, Kayo stopped by to say hi to his new bearded partner in crime, Leo.

I then met up with my friend to go explore town. We first went to Charlotte Amalie before the cruise ships unloaded. The historic part of Charlotte Amalie has cool old stone hallways inbetween all the stores. Its easy to get lost, but so cool when there aren't thousands of cruise ship passengers there.

While in town, we stopped at Glady's Cafe for a rum punch. Glady was working and let us try all her home-made hot sauces on crackers. Breakfast of champions - Rum Punch and Hot Sauces! Delicious! We both bought the yellow sauce.

After walking around town and shopping a little, we headed over to Frenchtown planning to hit up the Champagne bar or sushi restaurant. Both were closed, so we end up wandering around Frenchtown to take a few photos. Love this lizard on the Buddah!

After wandering around, we end up grabbing a snack and champagne at a seafood restaurant.

My friend then introduced me to my new favorite restaurant. Its the green building below called Roti Palace, where we picked up dinner. West Indian Roti is a popular food here. Danny and I usually have them every Friday. But the ones from Roti Palace are the best. Roti is kind of like a wrap made with naan bread. All are different but usually inside is curry, potatoes, veggies and some sort of protein: Tofu, chicken, conch, lobster or goat.

We also stopped by a local West Indian bakery and got some Dumb Bread and Butter Bread. Then stopped by a Old Years festival and headed back to Red Hook. Danny was getting off work by then. So, we stopped by happy hour and hung out with our friend who was working at the skate shop. Once she got off, we all went and had a nice dinner at XO. Then rang in the New Years with a few new friends at Duffy's Love Shack. I love the classy ball they dropped!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

Caribbean Christmas

2011-12-29T17:46:00.000-05:00

Our first Christmas in the Caribbean was nice. Quiet, simple, missed our families, but still had a nice time...

Spent Christmas Eve with some of Danny's co-workers

Beautiful sunrise Christmas morning during our pancakes and stocking openings

Kayo slept in

Secret Harbour Beach snowman

Nice sight to end the day!

Escape to Love City

2011-12-20T18:42:00.002-05:00

Danny and I escaped Rock City (St. Thomas) and took the ferry to Love City (St. John) on Sunday Funday to explore the east side of St. John where we have never been before now. After our rainy morning ferry ride, it was about an 8 mile (30 minute) cross by safari to the other side of the island to Coral Bay.

The island life is already pretty slow...the east side of St. John takes it even slower. Everyone is real mellow and friendly. Lots of donkeys, goats and chicken hanging out...they are pretty mellow and friendly, too ;)

Of course, only the finest breakfast for us...

Since it was still morning, we just walked around. Pretty quaint town. No lights, one gas station that is closed down, two or three little stores and three or four restaurants.

Main road in Coral Bay

Goats in the mangroves! ;)

This soccer field doesn't need a lawn mower!

We stopped at Donkey Diner for a mimosa and Bloody Mary. The donkeys are really nice. I pet and hugged these two :)

We then headed over to Skinny Legs. It's probably the most popular thing in Coral Bay. You sometimes can catch someone in the states wearing a Skinny Legs shirt. I got a fresh Wahoo sandwich. They had homemade curry hot sauce on the table that turned the sandwich into the best sandwich ever!

Skinny Legs

Then we headed back to Cruz Bay. Had a drink at Woody's, did a little shopping and caught the ferry back to Rock City.

Woody's

Cruz Bay

Santa is coming to town!

2011-12-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

Santa will be hanging out with Danny at his store today! And even better...they will be providing mimosas! It's been two years since Kayo's traumatic moment with Santa, so we are going to introduce them again today to make amends. ;)

I am so happy it's the weekend! Last weekend I worked Sunday at the Ritz children's holiday party and been working late most days. The pay period ended yesterday and I was over 100 hours in two weeks. But now it will all be worth it when I see that overtime $ on Wednesday's check!

Besides all the working, we had a pretty fun week!

On Wednesday, I met a few new girlfriends, (Lelani, Olivia and Miri - They all work with Danny) and went to the spa they all go to's Christmas party. The spa was awesome - In an old house, down a dirt road by the water. Cute inside with art everywhere and painted fun colors. We started off with mango martinis, then acai berry martinis, then moved on to wine. All went back to the store to order pizza and help Danny open and price the over 70 boxes of items that came in at the store for the Christmas sale today. They are getting in some of the coolest stuff. I bought a Columbia shirt the other day - Just a t-shirt, but really really soft - All it has on it is a bear riding a pink bicycle. =)

Then on Thursday, Miri had a holiday fiesta on her beautiful Beneteau sailboat! She went all out - Margaritas and coronas. Homemade salsa, and another homemade mango/bean/cheese salsa. Then delicious beans she cooked for two days, meat cooked in crock pot, fresh tortillas and every taco topping possible! Delicious and good company! Kayo even was invited. His favorite things in St. Thomas are boats and jeeps.

So, last night we took it easy after a long week. I came home to a bottle of wine Danny surprised me with. I made a huge dinner. And since our tree was looking so full and Santa was coming tomorrow, we decided to exchange one small gift we had bought for each other. I think both of us were stoked! Danny got me a blown-glass sun catcher that is shaped like a Sting Ray and it was made at Maho Bay, which is an Eco-friendly camp on St. John. I found Danny a book in an antique store here on Foxy, an old islander man who owns Foxy's Bar on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. We both love the bar and Foxy is amazing. The first time I met him was with my parents and we all danced all night!

...So, we are off to get drunk off champagne with Santa! I will be sure to take pictures!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain

2011-12-13T19:04:00.002-05:00

Danny and I haven't had the same day off together since December 4th, so this Sunday we are going some place new on our day off! Definitely over to St. John. The ferry goes in to a town called Cruz Bay - On the opposite of the island is the only other town on St. John named Coral Bay. We've never been there, so I think that is on the agenda. Found a cool painting of Coral Bay online while looking up beaches near by it.

Danny had Monday off, so he walked to a beach we had never been called Secret Harbour for a little swim and sunshine. Here's a few pictures he took over there.

And then he and Kayo watched a soccer match until I came home. Then headed to Duffy's Love Shack for dinner. :)

"The only blind person at Christmas time is he who has not Christmas in his heart." ~Helen Keller

2011-12-11T20:06:00.002-05:00

Made Kayo a new stocking at our Kids Christmas party at work today!

Starting to look a little like Christmas - Danny and I both added a few presents under the tree today! Newspaper wrapping of course!

O Christmas Tree...

2011-12-10T18:30:00.002-05:00

"Every path has its puddle."

2011-12-10T08:58:00.000-05:00

Last night, Danny and I attempted to have a normal night out to have dinner and see the Christmas tree in Havensight. :) Of course it didn't work out normal! We jumped on the safari to cross the island to Havensight, which is where the cruise ships park. It started pouring (really pouring) and never stopped. Took us 45 minutes on the safari because 5 o'clock traffic in the rain. Got drenched running around Havensight looking for this tree that we figured would be 5 feet tall or a palm tree with lights. But we found it!!! Took a few rainy pictures with it :) Lots of giggles - It was fun, but definitely needed cover, food and drinks by this point. We had never really explored Havensight, so every place was new. Grab dinner at Shipwreck Tavern. It was cool. Kind of reminds me of a Flanigan's. Then went over to Dog House Pub. Loved it there. Real laid back, covered outdoors, nice people. They use to allow dogs, but recently were told they couldn't by law. They are fighting it, so hopefully Kayo gets to grab a beer there, too, one day! We only had a dog sitter until 9pm, so we stopped by The Rock casino for one drink and to lose at roulette. Then we took a taxi home. Fun Friday - A little (lot) of rain isn't going to slow us down!

Rainy Football Sunday on the Northside

2011-12-04T18:58:00.000-05:00


Hull Bay

Hull Bay Hideaway

Hideaway Bathroom

Should have sat here instead of watching the Bucs lose again!

Tis the Season!

2011-12-02T16:29:00.000-05:00

Kayo and I got festive tonight!

It's not snow, but not a bad view to see while decorating!

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

2011-12-02T13:01:00.004-05:00

Meet out neighbor, Fred. He usually sun bathes in our yard every morning....

Paradise Found.

2011-11-27T18:49:00.002-05:00

Spent yesterday in the British Virgin Islands. Perfect day! No pictures will ever do it justice. Every inch of the BVI is unbelievably gorgeous! We rented a boat in Red Hook with a captain (JC - Who is Danny's boss' husband). It was so nice because he is really familiar with the area being here 10 years and we basically didn't have to think all day.

First stop was British customs in Soper's Hole on the west end of Tortola. Funny that I have 4 British stamps in my passport without going anywhere close to England.

We then shot over to the other side of Tortola to a gorgeous beach in Smuggler's Cove.

A local guy from Tortola, Stephen, was setting up a make-shift beach bar and Capt. JC said we should go get a banana daiquiri. So, with his blender hooked up to his car battery, Stephen used bananas growing behind him and rum made in the British Virgin Island. It was a delicious breakfast and only $5!

Then we headed over to White Bay in Jost van Dyke. JC recommended we hit up Soggy Dollar Bar in the morning to avoid the holiday weekend crowds in the afternoon.

We then went to the other side of Jost van Dyke to this very local amazing restaurant that JC turned us on to - Sidney's Love and Peace...

Sidney passed away last year, but his daughter, Strawberry is now running the place.

Sidney's Love & Peace is a pour-your-own bar and runs on the honor system.

JC said they catch the conch and lobster every morning. Since Sidney's is on a dock, there are cages underneath where they keep the lobster and conch alive until ordered. We all ordered the lobster sandwich. And we could hear them cracking open the lobster from the bar.

When we first moved to St. Thomas, we went on a Sunday sailing trip with Pam. Jess had just moved into Pam's parents apartment and we met him sailing that day. His girlfriend, Meg, came to town for the weekend and is super sweet.

Rainy during lunch, good thing we had a great place to hang and lots of lobster to eat while the showers moved through.

We then back tracked to Foxy's, which is also on Jost...

After a quick drink, we had just enough time to head back to Tortola. We went in at Cane Garden Bay to walk over to Callwood Distillery which dates back to making rum since the mid-1700s.

Jess, Meg, Danny and I

Callwood is the Caribbean’s oldest, continuously operating pot distillery. We bought two bottles since they do not make enough rum to export and the distillery is the only place to buy it.

Walking through Cane Garden Bay, it kind of remind us of Costa Rica...

There was a cemetery directly on the beach.

...Until we meet again BVI!!! Hope it is sooner than later! (Like next weekend!)

"Never trust a girl that can't swim!"

2011-11-25T17:32:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was different this year. Really made us be thankful for our family and friends back home that we miss!! Surprisingly, we did have a delicious typical T-day dinner with good people! Went over to Jess' house, a new friend we met out sailing last month who moved here around the same time we did. His girlfriend, Meg, is in town visiting and she is a much better chef than I could ever be - Turkey, stuffing, salad, cream of spinach, mashed potatoes. (I made simple break and bake cookies for dessert).

Kayo sat in this spot the entire time we were at their house! I think he ate double what everyone else did!

We ate on his balcony and this was our view...

Then went across the street to Caribbean Saloon to watch some football and play some Blackjack. Gambling is only legal here in electronic form like slots. So, they came up with this creepy computer blackjack dealer girl.

I just like the name of the back bar at Caribbean Saloon...Clown Lounge :)

The four of us were sitting around the blackjack table in the Clown Lounge and were joined by an older bar local with a British accent. He told us many of wise things. My favorite being, "Never trust a girl that can't swim!"

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!! And I hope next year we are celebrating with new and old friends! And family!

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”

2011-11-22T18:09:00.000-05:00

Picked up some locally made desserts at the market while getting stuff for taco night! Zucchini bread for me and marble bread for Danny.

Thanksgiving Cold Front in the Caribbean

2011-11-22T17:12:00.000-05:00

Wish me luck...

2011-11-20T09:44:00.001-05:00

My neighbor entrusted me with plant-sitting her Basil while she is in the states for a week! Hoping I can't kill it in a week =) But on a brighter note, she said to help myself to it. Anyone know any good recipes with basil? Think I'm going to make some bruschetta this afternoon.

A few pics Danny took this week...

2011-11-19T16:38:00.002-05:00

"The sun is but a morning star. " ~Thoreau

2011-11-19T09:39:00.001-05:00

Kayo and Danny were still snoozing when I woke up, so I sneaked out for a solo morning hike.

Not sure if you can see it below, but I could see St. Croix far in the distance. I think I've heard St. Croix is 40 miles south of St. Thomas.

This is just what the majority of the houses on the mountains look like here. And most of them have on-going construction. Some of them you park on the roof.

These guys accompanied me along the road part of my hike.

Came home to a Premier League game starting. So funny, I use to dread waking up for these early soccer games. Now with the time change and just that we wake up with the sun here, we are wide awake before kick off. =) Hope everybody has a great weekend!!!!

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” ~Henry Miller

2011-11-13T11:40:00.004-05:00

I fell so much more in love with St. Thomas yesterday! Spent the whole day with a new friend, Miri. She works with Danny and has lived here a year or two. We drove all around the island to see some of her local favorites. First over to Charlotte Amalie so I could get some stuff done at the bank, which was nice to get out of the way. Then she showed me a few different farmers markets and veggie stands down there. We had lunch at her favorite restaurant, Barefoot Buddah. I had a wrap with hummus, rosemary goat cheese, sweet potatoes and spinach in it with fresh squeezed lemonade. Delicious! Then we headed to the northside to check out Hull Bay. Stopped at a few overlooks along the way. Then ended up at a store up in the mountains. Grabbed a beer in the store and sat at the Tamale stand below for awhile. Karl there makes his own hot sauce and bottles it in old Patron bottles. I got some rice and beans to bring home and added his hot sauce. It was great - somehow the rice or beans had a delicious smokey taste. On the way home we stopped by a few rastas selling coconuts on the side of the road for $2 and bought a drink.

Charlotte Amalie

Road to Hull Bay

Hull Bay

Beach is Magen's Bay

Century plants about to bloom

Island in back is Hans Lollik Island. The island is for sale for $45 million.

Coconut water

When we got back to Red Hook, I met Danny up to watch the FSU vs UM game at Caribbean Saloon. Dollar cruzan drinks there from 3pm-7pm every day!

Once we got home we noticed the moon reflecting off Cinnamon Beach in St. John. The beach was glowing.

"There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby."

2011-11-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

I saw the end of the rainbow on Friday :)

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John F. Kennedy.

2011-11-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone is enjoying this Veteran's Day!


American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook

4th of July in Ocean Ridge

...Make a wish! It's 11/11/11...

"Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun." ~John Lennon

2011-11-10T18:08:00.001-05:00

Full moon three day weekend!!! Actually, not too much craziness going on here. Danny is at work until 7ish. I'm making dinner. Just chilling at home tonight. Not a bad thing though. Kinda love our new home! The moon is trying to come through the clouds off the balcony...

Not sure if you can see it, but that red light below is an ambulance boat that passed by earlier. If you are on St. John and need a real hospital...you have to take an ambulance to the port, be put in the ambulance boat to cross Pillsbury Sound, then it meets another ambulance in Red Hook. The hospital is on the other side of the island from Red Hook. How much would that suck, right?

So, laying low. Enjoying the breeze. And hanging with Mr. Kayo tonight :)

"He not busy being born is busy dying" ~Bob Dylan

2011-11-08T19:11:00.001-05:00

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." ~Robert Frost

2011-11-06T12:23:00.000-05:00

A couple guys the other night told us that there is a trail behind the cell phone tower at the top of Red Hook Mountain that leads to the other side of the mountain. Kayo and I went to explore it today.

Sundays sunrise...

2011-11-06T09:56:00.000-05:00

Weekends are made for fun!!!!

2011-11-06T09:52:00.001-05:00

Wow, I forgot how rad it is to have weekends off! Danny was off at 3pm yesterday, so of course went straight to happy hour from there!!! Basically just walked upstairs from the skate shop to Island Time Pub. We always watch these fearless dive-bombing pelicans from there!

Island Time doesn't allow dogs. But Kayo doesn't mind because he stays with his best friend here, Olivia, at the skate shop while we are there.

After we picked up Kayo, we headed across the street to Duffy's Love Shack. Strangely, I had a Bushwacker there. Well, not strange that I got it because Bushwackers at Duffys are my favorite drink in the world - Strange that it is the first Bushwacker I have ordered since we moved here over a month ago!

So, it was a fun night! Just came across a throw-back picture of another great weekend in Red Hook!

Man, we miss these guys!

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."

2011-11-05T08:46:00.001-04:00

Meet our two friends that hang on our balcony every day. Any suggestions for names? :)

"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses." ~Confucius

2011-11-03T21:43:00.003-04:00

Another wonderful thing this week was we received amazing care packages from our parents of some much needed things we could not find on-island or at least not for a ridiculous price! Thank you so much!! I am baking chicken for Danny right now with some great spices on it and drinking some much needed delicious green tea!! Its sometimes the small things in life that make smiles! You guys wouldn't believe all the awesome things our parents crammed into a box! Everything was much needed and appreciated! Thank you very much mom and dad Bell and Charles!

"Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." ~Benjamin Franklin

2011-11-03T20:12:00.003-04:00

Definitely nervous this week with first days at work! But orientation day on Tuesday and first real day of work today went great. I feel like I met a hundred people (I did), but every one of them was so friendly and gracious. Made a few friends in orientation that I'm sure will be outside-work-friends, too. The majority of the 12 people in my orientation class were people my age that just got on-island this month - They either transferred down from another Ritz-Carlton or had randomly moved here with hopes of getting in with the Ritz. But really everyone was crazy friendly! It was a fun day - Laughed all day!
Today was pretty laid back. Lots of rain. I helped out around the office and created the monthly newsletter. There is an employee cafe and every day you work you get a free meal. Well, I figured I would be eating salads every day being (pesca) vegetarian - Which is boring but fine with me. But I hadn't put together that there are a ton of rastas in the virgin islands and many of them work at The Ritz-Carlton. My boss said the majority of the people working here are vegetarians. So, its awesome. The soup of the day is always vegetarian (miso soup today). Then there is always a warm tofu dish. Plus a warm fish and other meat choice. And warm sides. Then a salad bar with everything from chick peas to cheese. Or you can grab a sandwich and make a panini on the press. Today, I had rice and beans with steamed tofu mixed with sauteed onions and peppers. Not bad for a free meal in a land of crazy expensive food! :)
So, all is good and tomorrow will be the first time in awhile that I get to celebrate TGIF!! :)

“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” ~Bob Marley

2011-10-31T20:32:00.000-04:00

Danny and I both had off today! Monday Funday! Well, kind of...We had a few responsible things to get done, but mixed in some fun.

First, we set up a local bank account at Banco Popular. It's a Puerto Rico based bank, so it was funny that half the paperwork was in Spanish.

Then we stopped by one of the stores Danny works at to say hi to Kayo's co-worker/friend Maggie, the Golden Retriever...

Then we had to do laundry. Conveniently, the laundry mat is next to our favorite (only) Irish pub in Red Hook, Molly Malone's. So, we planned laundry to intercept with happy hour :)

Molly Malone's

There was a sun shower while at Molly's, so I walked out onto the docks to take a picture of the boats in the shower and found a beautiful rainbow...

Got home before the real rain showers rolled in and made dinner - Fish tacos, broccoli and potatoes. Yum!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2011-10-31T11:46:00.001-04:00

...for Halloween!

"I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." ~Thomas Jefferson

2011-10-30T10:35:00.001-04:00

This week has been pretty awesome! It all happened so fast, but earlier this week, The Ritz-Carlton called and asked if I would come in to talk with HR. So, on Thursday, I went by and they told me about a job that became available that sounded just up my alley. I think the title is Human Resources Coordinator and it basically assists HR in all the employee activities, charities and training. There are over 350 employees there and they have a crazy amount of fun events they put on for them. Plus, the Ritz is very active on-island with charities like the Boys & Girls Club and Community Footprints. So, after taking four computer tests and four interviews on Thursday, they offered me the job =) It's Monday through Friday, 9-5, great salary, paid days off and benefits. Never in a million years did I think I would find a career in the virgin islands. But everything happens for a reason, I guess. All I know is I am pretty stoked and start on Tuesday :)

We can see the backside of The Ritz-Carlton property from our apartment balcony.

I just took this photo of it...

The photos on the Ritz website do not even come close to showing how freaking beautiful the property is, but here are a few to give you an idea...

"The purpose of our lives is to be happy." ~Dalai Lama

2011-10-30T09:04:00.000-04:00

"Without the rain, there would be no rainbow."

2011-10-27T18:33:00.002-04:00

Danny, Kayo and I went to happy hour today to celebrate some happy news!

...And we saw a beautiful sign that "no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."

Dog day afternoon...

2011-10-24T20:01:00.001-04:00

Over the mountains and through the woods...to the dog beach we go. Literally, we went down a mountain and through town. Carried Kayo for a little while there were no sidewalks. Then through the woods. But we made it to Vessup Beach after about 35 minutes. And Kayo was very appreciative...

Coconut shortcut

"None but ourselves can free our minds.” ~Bob Marley

2011-10-23T14:55:00.002-04:00

Kayo and I changed up our walk today to check out the views from the top of Red Hook Hill (aka heart-attack hill). So, we hiked up the mountain from our house. (Actually we hiked it twice since when we got up there the first time I realized I had not taken the chip out of our laptop and put it back in my camera.) But it was worth the views for sure...

Red roof is Red Hook

Tired Kayo

But you know it, the top of the mountain was crowned with a cell tower...

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." ~Cousteau

2011-10-21T15:33:00.002-04:00

Danny just called me during his walk to work to tell me to check out the view from the balcony. I got a better shot of it from our driveway. Waterspout!!!

Here's a picture of our driveway. The pictures absolutely do not justify the steepness of it!

Lots of aloe in the driveway which is always good to have around here.

Think outside the bun...

2011-10-21T11:18:00.000-04:00

Only one letter has changed from our favorite fast food in the states! =) Taco Hell is in Red Hook so we walk there. They only serve tacos - Hard or soft - Bean, chicken or beef for $2. Yum!

It's five o'clock somewhere

2011-10-21T10:59:00.001-04:00

View from happy hour yesterday...

We got mail!

2011-10-21T08:26:00.000-04:00

We set up to get mail :) They sort mail by names, so you have to put Brandi or Danny Charles on it. Duh! Then its...

6501 Red Hook Plaza
Suite 201
St. Thomas, VI
00802-1306

Time flies when you're having rum!

2011-10-20T11:11:00.000-04:00

So, we had a unique (to us) way of waking up this morning. It was to a very very loud "beeep beeeep beeeep." Loud enough it could be heard for miles and there are probably other sirens around the island doing the same. They were followed by... "This is a tsunami warning. Head to higher ground immediately!" ...But then of course "This is only a test."

(Mom - No need to worry, the last tsunami here was over a hundred years ago) =)

So, we both have the day off!!! Started it off by teaming up on Kayo and giving him a much needed Caribbean haircut.

Next, no one has mail delivered to their house here. So, there are postal stops around. Basically PO boxes. There is one at the bottom of our hill in Red Hook. We are going to set that up today.

And then the day is ours! Not sure what will be going on but I am sure it will involve some rum!

Caribbean Kayo

Beautiful day to be off :)

...There are more beeps going off now and it's saying "All crew may resume their normal duties." :)

Man's best friend...

2011-10-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

So, once again Kayo is eating better than us. One of the chefs at the wine bar in Red Hook gave Kayo some prime rib for dinner tonight :)

"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship." ~Buddah

2011-10-18T20:10:00.000-04:00

...Wow, yesterday was a weird and annoying day. Thank god for some nice, friendly people that made it not as bad as it could have been. So, the weird part is...every person in the virgin islands that works with food or beverages has to get a health card every year to work. (Like everyone from grocery store employees to first mates to bartenders.) I've come to realize its just another way for the government to make a dollar.

Soooo, each person has to poop in a sample cup. Yes, I said poop!!! And bring it to the hospital.

Thank goodness I made a friend here named Claire that drove and walked me through part of the process because it was so confusing. So, between 8am and 10am, you have to go to the hospital community department to pick up a piece of paper she writes your name on. Then you go down a floor to a lobby and pay $17. Then you cross the hospital and bring your stool sample to the lab. There are no maps or anyone telling you what to do. That is why Claire was amazing.

So, Claire left at this point. The next step isn't until 1pm. So, I walked around Havensight and Yacht Haven Grande. Basically where the cruise ships let you off. That area of town is so horrible, I hate to even call it St. Thomas. Tons of stores, tours and people everywhere! So, I headed back over to the hospital area. Found a K-mart and it was like heaven with normal priced things. We've heard there are a few other grocery stores around where groceries are states prices (or at least closer to). We shop at the Marina Market since its walking distance, but everything is a few dollars more. There are cheap things like home-made banana bread, salads, rices. But Prego pasta sauce is $4.50 and milk is over $7.

Anyhew, head back to the hospital at 12:30 to get a jump on things. Well, so did the 20 people in line in front of me. At 1:30, I make it up to the window to hear if I passed. No worries, I am parasite free. Then I walked to the other side of the room to wait again to pay $30 more dollars. Then to another line where I had my blood pressure taken. Then to another line to have a picture taken. I am proud to say I have obtained a health card!

I do have to say every one of the lots of nurses I talked to and people in line with were so friendly. The process could have easily made people miserable, but everyone I met was overly nice.

So, next step was getting home. I could have gotten a taxi for $12 or $15. But I was determined to figure out the safari, which is the community bus that runs clockwise around the island, but I never knew exactly where because we have so far only took them short distances. There are safaris that pass Red Hook every few minutes. They look like this...

So, one passed and I jumped on it. It was only $1 and took about 25 minutes to Red Hook which is how long it was in Claire's car in the morning. Sat next to a very friendly old rasta lady. The guy behind was playing reggae music. And got to go through a side of the island I have never been. So, now I am sure we will be using the safari much more. It was a nice ride after a long day. :)

"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

2011-10-18T10:41:00.000-04:00

...Even the Miller Lights are prettier here!

"May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face"

2011-10-17T21:17:00.000-04:00

I slept through this sunrise, but Danny caught it :)

Happy Kayo

2011-10-17T19:37:00.000-04:00

Sailing, sailing away

2011-10-17T19:21:00.001-04:00

Danny took some great pics Sunday while we were out sailing and snorkeling...

Solomon Beach

Hawksnest

Honeymoon Beach

La Paix

2011-10-13T19:15:00.000-04:00

Alright, tonight's blog is going to be short. I am exhausted! Boat cleaning day was a success, but I feel like I just did 7 hours of exercising. But it was very nice coming home to a new awesome Element shirt Danny bought me at work. And some locally made rice and beans. I added some tofu and spicy salsa to have an amazing dinner. Wasn't Danny's style, so he made some meatballs and pasta. So, now we are fat and tired, and not going to do anything the rest of the night.

Oh yeah, we also just watched the space station go over St. Thomas :)

My new shirt

Danny's shop is behind the red car

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. "

2011-10-12T11:50:00.000-04:00

We are back to being contributing members of society! Danny was hired yesterday (and started today) at the first place he applied and the place he wanted to work at the most. To nobody's surprise, he is working at the local skate shop. It's right in Red Hook, so a five minute walk down the mountain from our house. (The walk home is a different story). And I'm first mate on a sailboat that makes daily snorkel trips. The boat was getting some yearly maintenance done, so it's been out of water. I actually helped paint the bottom a few days ago. The boat is going into the water today, tomorrow we are cleaning her up and on Sunday we are taking her out for a fun sail.

This is before we painted

American Yacht Harbor - The skate shop overlooks it & the sailboat is based here

"If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm."

2011-10-12T10:43:00.000-04:00

No sunrise this morning, just sun showers...

Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.

2011-10-10T19:34:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the actual full moon, but we couldn't resist taking pictures from our apartment of tonight's moon rising...

"When one door is closed, don't you know, another is open" ~Bob Marley

2011-10-08T18:30:00.000-04:00

Sunrise (Oct 8, 2011)

Believe...

2011-10-07T15:20:00.000-04:00

The front of our house

The back of our house

View from our parking space

Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated" ~Hemmingway

2011-10-07T15:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's afternoon shower was a perfect time to finally read The Old Man And The Sea and watch the rain roll in...

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." ~Chili Davis

2011-10-06T20:34:00.000-04:00

Danny's birthday was simple, but special :)

"Seek home for rest, for home is best." ~Thomas Tusser

2011-10-06T12:32:00.000-04:00

They are bringing us a couch to go here tonight :)

The bigger island is St. John and that is the ferry heading there.

Here comes the sun...

2011-10-06T09:59:00.000-04:00

We woke up to a gorgeous sunrise from our balcony at 6:15ish to start Danny's birthday off nice...

"Our life is frittered away by detail... Simplify, simplify, simplify!" ~Thoreau

2011-10-05T22:12:00.000-04:00

Forgot to mention...We went green!!! Our apartment's water comes from the rain barrel outside. We are drinking bottled water but showers and sinks are rain water. The barrel has a purifying system. Our first showers have been refreshing and water seems the same. Also, our air conditioning is the Caribbean breeze. Up here there is normally a beautiful breeze and it rains sporadically like a rainforest. We haven't even put the fans on yet. It's nice to simplify...

"An obstacle is often an unrecognized opportunity"

2011-10-05T21:50:00.000-04:00

So, the first 24 hours on island have been interesting. I truly wished I had a reality tv show following me at the airport. Kayo was amazing. He had me fooled that he was a service dog. He marched right through security in his vest. The guards actually came over to not question him, but pet him. And we got to skip the line! Spirit left an open seat next to us, so Kayo sat there like a little human. He slept while I read. Everything was smooth until we got to the apartment that we had signed the lease on last week. Apartment, I mean, dump. The couch looked like it came out of a dumpster, prison bathroom, broken bed. And we were under the impression that it was a 10 minutes walk to Red Hook. We walked it and it took 30, plus almost were killed by crazy island drivers multiple times. The only cool part about it was the wildlife - Huge deer in the front yard, random wandering goats and chickens. So, we got in touch with Pam, my captain on the day sail charter. She is an angel. She introduced us to several of her friends that had apartments. She drove us up to Jose and Marge's apartment that just opened up. It was gorgeous. Unbelievable that it is the same rent price as the dump. But they had someone already interested in it and we needed to wait to see if she wanted it first. Well, she didn't! Everything happens for a reason :) I'll post photos when the sun is up tomorrow, but it has a postcard view off the 20 something foot balcony. Wood walls like a sailboat. Cable, internet, flat screen, beautiful bed and everything from towels to cheese grader. The bartender last night told us if it were easy to get an apartment in St. Thomas, then the island would be over populated. So, the island threw us a hurdle, but we jumped it! And we landed in paradise!!