Happy New Year

Happy New Year, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We're getting ready to head down to the party at the Marriott. It's a
pretty good deal, $45 pp for open bar, party favors and entertainment,
It looks really pretty, and its a nice 72 degrees. I just got word
from WV that it's 19 degrees, yikes!!

Happy New Year!!

Shopping at Havensight

Shopping at Havensight, originally uploaded by captainjay.

I thought that since I've been here almost a year it was about time I checked out the shops at Havensight. For those of you that don't know, Havensight is the cruise ship dock and there are a ton of stores! All the same stuff as downtown but there is a parking lot which makes it easier to park and walk around. Of course there are four cruise ships in today so traffic was insane but once I got in and parked, the shops were not busy at all. I guess the tourists are all out on excursions instead of hanging out at the ship; which I don't blame them, it's a beautiful day!!

BTW - today is mine and Jay's 10 year wedding anniversary so that was the reason for the shopping. :-)

Have a Happy New Year!!!

Cruzan Confusion

Cruzan Confusion, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well its past noon so time for a cocktail by the pool. :-) I found recipe online for a Cruzan Confusion that is pretty tasty. Equal parts of Cruzan Mango, Cruzan Coconut and pineapple juice and I added a little OJ. I asked a couple bartenders on island about it and they
said it was basically a little bit of all Cruzan flavors and fruit punch. But I didn't find that online anywhere. Anyone know which one is right? Regardless, the version I made is very good! Yum, yum!

Finally some sun

Finally some sun, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well finally after several days of wind and rain I have some sun and can get some pool time!! Of course the mosquitoes are eating me alive but I have my handy dandy electricfied swater by my side!!

Happy birthday Dave

Happy birthday Dave, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Our friend Dave's birthday is today so we're celebrating at Hook Line
with him. He and his wife Kirstin just got back from Florida today and
we just found out they got second in the lighted boat parade. (I
thought they deserved first, but I'm biased)

Friday Beach Pic

I totally forgot that it was Friday. So sorry this post is really late. This is Emerald Beach at the Best Western; Silvia and I hung out there last weekend while waiting for her flight. We had lunch at the restaurant; it was pretty nice, Jay and I need to go back.

Have a great weekend!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Merry Christmas from the Caribbean!! Just finished making some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, moms special recipe, yum!!

BTW - cost of some of the items to make cookies: Oatmeal (quick oats) - 3.35, Chocolate chips (12 oz) - 4.60, Pecan chips (1 cup) - 7.70.......but it's worth it!!!

Deb's Christmas Dinner

Well we stopped at Gourmet Gallery, grabbed a couple tings and Deb is whipping up a few Christmas Dinner kind of tings. So Merry Christmas Eve to everyone.

Jay

Island Christmas cocktail

Island Christmas cocktail, originally uploaded by captainjay.

I was just introduced to a traditional island Christmas drink....Guavaberry. It's made from the guava fruit, add some rum, cloves, plus other secret ingredients and you have a yummy berry
liqueur.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Taken from Virgin Islands This week:

The late, famous Virgin Islands composer, Bill La Motta, wrote this tune, known as the Guavaberry Song. According to the book, Virgin Islands Folk Songs, this song remains the most celebrated and cherished of the traditional holiday tunes because of the cultural importance attached to guavaberry liqueur. Hear it once, and the lilting melody and easily memorized words will play over and over in your mind. A little bigger than a blueberry, but perfectly round, guavaberries have grown scarcer to find – and more coveted – in recent years. Unlike other berries, this first cousin of the clove and eucalyptus grows wild on trees and is most commonly found in the cool, lush hilly areas of St. Thomas’ west side and the Bordeaux Mountain area of St. John. The individual fruit tends to ripen at different rates so islanders will gather small quantity at a time and then freeze the fruit until it’s ready for baking and beverage making.
The recipe for making guavaberry rum is often a family secret passed down through generations. Ingredients include a mix of strong rum, sugar, flavorings like essences, citrus peel and spices, and of course, mashed guavaberries. This mixture is allowed to steep for several weeks until the flavors blend. The best guavaberry rums are those made from a small “seed” portion of this potent liqueur, carefully saved from the previous year. Some rum recipes are literally decades old. Island cooks also process guavaberries into jams, breads, cakes and especially tarts, at Christmastime.

“Good mornin’, good mornin’, ah come fo’ mi Guavaberry.”

Christmas at Hook Line

Christmas at Hook Line, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Tonight Hook Line Sinker had their customer appreciation night and it
was free happy hour until 7pm. It was packed!! Thanks to Ted and Becky
for all the Christmas cheer!!

Charlie Brown Christmas in the Caribbean

Well, I couldnt take it anymore... It just didnt seem like Christmas. So we went out and bought a little tree and some decorations. Its not the same as the large tree I used to do but it will at least get me more in the Christmas spirit.

I received a few ornaments as gifts that are too cute. I guess I need to start collecting some island style ornaments for the tree next year.

New Year's Eve Plans

Well, I think we finally have plans for New Year's Eve. We really would like to go to Jost to the party at Foxy's, but we don't want to deal with the ferry and customs. So the only way we would do it is if we had a boat. And that hasn't happened yet. So it looks like we will be going to the party at Yacht Haven Grande. It's $40 a person (in advance) for the entertainment and fireworks display. There will be dinner specials at the three restaurants (Fat Turtle, Wikked, Grande Cru) and bars set up at several places through out the grounds. The headliner is Toots and the Maytals so it should be a great show!

Emerald Beach

Emerald Beach, originally uploaded by captainjay.

I'm hanging out with Silvia at the beach before she takes off for her
trip home. Ive never been to Emerald beach before, its pretty nice and
very quite.

Lighted boats in the Caribbean

Lighted boats in the Caribbean, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Here is Kirstin and Daves boat that we helped decorate for the boat
parade. It turned out really good. There was about nine boats in the
parade and they all looked great! It was really different being in a
parade in 78 degree weather vs 30 to 40 degrees back in WV!!

Friday Beach Picture

Yea!!! It's Friday!! last day of work before being off for two and a half weeks! I know I just got back from a week long trip back home, but the university shuts down for the Christmas break and Jay could not get off during that time since its really busy at CYOA. So we had to take our trip when Jay could get the time. So I got two breaks, WooHoo!!

Tonight is the big Miracle on Main Street event in downtown Charlotte Amalie. We're riding on a friends boat for the lighted boat parade so I'll try to take some pics.

Have a great weekend!!!

Deb

BTW - the pic was taken at the Yacht Club on the east end of St. Thomas during the Rolex Regatta. (that explains all the boats in the harbor)

Awh........the sun

Awh........the sun, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We made it back to St. Thomas so now the fun of unpacking, putting all the goodies away that we accumulated while home, grocery shopping, etc, etc. We had a great time visiting with friends and family. It was so good to see everyone!!! Now we need to rest from our vacation. :-)

Its so pretty here today I had to stop along side the road and take this pic. Its 80 degrees with a light breeze, very nice.
Deb

We Are Home

Well we are back at the house in St Thomas. The painters have been busy while we were away and have finished painting the interior ceilings in the house. They are going to try to finish up the exterior porch ceilings in the next few days. I have to say it looks very good. They did a nice job the color is Ultra White Semi Gloss. The company that is doing the work is Allstar Services, Jeff Thompson 340-626-5292. I guess this means I need to find some time this week to install the new ceiling fans to finish off the make over.

Jay

Things you didnt know you missed while living in the VI

Things you didnt know you missed while living in the VI, originally uploaded by captainjay.

....until you make a trip back to the states.

1. Talking on the cell phone while driving.
2. Other drivers regarding traffic laws as laws and not just a
suggestion.
3. Long hot showers without turning off the water between rinse and
soap.
4. Warm fluffy towels vs. crunchy from being hung on the clothes line.
5. Shopping malls with nice stores.
6. Papa Johns pizza and Mexican food.
7. Draught beer.
8. Driving fast on the interstate.
9. Drinking water from the tap.
10. Consistent power and cable.
11. Drying clothes in a dryer.
12. No mosquitoes.
13. Last but not least, seeing Friends and Family!!

Happy Birthday

Well its time for a team drink. I thought I would add some detail. This picture was taken at Deb's Birthday party. We used the second Floor of The River's Edge Cafe for the party. The same place that we had the going away party back in January. We had about a hundred people show up and Paul "Team Drink" Deffinger played. I am pretty sure everyone had a great time. It definitely was good to see so many of our friends.
Jay

Friday Beach Picture

Friday Beach Picture, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Enough with the snow. This is Culebra from the air.
Jay

Another thing you don't see in the island

Another thing you don't see in the island, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Shopping at a real mall.....I'm not a big shopper but I do miss being
able to get all your shopping done in one place and then hitting
Bennigans for an after shopping cocktail. :-)

More Tings You won't See In The VI's

More Tings You won't See In The VI's, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well as you can see it snowed last night. Who hoo.
Jay

River Boaters

River Boaters, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well we are at Friday's with the river boaters.
Jay

Country roads....take me home...

Country roads....take me home..., originally uploaded by captainjay.

Ok, driving on the right feels really weird! Its strange that making
the switch to driving on the left was no problem. But last night
driving home from the airport on the right just felt wrong! LOL

BTW - not exactly tropical conditions but its not as bad as it could
have been. Its 55 and foggy but last week it got down to 12, so 55 is
pretty good.

Things You Don't See In The VI

Things You Don't See In The VI, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well we made it back to the states. It is cold but we are staying with
friends and got to use a shower that I put in several years ago when I
was a contractor. Yes there are five shower heads in there that would
drain a cistern in a heartbeat.
Jay

Charlotte Airport

Charlotte Airport, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well we are in Charlotte, it is cold. I just put on a sweat shirt to
go with my jeans and socks. But they do have real draft beer here.
Jay

Off the Rock

Well, we're taking off today to make our trip back home to visit friends and family. The weather forecast doesn't look as bad as it could have been. It's been in the 30's with wind and flurries, so 50's and 60's for the next 10 days is not that bad. It will still feel cold after being in 70's, 80's and 90's for the past year!

Our laptop is on the fritz again; the video card is going out again! And our external harddrive that contains our backup, pictures and music is also on the fritz. So it looks like we are going to be making a pc purchase while we're back in the states. We are also going to buy a voltage regulator because the voltage is low in the house (not sure if its just the house or island wide) and between that and temperature/moister, it could be one of many reasons why our electronics are freaking out. And god knows we can't be without a computer! Yikes!

So the posts for the next week will most likely be about our crazy boating friends in WV, cold weather and family pre-christmas pics, so watch out!

Success at DMV

Well, after lots of stress and headaches, Silvia has passed all her tests and officially has her VI driver’s license, yea!! What a crazy process this has been for her. She ended up having to use a driving school to take a couple lessons and then use their car for the test. If you don't have a license, you can't buy a car and get insurance. But to take the driving test, you have to have your own car. So if you don't have a friend on island that will let you use their car, then you have to use a driving school and of course they want you to take at least one lesson with them before they will let you use their car. The lesson cost $30 and to use their car for the test is $50. Silvia used Paul's Driving School and said he was very nice and very helpful. He even picked her up at work and at the house for her lessons. So she definitely recommends him.

So here's the recap:
1. pay $2 medical form
2. pay $12 for exam book (since online is different than printed version)
3. pay to get passport pics taken
4. pay for medical exam and eye exam
5. pay $10 for written test, pay each time until you pass (everyone I know had to take it more than once)
6. pay $8 for permit
7. pay $30 for driving lesson (pay for each lesson until ready to test)
8. pay $50 to use instructors car
9. pay $10 to take driving test
10. pay $35 to get license

So, pretty much it costs $200 (and lots of headaches) to get your license plus the cost of your medical/eye exam and that varies depending on if you have insurance or not. So, definitely do NOT let you state side license expire if you plan on getting a VI license!

One year blog anniversary

Well, yesterday was our one year blog anniversary! Wow, time flies! We hit 60,000 hits, which is pretty good for first time bloggers. In six more weeks we'll hit our one year anniversary in St. Thomas. hmmmm......what should we do to celebrate such a milestone? Any suggestions? :-)

Decorating for Christmas

Decorating for Christmas, originally uploaded by captainjay.

I helped a friend decorate her boat yesterday for the annual lighted boat parade. Friends in WV were also decorating their boat at the sane time. They were supposed to send me some pics so we could compare!! I think we had a little bit better weather. :-)

The parade is December 19th in dowtown Charlotte Amalie harbor. Its in conjunction with Miracle on Main Street which is a festive Christmas Celebration. There will be music, street performers, late hours for shops and even a Santa Claus!!

Friday Beach Picture

It's Friday!!!! Only four more days and we'll be making our trip home to see friends and family. It's been almost one year since I've seen most of them (except for the few that made the trip here over the past year). I'm excited about seeing everyone.....not so excited about the weather. :-) I'll just show everyone all the beach pics and it will warm me up!

This is Princess Beach, it's a little "pocket beach" in the northeastern part of Hawksnest Bay on St. John. Great snorkeling!

Enjoy!

Just two blocks.....

Funny story. Some forum friends that are vacationing on STJ (Brenda and Gary) came over to STT last night to have dinner with us. We decided to eat at Hook, Line, Sinker because we thought another forum friend was arriving that day at CYOA, but I ended up having the wrong date, but anyway. Our friends took the STJ ferry to downtown Charlotte Amalie. I didn't know exactly where it pulled up to the Waterfront, but thought it was near the ferry dock that is used by the Tortolla ferry and sea plane. But I was wrong. It actually pulls in down by the Coast Guard dock which is the other end of Waterfront!

So when I gave them directions to Frenchtown, I told them to get off the ferry and go to the left and walk about two blocks and you'll see the entrance to Frenchtown on your left, can't miss it. Well, since they were on the other end of Waterfront, it's more like a 1/2 mile walk vs two blocks. But every time they stopped to ask someone directions to Frenchtown they would say keep walking, about two blocks, can't miss it! They were given those same directions every time, LOL

So for future reference, if you take the downtown Charlotte Amalie to/from St. John, the dock is on the east end of the Waterfront, down by the Coast Guard dock, across the street from the "flea market" style shopping area. And it's a pretty good walk to Frenchtown!

Deb

Must have Bluetooth

Well, I got pulled over Saturday morning for talking on my cell phone!! I was on the way home from dropping Jay off at work and Silvia called from St. John in a panic because no one was at Slim Man's parking lot and they needed to park somewhere for the day while they went to Jost. So I was trying to help her figure out where to park when I turned on to the road that leads up to our house......which happens to be at the Police Station. Well, there was an officer standing outside of the building and saw me talking on the phone. I panicked and threw my phone across the car but it was too late, he pointed to me and pointed to the curb. So I pulled over. Here's the conversation:

Officer: mam, you do know its illegal to talk on the cell phone while driving?

Me: yes, sir I do. I'm very sorry.

Officer: Where is your head set?

Me: Well, I just recently moved here and I'm still getting settled in and haven't bought one yet.

Officer: How long ago did you move here?

Me: um.....real recently (smile)

Officer: How recent?

Me: a few months ago (couldn't say almost a year!)

Officer: Well, that's long enough that you could have bought a head set.

Me: I know, I'm really sorry. It's just that my friend called me in a panic from St. John and I was trying to help her and I couldn't find a place to pull over so I pulled up the first street I came too (couldn't say it was the street I was going to turn on anyway)

Officer: Well, I'm going to let you go with a warning, but go buy a headset.

Me: Thank you very much. And yes I will go buy one right away. Where can I pull over to call my friend back to make sure she's ok.

Officer: Pull down the street a few feet but make it quick.

Whew! Close call. That would have been a $150 fine if he had written me a ticket! So I went to AT&T store yesterday and bought a head set. Of course I bought the cheapest one and I still haven't gotten it to work, so I'll probably have to take it back. But, lesson learned. Do NOT talk on the cell phone while driving in the USVI.

Safe return

Safe return, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well I guess I should have done a post to let you know Mike and Lisa made it back safe (but they never let me know either:-) but we had a great day on St. John, went to Cinnamon for the day, then to Joe's Rumhut then back to STT. My phone died early in the day so I couldn't do live posts. My iPhone battery is not lasting a full day now so that's not good.

Jay is doing a Puerto Rico trip today so I've been hanging out at the house and shopping with Shelba (my landlord)

Waitin' at Woodys

Waitin' at Woodys, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We decided to hit St. John again since we didnt get that much time here the other day. Mike really wants some shark bites from Woodys and they don't open until 11:00 so we're hangin' out waitin'. We plan to hit Cinnamon later and maybe rent a hobie for the afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Day is done ......

Day is done ......, originally uploaded by captainjay.

So we're sitting and waiting for the car barge again. There is only one ferry running so the schedule today was pretty bad. Even with that it was still a great day!

Made it to Skinnys

Made it to Skinnys, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Finally made it on the ferry and all the way over to Skinnys. Mike
just had to have one if their famous bergers! Yum! We'll hit a beach
next, not sure which one yet. But they're all awesome so it won't
matter.

Rednecks in the carribbean

Rednecks in the carribbean, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We're here at the car ferry barge dock waiting to to over to St. John.
We missed the last ferry so we have to hang out a little while for the
next one. Mike couldnt wait so he set up camp in the parking lot.
Hopefully it won't be too much longer so people will stop looking at
us! :-)

Virgin Islands Online

Ok, you always hear me referencing my "forum" friends. We'll, if you're reading this blog and don't already know about Virgin Islands Online, now is the time to check it out. It's a great resource for information about the Virgin Islands as well as entertaining as you read some of the posts and responses on the forum. Its a great group of people and you instantly feel welcome, no matter what your question might be. Follow this link and click on Register near the top of the page, pick a screen name and pick an avatar (a little pic that represents something about you) and join in the fun!!! Jay's screen name is captainjay and mine is mrscaptainjay so come on over and say Hi.

Deb

Red Skies at morn......

We had a beautiful sunrise this morning, so I thought I'd share. But the wind and surf advisories are keeping us from being about to get out on a boat. We were invited to go out with our friends on Forever Young yesterday, but the wind and surf was too much for what was supposed to be a fun sail, so it was cancelled. We're supposed to rent a boat tomorrow from Nauti Nymph, but again the conditions are not looking like it would be a fun day. So we may just take the car over to St. John and have fun over there. I know, tough decision.

Advisory from the Weather Channel - Sever Weather Alert

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM AST TUESDAY.
THE COMBINATION OF WIND WAVES AND LONG PERIOD NORTH NORTHWEST SWELLS WILL RESULT IN COMBINED SEAS OF AT LEAST 8 TO 10 FEET AND LARGE BREAKING WAVES ALONG THE NORTHWEST THROUGH NORTHEAST EXPOSED COASTLINES OF PUERTO RICO STARTING MONDAY MORNING THEN SPREAD ACROSS THE NORTHERN U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS LATER IN THE DAY AND CONTINUING THROUGH AT LEAST TUESDAY EVENING. INITIALLY...EXPECT WAVES OF 6 TO 8 FEET TO REACH THE LOCAL REEFS...SHOALS AND EXPOSED COASTLINES BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING...INCREASING TO 9 TO 11 FEET BY MONDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING AT LEAST THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING.
MEANWHILE...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL LOCAL ATLANTIC AND CARIBBEAN WATERS AND ALL OPEN PASSAGES.

St. Thomas Sunshine

St. Thomas Sunshine, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We created a new drink today, well sort of. Its a knock off of the Soggy Dollar Sunshine, but since we're on St. Thomas.....

1 part coconut cream
1 part orange juice
2 part pineapple juice
2 part Bacardi Limon
top with nutmeg

Yummy! Enjoy!!

Greenhouse for lunch

Greenhouse for lunch, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Stopped at Greenhouse for a little lunch and maybe hitting Magens Bay
afterwards. Jay got off early so he was able to join us ... Yea!!!!
This is Mike and Lisa (or Weezey as we call her :-) our friends from
home. Awh......

Honeymoon

Well we went to Honeymoon beach on Water Island yesterday. Jay had to work so it was just me, Mike and Lisa. We were at Tickles walking towards the ferry when we saw it pull away. Darn, guess we have to sit at the bar and have a couple drinks while waiting for the next ferry. :-) But, I ran into a friend who was heading that way, so he offered us a ride and dropped us off right on the beach. Thanks Jimmy.

The beach was pretty crowded, but not too bad, then we realized that there were two daytrip boats anchored in the bay. All the tourists were walking around with their pirate fake tatoos, so they were a dead giveaway. But a couple hours later, the horns blew and all the toursists boarded their boats and then the beach was all ours. Nice.

We finally thought that is was time to head back but we had no idea where to catch the ferry, so we stopped by Heidi's Honeymoon Grill, ordered a couple drinks and asked for directions. She told us it was a pretty good walk over the big hill and then downhill to the ferry. So we were ready to start hiking when we met Eian. He offered to give us a ride, yea! We had plenty of time since we didn't have to walk, so we hung out for a few minutes talking to him and his friend. He's from Australia but he's been down here for a very long time, so his accent was unique. We finally decided it was time to go, we we climbed in his island car, when he had to climb through from the passenger side because the driver door would fall off if he tried to open it! We all got situated, Eian turned the key......and nothing. Turned again, nothing. Tried a third time, nothing. Not even a click or anything. Totally dead. We were all cracking up and thanking Eian for the wonderful ride. He was very apologetic. But then we had to high tail it over the mountain to catch the next ferry. We barley made it, but we were all breathing a little heavy!!

It was a great day, lots of sun, beer and catching up on all the stories from home.

Paradise Jam

Paradise Jam (Island Paradise Basketball Tournament) kicks off today. This is a pretty big event and it's being held at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness center. The 2008 field includes Connecticut, Iona, La Salle, Miami, San Diego, Southern Miss, Valparaiso and Wisconsin. Tickets are $35 for a day pass or $95 for the full tournament. You can find out more about it here.

Friday Beach Picture

It's Friday!! We have a busy week ahead. We have friends from home that at arriving tonight and the home owner of our rental arrives on Sunday. We have a few things planned, boat rental, Jost, St. John, the usual stuff we love to do when people visit (and it give us a chance to act like tourists!).

This is another one of California Girl's pictures of Salomon Beach on St John.

Have a great weekend!

Cruz Bay Web Cam

Well St. John Spice installed a new web cam overlooking the ferry dock on St. John this week. The resolution is awesome, much better than the previous camera. Ron and Ben have been tweaking it all week and they are having some kind of live kick off party today at 4 PM Eastern Time. You can link to it directly at St. John Spice Cam. They are still tweaking it so if you don't see a pic or can't get to the page just be patient, it's worth the wait. :-)

Sunrise

Well I am off today and running errands to get ready for company this week. I have to do some work around the house and make a Cost-U-Less trip. The sky was just to pretty this morning not to take a quick picture and post it.

Jay