Happy New Years Eve

Happy New Years Eve, originally uploaded by captainjay.

The plan is to head over to Lattitude 18 tonight for the New Years Eve
celebration. The weather is still really crappy, windy, rainy, over
cast...which is not great for Lattitude 18, since it's basically
outside. So hopefully it clears up some by tonight or we may have to
go with plan B.

Today is our 11 year anniversary so we have a couple of things to
celebrate. :-)

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!!

Just Another Rainy Day in Paradise

Just Another Rainy Day in Paradise, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well Bill and Carol are in visiting. This should be a post about us
boating and snorkling, and drinking beer. Well the weather isn't
playing nice. So we are hanging out at The Honor Bar at Island Island
View Guest House were they are staying.

A Couple Christmas Carol's and some Pictures

Merry Christmas Everyone. Here are some random pictures from around the islands.
Enjoy
Jay

Merry Christmas Friday beach pic

Merry Christmas Friday beach pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Merry Christmas!! Getting some lunch at Island Beachcomber before
heading over to the airport. Kinda overcast and muggy today but still
wonderful.

When I checked in for my flight there was a warning about the
Charlotte airport and possible delays due to bad weather on the east
coast. I hope it goes ok and I'm not too late. Looking forward to the
Christmas goodies waiting on me!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! We've had a great year here in St. Thomas and are thankful for many many things. We've really enjoyed doing the blog and sharing with you all fun, beautiful and crazy
things we've experienced while living here.

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Winter Solstice

  

So yesterday was the winter solstice... The shortest day of the year. For the VI it's not that much of a difference. From the longest day to the shortest day there is not that much of a difference. There's maybe an hour difference in the the sunrise/sunset times. It gets dark here early even on the longest day of the year. Add to that being in the sun all day (I know poor baby), it makes you go to bed earlier and earlier. Long gone are the days of staying up late enjoying being outside or enjoying the late night shows.

The one thing that winter solstice means to me, is that while I'm enjoying the sunshine, my friends and family back in the states are enjoying the snow! :-)

Holiday Break

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been enjoying my time off so much that I haven't had time to post.....NOT!

So far I've had the pleasure of cleaning house, doing laundry, grocery shopping, and now cleaning windows. I love having all the windows to enjoy the beautiful view and light Caribbean breezes, but cleaning them sucks big time. Especially when you don't have access to a water hose. But buckets of water and sham wow did the job.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a little more fun. I need to finish up some Christmas shopping and pack for my weekend trip back to the states to visit family. Thankfully I'm just going to Charlotte so it's an easy
flight and no snow! :-)

Miracle on Main Street

We went to Miracle on Main Street last night. It's an annual Christmas event in St. Thomas with food, music, shopping, lighted boat parade, fun stuff. Last year we rode on a friends boat in the boat parade, but this year we went to the actual event and watched the parade. Our friends Duane and Laura with Admiralty Dive Center took second place, congrats to them!

Boat Parade

Spotted Eagle Ray

Here are some shots I took with my new Canon D10 of a spotted eagle ray at Christmas Cove on Great St. James while I was snorkeling yesterday. It was sooo awesome watching it swim. It circled around several times which is unusal.

Here is a video I took thats on YouTube.

Here are the same pics after being adjusted in a photo editing software. What a difference! We used to have Photo Shop on the laptop that crashed but haven't installed one since getting the new laptop last year. I obviously need to make that a priority.

Friday Beach Picture

Yea! It's Friday!  It's been a great week, lots of fun. Last day of work today, then we go on a two week break. WooHoo!

We went sailing yesterday with New Horizons. They did a great job. Drinks and food were flowing, friendly staff, decent snorkel gear and instruction for the newbies. We made two stops, Honeymoon on St. John and Christmas Cove on Great St. James. Christmas Cove was by far the better snorkel stop.

I took lots of pics with my new camera and shot some great video of a southern sting ray and a spotted eagle ray that I saw in Christmas Cove. I will posting a bunch of the pics in a litte bit.

Enjoy!!!

Bowling Island Style

My department is going bowling today for a team activity retreat. It's a nice facility but I've never seen a bowling alley so small. It only has six lanes. It's an activity center that belongs to a church that you can rent out. It has a large seating area and a commercial kitchen that can also be used. I don't think anyone in my depatment has ever bowled before (besides me) so this should be interesting. :-)

Update:
We had a great time bowling, sooo funny. I got high score for the day with a 130! lol
Here is our group shot

UVI Christmas

UVI Christmas, originally uploaded by captainjay.

UVI ITS (Information Technology Services) really knows how to celebrate Christmas. Our office has been listening to island Christmas music since last week, the offices are decorated, new ITS shirts handed out, and departmental retreats scheduled. Today we are having a birthday / holiday lunch and we'll exchange our secret Santa gifts, tomorrow is our office retreat (some morning team building activities and guest speaker), then lunch, then bowling to show off our new team skills. ;-). Thursday we have a retreat for the whole unit, snorkel and sail with New Horizons. Then Friday is our last day before our TWO week break. Nice, huh?

Merry Christmas!!

Eric Live

Eric Live, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Life's a beach get to one soon. :-)

Jay

Eric Stone Live from Joe's/ They Say it's Your Birthday

So since the weather didn't cooperate with our original plans for Deb's birthday weekend we have made the best of it. Going out today on the boat in protected waters around St Thomas with some friends then heading over to Water Island to see Eric Stone play at Joe's Beach Bar from 4 to 7 with a pot luck dinner as well. So don't feel to bad for Deb she is still having a good birthday weekend.

Happy Birthday Deb

Change of plans

Change of plans, originally uploaded by captainjay.

The weekend on Jost for my birthday just did not work out due to winds
and high seas. But thats ok. We spent the afternoon at Honeymoon beach
and it was calm as can be. So the plan for tomorrow is Honeymoon
again. Eric Stone is playing at 4pm at Joes Beach Bar and they are
having their Sunday night pot luck. Take the Water Island ferry that
leaves from Tickles in Crown Bay and come on over.

Deb's B Day Weekend Plans All Mashed Up

So the weather forecast and the seas look like crap for the next couple of days. We should be running over to Jost on the boat but we just aren't sure we want to fight this forecast.

.TODAY...EAST NORTHEAST WINDS 14 TO 19 KNOTS. SEAS 5 TO 6 FEET. ISOLATED SHOWERS.

.TONIGHT...EAST NORTHEAST WINDS 17 TO 21 KNOTS. SEAS 6 TO 8 FEET. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.SUNDAY...EAST WINDS 17 TO 22 KNOTS. SEAS 8 TO 9 FEET. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...EAST WINDS 19 TO 24 KNOTS. SEAS 7 TO 9 FEET IN NORTH SWELLS. SCATTERED SHOWERS.

So we are at the house trying to decide what plan B is.

Friday Beach Pic

TGIF!! Crazy week, Christmas shopping, wraping, mailing and still not done. This weekend is my birthday weekend and Jay was able to get it off! So we're off to Jost Van Dyke. We have friends out on a boat  charter right now that are going to meet us at Jost on Saturday. One of them also has a birthday this weekend so it should be a good celebration. The birthday weekend kicks off today. My coworkers are taking me out to lunch and Jay gave me my present since I'll need it for this weekend. :-)

Miracle on Main Street

Taken from St. Thomas Source:

The St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce presents the annual Miracle on Main Street, a downtown celebration. On Friday, Dec. 18, there will be a lighted boat parade on the waterfront at 6:30 p.m., and a holiday mini-parade from Market Square to Emancipation Park, at 8:30 p.m. Santa will be at Emancipation Park!

Read the rest of the story.

Here is another article about Miracle on Main Street in the St. Thomas Source.

Several of our friends thought that the event was being held this Friday (11th) but todays article set the record straight. Last year we rode on a friends boat for the lighted boat parade. It was a lot of fun seeing all the activity on waterfront and hearing all the music. But, I think this year I want to actually walk downtown and see it in person. All the stores stay open late, vendors are set up with their goods, music, food, etc. Plus that night kicks off my holiday break at UVI. We're off from Dec 19th until Jan 3rd. :-)

Oasis of the Seas has arrived

Well, all the attention and the hype culminates today with the arrival of the Oasis of the Seas. It's docked and passengers soon come. They started rerouting traffic in the Sub Base area yesterday for a trial run. It was crazy. It's one way out of Crown Bay to handle all the taxis that will be coming through there. So to get into Crown Bay you have to take airport road to WAPA and come in the back way. I'm just going to avoid it all and stay in for lunch and go straight to Frenchtown after work. :-)

BTW - this pic courtesy of Dave. Thanks.

Here is a video on YouTube of the ship approaching St. Thomas.

Heidi's Honeymoon Grill

Heidi's Honeymoon Grill, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Enjoying a cheeseburger in paradise at Heidi's Honeymoon beach on
water island. Beautiful day! :-)

Time On The Water

Time On The Water, originally uploaded by captainjay.

So I got the Sunday off. Deb and I are hanging out on the boat.
Sitting at water island Deb just finshed scrubbing the waterline now
it's cold beer and sunshine.
Jay

Charlotte Amalie Overlook

Charlotte Amalie Overlook, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Picked up some friends at the STJ ferry to take them to the airport.
But gave them the scenic view of STT along the way. Hit Hook Line
Sinker for lunch and then Island Beachcomer for a pre flight cocktail
and one last look at the beautiful Caribbean water. They hadn't spent
much time on STT, always stay on STJ. So it was fun showing them
around my little island.

Safe travels Gary and Brenda. See you next year! :-)

"Once" for Dr. Silvia

Tonight we are going to the Caribbean Saloon to see a Pearl Jam tribute band called Once. If you've been reading our blog, then you've heard me mention Silvia. She used to live in a apartment at the house we used to rent. We have both since moved to different apt but have remained friends. This week, Silvia defended her dissertation and received her PHD. We are so proud of her! So tonight we are celebrating!!

Our past experiences with live bands at the Caribbean Saloon have been fun, but we hate the fact that they start soooo late! They advertise a starting time of 10:00 pm but it's usually more like 11:30pm. The last time we were there, we really enjoyed the band but couldn't believe how late it was when they finally started. So, I did a blog post about it and someone from the band immediately responded to my post. I couldn't believe they had read my post and was surprised at the response. They said they were there on time ready to start, but it was the management of the club that held them up from starting. They said management likes to start late to get more people in the door and sell more drinks before the entertainment starts. That's just crazy. If you advertise a starting time, then patrons expect you to keep your word. Oh, well. I guess we're just old and can't stay out that late!! Well, at least Jay can't. :-)

But tonight, it doesn't matter what time the band starts because it's all about Silvia!! Congratulations girl, you deserve it!!!

Update - we had a great time! The band "Once" was awesome. Even though it was a little hard for my ususal taste in music, they were still very good. We all dressed up in scrubs to help make Silvia feel like a Dr. lol

Friday Beach Pic

TGIF! Hope you have a great weekend. We don't have any plans, but will hopefully get out on the boat for a little while.

This pic is from Soggy Dollar on Jost Van Dyke taken last weekend. :-)

Oasis of the Seas

Next Tuesday, Dec 8th, there will be lots of activity and lots of traffic in St. Thomas. The Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship ever built, will be pulling into St. Thomas on it's inaugural cruise. At full capacity the ship holds 5,400 passengers and over 2,000 crew. On the same day, Carnival's newest and biggest cruise ship will also be in port along with three other ships. They are expecting over 15,000 passengers to be on island that day. St. Thomas has been busy cleaning up the streets, finishing up the sidewalk project, making new signage and just generally gearing up for the big day. Traffic will be absolutely crazy and they are asking locals to avoid going to Sub Base, Havensight and downtown to help alleviate congestion, good luck with that.

If you are coming to St. Thomas on vacation and just happen to be arriving or departing on Dec 8th, I would definitely allow some extra time to get to your destination. Besides the traffic issues, every taxi on island will be running cruise ship passengers around so there may be issues trying to find one available. I know I won't be traveling much that day.....go to work, then to Frenchtown and hang out until everything settles down. :-)

Here's the article in St. Thomas Source.

Soggy Dollar

We had a great time on Jost Van Dyke at the Soggy Dollar Bar yesterday. We picked up Brenda and Gary at the ferry dock and headed over to Sandy Cay for a swim. We ran into Captain John Brandi with Palm Tree Charters. His group was celebrating a birthday so they were having a great time.

Then we headed back over to Jost to partake of a few painkillers and lunch. The weather was perfect, the food and drinks were great and so was the company. Thanks Brenda and Gary. (BTW thats Brenda and I sitting at the table in the lower left hand corner of the pic above.)

But then it was time to head home. Customs was crazy since we got there the same time as several day boats and a ferry. We didn't have any of our paperwork filled out so that was even funner. One of the customs officers helped us fill out our local boaters app so that should make it easier the next time we head to the BVI. We had a great weekend and can't wait to do it again. My birthday is coming up soon so that sounds like a good reason for a weekend boat trip. We have some more forum friends coming in that same weekend for a sailing trip so keep your fingers crossed that Jay can get another weekend off. :-)

 

 

Sandy Cay

Sandy Cay, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Hanging out at Sandy Cay before going over to Jost Van Dyke. Picked up some friends and having a couple cold ones enjoying the sun. Definitely enjoying our Time On The Water. :-)

Cane Garden Bay

Cane Garden Bay, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We decided to check out Cane Garden Bay on Tortolla yesterday. It was so flat out and usually this area is rockin' and rollin' so we figured this was our chance. There are several beach bars and Inns/Cottages right on the beach, very cool. We chose Myett's since a friend of ours was just playing there the previous night and said it was a fun place. He was right. They had a guy playing reggae and calypso, which was very good and they're food was really good! Jay had their famous barbeque ribs and I had the fresh catch which was mahi. Both came with red beans and rice, grilled vegetables, plantains. Sooooo good, best mahi ever. :-)

After staying our first night on the boat, we realize we'll have to add a couple things to the list. Top two items, more foam and a fan. Once we cut the foam to actually fit the space and get it covered, it will make it easier to make up for the night and take apart to use the head. I'll just leave it at that. :-)

Today we're heading over to Jost Van Dyke to the soggy dollar bar. We're going to meet some friends over there and they're going to ride back with us. Should be another excellent day.

Stay tuned. :-)

Flat Calm

Flat Calm, originally uploaded by captainjay.

The conditions today couldn't be more perfect. The water is flat calm, light breeze, blue skies, just beautiful. We're checking into customs at Soper's Hole, Tortolla, BVI. Still haven't decided our next destination, so many choices, we'll let you know when we get there.

Too much stuff

Too much stuff, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Wow, it takes a lot of stuff to just go boating for a weekend. Well, actually a lot of the stuff we're loading on the boat today are things that will permanently stay on the boat....bedding, safety gear, storage totes, sun block, bug spray, etc. But everyone that walks by the cart is teasing us about how long we're actually going out for. :-)

Boat Weekend Soon Come

Boat Weekend Soon Come, originally uploaded by captainjay.

So I am off for the next couple of days. Currently at Tickles listening to Hudson and the Hoo Doo cats. We are heading out on the boat in the morning for a couple days. Woo Hoo
Jay

Black Friday Island Style

Black Friday Island Style, originally uploaded by captainjay.

I never go out on Black Friday but this year I had to since we need stuff for our weekend boat trip. It is crazy! There are only a couple stores on island to shop, so everyone on island is packed in. I was waiting in a huge line that wasn't moving at all. Then some young girl walked by and said follow me, the line is much shorter over there and she took off... So I followed. She was right! So now I'm I'm a much shorter line but still moving. Lol oh well. Hopefully I'll be out within the hour. Happy Holidays! :-)

Great T Day

Great T Day, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving, great meal, great weather and great people to share it with. I hope everyone enjoyed their day with friends and family.

Jay got his check list of items done on the boat so now it's up to me to find something to put in the cabin to sleep on so that we can do an overnight on the boat this weekend. Kmart carries a memory foam mattress so I guess I'll head there in the morning to see if I can find one. It's black Friday so wish me luck. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm busy cooking up my side dish and appetizer to take to a friends house for dinner while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on CBS. It's these kinds of days that makes you miss family and friends back home, but knowing we're going to be around a great bunch of people tonight for dinner helps. You don't even want to know what I paid for the ingredients for these two dishes. Crazy. But totally worth it!

Jay is out working on the boat, finishing up a few things needed for our weekend trip. He was able to get Saturday and Sunday off so the plan is to run over to Jost Van Dyke! WooHoo! That is if the north swell that moved in today is over by Saturday morning. Wish us luck.

Enjoy!!

Much deserved Time on the Water

Jay was off yesterday so of course we loaded up the boat and hit the water. It was a great day! We started by going to Great St. James, Christmas Cove. The south side of St. Thomas was a little rough but not too bad. We will dufinitely have to pick our days to venture out.

Then over to Hawksnest on St. John.

Then we picked up some friends in Red Hook that brought us food and beverages. We took on some fuel and water and headed back over to Christmas Cove for a swim and lunch. The water was soooo clear, I
should have had my snorkel gear but no luck. I will probably buy a set that I can just leave on the boat so I don't have to transport back and forth.

Then we headed over to Water Island, Honeymoon Beach. The trip back along the south side of STT was much nicer than the earlier trip. The water was a lot flatter and plus we were going with the seas versus
against it.

It was finally time to end the day and everyone was sad. But it was a great day and looking forward to many more to come.