Jouvert ends with a Bang

Literally.....

Jouvert was shut down this morning after one shooting and two stabbings. I was listening to the event on the radio and no one could believe that the police were shutting it down. But after hearing why, then most people understood the reason. Of course, the participants were disappointed, they look forward to this event every year and to have it shut down because of a few bad people is a real shame. Here is the story in St. Thomas Source.

Getting around town while Jouvert is going on is pretty crazy. I had to drive Jay to work and drop him off about 1/2 mile away. You can't get to Frenchtown because they have the road blocked off. I had my windows down listening to the music and wishing I was down there with the crowd. But after hearing what happened, I guess it was a good thing I wasn't there.

BTW - pic provided by Capt. John Brandi

UVI Carnival Schedule

I forgot to mention our awesome work schedule here at UVI during Carnival. We got an extra two hours for lunch today to be able to attend the Cultural Fair (so that's a three hour lunch). Tomorrow we are closed until noon so that people can participate in Jouvert (it starts at 4am and goes all morning), then we're off Friday, Saturday and Sunday. WooHoo!!

Friday is the Children's Parade and Saturday is the Adult Parade. Carnival Village has had bands every night this week through the weekend and then fireworks on Saturday. Now if I could just get Jay to go down to Carnival Village with me I'd be set.

Carnival Cultural Fair

Carnival Cultural Fair, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Just got back from the Carnival Cultural Fair. I didn't make it last year so I was looking forward to going this year. It's held at Emancipation Garden which is right next to the area of downtown where all the tent vendors set up. There is a band stand set up playing Calypso music and the youth steel pan group Rising Stars. There were food vendors as well as local arts and crafts.

Getting there was a chore. Traffic was absolutely crazy. Silvia picked me up and we were foolish enough to think we were going to find parking. Jay took a dingy over from work and docked right across the street. He tried to talk me into parking in Frenchtown and coming over with him. But it had been raining off and on all morning. So Silvia and I decided to forego the dingy and try to drive. Ha. Good luck. As we got closer we knew we made a mistake. Crazy traffic. Silvia ended up dropping me off and said she we turn back and try to find something. Of course it was pouring the rain when it was time to get out of the car. Oh well. I found Jay, had some lunch and Silvia still couldn't find anywhere to park. She drive by twice and nothing so she face up and went somewhere else for lunch and then back to work. In the meantime Jay and I met up with the rest of the CYOA crew. Jay had to head back so later when it was time to leave I decided to catch a safari back to UVI. I had never done this before so I got tips on what to do. I had to ask three taxis before I found one that was going all the way to the university. I'm still unsure on how to tell the difference between the safari and a regular open air taxi but I know it's only $2 for safari and about $10 for taxi so you have to make sure and ask.

So it was definitely an experience and I'd go again in a heart beat. Next year I'm taking the safari there and back and screw the driving and parking thing. Gotta go.....carrot cake is calling my name. :-)

Sailing,sailing,.....

Sailing,sailing,....., originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well today I get to go sailing with some forum friends (ScubaGirl,
CAgirl and KellyAnna) so it should be a hoot! I brought a batch of
painkillers so that should go over well. :-). Poor Jay has to work but
he's going to meet us over on St. John when he gets off. We are
meeting a huge group of forum members tonight at the beach bar so that
should be a lot if fun. Lots of pics to come later.

On another note, I know we still need to do a detailed report on
Grande Bay. I promise we'll do it soon.

Friday Beach Pic

Friday Beach Pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

TGIF! Today was a crazy morning. Having some issues with the cistern
and water pump so that was fun. More detail on that later. Leaving for
puerto Rico so it was a little hectic. I promise to give more detail
on Grande Bay too. Stay tuned for pics from PR!

Road Trip

Tomorrow I get to make a "road trip" with my coworkers to the University InterAmericana in Puerto Rico! I've never been so I'm really looking forward to it. They use the same Banner application that we do and they recently went through a major upgrade. So we're going to check things out to help prepare us for our upcoming upgrade. Hopefully it won't take all day so that we can have some time to go shopping!!!

Carnival Camp at UVI

It's that time again....carnival! I've been helping with making the costumes this year. Still haven't decided if I'm walking or not. I said I was going to do it this year but as the time gets closer I'm
starting to chicken out. The costumes are pretty and at least I'm helping with that part. It's next weekend so I guess I need to decide soon!

The theme for UVI is Let Our Energies Combine for Carnival 2009. The four sections are Sun, Wind, Water and Earth. If you haven't guessed it's referring to alternative energy. It's a pretty cool theme and should catch the judges eye.

Monday Morning Beach Pic

Monday Morning Beach Pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Jay and I are spending this Monday Morning at Cinnamon Bay. It's a
gorgeous morning, had a wonderful breakfast at the condo and white
chocolate truffle coffee from St. John Spice....yum! Not sure what the
plan is for this afternoon but we have to head home by six so we don't
miss the last car barge back over to STT. I'm going to get more info
on the condo so those of you interested in finding out more, stay
tuned.

Passion Fruit Lime n' Coconut

Passion Fruit Lime n' Coconut, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well Skinny Legs was crazy busy. They were having a put-put golf fund
raiser for a local and there was no way were ever going to get served.
So we ran over to Shipwreck Landing. Their special drink of the day is
a passion fruit lime 'n coconut. Very yummy!!

Cruz Bay on a Sunday morning

Cruz Bay on a Sunday morning, originally uploaded by captainjay.

The weather is here and the view doesn't suck either. Deb and I are
having breakfast and cofee on the deck then we are packing a cooler
and meeting some friends at Maho later then lunch at Skinny's.
Jay

Grande Bay

Grande Bay, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We made it to St. John and this place is beautiful! Tile floors,
granite counter tops, cherry finish cabinets, stainless steal
appliances, a/c, beautiful view! I'll post some inside pics later.

Got to go meet Bug and Ed (my forum friends) at the beach bar so I'll
post more later! :-)

Friday Beach Picture

TGIF!! It's going to be a great weekend. Jay and I are trying to work on a deal to stay on St. John for a couple nights. We have some forum friends in and Jay is off Sunday and Monday. If I can get Monday off then we're set. I just got a quote from Grande Bay right in Cruz Bay so now all I have to do is ask for it off.

Today is also the big opening weekend at Summersville lake (rednecks in the Caribbean) so I'm sure we'll be hearing from them. Most of them have their boats in and ready to go. The weather forecast looks great so it's party time!!

Have a great weekend!

Deb

BTW - this is Scotts Beach at Caneel Bay taken by forum member SusanNJ

CYOA and the lights of downtown

Just thought I'd share a nice shot of the lights of downtown Charlotte Amalie with the boats of CYOA.

Why We Live Here

Here is a picture our friends took a little while ago at Summersville Lake in WV. They just put their boats in the water in the last couple of days and they are very happy to be there.

This was Deb and My view this evening at around the same time as the the picture above. We love our friends but cold weather sucks..........................

Jay

Tax Day

Tax Day, originally uploaded by captainjay.

After several attempts to get this tax ting done. I played around with
turbo tax, called my accountant, gave up filed an extension and went
to the beach.
Jay

Happy Easter

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Easter. Make sure to appreciate everything and everyone in your life.

Sitting on the beach at Lindburg Bay....beautiful.

Magens Bay Trail

If you haven't done the trail at Magen's Bay, then you should really check it out. It's a pretty good hike, decent trail, good inclines and beautiful views. I only made it half way up due some miscommunication with our group, so I'll need to go back and do it again to see what's at the top!

Magens at 7am

I'm at Magens Bay at 7 am with some girls I work with to walk the nature trail. We decided to do it early while it's cool and you don't have to pay the entrance fee to get in. :-) I'll let you know how the trail is once we get back.
Deb

Amigos Dockside Cantina

Amigos Dockside Cantina, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well Jay and I are both off today so we're out running around. We
decided to stop and have lunch at a somewhat new Mexican place in
Redhook. It's above Molly Malones, where Whale of a Tail used to be.
Prices are really good and the food is good too. It's Good Friday so
no margaritas until 4pm :-(.

Friday Beach Picture I mean Whale Picture

Well it's not exactly a Beach Picture but it is to cool not to post. I have heard of several whale sightings this year around St John and this one was taken between Guana Island and Great Camanoe in the BVI yesterday. It is a baby humpback. I "borrowed" the picture from Traveltalk Online here is the link to some more.

Jay

Spring Madness

Well it is definitely warming up here. We have had some spectacular weather the last week or so. Warm and sunny. As for the madness part Deb and I have been working on the move to a smaller place. We are pretty sure that we have that worked out. Details later. Also we have started the boat shopping process and we are trying to make some decisions on that front. Definitely need some "time on the water". Also to add insult to injury it is Tax Time. We have procrastinated on figuring this out so it looks like extension time. Our taxes this year are going to consist of a State return, a Federal return and a VI return. Almost as much fun as when I ran the construction company.
Jay

Beachcomer

Spent another Sunday at Beachcomer. It's a really cool place on the beach with nice staff and friendly atmosphere. They do a Caribbean BBQ on Sunday nights that looked really good.

What a burger

What a burger, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We had dinner at Shipwreck Tavern tonight and it was pretty darn good. They are known for their burgers and they definitely lived up to their reputation. They have a big party with a DJ on Saturday nights but it doesn't start until 11:30! Little too late for Jay and I. :-). We heard their advertisement on the radio and we cracked up. They were definitely going for the college crowd. They talked about their 15 foot beer bong from the DJ booth, beer pong and hot chicks. They call it Frat Night on Saturday nights. Too funny! But as far as food and atmosphere, it was pretty good. They have lots of tv's with different sports events, A/C, good service and good drinks. So make sure and check it out.

Friday Beach Pic

Deb took this shot last weekend at Secret Harbor on St Thomas.

TGIF!! Have a great weekend!

Ferry Rates Changin Again

Well the $1.10 fuel surcharge is dead. But don't feel to bad for the Ferry Companies for the loss of this revenue as in the same order they are getting a rate increase above and beyond what they are giving up. The Red Hook to Cruz Bay Ferry will be $7.00 each way as soon as the new rates go into effect. Also don't forget the new fity cent user fee as well so round trip without any discounts is going to run $14.50 with the user fee. You will have to buy tokens for the turnstiles to pay the user fee. The new rate schedule also calls for an "automated" ticket system for the ferry. So I guess this means the staff can't resale the untorn, unfolded. unstamped perfectly good tickets that you turn back into the staff now. How are they ever going to survive without these extra perks. If you want to read all the dirty little details here they are in the paper.

Jay