Happy New Years Eve

Happy New Years Eve, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Just pulled into White Bay and it is hoppin' !! And things are just getting started. Great weather, great friends and a great party. Hope everyone has a great New Year celebration! :-)

Friday Beach Pic

Friday Beach Pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well today's beach pic is a long distance pic of Jost Van Dyke, as seen from our house, since that's where Jay and I will be for New Years Eve! WooHoo! Finally going to Foxy's Old Year's Night party. I've wanted to go to this since moving here and Jay's schedule has never allowed us to go. But this year it all worked out. And I can't wait. We'll be taking lots of pics so we'll put a post together after we get back of the pics suitable to post lol.

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year's eve and a great 2012.

WAPA, WAPA Everywhere But Not A Drop to Drink.

Let alone enough water to flush your commodes. Tomorrow is another five ship day for downtown all the local businesses including restaurants will have to live without water. WAPA is still having "difficulties" with the water system. Enough is enough I have personally had to haul salt water to flush the heads at the marina. I won't go into details about how much fun that was, but suffice to say I nearly lost my breakfast. Any way here is a report from News 2 explaining how things have been going, and how Hodge is to busy working on the problem to do an interview. Well Christmas Eve I saw him in his W&P 1 tagged white Ford Escape downtown shopping. Guess he wasn't to busy to get a little last minute shopping done. It's one of if not the busiest tourist weeks of the year. This is the best we can do.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Merry Christmas from de islands!

Merry Christmas from De Islands

Merry Christmas from De Islands, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Off today after a very busy week. Doing a little laundry and cleaning up the kitchen. Its not all beach bars down here after all. Deb is in the air as I type this, flying back from the "The Real World" she gets in around 4:00. We have plans for dinner out this evening, then a Christmas dinner tomorrow with friends.
Hope everyone is having a great Holiday season.
Merry Christmas
Jay

More WAPA rantings, Have a Merry Powerless Christmas

So yesterday in an effort to restore water service to St Thomas, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority managed shut down the whole power grid for St Thomas, St John, Water Island and Hassel Island. Just two short days before Christmas and right at the start of Tourist Season. If those of us that live here didn't have to deal with it all the time it might be funny. It simply isn't funny any more. We pay over forty cents a kilowatt for unreliable power. Constant black outs, brown outs and rolling outages on a regular basis. This place is an electronics wasteland from surges and spikes blowing up TVs, computers and appliances. Despite all this the bright side is that Hugo Hodge is earning $210,000 dollars a year to run this dog and pony show. This is actually sixty thousand dollars a year more than the governor makes here. So I am sure he is spending that money locally and helping out the economy.

Here are the details of this latest "St Thomas, You Can't Make This Shit Up" circus act.

St Thomas Source "St Thomas in the Dark"

Happy First Day of Winter

Since it is the first day of winter I thought we would talk a little bit about the weather. Here is a summary of the Weather here this week from the weather station at the condo. The real story is the wind. Christmas winds are definitely here. We have had winds in the upper teens to mid twenty mile an hour range for about a week now. Blowing from the north, this definitely has cooled things down a bit, also the seas swells are here to go with them. I know those of you dealing with snow and real cold don't have much sympathy so I won't complain. Actually the cooler temps are kinda nice.
Merry Christmas,
Jay

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and share my new Christmas tree. Its the biggest one I've had since moving here. We made the decision when we moved not to bring any of my Christmas decorations to keep the cost of moving down. Plus we didn't know where we would be living and if there would be storage for everything. I thought I could go without the big tree and all my decorations, but I was wrong. I love decorating for Christmas so I should have known better. So our first Christmas I went to Kmart and bought the cheapest tree I could get and a handful of decorations. It was pretty sad looking but at least I had a tree. The next year we moved to a different place and the previous tenant had left behind a little bit bigger pre-lit tree. So I bought a few more decorations. Slightly better than the first tree, but still not what I was used to. Then last year, after Christmas, a friend came across a tree on sale and bought it for me as a late birthday/Christmas gift. I was so thrilled! I was so excited this year to get the new tree up to see how it looked. Since it was twice the size of my previous tree, I needed to go get some more decorations. So I finally have it done and I think it turned out pretty nice. I'm still missing my ornaments that are back in WV but I have some new island ornaments that are helping to fill the void. I love ornaments that have special meaning. If I had to do it over, I would have definitely packed up at least one box of decorations and brought some of the hand made ornaments that I had collected over the years. Who knows, maybe on our next WV trip, I'll venture into the depths of our over stuffed attic to try and find some ornaments to bring back with me. :-)

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! :-)

Merry Christmas Electric Slide Style

Those of you that know the Brandi's will get a kick out of this little Christmas ditty. John posted this up on Facebook and You Tube today. They definitely have the Christmas Spirit, island style. You can find Captain John here Palm Tree Charters

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, originally uploaded by captainjay.

So the Season is upon us. Hope everyone is having a great holiday. We did the Lighted Boat parade tonight in St Thomas. Deb's Christmas vacation started today, she helped decorate our friends boat. There was a great turnout downtown for the parade.
Jay

Miracle on Main Street

It's that time of year again! Downtown Charlotte Amalie is turned into a Christmas wonderland. Stores stay open late, decorations and music everywhere, food/drink vendors and the lighted boat parade. Last year we took our little boat, which looked pretty silly against all the bigger boats that were out there. So this year we are taking a friends sail boat. We both gathered up more lights and decorations and plan to pull it all together this afternoon when I get off work. The wind has been howling the last couple of days so I hope it doesn't mess things up. If you're on island today, come down to waterfront tonight and check things out. Merry Christmas! :-)

BTW - the pic above is our friends boat from Admiralty Dive Center from year before last.

Friday Beach Picture

This one is from Lameshure Bay on St John. Taken when Brenda and Gary were here visiting.
Jay

Happy Birthday Deb

Yesterday was Deb's birthday, so we did a little French Town Crawl. I won't bother with the details but we had a good time. A few good drinks and a great dinner at the Pie Whole. The picture above was Deb's birthday cheesecake, not pictured was her white chocolate martinin that went with the dessert.
Happy Birhday babe, Love You
Jay

Friday beach pic

Friday beach pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Better late than never lol. I meant to send this on Friday but I guess I got side tracked and never sent it. I got off a little early on Friday so I headed over to Water Island with some friends on our boat. It rained pretty much the whole time except for a few minutes when the sun came out and I snapped this pic. But a rainy day at Joes Beach Bar is better than sitting in front of a computer with no view of outside. :-)

I'm really loving my new work schedule. We were given the option to adjust our work hours to lessen the pain of our 8% pay cut. You still have to work the normal 35 hours and the new schedule has to be approved by your supervisor. I work an extra 45 min a day and leave at noon on Friday. The concept being, with the adjusted schedule you may be able to take on a second job to make up the difference of what we lost with the pay cut. I don't have any plans for that, but I'm loving Friday afternoons off!

Sunsets

Sunsets, originally uploaded by captainjay.

I love taking pics of sunsets. We've had some really great ones lately. Just thought I'd share one with you. Enjoy!

Banco Popular, Banking While White

Banco Popular, Banking While White, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We said we would post the good and the bad. This is the later. Discrimination based on having white skin, poor customer service, pure arrogance. This are just a few of my not so favorite things.

My employer routinely writes my pay check on a state side account, if I send the checks to the bank with our runner who happens to be Puerto Rican, and has been here a long time the deposits go straight in. If I do them they put a hold on them for up to ten days. Same bank same checks for four years.

I also had an instance were we wrote a large check on our account here to move money back to the states. That check was returned by the local branch because they said it wasn't my signature. No attempt was made to contact me ever. No police notification about a check for twenty five thousand dollars they thought was forged. Just ridiculous, the clerk took one look at my signature card, my white mug shot of a drivers license that they had on file, likely sucked her teeth and bounced the check. I am done with this bank.

As soon as this check clears I will be moving my account. If my state side bank would do imaging deposits I wouldn't even have an account here. Oh and as a parting shot the branch manager said I could go down to the division of banking and file a formal complaint. Figure this rant will do more good.

Glad It wasn't my day to fly.

I am glad no one was hurt, this was at the St Thomas Airport yesterday. I have flown on this plane from Ace Flight Center a bunch of times. Here is the article from The St Thomas Source.
Small Plane Crash St Thomas Source

Lattitude 18 is Back, Fiddler to Follow

The Sun Mountain Fiddler

Looks like new owners, hope that it works out. We will make it out there and check it out soon. Looks like they have added volleyball and horseshoes to the mix and a few TV's as well. The Fiddler is scheduled to be back as well. Sun Mountain Fiddler
Here is the article from the Saint Thomas Source
Saint Thomas Source on Latitude 18

Friday Beach Pic

Friday Beach Pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Well Friday is here again and I realized I hadn't posted since last Friday. We had a great time on St. John over the thanksgiving weekend and I have lots of pics. Just need to spend some time putting a good post together. We had thanksgiving dinner at Skinny Legs Thankspigging pot luck. It was great. Lots of good food and good friends. Spent the rest of the weekend hitting different St. John beaches then over to Water Island on Sunday to see the arrival of the new Joes Beach Bar. It was a great weekend to say the least.

We have some down time scheduled for this weekend so we'll try to put a good post together with all the pics.

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Black Friday

Black Friday, originally uploaded by captainjay.

My answer to Black Friday :-)

Hope everyone enjoyed their thanksgiving. Food, family, and friends. A perfect way to spend the day. Sitting on Maho bay beach is my perfect Black Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving. We're spending some time on St. John and loving the down time, which was way over due.

Happy thanksgiving! Cheers!

One year Anniversary

I just realized we had our one year anniversary of living in our current place.  And we still love it! Signing a new lease for another year and, who knows, maybe longer :-)  I re-read our posts from last November when we were moving in and how excited we were. Well, a year later, we are still that excited about living here. Love the view, love the size and condition of the condo, love our landlords, love how quiet and peaceful it is, no dogs barking, no loud trucks or stereos, just can't say enough great things about it. The staff and people living there are always friendly, waving to people doing their morning walks around the complex, and the security guards you see everyday coming and going. It's been a real treat and I have to thank our landlords for the opportunity. :-)

I also love how the second bedroom and bath are set up perfect for guests. We've had a few over the past year, and this coming January and February we have a lot coming and I can't wait. We were hoping to have some friends over the Christmas/New Year's holiday but that didn't work out. Too much going on for them right now to make the trip. :-( So we have an empty bedroom for the holiday if anyone is interested lol

Today is the last work day before the Thanksgiving holiday. We are heading over to St. John to spend some time with some friends. We were hoping to go visit some other friends that are over on Tortolla but we just couldn't get all our schedules to work out. But they're having a blast and that's all that matters. They will be back in February for the Redneck's in the Caribbean annual trek. So we'll definitely get to see them then.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Friday Beach Pic

TGIF! Soooo glad it's the weekend. Haven't been to the beach or been on the boat in forever so I'm hoping to fix that problem this weekend. This pic was taken last month at Sandy Spit when we took some friends out on the boat and went over to the BVI's. I love making that trip (minus the paperwork of course, but you already know that).

Lots going on this Saturday for the Family Resource Center. Cost-U-Less will be collecting food donations, Zumbathon at 6:30 pm at Yacht Haven Grande, and Motown theme dinner/dance at Fat Turtle. So try to make it out to one of the events to support this worthy cause.

There is a paypal account set up to donate if you are interested:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Getting back into the groove

Trying to get back into the groove of things. Back to work, back to Zumba, back to Jenny, back to day to day routine. Lots of visitors coming over the next few months, so that will be fun and the weather has been nice since I've been back, so that definitely helps. :-) 

RIP Dad

RIP Dad, originally uploaded by captainjay.

Just wanted to share some sad news and explain why there hasn't been any posts for awhile. My dad passed away last Thursday unexpectedly from a heart attack. I flew back to the states for his funeral and to be with family. It's been a very sad week and haven't felt up to posting anything. I've had a few comments wanting to know what's up so I thought I'd share the news. So please forgive the lack of posts while I use this time to grieve. RIP dad. :-(

Some Time On the Water

So we managed to get out on the boat yesterday. We did a quick BVI trip with some friends. Headed over to Jost on what could only be described as a perfect power boat day. The seas were flat we didn't have any rain just a really nice day out. We cleared in at Great Harbor, after a slight delay because the customs man was at the doctor. After that we headed up to Sandy Spit for a little swim and some beach time. Then it was back to White Bay for some Soggy Dollar lunch and  a few painkillers.

The video above was shot with the Go Pro camera. I am getting a little better at editing but I still don't really like the Apple software.

Rent

Rent, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We're heading to Pistarckle Theater tonight to see Rent. They always do a great job, at least every production we've been to has been outstanding. So I'm pretty excited about going. If you've never been then it's definitely something to put on your list. You can check out their schedule on their web site pistarckletheater.com/stars/

We have friends in the show so that makes it even more fun. :-)

Friday Beach Pic

Friday Beach Pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

It's Friday and a beautiful day in the VI!! thought I would stop and snap a quick pic of Magens Bay to share. The overlook is the best view on St. Thomas. If you visit the island it is a must stop. We still haven't made it up to the new Mountaintop which has the same view but with banana daiquiris :-).

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hans Lollick Pics

Just wanted to share a few pics we took at Hans Lollick last weekend. The first pic is the view from our deck. The rest were taken as were were approaching the island. It was so cool to finally get out there and see what I've been admiring from afar :-)

Hans Lollick

Hans Lollick, originally uploaded by captainjay.

We finally made it out to Hans Lollick today! I've been looking at this island and beach for almost a year, since moving in the place, and have wondered what it looked like. It's pretty awesome! We picked up some friends in St. John and went over to Lovango to snorkel and hang out. Jay realized it was only 4 miles to Hans Lollick so we ran over to check it out.

The water color was awesome and the sand really soft. The beach at the water line was a little rocky but still easy to walk up. We were cracking up at the few ragged lawn chairs at the tree line. I guess they were left by the campers that visit the island. We found all kinds of coconuts that were sprouting so we brought one back to the house and planted it in a planter. We named it Hans lol. We'll keep you updated on it's progress.

Overall We had a great day, with perfect weather, good friends and lots of laughs. :-)

Family Resource Center

Several fund raisers are coming up that will benefit the local Family Resource center. They are in need of funds to keep the center going. So several events have been organized to help raise some money.

This Sunday (10/16/11) is the first Event. Sunday Beach Day!!!!  October Sunday Beach Jam at Magen's Bay Beach!!!  Music starts at 11am, come on down and enjoy great music from many local musicians,  food, beverages and plenty of fun in the sun, all proceeds benefit the Family Resource Center.

Another event is a Zumbathon that will be held at Yacht Haven Grande on November 19th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. A friend of mine who is organizing it set up a PayPal account to pay the entrance fee for the event or just to donate money to the cause.  

She asked me to post this:

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, to help my local community I (along with a wonderful team of loving people) am organizing a Zumbathon (fundraiser) for the local organization - "Family Resource Center" - that works to prevent domestic violence & sexual assault. We have a wonderful Zumba Jammer - Cristiane Machado from Rio de Janeiro leading the Zumbathon along with some of your local ...instructors.




*** NOVEMBER 19 @ 6:30 - 8 p.m. - YHG Esplanade ***



If you would like to support/sponsor/donate this event please contact me.  All proceeds will go to sustain the vital work that the FRC does for our community!!! Please support us & show your ♥!!!
 

After the Zumbathon, on the same day (11/19/11), there will be a dinner/dance at Wikked with a Motown theme.

No tickets/no gate, just DINE, DANCE AND DONATE!!!  what you can. Suggest if you want to be able to dine and have your own table , call in reservations to WIKKED , ask for Jeff or just make the reservation 777-8953, they can do up to a 10 top. WIKKED will serve tapas/appetizer menu after 9pm during the dance event.

   

Hopefully you can help out by attending one of the events or donating a few dollars if you can. Check out the  Family Resource Center on Facebook

Friday Pic

Friday Pic, originally uploaded by captainjay.

TGIF! what a week. It's hard coming back to reality after the week staycation. But we made it!

We have forum friends on STJ for the next couple weeks so we'll heading over there a couple times to hang out and going to Jost tomorrow! Haven't been there in awhile so looking forward to that.

I know today's pic isn't a beach pic but I thought it was cool and wanted to share. This was our view last Saturday morning from Key Cay after hanging out with Cattitude. We had such a great time hanging out with them and can't thank them enough for their hospitality, great stories and fun times :-)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Picture review of our BVI "staycation"

Just thought I would share some pics of our recent "staycation" that we spent at Leverick Bay Resort on Virgin Gorda, BVI. We had a great time and recommend this place to anyone who is thinking about staying on Virgin Gorda.