St. Croix, Virgin Islands

Mom of First Mate’s View

St. Croix looked quaint and beautiful as we landed on the island, and as we pulled up in front of our hotel it too appeared very “island like.” Then we were shown our room. That is when we realized the web site showed a slightly different view of the rooms.

However, we grew very fond of our little spot, after all, it had a great view and wonderful cross ventilation fueled by the ever present trade winds and as a bonus we also had music until the wee hours…..Bob Marley lives on!!

It is a small world, Sue and Mike found an old friend from the "Africana " days in Palm Harbor who has relocated to St. Croix. Bruce was kind enough to loan us his car and drive his pickup with Doug and Phil while showing us where to snorkel. Ed struggled a bit with the snorkeling but did better than I, at least he tried. Sue and I stayed on shore comforting ourselves with rum punches.

Phil and Doug swim like fishes. Phil maintained his standing of “Lobster Man” bringing in the only lobster of the day. It was a beauty, providing all of us with an appetizer that evening. After the snorkeling we headed through a small rainforest to the “beer drinking pigs (hogs really).” We bought beer for the pigs and a few for ourselves. The pigs catch the beer cans, crunch them to get the beer and then spit out the cans. Onward to another beach and a few rum punches while watching the sun set.

Each day had some small activity for fun. Diving for conch, another day of snorkeling, eating (which is a very time consuming activity when you are on “Island Time.”) and of course more rum punches. Doug and Phil had an opportunity to sail at a private yacht club. They fell in love with an “Open Bic.” After selling their fiberglass dingy, they were allowed to buy a “Bic.” Lucky boys! One day while the guys were snorkeling, Sue and I went to the Casino. She was a winner! $250.00 on a 25 cent machine. I, on the other hand contributed to the island economy.

Ed and I have learned a little about what makes up your day when you live on a boat. Everyday tasks seem to take hours and a lot of schlepping back and forth. Good thing Phil and Doug are proficient with the dingy.

The week has flown by and we will be sorry to say goodbye. But everyone is healthy and having so many interesting experiences and lots of fun. So we will content ourselves with watching for the position up-dates, the Blog and e-mail and those wonderful times when the cell phones work.