Sunday June 24, 2012

We got the boys to bed early (for them) at 8:30 and woke them up at 6:30 (late for us).  We got out the door and on the road at 7:07.  We stopped at BJ’s to fuel up the truck and then headed down I-95 to begin our Wild West adventure.  The boys searched the road for fancy cars and found a lime green Lotus Exige with black racing stripes near Stamford.  They were all enraptured and Dan was drooling on the seat.  We also saw two Ford Shelbys, two Triumphs, and a Jaguar.  At 9:07 we were on the far side of the Tappan Zee bridge.  The boys started a movie on the portable DVD player and we continued onto I-80 and through the Delaware River Gap.  We stopped for lunch in Pennsylvania at McDonalds.  After lunch, we listened to some of “Brian’s Winter” and then the boys watched another movie.  Alex is banned from eating at Mickey D's for the rest of the trip as he is now wanted in three states for gaseous emission violations!  Dave and I have been changing drivers every two to three hours.  We pushed to get to the other side of Cleveland before stopping for the night as we don't want to fight rush hour traffic in the morning.   We stopped at a Best Western in Elyria, Ohio.  The only restaurant within walking distance was an Arby's so that became dinner.  We came back and Theo and Dan opted to go to the pool (Alex wanted to stay in the room to watch 60 Minutes with Dave), but they didn't stay long as the pool water was very COLD!  The boys are going to write in their journals and then I will read to them for a bit before bed.  They were all very good in the truck and we hope they can have another good day tomorrow as it will be another long day of driving.  Alex's best part of the day was "arriving at the hotel after driving all day".  Dan said "the Lotus was awesome because it was only the second one I have ever seen".  Theo said "getting this far in the USA - we drove over 600 miles!"

St. John Tues. 3/20/12

Today was our day off as we are flying home tomorrow. We said goodbye to Charlie as well as Willie and Deb (they will be back on Friday, but we will be gone - they are going over to Jost Van Dyke for a few days). We had an early breakfast and Dave and I along with Barb and Jim went for a hike. We started on the Lameshur Bay trail and then took the Reef Bay trail at the intersection down to the beach. The first couple of pictures are of an overlook looking down onto Reef Bay beach, the trail itself, and the beach at the end of the trail. Just before we got to the beach, we passed the old sugar mill (see photo). On the way back, I took a picture of Barb in front of her favorite tree, which I dubbed the octopus tree as it has so many branches. The hike was about 5 miles long and we got back about 11 which wasn't too bad as I stopped a few times on the uphill parts and we chatted with several people on our way back who were just starting out. We had lunch and then Dave and I did laundry and packed most of our stuff into our suitcases. Dad had to pack his fins in the bottom of his suitcase because they are so long so he opted to read while Barb and I went for a last snorkel. We did Little Lameshur today and again had a good swim. I saw two trumpet fish, another Indigo Hamlet, a spotted moray (Charlie would have been so proud of us!), another Queen Angelfish along with all of the usual suspects. One that we see everyday, I finally looked up this afternoon. It is a juvenile Cocoa Damselfish. It is very pretty - purple and yellow. I came back to shower and we will have dinner soon. John is making Piccadillo (Cuban chili) - another new taste! This may be the last blog as we don't know if there will be internet service at the airport tomorrow - I doubt it. It seems hard to believe that we have been here a month - time has passed very quickly. We have enjoyed the work, the people and the location - everything has been wonderful! So loyal readers, happy trails until next time which will be at the end of June when we take Alex, Dan, and Theo for their wild west camping adventure.

St. John Mon. 3/19/12

Another rainy night and cloudy day, but we here on St. John don't let the weather stop us! The Iowa State crew left this morning so Dave and I cleaned the rooms and did lots of sheets and towels for our work this morning. Today is Charlie's last day - he is flying home tomorrow. We had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the beach path today to celebrate all of the work that Charlie, Dave, and Glenn put into the new trail (but especially Charlie). Roy and Jim sang a duet about working on the chain gang accompanied by the beer bottle band. Charlie cut the ribbon to open the path and we all sang "Happy Trails to You". A good time was had by all (see photos). After lunch, Dave opted for a nap. He has something going on with his eyelid. We suspect that he was bitten by some little "no-see-um" on the lid. He has been taking an antihistamine which helps somewhat, but he thought he would rest it this afternoon. Charlie, Barb, and I went for a snorkel at Greater Lameshur. There is always something new to see, especially when Charlie goes with us. He is very knowledgeable about all the unusual fish. We saw three eels today - well, truthfully, Charlie saw the baby moray, but it was under a ledge by the time Barb and I got there. We did see a large green moray and a large reticulate moray - very exciting! We also saw an Indigo Hamlet - a beautiful two-toned blue fish and a first for me. I saw a three foot barracuda just hanging out about eight feet away and all of a sudden he took off like a bat out of hell- from 0 t0 60 in seconds - he must have seen lunch. Barb and I had to turn around before the end as we got chilled - lack of sun, but it was a great snorkel even so. We warmed up on the beach for a few minutes and then headed back to camp for a hot shower. Tomorrow will be our day off as we leave here on Wednesday. We are thinking of hiking the Lameshur Bay Trail. We haven't done much hiking in our time here - have spent most of our time in the water.

St. John Sun. 3/18/12

Boy, did it pour last night! It rained hard for about an hour and then off and on a couple more times in the night. We woke up to a steamy day, but the humidity has lessened this afternoon although it is a bit cloudy right now. Randy Fish's parents came in last night so we all got to meet them at breakfast. They are from the San Francisco area and came here from a boat trip off of the Dominican Republic where they were whale watching for a week. It may take them a day or two to become accustomed to walking on land again. Interestingly, they are related to the Mystic Fish family - many generations ago! Dave did some vine clipping in the laundry and shower area while I helped the Iowa State students pull snake plant from around the fire pit. The students packed a lunch as they were going to hike at Cinnamon Bay and they were delighted to have snickerdoodles to pack! Dave and I raked leaves for the rest of the morning and used them as mulch in the bed behind the museum. Hopefully, they will rot down and help make some topsoil which is sadly missing here - the soil is quite clay-like so any help we can give it . . . After lunch, I gave a tour of the museum to a couple who had met one of the original Tektite aquanauts 10 years ago. They are moored out in the bay and walked over to see the museum. They are from Montana and spend every winter sailing down this way to get out of the cold. We went for a snorkel in Greater Lameshur and had a great time. We saw the three-legged hawksbill turtle, which is usually over in Little Lameshur. We assume a shark got one of his hind legs. I tried to find the octopus that Charlie and I had found to show to Dave, but didn't have any luck. On our way back, I decided to look again for the octopus when I saw him - out of his hole and swimming right towards me! It was totally awesome! I yelled to Dave, but he had hidden himself by the time Dave got out to where I was. We had a great snorkel, but I couldn't go as far as usual as I got chilly - the sun was behind clouds almost the whole time we were in the water. The Iowa kids are going out to eat tonight so it should be a small group for dinner. I can't believe that we have been here almost a month - I don't know where the time has gone.

St. John Sat. 3/17/12

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! I put a photo of the lion fish on the blog today. It is really quite a beautiful fish - it is too bad that it is so dangerous. Dave helped Charlie haul and spread more gravel and sand for the beach trail while I readied some rooms for guests that are coming in tomorrow. I made the snickerdoodles this morning and then I made a couple of Nana banana breads as we had some bananas that were getting past prime for eating. I also finished the laundry from yesterday. After lunch, Dave and I drove over to the east end and visited with Jon Owen's friend. He is doing a rehab on a house right on the beach just after Haulover Bay. It will be beautiful when it is done (see view from deck). We stopped at Ship Wreck to pick up a few goodies to bring home to the grandchildren and then headed back to camp in time to shower. We gave a tour of the camp and museum to two couples from Minnesota who are staying on a sail boat in the bay. Barb and Jim are making pork for dinner and Laura made chocolate cupcakes with green frosting to help us celebrate the day. The flower pictures are from some bushes near Love City where Dave stopped for a soda to take back to camp. The goat is one of five that was running along the road just as we were nearing Salt Pond area.

St. John Fri. 3/16/12

We had a birthday party for Jim last night. Barb made some lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting (of course, Dave was in seventh heaven) and I contributed the homemade vanilla ice cream. Everyone sang happy birthday to him and we had a great time eating the goodies. He is officially an "old goat" as he turned 65! Manhattan left early this morning on Hamilton's "bus" and Dave and I cleaned a lot of rooms. We started on the laundry and since it was such a beautiful day, hung the sheets out to dry. We then set up for two sets of people who are coming in tomorrow. Dave went to help Charlie haul sand for the trail to the beach and I mixed up a batch of snickerdoodles which I will bake tomorrow. The Iowa group expressed interest in having them again - they said that they were their favorites. After lunch, Dave and I drove into Coral Bay to put some mail out and then came back to Salt Pond where we met up with Barb and Jim who had walked there from camp (we carried their snorkel gear in the Jeep). Dave opted to sit at a table near the beach as he is feeling a lot better, but still coughs once in a while and that is not fun when you are snorkeling. Barb and I walked over to Drunk Bay which is on the other side of Salt Pond. The surf is quite rough on that side and people collect all sorts of debris which washes up and get quite creative with it. One of the above pictures is of Drunk Bay and the surf, the others are sculptures that are on the beach and rocks. I have named them Man and Dog, Two Men in a Boat, Eat Well (notice how pudgy the figure is), and Island Girl. We then walked back to the beach and snorkeled. What a great day! I saw a spotted trunk fish, a barracuda, three sting rays (two with remoras), a squid, AND four green turtles, including a baby one! One of the turtles came up for air three times right in front of me before diving back down to the bottom to continue feeding. I was thrilled! I will have to invest in a new underwater camera for next time we come. The one I brought with me had two batteries die in the first week and they would not recharge. Jim hiked up Ram's Head and then met us on the beach for a short swim as we were coming in from our snorkel. Dave had a good time on the beach talking with some folks from Anchorage, Alaska who are staying at nearby Concordia. They are here for two weeks with their 10-year old son. When we got back to camp, we showered and then I hung out another load of sheets and folded up the dry ones. We should have one more load to do tomorrow morning so caught up pretty quickly. Willie and Deb are in the kitchen making dinner while listening to island music - quite a pleasant afternoon. Randy and Charlie just came back from a dive and captured two lion fish. They are an invasive species from the Pacific and their sting can be deadly so I am glad that they found these two. I took a picture which I will put on the blog tomorrow as I just downloaded my camera.

St. John Thurs. 3/15/12

Beware the ides of March! Well, so far there hasn't been anything to beware as it is another beautiful day on St. John. Last night, Dave and I walked down to the dock. The sky was magnificent. We could clearly see the Milky Way, Pleides, Cassiopeia, Orion, Big Dipper, Venus, Jupiter and Mars. I wish we had brought our star chart with us as I have forgotten so many of the constellations. I was thinking that we should bring one out West this summer as the skies are so big out there and I think the boys would enjoy learning some of the most famous star clusters. Barb and Jim drove Jerry into town early this morning to catch the first ferry over to St. Thomas. He will be on vacation for two weeks and plans to go to St. Martin, Guadalupe, and Dominique. Dave and I finished cleaning in the classroom - organized the videos, games, craft supplies, etc. We then washed the chalkboard and the tables, and swept the floor. It did look a lot better when we were done. We moved on to the the museum. We had gotten several boxes of new merchandise in yesterday and we shelved as much as we could. We also gave a tour to two couples who stopped in to visit. Dave swept the kitchen and dining room while I made and baked oatmeal craisin cookies for tomorrow's lunches. We finished up just as lunch was ready. I made Dave take another nap - he is feeling much better so I hope he can get into the water tomorrow. I went for a snorkel with Charlie in Greater Lameshur. We took a piece of ham and attached it to a stick with a rubber band to tease the octopus out of his hole. Not only was the octopus interested, the fish were too! I hope Charlie got some good pictures. On the last piece of ham, the octopus came out, grabbed both the ham and the rubber band and retreated back into his hole. I wonder if he is still chewing on the rubber band?! Hopefully, we will find it outside his little den the next time we snorkel by. We then swam out to the far point and saw two scrawled cowfish, a 3 foot trumpetfish, and a 3 foot mutton snapper. It was a lovely swim and I was happy to see some different fish. Tonight we will celebrate Jim's birthday. The ice cream wasn't ready last night so we will have it for the celebration. Dave just finished carving a wooden spoon for the kitchen. It came out great! Manhattan College leaves tomorrow morning so we will have housekeeping chores and laundry to do. If Dave is feeling up to it, we might go to Drunk Bay and Salt Pond so I will have some pictures for you all tomorrow.