Category: Uncategorized

We actually got to sleep in a little bit this morning…. WOO-HOO~!!! (well, 06:30) but we’ll take what we can get……. Had an ‘early’ morning scheduled as we were due to make a boat trip around Salt River Nature Reserve area at 09:00. Per web site direction we were to arrive at 08:45 for our journey through the mangroves and the Christopher Columbus arrival site.

We started off with some biscuits and sausage and bacon that Oma whooped up for us (well dammit… just can’t run off on an adventure like that on an empty stomach~!)……  growling bellies mostly satiated… we loaded up into the Bus and headed for Salt River Bay. Got there in record time – even early enough for Pa-paw to back the Bus into an unseen object and separate the bumper from it’s attachment point…… No worries though…. being plastic and all, I just popped it back into place. We soon loaded onto [what is to believed] the only pontoon boat in the Caribbean and headed into the Salt River basin. Captain Danny was doing a heckva job telling us about some of the local history of the area and about the local bird and wild life in the area. Fun, easy going educational type tour. It was enjoyable, relaxing and fun…… although I don’t think the wee folks onboard was getting the same experience…… that was until Captain Danny let them take over steering the boat — Hot Damn~!— Good stuff right there~!!! Most of us learned at least a little bit about the beautiful island we were on and the local wildlife and it was just an all around enjoyable tour. We will definitely be making the tour again with other visitors that come to spend some time with us.

We wrapped up the tour and jumped back into the Bus. I managed to get us out of the parking lot without backing into anything else. Hoping we could get my little ‘Mess’ to take a nap, we started driving around the local mountain top – checking out some awesome views….. the nap didn’t pan out, so we headed back to the condo, for showers, naps [for some] and some relax. I wanted to show the ‘kids’ some more of the island -so when naps and all were finished, we loaded back up into the Bus for a run out to the West end of the island to view Veterans Drive. A really nice stretch of road that runs along the Western edge of the island… well, nice until it ends where the road disappears….. wiped out by storm surge from Hurricane Maria…… but it is a stretch of about 3 miles of gorgeous beach……. After spending some time admiring the views from the beach, we stopped back by a local eatery call Nacho & Louis’s….. fun little bar named after the owners dogs. Have been here multiple times and always a fun time….. sadly, not so much this time…… but we got food and drinks in our bellies and soon was back at the condo enjoying each others company.

Got the kiddlies in bed and spent a little time sitting out on the balcony listening to the waves crashing in on the beach, with drinks and chatting. I cut out a little bit early out to get these words to you, and as I get to this part, everyone is filing in ready for bed…… so I’m going to try and get a BUNCH of pictures up for you and call it a night myself……. I think we’re supposed to go out to the Buccaneer Resort tomorrow for some swimming and snorkeling. Been out there once – fun looking little place that I look forward to exploring — I’ll let you know how it goes.

Good Night Ya’ll …….. Thankx for stopping in~!

IMG_5633

This boat is made out of concrete~!

IMG_5841 IMG_5842

 

Another waking up to the squeals and chirps of little folks….. trying our dang-dest to wear them out so they sleep in a little bit – but no luck yet…. maybe tomorrow 😉  Another fun day on our gorgeous island….. starting out with a tour of the North Shore road, driving the same patch of road that Andy drove in his Cadillac while escaping to ZIHUATANEJO – in the movie The Shawshank Redemption…… we also checked out the rest of the North Shore road while my ‘Mess’ caught a nap in the back of the back of the Bus. He finally woke up and we came back down off the mountain and pulled into Cane Bay. Being early, parking spots were plentiful. The water was gorgeous, clear and warm. The wind was a little stronger than usual, but it didn’t stop any of us from plunging into that beautiful water to check out the local sea life. A couple of us spotted a big ole turtle swimming along as we headed into the water – but by the time I got out there with my camera – he was gone. There was plenty of other fun stuff to look at though. We all took turns spending time with the wee folks while the others got in some snorkeling or just floating about. We got out after about an hour for a shade break and some snacks and more sunscreen for the little guys. Rested, cooled, fed and hydrated we jumped back in for more water fun… We spent another 30-45 minutes before I hauled Mr. Colt out of the water….. he was spent and no longer having any fun. So I bundled him up in a chair in the shade and we watched the others until they soon all came up to join us. We all agreed that drinks and some chow was in order, so we popped on over to Eat at Cane Bay (Bar & Restaurant). We were greeted and seated promptly and Miss Rachel did a wonderful job taking care of us. We had some chicken parts, some French fries, conch fritters, Mahi Taco’s, Snapper sammiches, cheese cake, Key Lime pie and ample liquid refreshments – best part of the meal though, hands down, was the company and the view…… what a wonderful time~!!

Bellies full and thirsts quenched – we loaded up into the Bus and headed for the condo. Got back and cleaned the gear all up, got the salt rinsed off of us and settled in to suck up some conditioned air….. there were a couple of naps broke out to rejuvenate the ones that needed it. Naps accomplished, we headed up to our local hang out (Blues Backyard BBQ) as my favorite dude was up there playing (Jason Johnson) He’s the guy that does the awesome Johnny Cash song renditions. We had some drinks, and Eddy even brought out some Jell-O shots for the boys. (We’ll get them to sleep one way or the other)  😉    We had drinks, listened to JJ and caught up with friends we haven’t seen in a little bit and introduced our family to our ‘Blues Family’. JJ was winding down so we loaded up and am now back here…. trying to get my ‘Mess’ to go to sleep……..

Another big day tomorrow…. starting out with a boat ride up Salt River — should be a fun start to another fun day~

Good night ya’ll …… Thankx for stopping in~!

Another early morning (again, whether we wanted to or not) but we got up, got some breakfast and was out the door by 09:00 headed for the East end of the island, to Point Udall – the Eastern most point of the United States. Did the long easy drive out to the point, slowing and occasionally stopping for picture taking. I swear, I’ll never get tired of going out there. The scenery just blows my mind every single time……. just Wow~! Finally made it out there and walked around looking at all that beautiful blue water while Steph & Josh enjoyed the monument and the view as well. My ‘mess’ was bagged out in the car while everybody else enjoyed the monument, but it worked out good as it gave him the energy and stamina for the next leg of our trip. We wound our way back down the mountain, pulling in at the base of it at Cramer Park. As is most of the time, during the week, it is not unusual to have the entire beach to yourself, which we did. Didn’t take long before me and my Deuce were in the water and getting snorkels adjusted. Will is doing a really good job snorkeling, but struggles a little bit with keeping water out of his snorkel as he laughs and squeals when sees all the fish, but he’s getting better as he goes. I took lots of good pictures and a video of him to document the occasion. It wasn’t long before we were joined by Mom, Dad, Oma and Colton…….. Being early in the morning, water still had a bit of an “OOh” factor when you first stepped in – but once you were in, it felt great~! We swam and snorkeled the better part of an hour before I called everybody in for a shade and refreshment drink. It’s hard to convince folks just how quick that sun and wind can burn you…. especially very young skin not used to it. We had snacks and drinks, some more sunscreen for some and back in we went. We swam, snorkeled, boogie boarded for another 30 minutes or so before it was decided that the little guys were getting “pink” and it would be best to call it a day.

We loaded everything back up into the bus and headed for town. It was decided that a spot of lunch would taste pretty good, so we pulled into Cheeseburger in America’s Paradise for some liquid refreshments, some Cheese sticks and Chicken parts. Main course included a Cheeseburger which was fairly tasty according to Josh, there was some shrimp and some Mahi – all apparently tasty as well – as they disappeared in short order. I opted for a second Budweiser for my lunch   🙂    After we everyone was fed (including a rooster and a couple of chickens) we loaded back up into the bus and headed for some conditioned air and relaxing back at the condo….. well, some of us…… me & my Deuce and Stephanie headed up to the swimming pool to see if it had warmed up any. It had, but still a tad to cool to enjoy, so we headed back to the house.  By then, bellies were starting to rumble again, so Oma whipped up some Ravioli and toasted cheese sammiches for the boys and everybody else just kinda fended for themselves. Showers, a couple of rousing games of UNO and little folks are getting ready for some sack time. I think all the ‘big’ people are hoping they’re wore out enough to sleep in, in the morning~ 😉

Heading out for the North Shore road tomorrow and some Cane Bay swimming….. it should be another fun day~!

Good night ya’ll —- Thankx for stopping in~!

 

Everybody was up bright and early this morning [whether we wanted to be or not] ….. and it wasn’t long before some of the folks were clamoring on about being hungry…… I swear, didn’t we feed you all last night ??  😉    I suggested we load up and head into town to Toast Diner for a wonderfully delicious breakfast that none of us had to make……… we have been there multiple times and enjoy it more every time we go…… This time we got to introduce the Jenkin’s clan to the place. My heartfelt bragging about the Bloody Mary’s this place makes stands solid – everybody that partook, was pleasantly impressed….. I even heard “that was the best Bloody Mary I have ever had” out of Josh~  Seriously ya’ll — if you make it to St. Croix, whether you stay with us or visit on your own — if you enjoy a Bloody Mary – you need to check out this eatery – this place will tickle your innards….. We had eggs, pancakes (with strawberries & whipped cream) Biscuits & gravy and a happy combination of other delightful breakfast foods…… I heard nary a compliant out of anyone.  : )  Bellies full, we headed back to the boardwalk to find the shop that had ‘Pirate Stuff’ for my Deuce……. we got to the store and before long was equipped with ‘Pirate Stuff’ and a hand bag and some memories…….. We went from there to the end of the board walk to board the local ferry to Hotel on the Cay…… a short boat ride, but a boat ride none the less, so Pa-paw could say he got his little buddy a boat ride – the best part of it was though, we got out on the island and was soon wading on a beautiful little beach.  I was very happy to see that even though no one had on swim suits….. Mom (Stephanie) let the little guys bail into the water, shorts, shirts and all. Those two little dudes sure had a good time in that beautiful blue water. We got to see a couple of fish and some sea urchins~! As we were getting ready to leave, the nice lady at the desk gave us some Frito Lays corn chips and we crunched them up and threw them in the water and soon we had bunches of fishes coming up to nibble – it was wonderful~! We took the boat back to the main island and was soon back at the condo soaking up some conditioned air. There was a nap involved for ‘Mess’ (Colt) We had some snacks and was then soon out on the beach headed for the pool. The pool was uncharacteristically cold – so we opted for a romp in the surf on our beach – where my buddy Will learned to snorkel~!!!  He did so good~!!! Took right to it~!! We have decided tomorrow, we’re gonna head up to Point Udall, then stop by Kramer’s Beach and try to get Will into some serious snorkeling. Promises to be a real fun day and I’ll try and get some pictures for you….. and prosperity  😉

Good night ya’ll …… Thankx for stopping by~~~~

 

 

Following a small breakfast, me, Stephanie & Josh loaded up into the bus and headed to the West side of the island to get in a couple of SCUBA dives. Pulling into the dive shop and after introductions made, Steph and Josh got a quick refresher since it had been 5-6 years since either of them had made a dive. Refresher over and done in short order, we had a little time to kill while we waited for our boat, so we moseyed over to Polly’s (small restaurant on the Frederiksted water front) for a wonderfully delicious Chicken Salad Wrap. I have had a breakfast there that was equally delicious~! Finished up our lunch and headed back to Adventures in Diving STX dive shop. Got all gear loaded up and headed to the boat. After a short briefing by the Captain, away we went………

First dive spot was called Alien Nation and the Captain did a really nice job regaling the story of how the dive spot got it’s name…… the fun part about it for me, was that it is just off of Sandy Point game reserve, so Steph and Josh got to see the beach where the final scene from Shawshank Redemption was filmed….! Fun dive….. lots to look at… especially a shark~! We spotted a small (3′-4′) nurse shark swimming by…. and I was on it~!!! Got a bit distracted trying to get it on film for you and wound up getting separated from the group. OOps….. Dive Master was not overly happy about my ‘stunt’ but she got over it and I got some great pictures…. and a video~!

Second spot was the Frederick pier….. the boat dropped us off at the outer part of the pier and we swam most of the length of the pier. Now there is a nice fun dive….. so much to see on that dive… we saw some spotted eels, an Octopus and tons of fish. The coral life growing on the pier legs is beautiful. Almost bet I can make that dive another dozen times and see something new every time… finally wrapped the dive up ( I behaved myself on this dive) and we loaded into the bus and headed back toward the condo. Oma stayed at home and watched Will & the mess (Colt) for us while we dove most of the day. We all had worked up a good appetite and nobody was really in the mood to cook – so we called Domino’s and before long was gnawing on some pretty tasty pizza. We topped the meal off with some brownies and cinnamon sticks….. most people have had their showers now and headed off to bed. I’m gonna get some pictures up here for you – then take my shower and head that way too. Not sure I can get the shark video to load, but will try…… if not I’ll put it on FB.

Good Night Ya’ll …… Thankx for stopping by~~~

GOPR4501

 

First full day with the Jenkin’s clan is officially in the books and a good day it was  : )  We started out with a good breakfast whooped up by Oma and then loaded into the bus and headed for downtown Christiansted……  Pa-paw kinda messed up not taking into account it was Sunday morning and most everything down there was closed….. hey~!…. cut me some slack…. it’s hard to be retired AND keep track of what day it is~!  We did manage to make it into a couple of stores and picked up a couple of nice souvenirs…. One store owner thought the boys were so cute – he even gave them a very cool T-Shirt each that changes color when the sun hits it.  We moseyed around the boardwalk a little bit taking in the sites and enjoying where we were at. We got ourselves on the boardwalk cam before continuing on to take in a tour of the Christiansted Fort. We had a good time checking out the sites, the cannons, (fighting imaginary pirates) and the arsenal and the dungeon and all the fun parts that a fort has.

I also did not take into account that we had a wee little feller with us (Mr. Colton) and that them little fellers wear out a little quicker than others, so we headed back to the boardwalk and loaded into the bus to come back to the condo, for some juice, conditioned air and a nap…….. A nap under the belt, Mr. Colt was up and about and loaded for bear as we sent the rest of the afternoon ducking intermittent rain showers and hunting for crabs on the beach. We had a very enjoyable afternoon, just enjoying each others company and ‘bonking’ each other on the head with pool noodles. Mom and my Deuce wandered up and checked out the pool and checked out some of the beach in the process. Decided it was about time to feed folks, so after a quick pole, decided I needed to fire up the grill again…… I loaded the grill with chicken wings, chicken breasts, some hot dogs and a couple of burgers and before you know it everybody was mealing down on Pa-paws grilling and some French fries that Oma had whipped up~!  Drinks, a nice conversation, the occasion rain shower…… just a great way to wrap up a very easy first day.

It’s a learning experience for my Queen and me…… but we’re starting to get the hang of this having company thing and the best way to handle it….. we can’t wait to show off our skills to other visitors  : )  We have a 2 tank dive scheduled tomorrow morning for me, Steph and Josh. Oma is gonna hang out and watch the 2 ankle biters….. I’m pumped for the dives~! Last time me and Steph dove together is when I signed everybody for a dive class in Aruba…… REALLY looking forward to diving with her and Josh now, especially since we are ALL now PADI certified SCUBA divers….. I’ll be sure and take lots of pictures~!

Kiddlies have all had their showers and folks are starting to wind down for bedtime and some much needed rest after a fun day in America’s Paradise.

Good Night Ya’ll —- Thankx for stopping by~!

Yesterday was a day of shopping and prepping for our arrivals today. The day culminated at Blues and me getting probably a lot more Fubar’d than I should have, but I reckon you’ll have that every now and again…… I certainly know that I’ll have that every now and again…..  😉

Topped off the shopping today with groceries for our impending arrivals, then stopped by Blues to help them celebrate Cinco De Mayo. Have to give them folks credit – they put on a heckva party for the occasion. As bad as we hated to leave – we happily left for the airport to pick up our second Daughter Stephanie and husband (Josh) and 2 Grandson’s (Will & Colton). Flight landed on time and before we knew it – we were loaded up in a rental ‘bus’ and heading for our condo. Got everybody unloaded and OOhed and Ahhed over the beach before deciding everybody was hungry. We loaded back up in the bus and took off for Blues. By then the place was filled to capacity and the mood was electric. As wonderful as that was, they had went through most of their food and a full cycle of beer, so beer coming out was barely cold. Because we couldn’t get burgers or dogs (purely Mexican food today) and due to the immense crowd, we opted to cut out early and head back to the condo where I lit the grill up and commenced to feed folks…… it was wonderful to have the grill going and full of food. We had burgers, dogs, chicken breast and steaks. Grandsons and everybody got their bellies full while we watched the sun set.

Finally inside and kiddlies got their showers and are now fading out into a long overdue slumber. My little Mr. Colt is already sacked out and my Deuce, Will, is starting to fade…..Been a long day for the travelers and a good night sleep will do us all good. We are looking to another fun filled two weeks with this crew…… I am being summoned to a game of UNO – so I’m gonna leave it with you……

Good night ya’ll …. Thankx for stopping in~!

Woke up this morning to an awesome looking storm moving across the water. Big ole intimidating looking thing. While the wind picked up and it looked like the end of time coming, we wound up not getting a drop out of it. We watched the storm roll on by and then came to catch up on mail, FB and other goings on. My Queen whipped up another nice breakfast and we settled in to watch some more Justified. Wound up sitting on the couch most of the day and finishing the series of Justified. Pretty good series…..especially if you like the smooth, cool, good lookin’ cowboy type. Not really my gig, but it had a good story line and plenty of other entertaining characters.

Got caught up on some cleaning and organizing in the condo, paid a few bills and decided it was time for something to eat. I haven’t used my new [to me] grill yet and figured I was long over due….. My Queen requested a steak and instead of our usual going to Blues Backyard BBQ (Thursday is Steak night) – I offered to fire the grill up. It sure felt good to be standing in front of a grill again~! I have to ‘learn’ this grill, but for a first time use, our meals didn’t come out half bad and were delightfully consumable. This grill is considerably different from my old one – but with a little practice – I should be banging out presentable stuff soon enough. One of the challenges you face on an island, is getting certain things ‘fresh’. Meat is one of them. Even if you catch it on delivery day to the store – it is almost always 7-10 old by that point. Ditto on many other similar items, but again,a price you have to pay to live on an island in paradise. We got to watch some more clouds building as the sun started setting, so we came inside to enjoy our grilled meal and set down to watch Jumanji while we ate. Entertaining show, but I won’t make much of an effort to see the sequel if there is one. I guess we need to figure out another series to start watching. I have become quite addicted to shows that are not censored and have no commercials…… you should try it.

Gonna call it a night — Thankx for stopping in~!

Another slow day filled with rain most of the afternoon. Ventured out long enough to get a bite to eat and a couple of drinks……. no tales, no pictures…. Maybe tomorrow…. Thankx for stopping by~~

Last two days have been spent doing nothing but binge watching Justified…….. Slept in a little bit each day, had a delicious breakfast and then spent the entire day sitting on the couch watching TV…… seems kinda fitting now that I think about it….. well, in a drunk bleary eyed kind of way………….

I guess tomorrow we’ll start getting ready for Daughter # 2 and her crowd….. we have a little bit of shopping to do to pick up a couple of last minute items and then probably Friday or Saturday morning, hit the grocery store to reload for their arrival…. we can’t wait~! (It’s their anniversary today — Happy Anniversary Steph & Josh)

I’m pretty sure you don’t want me to go on about the various episodes of the show we’re watching and there ain’t a heckva lot else to chatter about – although we did get to watch a ‘surfer dude’ doin’ his thing for a little bit and the wind picked up enough for a while to blow spray off of the breakers – which is probably not news worthy, but it looks cool as hell…. just not sure if I captured it on film. Oh – I also spotted a small sting ray  cruising along the edge of the water right outside of our place. So with that being said….. I’ll quit here and load some of the pictures from the past week that I haven’t put up yet…..

Good night ya’ll —- Thankx for stopping in~!