US Virgin Islands--Part 3

Thursday we all agreed to get up and get moving so that we could spend time at the busiest, most developed area in the Park, Trunk Bay. We were warned that we had to get there well before 10:00 to find a parking place and a spot on the beach with some shade. We arrived about 9:30 and got one of the last spaces. This is the beach to which the cruise ships on St. Thomas offer excursions for their passengers so it can get crazy crowded.  But they don't come on Thursdays so this was a good day for our visit.  We had a shady place under the trees to read and relax and took turns as couples snorkeling along the marked underwater trail beside a small key very near shore. Kris and Heidi did the trail first and they were pretty disappointed by what they saw. So when Marv and I did the trail we chose to go all the way around the island. We saw some huge brain corals but not that much in the way of fish. I just loved swimming in the sandy bottomed, clear water and spent a long time by myself playing in the water. We bought hot dogs with sauerkraut from the snack shop for lunch and Kris & Heidi had Fish & Chips, which turned out to be a fish stick sandwich and a big serving of fries. 

Trunk Bay with the underwater trail by the island in the distance

Shade seekers

By then the sun had crept all the way into the trees, affording no shade at all so we left Trunk Bay and drove to nearby Maho Bay. Shade was pretty scarce there too but we managed to find some up into the trees. Watching snorkelers we soon found that we were seeing frequent snouts poking up as green turtles came up to breathe. Marv was tired of salt water but the three others of us got on our snorkeling gear and spent a long time watching as many as half a dozen turtles grazing on the sea grass right near the shore. Kris ventured over to the rocks on the right side of the shore where a fellow snorkeler said there was a big variety of sea life. He saw more than where we were but not as much as he'd hoped. On my way back to shore I saw a long silvery barracuda hovering eerily but it ignored me as I gave it a wide berth. When we had all had enough we headed back to the house to relax and clean-up before Marv grilled pork chops, I made black beans and rice and we made a salad for a good dinner.

Maho Bay

Maho Bay

Maho Bay

After the hottest night we've had we woke on Friday morning to a sultry, sticky day. Marv and Kris had both gotten too much sun on Thursday so we all just took it easy in the morning, reading, relaxing and solving all the world's problems. John brought us some yummy chocolate chip cookies, still warm from Linda's oven. When it was close to noon we decided to eat lunch with leftovers at the house and then begin our day's travels with a shortening list of "must sees" on St. John that weren't beaches. We got to the Elaine Ione Sprauve Library and Museum around 1:15 only to find that it is closed from 1:00-2:00 every day. So instead we went to the nearby National Park Visitor Center and took time to really read all the displays. When we returned to the Library we found it open but learned that there is no Museum there anymore. There is a collection of historic photographs running as a screensaver on the card catalog computer that showed various points on the island, including how the plantation house overlooking Cruz Bay looked before it was restored in 1992 to serve as the Library. It's lovely inside with brick arches supporting stone and mortar walls and lots of gleaming wood bookshelves. And the air conditioning felt great on this hot humid day. 

Cruz Bay overlook

Plantation House turned Library

Main floor of Library

Downstairs Children's area of Library

"Drive" up to the Library

From the Library we drove up Centerline Road/Hwy. 10 to the Catherineberg ruins. Built in 1718, the historic ruins include an old sugar factory and rum still, an old stone warehouse and a partially restored windmill (no sails or grinding apparatus). It was .1 of a mile up a really rough unpaved road which we could have continued on to the north shore and Annaberg but we opted instead to take Centerline back to 20, which follows the north coast.

Catherineberg Windmill with "our" Jeep in the foreground

Unusual storerooms under the windmill.

Look who's in the doorway up there!

We took it to Francis Bay where there is a handicap accessible nature boardwalk along a salt pond. The pond is nearly dry this time of year and very stinky so, when the boardwalk curved around to the Bay shore, we walked up the beach to return to the Jeep. The beach is very secluded and wasn't crowded around 4:00, when we were there. A few people were snorkeling and we saw several green turtles surface and drop back into the water. We also saw the omni-present feral chickens that are all over the island and one large iguana. Marv drove us back to Maho Bay, where we could now easily park right by the beach. We sat at a picnic table and had a nice cold beer while we watched some hummingbirds in the trees by the water and a large school of fish that were in a feeding frenzy close to shore. Their splashing and churning soon drew three pelicans who had an easy feast. 

Dueling cameras

Misshapen panoramic of Francis Bay

Kris and Heidi walking the beach of Francis Bay

Doesn't she look happy?

Our last stop was at Cinnamon Bay, where there was an African Drumming presentation scheduled at the restaurant. It was too early for dinner so we sat at the nearly deserted beachside and read until 6:00. Then we were the only ones at the restaurant as we chose dinner from four expensive choices: bar-b-que ribs or chicken, blackened salmon, or New York strip steak. Each came with grilled corn, a baked potato or rice, and broccoli and carrots. It wasn't a great meal but the plates were very full so we were satisfied. Deer gathered in the woods beyond the open-air seating area and, with a fan over our table, we were about as comfortable as we had been all day. Just as we finished Mr. Eddie Bruce showed up with some of his students/grandchildren to do the drumming program. That turned out to be a really fun, interactive experience. Eddie feels that if the audience doesn't get a chance to join in he isn't doing his job. So after a brief presentation the small crowd of about a dozen diners each had a drum and began some simple rhythms. This was the last of his 14 weeks of programs he was doing for the Park and so we closed holding hands in a circle and bowing our gratitude to whatever Creator we recognized and to the Park for offering the experience.

US Virgin Islands-Part 2

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, as we would find to be true nearly every day. Marv got up at 7:00 to make coffee, again as would happen every day. We had a relaxing morning and, following John's advice, we drove back to Annaberg Ruins and took the Leinster Bay trail along the water. We stopped when we got to the first three moorings and set up in partial shade. Kris was the first to venture into the water to snorkel and then Marv and I followed and went farther out. The shore was very rocky which made getting in and out of the water treacherous. Following the coral reef, we saw a 3-4 foot reef shark, some 16 inch sea cucumbers with a girth of about 10", and fish of various shapes, colors and sizes. After resting and reading for a while, Marv and I walked down the trail and around the bend to the sand beach and swam there for a bit. The British Virgin Islands are right across the narrows there but right offshore on the US side is a tiny island called Waterlemon Cay. It looks very inviting but John had warned us that it is a harder swim than it appears so we didn't try it. As it was well past noon we decided to go to a new beach. The parking lots of most of the beaches were full but we managed to squeeze into a spot at the far lot of Cinnamon Bay. It was right next to the Amphitheater so we sat on the benches there in the shade and enjoyed our lunch from the cooler then hiked down to the beautiful sandy beach and set up in a strip of shade along the trees that frame the beach. Kris and I went in swimming there but Marv, who had had enough of salt water by then, and Heidi, who is still recovering from a sinus and respiratory infection, read and relaxed. We had a chance to look at the beach "cabins" there that are lined up side by side and looking shabby. We had considered staying in them but after seeing them and talking to some women who had stayed there one night we were still glad we had decided on our place at Fish Bay. After cleaning up a bit in the freshwater showers at Cinnamon Bay we found our way to De Coal Pot in the heart of Cruz Bay city, which a friend of Kris and Heidi's had recommended for dinner. They have local West Indies cuisine and we each got something different: Kris, the traditional Rhodie (sort of like a pasty), Heidi, Creole Chicken, Marv, Creole Mahi and me, sautéed whelk. It was all delicious and came with three sides of our choice like Sweet Plantains, sweet potato stuffing, spiced rice and beans, cole slaw, etc. Everyone was very satisfied as we made our way back to the house. Marv was becoming an expert on navigating the twisting, steep roads and only needed an occasional reminder to get back on the left side of the road. We watched Josh Davis get "saved" on The Voice and fell into bed, again very tired but oh, so happy.

Leinster Bay

Leinster Bay

Leinster Bay

Kris and Peggy swimming in Leinster Bay

Panorama of Leinster Bay and the British Virgin Islands

Kris and Peggy swimming in Cinnamon Bay

In the shade on the beach at Cinnamon Bay with cabins behind

There was actually a small, quick burst of rain Wednesday morning but the sun came out quickly so there must have been a rainbow to the west that we couldn't see. Following breakfast we drove to Center Line Road and went into the interior of the island and as far east as one can drive. Most of the way we were in the National Park but there were one or two small villages, including the second largest on the island, Coral Bay (surprisingly, it was actually named Krawl Bay which is Danish for corral and has been changed over time to the more appropriate Coral Bay). The farther we drove, the fewer cars there were. That side of the island is drier so we saw more cactus too. We also saw many of the feral donkeys and goats that roam the island, along with feral swine and a lot of deer that were put on St. Thomas hunting reserves and have made their way to St. John across the water. Marv turned around at the end of the road and we came back a short way to Nature Conservancy land and Overhaul Bay. This was a very secluded area with only a few other people. There was a small sand beach there and small rocks along the edge where we set up. We ate our snack lunch from the cooler there and snorkeled and swam but didn't see a lot there. Heading back towards the town of Coral Bay we stopped at Skinny Legs Bar for a drink at a table outside and then drove to the most southeastern point that is accessible. John had told us it was a good place to snorkel and again, it was very secluded. (No pictures here for some reason) A group of 5 women was there with a lot of information on the island and they told us a spot in this bay where we could see huge Green Sea Turtles. Marv and I followed their directions and went much farther out and over than we needed to without seeing any. As we swam back we were happy to see one small turtle. We left the beach and drove back up the very rough road (the first time we have needed the Jeep's 4-wheel drive. We intended to eat dinner at the Cafe Concordia at the top of the hill overlooking Coral Bay, and then attending the Ranger stargazing program held at the Concordia Eco-lodge. The Cafe is closed on Wednesday nights and we didn't feel like we had time to go anyplace else. So we made do with what was left in the cooler for dinner, attended the so-so program and saw the moon and Jupiter through the telescope, and left. Marv really wanted to get some gas so he drove the length of Center Line Road back to Cruz Bay. Everyone was too tired to want to get dinner at that late hour so we went back to the house and welcomed bedtime.

Haulover Bay

Kris, Heidi and Marv at Haulover Bay

Far shore at Haulover Bay

Lookout at Concordia Eco-lodge

Sunset from the Lookout at Concordia Eco-lodge

US Virgin Islands Part 1

I am sitting on our porch overlooking Fish Bay. The 8:00 sun is shining out of a tropical blue sky and an elegant breeze is whiffling my hair and rattling the palm fronds at rail level next to me. Our villa is partway up the hillside, just outside Cruz Bay on St. John Island in the US Virgin Islands. The hillsides are sprinkled with villas large and small but the roads and driveways to them are hidden in the green foliage of a jungle restoring itself since the eighteen hundreds when the entire island was razed to grow sugar cane. We are near the end of a several mile dead end road where no one comes near and we don't need curtains or anything else for privacy. The entire house stands open all the time and our host assures us we can leave it without concern; there aren't even any keys for us! We are on the middle floor of a building built into the side of the hill, in a two bedroom/two bath apartment with large windows (two in the shower!) and sliding doors on three sides, and a porch that goes the length of the apartment and wraps around beside our room.  Below us is storage for beach toys and snorkeling equipment that is ours to use, and a laundry room at our disposal. Our hosts, John and Linda, live above us but at least one of them is usually in town from 6:00-10:00 handling their coffee shop/bookstore and their gift/jewelry store. With a 20,000 gallon cistern that gathers rainwater from the roof and a good filtration system we can drink the water and the apartment truly has all the comforts of home and more so. After our Sunday, April 19 3:00am wake-up and uneventful flights from  Flint to Atlanta to St. Thomas and a ferry ride with our Jeep Cherokee to St. John, our host met us at the ferry dock and had us follow him up to the villa. We would have never found it on our own on these twisting, turning roads up the steep hillsides, where they drive American cars (driver on the left) on British roads (cars on the left side of the road). Luckily Marv is up to the challenge and when we arrived about 15 minutes later he punched our location on the GPS as our "Home". Wherever we end up all week, the GPS and the four wheel drive should be able to get us back to the villa. John had brought us ground coffee from his shop and skim milk and Linda had left us a wonderful loaf of homemade almond orange bread so we were set for breakfast. They had placed deep pink bougainvillea everywhere to decorate--on the beds, counters, on a basket of hand towels, even on the toilet paper rolls. Any that we left in place dried to a tissue-paper consistency and still looked lovely. After unpacking and unwinding a bit we fell gratefully into bed with all the windows open and the ever present breeze blowing through this little slice of paradise.

Ferry from St. Thomas to St. John

The Villa from the driveway

Steps down to our apartment

Porch on the East side of the apartment

Kris in the apartment living room

Our bedroom with a door out to the north side porch

Monday, April 20 the sun rose through the reed drop blinds of our sliding door and into our faces around 6:00. But after our good night's sleep we were ready to go. Marv made coffee and we slowly gathered on the east facing porch to enjoy the coffee and bread. We made our way down to the Virgin Islands National Park Visitor Center by 9:00 and found out where to go for the 10:00 ranger-led Water's Edge hike we wanted to do. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to the north shore of the island to the Annaberg ruins parking lot. We were met there by Ranger Laurel who told us we were being joined by a high school Marine Biology class from St. Thomas. There is no high school on St. John but two on St. Thomas that serve both islands. We learned that this school will graduate 300 this year and the other school is like-sized. Another couple vacationing on St. John joined us and then we began the hike. We knew that we should have water shoes on and did, but hadn't been told we should be prepared to get wet up to our thighs! And Kris and Heidi fell on the uneven bottom, destroying one of their cameras so that was a bummer. But the hike was fun and informative and we saw an amazing amount of creatures including sea urchins, coral, sea stars, sea cucumbers, conchs, crabs, a ray and even a sea turtle. Laurel talked about the ecology of the mangrove swamp beside the shore and the coral reef of the bay.  It was a good hour well spent and we enjoyed the kids and their teacher, who is a native of the Virgin Islands. Back at the parking lot we took the long stairs up to the ruins of the Annaberg sugar cane factory which includes the base of one of the five windmills on St. John, built to grind the sugar cane. The juice would run downhill through troughs to the factory where it was used to make sugar and molasses. The industry flourished on the island from 1795 until 1848, when slaves were emancipated and it was no longer financially viable. Miss Olivia was in the small restored cookhouse making "Dumb Bread" which we could sample with cheese, guava jam and fruit punch. We hung around on the pleasant hillside, just talking and enjoying the magnificent view of the British Virgin Islands right across the Narrows. Everywhere on the island there are deep pink, purple, orange and yellow flowers in full bloom framing every magnificent vista. When we had dried off and were feeling pretty hungry we headed back to town and found the shopping center. We got lunch at a deli on the third floor and ate it at a table outside before buying groceries and beer on the first level across from John and Linda's coffee shop. Back at our villa we relaxed and read for the rest of the afternoon and about 7:00 we made red beans and rice to go with the rotisserie chicken we had bought and celery sticks. Food is really expensive on the island. There is a brewery on St. John called Virgin Islands Brewery and we got their IPA and their Amber Ale but everything else is imported. (we later found out that the beer is now brewed from the Island recipes but in Maine, not on St. John). Luckily we brought quite a bit of food with us so we should do okay eating out one meal a day. We hoped to catch Lansing native Josh Davis in The Voice but thought of it too late and missed him. We saw the last two singers and then talked and read until going to bed.

Relief map of St. John

Laurel explains what we'll see

Sea Urchin

Class teacher holding a Sea Urchin

This Conch is occupied!

Peggy, Kris, & Heidi leaning on the sea wall by the beach

Annaberg Sugar Plantation ruins

Annaberg ruins

Kitchen for making Dumb Bread

Frangipani 

Looking across The Narrows at the British Virgin Islands

Winter Trip 2015: Reflections

• Sometimes I really feel we’re charmed as we travel. This is especially true this year as we encountered such wonderful weather in Texas; then since we left they have had snow all the way to Big Bend. We had good enough weather to enjoy Mardi Gras while we were in Louisiana, when it changed and we drove all the way to Florida to find better, and it has been cool and rainy there ever since. Florida had a freeze that went all the way to Miami before we came. Since then it was in the seventies and then eighties with just one day of rain that was easily worked around. And the final week of our trip was all sun and in the eighties. In the meantime at home there have been record breaking low temperatures and snow that has hung on and added on since just after we left in January. Even as late as Tuesday before we returned they had a Winter Storm that dumped 5 more inches followed by below zero temperatures. Yet the week we got back the forecast was for temperatures in the forties and fifties with mostly sunny skies and no precipitation. How lucky are we?!?!
• We are doubly blessed to have easy communication while we travel and good friends (including relatives that feel like friends and friends who feel like family) to meet as we travel. These dear people punctuate our time away from home with love and connection that is very, very important to me, especially. I’m not sure I could be absent from the familiar for 6-7 weeks at a time and enjoy it so much without them.
• I must also mention one more time how incredibly fortunate to be what I call RoHMs—Retirees with Health and Means. I don’t for one moment take for granted the fact that we are healthy and wealthy enough to go out for nearly two months every winter and see this beautiful and diverse (in scenery, animals, plants and humans) country, and enjoy it in comfort and safety.
• We traveled 6371 miles and averaged 16.0 miles per gallon, using 396 gallons of gas. The truck and camper make for very comfortable traveling and we will continue with them for the next few years, at least, as long as everything (vehicles and our aging bodies) holds up. This was really some of the easiest driving going down and coming back that we have had in the 6 years we have been away for the winter. We had some very long drives but we didn’t have to deal with ice, snow or rain (except briefly in northern Florida), which was a relief. On the other hand, we returned to the most snow on the ground that we had ever found.  We usually come home and pretty much can begin some early yard work to be ready for spring. That time will be a little later this year!
• In less than 48 hours we emptied the trailer, get everything put away, did all the laundry, washed the trailer and got it put back in the garage…all in forty degree temperatures with no precipitation.
• Our next trips are to the Virgin Islands with Heidi and Kris from April 19-30, and a “Journey to the Black Sea” river boat trip on the Danube from June 4-21 with Pat and Ross. Come back then and read all about the journeys of The Savage Traveler.

Snow greeted us on our return

Winter Trip 2015: Heading towards home

Thu. Mar. 5-Sun. Mar. 8: It was a real luxury to have as much time as we needed in the morning to winterize the camper. As we worked in 80 degree humid conditions on that, and packing in suitcases for the end of the trip, Oiens finished installing their screen and packed up the van to exchange at the RV place in Lakeland. We all went to Tim’s Café one more time for lunch and then bid each other God Speed and safe travels. Marv and I got on I75 and headed north. We stopped for an hour or so at Payne Prairie State Park late in the afternoon to hike a bit, stretch our legs, and eat wraps Marv had made the night before. 

Eagles' nest right next to the walk to the Visitor's Center

Those black dots are wild Spanish horses feeding on the prairie

Those brown specks are deer feeding on the prairie

Selfie!

The brown "swoosh" is a juvenile eagle wing flapping

A well- (and recently) fed water snake

Sunset at Payne Prairie

By evening we were driving in light to heavy rain showers and the temperature dropped sharply. We were so relieved we had the camper taken care of and wouldn’t have to set up again. The America’s Best Motel at Lake City wasn’t nearly as nice as the one we had stayed in in Arkansas but we made do and got back on the road early Friday morning. At Forsythe in southern Georgia we got off the highway and drove just a few blocks to their Historic Downtown District, where there is an old Courthouse in the middle of the downtown square of shops.  On one corner across from the Courthouse we found The Prime Palate restaurant. There were plenty of locals in there which is always a good sign. One can order from the menu or just eat off the Buffet, which we did. This was all good, greasy, authentic southern cooking with dishes like Black-eyed peas, cornbread, baked and/or fried chicken and/or fish, meatloaf, peach cobbler, carrot cake, and more. We were stuffed as we left so we walked around the square just to work off a little bit of the food before we climbed back in the truck. 

The Prime Palate

County Courthouse in Forsythe, Georgia

We made it to Atlanta and spent about an hour in traffic getting to Rachel and Mike’s new home where we met Cecelia and I gave her a bottle and held her a long time, while Marv played some ball in the backyard with Mikey. 

Mikey is loving the new backyard and playset

Rachel with a wide-eyed Cecelia

Marv and Mikey get out the Thomas Train we brought him

We also changed our reservation at a Comfort Inn in Chattanooga to one in Pioneer, Tennessee because we thought we could drive further before bedtime. That turned out to be a nice, newly remodeled motel with a full, hot breakfast. Steady driving on Saturday took us to an hour outside of Cincinnati where the traffic slowed to a crawl. The hold-up really didn’t seem to be because of the snow & ice storm that had mucked things up just a few days before. Luckily we could listen to the MSU/Indiana basketball game as we waited. At Covington, Kentucky we stopped at an Applebee’s for a late lunch while we watched the Spartans squeak out a win in the second half. Whew! We made it to Carmel before 5:00 and Ken, Jen and Josh were still there following Jordan’s 7^th birthday party. Jordan opened our presents and started the Star Wars vehicle we had given him. We had intended to take everybody out for dinner at Max & Erma’s (a new favorite because of their Ice Cream bar) but it was an hour wait and no one had the time so instead we went to McDonald’s Playland. Ken and family headed home, the kids went to bed and we spent a quiet evening on our tablets as Craig worked on a big project he needed to finish. Sunday we left Craig working at home while the rest of us went to St. Peter’s UCC, and Marv and I sang in the choir with Sarah, as usual. We got home after noon so Marv and I stayed to watch Jordan open his family presents and then we got back on I69 to head north. 

Eli, Jordan and Analyn

Jordan and Analyn

Jordan loved the Bow and Arrow set from Eli

Our final stop was at Ken and Jen’s where they fed us yummy Chicken Enchilada soup and we celebrated Ken’s birthday with presents and Jordan’s extra MSU cake, which Cessa had made and he graciously donated to Ken. We got home soon after dark (since this was the first day of Daylight Savings Time), where we found everything in good shape. Hadley had turned up the heat in the house and we emptied the cab of the truck before we fell into our familiar bed with relief, joy and gratitude for another fantastic Winter Trip.

The Belated-Birthday Boy

Josh helps Ken open his present