Archive for July, 2008

Virgin Gorda ~ Another Stamp in My Passport

Posted in Beach, Islands, Travels, tagged , , , , , on Thursday, 31 July, 2008| 2 Comments »

Yesterday, we took the weekly ferry from Caneel Bay to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. This is a day trip which leaves at 8am and returns at about 4pm The boat trip was about an hour and a half &, along the way, we were able to see Tortola, Norman Island, Peter Island, Salt Island, Cooper Island, and Beef Island. The Caribbean is littered with these wonderful drops of land.

As a teenager, we lived in Puerto Rico and the resorts where my dad worked had two sister properties: Caneel Bay and Little Dix Bay. I was fortunate enough to spent time on both St. John and Virgin Gorda visiting friends of my parents. I would babysit for their children and during my off-duty time, I went to the beach, played tennis and enjoyed the area. As you can see, my love of islands comes from my parents.

This trip was planned so I could show FM and FG this beautiful part of the world. For me, it’s a little strange because most things are the same and feels so familiar but, then again, after so many years, a lot of changes have occurred. 

Virgin Gorda is still as beautiful as ever but has a lot of new construction and additions. The boat landed at the dock, we went through immigration which is where I got another passport stamp, then we headed about 1.2 miles by taxi to The Baths. At the Baths, there are several big boulders leaning against one another and water flows in-between creating a very interesting hike and swim area. 

There’s also a beautiful bay at The Baths to swim and snorkel in ~ unfortunately, there were a ton of other “daytrippers” attempting to enjoy paradise. And the jelly fish decided to make it an adventure in pain for all of us. Fortunately, we all saw several jelly fish floating but we all managed not to get stung.

After spending the morning at The Baths, we headed over to Little Dix Bay to enjoy yet another gorgeous beach. More to follow tomorrow…

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St John: Beachbums in Paradise

Posted in Carribean, Travels, tagged , , , , , , , on Thursday, 31 July, 2008| Leave a Comment »

We surely are in a beach lover’s paradise.

Caneel Bay is a beautiful resort which blends in with the natural surroundings of the island. Built in 1956, it’s a classic and traditions run deep with guests still dressing up for dinner, not wearing their swimsuits to meals and the number one priority here is relaxing. There are no phones or TV in the rooms which I love so much!! But never fear, there’s WiFi.

Families come to visit year after year. I met a couple at the beach bar celebrating their 30 year anniversary ~ they’d come to St John for their honeymoon in 1978.

Caneel Bay has seven beaches on the property. We swam at the beach outside our room, Caneel Bay Beach, and then we went to Hawksnest Beach for a snorkel and swim. At all the beaches, there are hammocks, lounge chairs and floats.

After all our beaching, we were hungry for a good meal. We caught a cab into Cruz Bay which is known as “Love City” ~ a quirky but fun little town.

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Medical Scare at 30,000 Feet

Posted in Travels, tagged , , on Tuesday, 29 July, 2008| 1 Comment »

As a seasoned traveler and having been on many, many  flights, I keep an eye on the crew members for any signs of distress ~ if they’re calm, I know all is well. As I was watching “Fool’s Gold” on our flight from Newark to San Juan, I noticed three flight attendants scurrying to the front of the plane. Uh, oh…I leaned over to FM and said “Pay attention, there’s something wrong.” No sooner did I say that then an announcement came over the intercom asking if there was a doctor or nurse on board.  FM, who was sitting in the aisle seat looked over his shoulder and across the aisle, two rows back, was a woman who was unconcious and looking very ill. Thankfully a doctor came forward ~ popping out from behind the curtain that leads to first class 😉 Where else would you find a doctor on a plane!

The whole incident had my heart racing and, of course, FG and I said a prayer for her. The woman’s abuela (grandmother) starting wailing and panicking about her grand-daughter which lead me to believe the woman was dead. Turns out, the woman is a diabetic, was having a reaction and the doctor was able to stabilize her. Once we landed, we were asked to remain in our seats until the woman departed the plane and, to my relief, she was able to do so on her own.

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St John, USVI: Beach Time Again

Posted in Carribean, Islands, Travels, US, tagged , , , , , on Monday, 28 July, 2008| 3 Comments »


We made it back to the beach today ~ we’re in St.John, US Virgin Islands. It’s paradise and we’re all so happy to be here but both FG and FM are asleep already and I’m right behind them. It took 3 flights and a boat ride for us to get here. It was so worth it.

More to follow…

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Flashback Friday ~ a couple of days late

Posted in Flashback Fridays, tagged , , , on Sunday, 27 July, 2008| 3 Comments »

This flashback is a few days late because Friday was a blur. Between trying to keep FG entertained by taking her swimming at the lake and having an impromtu dinner with some new friends, the day flew by.

Back to the flashback: During our road trip across the country last July, FG and I started looking for Boiled Peanuts as soon as we hit the southern states. We didn’t find any stands in Tennessee but the further east we went, the more we found. Our favorite was the Cajun Boiled Peanuts we picked up at a service station in North Carolina on our way to my mom’s place. They were SPICY and I was surprised FG liked them so much.

FG’s been asking for them the last couple weeks and, since there’s no way we were going to find any here in the North Country, I bought a pound of peanuts and decided to try my own cajun recipe. They turned out fine but were no where near as spicy or salty as I would have liked. Next time I’m going to use this recipe.

Our friends who came over for dinner had never  (so sad) tried boiled peanuts but was brave enough to try mine. The wife wasn’t thrilled with them but her husband was surprised how much he liked them and even took some home. A new convert and, no doubt, he’ll pull over next time he’s driving through the south and sees the handwritten sign on the back of a cardboard box top that reads:

“BOLED BOILED PeANuTS 4 SALE.”

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My Growing Garden

Posted in Food on Tuesday, 22 July, 2008| 2 Comments »

One of the joys of not moving this year is I’m enjoying the heck out of my vegetable garden and all my blooming flowers. 

Can’t wait for this cucumber to ripen so we can enjoy it with a lite drizzle of balsamic vinegar:

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County Fair

Posted in Favorite Girl on Saturday, 19 July, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Despite the look on FG’s face, we had a fun time at the fair today. Lots of rides, food and excellent people watching.

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Summer Reads

Posted in Books on Saturday, 19 July, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Yippee!

I’m the winner of Books on the Brain and Hatchett Book Group book giveaway contest. I won A Summer Affair and Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand. How appropriate ~ they’re both BEACH books 😉

Thanks Lisa!

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Election Lesson

Posted in Favorite Girl on Wednesday, 16 July, 2008| 4 Comments »

This spring, FG’s social studies teacher touched on the subject of elections. The Primary Season gave the teacher a lot of fodder to go over with the kids. FG said the teacher didn’t hide her preference for Hillary Clinton which came across more as a “yeah, there’s a viable woman running for president” than “I’m voting for a Democrat.”

So about a month ago, we had dinner at TGIFridays. After dinner, I wanted to stop at Pier One while FM needed somthing from Lowes. Both stores are close together so I told him to drop me off while he shopped at Lowes. We asked FG if she wanted to go with FM or with me and here’s the conversation that took place:

Favorite Girl (FG): Let’s look at this like an election. You can each state your case why I should vote for you. I’ll vote for the best one.

Favorite Man (FM): You should vote for me because I’ll be going to Lowes and you like to look through that store for plants and things.

Me: I’m going to Pier One and they have lots of fun, colorful things to look at ~ it’s much better than hanging out at Lowes.

FG: What else?

FM: I’ll be quick so you won’t get bored. I’ll make it more fun.

Me: If you vote for me, I’ll make sure to buy you something wonderful at the store. Did your teacher cover “campaign promises?”  There’s no guarantee I’ll actually buy you something, but in order to get your vote, I’ll put that out there as an incentive. Later, I can make an excuse as to why you don’t really want me to buy you anything.

FG: Oh…

Too cynical? What would you tell a 10 year old about the election process? I told FG a good way to judge how a politician will act in the future is not by what they say they’re going to do but how they’ve acted in the past and a good place to start is their voting record. Since our 2008 candidates are Senators, you can check their voting record here.  Sadly, even if you go back to 2007, there are a lot of “not voting” on the part of both Obama and McCain. I can see them not having time in 2008 to be present and vote but what’s up with their 2007 record?!

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Flashback Fridays: One Year Ago

Posted in Flashback Fridays on Friday, 11 July, 2008| 3 Comments »

Last year, in July, we were driving our way across the US. Our road trip took us through Kansas and gave us a chance to meet up with some of our Army friends. The Dentes had us over for dinner and who knew that one year later, they would move to Ft. Drum and be our next door neighbors. The army world is indeed SMALL.

 

Another Army couple we were able to visit was the Z family.

We met them in 1995 when FM & F were Company Commanders together at Ft. Riley. They’ve “homesteaded” at Ft. Riley which is what we call it when a family gets to spend more than 4 or 5 years in one location. With the exception of one or two years, they’ve been there ever since we left. We have several families living at Ft. Drum who’ve been here for more than 7 years. It’s great for the kids ~ lots of stability.

As for FM & I, we don’t want to homestead just yet but, after moving every summer for the last three years, I’m thrilled to be staying put for a few years here in the North Country. And Favorite Girl is able to play with her friends this summer and she gets to participate in several day camps including a Lacrosse and Basketball camp. It’s a novelty for her to be able to stay at the same school come September.

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