1/2/2011 politicians, seas, lobsters and lion fish

Once again, we are wishing a happy and blessed 2011 for you...

This week on Island - Joe Biden was here for a Holiday...a neighbor Island, Water Island (ferry only)...of course he landed here at STT and toured Yacht Haven Grande...that is the specality shops...

• Population: 161 (2000 Census)
• Size: 491.5 acres
• 2½ miles long and ½ to 1 mile wide
• Highest Point: 300 feet

History

The first recorded inhabitants of Water Island were the Arawak Indians in the early 1400's. Four small Indian campsites with pottery, tools and human remains have been uncovered on the island.
In the days of piracy, Water Island was used both for anchorage and for fresh water. Water Island gets it's name from the numerous fresh water ponds that were once found there. Pirates and other sea farers would replenish their water supplies from these ponds.

Happy Holidays Joe!

Tomorrow is the inauguration of the governor of the USVI John P. De Jongh Jr...we were in the Harbor for the Christmas Boat Parade and saw him walking down Main Street...No entourage, no one just him and his handshake...very approachable....seems like a nice guy. He has a great reputation of honesty and fairness on the islands....

The Christmas Winds....WHEW!

The last 14 days have been extremely windy, cloudy and rainy. Wind gusts in the 30 knot range have made boating or sitting on a beach pretty miserable.

I know I’m ready for the winds to go away and the temperature to get over 72 degrees again. AJ and Katie are ready for some sunshine.....a short winter here in St. Thomas...nasty morning.

Our friend Greg, he is a diver, boat captain and generally speaking...fun guy....killed a 6 lb lobster...Pictures later...it was huge..

Greg also kills the Lion Fish in the area....they hide and are it seems difficult to find...he has bagged about 7 or 8 of those predators.
The fish are dangerous predators that threaten to eat the territory's reef fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Those reef fish keep the reefs clean of algae. If the algae take over, the reefs will die.
Lionfish are native to the Indo-Pacific region but invaded the Atlantic after Hurricane Andrew devastated south Florida in 1992. People dumped aquarium contents into the ocean because they didn't have any electricity to keep the aquariums running. Divers saw the first one off Florida in 1994.

We are heading out to Yacht Haven Grande to check out the farmer's market ... (2 times a month) There is a vendor there who makes the best granola - EVER.....
homemade goodies along with hand made jewerly and dancing....HOPEFULLY we can make the ST John Ferry right after....IF the winds and rain stay away......

Kenny Chesney may have to wait to meet us.....

MMXL

Happy New Year to you.....waking up to the sun, surf and sand is not so bad...believe it or not...still have little moments of sadness because we are not "home" in NKY.


The first day of the year brings new hope and new challenges to all of us no matter where we live.
Resolutions...yes ?
Resolutions...no  ?

Gain/loose
stop/start
bourbon/scotch
read/listen
car/truck
learn a new language
be a better parent
be a better employee
find a new job
go back to school
way too many decisions....Life is too short that is all that I can say.....

Events for the first of the year on the Island-

Rolex Regatta races 3/25-27  http://www.rolexcupregatta.com/
Virgin Island Carnival 4/17-5/7

There is always music playing somewhere on the Island...Steel drums are my favorite. Almost any tune sounds good on those drums.....looking out on the water, I see the dive boat from Bolongo Bay going out early for a day of diving. The Catamaran is about to leave the dock as well for a day trip to St John and snorkeling....The Mertz household...well we are waiting for everybody to wake up....who wants to sleep during the daylight hours here.....anyway....if the water is flat...we are going to snorkel too....finding our own patch of water and hoping to see some of Natures beauty in the sea.

Enjoy the dawning of your new year....

December 31, 2010

New Years Eve on the Island...

Lots of events here - really no different than anywhere else except that you will either have to take a boat, or ferry to get very far...
There will be fireworks on the Island of St John in Cruz bay, and some on St Thomas at the Ritz...Most hotel properties will have an event on or close to the beach..All of the beach bars and other adult establishments will be busy I am so sure.


As for us, we are going to stay home. AJ and Katie, Gary's children arrived on Wednesday and will be celebrating with us. We will be able to walk down to Bolongo Bay and begin the count down with the crowd there cheering in the new year and saying good by to 2010.

2010 was an eventful year for the Mertz family. We made the decision to downsize from our Condo in Ft Wright to a much smaller one in Ft Mitchell. Made the decision and with the help from our employers, relocated part time to St Thomas USVI....made many new friends and continue the friendships back in Northern Kentucky. AJ graduated from the University of Kentucky. Experienced my daughter and granddaughter in their awe of the Island.

Our first Christmas away from family was a little tough, we made it through with the assistance of Skype. We were able to "see" and talk with my son Matthew. We were able to visit with my mom and dad..Trying to connect with a few friends and my sister, Christa in Atanta.

btw...vickie.mertz is my skype name

Many choices and decisions were made during 2010 for us that has both enriched and encumbered our lives....so as the world turns....we will continue our adventure here on Island and in saying that...
Gary and I both wish all reading this a wonderful, joyous, peace filled, healthy, successful and prosperous 2011. We hope that you hold your families close and keep those times held tightly in your hearts....Time is a precious commodity that can not be returned, so make each moment count in 2011.

Gods peace-

12/27/10 the end of year closing week

It is hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone....
This year we had only 2 guests, my daughter Amanda and her daughter Rebecca, my granddaughter.

Gifts were filled with love and thought. Whatever was given had to be taken back to Kentucky..did not wrap a thing...just stuffed lots into Christmas stockings. LikeI a quote that I just read......"love is what is in the air when you stop openings presents and listen." it was a simple ceremony this year but was filled with love and surprise.....

Christmas day, another different treat...we went to the beach to see Santa land via boat and then we hopped on a water shuttle (ferry) and headed to St John. Rebecca had her maiden voyage on that ferry. It was a little cloudy so the water was not going to be as blue as I had hoped. POP.... the sun came out and the trip was beautiful. Crystal, sparkling turquoise water, sail boats in motion, some still anchored, just waiting for a sailor. As we approached the dock on St John, Amanda was hoping for a glimpse of Kenny Chesney at one of the local beach bars ... no Kenny! We did see a big black lab running along the surfs edge playing ball...sun in the sky, and a new island to discover, off we went.

St John is much more laid back than St Thomas just slower and St Thomas is pretty slow, get the picture? Lots of specialty shops in Cruz Bay were we started...open air vendors market selling homemade items from palm frawns, paintings, and hand made jewerly...plenty to see.

Mongoose Junction about a 1 minute walk  from Cruz bay on the 84 sq ft Island. 7 miles wide and 3 miles long. Mongoose has nice, high end stores and a few quality eating facilities. The bays are dotted with beach bars all playing caribbean music. Some of the favorite bays on St John, Honeymoon, Caneel, Turtle and Trunk, all prettier than the one before...beautiful white sand, flora galore and the same crystal azure waters.

We ended the day trip walking along the beach in those azure waters waiting for the boat...ahhhh, nice trip. Thankful and blesses to share with each other...

Rebecca and Amanda leave on Tuesday, (sad face here) Then....on Wednesday, AJ and Katie arrive to spend New Years events with us...

Day 1 of our last week in 2010 living Island style.

Christmas Eve 12/24/10

Merry Christmas Friends ~ May the peace of Jesus and his bessings flow over and around you this Christmas season...

12/20 sun, moon, weather and frogs

The sun here in St Thomas is HOT....there normally is a great wind blowing across the Atlantic from Africa however today no wind...I think a storm is brewing, hot here...no breeze...humid...

Located inside of twenty degrees from the equator, St. Thomas' weather is characterized by lots of sun and warm Caribbean breezes. St. Thomas weather is truly tropical - an annual average temperature in the high eighties and varies little between seasons, keeping winter months hot and sunny though slightly less humid than summer. Many restaurants and shopping malls are air-conditioned to combat the St. Thomas weather, but sticking close to the beaches (with plenty of sunscreen) is also a good idea, as trade winds blowing off the sea tend to make these areas a bit more pleasant and you can always go for a dip to cool off. The St. Thomas weather also backs off a bit inland, where higher altitudes mean slightly chillier days and nights, especially in the winter season.

Really odd thing is the energy company (WAPA) is sooo high but the shops and restaurants keep the doors standing wide open, I suppose to lure you in on from the heat...

A few weeks ago we had so much rain (rainy season) everything was soggy...Remember, we have the Jeep, top down and back out? Well the top was on but the back was open....One morning Gary went down to make sure it was going to be dry for me to drive to 2nd shift....opened up the back door and yes sir …. there was water standing in the back of the Jeep. Along with that standing water, he found two (2) dead baby frogs, floating in the back.....we both laughed thinking about raining cats and dogs but here, baby frogs...poor little guys...as Gomer Pile used to say ... surprise - surprise !!

Today is the day before the winter Equinox which is December 21, we are going to have an Eclipse…total eclipse!! I have read it will be around for two nights......It is so dark here over the water….we should be able to see it really well…Certainly looking forward to that….I hope we get to see it….if I fall asleep early, there will be tomorrow night...

until the next time "There's a bad moon rising!"

Safety 1st

We went to the annual boat parade in the main harbor....loads of people just like back home at a festival. Fun seeing the work that was put into all of the boats floating by...Christmas lights floating by with a few elves thrown in..no, not in the water on the boats. All of the shops typically close at 5, but for this event they stayed open until 9 for Holiday Shopping, jewerly, jewerly and more jewerly...remember duty free shopping....I was not shopping for jewerly! Food vendors too. Another interesting fact, most of the food vendors were private citizens, made their stuff at home and brought in. Local Island fare....good stuff!
Steel bands on almost every street corner. These were mostly the children from the local schools who learn to play the drums in their bands - great music Christmas  tunes via steel drums, loved it!

Also discovered since here that if a driver is caught talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel, an immediate ticket and an instant $100 fine.  You really do not see phones up to ears here either, safety 1st.... I can not imagine what the 2nd time would result in. The speed limit on the entire is 35 mph.The roads are narrow and the potholes are bad...safety first.!

Also discovered that you can walk on the street, shop in a store, drive in your car with an open bottle, cup or can. Yes, it is okay .... Safety 1st??

A friend who works/lives at a local resort had some friends come visit for his birthday. He does not have a car, but for this occasion, rented a Jeep to travel the Island with his 3 friends. Gary and I went down to the "best beach bar" on the Island and found John and his birthday buddies down at "Iggies" celebrating. They had been celebrating all day on the water and in the sun. (typically not a good mix while imbibing) they were having a great time and as we left, early about 8:30 noticed Birthday boy seemed a little droopy in the eyes, we said our goodbyes and walked back to the condo......A few days later saw John again. He told us the end of the story.
Seems that they decided to go across the Island to the Caribbean Saloon. Not an easy drive in the day sober. Potholes, narrow road etc. Loaded up and took off towards Red Hook and the Caribbean Saloon. Apparently both cars went right of center and had a crash. Totaled the Jeep. NO injuries; however, after the police arrived on the scene, no mention of alcohol, got the traffic flowing again, no mention of alcohol, and had both cars towed, still no mention of alcohol, asked the guys if there was anything else they needed or anywhere they needed to go .. Caribbean Saloon. The police took them to Caribbean Saloon.......
Gary and I typically do not drive late ..... safety 1st!