Funny store hours - St Croix

A couple of days ago we went to The Frame Up art supply store near Sunny Isle shopping center.

I love their store hours...

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It is a rainy and breezy day in Christiansted today.  I hope it clears up before tonight's New Year's Eve festivities.

Boxing Day in St Croix USVI - Happy Holidays

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

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We just came back from getting some gasoline and a bit of food shopping.

Fuel prices at St. Croix Marine, Gallows Bay, Christiansted:

• Gasoline : $2.75/gallon 
• Diesel : $2.94/gallon

This afternoon we'll be doing more thinking, figuring, and planning our new rig for So It Goes.

First day of Winter 2009 - ST CROIX

Well, today is the first day of winter.  I was pretty chilly last night and when I looked at my clock/thermometer at 7am this morning it said 78°F. Brrrrrr.... No wonder Buffy was snuggled up against me :)

I'm starting to feel more "normal"... well, perhaps I should say more like my old self :) It's been 2 weeks now since we lost our rig and came to Christiansted. Sorry for not posting very much. I have a lot that I want to say and I promise to get to it soon.  I've also been neglecting the charter blogs (yacht charters, barge charters) which is a shame, although we have been busy with new clients and a few bookings!

Here's a photo of where we initially anchored in Christiansted, St Croix.

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We like being at the back of the pack.  Also, most of the boats are on moorings which makes anchoring a bit difficult.

Saturday the wind shifted to the south (weird) so we had to move due to our new position in relation to the unoccupied boat next to us. They predict a WNW wind for Christmas which is very unusual.

We moved to a place still in the back row, so to speak, but we're now closer to the Seaborne seaplane dock (I love the smell of kerosene in the morning). Also, the cats (and us) didn't care for the noise of the planes.  In fact, this morning one plane had his wing pass over our boat.  I don't know if this was a "hint" or if he was just getting a thrill. We planned to move this morning anyway as a small boat that was on anchor left yesterday afternoon, thus leaving a hole for us :)

Here we are at our new spot.

Close dinghy ride to the dock & good WiFi reception.

And, we are farther away from the seaplane as you can see below.

That boat without the mast in the above photo is not us. I assume he removed his mast for hurricane season, or perhaps was one of the boats damaged in Hurricane Omar last year.

The noise of the seaplane engines is much more tolerable in our new spot and has less of an eardrum-splitting quality.  Maybe the cats won't run inside everytime one of them taxis.

Here's our view looking out towards the reef...

Pretty nice day for the first day of Winter.

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging

It's Friday Cat Blogging time again...

Willow & Buffy take the night watch

Have a good weekend & Happy holidays!

Almost Christmas - Hurray for Amazon shopping

Can't believe it's Christmas next week. So glad that we can shop via Amazon.com.

We have just secured a temporary mailbox for our stay in St Croix so we took advantage of this by doing a quicky Amazon order.  With what we've been through lately, we feel we deserve a couple of special somethings or others for Christmas... so do the cats :)

One thing I got for myself was a book of Beatle music for the bass guitar. Should arrive by Christmas, too!

Here's a classic answer for a sailor on your list.  The latest Jimmy Buffet album, Hotel Buffet.

Also, if you need a some Christmas tunes, why not download Jimmy's "Christmas Island" via MP3 download and have it immediately? It's only $6.99 for the whole album.

Don't forget the handy Amazon Gift Certificate!  These are really handy to give when you really don't have a clue what to get that special person :) They can be printed out or sent via email... which ever is best for you.

Happy shopping!

Sunday from St Croix, USVI

Yesterday we walked up to the Pueblo supermarket which is in the Golden Rock Shopping Center near Christiansted (St. Croix, USVI). The bus came just as we decided to walk back to the dinghy so we took advantage of that. Blockbuster had me in their computer and they gave me a new membership card with a barcode, but unfortunately it didn't show my $7 credit from the St Thomas store.

Haven't found much in the way of information concerning Christiansted, St Croix, so I hope to find out some things and share it with you here... such as where is the closest laundramat, vet, food shopping, marine store, Radio Shack, K-Mart, how to get around with public transportation, where to get fuel and water, filling propane tank, where to check in, etc.

Last night was the Christmas Lights Boat Parade. There must have been at least 20 boats participating, plus there was a flyover by the Seaborne planes. It was neat to have them take part in the community event. They seemed to enjoy it, too.

Today's frustration was using the printer. We don't print very often, but I thought the ink would still be OK as we just bought this HP printer about 6 months ago.  Changing the ink ($38) did the trick, and hopefully it will still be viable next time we need to print something.

So It Goes...

Cat Blogging Friday: Buffy & Willow in St Croix

Last Saturday about an hour into our sail from St. Thomas towards Antigua, we heard a cat meowing.  I popped open the companionway hatch and peeked in to see Buffy looking up at me.

I thought she wanted to come outside to be with us but we always keep the cats below decks when we are sailing, so I explained this to her and sat back in the cockpit to enjoy the sailing.  A few minutes later I heard Buffy again. We did have a bit of a big roll earlier and I wondered if she was OK so I went inside to check...

What a good girl! Buffy was telling me that a can of 3-in-One oil had fallen and the nozzle had broken causing the oil to leak.

I'm not sure why, but Buffy wants sooooooooooo much attention this morning. She's been quite playful and she has also been up on the salon table (a no-no but she's so sweet) a lot.

They were very well behaved when we were dismasted. I put Buffy into her cat carrier and I had to find Willow. She pawed at me from under the bed to let me know where she was, but she wouldn't come out on her own, so I had to pull her out and put her into her box.  This way I could leave the hatch open and run in and out with necessary tools, etc.  They patiently stayed in their boxes for about 2 hours... such wonderful pusscats!

and So It Goes...

What's wrong with this picture?

What's wrong with this picture of So It Goes?

Hint #1: So It Goes is a SAIL boat

Hint #2: We are in St Croix and not Antigua as planned

Thanksgiving Dinner St Thomas USVI style

Here's a photo I took at Pueblo (5 days after Thanksgiving) of their Thanksgiving Dinner offer...

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For $74.95, you get:

• 10-12 pound turkey
• 4 pounds of baked macaroni and cheese
• 4 pounds of peas and rice
• 1 pumpkin or apple pie
• 12 dinner rolls

Personally, I don;t feel that it is good value for $75, even taking into account that someone is preparing it for you.

How about the candied yams, cranberry sauce, baked potatoes, turkey gravy, and all the other holiday treats?

Bob prepared a wonderful BBQ steak dinner with sauteed mushrooms, candied yams, baked potatoes, etc. It was really GOOD!