Karin noted some rat damage in the breezeway cabinets the other day.

Nimbus must have heard about it, as this morning I find not one…not two.. but THREE dead rats brought in as evidence of a fierce cat on duty!

A pic from our dinner the other evening at Savant.

Life is good here on-island. It’s been stormy the past several days now - Yesterday was nearly completely overcast with lots of rain off and on. Lots and lots of wind. The sky is clearer today - no rain to speak of - but the wind is still howling! I took a walk with Bekka up the beach, around the point - and it was windy enough to blow me down if I wasn’t careful. Lots of big surf (for here). Didn’t slow Bekka down any!

ttyt

Today was pretty much the same thing as yesterday! We loaded up and took off to Starving Artists at Whim Plantation - where they were selling lots of Art and Crafts.

Ted found an interesting painting to suit him. I found a nice pendant representing a Taino Indian hieroglyphic.

Then it was off to Sandy Point again - Jill and Niko met us there.

Ted floating and enjoying his beer….

Ted floating from under the water…. (it was an underwater camara after all….)

Ollie enjoying the view and absorbing the atmosphere at Sandy Point.

Then we were back to the house to clean up and feed the animals. And off again - to Domino Club - where I actually DID play dominos! Had some mama-wannas and some Heinekins…. Kurt Schlinder was playing - great music. Some Banooba members were joining in for a bit until it they had to leave for their own gig down in F’Sted. A great night!

Kurt Schlinder (with the guitar).

The finest beach on the island is a bit off the beaten path, at the end of a four mile unpaved trail on the southwest corner of the island.

It is a national wildlife sanctuary, especially for sea turtles so it it only open on weekends and only during certain times of the year.

Ollie enjoying the sea

Noodlers

As Karin explained, Jump Up is a street festival held periodically in town. Here are couple of pics from the event Friday night. We walked around and did some shopping then went to Savant for dinner. A few minutes thereafter, a hefty rain shower passed through so it was a good thing we went early!

Mocko Jumbies!

Prize winners in the contest for the largest captured poisonous centipede.

Local high school’s steel drum (pan) band

Another Jumbie..

The north shore of St Croix is one of the more popular cycling venues on the island due to its mix of terrain, low traffic and tolerable road conditions.

From one end of the road to the other is just a hair under 8 miles with our house conveniently positioned at the half way point. This aerial view looks to the west, so east is at the bottom of the picture.

I usually start out by heading east, up through little Big Sur. Its the highest part of the route topping out at probably 150′ of elevation. The climb is pretty gentle but challenging enough to get the blood pumping. The switchbacks make it interesting

Sometime in the last six months, these little yellow signs have appeared. I’d bet the local triathlon people put them up. This road is on the route of the Half Iron Man triathlon which is run in May. The turn around is 3.9 miles from the house, so the return trip through little Big Sur is over by 8 miles into the ride.

The road winds west along the shoreline with no further big hills. At about mile 10 is the start of the “Beast”. It is a 1.2 mile nasty climb up and over the mountain with one switchback in the middle. I have ridden up it once or twice to say that I have done it. Its like Old Creek at its steepest.

Fortunately, one can avoid the Beast and cruise on to the end of the road at the entrance to the Carabola Beach resort. From there its back east to the Cane Bay Beach Bar for a cup o’ joe.

We had guests over for Thanksgiving. Traditional fare and an international crowd with people from Honduras, Germany, England, St Croix and other foreign countries like Minnesota and Wisconsin.

(Click for larger image)

One of our favorite dining establishments is upstairs in an 18th century building in downtown Christiansted. The stairs are “ancient and irregular”, not me.

It always takes me a while to slow down to island speed. Nimbus seems to adapt more quickly.

A beautiful day in paradise. Hannah and I did some shopping in town this morning. Saw some of the usual suspects… Learned that there is a Jump-Up on Friday and it’s Starving Artists on Sunday at Whim.

Jump-up is an open house sort-of in town. The restaurants will have tables set up on the street with drinks and small bits of food you can buy and sample. There will be some craft vendors. All of the stores will be open late. There will be lots of music on the street - steel drums on several corners. Quelbe bands. And of course - the Jumbies. We’ll take some pics and share on Friday.

Starving Artists is an arts and crafts fair that they do several times a year. It’s fun and social.

I took Bekka down to Cane Bay to float and throw the stick - her story is on the Bekka Fan Club site…