Tea Party

I will try to make this the last day this week that I accuse of being long! It was though, I worked all day and then headed to babysit at Bliss. Bella and I had a good time and enjoyed a tea party, some pizza and other things that you enjoy when you are two.

A little Margarita Monday

This was another long day, some office things and then a pretty long power outage. However, you don't need power to enjoy most of the things on St. John that are worth doing and besides it did not last long.

I went to Barefoot Cowboy, had a couple of margaritas, some fajitas and watched people walk by. It was a good way to end a long day. 

Good until the last drop!

This was not my favorite week to be honest. I went to brunch, a quick beach time and then picked up a bed that I may or may not need for my new apartment, thanks Mike!

Then I did a quick pick up and enjoyed the sunset before going to bed. I love the very end of it before it gets completely dark, awesome colors!

A little breakfast delivered

Working every Saturday can be a bit of a bummer sometimes. But to be honest it is typically my favorite day of the week. It is always super busy and I get to meet a whole bunch of new people coming to the island.

I was really hungry when I got into work and Chris was amazing and picked up breakfast for me. It was so delicious.

Rose Colored Sunset

I finally got some new sunglasses in Puerto Rico. The sunset was another wonderful one, and it was even more gorgeous  through my new rose tinted sunglasses. Not a bad way to decompress from a long day at work!

BBQ at Megan and Brittany's House

We had a great time hanging out at Megan and Brittany's tonight. There was a great group of people there and we enjoyed Megan's sliders, a little Wii bowling and then a little bit of beer pong. 

Back to my own rock!

I am so happy that I took the break and went to Puerto Rico for an amazing 30 hours. We got up early, went on at 8:15 flight and I was at my desk at 10:30 AM. We did swing by Chris and Jillian's house on the way to the Red Hook Ferry however. The view from their apartment is unbelievable. At night all the cruise ships light up and Jillian thinks it looks just like a city. 

Destination Birthday

The whole reason for going to Puerto Rico was that my good friend Alesia had chosen to take the long weekend and celebrate her birthday which was on Tuesday. She invited me three times before I actually considered it, I knew I could not go over the weekend, but Tuesday, that I can get off! So Jillian and I bought tickets on Jet Blue for $111 a piece and made an appearance. We spent about 6 hours at the mall, while Alesia and Mat explored the rain forest (I have to see that next trip.)

We reconvened for dinner. We drove to Condado and ate at a Budatai. It was the restaurant of a friend of Mat and it was possibly the best meal I have ever had.

The first course was devoured before I thought to take a picture. It was a fresh seared tuna on Asian noodles, the most amazing halibut I have every tasted, and sticky rice sushi.

The dumpling course was pork pot suckers, I honestly can't remember the protein in the middle ones, but they had truffles and an amazing glaze and were everyone's favorites. The third one was a shrimp dumpling I believe, also awesome.

Main courses included skirt steak, broccoli, very sweet crunchy carrots, scallops with couscous, a fried rice and lobster mashed potatoes. I also ordered a bottle of Jax wine, that was spectacular.

We weren't done though there was a birthday desert course. It included a fruit tartar (awesome idea) a lemon pastry with a meringue on top, a pudding with homemade cream, truffles and cookies.

Our last stop was at small bar where I finally got a glass of tap beer, delicious. We then went home, since it was almost 1 AM and we all had to work on St. John in the morning. 

Puerto Rico!!

 I am SO glad that I got talked into going to Puerto Rico this week! I had an opinion that Puerto Rico was going to be very different then it is. Clearly, I was there only 36 hours so I cannot form a complete opinion, but I'm intrigued! I worked early Monday so I got off at 2 PM and headed over to St. Thomas. My amazing friend Jillian, picked me up at the ferry and we got a glass of wine on the way to the airport.

When we arrived in Puerto Rico we headed to our hotel and meet up with Mat and Alesia. We stayed in Isla Verde which is the area of San Juan that is next to the airport.

The four of us headed to the Hotel San Juan for hibachi. It was an amazing dinner that cost 2/3 of what it would cost in the Virgin Islands.

We then hit the casinos playing black jack with real dealers! Mat and Jillian both doubled their money, so that was exciting. I lost $5 playing video poker, oh man.

Beach Volleyball

On St. John the beaches are all in different bays and therefore none of them are the long expansive beaches that you see other places. This does not leave too much room for beach activities. The one exception to this is Cinnamon Bay which provides at least enough space (most days) for the ability to set up a volleyball net. I did not play, since my last practice was probably in my parents backyard a decade ago, but I did watch and tell them when they had reached multiples of 7 and should switch sides!

Flag Football

Saturdays are SO busy for me during this time of year. I have a million people to talk to between people checking out, people coming in next week, and touching base with everyone else that is at work themselves at all the other times that I am in the office. Not to mention the one to four groups of new guests that I welcome to the island.

Therefore, I try to do something a little more low key on Saturday nights. Today I went to the flag football game. It was two St. John teams, and was a really intense game. Both teams have great players and a lot of heart, but it did not end up to be a very close match. I guess I was too into the game while it was happening. So instead I got this photo at the end.

Bands at Beach Bar

There was a fantastic band at Beach Bar tonight. This is a horrible photo I apologize, there was a lot going on, but the band was great. It was a five piece bad with an incredible sound that probably could have played anything. Although you cannot see them too well, you still get the general feel of beach bar, which is always a great place.

The Scooter

This is not a great photo, but that is mostly because the scooter can just go so quickly around St. John it is hard to capture. I am never going to own a scooter, because I try to stay away from things that require balance to start. Mike and Naomi got around all of St. John without a car no problem however, and really enjoyed being on the scooter!

Full day in Coral Bay

I have not spent nearly as much time in Coral Bay as I have in Cruz Bay. So when I finally had an entire day off I decided that it was a perfect chance to show Mike and Naomi the other side of the island.

We went to Donkey Diner for an amazing breakfast, mine even had chirzo. Then we went out to Salt Pond and hiked Ram's Head.

The new thing that I did was snorkeling in Salt Pond Bay. I am getting better at the whole snorkeling thing and starting to enjoy it a little more. 

I really wanted to hike around to Drunk Bay, but we only did about half of the trail, because by then it had been plenty exercise and were ready to move on to something else. 

Our last stop before heading back to Cruz Bay was Tourist Trap. We had a delicious plate of nachos, fish taco and a great lobster roll.

Goofing around!

Today, I wanted to do something which would not have been a first, but I desperately needed a pedicure. Unfortunately, this is a one at a time thing around here, so you need a little more time than I gave myself for. So instead Alesia and I bought m&ms and I pulled her around in a wagon. You will never believe this, but she criticized my parking job! Then I went home and made shrimp stir fry for Mike and Naomi.

Happy Hour Hopping and Ocean Grill

This is the time of year for visitors on St. John. It seems that everyone has a few additions to their group which makes our normal happy hour hopping a bit more complicated! I met up with Jillian and her sisters at Woody's. Then I had told Mike and Naomi that they had to try La Plancha's sangria so we went there next. We had 9 people so we basically took over the whole bar. I was at the opposite end from Jillian and Chris and I LOVE this picture. Jillian said it looked like she was taking a picture next to a photo of some sailor just off the boat.

After happy hour I ended up getting separated from everyone, so I went back to Mongoose and ended up at Ocean Grill trying everything that everyone else ordered. Great shrimp scampi and whatever seafood smorgasbord Chris ordered. The music was a lot of fun as well.

Brunch, Beach, Bar

Naomi and Mike are in town visiting, so today, I did not so much do something I had never done, as I did what I always do with someone new. We went to church, then brunch at Rhumb Lines, then the beach at Cinnamon and then over to Robert's for happy hour. Leah and Robert were having a band practice so we got serenaded a little as well. We stayed long enough to see the stars and then went to Cafe Roma for dinner. I wish every day was Sunday!

8 Tuff

Today I watched 8 Tuff miles from the top of Gifft Hill before heading to work. This road race takes place on Centerline Road between Cruz Bay and Skinny Legs in Coral Bay. There are a variety of fun themed water stations and even a beer pong table around mile 7. It is St. John after all. I considered running the race for about a second, but that did not happen. I guess there are about 364 days to start training for next year!

Waterfront Dinner

Today's new adventure on St. John was dining at a place that I had never eaten dinner before. I had been admiring the scallops at Waterfront Bistro for quite some time, but I had yet to eat them. It was Amber and Larry's last night on St. John, so we went to dinner with Dave as well. It is always wonderful dining by the ocean as you hear the waves come in, and the food was excellent. We tried the fresh mozzarella with caviar and their conch ceviche for appetizers. I will admit that the ceviche was an even better way to eat conch than fried in a conch fritter, but catching and cooking conch myself is not going to be something that I try again anytime soon. Way too much work! Overall a very good dinner and I will eat their again, and not just for lunch.

Sunset in Chocolate Hole!

Today I worked from 7:15 AM - 10 PM. That doesn't particularly leave a lot of time for new adventures. I did however take a moment from corralling children to enjoy a first for me, a great sunset over Chocolate Hole. I wish I would have gotten to enjoy the view with a glass of wine instead of watching to make sure no one got hurt while showing off jumping into the pool, but alas, life happens! Still a nice sunset view and a good night. Another first was watching the movie Dolphin, if you have been one of the unfortunate who has had the pleasure, my only advise is rent Free Willie next time!

40 New Adventures?

It seems like several people have decided to give up Facebook and other internet related things for Lent. I decided that I am going to do the opposite and instead put a little more effort into the things that I have already started.

After a year on St. John I have done a lot of what the island has to offer. However even on a 9 x 4 mile rock, there are plenty of things that I have not yet done. So for the next 40 days I am going to make an effort to try something new every day. Today was easy, I had the day off and Amber and Larry are visiting. So we went on the Ram's Head hike.

I had not done the trail before so I phoned a friend for instructions. We walked through where to turn and I was instructed that finding the trail head, "is difficult but not impossible." Well we came to the first choice and this was it, so not difficult. 

Finding where the trail continued on this beach however, was a bit more challenging. It was a wonderful day and I really enjoyed the hike. I had a great quick swim in Salt Pond when we got back as well.

We had breakfast at Donkey Dinner on the way and drinks at Tourist Trap on the way back. Overall a really great day in Coral Bay.

Happy New Year!

I loved the hat that baby Olivia wore to ring in the New Year! When the weather is the exact same plus or minus 10 degrees, sometimes you need the cute little reminders of what day it is. I really look forward to 2012 and as Mom says, the best year ever.