St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

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3 november 2020
St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
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Dag 1
dinsdag 3 november 2020 om 11:33
⛅ 77 °F
Hoogte: 26 ft
Verenigde Staten Miami International Airport 25.798584, -80.27481125°47’55” N 80°16’29” W
Election Day
3 november 2020, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
With all the craziness and potential mayhem surrounding this election, we decided to get out of Dodge for a while.

First question: where can we travel (allows US visitors)? The Caribbean is nearby, I’ve never been, and a few islands are open to Americans.

Next question: which island? We settled on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. No passport required and relatively inexpensive compared to some of the others in the region.

Easy direct flight out of Miami and we’ll be living in and working from the tropics. I’ll be getting my open water dive certification, and it turns out that St Croix is known for its dive walls and bioluminescent underwater life. Woohoo!Meer informatie
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ReizigerEnjoy and send pics!
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ReizigerFab
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Dag 1
dinsdag 3 november 2020 om 15:06
⛅ 84 °F
Hoogte: 98 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden Constitution Hill 17.725073, -64.73484817°43’30” N 64°44’5” W
Arriving St Croix
3 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F
Feels like what it is—a mash-up of cultures. Whereas Hawaii very much feels like a tropical version of the US, this feels like someone sprinkled a little America on an established Caribbean nation. Which they did.

Gas is cheaper here than in Seattle thanks to two big oil refineries that serve the region. In general, it feels a bit depressed and run down but you have to take into account that it’s probably still recovering from the effects of hurricane Maria in 2017.

Funny story...slim chance that hurricane Eta in the gulf could take a hard right and end up here. Yippee!!Meer informatie
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Dag 2
woensdag 4 november 2020
⛅ 88 °F
Hoogte: 46 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden Christiansted Historic District 17.74423, -64.70527617°44’39” N 64°42’19” W
Driving lessons
4 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F
It feels like I was dropped into a different planet. Driving on the left side of the road, no problem. But here the steering wheel is on the left also. What a trip trying to drive the roads here and trying to stay in the correct lane. Even woke up last night from a dream that I was about to get myself into a head on. Yikes
According to Caroline’s research Myanmar is the only other country in the world that has something similar. Driving on the Right and steering wheel on the right.Meer informatie
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ReizigerWouldn’t fancy that. No bevvies
05-11-2020Reageren
ReizigerFunny enough, drinking while driving is legal here. Driving drunk is still illegal. Hard line to toe... 😂
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Reiziger🤣
05-11-2020Reageren
ReizigerFor the record, I drove a bit yesterday and, after the mental jolt of passing the first car on the “wrong” side, it wasn’t too bad. Must be all of Donny’s Irish driving hardwiring with the wheel on the right that’s weirding him out. 😱
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Dag 3
donderdag 5 november 2020 om 06:30
⛅ 79 °F
Hoogte: 164 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden Judith Hill 17.768646, -64.73738917°46’7” N 64°44’15” W
Sun Rise
5 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
Stayed up till midnight last night. The election stuff on TV had us sucked in. Drove around the island a bit yesterday morning and found a nice quiet beach—Shoys beach. Took a dive and did some snorkeling. It was nice but there has to be better visibility on the other side of the island.

I tell you, I have to have a chat with myself every time I put the key in the ignition. Hug the curb!
Went in search of lunch and discovered that a lot of places are closed and and need to update their online info. Nothing spectacular, wings and soup.
Pretty quiet day as Caroline had to work the afternoon.
Up early and got this lovely photo of the sunrise.Meer informatie
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Dag 4
vrijdag 6 november 2020 om 09:56
⛅ 84 °F
Hoogte: 30 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden Market Place 17.745424, -64.70555917°44’44” N 64°42’20” W
Christiansted
6 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F
It’s been a day or two. Nothing major to report. Caroline is getting really good at left-left driving.
We went for a drive two days ago in search of a beach to go fishing. Once we located that we continued driving. I was curious about what looked like an oil refinery on our deacent to the island. We found it. “Limetree” which was at one time one of the biggest refineries in the Western Hemisphere. It was laid dormant in 2012 and brought back to life 2017. When it was shuttered 5000 people left the island. Now people are nervous that the venture that is currently underway will succeed. Oil prices being a third of what they were 3 years ago.
Other than that we went for dinner two nights ago. I’ll post a picture of the menu and what we ordered. Very local spot.
BTW I have yet to find a stop sign that is plumb.Meer informatie
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Dag 5
zaterdag 7 november 2020 om 12:12
⛅ 86 °F
Hoogte: 33 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden Alexander Hamilton House Museum 17.746363, -64.7044317°44’47” N 64°42’16” W
Island Time Saturday
7 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F
Walked around Christiansted—pretty closed up and run down. 😕

Donny met a new friend (surprise- he’s ☘️).

Whiled away the afternoon on the waterfront (actually made good progress on my PADI open water diver course 👩‍💻🤿🍹)

Fed chicken wing 🦴 to a school of HUGE Tarpon 🐟 right off the boardwalk. (Wait, THOSE will be in the water I’ll be scuba diving in?!?)

🛥 over to little island in the bay. Cocktails and floating in the perfect water—warm, clear, and sandy bottom. Perfect for taking in the sunset in 🧜‍♀️ style.Meer informatie
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ReizigerOf course, Donny would find a new friend 🤣
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Dag 8
dinsdag 10 november 2020 om 09:00
🌧 81 °F
Hoogte: 102 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden West End Bay 17.698498, -64.88742117°41’55” N 64°53’15” W
Fredricksted
10 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ 🌧 81 °F
Yesterday we said goodbye to Christiansted and drove across the island to the West side. The long arduous trip of thirteen miles. We setup camp in a nice oddly furnished condo by the beach about a mile from the quaint town. Definitely a more relaxed vibe here. And that’s saying something after leaving Christiansted.
I did some snorkeling out the back door. A lot of small fish. Saw a small lion fish. These guys are quite invasive here in the Caribbean. They belong in the Pacific.
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lionfish-fa…
I have also been reminded of another creature that lives here. The sand flea. Very friendly little creatures who it appears like attention. Even when you’re not swatting at them they let one know of their presence. Little shits leave a mark. See following photos.
Weather has turned a bit damp. And is supposed to be that way till Thursday. Great excuse for Caroline NOT to do her PADI certification. Over and out.Meer informatie
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ReizigerHa. Ha. Ha. 🤨 How’s that driving on the left going?
10-11-2020Reageren
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Dag 8
dinsdag 10 november 2020 om 09:36
🌧 79 °F
Hoogte: 89 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden West End Bay 17.698357, -64.88800317°41’54” N 64°53’17” W
Big Question
10 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ 🌧 79 °F
Here goes. We have to be out of the condo in Bradenton by Dec 23rd. We were planning on driving back to Seattle then. Perhaps stopping off to see the lads and ladies in Dallas along the way. Then things changed slightly. A bunch of the lads from Seattle are headed to Florida late January for Rogers 50th to play golf. So Caroline and I have agreed to not head back to Seattle until after the golf outing. The question we are asking ourselves is where to hide out in January? Options are: stay around Bradenton? Go back to Savanna. Go to Panama City, Panama.
Here’s the kicker. Flight and accommodation in Panama is less expensive than accommodation State side. Help.Meer informatie
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ReizigerIt really is a first world problem 🙄 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️
10-11-2020Reageren
ReizigerGo for the new adventure! Always! ; )
11-11-2020Reageren
Reiziger#jealous keep us up dated. enjoying seeing what both of you are up to. 👍
11-11-2020Reageren
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Dag 8
dinsdag 10 november 2020 om 17:01
☁️ 77 °F
Hoogte: 89 ft
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden West End Bay 17.698345, -64.88796717°41’54” N 64°53’17” W
Daily Dose of Awesome
10 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
Rain this morning until about 1, which cooled things off off nicely and added a great soundtrack to a delicious lunch under the canopy at 69 (thanks for making THAT weird to type in a travelogue) in downtown Fredericksted.

Oh yeah, it was located just behind THE DIVE SHOP WHERE I SIGNED UP FOR MY PADI DIVES. Ahem. (Commence mild panicking)

Beautiful and calm now. If it weren’t for a few late afternoon meetings, I’d be 🤿. Just have to settle for the view.

P.S. Happy Birthday to the best Dad on the world! ❤️❤️Meer informatie
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Dag 12
zaterdag 14 november 2020
☀️ 73 °F
Hoogte: Zeeniveau
Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden Sprat Hole 17.73752, -64.89714717°44’15” N 64°53’50” W
Fredericksted & Scuba
14 november 2020, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
Back! Hey, had a grand time on the USVI’s. The time went by so fast. I think the last time I chimed we were in Christiansted. Or had just moved across the island to Frederiksted.
Regardless, Frederiksted is a very quaint town. Calm seas, calm people and some nice places to eat and drink. However it has to be a mad house when the cruise ships stop at the pier. Yikes!
So our week revolved around Caroline completing her PADI certification. Which she did with honors. So proud of her. She overcame a lot of her fears and is now a certified diver.
What did we see? Leatherback Turtles, Snapper, Ray’s, Barracuda’s and an assortment of reef fish. Beautiful.
My last dive with Caroline was an area that had lots of steel cables anchored to the sea floor. They were put there during WWII. They supposedly had listening devices on the cables to sense U-boats. The cables reportedly ran from USVI to Puerto Rico.
Our last day on the island was fun. Caroline did her last dive and instruction. I went fly fishing. Caught a 5” snapper. Brilliant.
Would I go back? Maybe. That’s a reluctant one at that. For the money I would take Sicily or Victoria any day. On to the next adventure. Can’t wait.Meer informatie
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Dag 13
zondag 15 november 2020
☀️ 79 °F
Hoogte: 39 ft
Verenigde Staten Bradenton Beach 27.480461, -82.70327827°28’50” N 82°42’12” W
The Keys
15 november 2020, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
We arrived back in Miami. Cool city from the air on approach. Could almost see the carry on on South Beach.
Got to our car and said we have to have some Cuban food. Little Havana it is. We picked Versailles. Sorry, Caroline picked it. I was driving.
We had a fantastic lunch. I had a ham hock and Caroline had ropa vieja. The latter was yummy.
After lunch we took off to a town called Marathon about 2/3 the way down the Florida Keys. Greg Fuller, a long time friend is holed up there on his catamaran.
We had a grand get together. The drive to and from was all (in my mind) all about boats. I have never seen so many boat dealers. WOW! See photos.
Back in Bradenton now. So stay tuned.Meer informatie
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Het einde van de reis
16 november 2020