We were able to borrow our neighbor’s truck again, which was such an amazing gift.  We drove to the western side of the island to see some sites.  First, we found the Craque Dam, which is no longer in use.  I watched videos of it and thought it would be sort of interesting to see.  I also thought that we would have a 1.3mi hike through the rainforest to get to it.  Planning this adventure made me think that we would be on an “Indiana Jones” adventure.  The reality was that we drove up a small, winding road, through the rainforest, and parked right alongside of the dam.  We were able to walk along the top edge of the dam, but it wasn’t nearly as interesting as I thought it would be.  Murky water was caught on the back side of the dam and the front backed up against the rain forest.  In retrospect, I guess it was sort of a unique site to see. 

Next we headed to the Mount Pellier Domino Club, which was located in the middle of the rainforest.  It really was a dive of a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.  Their claim to fame is that people can feed the pigs a can of non-alcoholic beer.  The pigs will drink the beer and spit out the can.  Unfortunately, they only accepted cash and we didn’t have enough to buy a meal.  So, we drove along Mahogany Road back to Frederiksted and found a beach bar called “Rhythm’s Beach Bar.”  It had a pretty view overlooking Rainbow Beach and served good beach bar food.  As we were sipping our frozen drinks and looking out over the water, we saw a catamaran come in and anchor.  It turned out that it was “Great Adventures,” the owners of the truck we borrowed to explore the island. 

Today, 3.14.23, is laundry and chore day.  My conference call was rescheduled until today, so I should be able to get a lot of work done as well.

I have to say that everyone that we have met on St. Croix has been incredibly, over-the-top friendly.  When we arrived we had neighboring captains help us tie up to the slip.  Our boat neighbors took me grocery shopping.  The doctor made several boat calls and texted Steve multiple times.  Two local officers carried Steve’s Mom off of the boat and to the parking lot while two others assisted.  A local who was assisting drove us back and forth to the imaging center.  The woman at the resort’s front desk arranged for a wheelchair for us to use by calling a friend who had one.  This friend dropped it off at our hotel room.  And now a neighboring boat captain and his wife offered me the use of their truck while they were out sailing.  And, I’ve met so many wonderful, friendly people at the resort, all of whom are sending their best wishes to Marlene.  It has been so incredible to be surrounded by such nice people. 

The neighboring boat offered their truck to me to use so that I could get out of the resort for a little while.  It was incredibly generous. Steve and I first took the truck to go grocery shopping and to Home Depot. I finally was able to purchase throw pillows for our boat. It is the little things that can make me happy!

After a quick lunch, we decided to drive to a couple of sites.  The first place that we went is supposed to be the Eastern-most point in the United States.  They had a lovely monument there marking the spot.  The stone structure depicted two upside down “M’s.”  The views from the point were lovely as well.

Next, we drove to the point where Columbus landed in 1493.  Unfortunately, this site only had a sign marking where the landing took place.  The ruins of the fort were nowhere to be seen.  There was quite a bit of garbage around in the area as well.  So, historically the site was of interest, but visually, it was not. 

We went into Christiansted and walked along the boardwalk.  The water was incredibly clear, which surprised us.  The last time we were there, the water was quite rough and churned up.  We ended up eating at a restaurant right on the boardwalk, called “Nate’s Boathouse.”  The food was good and relatively inexpensive.  We had a front row view of the bay while people strolled along the boardwalk.  Service was quick, so we ate while watching the sun beginning to set.  After dinner, we strolled along an adorable stone alley on our way back to our car.  We were able to return to the marina just as it was getting dark.  We were warned that the drinking age in St. Croix is 18 and it isn’t illegal to drink and drive.  So, our friends recommended that we not drive at night.  This was one of those special days on our sailing adventure.  It was so nice to see some of the island and enjoy a meal out, off of the property.

St. Croix has many Iguanas roaming around. There is one location in the Mangroves, near our boat, where they frequently sun themselves. Fun fact: Iguanas can swim.

Well, Steve has been in Florida for five days now and I’ve settled into a routine.  Every morning brush small spiders, and their webs, off of the boat.  For some reason, they seem to fly through the air and land on our boat, daily. 

During this time alone, I started doing the end-of-season deep-cleaning of the boat.  I washed all of the indoor cushions and our courtesy flags.  A courtesy flag is a flag of the country that we are visiting.  While it isn’t a law, it is a courtesy to fly the local country’s flag above all other flags on our boat.  I also wiped down the curtains and soaked some pillows.  Both get light brown spots/coating on them throughout the season, which I’m guessing is mildew.  After completing a cleaning task for the day, I work on consulting, updating the website, and editing pictures. 

Every other day, around 3:30p when it is very hot on the boat, I try to walk to the resort to swim some laps.  Their pool is nice and looks out over the ocean.  And, most of all, the water is refreshing and helps me to get my body temperature down in the hot afternoons. 

One day I decided to wake up early to take some pictures of the Tamarind Resort’s beautiful property.  It was quite enjoyable being the only person on the beach, enjoying special nooks and crannies all to myself. 

Steve and his mom arrived around 4p and we relaxed on the outdoor salon benches for a while.  Steve started showing his mom around the boat and was discussing safety with her.  We have all sustained injuries on the boat and we really didn’t want anything to happen to her.  In the marina the boat is really very steady, so we were not too concerned with her walking around. Unfortunately, Steve and his mom were walking around the inside salon, not paying attention to where the floor cuts out into the stairwell.  Marlene didn’t see that the floor dropped out into stairs and fell down them.  It was immediately apparent that she was injured.

We called the local doctor, Dr. Z.  I had met him earlier in the week when I was walking around the grounds.  He lives on a boat on the next dock over.  He was very nice, knowledgeable, and made boat calls.  He actually practiced in Illinois.  Dr. Z. was amazing and took good care of Marlene.

We decided to get a hotel room at the Tamarind Reef Resort, where the marina is located. It was a much better set-up for someone who is injured since everything is on one floor. After a couple of days, Steve and his mom flew to Florida to seek medical attention, as the island’s amenities were not able to accommodate her injuries appropriately.

On 2.22.23, our neighbors, Dave and Lynn, asked if we wanted to go super marketing the next day with them.  Steve wanted to get some things done on the boat, but I was thrilled to go.  They had a car and drove to the big box store (Cost U Less) as well as a larger supermarket.  I was all set with groceries.  We were looking for a step stool to make it easier for Steve’s Mom to get on and off of the boat.  Unfortunately we didn’t find anything appropriate.  However, later in the day someone dropped off a wooden stool that they must have found stashed in the grass on the grounds.  It was dirty, but would work out well for our needs.

On 2.24.23 Steve flew to Orlando to attend his Aunt Janet’s funeral.  There he met up with his mother and on 2.26.23, and they both flew back to St. Croix.  While Steve was gone, I went to town cleaning the boat.  It was much easier to boat wash the entire boat without having to inconvenience Steve.  I was also able to hose down the cushions and spread them all out to dry.  On Sunday morning I cleaned the bathrooms and prepared the bedroom for Marlene.  We were looking forward to having her visit.  She had wanted to see our boat for a couple of years but this was the first opportunity that she had to come aboard.  We chose this marina because it was in US territory (so she wouldn’t have to go through customs).  And, it is part of a resort, which would enable us to go to restaurants and use the amenities on the property. 

On February 21 we entered the marina.  We were a little nervous about going into the marina because we had heard that the entrance was narrow and shallow.  It turns out that this was all true, but Steve didn’t have any issue maneuvering the boat through.  We were all set to tie up on our starboard side (right).  However, when we arrived the dockmaster asked us to tie up to the fuel dock, on our port (left) side.  So, I quickly moved lines and fenders to the other side of the boat and we tied up.  We had to wait for another boat to exit our slip.  After a couple of hours, the boat tried to move and then returned to where it was originally.  Apparently the captain (Mike) had difficulty getting into the windward side slip. 

Entering our slip was quite a challenge.  Steve had to back the boat into the slip, which he has done many times before.  This slip, however, required that we tie the bow (front) of our boat to pilings in the water.  In other marinas where we have done this, dock hands have helped.  Unfortunately, this marina only has the dockmaster and not dock hands.  Both Steve and I thought this might be more than we could manage.  So, the dock master solicited the assistance of some other captains in the marina.  Matthew hopped on board and helped me.  Mike had set up some lines on the pilings for us to pick up with a hook.  The dock master grabbed the rope that I threw to him from the back and then I went forward to assist Matthew.  With everyone’s help, we docked our boat without any mishap.  As we finished tying up, we noticed that a party was taking place on the boat next to ours and everyone was sipping their beers while watching us.  “Yachtsmen’s entertainment.”   Everyone was incredibly nice and helpful.

As we were sitting at the anchorage today, we looked out at the beach and saw what I think was a baptism of an adult taking place.  A person in a long black robe, whom I assume was the priest, was with an adult dressed in a long white frock.  The person in white appeared to be getting baptized in the ocean, with the priest officiating.  A couple of other people, dressed in white/cream, assisted with the process.  Others were on shore watching and singing.  It reminded me of biblical times where people were baptized in the oceans. Unforutunately I was too far away to be able to take a picture.