Harmony House: a break from the boat

this weekend we met J and J from NYC who let us crash out at their house. Amazing ocean views. Then we made them come sail over to Red Hook with us. Expecting M and E soon, and leave for BVI's tomorrow.

Santa comes to St. Thomas

Actually that's not Santa, but P from Horizons. We met him and A., on their boat, Horizons, in Staniel Cay in early June and had a fun reunion in Charlotte Amalie this week.

They have two dogs on their boat - see the picture men walking their pets around Yacht Haven Grand? We stayed there one night and anchored in Charlotte Amalie for the rest of the stay. Yacht Haven is pretty much for the mega yacht crowd. There's no laundry facility because mega yachts don't do laundry.

We frequented the two main restaurants, Wikked and Fat Turtle all week. They are O.K. but we are ready for something new. We enjoyed our last lunch at Wikked before Horizons pulled out. We were gazing at Larry Ellison's boat that had just pulled up.

We are picking up M and E in Red Hook at the American Yacht Harbor Monday and then D and D on Friday, so we'll be out cruising around the British Virgin Islands - finally! Happy Holidays!

Hooters Comes to St. Thomas

Last night Hayden thoughtfully suggested a night out, since it has been a long week of dealing with rain and wind. He picked the brand new Hooters here in town, just opened this week. I know, I know, that Hayden is so considerate!

So we went for some wings as any guy will tell you earnestly - they DO have good wings. It was quite a scene - the first time we have seen a wait for a table since we left the mainland. So, we went up to the bar and ordered.

Man, that franchise has something right. Probably not a bad investment - they were busy. Great people watching, especially the waitresses. I thought of my friend Lisa, a former Hooter's girl - you go girl.

Anyway, it was a good time and I'd recommend it. Why not? If you are going to be on St. Thomas long enough to do all the fine cuisine, but want a place one night to watch sports with wings and beers, then, there you go.

Going Ashore

We have been in Charlotte Amalie, in Saint Thomas all week. Did you know there was a tropical storm that came through, named Olga? I thought we were home free from storms until next June! Guess not.

As we dealt with constant rain showers and dangerous wind conditions this week, we reminsced about our idyllic week in Francis Bay, St. John and I remembered some video we took. This one is a montage of going ashore, which is always an interesting event.

Just back from Francis Bay in St. John

We had an amazing time in St. John. Most of the island is all national park, so it’s clean and uncrowded. There was no Internet connection available, and we took advantage to recharge our batteries. We snorkeled, hiked, and celebrated Hannuakah there, too. We are back in St. Thomas counting the days until our friends arrive to help celebrate the holidays. We also ran into cruising friends, P and A from Horizons, and C and A from Blue Runner while staying in Charlotte Amalie at Yacht Haven Grand marina. Most of our “neighbors” are mega yachts with helicopters – what a scene.

This was Annaberg Sugar Plantation -we hiked up to see it on St. John.