Welcome! Tally ho!

Our B.V.I. Adventure is designed to give our family, friends and any other interested followers a look into the life of two expatriates making their way on the island of Tortola. Tortola is the largest island in the British Virgin Islands.

So, why did we move 2,000 miles away from our home in Knoxville, Tennessee? Michael accepted a position as the director of retail and international sales for a Caribbean clothing brand.

Cheers!

Adventurers

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living in the British virgin islands
Sunday, February 7, 2010

Day 56: Meeting the Shands

As we know, it's a small world and when Facebook came on the scene, it made it even smaller.  That's where, like so many of you, I've reconnected with friends from my childhood, college, past jobs, etc...

Well, when we announced our move to the BVI on Facebook, I got a message from one of those college friends, Dustin Bass.  We went to the University of Florida together.  He wanted to let me know that his in-laws have a place on Great Camanoe which overlooks Marina Cay, the island that Pusser's owns.  I was excited at the prospect of seeing a familiar face when he and his wife Nancy came to visit!

Two months after that initial exchange Dustin sent me another message: his in-laws were coming down for two weeks.  While his own family wasn't going to be able to make it, (they have an adorable baby boy, Jackson) his in-laws were open to meeting us!  We exchanged numbers, which led to Day 56: Meeting the Shands, aka The Honorable Rodney and Mrs. Shands of New Albany, Mississippi!

Ginger met us at the dock at Trellis Bay at 11am.  We took their rib over to Great Camanoe, where they live in Indigo Plantation.  It's an amazing set up with a private docking area, sheltered from the sea.  That's their home there, with the three peaked rooftops:

Rodney met us up at the house.  I have to admit, hearing southern accents and talking SEC football was really nice.  There were no "Go Gators" exchanged though; you see the Shands are HUGE and I mean HUGE Ole Miss fans.  Even with the Ole Miss flag flying high above their home, it is beautiful!  It's divided into three sections with these deep porches.  Here's the view between two of the sections:
Rodney gave us a tour of the island on their "gator" and showed us their wild orchid garden.  Truly amazing! 

Some of their friends who also have a house on Camanoe joined us for lunch, Jim, Denny and Denny's sister, Christie.  Ginger made us the most scrumptious Southern fare:  chicken salad and pimento cheese sandwiches.  Then it was time to hit the water and head out on their boat!

It was a gorgeous Sunday; we went everywhere!  Past the Dogs, over to Virgin Gorda, beyond Mosquito and Prickly Pear Islands, all the way to Necker Island. (That's the $36,000 per night resort belonging to Sir Richard Branson.)

Here are a few photos from our trip, including a stop at Saba Rock for some rum drinks:


{above: Ginger and me - Ginger is so sweet!  Love her!!!}

{above: Necker Island}

{above: Christie and Denny}

{above: do we really need a caption?}

{above: the boys}

{above: check out The Baths off in the distance!}

We ended up snorkeling Diamond Reef near Scrub Island.  We saw our first baracuda, along with some gorgeous parrot fish and elkhorn coral.  It was stunning!!!

We enjoyed the day immensely and cannot thank Dustin enough for introducing us to our new friends, Ginger and Rodney! 

4 comments:

2 Giggle Boxes said...

Wow! What a small world! Looks like you had a great time! What a beautiful home...
XOXO

Leslie Shands Orrell said...

I enjoyed reading this. My twin sister is married to Dustin. While I loved looking at the pictures, I couldn't help but be jealous (it's 24 degrees here in Mississippi). I'm planning a trip down there this summer with my husband and hopefully we'll meet y'all!

Amelia said...

Hi Leslie! We heard so much about you!!! Your parents are wonderful, as you know! We look forward to meeting up when y'all are here!!! Take care!

Brandon C. said...

Love the blog, keep the updates coming. Glad to see you guys are doing well.