Our B.V.I. Adventure

Of the five Pusser's locations, which ones did you visit on your trip? (Soper's Hole, Marina Cay, Charlie T's Lobster House, Leverick Bay, Road Town Pub)

Answer(s): Charlie T's Lobster House for delicious lobster & Road Town Pub for our first Roti

True or False. Driving on the left side of the road feels as weird as I thought it would.

Answer(s): Per Shane (as the driver & a man), false. But as the passenger...my eyes were peeled for him to cross over to the right side out of habit.  However - in his defense, the stayed left throughout the trip!

Shane not only drove in the BVI, but he drove without either me or Michael in the car, offering friendly reminders about the roundabouts and speed bumps.  He and Kaley made their way to the grocery store to get the ingredients for a delicious dinner that they prepared for us! 

What was the most bizarre thing you saw on Tortola?

Answer(s): The two hen gang bangs that we were fortunate enough to witness or Charlie Sheen's interview on the Today show...um, WINNER!

Can't believe this guy below didn't make the list for "most bizarre."  HA!

Favorite dining experience on the island?

Answer: They were all wonderful, but if I had to pick just one?  Barfly...a pork tostada, calamari, olive & mussel spread under the stars!  Couldn't be beat!

Which "island drink" will you be craving next week when it's a rainy 52 degrees back in Knoxville?

Answer: And as you predicted, it was 51 degrees and raining today and am definitely craving a Bushwhacker!

Which Da Tree Men original song was your favorite?
a) Bomba Punch
b) Cane Garden Bay
c) Jost van Dyke: Tropical Paradise
d) Bushwhacker
e) Virgin Gorda

Answer(s): Couldn't come to a joint decision on this one...Kaley's favorite is Cane Garden Bay, and Shane's is Bushwhacker.

What surprised you most about life in the BVI?

Answer(s): Most coveted position on the island: Ms. Delta Petroleum!  The grocery store chicken counts: 4 breasts / over 20,000 frozen wings available for purchase.  And of course the tree growing out of Michael's car!

It was great having Kaley and Shane here.  One of our most pleasurable experiences was a late afternoon SUP in Brewer's Bay.  Even though it was their first time trying stand-up paddle boarding, Kaley and Shane did great!  They never fell, not even once!

Before you start humming holiday tunes, let me clarify...we're talking what's called "busy season" here in the islands.   Remember all of those closing parties we attended a few months back?  Excluding mother nature, things have been pretty quiet around here.  Well, we're happy to report all of the RE-OPENING events are happening now.

The bar-that-flies {a.k.a. BarFly} reopened on Tuesday night. We stopped in for some late night eats and thoroughly enjoyed a few items from the new menu.  Tonight, Al and the crew at The Last Resort will tune their guitars and welcome guests back to Bellamy Cay for the first time in two months.

Michael is over on Marina Cay today getting the inventory back in the Pusser's Company Store which will reopen when the Interline Regatta stops by next week.

Busy seasons brings with it a few negatives of course...the wait at the one red light gets a little longer and the tourists seem to get a bit tackier.  But for the most part, this is the best time in the BVI.  The weather improves (let's hope for no more hurricanes!) and it truly is a playground for those not only those escaping the cold, but for those of us who live here too.

Today, one of the most obvious signs that busy season is upon us???  Carnival Freedom is here.
While we've had some sporadic cruise ship activity over the last month or so, this marks the beginning of continuous stream of ships that will make their way through the US and British Virgin Islands. 

According to the cruise ship calendar on TravelTalkOnline.com, we can expect between 5 - 7 ships a week for the next several months.

In fact, one of my former colleagues from WATE-TV and her husband will be aboard one of the ships one week from today!  We plan to meet in Road Town for a painkiller!  Looking forward to seeing you Angie and Dan!

This time of year, a lot of our favorite restaurants and bars close down for hurricane season.  But before the proprietors and staff flee the island for a few months, they throw huge parties.  So far we've attended a "Drink the Bar Dry" party at Tamarind Club and then there was the parade party at BarFly/Dove...

Saturday's party at The Last Resort was the biggest by far.  Boat after boat after boat navigated its way from Trellis Bay to the dock at Bellamy Cay.  The "trailer trash" themed bash featured three local bands, plus the house band.  A huge crowd gathered on the lawn which was perfectly appointed with a clothes line, Fisher Price toys, lawn furniture, and a beer fridge.  Some of the partygoers dressed as Britney Spears, while others rocked the classic mullet; there were some pregnant brides too and trashy t-shirts.  You name it, it was there!


It was an extremely hot night, with no breeze to cool us.  Mother Nature must have been sick of the complaining, so she sent a huge rain storm to cool us off.  The rain came just at A Type of Toad was starting, so everyone rushed to the stage seeking cover on the deck.  There were so many people jumping up and down, at one point we heard cracking sounds of wood and could feel the deck giving way underneath us.  Somehow it stabilized...   


What a way to say good-bye to one of our favorite places, at least for a few months...The Last Resort will reopen in October.  But as bvimusic.com reminds us, a party this crazy and this fun may just be 364 days away, when they do it again next year!

It's no secret that Michael and I love Mexican food and it's been one of the major things we've missed since moving to the BVI.  It was our first stop when we went to Ft. Lauderdale a few months ago, but now, 210 days in to our BVI adventure...we've found a fix!  Two of them actually.

One of our favorite restaurants, Barfly (which is connected to The Dove) has Mexican night on Tuesday nights.  So far we've been twice and loved it both times. Their pork tacos are to die for!!!  For our Knoxville friends, they rival the pork tacos at La Costa, back when Greg was the owner and they smoked the pork themselves.

The more "traditional" Mexican restaurant is Emile's Cantina in East End.  This outdoor restaurant is situated just off the main road, with a deck for patio seating and a small bar.  While they're known for their pizzas {Go figure!} Emile's Cantina is in fact a Mexican restaurant.

We had two cold cervezas, okay, maybe four!

And we enjoyed the spicy shrimp tacos and chicken chimichanga very much!  So much so in fact that we forgot to take a picture before it was too late!

Oh, and I must share this little antecdote...

You know how most Mexican restaurants serve complimentary chips and salsa?  Well, we knew better than to think that would be the case at Emile's.  But since nachos were on the menu, we asked if we could get some chips and salsa.  The chips were delicious...made right there in the kitchen and served warm, but we had to laugh when the bill came.  It looked something like this:


Yep, $8.00 for chips and salsa!  In a weird way it makes sense, because there are days when we're at the grocery store and notice that a bag of Ruffles is $7.99.    

Hard to believe, in a little more than a week we'll be in Knoxville on Market Square enjoying Soccer Taco with friends!  Salud!

Travis, my friend and coworker from Ackermann, made it to the BVI in spite of the hundreds of cancelled flights.  Take that, snow storm!  This is T's first visit to the Caribbean and we have a lot of fun things planned for him!  Whoo hoo!!! 

Unfortunately, the battery in our camera died before Travis arrived, so the photo taken with a camera phone is a little dark.  We thought about going back to the airport and re-enacting the whole thing!  Ha! 

We went to the house, dropped off his luggage and headed into Road Town.  We enjoyed a late dinner at Bar Fly (which is connected to The Dove, one of our favorite restaurants on the island.)  It was really good and there was a great crowd. 

Tomorrow night is a full moon and that means one thing!  Full Moon Party!  We haven't been to one since New Year's Eve...