Our B.V.I. Adventure

One of the ferries that runs from St. Thomas to Tortola and back each day ended up at the bottom of the ocean today... Here is a photo that the BVI Beacon shared on its Facebook page.  The boat was pulled up onto a floating dry dock and from the reports I've read that there weren't any passengers on board, thank goodness!


This just happens to be the same boat that our friends Liz & Jeff took to Tortola last month!  YIKES!  I guess those life vests on the twin girls weren't so silly after all!

Our friends from Knoxville, Kaley and Shane flew into St. Thomas on Saturday.  They planned to take the ferry to Road Town, but when they caught a cab from the St. Thomas airport, it headed for the Red Hook ferry dock instead of the Charlotte Amalie ferry dock. 

Fortunately Kaley was able to text me and let me know that they wouldn't be arriving in Road Town at 5pm, but rather at Tortola's West End at 2:30pm.  That was fine with us, because we had planned to be on that end of the island during the day anyway. 

Instead of picking them up and taking them to the house, we suggest a quick change and a trip to nearby Smuggler's Cove!  They were game.  Here's Kaley searching her luggage for her swimsuit and cover up in the parking lot!

Getting in the wrong cab turned out to be a great move.  They got to Tortola much faster and enjoyed their first BVI beverage on the beach. 

Now that's the way to start a vacation!

Our dear friends Ashley and Gordon arrived in the BVI on Friday afternoon!  You may notice that the background in this photo taken upon arrival, doesn't look like the others...

That's because Ashley and Gordon flew into St. Thomas and took the ferry over!  So, instead of picking them up at the airport, we retrieved them in Road Town! 

Some advice if you'll be traveling this way...  Make sure to find out from the boat captain on which side of the boat you'll be exiting once you arrive.  Ashley and Gordon weren't the last ones to get off of the boat, but they weren't the first either.  SO, they had to wait in a very long line as the one Customs agent on duty looked at everyone's paperwork. 

Ashley said when she got up there she couldn't believe there was only one agent and that he was flipping through the paper's classified ads as he was doing his job.  Welcome to the BVI Ash!  {We weren't that suprised when she shared that little tidbit!}  Remember to pack not only the sunscreen, but patience when traveling here!  Ha!

We have a lot of fun things to fit into their long weekend!  More posts coming soon!

Our apologies...
This exit survey is somewhat delayed.  With the craziness of Christmas and the back-to-back house guests, this post has been sitting in the drafts folder for more than a week! 

We had such a great time with Sharon and Dennis and we're so grateful that their trip could be extended due to Mother Nature!  Not only were we able to share Christmas together, but Michael's parents celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary while in the BVI...Happy Anniversary you two!  {Thanks to the staff at Charlie's at the Moorings who made it so special!  Dinner was delicious!}

Answer: I believe there were approximately 18 cruise ships and a few awesome sail boats!!

Answer:  OMG!! A HUGE DIFFERENCE! We actually felt like we were in the states.

Answer: Hey Jude! They rocked the night we saw them perform – all their music was great, but Hey Jude was the best!!

Answer: Breaking out into a cold sweat and fainting really does get you through the line faster, but then you have to deal with the EMTs who will discourage you from flying.

Answer: TRUE!! When we saw Santa at Soggy Dollar and his three "hoes" it certainly felt like Christmas!! What a fun day!

I'm coming up for air to write this blogpost, as once again the BVI is experiencing heavy, heavy rains. 

Just when you think you've seen the last of it, another cloud moves in.  The BVI is under a flash flood warning until noon today; schools are closed; there's talk of mudslides... 

Here's a photo Adam snapped in Road Town a few days ago.

Until the sun shines again, I've got this song stuck on my replay in my head.  Go back to 1992 with me, won't you?

The Norwegian Pearl was in port on Thursday.  And on the ship?  Two friends I hadn't seen in a long time!  After their morning excursion to see the Baths on Virgin Gorda, we met up with Angie and Dan at the Pusser's Pub for a Painkiller! 
Angie and I worked together at WATE-TV in Knoxville.  She's still a producer there in fact!  It was wonderful to catch up with them and hear about their travels so far...  They had been in St. Thomas the day before and still had a stop in the Bahamas ahead of them.

Oh, and notice Dan's shirt!  He rocked the Tennessee orange just for us!  Michael was extremely appreciative of the gesture.  Even though I bleed orange and blue, my little Gator heart fluttered at the sight of an SEC tee.  It's the little things...

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!

Much of the BVI has been under one very large rain cloud these past few days.  According to the local forecasters, if this storm organizes any further, it could become Otto.  Currently, it's hovering at Subtropical Depression 17 status.

Well, "yet-to-be-named" Otto, you could have fooled me.  You've been lashing our little island for three days straight now.  There's flash flooding in Road Town.  The government has closed schools and offices.  We haven't seen the sun in more than 48 hours, which has caused me to - GASP - wear a sweater! 

Here are some photos of the roads...


Crazy, right?  I think it's time Subtropical Depression 17 moves on outta here!

It's 10:30 a.m. on Day 271.  We just got back from Road Town where Michael had to close up Pusser's flagship store. 

Some of the ladies who work there came in to help as well.  In the case of flooding, we moved all of the items from the floor.  We also brought in items from the glass porch on the second story.  Apparently it is susceptible to leaks.  And in the worst case scenerio, the glass could break which would surely make the inventory decoration for the landscape below. 


Earl is now a Category 3 and it's expected to gain even more strength as it approaches the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico...we are only 60 miles east of Puerto Rico, so if you see video on the news from there, you can imagine that's what we're experiencing too.

Before we left to come home and finish preparations here, I shot some video of the palm trees right outside of Pusser's in Road Town.  Not sure how strong these winds are, but it's clearly just the beginning.



We are back at the house and fortunately our power is on and we still have cable, which is a miracle!  Everyone else we've talked to has been without power all morning.  Ours has been intermittent, but I'll take it!  Thanks for all of the thoughtful comments on Facebook!  We appreciate all the prayers so very much!!!

On Tuesday night, the BVI Rugby team played a special match against the servicemen aboard the HMS Manchester.  The HMS Manchester is a Type 42 Batch 3 Destroyer, one of the oldest ships in the British Royal Navy's fleet.

In the weeks leading up to the match, Michael and I had been coached about the rules of the game by the captain of the BVI Rugby team.  He's a fixture of Friday nights at the pub.

The match was as physical as we expected.  Two men were taken away on stretchers, put in ambulances bound for the hospital.  Here's a quick video - it also includes the final score if you're wondering who won the match...oh, and the BVI team is in green and white.



These two teams have a long history. They started playing years ago, when Royal Navy engineers came to the BVI to aid in the building of the original airport.

Charles has been here for all of the matches over the years, on the sidelines with video camera in hand.


After the match, Charles replays the match at Pusser's Pub in Road Town. It was wall-to-wall Rugby players and other servicemen and women on Tuesday night.  You just have to see this video, as the teams were recognized for their effort in the traditional way.



Charles introduced us to the CO of the ship, Rex Cox, seen here with Charles...


We had an absolute blast!  We stayed out way too late, but even as an observer, it was truly an enjoyable night.  Here are a few other photos from the match...



Cheers!

As much as we tried to avoid it, we couldn't...the not-so-elusive Chicken Truck was serving up its hot, delicious goodness in styrofoam and we by the end of Friday night were there to partake! 

The beginning of the night was much more sophisticated, to give ourselves some credit.

Our first stop was the The Dove.  We enjoyed some really yummy braised beef croquettes and an English cheese board.  It was a lovely night, with warm temperatures, but not too warm!  We sat outside, under this mango tree actually.  (This photo was taken during our last visit.)

We then headed over to the Road Town Pub, where Charles and Joanna were gathered with friends.  We had another great time!  I had the pleasure of meeting Mort Schrader who Michael had been with during the day.  Mort is a gem.  He is the son of the legendary garment manufacturer, Abe Schrader.  Mort is a wonderful friend of Charles and Joanna.  He was a fan of Michael's red pants.  (He has some new VV ones that are pretty bright!  Sorry, I didn't get a picture!) 

Here is a photo, however, from our last stop of the evening:

Gotta love the Chicken Truck!  (And why I feel the need to capitalize it is beyond me.  It must be an excessive capitalization phase...I've been know to have them, along with the excessive exclamation point phase.  Let's just hope they don't happen at the same time!)  What Would That Be Like?!?!?!

We had another Friday night to remember at Pusser's Road Town Pub.  Milly was sad she couldn't come with...look at that face!!!
We stopped at Capriccio's for dinner.  They are known for their yummy Italian fare.  (Incredibly, reasonably priced too!)  Petso crostini, two bowls of pasta, a bottle of Prosecco and we were ready to take on the pub!  Cheers!
Our new friends from Ireland, Gerry and his fiancee, Felicity joined us.  We had met them the previous Thursday at Pusser's East.  A few cocktails consumed and "war stories" about moving to Tortola shared and we were fast friends!  That's Gerry on the left.  Charles gets an absolute kick out of him!!!

And Dad, Gerry couldn't believe that you were a fan of Smithwick's and that you could find it in the states!

We had a great time together!  Next time I will be sure to get a photo of Felicity.  We are going to grab a coffee one morning next week.  Fun fun!

Oh, and what could only be compared to a late night visit to Waffle House or midnight delivery from Domino's - we hit up the Chicken Truck on our way home.   

I'll get to the sand bucket momentarily, but I must tell you about the wonderful dinner party we attended on Friday night.  At the top of our hill live the most lovely couple, Peter and Denise.  Last Friday they invited us to their house for dinner.  We weren't sure who else was going to be there, but we were very excited to see them again and possibly make some new friends!

Their house is just gorgeous.  Here is a commercial photo of their terrace, taken for the BVI Property Guide.  A feature article about the craftsman, Mike Master, who buit the metal railing is in this month's issue.  It's amazing to me that we have the same view as Peter and Denise, albeit their's is much more stunning because they're near the top of the hill. 

We had a wonderful time!  There were three other couples, so 12 in all when you count Peter and Denise's mothers who are visiting from Europe. 

As for dinner, it was divine.  We had a wonderful salad with endives, asparagus, mushrooms, and sugar snap peas topped with a creamy balsamic vinagrette.  Denise prepared Chilean Sea Bass for the main course, with a rich white cream sauce.  It was to die for!  She served white and brown rice along with spinach. Oh, and for dessert!  AJ, one of Denise's friends had made the most beautiful chocolate torte covered in raspberries and caramel.  Countless bottles of champagne and wine were consumed.  It was a lovely evening!

Afterwards, we headed to the pub - Pusser's Road Town.  We've been on the island for three of these legendary Friday nights now and couldn't miss it!  This is where the sand bucket comes in...

This is a new drink that Charles {aka Charlie T} is working on and as you can see, it's served in a 22 ounce sand bucket, complete with plastic shovel. 
That's Pier on the right - he is a consultant for Pusser's. He's also in a band called The Edge. Pier and Adam are going to form another musical act, and if we can find Michael a drum set it may just be a trio. The drink was so large, we could hardly finish it!  I'm not sure when these will be available for sale, so let's just say Charlie T's Sand Bucket is coming soon!
Hard to believe we went from drinking Veuve Clicquot to this all in the same night!  But that's what makes this place so fantastic.  Cheers!

We had another great Friday night at Pusser's Road Town Pub. 


On tap for the weekend?  A day at the pool at Nanny Cay and possibly a visit to Smuggler's Cove.

For years, the owner of Pusser's, Charles Tobias, has been posting up at the Road Town Pub on Friday nights.  There are several Pusser's restaurants and bars in the B.V.I. but this one is considered the flagship.

Michael and I were looking forward to this event all week - we were ready to blow off some steam that's for sure!

We arrived around seven o'clock and Charles was already in full force, making friends with the tourists.  He gave this crew from Annapolis two bottles of Pusser's rum as a thank you for their patronage. 

A fun time was had by all...not sure what we'll do this coming Friday since it's Christmas.  I think the plan might include taking the family to Marina Cay.  Marina Cay is an 8-acre island that Pusser's owns.  It's where the famous red telephone booth is, pictured above.  Have you tried to make a Naked Lorna yet?