Crabs

Sorry it is so grainy, but they are skittish... Get just a little too close and they scamper to their holes.

Not sure if it was because of a brief shower, but there were a hundred of these guys in the ditch besides where I walk every day...

Several different colors, about as big as your fist... Had to use my zoom to it's ultimate, and they were hiding in the shade (explains the grainy photo).

Sunrise from my deck

Every Morning

ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH St Thomas... It's no Chanute

Shawn, if you double click this picture, the magic of the internet will make the photo bigger, where you will see that they are holding a parking spot for a new priest.

ST Patrick's Day Parade in St John

St John is  another of the US Virgin Islands (there are three main islands, St Thomas (where we live), St Croix and the beautiful island of St John).  To get there, you hop a convenient ferry ride ($6 each way, leaves on the hour).

We knew something was up when we spied these two in line... Either the tackiest tourists I have ever seen (possible) or something was going on once we reached the island (hopefully).

And what was happening was the shortest St Patty's day parade I have ever witnessed... No, that's not right, per capita, ST John's St Patrick's Day Parade dwarfs the minor little parade in New York.  There are 4,000 residents in St John.  There were 4 "flouts" in the St John Parade.  1 flout  per 1,000 people.  If New York, population 8,363,000 plus, did that; there would be over eight thousand floats.  I have seen NYC's parade.  While entertaining, it does not feature 8,000 floats.  Do the math, ST John has more Irish spirit than NYC.

There was an Irish Queen...

A fleet of old car...

And pretty girls in bikini costumes (the middle age majorettes ...(middle age if you live to 140, but I digress))

And they tossed freebies to the crowd... I got a Tee shirt and a Heineken Beer!

And after 5 minutes, we went to the beach...

NYC's parade is OK... But all in all, I would rather be in St John!

Snorkeling in St John - More pretty fishies

Jackie had the day off (finally).  So we hopped the ferry for the short ride to St John (another of the US Virgin Islands).

After the scenic ferry trip, we grabbed a cab and headed to TRUNK BAY.  Along the way, our cab driver pulled to the side of an overlook for a great photo opportunity.  Trunk Bay is listed among the top ten beaches in the world, for a reason... Beautiful white sand, convenient facilities (showers, restrooms, changing rooms, bar.snack shop and convenient gift shop).  If you do not own, or don't want to carry your own set of fins and snorkel/mask, there is even a rental booth for these items.

The beach lives up to the hype in every way.  Beautiful clear blue water, white sands and a little off shore island providing a swim around challenge.  All around the island are bits of coral and rocks great for fish sighting...

Here's Jackie!

And here is the biggest shark i have ever swam with... About 5 feet long.  he is just a "Nurse Shark", not dangerous at all.  But very exciting!

And when we finally lifted our heads, this fellow was only 5 feet away from us.

Trunk Bay is a world class beach, lots to see and do (or a great place to do nothing).  Convenient to get to and picture perfect in every way.  And if you are really good, you can swim and keep your Cuban cigar lit.

And if you have more energy than brains, you can dig a hole big enough that you can't see any of the scenery

Be sure to save enough energy for a night out when you get back!

Not Many Virgin Island Natives have seen One of These!!!

Quote from the VINOW.COM website...

"Deer

There is a small deer population in the Virgin Islands. The white tailed deer was brought to the islands by colonist in the late 1700's for hunting purposes. They are a shy, solitary animal. Occasionally they are sighted in the National Park on St. John, in densely forested areas of St. Croix and on the East End of St. Thomas."

Sure enough, I went walking around the furthest point east on the island, and there he was.

FERAL CATS - Our Neighborhood Friends

I have already done a post on the omnipresent Iguanas, and the incredible number of Roosters and Chickens on the island.

Jackie and I were both surprised to find no Chickens (and thank god, no Roosters) and after nearly a week, I have only seen one Iguana around our new condo.

Possibly because of the large numbers of outdoor cats that hang around here.

We have seen at least 10 different ones.  Jackie and I are working on naming them now... will keep you informed.

We also agreed that missing our two cats is the only bad thing about our adventure so far.