Thursday, July 15, 2010

summer days




I could begin this entry with all kinds of reasons why I have neglected my writing duties - a demanding business , even more demanding children, and a hectic schedule lying in the sun and working on my tan (oh wait a moment. that was the wishful me...) A couple of recent conversations with dear friends in western areas reminded me that the blog was set up to ensure we keep in contact with our friends and they stay in contact with us!

Enough of the pathetic preamble and onto a bit more substance. I am sitting in the living room listening to some great music on our newly set-up stereo system. Mark is beside me surfing the internet (looking for boats and a crane truck - yes interesting combination but for very separate personal and business applications ).

We have seen some of the heaviest rains in the past few days since we have lived here. Huge downpour, winds and flooding in many parts. I was feeling very happy to be driving my Toyota FJ Cruiser today in four wheel drive passing much smaller vehicles unable to pass through the water. All this rain also brings mosquitoes by the truck load (as I sit here with my electric swat at very close hand) and an increasing number of cases of dengue fever. The boys are now committed to their netting tents at night to avoid the nasty little blood suckers.

Summer is hurricane season and a very busy time for us. We have a team of 11 people right now - all working hard to keep up with the demand. It has been a consistently steady year so far introducing new opportunities and people to our business. Solar power has been a new part of our service offering by becoming an installer for solar thermal hot water heaters. Additionally we are an authorized dealer for a company distributing UPS systems.

The weeks fly by - so much that is accomplished and yet so much seems to be waiting to be done. And while we have come to understand many of the finer points of working and doing business in the USVI - there is always something new to hit us when we least expect it.

And as much as the business environment can change - so can our social landscape.

We have just said good-bye to some very good friends, Frank and Annette, who were one of the first people we met when we arrived in this crazy place. Mark and I were doing race committee for the Rolex Regatta when we met this Californian couple who were dividing their time between the tropics of St Thomas and the jungles of LA. Deciding that they were going to try new adventures, they have sold their home here and have said good-bye to the Caribbean. We had a fun last week with them staying with us which included great dinners, a farewell party, and watching the final World Cup game while eating enough nachos to keep a Mexican family fed for a week. We will miss them.


The sad thing is - our other very good friends - two families in fact - are leaving island soon to pursue business and employment elsewhere. It is feeling like a bit of a mass exodus this month.

And here it is, summer. The island is quieter in many ways with less cruise ships and passengers as well as the many locals who take a break from the island. While Mark and I slave away in our Caribbean headquarters, our two little beach bums have been homing their sailing skills at a sailing camp at the St Thomas Yacht Club. Julian, age 8 1/2 is shaping up to be a very good little sailor. He participated in his first big regatta in early June, the Scotibank International Opti Regatta which welcomed close to 100 sailors age 6-15 from the US, Canada and many islands in the Caribbean. I did race committee for Julian's fleet and it was a really wonderful experience watching Julian perform with these other more experienced kids.

Max, who is not yet 5 years old is the typical second child who is doing everything to keep right up to his older brother including sailing the Opti all by himself. We had both boys out sailing a couple of weekends ago. We rigged up two optis and Max would not let me sail with him. No way. In fact, it took all my negotiation skills to persuade him that Julian should go but wouldn't steer. Mark and I were sailing in a sunfish and sailed off in one direction for a short period keeping a close eye on the intrepid sea dogs. Moments later, Max was sailing by himself and had persuaded Julian to jump out of the boat and into the water. Brotherly love. There was a fair bit of musical boats going on that day and it was great fun (despite the huge bruises on my legs).

Looking back at the last few months, there are probably many great stories. Our visit back to the west coast at Christmas is a very distant memory and still quite a blur considering the short time we were there.

In January, I went to Miami and ran the Miami Half Marathon for a second try - (without sister Alex this time). It is a great race despite the 15,000+ people - and a nice (flat)and scenic course to run.


In March, Alex and our nephew Nicholas visited us and we had many great adventures together. The three boys had so much fun that they cried the morning their cousin left and Max asked after them for weeks afterward. We went to St John a couple of times, snorkeled, explored, sailed and had an exceptional trip taking a boat to the Baths in the BVI.







In May, we took a weekend trip to St. Croix for exploration (and a little business). We did all the touristy things including an ATV tour through the rainforest and trails that took us to old sugar mills. It was a riot! Having said that, I was a little nervous with little Max sitting behind me. I had to turn around and check he was still with me when we hit the big pot holes and bumps. The architecture is very pretty on St Croix and there is a great old fortress and other interesting pieces of historical architecture that mark the period of Danish rule.



More recently, we went to Florida where we visited Miami, Ft Lauderdale and Orlando. The trip was a perfect change from our island life allowing us some time to explore, shop, eat out and even visit the wonderfully exhausting world of Disney. We visited a very fun Children's Science Museum in Miami where the boys controlled their own little tugs boats, loaded cargo with cranes, and drove a fire truck. It was great fun. Unfortunately - Spirit Airlines decided to go on strike the day we were to fly home and we had to pay very full price tickets to fly back with American. The only good thing that came out of it was a really nice relaxing extra day by the hotel pool (which somewhat helped me recover from the shock of having to pay a few thousand dollar to get home.) Another mojito to calm the nerves please.

That is all for now with more stories soon.