Saturday, February 7, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
weekend update
I have managed to wrestle the laptop away from Charlotte for a few moments....
Mark
I checked the electronic thermometer in the kitchen at about 6:30 this evening. A lovely 29C. Do we miss January in Vancouver? Did you really need to ask?
Julian had a soccer scrimage this morning then his sailing lesson. After sailing Max and Julian and I returned to the house for a swim in the pool before lunch. A busy morning. Julian is progressing well with his sailing and last week after his lesson took Max out for a sail in the Optimist for about 10 minutes.
My parents who were here for 10 days left a week ago. They enjoyed hiking in the National Park on St John - and took Julian for a hike there the day before they left. Tomorrow we plan to go to St John and have Julian guide us along the trails.
When Charlotte was away in Miami for her run last week I had a friend's daughter look after the boys ad I got out for a local long distance race on a Farr 40. The fleet, such as it was, consisted of 2 Farr 40s, a C&C 37R, 2 J27s a J24 and 3 IC24s. It really is lovely sailing here. I have yet to need foul weather gear, in fact the odd bit of spray is welcomed as it helps to cool you down. Just like Vancouver in January...
As for the business - we have been busy installing a number of generators sold late last year. Service work is up, but new sales seem little slower this month. Hard to tell if it just January - which is usually quite slow - or whether it is the greater global economic malaise. Expectatations are for business to pick up as we head into Hurricane season in June. Time will tell, but fingers crossed we should be fine. We have heard that some of the local tourist oriented businesses - jewelery stores etc are down as much as 20%. Apparently our little island in the middle of nowhere is linked to the global economy!
Julian had a soccer scrimage this morning then his sailing lesson. After sailing Max and Julian and I returned to the house for a swim in the pool before lunch. A busy morning. Julian is progressing well with his sailing and last week after his lesson took Max out for a sail in the Optimist for about 10 minutes.
My parents who were here for 10 days left a week ago. They enjoyed hiking in the National Park on St John - and took Julian for a hike there the day before they left. Tomorrow we plan to go to St John and have Julian guide us along the trails.
When Charlotte was away in Miami for her run last week I had a friend's daughter look after the boys ad I got out for a local long distance race on a Farr 40. The fleet, such as it was, consisted of 2 Farr 40s, a C&C 37R, 2 J27s a J24 and 3 IC24s. It really is lovely sailing here. I have yet to need foul weather gear, in fact the odd bit of spray is welcomed as it helps to cool you down. Just like Vancouver in January...
As for the business - we have been busy installing a number of generators sold late last year. Service work is up, but new sales seem little slower this month. Hard to tell if it just January - which is usually quite slow - or whether it is the greater global economic malaise. Expectatations are for business to pick up as we head into Hurricane season in June. Time will tell, but fingers crossed we should be fine. We have heard that some of the local tourist oriented businesses - jewelery stores etc are down as much as 20%. Apparently our little island in the middle of nowhere is linked to the global economy!
Mark
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
run in the sun
A few months ago, my sister suggested a "girl's trip" for the two of us. We decided that we'd make it a marathon destination and started researching the options. I had no idea there were so many popular events - and the whole marathon destination concept appears to have really blossomed. After considering dates, events and flights - we chose our city. Alex ended up with the slightly shorter stick with our choice of Miami - a mere 3 hour flight for me and a considerably longer one for her with a three hour time difference.
Being relatively new to running compared to many people I know - including my marathon running sister - I was very excited about this event. And working toward an event like this did require some discipline and training - which is slightly more challenging on the 13 mile long and very hilly island of St. Thomas. Most mornings found me running the Charlotte Amalie waterfront - a very "ground hog day" experience - passing many of the same police officers directing traffic, local tourist guides and people heading off to work. My longer runs over 10 miles provided me with route challenges looking for slightly flatter terrain and some semblance of a sidewalk or shoulder. As a result - I would also have to run a route a couple of times - adding to my already "spot the crazy running white girl" notoriety. Ah.. those nutty Canadians...
Alex and I arrived late Thursday January 22 - staying at a hotel close to the race start line. We had a couple of days to enjoy Miami before the race without too much walking and very early nights. The morning of the race - we got up at 4:15 and made our way to the Biscayne Boulevard where 15,000 other people were looking far too energetic. All I could think was - how long was the queue for the women's restroom?
After standing around for about 15 minutes waiting for the start, we were off...very slowly. The route immediately took us over our first bridge - the MacArthur Causeway which was immediately opposite where all the brightly lit cruise ships were tied up. It was pretty spectacular. At one point on this bridge, we ran by some music speakers playing the "Love Boat" theme music.
The route took us over to South Beach - up the coast - then back across a series of smaller bridges and through downtown. There were people cheering, a few school bands, crazy costumes and all kinds of hilarious signs - of which my favourite was "Run Like You Have Stolen Something" - which had me laughing so hard my stomach started to hurt. Note to self - no laughing when you run.
As I approached mile 12 - the course separated the slightly wimpier half marathon runners from the hard-core marathoners. I was feeling great but couldn't even begin to fathom this was the half way point for Alex.
I finished the race under two hours, smiling and excited. It's a funny thing - both watching a race and being involved. Over the years, I have been out to cheer Alex on as she endured long miles and certain physical pains. There is an emotional component to being involved - whether it's from the sideline or crossing it. And watching Alex finish her third marathon - well under 4 hours and her personal best - was not only exciting but had me screaming from the stands with tears running down my face.
So - needless to say, we are already planning our next running trip. So far it looks like I will be the one flying much further west - and in the meantime, I will be the token "running girl' in St. Thomas.
Being relatively new to running compared to many people I know - including my marathon running sister - I was very excited about this event. And working toward an event like this did require some discipline and training - which is slightly more challenging on the 13 mile long and very hilly island of St. Thomas. Most mornings found me running the Charlotte Amalie waterfront - a very "ground hog day" experience - passing many of the same police officers directing traffic, local tourist guides and people heading off to work. My longer runs over 10 miles provided me with route challenges looking for slightly flatter terrain and some semblance of a sidewalk or shoulder. As a result - I would also have to run a route a couple of times - adding to my already "spot the crazy running white girl" notoriety. Ah.. those nutty Canadians...
Alex and I arrived late Thursday January 22 - staying at a hotel close to the race start line. We had a couple of days to enjoy Miami before the race without too much walking and very early nights. The morning of the race - we got up at 4:15 and made our way to the Biscayne Boulevard where 15,000 other people were looking far too energetic. All I could think was - how long was the queue for the women's restroom?
After standing around for about 15 minutes waiting for the start, we were off...very slowly. The route immediately took us over our first bridge - the MacArthur Causeway which was immediately opposite where all the brightly lit cruise ships were tied up. It was pretty spectacular. At one point on this bridge, we ran by some music speakers playing the "Love Boat" theme music.
The route took us over to South Beach - up the coast - then back across a series of smaller bridges and through downtown. There were people cheering, a few school bands, crazy costumes and all kinds of hilarious signs - of which my favourite was "Run Like You Have Stolen Something" - which had me laughing so hard my stomach started to hurt. Note to self - no laughing when you run.
As I approached mile 12 - the course separated the slightly wimpier half marathon runners from the hard-core marathoners. I was feeling great but couldn't even begin to fathom this was the half way point for Alex.
I finished the race under two hours, smiling and excited. It's a funny thing - both watching a race and being involved. Over the years, I have been out to cheer Alex on as she endured long miles and certain physical pains. There is an emotional component to being involved - whether it's from the sideline or crossing it. And watching Alex finish her third marathon - well under 4 hours and her personal best - was not only exciting but had me screaming from the stands with tears running down my face.
So - needless to say, we are already planning our next running trip. So far it looks like I will be the one flying much further west - and in the meantime, I will be the token "running girl' in St. Thomas.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
winter in the caribbean
I just celebrated my one year anniversary of life in the US Virgin Islands. This time last year, I arrived with Julian to this house - almost completely empty - and started the process of setting up our new life. And for me, the first couple of months had some challenging moments: from trying to get bank acounts and telephone accounts set up - without a social security number - to simply making my way around an island that has neither addresses nor maps ("turn left at the Smith's house then right at the yellow building to the house with the white gate.").
Julian is a fabulous little companion who consistently reminds me there are different ways to look at things. No furniture in the house? What a cool place to play ball without Mum yelling at me. And if I think back to those first couple of months from his perspective - he is a pretty resilient boy. Poor kid - new school, new (empty) house, no Dad and brother for a couple of months, and a lot of mosquitoe bites.
Of course, the high point was being reunited as a family and despite the fact that Max just about disowned me for taking off for so long - there was nothing nicer than all of us finally moving here together. And then as a family, we started new schools, started in a new business, unpacked our boxes into a new house and bought a few mosquitoe "fryers" to save the few patches of skin that were still untouched.
One year later - we are starting to feel like locals. Remember - this is a small island with minimal number of main roads - so the chances are pretty good you will drive by most everyone you know at some point during the week. And I have to laugh when I walk into our local grocery store and am greeted by "Where are Max and Julian?". Sometimes I leave the same grocery store ready to scream when I discover there is no milk and next to no fresh produce. But with a few months of shopping in St. Thomas under my belt, I now know to avoid certain stores on certain days and stock up on a few frozen things just in case all else fails.
Living in a smaller community - there has been a warm welcoming as new residents to the island. We have got to know people through the schools, sailing and work - all of whom have kept us busy with dinners, playdates and time on the water.
Business wise - we have a mere nine months under our belt. We have learned a lot - but there is still much more to absorb and translate into our own business practices. It also takes so time getting to know people and letting them get to know you. With a team of 14 - we have made a few changes and also spent some time getting to know who can do what. It's a good group - but things do work differently here and I have to remind myself - it's not the same as Vancouver. And what this means is we have been learning to be more patient with some things. I'm not saying I have become more patient - but I am learning. Mark on the other hand has amazed me with his self restraint in the crazy St. Thomas traffic.
We have been getting back to school and work this week after a few days off and a LONG school vaction break. Mark's parents are now visiting with us for a couple of weeks. It's fun to play tourist when we have visitors - as there is still a lot we have not seen. Hard to believe on an island that is 13 miles long. St. Thomas may be small but it's diverse and has a lot going on.
Julian is a fabulous little companion who consistently reminds me there are different ways to look at things. No furniture in the house? What a cool place to play ball without Mum yelling at me. And if I think back to those first couple of months from his perspective - he is a pretty resilient boy. Poor kid - new school, new (empty) house, no Dad and brother for a couple of months, and a lot of mosquitoe bites.
Of course, the high point was being reunited as a family and despite the fact that Max just about disowned me for taking off for so long - there was nothing nicer than all of us finally moving here together. And then as a family, we started new schools, started in a new business, unpacked our boxes into a new house and bought a few mosquitoe "fryers" to save the few patches of skin that were still untouched.
One year later - we are starting to feel like locals. Remember - this is a small island with minimal number of main roads - so the chances are pretty good you will drive by most everyone you know at some point during the week. And I have to laugh when I walk into our local grocery store and am greeted by "Where are Max and Julian?". Sometimes I leave the same grocery store ready to scream when I discover there is no milk and next to no fresh produce. But with a few months of shopping in St. Thomas under my belt, I now know to avoid certain stores on certain days and stock up on a few frozen things just in case all else fails.
Living in a smaller community - there has been a warm welcoming as new residents to the island. We have got to know people through the schools, sailing and work - all of whom have kept us busy with dinners, playdates and time on the water.
Business wise - we have a mere nine months under our belt. We have learned a lot - but there is still much more to absorb and translate into our own business practices. It also takes so time getting to know people and letting them get to know you. With a team of 14 - we have made a few changes and also spent some time getting to know who can do what. It's a good group - but things do work differently here and I have to remind myself - it's not the same as Vancouver. And what this means is we have been learning to be more patient with some things. I'm not saying I have become more patient - but I am learning. Mark on the other hand has amazed me with his self restraint in the crazy St. Thomas traffic.
We have been getting back to school and work this week after a few days off and a LONG school vaction break. Mark's parents are now visiting with us for a couple of weeks. It's fun to play tourist when we have visitors - as there is still a lot we have not seen. Hard to believe on an island that is 13 miles long. St. Thomas may be small but it's diverse and has a lot going on.
So onward and upward to year two and see where that takes us in our adventure. And if it's anything like the first year, I can hardly wait.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas in St. Thomas
Season's Greetings to our friends and family.I write this entry taking a quick break from "assisting" Julian with building his gift from Santa. A nice gift - but did Santa seriously realize there are some 700 pieces to assemble this Lego Mars Mission set? Oh well - a fun thing to do together...or watch Mark do.
The Christmas season has not been without its excitement and busy schedule in St. Thomas. Starting off with school Christmas concerts and ending with a New Year's Day Party - we have had a packed calendar.
Just before all this craziness started, we were very happy to welcome our friends the Ellsay family to St. Thomas. Chris, Christine and their three children Andrea, Ryan and Cari (ages 4,6, and 8) are sailing around the world on a 42-foot catamaran. This adventurous family left Parry Sound, Ontario in June and made their way through Georgian Bay and the lakes of Ontario to New York and then headed south. Having completed the Caribbean 1500 cruising rally which began in Hampton, Virginia and ended in Tortola they met up with us. With our children all being close in ages - the pack of five got on like a house on fire. We had a few evenings with them including one at our house where we all decorated our Christmas tree and then another - far more eciting from our perspective - visiting their boat and eating freshly caught mahi. This boat seems far bigger than the average 42-footer. And at one point there were 10 adults and eight young children on board - and it still felt spacious. The Ellsays left a week before Christmas heading east to other islands with the hopes of being in St. Martin by Christmas.
On December 19th - Santa flew into the St. Thomas Yacht Club for a visit with all the children. It was a fun evening and always fun to watch the children sitting patiently waiting to have their name called to sit with Santa and receive a gift. Despite previous years experiences, Max marched up confidently to Santa and sat on his lap.
Christmas Eve was dinner at our house with friends. We sat outside and drank champagne before dinner and then it got a little too windy to stay out there. Christmas Day was fun and relaxing and then we spent the evening with our friends and neighbours for dinner.
A few more days to play then back to work on Monday. The boys are off school until January 8th and then Mark's parents will make their way to visit us for a couple of weeks.
Happy New Year.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
December
I have spent the last few weeks ignoring the early warning signs of Christmas by swiftly changing the radio station when anything resembling a Christmas carol is being played and ignoring any Christmas displays in the stores. I did, however, have a good laugh at the inflatable snowman displayed outside our local Home Depot, partly deflated and looking like he was melting in the heat. Some things really don’t translate well across borders.
For obvious reasons, it hasn’t felt like December. The month of November went by very quickly with my parents visiting St. Thomas. They arrived November 1st after a five week cruise that took them down the west coast, through the Panama Canal, up the Amazon and through the Caribbean. Quite the adventure. Needless to say, there was a sharp contract from their highly catered trip with chocolates on their pillows each night to visiting with us. They may have found offerings on their pillows left by little lizards – but believe me, they weren’t chocolates. Mum and Dad’s visit resulted in beach trips, visits to the yacht club and ferry trips to St. John. Julian and Max truly enjoyed all the extra attention and had two additional people to wake up each morning.
In addition to having a busy family visit, November was steady with work, school and sailing. And now it’s the week before Christmas.
Of course, with procrastination, there are consequences. The Christmas season has hit us like a hurricane. One friend warned me a few weeks ago, “When the Christmas trees arrive, you have to go right away or they’ll all be gone.” And she wasn’t kidding. Fortunately our local Cost-U-Less was also selling something that resembled a freshly cut Christmas tree, tied up so tightly there was no knowing what was hiding within the branches – the few branches there were. Charlie Brown would be proud. The tree is happily displayed in our living room with all of our decorations carefully shipped from Vancouver. It’s a weird and new concept to have your tree in a room where the breeze blows the branches and decorations.
And then there is the work assisting Santa’s big day. All I can say is I am a new fan of on-line shopping. Who knew it was so easy and that shipping would be so fast? The best part is I didn't have to set foot into a single shop and battle crowds. The line-ups at the post office are another story but I am learning to go with my phone, a book and other things to do while I wait.
This week Julian has a Holiday Breakfast and concert hosted by his class and Max’s class has another event finishing up the week and term. On Friday night we are heading down to the Yacht Club for a family dinner as rumour has it Santa is dropping into the club for a quick visit. Santa apparently quite likes St. Thomas as there have been multiple sightings over the past couple of weeks. Julian went to one event attended by all schools on the island and reported to us that evening that “Santa didn’t have a beard and he looked different.” Oh I wish I had been there to see that. However, all the children of the island came back from this event hosted by the Governor of the island with a lovely book and stories about talking to Santa.
The weather has cooled and the winds have picked up. I have quite a few more stories and photos to post but want to get this posted quickly first as our laptop has finally returned. More later.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
hurricane? what hurricane?
This weekend has been simply beautiful weather. In fact I just got back from sailing for over two hours in Cowpet Bay. Great breeze. I have been talked into sailing in a women's regatta in a couple of weeks and am trying to get in some practice sails. Believe me - there are not enough days for me to prepare for this event as I have done NO small boat sailing - let alone racing in over 20 years. Dark glasses, hat - maybe I'll go unnoticed.
And while you may think I should have had my fill of "breeze" - it still amazes me that not only did we go through a hurricane - but how the weather can change so quickly and dramatically.
Fortunately - Omar did not hit us that hard and moved through very quickly. The two hurricances that did really hit this island hard - Marilyn (1995) and Hugo (1989 )- were not only strong hurricanes - but they sat on the island for a long while, severly clobbering buildings, infrastructure - everything. The memories and experiences from these storms are still very vivid. We frequently hear different renditions of how residents survived the storm. The good news is the island is incredibly organized in its preparation of an oncoming storm.
St. Croix was hit quite hard this week. Much of the island was without power and several boats sunk, docks were lost and there was damage to many homes. Clean up and repairs are well underway.
After weathering the storm at our neighbours home - we returned to our house finding everything in place. No leaks, drips or anything broken. We still had a lot of clean up and getting everything back in place. Shutters to open and everything back out that we had warpped and put away in heavy black plastic bags. But it was all there!
The rest of the week was fairly busy playing catch up at work. I am anticipating some new interest in generators and even running some advertisments next week for some machines we have in stock - Hurricane Omar Generator Blowout.
Last night Mark and I went out for dinner with our friends John and Tara to St. John. We jumped on the ferry and took a taxi to a little restaurant that overlooked the islands. It was actually a fun adventure as well a good meal.
Back to work and school tomorrow.
Did I also mention we had an earthhquake last week that measured 6.8? We were outside on the deck when it happened and our concrete house barely moved but the metal roof made quite the racket.
Hopefully that is our quota for potential natural disasters.
Thank you everyone for all your kind (and frequently comical notes) to us. We love hearing from you.
And while you may think I should have had my fill of "breeze" - it still amazes me that not only did we go through a hurricane - but how the weather can change so quickly and dramatically.
Fortunately - Omar did not hit us that hard and moved through very quickly. The two hurricances that did really hit this island hard - Marilyn (1995) and Hugo (1989 )- were not only strong hurricanes - but they sat on the island for a long while, severly clobbering buildings, infrastructure - everything. The memories and experiences from these storms are still very vivid. We frequently hear different renditions of how residents survived the storm. The good news is the island is incredibly organized in its preparation of an oncoming storm.
St. Croix was hit quite hard this week. Much of the island was without power and several boats sunk, docks were lost and there was damage to many homes. Clean up and repairs are well underway.
After weathering the storm at our neighbours home - we returned to our house finding everything in place. No leaks, drips or anything broken. We still had a lot of clean up and getting everything back in place. Shutters to open and everything back out that we had warpped and put away in heavy black plastic bags. But it was all there!
The rest of the week was fairly busy playing catch up at work. I am anticipating some new interest in generators and even running some advertisments next week for some machines we have in stock - Hurricane Omar Generator Blowout.
Last night Mark and I went out for dinner with our friends John and Tara to St. John. We jumped on the ferry and took a taxi to a little restaurant that overlooked the islands. It was actually a fun adventure as well a good meal.
Back to work and school tomorrow.
Did I also mention we had an earthhquake last week that measured 6.8? We were outside on the deck when it happened and our concrete house barely moved but the metal roof made quite the racket.
Hopefully that is our quota for potential natural disasters.
Thank you everyone for all your kind (and frequently comical notes) to us. We love hearing from you.
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