wild things

At some very early hour this morning after the chickens and Julian decided it was time to rise, I took my cup of coffee outside to conduct a quick survey of the landscape.

The weather was lovely - sunny and windy. The ferry to St. John was leaving the dock. And a small creature with long legs was lying under the chaise. A very dead and sticky frog. I was - however - very pleased it wasn't floating in the pool. We've actually seen quite a few frogs - including one that Dad had discovered in his bedroom before he left.

After a quick breakfast, Julian and I decided to explore Coral World - an ocean park and attraction on St. Thomas. We were the first car in the parking lot (thanks to the chickens) and had the run of the park for much of the morning. We watched a scuba diver feed some hungry fish. There was a pool of baby sharks that you could pet following their feeding time - apparently a "hands-on" experience. Julian wanting to avoid any "hands-off" experiences showed absolutely no interest in putting anything in the pool. A stingray pool also offered a similar poke-the-fish experience. There were sea turtles being fed (romaine lettuce)and many interesting tropical fish and birds.

In addition to the official animals in the park, there were quite a few stragglers. A very large pelican was loitering, waiting for feeding times. I actually watched one less than brilliant visitor intentionally approach the Pelican to have a photo taken - and came very close to becoming human shish-ka-bob. Iguanas were also soaking up the rays along paths in the park.

Coral World is on Coki Beach located on the northeast corner of the island. With some very clear water, white sand and an extensive reef - it's a popular beach that promises great snorkeling or diving. After our tour of the park, we went down to the beach. And because we had enjoyed an earlier start, the taxi-loads of cruise ship passengers were arriving just as we decided our sandcastle construction was complete and that we needed some lunch. Not a moment too soon.

Yesterday Julian was invited to his first Caribbean birthday party. One of the girls in his class lives around the corner from us and was having a pool party. And with Julian's birthday in a few weeks, I am imagining a similar event at our new place. Despite the close proximity, I was once again faced with having to find a location with no real address. I realize now how much I had relied on mapquest and yahoo maps to get me around in Vancouver. However, after a quick call and further directions - we arrived at a lovely house (clearly marked with balloons) that literally had children spilling out of the swimming pool.

Julian had a great time - confidently jumping into deep water and doggy paddling to the side. Of course, I was only half-listening to conversations as I was watching Julian struggle to the edge of the pool with his very newly acquired swimming skills. It was an interesting group of people - from several true St. Thomasians born on the island, to some other recent transplants. One family from Argentina arrived eight months ago - no english - and the twin girls attending school were already speaking english fluently.

It was a fun afternoon and just about the right amount of time to spend with that number of children fully-loaded on sweets.

Wild things exist in many places and come in all shapes and sizes.