Happy Mother's Day!

Hi Mom! Happy Mother's day! I love you!
Hopefully the presents will get to you by the time you come visit...

Well, I have had a relatively uneventful weekend. Friday night was a lot of fun, we all went to Caribbean Saloon where I saw tons of people I know and we had the most fun I have ever had at that bar. We watched the Red Sox LOSE, :( we danced, we sang Bon Jovi songs, we consumed massive quantities of beer, and this bartender (name withheld to protect the insane) decided he wanted to be my boyfriend. WHAT? He is very persistent, so I have spent my weekend running away. Actually I was just really tired last night so I didn't go out to watch his band play like I said I would, I feel bad but I just couldn't get my 3rd wind. He's a really nice guy and he pleads a good case, so you never know. He said to me, "Lets just try it out, lets date, you never know what could happen." I replied, "I am crazy and I will ruin your life." he said, "Thats a chance I'm willing to take." How bout that? I just don't know if dating the Bartender at a bar I frequent is such a good idea.....:)

I was just reading Maria's blog and thought I would showcase my surrogate kitty too! Her name is Gray Kitty, and she is the cutest kitty in the western hemisphere! She sleeps with her little wrists bent under her chest and here she has her face in her hands! It's adorable. I just wanna squeeze her.

Sunday funday! I am going to swim in the pool all afternoon!

Happy Friday!

I had a wonderful day at work today! I worked with Clement who is my boss, and we are the "A-Team". That's what he calls us because we rock the boat! Clement owns Limnos and he has the best cd collection so we jam out all day long to great tunes. Now I am getting ready to go out on the town with Jeanette and her friend Ken who is in town from NYC, and my neighbor Dwayne. It should be awesome, I just wanna watch the Red Sox game so we will probably go to Caribbean Saloon.

Guess what????

What I'm reading.

It's a novel for any ex-pat, islander, runaway, free spirit, traveller, ex-jack, ex-girlfriend, ex-boyfriend, wannabe islander, wannabe anything, and your every day person. If you've ever wondered what it's like to live in St. Thomas, or any other island, sit down and read. I am.

And you thought I was kidding...

Something I forgot...

I saw Sir Richard Branson the other day in Virgin Gorda! We were coming into the marina and I was admiring a dingy at the dock near where we tie up, only to realize that the man in the dingy was Sir Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Records who owns an island called Necker Island very close to Virgin Gorda. Well you see, I see lots of people every day that I don't actually know but we wave at each other from the dock and whatnot, we are I guess you would say. So when I see Mr. Branson I just assume because I recognize him that I know him from the marina and I wave at him and say "hi good morning how are you today?" He waves and replies "I'm well how are you?" but this guy has an english accent, as I reply to him it clicks that I don't actually know him and I realize who he is but I just continue on about my business tying up my boat. He waves good bye and speeds away. So now, basically, we are friends now. Hahaha! Just kidding... but you never know, maybe I will get an invite to Necker Island! :) Oh and I have changed my layout to a plain one till I find another one I like. I was tired of the pictures being all funky.

Personal Maintenance Day!

Something I learned through my travels is that it seems a little bit harder to get things done when you live on an island or a boat for that matter. We all work hard and its rare to get a day off on a week day for me anyway. It seems lately my days off have been on the weekend or more specifically, Sunday. It's pretty much impossible to get anything done around here on a sunday. Banks are closed, post office is closed, sometimes the stores I like to shop at are closed on sundays, so things start to pile up on my list and when I get a day off on a weekday it becomes a "run around all day like a crazy person" day. Like today for example. I woke up at 9am which is soooooooo late compared to what time I usually get up. I headed out to get things done. Walked downtown which took about 30 minutes, cashed my check at Banco Popular which takes like an hour standing in line,then I tried to do some shopping. I bought some perfume which I needed, I ran out of perfume while I was in Australia and have been too cheap to buy any more, so basically I go out smelling like deodorant which isn't so bad considering I don't think half the people here even know what that is. I bought my Mom her Birthday and Mother's day presents, (oops! spoiled the surprise! Sorry mom!) On my way to the post office I walked past this little ice cream shop and I caught a glimpse of something I had not seen in like a year... A DR. PEPPER! I went straight in and grabbed it out of the cooler, paid the nice lady and sipped my frosty delicious beverage all the way to ship Mom's presents. Stood in line at the post office for about 30 minutes, then caught a safari over to Yacht Haven where I went to Hooters for lunch, I know, but I like the buffalo strips and it was 80's day and I love 80's music and the beers were cheap. After lunch I went to the pharmacy to buy hair dye, went to the grocery store for a few things, then took a safari home. It is now 3pm. It took me 6 hours to do all that. Seems like a long time to me. Productive yes, but my legs hurt from running all over the land! Now that I am back at home it's time for personal maintenance which those of you who have ever lived on a boat know all about. When you are a busy girl like me you tend to slack off in the girly pretty polished department. The rest of the afternoon will consist of, dying my hair, plucking my eyebrows, waxing, shaving, and otherwise torturing myself in the name of beauty. You gotta do it every once in a while or you start to look like those cavemen from the Geico commercials. I have also decided to give ya'll a glimpse of my cabana. This is what I have done so far to my bathroom, I painted the wall behind the mirror but I bought those little cocktail paintings here on island. They are my first REAL art purchase! I will post pics as I finish different areas of my little house so you can see it. Gotta get back to maintenance!

Wonderful Weekend in the West Indies!

Wow! I had a great weekend! The season came to an end this week and on Friday night Meg invited me over to a pig roast at Alex's house to celebrate. It was amazing! The boys cooked the pig in a roasting box and we all ate like hogs, drank beers and had cheesecake for dessert. The next morning I slept in for a while, caught a safari over to Yacht Haven Grande and went out on Meg's boat Doubloon for the afternoon trip. I had a blast, snorkeled with sea turtles and sting rays, hung out with Dave and Alex on the boat and had a nice sail. After the trip, while Meg and the guys cleaned the boat I ran down to my house and made everyone soft tacos from the leftover mexican food I cooked the night before, ran them down to the boat and we all went over to the Rum Shack for happy hour. After that the boys and I went over to the Hull Bay Hideaway for horseshoes and a little dinner. After 2 days of good times I thought about taking it easy today and staying home but at about noon Jill hollered up the hill at me to come down to the house, Jeanette was there and wanted to go to the beach! So I threw my suit on and grabbed my backpack and off we drove! We went to Sapphire beach for a while until it started raining, as we gathered our things we looked out at St. John in the distance to see sun drenched hills and decided to hop a ferry and go to that island in the sun! We went over to St. John, did a little shopping and went to Woody's for happy hour and some munchies. We stayed for a couple of hours then caught the 6pm ferry home, on the way across the channel, Drew called and asked us to stop by Fat Boy's for a beer, so naturally we accepted the invite. It was nice to see him and about halfway through the beers Jeanette and I left to catch safari back to Charlotte Amalie where her car was parked. It was a fun filled weekend and I go back to work tomorrow! Whew!

The camera is still on vacation.

My camera is on vacation in St. John and I don't know when she is coming back, so I thought I would put up a picture from last year here in St. Thomas. While I'm at it, I need some advice on a new camera. The one I have, I found in Key West, forever ago, it has been dropped so many times its being held together by electrical tape, and the lens cover wont close so there is some sand inside it, and it doubles as a maraca. Basically it's time for a new camera. I want a waterproof one so I can snorkel with it and get some pictures at the Baths in Virgin Gorda without worrying about a rouge wave ruining my day. Anyone out there have any recommendations?

Carnival 2008

Here is a clip from last saturday, before the rain started!

Fun day off with D-Wayne!

Yesterday I had a day off so I decided to show my new buddy Dwayne around the island! He just moved here from California and had yet to see the north side of the island. So, we started our adventure at 10am by walking over to Glady's for breakfast. Chatting with Glady's about her wall of fame and enjoying a delicious brekky was a great way to kick off the day. After that we caught a cab over to Hull bay, to the Hull Bay Hideaway where we played some pool, had some cocktails, sat in hammock chairs and watched the surf roll in. Hull bay isn't the best spot for swimming because there are boats anchored everywhere and the surf was pretty big so we decided to take a ride over to Magen's bay which is one of the best beaches on the island and just so happens to have the best pizza on the north side. So we grabbed a slice, a cocktail, and set up our towels and jumped in the ocean for a swim. We spent a couple of hours frying on the beach and trading i-pods before we decided to head to the Rum Shack for happy hour. I introduced Dwayne to all my buddies there in Havensight, walked him around to Offshore bar and Capt. Mayhem's, then we took the Sky Ride up to paradise point to catch sunset and to listen to The Four Horsemen, a really awesome local band. We had a couple of Bushwackers and some munchies before calling it a day. It was a long day, and I had a really great time spending the day out and about on the island. I got really sunburned but I am taking the day off to recover and I head back to work in the morning! Back out on the caribbean sea! I am ready! I love my job!

Hello Monday night!

Wow! I'm so sorry I have been neglecting you!

I have been working my butt off! Literally. I am withering away to a stick figure version of myself. Cool. Ha! Work is great though, I get to go to the British Virgin Islands every day, lay on the beach for an hour, eat lunch on the boat for free, go snorkeling for an hour and come home. This takes all day mind you. I have to wake up at 5am to get to work and I don't get home till 7pm. So when I get home I basically eat a sandwich while showering and fall into my bed and go to sleep.

Life on the island has been good and wild and crazy and scary all at the same time. A week or so ago a dead guy came floating up on the waterfront outside my apartment, thank god i didn't find him. I walked right past him on my way to work, but as I said, I go early so I was half asleep and didn't notice him bumping up against the rocks. My landlord found him about 10 minutes after I left for work. Turns out he was a local man who lived on a boat across the bay. No foul play was suspected. A day later, another dead guy floats up. This time he was fully clothed wearing jewelry and had his wallet on him so they think he got drunk and fell in the water. Creepy.

This week is Carnival! But I have been too busy to explore it really. I went to the Carnival village with Jill and Doug the other night and ate the hottest Pate I have ever had! It should be illegal!

On Wednesday I went to St. John to a birthday party. About a month ago some people who work at the Maho Bay Campground came out on my boat for the day. We had a great time and they invited me to Amanda's birthday party April 23rd. So I got the day off and went over. It was a theme party down on big Maho bay, a white party. Everyone wore all white! It was so cool. We had white sangria, champagne and painkillers. (THE DRINK! NOT PILLS!) I will post pictures as soon as I can. I left my camera at Amanda's. Anyway, Maho campground is this tent/cabin village, and all the people who work there live in tent/houses too! It is the coolest place ever! I will try to find some pics of that. Thanks to everyone at Maho for making my first trip to St. John full of wonderful memories!

In other news, I am looking to buy a suzuki samurai, the ultimate island car. I have been spending alot of money on taking a cab to work and in the long run I will save so much if I buy a cheap car. Soon I will be able to explore the island without spending a ton of money on cabs.

Big shout out to Maria in the FAR EAST! I know she has to be missing boat life by now! I miss her funny/crazy/true stories from the bay in Mexico!

xdsiu/; <--- that was written by Gray Kitty, who just walked across my macbook. :)

Long weekend off the water!

Well, my first week of work went great! I have been off since friday because the boat was having a coast guard inspection. It was a good thing we were off because I got the worst cold and needed these days off to get well. In the mean time, I started painting my apartment! I love fixing up my little place. I have been really busy so there's not much to update ya'll on, I go back to work tomorrow and I'm not sure when I will have another day off. Hope all is well with you and yours!

First day on the job!

It was GREAT! I had a blast, learning my new boat, capt. and crew. We got rained on a bit but it still turned out to be a great day! Above are a couple of pics of what we did today. One is the Baths at Virgin Gorda and the other are the Caves on norman island. Whew! I am tired, a good tired, a productive day kind of tired. Time for bed because I have to get up at 5:30am. Night night!

Check out my new job!

Limnos Charters!

clickity click!

Back in the Islands!

Well, I have been back for just over a week and I have a job, an apartment, and life's good! I am crewing for Limnos Charters and we run day trips to the BVI's! How cool is that? I have been running all over the island today and I am so exhausted. Time for a nap on my cozy couch, under my cold a/c. The weather is a bit crazy because there is some kind of "perfect storm" brewing. There are huge waves on the north side, all the beaches are closed and the water looks like it does after a hurricane blows through. Keep an eye on the weather.

Bye bye Miami!

I am totally excited about being here in Miami. So the pics above are Before cuban coffee, and After cuban coffee. Wow! I am flying to ST Thomas in about an hour and I can't wait! I am nervous! I have really missed all my friends there and it feels strange to be going back to a place where I used to live. I have never moved back somewhere, except my parents house! So, it just feels like getting a second chance. Well I don't want to use up all my battery because all i have is a european power cord. Gotta find an adapter. See yall later!

That Great Australian Taste!

On my last weekend in Australia, I have finally decided to try the infamous "Four n' Twenty Pie". I initially heard of this phenomenon while working on the mega yacht Francine, in Savannah. One of the dekhands was from New Zealand and he went on and on about how much he missed "pies" and I was like, dude I can bake you a pie, apple, pecan, what? He went on to describe some kind of meat and gravy thing and I was grossed out. Apparently "Pies" are to Aussies what "Taco Bell" is to us Americans. Drunken late night food. I have decided to try one, for lunch.

Bonjour!

Ca va? (That means "How are you?" in french.) Ca va tres bien! (That means "I am very good!") I am learning french! It's so fun. I am learning on my ipod with the podcast "Coffee Break French", it's pretty easy and it's free! That's the kicker. Anyway, just thought I would let you all know what I have been doing the past week. I have been staying with Jess while Mick and the boys went away on a "boys week" which has now lasted over a week... wonder when they are coming back. I still have stuff on the boat and my flight back to the Caribbean leaves next Monday! I'm sure they will come back soon. So lately I have spent my days lying on the trampoline learning french, trying to get a tan before I head back to the land of sun and fun. I hope yall are keeping warm wherever you are and I hope your 2008 is going great! Well, nothing too exciting going on here in Oz, just enjoying my last week with Jess and Nicola, I am really gonna miss them when I leave. Bye! Above is a picture of the French West Indies, which are not far from the Virgin Islands, french might come in handy!

Running with the ferals!

Yesterday Jess and Nicola took me to the Sanctuary to see kangaroos wallabys and koalas not to mention wombats and fruit bats! We had so much fun! We ate a picnic while fending off white ibis' with thier freaky long bills and we saw platapus' swimming around like little crazies. After that we came around a corner only to encounter a couple of wallabies just lounging about along the trail. So I decided I had seen the trainer man approach them and I could do the same so I snuck up on a sleepy wallaby and gave him a sctratch under the chin and he loved it! He chilled and gave my palm a little lick like a cat and Nicola had a go with him too and we left him to his sleep. It was great day and I am proud to say that I actually touched a wallaby in Australia! I wanted to take him home.

The countdown has begun!

wmode="transparent" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" />

Where the bloody hell are ya???

I am here! In Frankston that is... I love Frankston! I am staying with Jess for a few days while Mick and the boys have a "Guy's Week" which personally, I don't want anything to do with! Ha ha! Things have been crazy around here and without internet it's all piled up and I have fallen way behind on my blog. So let me TRY to summarize.

Australia Day at the Norford farm was the best day EVER! Jess and I went, basically Australia Day is like our 4th of July but way bigger, and drunker, and the party goes all day and all night. We met tons of great/crazy people and made some new friends.

I went to Ballarat with Jess for a mini one day road trip!

Spent some time buzzing about Port Phillip bay.

Shannan took me to see kangaroos and "wallabats" in the wild! Im telling yall it was amazing, It was a nice little hike and the roos were just right there! In the middle of the trail, off to the sides, they are huge animals! I was like, OK where is the fence? Yeah, in "The WIld" means no fences.

I've been trying to lay low and save my cash as much as possible so now that I think of it I have not been very exciting.

Well Saturday night Jess and I decided to go out in Mornington and we had a great time, until the 5th hour of me wearing stiletto boots I had to call it quits and go sleep in the car! My feet still hurt. I have never felt like more of a party pooper, but Jess did a fine job continuing the party for at least an hour before she woke me up and we went home.

All the picutres from Australia Day and Kangaroos and Mornington and everything in between will be on the photo blog.

Oh! I knew I was forgetting something. I am moving back to St Thomas! Australia is not for me. I love my new friends and I have had a great time but I need to get back on the water. The Gramac is a beautiful boat but we only go out one day a week for a few hours and I really need sea time. I will be flying into Miami on March 10th, staying over night and I will arrive in St Thomas the next day. I am really excited! I have missed the islands so much. I always said that was where I wanted to be but if I didn't take this chance I would never know, and I am glad I came. It has been an amazing experience here and I will never forget those of you who have made it so.

Now as far as St Thomas goes, I am so happy to be going back, and can't wait to see all of you again! See yall soon!

Sorry I'm out of touch!

I am still cut off from the universe without internet on the boat. I dont know when I will get it back. I can't talk now because I am paying 5 bucks an hour for the net at a cafe. Everything is fine, we still have yet to leave the harbor for more than a buz around the cove and back and I am really needing some sea time. I will update you all on the fun I have had and the things I have done. Not much. But hooray I did see a bunch of kangaroos in the wild the other day. Other than that I have been on the boat. I am bored. Hope yall are warm cuz I am freezing my ass off here, if i squint my eyes I can see Antartica.

Clean Engine Room, Check.

It fairly easy to clean a relatively new/clean engine room. But there sure were lots of black fingerprints and smudges on all those shiny white surfaces! Now its REALLY clean. I feel accomplished.

Good morning Martha Cove!

Well, It's an overcast day here and the forecast says rain so I wont wash the boat today. Besides I am still waiting on a new oil tank for the Sea Legs, as it just drips oil all over the deck 24/7 and drips down the sides. It's so frustruating! It's been broken for like 3 weeks and for some reason we cant get the part delivered. I clean it and clean it and it gets greasy all over again.

On a lighter note, I got to talk to some of my best friends on the phone recently and it made me feel so much better! While I was in the mood of remembering home, I whipped up some mexican food and had a lil feast. (See picture above)

I can't wait to get my Sea Legs back, the water is beautiful here at Martha Cove, just as clear as the Virgin Islands, I need my trusty vessel to get me to the good snorkeling spots. Going by boat around here is so much easier than going by car. Another thing I could really use, a hammock. I always want a hammock. One of these days I will have one of my very own.

Well, I'm off to clean the engine room...

Ode to Maria!

Just a lil homage to my fellow blogger Maria! As I am playing with my new computer's "photo booth" application, so fun. Be sure to follow her adventures as well, http://ihaveaboat.blogspot.com
or you can click the link "Ferroever" on the right hand side of my blog. This is one lady who is truly living the dream! Go girl!!!

Fake Potato and Bacon soup on a 18 degree day.

Yum. Kinda. I'm sitting here in the salon watching the Travel Channel, waiting for it to warm up a bit before I get to cleaning fenders. Yesterday the guys installed fenders on the floating dock so now we dont have to hang our big fenders off the rails. Now I am in the process of washing fender covers and cleaning the green scum from Williamstown harbor off the white fenders. It takes a bit of elbow grease but its no big deal. Just time consuming. Wow, the longer the reconstituted potato and bacon soup sits the better it is! Pretty tasty! And can I just tell yall how much I LOVE MY MAC! This computer is awesome. It takes some getting used to, the systems are tricky when you are used to microsoft. But its super fun!

Our new home in Martha Cove is really nice. Its a pretty area and very very quiet. You can check it out at the Martha Cove site, www.marthacove.com.au as you can see, its a nice place. Well, the sun is shining and the wind is finally calm, looks like time to scrub some fenders! Woo Hoo!

Wow do I have some catching up to do!

Hi everyone! I had been without a computer since I wrote last, so I have tons of pictures and info to write about, Its going to take me a while to get everything situated so bear with me. We moved the boat from Williamstown over to Martha Cove, which is nice because there is a great beach here. I will write as soon as I get a moment to really sit down and put everything into words. Just letting you all know I am alive and well and I miss you all so much!

I got my Sea Legs!

Today we are taking the boat to Martha Cove, but Mick and Arthur got stuck in traffic so they called and suggested that Selina and I take the Sea Legs for a spin! I was surprised, coming from a boat where the capt. hovered over us like we were incapable of doing anything on our own, to this situation where Mick has complete faith in me that I am perfectly competent around boats. Just the fact that he was confident in me made me confident in myself. I drove the Sea Legs out of the marina and around the point to check out the beach. Now, I may be spoiled but this beach was not what I would call a "beach". More like the kind of beach you have at the lake, water is all green and murky. So we headed back this way. It's still a bit chilly here, it would be really warm if the wind wasn't blowing. The wind is freezing! I brought the boat back in to the dock perfectly and Selina was a great deck hand, tying off our dock lines when we eased into the slip. Now we wait. Hopefully the guys will get here soon so we can head out!

Oh the joy of karaoke!

Tonight was a great night! I met Sarah and James at the pub, we played billiards with small yellow and red balls and drank some cocktails and then I sang a little karaoke then they walked me home! What a polite group! It was so nice to spend some time with normal fun people. Tonight was the first night I actually went out and met people. It has been raining since I got here so I have been a bit of a hermit. Sarah even invited me on her and Louise's road trip down the coast this week. I will meet up with them if I have a night off. They will be camping by the beach and having a great time, I hope I can make it down one night at least. It would do me good. If James can get time off hopefully he will come too so I don't have to drive alone!!! I am in such a freakin good mood I just don't understand it! I better go to sleep now before I get homesick or lovesick or just sick in general. I hope you all had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year! I will be here, or up the Yarra, or in Tazmania...

p.s. I spent most of the day watching cricket... so confused.


Love you!

A Very Merry Christmas...

I have to say, this has been a very merry christmas down under! Today Mick, Selina and I went over to Mick's son Paul's house, where Paul's wife Dide and his Mom Jill cooked us an amazing feast of Turkey and ham and salad and potatoes while Arthur and Paul played with the pork roast on the grill. Dide and Paul's daughters April and Jemma were a hoot! I spent most of my time drinking wine and helping them put their christmas presents together. It was so nice to have someone think of me, I had a present under the tree with my name on it and even a place card at the table. I have truly been blessed this year with an amazing group of new friends and I am so thankful. Tomorrow we are going to put the sea legs tender in the water for a test drive. That should be fun! I can't wait to drive her around. I'd better get to bed, dawn comes early on a boat right Capt. Ron???

Happens every morning just about sun up...


Merry Christmas Mates!

Merry Christmas!

It is officially Christmas in Australia! I wouldn't have known it if Arthur had not called earlier today to remind me to buy stuff for the Christmas party on the boat. I kept saying things like "I don't understand" and "I'm confused" and "What day is it? What are we doing?" whereas his reply was "It can be anything you want it to be Jolea, no worries mate!" which didn't help me figure out what day it was. Finally I realized it was Christmas Eve. It doesn't feel like Christmas, although it is freakin freezing... It stopped raining today for the first time in a week. Thats good news. So I spent all day decorating and setting up for the party tomorrow. It really made me happy, and I finally felt festive! I am usually the one who puts up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving and makes everyone watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation every single day till Christmas, but this year I have been all out of whack because I have been living in the Virgin Islands and the weather was so warm and then I came here and I lost a day somewhere which has really thrown me off. I think what really threw me was my birthday. I didn't have a party, and I don't know anyone except Mick and Selina, and even when Selina and I went out it was strange because we don't really know each other. I just fell out of it. I am really looking forward to the party tomorrow because I really worked hard setting it up. I have tons to do in the morning so I should get to bed. I was slicing carrots a second ago and dropped the knife, thats the picture at the top of this blog. That would have hurt...

Merry Christmas/Festivus/Chanukah/etc.

Oh and I didn't get to watch the Grinch either. Boo.

I turned 25 in Melbourne!

Time for an update! I had a good birthday, Mick and Selina took me out to dinner at the Atomic Bar, where I had that great steak I wrote about previously. After that Mick dropped me and Selena off at the Crown Casino downtown, where I won 50 bucks playing craps! Selina then suggested we go down to Chapel St. to a bar called Lotus. It was an alright bar, not my favorite though, so we went down the street to the Q Bar which played dance music and was full of trendy people with trendy haircuts and we had a good time dancing and somehow ended up in V.I.P. Go figure. I think I may go to the salon today and get a trendy haircut... just kidding.

I bought myself a birthday present! A new guitar! I bought it from Tommy down at the Guitar shop across the street from my boat. Tommy invited me to hear his band play at the Rose Hotel which is around the corner from me on Ferguson St. They play blues and they have a girl named Pym as their leading lady, she rocks. I had such a good time with the band and their friends, they invited me to the jam session they hold on sundays. Not this sunday though, because of the holidays. I am going over to the shop in a little while for a guitar lesson, if it stops raining. I haven't seen the sun in days. Whats with this weather?

Deckhand/Food Critic!

So, I have decided to review and rate all the places I stop to dine throughout my travels in Australia...

Tonight Mick, Selena and I ate at a place called the Atomic Bar and let me just take a moment to tell you, It was amazing. A perfect 10 on the Jolea Scale. Atmosphere is casual outside with tables on the sidewalk and a few umbrellas, inside seemed a little more upscale, with soft lighting and chic music. We ordered our food, I ordered the garlic pizza with chicken and Mick and Selena both ordered the fillet. Mick ordered his medium rare and Selena ordered hers well done, the waitress then explained that they cook their own at the table to which Mick replied, "can't you just cook it?" the waitress offered words of encouragement, "you'll never look back". So we waited. A few minutes later the waitress arrived with 2 large plates, atop a large stone sat a completely RAW fillet, surrounded with salad and new potatoes to the side. The stone was searing hot and the steak actually cooked in front of you! Basically you could cut the steak up and make it cook fast and well or you could sear the sides and have a rare steak! The steak was like butter. You could actually cut it with a fork. I did. I had to help Selena eat hers, now I know better than to order pizza at the Atomic Bar. Mick was so impressed he called Arthur to tell him about it and said he will have this meal every time he comes to Williamstown and nothing else!

Atomic Bar - 10

Krikey! I am tired...

Well, it only took me 32 hours to get here to Australia, and in the first 24 hours I was here I...

Met my boss Mick, his girlfriend Selena, and thier friends Herman and Arthur.
Dropped my gear off at the boat.
Went to sleep from 7pm till Midnight.
Woke up to eggs and bacon being cooked by Selena.
Headed to the little boat Gramac IV at 1am.
Met up with Arthur and Herman at the boat.
Learned how to bait hooks on a trawler.
Touched dead squid parts.
Baited hooks.
Learned how to set trawling lines.
Pulled up trawling lines.
Caught a stingray.
Touched a shark.
Ate flathead and red snapper for lunch at noon when we got home from fishing.
Drove on the left side of the road from the right side of the car.
Came to the Gramac V.
Went over to visit the Tall Ship Enterprise on the next pier where I was invited alont on the 4pm sail.
Went to the grocery store.
Signed up for a membership at a gym called "Peyote Body and Spirit" and classes, Fitball, Boxercise, and Pilates.
Studied my Gramac V operations manual. (Not a word Meg!)
Washed some clothes on baord.
Locked myself out of the boat.
Missed the Enterprise sail.
Fought with the emergency hatch for an hour before prying it open by hand.
Made a mental note to never step outside this fancy boat without my keys.
Had me a vegemite sandwich.
(I come from the land down under!)

I feel like a zombie, but I need to stay awake for a few more hours to get my clock on the same hour as the rest of the country.
Tomorrow I have to buy some shoes... all I have are flip flops, and it's chilly here!

I have to say, everyone I have met so far has been amazing! Thanks to Mick and the rest of my new Aussie friends for making me feel so welcome. Time to secure the boat and get my cabin made up, time for a well deserved sleep.

The last days of disco...

Well, we survived our last charter with only a few more injuries than the last. It's time to move on. Meg and I have been making the rounds here in Tortola saying goodbyes and such, and we were just talking about how much we miss our charter guests already! They were the best group of people I have ever spent a week stuck on a boat with! If you are reading this, Hello Bill, Lynne, Jim, Julie, Angie, Dick, Jeff, Marcia, Sheldon and Leslie! We miss you guys! Oh and we can't forget to say hello to Scooter, our official mascot. :) Today has consisted of waking up, Meg telling Dick she is leaving, doing tons of paperwork, catching up on emails, and cleaning up the crew quarters. We have tons of laundry to do this evening, and we have to pack our things. Tomorrow we will head over to St Thomas and get Meg settled in while I basically spend some time at the post office, mailing postcards and Christmas presents. Hopefully those of you I had time to buy for will like whats coming your way. Speaking of presents! Meg's birthday was last thursday while we were on charter, and our AWESOME guests called her up into the salon at dinner and sang happy birthday and then gave her a card and presents! It was so sweet! Meg really needed that happy moment, because she had the worst birthday ever! She got called a liar first thing in the morning, then fell in the water with her clothes on, then got her hand smashed in a hatch, which was then blamed on her... WTF???? So, needless to say, she needed a pick me up. A little later the guests called me into the salon, and totally surprised me when they started singing happy birthday to me and gave me a card and a beautiful sarong for my birthday which is on the 20th! I was so moved, I really had to hold back tears because these people really treated us like family and we have been missing home lately. It was nice to have them around, I wish they could have stayed longer! Jim and Julie did try to adopt us, so I am pretty sure the next time I am in Kalamazoo, I have a place to stay.

To the Lynne's 50th Birthday charter guests, thanks for teaching us about dog hair, puppy tape, hatch sitting, DSB (Jeff), Groundhogs, Administrative Law, bears and bicycles. We miss you and will never forget you. Till we meet again, Happy Trails.

"I wanna go home to the armadillos"

Second charter, TEXAS CHARTER!

Today is the first day of our second charter on Wanderlust, and everyone is from Texas except 2 guests who are from Kalamazoo! It's already shaping up to be a fun time. One of the guys on board, Jeff, has a website about Scooter the World Traveling Groundhog! Check it in about a week or so for a picture of Me and Meg... Everyone is so nice, and it is really fun to have people around who are familiar with my home. We set sail about noon and did a spinnaker run over to Norman Island, had some dinner and now everyone is throughly saturated with rum punch and wine and are off to bed. Meg and I will clean up and do the same. Just thought I would drop a line!

P.S. Only 12 days till I move to Australia!

Time to make this last charter count!!!

Our lovely vacation in St Thomas!

Ahhh... What a great week off. The girls and I really needed a break from work and all that implies. It has been so nice visiting all our old friends as well as making a few new ones. Today we will catch the last ferry out of town at 4pm and head back to the sleepy island of Tortola. The girls have their work visa papers in hand, and will be approved for a year long work visa and I will simply get another 2 week tourist visa. I am sad to leave the islands but I know in my heart I will come back one day. As for now, I am on the cusp of a new adventure, a new country, and a new job. I have a really good feeling about this one.

Oh! The girls and I had an amazing weekend! We joined a group of friends and went to Jost Van Dyke and the Full Moon Party at Bomba´s shack in Tortola on Saturday. Sunday we spent the day on St John which was beautiful. Check out the pics on the picture blog.

I am a little tired from our vacation here in STT, but its a good tired. Tired from fun times, tired from laughing, tired from walking all over the island, tired from taking in the views.

So goodbye to all our St Thomas friends, old and new, thanks for the memories, see you soon.

YO HO YO HO

Well, the girls and I fled the island of Tortola and made a mad dash back to our favorite island, St. Thomas. We were welcomed back to the Villa Olga with open arms by Jill and Doug, the managers there. It is so nice to come back to a place where people are excited to see you and actually care about you. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner last night with Jill, Doug and all their friends who live on island. Of course there were a few transients like us, but mostly locals. We stuffed ourselves, then while things wound down, I waited on a phone call from my new boss in Australia. It was so nice to talk to him, and we decided that I should fly down as soon as possible...

Wait, what? You don´t know about my new job??? Ha ha ha, how could I forget to tell you about this? Well, I will be moving yet again to a far away place I have never been, to work for someone I have never met, in a country I have never been to, and I couldn't´t be more excited about it!!! I will be leaving here on December 13th to fly to Melbourne,Victoria, Australia. I am the new stewardess slash deckhand aboard the Gramac V, a 76 ft sport fishing yacht. I can´t wait to get on board and learn everything I can about the boat and definitely the fishing!

Anyway, more about that later, now I just have to focus on the rest of my vacation here in STT and finishing up one more charter on Wanderlust then I am off on the longest plane trip I have ever been on. I wonder what movie we will be watching...

Inventory, Paycheck, Bilge back-up, Lunch, Gelato, Put Diesel in a GAS tank, tell Captain, have a cocktail, dye hair, have a cocktail.

This is pretty much how my day went. With the first charter under our belts we started onthe after charter duties like, cleaning cabins (Rebecka) and doing inventory (me) and meg poked and prodded at a bilge that just wouldn't drain no matter how many times she gagged over the smell. Then we got our paychecks and decided at 2:30 it was time for lunch and we took the Wanderwagon into Road Town. We ate lunch at a nice place downtown after realizing that the bank closed at 3pm. Stopped by the post office to check on my contacts, which I was really hoping would be in today, and have recently been informed that the record for mail from the us is 14 months.... as in, someone sends a package and 14 months later the person in Tortola receives it. I am going to have to see an Optometrist here. The crew and I were planning on heading to St Thomas tomorrow morning but we have to deal with the siphoning of fuel and clearing a fuel system before we can go. Its a great learning experience I think. So, thanks to Libby who picked Meg and I up off the side of the road and drove us home this evening, thanks to Pete, BJ and Derek for supporting us when we told them about the gas incident, and thanks to Meg for being my partner in crime today.
Tomorrow we will be back in the USVI and hopefully I will speak to some of you on the phone! Love you and miss you all!
'

Back from Charter!

Well, we survived our first charter! The guests were amazing, we couldn't have asked for a better group of people! They were laid back, funny, and best of all, they loved to drink painkillers. They were all from Des Moines, Iowa, and we miss them already! We took them to Virgin Gorda to The Baths, over to the wreck of the RMS Rhone where they learned to SCUBA dive, and over to the other side of Salt Island to do another dive the next day. Everyone had a blast and the crew worked very hard to make sure of that. We came together as a team and really had a great charter. Other than losing a contact, getting a chunk of glass stuck in my foot for 3 days, smashing my middle fingernail off in a ladder, and getting rope burn on my forehead, I'd say things went well. The rest of the crew had their share of bumps and bruises as well. Meg has a few good bruises that we originally thought were dirt, when they didn't wash off in the shower we realized we both had more bruises than we thought possible. She also has an imprint of a dock cleat from Salt Island on her foot where she caught it while picking up guests from the shop on shore. Pete lost his dive knife and broke his toe, and Rebecka escaped mostly unharmed.

On a better note, I learned to drive the tender and and docked it perfectly at the marina and surprised everyone when I docked it along side Wanderlust as she was under power like I had done it a thousand times before. I was so proud of myself! But we were so busy we didn't have a chance to take any pictures.

We all had high points and low points but at the end of all this, we did a great job and everyone on board had a good time.

Wednesday the girls and I will catch the first ferry to St Thomas, and wash away the past month of stress. We are staying over at Villa Olga again and will spend Thanksgiving with our good friends Doug and Jill. We can't wait to see our buddies again and show Rebecka a proper American Thanksgiving! Cheers!

I feel a change in the wind says I !

Keep a weather eye on the the horizon....mate.

Shooting stars and swimming pools.

Tonight was a well deserved evening of relaxation. Meg met a group of people the other night at the marina restaurant who were in from St Thomas and tonight they invited us over for Jambalaya and swimming at their resort. We had a great time. We swam and listened to music and chatted about 80's rock, and the people we were with were amazed at my classic rock knowledge. What can I say, I'm a music connesueir.(Yeah that is spelled wrong but dammit my spell check only speaks one language! You know what I mean!) So I hi-jack the music program on the computer at the pool bar and start pumping great tunes out and as the night comes to a close I am staring up at the sky, at this one really sparkling star, I mean this think looked like a strobe light, I watched forever to make sure it wasn't a satellite or a plane, and "See you on the other side" by Ozzy Osborne came on. I have thought alot about Brianna since I have been down here. I guess I just wish she could be here. Then I think about it and I just know she is. Tonight I felt like she was that sparkling star. The brightest star in the sky, right there, the first thing I saw when I looked up. We ate our Cajun cuisine and had a few drinks then came home. Meg got stung by her first fire ant and I left a Benydryl on her pillow... :) As I walked up toward the marina office/shore head to brush my teeth I heard a long time favorite song, one that reminded me of mimosas and days off in Key West. It struck me so odd that I actually walked up the stairs to the dockmaster's apartment as if I was going to ask them why they were listening to the Cowboy Junkie's "The water is wide". Luckily I went back down the stairs before I made a fool of myself. I just really found that odd, that I was thinking so much about the past tonight and that song filled the night sky as I walked down the dock. Speaking of the night sky, I saw a shooting star as I said goodnight to Meg and Danny tonight, I didn't make a wish. I figure someone else needs it more than I do. I don't have it so bad.

A rainy afternoon at work!

The past few days have been really busy! We are getting the boat ship shape for our first charter, which starts Wednesday. This means we have been cleaning, hauling tools off the boat, putting sails on the boat, de-greasing, polishing, ospho-ing, and anything else the Captain tells us to do. On top of all that, today I went to the office to do inventory where I was swooped and buzzed by island bees all day. Good thing I had a Slim Jim to swat them away with while I counted... Meanwhile back at the boat, Meg mad her own entomological discovery. You can find the picture of her new friend at the top of this blog. She comes to me with her find and the only thing I can think to say is, "If you get stung all you have to do is take some Benedryl and put some meat tenderizer paste on the sting. You will be fine." But thats just what you do with Texas scorpions, these are Island scorpions, I may be wrong. Good news is, it was dead when she found it. I thought scorpions were a desert creature, I guess I DON'T know it all. :) Now it's time to put in a little over time and finish my charter guest profiles, and watch Capt. Ron, one of my favorite movies! Oh wait a sec! I forgot to tell yall about our trip to the Willy T!

We started out at the marina where we picked up a few friends, then headed over to a rock formation called "The Indians", a popular snorkeling and diving spot. The water was great but my mask leaked like a sieve so I only stayed in for about 15 minutes. Jaque Cousteau on the other hand, Meg, stayed in for about an hour while we all waited on the boat for her to surface. (Ha ha I love you Meg!) After she swam back to the boat it was just a quick boat ride over to the William Thornton floating bar and restaurant. We tied up to three other boats that were tied along side the Willy T, which is an old steel hull schooner they converted to a fantastic place to duck out of the sun and have a cocktail. Then we walked from boat to boat and hauled ourselves over the rail and onto the Willy T. As the day rolled on we each took our turn jumping off the side of the Willy T, fully clothed mind you, and then settled in at the bar. The girls and I danced with everyone from boat captains, to local police officers, to firemen from California. We had the best time, I am sure it wont be our last visit to Mr. Thornton's place. Now we have to focus on getting this boat ready for charter, so we can then focus on some serious surfing. Catch yall later!

Pictures click here!

Washing day

Today has been a relaxing day. Rebecka and I washed clothes all day at the laundry mat just up the hill from our boat. I am about to turn the left over taco stuff into enchiladas for me and the girls! Yum! I think we are gonna spend a quiet night on the boat to prepare for tomorrow's adventure! Vern is taking us to the Willy T floating bar! I have wanted to go to this place forever! So look for pictures coming soon! And remember to check the picture blog because I put new pics up all the time. Later!

A Great Day off at Josiah's Bay

Today was so amazing. I feel so cleansed, inside and out! It is about nine thirty here and I am about to pass out I am so tired and happy. The girls and I spent the day at Josiah's bay, after last night's mexican fiesta that was a total hit, we needed a breather. We started the day in town and caught a cab over to the bay, then we sat under a thatched umbrella and drank a frozen libation. Soon after, Meg and I did our best Baywatch impression and ran like maniacs into the surf. We had no boards but that's no problem for us. We played in the waves for a little while, then Rebecka joined us and we walked the length of the bay and back, watched a local long boarder catch some really nice waves, which you can see pics of on my picture blog, then we took a break. As Meg napped, Rebecka and I went over to the beach hut and she ate lunch and we drank a couple of Pain Killers then it was back to the sea for all of us! The tide was on the rise and in turn the waves grew, we had so much fun getting ourselves perfectly positioned in the break so we could ride the rise and not get pummeled when the wave broke. Its a really shallow and sandy break so we didnt have much trouble with undertow or not being able to touch bottom, but let me tell you, we got beat down by a few waves. I feel great. You know that procedure that really Yoga-ie people do where they pour salt water up their noses and out their mouths with a little pitcher? Well I didnt need a pitcher today. The first time water shot straight up my nose, into my sinuses and out my mouth I thought, "woah, that feels strange... wait, ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch that hurts like hell!!!" then after the fifth wave pummeled me I realized what a healthy experience it was. Mind you we were out there for hours, so 5 sea water nasal cleansing sessions is not so uncommon, especially when you attack waves like we do. I cant express how much fun I had or how healed I feel, inside and out. We needed a little back to nature time to remind us just how amazing it is that we live and work in such an amazing and beautiful place. Welcome to paradise.