Monday, June 22

Who is the New Girl?

I forgot to add it to yesterday's post, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! I did call and e-mail my Dad a happy father's day message. I'm hoping to find something fantastic and cool to send him to thank him for being such a wonderful and supportive Dad.

I'm the new girl in town, that is for certain. I had met Keith yesterday so it was immediately nice to have a familiar face in the office once I arrived for work. I started the day with beginning to go over the task plan I'd created during the Mt. Rainier training. About 15 minutes into the day, Keith got a phone call about taking a boat into St. Thomas (STT) to get some paint put on a new boat. The aluminum hull won't last long here without a special paint job. He turned to me and asked if I wanted to go on a boat ride.

Pause...

OF COURSE I DO! I was floored. We left the office and met Peter, the boat guru around these parts, and set off to put the boat in so we could take it to STT to get the paint job completed. We had to take two boats, since the new one would get left at STT and Peter would still need a ride back to STJ. Off we went in the Line of Duty and the new Safe Boat. Peter likes to ensure he's maximizing usage of the boat's engines. As we traveled across a small bit of water to get to STT, Keith pointed out several neat spots along the shores of more than a dozen islands. There are shallow reefs and large rocks jutting out from the ocean floor and often times, those spots surprise unsuspecting boat motorists. There is one pair of large boulders sticking out of the ocean, one is Calf and one is Cow. They say never to get between a calf and a cow. In this case, it's for good reason, the bottom is likely less than a few feet from the surface.

We pulled into the marina and stepped onto the dock. After about thirty or forty minutes all the necessary arrangements were complete and we were able to leave the boat in the marina and head back to St. John. But wait, there was a new phone call on Keith's phone. He's the Chief of Maintenance and he had a message from the Park Superintendent, Mark. Mark was out on a kayak trip performing a risk assessment on the kayak guided tour to Hassell Island. The Liberty, the boat he'd taken out, wasn't working properly. Since we were with Peter, the boat fixer-upper and supreme kahuna of boat mechanics for the park here, we set off for Frenchtown. Another thirty minutes along the docks of a marina. I was happy to stand there and soak up the fresh scenery and amazing views. The sailboats, yachts, houseboats, dingys, kayaks, canoes, and rowboats are moored every which way in every cay, bay, and island area. It turned out to be a blown fuse. I enjoyed a cold bottle of Coke and learned more from Keith about various bits of park information. From the marina, I saw seaplanes taking off and landing just about every 20-30 minutes. Rather than use a ferry, there is a 20 min. flight to get to and from St. Thomas to St. Croix and part of Puerto Rico. While waiting at the dock, I also got a real great first-hand look at culture and interactions here in the Virgin Islands. It's totally different than the hustle and bustle of the city and Washington D.C. One phrase I've heard here that not only expresses a transportation issue, but could be viewed as an analogy: there's not really any traffic, but there's nowhere to park.

We pulled out of Frenchtown ready to get back to work. Keith suggested we head off in a different direction than we came so I'd get a chance to see more of the coastline. We drove past Hassell Island and some beautiful ruins a dozen feet from the coast. The small island is overgrown with lush vegetation and crews are currently working there to clear large areas near the ruins so visitors can start to enjoy the site once again. We saw a boat on one of the access areas by the ruins. The bow looked to be oddly high. The stern, oddly low. Keith turned to Peter, “Hey Peter, why does that boat look like it's sinking?” Peter turned his attention to the boat, and confirmed it was because the boat was sinking. Our course diverted once again. About six 15 gallon containers of herbicide were loaded on the stern of the boat. Also, the stern was facing the incoming and lapping waves/wakes created by the large cruise ships and seaplanes. The combination was causing water to flood over the transom right into the boat. The bilge area isn't water-tight on this particular boat, so we moved in quickly. Right away some workers (the ones clearing vegetation) helped remove some containers of herbicide from the boat. Peter shouted to the boat operator to shut off the engines, turn on the bilge pumps, and get those containers off the boat. After some hurried movements and more shouting, the boat's bilge pumps were in full action, gushing out water. Six or seven of us hopped onto the bow and tried to weigh down the front of the boat to counteract the weight of all the water. Another thirty or forty minutes elapsed. The bilge area was full by the time we'd arrived, so even after we left, there was still about five inches of water left to get pumped out. The boat did start again and left the dock safely, eventually. We set off to return to St. John. What had started as a 20-30 minute trip turned into almost four or five hours. I had put on some sun screen, but not knowing I'd be out for so long in the sun (each time was a surprise and sudden), I did get roasted quite thoroughly on my shoulders (se la vie with tank tops). It just so happened by the time I noticed my gnarly sunburn, I was standing less than 10 feet from an aloe plant. I pulled off a leaf/branch of the plant and immediately coated myself in a thin layer of sticky and wonderful aloe.

After returning from the adventure at sea and roving around on the law enforcement vessels, it was time to do a land tour. My nickel tour of the island, provided by Keith, was amazing. We drove from Cruz Bay all the way across the north shore and then down the eastern side, past Coral Bay, down to Ram's Head and VIERS, and Lameshur Bay. There are wonderful views every place I have stopped. Even the landfill on St. Thomas has a nice view (for the dump trucks). There are iguana (with sharp and nasty tails), wild donkey (seen a few so far), mongoose (squirrel-like without fat tails), scorpion (no sightings yet), millipedes (no sightings yet), wild chicken, goats (they're cute, but wild and crazy), and herds of mosquitoes unlike any I've seen before. The roads are narrow and winding. I never know what will be behind the next turn. I suppose after I've been here longer I'll find that the roads are really just narrow and winding. I can't wait to explore even more of the island. While on my short tour, Keith pointed out many trails, got me a trail map for the island/park, showed me several sites for sugar plantation ruins, stopped off at the viewpoints, and helped answer my many and numerous questions about the park and my concerns about safety for visitors and employees alike. I also got a great briefing on the island culture and some of the challenges I'll face this summer in dealing with a few of the risk areas and safety concerns that Keith also pointed out along the tour.

Between the boat incidents and the island tour, the day filled up quickly. I met up with Beth and we decided to stop at the grocery store, Star Fish, and pick up some supplies before going to our relatively remote little home. I have heard many things about prices here in the USVI, particularly in St. John so I was interested to see what it might cost me for a tub of yogurt or maybe some crackers. I am still waiting on my second package of goodies, so the trip to the grocery was a bit unavoidable. Here is what I got:

Italian Dressing (really small bottle, <6 oz.): $2.95
Stonyfield Farm 32oz. Yogurt: $3.00
Nabisco Low Sodium Saltines (4 small sleeves of crackers): $6.25

The total was $12.20. Not bad. The crackers I think were a little pricey, but not terrible. I guess it's things like toothpaste and toilet paper that really get you. We got 12 double-rolls of the no-name brand and it was over $12 for the one item. It's my turn next to purchase toilet paper.

On the way home from the grocery we stopped off at all the pull-offs and scenic views along North Shore Road. Once back at Island Fancy, we took a small hike down the hill to the beach area for Island Fancy and Maho Campgrounds. I peeled off my shoes as fast as you can say untie. I dipped my feet into the warm water and screamed inside with happiness. What a wonderful water temperature. I waded deeper and even with water up to my knees, the water was so clear I could see my feet, crystal clear. Amazing.

After our hike, I prepared a dinner of madras lentils and Kashi's 7-whole grain pilaf, one of the items that did arrive with my first package. The meal was delicious and I saved half of it to eat for lunch or dinner later.

Oh, I forgot to mention! I got a sweet sweet box of SCA Swag today. I got at least 2 long sleeve t-shirts, 2 cotton polos, 1 cotton t-shirt, a hat, some patches, a nametag, a camelbak water bottle, a nice cloth bag, and a journal.

As I settled in and prepared for bed I couldn't help but feel like I'm in the jungle. The tropics and my new home has brought the sounds of birds squealing and chirping, large animals brushing against the vegetation, buzzing of mosquitoes, and the dull hum of my ceiling fan.