Friday, July 17

Two Trips to AquaBistro

Last night did in fact end with a trip to AquaBistro. I am a big fan of free wi-fi. I really enjoy visiting places with neat regulars and a chill crowd. I sat there enjoying the wi-fi before my battery died and before long, I had a guy across the bar buying Lauran and I drinks! What do you do when someone buys you a drink? I froze. I don't get out much. I wasn't born yesterday, but honestly, I didn't know what the hell to do. There was the obvious shout of “Thank You!” Beyond that, I am ashamed to report I have not had very many drinks bought for me from across the bar. It's happened before, but the night always ended with a rather creepy guy coming towards me and thinking I owed him something for accepting the free drink. Not sure of how the custom is here on the island, I stared ahead like a deer in headlights. I wasn't really going to drink anything else and would have been happy to sip on some water the rest of the night. I followed Lauran's selection and ordered a shot of Cruzan Guava Rum, chilled. Bo, our bartender, fixed us up and cheers! we knocked them back. If we had returned the gesture and sent shots back to them, it would have definitely implied interest on our side of the bar. The shout of thank you was repeated when our benefactor came over to our side of the bar. We left things at a polite thank you and went on with the evening.

Another trip to AquaBistro today after work got the weekend rolling. What a cool way to end the day: watching the sailboats moored in the bay, enjoying a cold beer, chatting with good friends, and soaking-in the last few hours of sun. I ordered a St. John Brewery Summer Ale after I discovered the Tropical Mango wasn't available. The Summer Ale isn't bad, but it's not my favorite bottle to throw back. I made Budweiser my second bottle of the day. I've had enough tasty drinks here in the Caribbean I think it is high time I add a section on the blog to keep a list going of drinks I've enjoyed. Check it out! Here's what I added so far:

Caribbean Thirst Quenchers:
The Bushwhacker – Fat Turtle in St. Thomas
Painkiller – Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke, BVI
Presidente – Donkey Diner, Skinny Legs, Coral Bay
Amstel Light from a can, always a delight – Willy-T off Norman Island, BVI
St. John Brewery Tropical Mango – The Beach Bar, Cruz Bay
St. John Brewery Summer Ale – AquaBistro, Coral Bay
Fort Collins Chocolate Stout – The Tap Room, Cruz Bay
St. John Brewery Ginger Beer Soda – The Tap Room, Cruz Bay
Cruzan Guava Rum, chilled – AquaBistro, Coral Bay
Budweiser – AquaBistro, Coral Bay

After some socializing and wi-fi'ing at AquaBistro for a short while, I ventured off to Maho Bay for Prime Rib Night. You can't beat a prime rib steak, baked potato, steamed veggies, salad, and water for $13.20 on this island. The 40% off park discount is major awesomeness. Sadly, tonight was the last night of prime rib, possibly forever. I will be sad to see the dissolution of Friday night's prime rib. As I finished the last few bites of my steak, Finding Nemo started on the movie projector screen right at the restaurant. How cool! The movie grabbed my attention straightaway and before long, I was once again enthralled in the scene with the sharks and the “fish are friends, not food” club.

Tomorrow I'll visit the Lienster Bay trail, soak in some sun off Waterlemon Cay, and then head to a cookout at a friend's place. It should be the makings of a great day. Sunday, I have plans to be on the dive boat again. I'm mega excited! Hopefully, Monday or Tuesday, my new Speedo swimsuit will be here. Yes, I ordered a new swimsuit! The elastic on my existing bikini died this week. The fabric simply gave out on me and at this point, the bottoms don't really hold their shape at all. The material is also far too sheer to keep wearing the suit in public. I'm ready for a new bikini. I tried to get one on the island but I found it impossible to get anything that looked like it might stay-put in tough surf. Thus, I looked all over the web for something that I knew I could order online and have a good chance of finding a good fit once I opened the box. Honestly, very few places will ship to the U.S. Virgin Islands. I always noticed the fine print about domestic shipping rates and the exclusions for Puerto Rico or U.S. Territories, but it wasn't until life here that I came to appreciate a company that will actually ship to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Speedo is wonderful. I found a sweet looking suit with a funky and snazzy pattern and I'm hoping to wear it on the beaches soon! If you're interested to see what I got, browse under flip-turns for bathing suit styles and it's the only one that is a bikini style that has the color “blue.” The color really isn't even blue- its shades of orange and pink and blue with big blue hearts. It's reminds me of the stickers I used to see all the time in elementary school, the ones by Lisa Frank.

Oh geez, there is too much food and drinking and not enough running and swimming. I need to do some more hiking. And more running. And more swimming. I'm setting the goal of swimming half a mile two times each week. Running three times each week. Hiking, at least once a week. I hope that by writing it in the blog, I'll somehow magically feel an obligation to actually get the workout schedule built into my routine and do more than keep it in my imagination. Tomorrow, I have just realized I have a whoppingly huge pile of clothes to launder. Maybe I can load them into the machine and take a run while the machine is roaring around.