Sunday, August 2

Tings Are Great

Michael stopped by to pick-up our machete so he could go bushwhacking around the island. It won't be hard to find brush that needs some cutting back, especially since we're in rainy season. We had a great bit of intellectual dialogue and I helped him to a cool glass of water after his long walk up to my place. Meika joined us after a while and spread the news that she and Lauran were going to Salomon Beach shortly. Yay! The beach on a sunday morning! I had thought about going to the beach anyway, so getting to go with two gal pals is even better! We set off down the trail to the beach and boy, was I happy to dip into the ocean! At Salomon's, there was the obligatory nude dude showing off his tanned buttocks. Nudity is of course, prohibited.

I swam my half mile with no fins. With just the help of a mask and snorkel, I fought the current the whole way out. The water is just so freaking crystal clear here. That is the censored statement. At one point during my swim, I kept getting closer to the shore, while trying to sneak a quick break. I reached my toes downwards, thinking the bottom was reachable. I was probably in 20 feet of water, but was fooled into thinking the bottom was just inches from my toes. About halfway through the swim, I saw a sea turtle munching on seagrass off Honeymoon Beach. The clarity of the ocean is like nowhere else, especially on a day like today with no dust, hardly any clouds, and just pure sunshining bliss. After just over 30 minutes of freestyle and snips of breaststroke, my swim was complete.

I plopped onto my slightly sandy towel and took a few moments to catch my breath and heave the breath of relaxation. I felt the hot sun against my skin and looked around the beach. This is the life. The kind of sun that you feel prickling your skin mingled with a salty and cooling breeze, while watching waves break along the shore, and hearing the chirping of birds and frogs in the brush nearby and the ocean crashing along the beach, that is the kind of sun that I love. I munched on a few snacks that I had brought along for the trip and smiled as I thought of Becca, who was mainly responsible for the delicious trail mix I was enjoying. Honey roasted peanuts, dried cranberries, cashews, almonds, it's tasty. A few handfuls of chex mix, another few swigs of water, I started craving lunch.

The sounds of jazz music filled my house as I sat eating my lunch of Punjab Choley with freshly cooked naan. If you ever get the Trader Joe's Taste of India Punjab Choley I have a short description of the dish that may help you decide whether or not to put it in your cart. All of the Taste of India meals I've had so far are quite tasty. The Punjab Choley is also very delicious and carries a good bit of spice. It's a two out of three on the spiciness. My lips were tingling and I downed a whole glass of water with my meal. (That means, yes, do put it in your cart). It was very yummy. Back to the jazz, I had to follow my ears and find the cool jazz players serenading Cruz Bay. The sound carried up from the bay into my house like an ampitheatre. I felt like someone had speakers outside my window and they were blasting the music too loud next door. That's how loud the music sounds at Lind Point. I'm easily over a mile from where the sound originates. I packed up my bag and headed off down the trail. I weaved down the rocky path and heard myself getting closer to the music. I love jazz music. I hope that doesn't make me sound too old. I worked up a good sweat and finally remembered The Beach Bar always has jazz music, live, on Sundays. D'oh! I said hi to Sandwich at the dive shop and checked out the music. Sound filled every space of air. It wasn't a packed bar, but it was getting close to filling up. I stopped at Slim's parking lot as I left the bar. I love stopping to talk to Slim Man. He's got a lot right next to Wharfside Village and I definitely try to walk past his place every time I'm out in that part of town. Apparently, the jazz night will get so busy people end up filling up the entire beach outside the bar. I wouldn't mind going down there again to stay for the whole night of great music. Maybe while Kevin is here, we can see the jazz music. I'll have to see if he even likes jazz.

I had plenty of sunshine left and thought of getting a smidge more exercise for the day. I walked further along the roads up to Starfish Marketplace. There is a small bookstore just outside Starfish Market and the Starfish Market Gourmet. You can get new books or used books, and also sell back your old books for credit. It's brilliant. I talked to the woman working there today and there's a good chance I could sell my book there! I will check with the owner, John, tomorrow, and see if he will help support a local lady. While lingering in the shop, I thumbed a copy of a really neat book, which is now out of print, about the slave rebellion in St. John in 1733/1734. I think I may go back tomorrow and get the copy if it's still there. I hear it is quite hard to get your hands on a copy these days. As I perused the shelves, I found a book that caught my fancy. My new beach read is a newer copy of My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I made a trip into Starfish and came out with a bottle of Ting and some powerade. I love Ting. It's a grapefruit soda which is a lot like the orange flavored Orangina. I happily sat reading my new book at one of the cast iron tables just outside of the market. A young guy saw me fidgeting with my bottle of Ting and my apparent lack of a bottle opener. I must admit, I'm a little ashamed I didn't have a bottle opener on hand. The guy opened the bottle with his cell phone. No joke. The small area where you can plug in a charger is perfect to open a bottle. Brilliant! I thanked him wholeheartedly.

On the way home, I passed some tennis courts and noticed a familiar figure. The man yelled out my name. I wasn't sure, so I yelled back to see if it was Jeremy, one of the guys I know from Low Key Watersports. It was! I shouted a hello and since he appeared to be at the start of a new match, I kept walking along my way. Hopefully he doesn't think I was rude for just continuing along with my walk towards home. Journeying along, I walked past the usual spots, including Caps. Frankie, one of the nice folks from the park, was sitting at the bar enjoying his evening. He called out my name and after a quick double-take, I happily stopped into the bar to say hello. I love that people can just say your name and know you as you're walking around town with no absolute purpose. It was great to bump into Jeremy and Frankie.

I strode the rest of the way up the Lind Point Trail, stopping once to help some tourists get their way back to the Vistor's Center. At around 6 in the evening, I found the walk home to be surprisingly hot and sweat-inducing. I keep a good pace but I wasn't booking it, by any means. Mostly uphill, the calf workout is noticeable. By the time I got to my house, which is only cooled by wind and fans, I felt drenched and slippery with sweat. I thanked the high heavens that my cistern has tasty water. I filled up a tall glass with ice cubes (I've taken to making ice cubes the last few days, which have come in very handy) and cool water. There is little in the world that is more refreshing than a quenching glass of ice water. Knowing the cistern water tastes good makes it that much easier to stay hydrated. When your cistern water tastes funky, you're happier when you're drinking rum, for two reasons- 1) it's rum and that always makes people happy, and 2) it doesn't taste funky. A good test for your cistern water...to see just how drinkable it really is-- make ice cubes. If they are yellow when the water freezes, you're in trouble. My ice cubes are clear and cold.

Speaking of the freezer-section, is it bad to eat a frozen poptart for dinner? Yes. It is probably a most unhealthy meal. Why were the poptarts frozen? Everything, and I do mean everything, except canned tunafish, is in the fridge or freezer. The poptarts normally stay in the fridge, but I mashed one package completely to bits while it was in my bag on St. Thomas yesterday. I was hoping the freezing action might get the pastry to stick to the fruity filling again. Everything must be in the fridge to keep it away from the rodents and ants and other critters. It is just part of life here. Everything that you can put in your mouth should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. The garbage should be emptied at least once a day or else you're just asking for it to attract ants.