Sunday, July 31, 2016

Fun, Fun, Fun


The high society booth
They were Hot!
After getting a spot on the Hurricane Chain in St. John at 10 AM we headed to Magan’s Bay for the King of Wings contest and arrived at noon just after it started. It had about 40 contestants so there were wings abounding. Again we bought tickets at $1 per wing and started tasting! The day was gray and cool and it affected the crowd as they were more subdued than last year.

They loved their wings
Captain VI was there
It was still a good sized crowd and we had a blast! The wings were good and the people fun. We missed the crowning of the King as we had gone for a swim to cool off and clean our hands and got to meeting some people.


A fun booth
 
It was a good sized crowd





Everyone was having fun


ARHHHH!

The trophies!



The contestants mix
and mix some more
The next day we headed back to St. John for the Iron  Bartender Contest. We were told it started at 2PM so we arrived at about 3PM only to find it had started at noon! All was not lost as they had just finished the first round. There were 12 contestants from bars on St. John, mostly, St. Thomas, and one from St. Croix.

Where is that bottle?
The bartenders face off, in a friendly
way
They were told a drink to make and what ingredients it had to contain and they could add others. It was fun to watch as the judging was based on taste, presentation and showmanship. There were only about 100 spectators, but they were enthusiastic!

The judges. They changed judges every
round
The Winner!
In the end it boiled down to the bartender from St. Croix and a woman bartender, who was one of only 4. She won and it was a good celebration.





The birthday girl!
The anniversary couple
Bruce and Connie
The next day we headed back to St. Thomas and arranged a dinner at the Island View, one of our favorite dinner places, for Leslie’s birthday. As we invited guest we discovered our friends Bruce and Connie were celebrating their anniversary the same day at the same place! So we combined our forces, as most of all the people were both our friends. We had a great time and fantastic dinner. Bruce and Connie were presented with an inflated nude female, but Leslie said that could not make the blog.

 
A good time

The dinner party







Next we prepared for the arrival of our kids. We prepared the boat for 10, 6 adults and 4 children. That will be our next blog!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Party, Party, Party


Sorry this is so long in coming, but it has been busy and mostly fun! April is Carnival in St. Thomas and there are activities all month long. Unfortunately many are late at night and we don’t attend because the Safari buses are not running.
There are a lot of old beetles here
 
There are some nice fast boats here
too!

We did go see the boat races in the harbor. There are food and drink carts set up along the harbor front and now and then two or three boats would race around the harbor course. Of course there is music and a fun atmosphere.

The culmination is at the end of the month with the opening of Carnival Village, a series of plywood food and drink places built around the parking lot which has the music stage in it, and the parades. The first parade is on the last Friday of the month and is called Jouvue and starts at 4 AM and goes from the main cemetery to the waterfront.  We never go to it as it is too early. Then at 11 AM that day is the children’s parade.

they had some great dancing!
 
they could throw the batons!

That parade is always lively and fun and relatively short, 3-4 hours. It is a great parade and we enjoyed it.


The Jumbies were there also







Leslie was an ad for Carnival!
A great steel band









really cute!
They had to be hot!













The next day is the adult parade. We usually attend it also as it is colorful and fun, but this year it was raining, and although the parade went on, we copped out and went to a local party on the beach.
There is a new place on White Bay! Just opened!
the party begins


In May on St John is the country music festival. It is a weekend event starting on Friday with a beach party at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke Island in the BVI. It was a great time! There were scores of boats there and 100s of people enjoying the music and playing on the beach. It was one of my favorite events!

what a scene! All the boats and people having fun
 
I love the inflatables






The police were there, but they carried
no weapons!
Got to love the ads






Leslie got a shot of rum!
she didn't learn from Leslie






Fun, Fun!
Texas was well represented!










More Fun!
They aren't twins








The band was good
Leslie liked the inflatables too









They repaired the still
painted the rum collection point
After the beach party we went to Cane Garden Bay and to the distillery to get some Callwood Rum. For the first time in 10 years of visits I saw changes! They had done some repairs to the still and painted the rum collection area.
had to replace membranes in tubes on left


It’s not all fun as we had to replace the membranes for our water maker. It was an all day job!
We are in the top of the bottom chart


We started June by going to the Hurricane Hole lottery. There are 4 creeks in Coral Bay which are well protected from Hurricanes and the park service has set up chains there to attach to so you can protect your boat and not harm the flora and fauna. There are only a number of spots and each year they hold a lottery for any openings, of which there are few as once you are on you never have to leave, unless you sell your boat. We have attended for 3 years and this year we made it! We are at P28 in Princess Bay! The next party is the King of Wings. That will have to be the next blog. Have fun all!