Happy New Year!
Time just flies by!
We’ve been anchored here at Water Island for more than a month and we
all have slid into a routine. I’m often
up on deck reading each morning as the sun comes up and the cruise ships come
in to port. Jerry and I take our dinghy
to the beach and walk on Water Island for an hour or so. Kari also dinghies to the beach to start her
hard day’s work at Dinghy’s Bar and Grill.
Where else can you show up to work wearing a bathing suit and no
shoes?! Ryan spends his day at the
computer plunking away operating a successful business aboard Valkyrie in
paradise. And, Haley, Kari’s daughter on
break from college, has been aboard for the last 4 weeks enjoying the sun and
time with her Mom at work and on the boat.
We always have boat projects to work on, meals to cook, and Scrabble to
play. Most every day you can find us in
the water with our snorkels on. We can
jump off the boat, swim 50 feet to the rocks and see all kinds of fish and
other sea creatures. It’s a challenge to
see how many lobsters can be spotted (all small ones) and where the octopus are
hiding.
The organized activities on the beach keep us all coming and
going – Monday night is movie night. Bed
sheets are strung up between the palm trees, golf carts and chairs line up, and
the movie plays with the boats at anchor in the background. Sometimes it showers briefly and we either
wait it out or run for cover. Umbrellas
are suspended over the projection equipment.
If the speakers go out it’s up to the audience to fill in words and
sound effects to go with the picture on the screen. Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill sells a big bag of
popcorn for $2. It doesn’t really matter
what the movie is; it’s more about the experience. Thursdays the girls have been going to
Dinghy’s Beach Bar and Grill for karaoke night.
It’s fun to watch, cheer the others on, and try a song ourselves. We also enjoy just sitting on the beach after
walking each morning before the sun starts beating directly overhead. There are people here to chat with from all
over the world – living on the island, living on boats anchored here, or tourists
stopping by for a visit. We comment each
day how thankful we are to have the opportunity to be here aboard Valkyrie with good friends in
such beautiful surroundings and climate.
Karen
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| Valkyrie anchored next to Malu off Water Island. St. Thomas in the background. |
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| A view from up above the anchorage as we walk in the morning. |
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| Another hilltop anchorage view. |
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| Honeymoon Beach on Water Island. |
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| Another view of Valkyrie with the swim area in the foreground. |
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| Christmas morning |
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| Jerry and Karen have new fancy duds from Ryan and Kari. |
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| Kari, Karen, Haley Christmas morning. |
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| Kari made chicken pie for dinner. Haley is the artist. |
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| Taking fresh flowers to Susan and John on Sea Witch. |
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| Snorkeling find - a hermit crab. He went back in the water after the photo op. |
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| Jerry made whole wheat bread. |
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| Ryan flies his sailboard training kite on St. Thomas. |
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| A floating, motorized picnic table complete with shade, bbq grill and cooler. |
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| Sunset looking through the anchorage towards Puerto Rico. |
