Days 6 and 7 in paradise

We had a quiet Sabbath. It rained on and off during the day so being at the villa was perfect. We read a few chapters of the new Malcolm Gladwell book, but to be honest I think this time his “thesis” is a bit of a stretch. It is certainly possible to identify many people who overcame adversity to achieve great success, but to suggest that adversity is somehow part of the formula to achieve success is going a bit far, and ignores the far more numerous examples of people who are demolished by their physical, mental, or economic limitations. So after a number of chapters I sort of lost interest. But we enjoyed just watching the clouds and had a couple of good games of Rummikub.

Last night we headed out to hear music at an old favorite location, Island Blues. We were stunned to find the place completely dark and locked up. We drove by today and it was still closed and dark. This is not the first time and will likely not be the last that they have been unable to sustain the business. But we have a lot of fondness for it because the first time we ever went out to hear music on St. John was at Island Blues. So we hope they will reopen. We were able to get a table at Skinny Legs and had a nice evening there instead.

Today we headed off first thing to Maho. We literally had the beach to ourselves, as you can see in these pictures.

This is Barry all alone on the beach.

And here are some friends following us down the road.

We headed over to a place called Aqua Bistro where Lauren, whom we had seen a couple of nights ago, was performing again. We are almost becoming Lauren groupies!

Tomorrow, more of the same, while it snows yet again in New York!

Love,

Rebecca

Pictures from day 5 in paradise

Our yacht (we wish)

Purim is coming

Cloudy skies over St. John

Friends coming for dinner

Our neighborhood grocery

Love,

Rebecca

Day 5 in paradise

Sorry I missed Day 4. It turned out to be a busy day here in paradise. It was cloudy and drizzly in the morning (still practically heaven compared to the insane weather in the northeast) so we took the opportunity to head out for some shopping. Shopping is pretty limited here. There are a couple of “malls,” though that is using the term rather loosely. There are no big “anchor” stores, just a bunch of small shops, most of which sell pretty much the same stuff, with a preponderance of t-shirts. Then there are a couple of nice jewelry stores that sell a lot of baubles with unusual stones. We walked around a bit and we saw a very pretty bracelet, but it seemed a bit extravagant to me. So Barry did that thing he does and managed to get me busy buying something for the children in another store while he, saying he was going to buy Ella some earrings we had looked at, ran back and bought that bracelet as well. I was again reminded of something that one of the girl’s teachers back in early elementary school said to me, “Barry is a prince of a guy.”

I have a hard time doing much walking, and even if we had a wheelchair here it would be nearly impossible to use it, so we did not stay long. When the clouds cleared and we finished shopping we headed off to Hawksnest Beach, ate the picnic lunch we had brought, and sat on the beach for a few hours. 

Then we went back and showered and dressed and headed over to a place called Miss Lucy’s to listen to some music. This is the view from where we sat on the patio:

 From there we moved to a place called Skinny Legs to hear a singer named Laura. We have heard her many times over the years and each year we ponder why she never left this place to pursue a larger career, she really is that good. We listened to her for a couple of sets and then headed back to the villa.

Today, it will be more of the same. We’re packing up lunch and heading to Trunk Bay. This is a gorgeous beach that is about as “touristy” as things get on St. John, in that it has actual bathrooms and a small food concession. But the big attraction is, or perhaps was would be more the correct term, an underwater snorkel path, with signs telling you what you are looking at. Unfortunately, after years of throngs of novice snorkelers, much of the beautiful coral has been damaged, so even the first couple of times we did it (back when I could still go snorkeling), it was disappointing. Still, it is a beautiful beach with relatively easy access, worth a visit.

We have our food and Malcolm Gladwell’s newest book, David and Goliath, for Sabbath, and are all set for a beautiful and peaceful 25 hours. Saturday night we will head over to Island Blues for some drinks and music. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, three more days of the same, if the traffic is moving....

Sending warm thoughts and wishes for warm weather to all!

Love,

Rebecca

Day 3 in paradise (with a slight glitch)

To put it mildly, St. John is not exactly the most modern place. Nothing ever changes much. However, although we have come here many (about 8, I’m not sure) times, and we have heard that they are frequent, we have never experienced a power outage. Until this trip. The first evening, we were sitting at a local bar listening to music when the lights went out. For a minute or so it was pitch black, really weird. But then the power generator came on to at least keep the kitchen/bar going, and they were pretty quick with the candles. The power came back after only ten minutes or so.

But this morning, just as we were discussing which gorgeous beach to visit today, the power went out. After a few minutes it looked like it was not coming back on any time soon. So we did the only thing we could think to do: we pulled some food from the fridge and headed for the beach! We had a lovely day there and were elated when we saw the outside lights when we arrived back at the house.

And even in Biblical times, they knew that there could be something beautiful after the rain.

Love,

Rebecca

Day 2 in paradise

First, we watched the sunrise from the porch of our villa.

Here is a picture of Coral Bay from our porch.

Then we headed on to Hawksnest Beach, where we spent a few relaxing hours basking in the warm sun (well, sort of under a tree because that sun is too intense!)

And lastly, we stopped along the way back and took pictures at Trunk Bay and Maho Bay from the road that winds past them.

If this is becoming too painful for those of you trying to cope with the cold and snow, you may want to take a vacation from my blog for the next week, because it will just be more of the same!

Love,

Rebecca

First day in paradise

Heeding the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” I’ll let a few photos do the talking! (Wikipedia has a whole entry on the origins of that saying if you’re interested).

The yellow Jeep is our rental car – not something you would see in New York. The next three were taken today on Maho Bay, a beautiful and calm beach. There were a couple of very brief showers during which we took cover, but otherwise it was a glorious day.

We missed a great photo opportunity as we were driving to the beach because the camera was in the back of the Jeep and there was no place to pull over. A huge group of donkeys was walking along the side of the road! Along with them was one little duck. From now on, I need to keep the camera more accessible.

At least we are missing the snow! Stay warm, all!

Love,

Rebecca

Ready or not....

Just a quick break from finishing the packing… we’re on our way first thing tomorrow morning.

We did manage to squeeze in one more movie before we head off, “Tim’s Vermeer.” This is an interesting documentary about a fellow named Tim Jenison, who is a sort of Jack-of-many-trades who managed to make a lot of money during the 1980s with a desktop video-production tool that has enabled him to pursue some rather odd interests, including a bit of an obsession with the 17^th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. He was determined to figure out the technique Vermeer used to give his works a very real and three-dimensional quality. This was not exactly an action film, but for anyone who is fascinated by how things work, and any of our friends who have studied optics (a few of whom read this stuff I write) would find this movie very interesting.

We had a nice Sabbath. It was cold but not frigid so we were able to make it to synagogue, and I enjoyed sitting with my dear friend Judy. We had a quiet lunch, read and played our weekly Rummikub games. We each won one game; Barry apparently no longer believes he has to let me win! Now we are just finishing the packing for tomorrow.

So, I need to shut down the computer and get to sleep early, since our flight is first thing in the morning. If all is working well from St. John, I should be able to keep in touch and will try to share highlights.

Stay warm! I know we will!

Love,

Rebecca