After sailing to Buck Island on Mary Ann’s boat (well, the other three did - I rode both ways on Origami), we had a drink at the Yacht Club bar, then reconvened at Café Kaleidoscope. It’s on the corner of routes 62 and 624, just northwest of the Great Pond (oh, and 1/4 mile due west of our house ).

We had a great day out on the water and, once again, Pat and Sasha were there to nourish us after our adventures. I must say that one of the best days of my life took us to Kaleidoscope last year, where Pat’s coquilles St. Jacques delighted my palate after we’d swum with a dozen dolphins as we kayaked out to Buck Island the long way.

A couple of my favorite things about Kaleidoscope are the peaceful south shore location. In contrast to many other, air conditioned places, you can feel the breezes and inhale the fresh warm south shore air. You can look up at the unspoiled hillsides just west of the restaurant and know that soon, this land will be national park land. You can look to the southeast and see the lush mangroves surrounding and part of the Great Pond, which will also, with luck, soon be national park land, never to be violated by development.

In addition to the clean, comfortable feel of this place, the food quality is unsurpassed. Pat is an accomplished chef, and her dishes reflect the varied flavors of the different ethnic cuisines she has studied. Besides my favorite, the coquilles St. Jacques, she offers Italian delights such as eggplant rollatini (have I mentioned recently that I love eggplant), and sometimes tiramisu. She often serves a fabulous Asian-style salmon with with wasabi mashed potatoes, and there are always tempura veggies as an appetizer. Soup of the day was French onion, but I love her creamy roasted pepper soup when she has it. The mandarin salad is always fresh and delicious. Michael and I shared a seafood delight plate with mussels, scallops and flounder. It was wonderful! Finish your meal, as we did, with Pat’s home-made key lime pie. Another perfect ending to a perfect day in paradise.

Their menu is not extensive, nor is it expensive. Very reasonable prices make Café Kaleidoscope most inviting.

Call 773-1062 for reservations. Hours are Thursday thru Sunday 6-9pm.

Actually, it was more like a hopeful snicker. But it wasn’t sad. It was a joyful, but tentative, rejoicing.

We stopped into the Pickled Greek on our way home from Luncheria last night. The restaurant was about half full and there were a few more folks outside. We sat at the bar to order a couple of drinks, and suddenly, the lights went out!

Fortunately, we’d gotten our drinks first. Phew! But it was still pretty scary. Nikki and Doug and others, got their lighters out and we could see each other for a few seconds until the generator kicked on. Yes! The generator kicked on! Wild cheering could be heard all over the island. It was coming from the Greek. Well….it was quiet……the TV’s island-wide had gone dead……so people could hear better. Okay, maybe a couple of houses in Tide Village could detect muffled sounds coming from the inside of the Pickled Greek, but we heard ourselves cheering. Loud and clear!

They turned off one of the AC units so as not to strain the great machine, a gift to Peter from a friend who’d left island. But every time a compressor on a fridge turned on, the lights dimmed. Finally they turned off the other AC unit and opened the door. We felt it was cool enough and it didn’t stifle anyone (except maybe the kitchen staff - Peter said that the other day, it was 120 degrees in there, but that was not because of the power outage - there’s just way too much equipment running in there and not enough ventilation - but they’re working on making more holes in the walls and roof ).

At one point, the kitchen staff thought they might start the dishwasher, but it got really iffy and seemed like the generator wouldn’t be able to do it’s job, so they decided to wait on that load of dishes. It stayed dark outside, except for the headlights of passing cars, for about 45 minutes. Finally, WAPA came back on and the generator turned itself off.

We went outside with Peter, Nikki, Nicole and Amanda, to sit and visit some more, and watch them smoke. An SUV went by and a woman inside it exclaimed, “Oh my god! They’re open!” So we said, “Yeah! We’re open, come on in!” But she drove on by, hopefully to return soon….

So, hooray for the Pickled Greek! Another hurdle overcome. They will undoubtedly be busy during the coming power-outage season, since so few restaurants have generators. Look at your calenders, folks. Sunday, June first is when you’ll start getting the tropical updates on the weather channel. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Peter’s generator doesn’t get too worn out in the coming months.

For reservations at St. Croix’s newest, Greekiest restaurant, please call (340) 713-1868. Oohpah!

Yep! It’s that time of year again, already. The mangoes are dropping. Well I guess something has to drop, we haven’t gotten any rain to speak of since the very beginning of May, just before the triathlon.

I thought that maybe we could keep up with the falling fruit if we did a batch every other day. But not really. We have to do it every day. At least it’s better than slipping on them in the driveway, though. I always feel guilty about letting all that food go to waste if I don’t have time to process them.

Here’s how we do it. We go out wit a big bowl or a bucket and pick up the ones that don’t have huge gouges or bruises or dents. We bring them in and wash them with dish soap and a little bleach. Some have all sorts of grit, so we need to scrub them well. We rinse them and put them into another bowl. Then we cut them up into 3 or 4 chunks each. Then we put them through our Champion juicer.

A nice, thick glop comes out which has the consistency of pudding. We put it in plastic containers and into the freezer, or we eat/drink it. Sometimes we make smoothies with it. This is the best way to deal with this particular variety since they’re so stringy. The strings just get caught in the juicer and we don’t have to pick them out of our teeth !

It’s a lot of work. The other morning, between gathering, washing, “juicing”, and cleaning up afterwards, I’d been at it for two or three hours (well, okay, I took a few breaks to check e-mail, or fold laundry), but it was a long time. Michael and I did around 50 or 60 of them last evening. Cleaning the juicer (and the kitchen….sometimes globs of mango end up on the cabinets or in our hair) afterwards is the most painstaking part.

We’re going to have to have a mango blender drink party again. Mango daiquiri or margarita, anyone? We’re running out of containers and freezer space!

I was hungry when I got home from work yesterday. I had eaten a small, early lunch because I had to get to work, but also in preparation for our dinner at The Pickled Greek.

We were on our way up Lowry Hill Road, when a neighbor stopped us to ask if I could massage his leg soon, since he’s been having trouble with it. I said, yes, give me a call, and we traveled on.

There were a few people there already and Heike sat us at the table she was working at with the reservation book, close to the bar area and kitchen. We saw the usual suspects: Lorine and Diane, Margi and Fran, Joe and Val, Diane Marie, and more friends and supporters trickled in throughout the evening: Peter and Carol, Leonore and Paul, Mike and Barbara, Avalon and Athena, Doug and Isabel, Jenny and Chris, Jeannie and Rick, etc. etc.

We looked at the menu and couldn’t get past the appetizer section! I wanted everything (except for the meat things, but there were only two apps with meat - cool!). We ordered the tzatziki (cucumber, garlic yogurt dip); the melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant, red pepper and garlic dip); the spanakopita (spinach and feta in phyllo); the dolmades (herbed, rice-stuffed grape leaves); the falafel (herbed, fried chickpea balls); the calamari and the tyropita (cheese-stuffed phyllo triangles).

It was all fabulous! Our only mistake was ordering tzatziki, since a couple of the other things came with it (the grape leaves and falafel), so we had an abundance of the delicious stuff. It was the only thing we couldn’t finish. But we didn’t leave much. We shared a bottle of Mitchell’s Pinot Nero and it was a perfect meal.

Nikki was our server and apologized at one point for not paying enough attention to us. It was not a problem, we had people popping over to our table throughout the evening, and we had each other and Biggie to occupy our attention. Besides, we got our wine and food in a very timely manner, and were pretty busy polishing it off most of the time. Oh, and Peter started dancing with Pam and Heike and Cindy twice while we were there, so there was plenty of entertainment.

We were about half-way through our repast, when I spotted Aaron! Peter’s chef was back for opening night! I jumped up and ran over to give him a hug. He’s looking great and he says he’s feeling good, too. What a thrill for him to see the day we’ve all been waiting for! He’d worked so hard for so long before his diagnosis with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that it would have been a real tragedy for him to have missed it. He’s here for a week and looking forward to coming back when his treatments are finished, and taking over in the kitchen. We’ll surely be stopping in during the week to visit with him and the rest of the gang.

In more good news….Vinnie comes back today from rehab in CA. It’ll be great to see him again as well.

By the time we had finished, all of the indoor tables were full and a couple of the outdoor tables were, too. We are extremely happy that there will be NO SMOKING inside the Pickled Greek. Peter, himself, goes outside when he wants to light up.

They’ve also decided that, for the time being they will not open for lunch. They should be busy enough with dinners, especially if they continue to provide the quality and service we experienced last night. I think they decided that, after two refrigerator malfunctions (and subsequent food losses) over the week-end, that they’d get new equipment before getting overly ambitious.

As for the rest of the menu, the two appetizers we didn’t have were the lahanadomathes (spiced lamb and rice cabbage rolls) and keftedes (lamb and beef meatballs in a tomato herb sauce). For soup or salad, you can have a traditional Greek salad, a warm spinach salad, a village Greek salad, which has the veggies without the lettuce, and Yia Yia stew, a hearty seasonal veggie soup. Mmmm!

For sandwiches, they have the classic gyro, a souvlaki pita (with marinated chicken, beef or lamb), a keftedes (meatball) sandwich, a falafel pita, a veggie pita or a Greek hamburger. All sandwiches come with your choice of fries or Greek coleslaw.

The entrée selections are souvlaki (slow roasted, marinated beef, lamb or chicken kabobs); moussaka (herbed eggplant lasagna with or without lamb); pastitsio (macaroni and ground lamb casserole); a leg of lamb; a NY steak or fresh fish of the day. All entrees are served with seasonal ratatouille and rice.

The prices are very reasonable. Our total for the evening came to $77, not including tip. Truly a bargain for all that food and the delicious wine. Salads are $9 or $10, sandwiches $9-$12, and entrees (except for the fresh catch, which would be market price) $16-$23.

After the feasting, and to celebrate his opening, Peter opened a couple of bottles of ouzo and shared a drink with each table. It was a great evening. The acoustics inside were very loud, but it’s a Greek place, there’s going to be a lot of activity and noise. But it will always be a good time. We had so much fun I forgot about my Greek lesson. So, bon appetit!

Llewellyn signals the start of our wedding

The following is a Guest Opinion, from the Virgin Island Daily News, Thursday, March 13. Written by Todd H. Newman, an attorney who lives on St. Croix. Reprinted by request of Raki (Raquel Santiago-Silver).

On Monday, March 3, St. Croix icon Llewellyn Westerman went home. Every community has one or two persons who are so well known, and so beloved, that they are just referred to by one name. Llewellyn is just such a person.

A famous musician, recording artist and performer - having been crowned the Calypso King of St. Croix - expert chef, man of letters, and one of the best sailors in the Caribbean, Llewellyn can now also be known as Lazarus.

On Friday in the afternoon Llewellyn was doing what he loves best: sailing. As he brought his vessel Charis up to the mooring at the St. Croix Yacht (Club), a squall came up. He and his brother Inglore struggled to anchor the boat and lower the sails. Suddenly, Llewellyn collapsed. The first of many miracles on that Friday was that when he collapsed, Llewellyn became tangled in the sails and fortunately did not fall overboard. He was not breathing and there was no heartbeat.

Mike Webber - originally from the states but who has lived on St. Croix for many years - was on the dock at the Yacht Club and saw that something was wrong. He raced down the dock, got into the Yacht Club whaler, motored up to Charis and somehow was able to lift the lifeless Llewellyn into the boat. He ran the whaler straight on to the beach and immediately began mouth to mouth resuscitation and CPR. St. Croix native Stephanie Malanga came running over to help, as did Lisa Price, who has split her time between St. Croix and Jackson, Wyoming for many years.

The three of them, a white male from the states, a white Virgin Islander, and a woman who has loved St. Croix all her life, worked furiously breathing air into Llewellyn and pounding on his chest. While they were doing everything they could to keep blood flowing through the body whose heart had stopped, someone from the Yacht Club remembered that William Will, who lives in Cotton Valley, had recently purchased a defibrillator. A call was made and miraculously Will was home and raced to the Yacht Club with the defibrillator.

The exhausted lifesavers followed the instructions and placed the defibrillator on Llewellyn. No heartbeat registered. The defibrillator then did its job and Llewellyn’s heart began beating.

Ambulances arrived and the comatose Llewellyn was rushed to the hospital. There, Emergency Room doctors and nurses fought to stabilize their patient. A CAT scan was performed to see how badly Llewellyn had injured his head when he collapsed. At that time, a young Virgin Islands native, Dr. Keldall Griffith - who had graduated from Central High, gone on to the states for his medical training and returned to St. Croix several years ago as a cardiologist - was testifying in Frederiksted in front of the Legislature. Contact was made with Dr. Griffith, and he came to the hospital.

Despite it being Friday evening, he quickly assembled his expert team of specialists and by 7 p.m. he was operating on Llewellyn. By 10:30 that evening - to the grateful applause and tears that greeted him from those of the many Llewellyn well-wishers who had snuck their way into the hospital - he announced that he had repaired the blockages in Llewellyn’s heart.

Our amazement and joy at the fantastic set of circumstances that had resulted in Llewellyn still being alive were tempered by our fears as to what brain damage may have been done due to the long time that Llewellyn was without a heartbeat. The miracle became complete Saturday morning as Llewellyn was weaned off of the narcotics, and we instantly knew from the sound of his voice and the quick humor that indeed Llewellyn was back!

As Virgin lslanders we are many times too consumed with concerns of race and petty politics.

The events last weekend remind us of what a special place we live in, where a community of people worked together to breath life into one of our beloved residents, keeping him alive long enough for a son of our soil to perform his wondrous healing.

I am so happy to be a Virgin Islander and so proud of all who were involved in bringing Llewellyn back - we should all be proud. Every once in a while in the Virgin Islands it all works out.

Todd H. Newman

We have gotten many, many comments from concerned friends and family members all over.

The latest one is from his companion, Karen who says, “Llew has another week of recovery and then back for a stress test on Friday. He is taking it easy and getting some paper work done. plus alot of ZZZZZ!”

It’s good to hear that he’s doing well. We look forward to seeing Captain Westerman back at the helm of Charis+!

After our day at Great Pond Bay, we decided to eat at home. There were some nice scallops in the freezer, some Southgate Farm organic salad greens, baby heirloom tomatoes and basil, fresh mozzarella, and a bottle of Crossing Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blancs in the fridge. We could really do something with all that.

So we (I mean I) did. Well, Michael opened the bottle. He did a good job, too. It was VERY fizzy and squirted out all over the place. And it was lovely. Crisp and dry, just the way I like it. We have been fortunate enough, this year, to have met Tom and Chris Carroll who own the Crossing Vineyards and Winery in Pennsylvania. And they gave us a bottle of their fabulous sparkling wine. Tom’s words as we left were, “Don’t save it for a special occasion, just drink it”. So we did. And it was sort of a special occasion. It was Sunday and we had a day off.

I assembled a salad with the greens, mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, and whipped up a Coquilles St. Jacques over brown rice pilaf. Goliath shared a bit of it with us and gave it two paws up!

We’re playing with a new image gallery plug-in. If all goes well, you should see a slideshow of images from great pond:

We’d gone to bed pretty early Saturday night, considering the activities we’d participated in (all that caffeine and sugar…), so were up before 8 on Sunday morning. The question was: Since we got a lot of stuff done on Saturday, what would we do for fun today?

We walked/ran the road down to the Great Pond, which we do as often as possible now that we know Paul Golden is hoping to break ground on his “resort” in March. We need to work-out, so this trip kills two birds (but not Yellow Birds…) with one stone. We’ll be the ones to blow the whistle on that illegal project if he tries anything. We go with cell phone and camera so we can call the newspaper, property owner and attorney, and Planning and Natural Resources Department if anything is amiss. Michael took pictures and we talked about kayaking and snorkeling out in Great Pond Bay since it was, once again, really windy and we needed to get out on the water.

We got home after our walk, had breakfast, Michael did a little “rover-tweaking”, we loaded the kayak onto the “Great Pumpkin”, and headed down the road one more time.

The Great Pumpkin Rides Again!

The Great Pond Bay is pretty sheltered by the hills of the surrounding landscape and the large barrier reef to the south. It’s nice and shallow and the most incredibly clear turquoise blue (no Wreg, not tidy bowl blue!) with scattered patch reef and sea grass covered areas between the white sand bottom. We pedaled out in the kayak and found a bunch of East End Marine Park mooring buoys that we could tie up to. Great! We chose one in the vicinity of a couple of larger patch reefs and jumped in. It felt great to be in the water again. We went for a swim last week with the local swimming group, but the water at Ha’penny was cloudy, murky and churned up. We couldn’t see the bottom at all. But here….oh, yes, THIS is paradise!

We swam over to the closest reef and it was a little churned up, but we saw tons of juvenile fish. There were french grunts and damsels and a spanish hogfish, blue tang, etc. We swam some more and came to a tiny patch with a lobster beneath it. A few yards away was another small reef with 3 or 4 of them, and then to the east was another bug. There was also the biggest conch I have ever seen, and an octopus! We could have eaten for a week with all the goodies there. Well, Michael could have. I’m not a fan of octopus. We turned around to look toward the kayak and there were three large barracudas and one larger one! Yikes! They were not, however interested in us, so they slowly swam off. We continued exploring and as I came around the west side of a reef,I spotted a small sea turtle. As soon as he saw me he took off like a flash. I swam fast and he swam faster. He just flew! He was small and pretty far away, so I could not tell whether he was a green or a hawksbill. But he was cute!

After close to an hour in the water, I started getting cold, so we went back to the kayak and pedaled to shore. The pumpkin was still there and I got to drive her part of the way home. It felt more familiar driving on the right side of the car this time. Soon I think I’ll be ready to take her for a real spin.

“It’ll be something different”, I said to Michael when we heard about the Yellow Bird coffee tasting. Not that he needed convincing. This would be a coffee and dessert pairing. Michael can be a coffee-and-dessert-a-holic (when he’s not too busy with projects, anyway). So we went out to Starfish Patisserie, Dennis Gribbons’ new pastry shop and bakery on Saturday evening and had a wonderful time. Yellow Bird Virgin Islands Coffee is the creation of Kangja and Roger Morgan.

I met Roger and Kangja shortly after they relocated to St. Croix a few years ago. It was at a rum tasting at the former Cafe Madeleine. That night, the rum was Cruzan Single Barrel, the island’s premier sipping rum. We chatted for a long time and shared stories about how we’d gotten to St. Croix, and life on our island, in general.

Anyway, we talked to Jenna and Tori about it and they were very interested. And when Meredith found out about it she wanted to come, too, even after her long week preparing for the Villa Madeleine Condo Association’s annual meeting. We didn’t have advance tickets, so Michael and I went early to get tickets and seats for the gang. We were REALLY early. Jerome and Viviana weren’t even in their official Yellow Bird uniforms yet when we arrived.

At a little after seven, shortly after Roger started giving us a history of Kangja’s dream to start a coffee company, the rest of our crew got there. Our first taste was of the Crucian Rainforest Blend. It was paired with a mini almond Danish topped with orange butter. Yummmm! The coffee is great. Some of the smoothest and richest-tasting I’ve ever had. Not being a caffeine user, I thought I’d be in BIG trouble later, but I persevered, drinking cup after cup of this delectable dark nectar.

The next round consisted of the Coral Bay Frangelico flavored coffee, paired with a fresh fruit tartlet and chocolate covered strawberry with strawberry coulis. Fantastic!

But I still liked the Cruzan coffee better. The last one would be the Frenchtown Roast. I love my coffee strong and thought this would be my favorite. It was paired with a chocolate and peanut butter mousse cake. Very good, but the desserts were starting to get to me. It was heavy for the last course and, while I enjoyed it, I could feel the sugar and caffeine coursing through my body and I felt heavy with the quantity of the last dessert. I was getting wired and tired at the same time. But I ate it all….

And then they had a raffle. Each of the prizes was a gift bag with a “thank you” card from Kangja and a package of Rainforest blend coffee! We’d put our names on our ticket stubs and Michael crunched them up before Meredith put them in the basket. The first name picked was…..mine! Then Michael’s, then Jenna’s! Crunching up the tickets had worked! We left with some major loot! Cool!

Afterward, we congratulated Roger and Kangja on their new venture (and on winning the battle against the “senators” wanting to shut down their radio station) and went outside to decide on our next step. We thought it would be fun to play miniature golf and Jenna wanted to come, but the others declined. So we set off in the rain to the east end where it had stopped raining, but the place was closed. The others all decided to go home, but we’d just heard that Danny Morris was playing at Chicken Charlie’s so we checked it out and it was true.

We saw Marg and Jim and Ethan and Robin, Millie and Tom, and a bunch of others. After all that caffeine and sugar, we needed something starchy and calming, so we drank a beer or two and had potato skins with cheese and sour cream (Michael ate all the bacon, and there was a LOT of it!). At the break, we paid Whitney , put a few bucks in Danny’s bucket, and headed home. Believe it or not, after all those stimulants, we were able to go right to sleep. I guess it was a burn and crash situation, or maybe the hops in the beer worked really well. But it was a fun and different evening. We’re going to stick with our regular Dean’s Beans organic fair-trade coffee (it not only tastes good, but it’s good for the planet and the people in the coffee-producing villages) but we’ll definitely be buying more Yellow Bird coffee occasionally.

But first more sad news. Yet another friend has passed. We knew him through Peter and listened to him play at the Galleon on many occasions. Ben Miele was not in great shape. He needed regular dialysis treatments. But he was never without a cocktail and a smile. His hearty laughter filled the air whenever he was around people. He died on Tuesday and we just heard about it Friday. We will miss “Big Ben”.

On a happier note, the art show at the atrium in Gallows Bay was a big hit. Bonnie Luria’s paintings of island people are so stirring. You can really feel the energy of her subjects. Way to go, Bonnie!

This painting is entitled “Crucian July” and I love how you can see the juices dripping all over from the ripe mango. Mango season is very messy!
Too bad we are clean out of wall space…. .

Some of Don Scafidi’s, Ross Meuer’s and Madeleine Meehan’s works were displayed as well. The place was packed. I liked the idea of having it in the atrium, but couldn’t figure out where they’d put the paintings. They had them on portable wall systems with special directional lighting. It was a nice thought, but there wasn’t really enough room to back up and see the paintings from the proper distance. And there were always people in the way because of the narrow passages. Despite these minor deficiencies, it went well from what I saw.

After schmoozing with Lorine and Michael and Deb and Asha and a dozen other friends, we headed out, in Jenna’s car to Savant for dinner with her and Tori, who has been visiting for the first time.
Michael and I were there a couple of weeks ago and have not had a chance to blog about it. So here goes….It was great! Both times!

We could hardly wait to dig in!

The funny thing is, the bartender came over to talk to us remembering that we’d been there recently, and for some reason, thinking that we’d had a bad time. We told him that we had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves the other week and knew we’d have a great time again. We always start off with the grilled baby calamari. Both times it was cooked just right and even though the pieces were large, they were not too rubbery. Last time we had a lobster dinner with ginger mango sauce and a cumin encrusted mahi. Both were fabulous. This time we chose the mahi stuffed with shrimp mousse and wrapped in a chinese cabbage leaf over soba noodles and the mahi ceviche.

The stuffed fish was excellent, but I was not thrilled with the ceviche. Michael enjoyed both, though and ate all of the ceviche and half of the mahi. Jenna opted for lambchops and Tori had the stuffed mahi, too. We quickly went through a bottle of Bodega Dolium Petit Malbec, so Michael and I each had an other glass to get us through to dessert.

There were nine dessert items to chose from. Three frozen pies, three cakes and three other things (I forget, now, duh….). Michael wanted the hazelnut mousse pie and Jenna wanted the chocolate coconut rum cake. Tori and I wanted forks and decaf. It all was delicious and we were stuffed!

Frequently, when I’m driving down the road, I am awestruck at the beauty of this place. Is it my Maui Jim extremely polarized shades that make the colors so vivid? I often tilt them down to make sure it’s really that gorgeous. It really is.

The sharp lines between the verdant hills and the sugar mills against the blue of the sky are stunning. The varying degrees of the colors of the sea, between light turquoise and deep royal blue take my breath away.

Yesterday it was overcast and rainy, but today was one of those sunny clear days that act as yet another reminder of how fortunate I am to be here.

It was because we didn’t have half-and-half for our morning coffee.

We had gone out two or three times on Saturday to do errands in Gallows Bay, but forgot to stop at Schooner Bay Market (who, by the way, has jumbo eggs in the “large egg” cartons now!) on the way home to get coffee additive. I’m not an addict, but Michael insists that anything else is inferior and unacceptable.

Besides, we hadn’t been out to breakfast in a looong time, so we decided on the Golden Rail since it was close to the hardware store. It would be our umpteenth trip to GBH (aka Gannet) in two days. Plumbing issues, land rover issues, and general household issues cause us to make frequent treks to see Phil, Mary and the gang. It would normally bother my environmentalist conscience to start the car that often, but with the “veggie mobile“, I am saved from sleepless nights.

Anyway, the place was packed! Only one person said Goliath was not welcome until I whipped out his card, and then we were no longer harassed. Patrick even mentioned that he was better behaved than most kids that come in there. (We knew that).

Breakfast was HUGE! Michael had the seafood omelet (too fishy tasting for me, especially in the morning), and I had the spinach and salmon benedict on a croissant. Only a little too fishy because there was sooo much salmon. But it’s easy to not eat too much of the fish and I wrapped up a lot of it to take home. It was yummy but large.

We were so full that we didn’t have to eat anything until dinnertime. The Golden Rail rocks!

Saturday night we went to see the musical, “Chicago”, performed by our local Caribbean Community Theater. It was amazing! We had seen it a few weeks back. My daughter was in it and had a great time on stage and behind stage with her new acting friends.

We had enjoyed it so much we wanted to share the love with our friend, Beth. We picked her up in the orange rover and headed for Tutto Bene for a quick snack before the show. We always love the “taste of Tutto Bene” appetizer platter, which could easily be a meal in itself (for two!), so we got one of those, a plate of mussels and one of peel-and-eat shrimp. Some lovely red wine (I had a merlot and Michael an Italian red) rounded out our mini meal.

We arrived at the theater and, even though we had pre-paid tickets, had to wait in a long line. The theater folks were smart, though and had us come in the back way so we could wait in line right next to the bar. Everyone took advantage of the opportunity to imbibe. We were almost inside when it started pouring. We got a little wet, just enough to mess up our hair (oh, woe!) but finally made it to some seats in the second-to-last row. The show started with Leslie Highfield and the cast singing “All that Jazz”. It was great, but when they got to the scene where Roxy’s husband, Amos, takes the rap for her, the power went out. They finished the scene, but decided to stop the show until the WAPA gods decided to go back to work. Then they re-started the show. It was 9pm, and hour later than normal. But everything went smoothly from there. A standing ovation at the end gave the saddened cast members (it was the final performance) something to remember.

Everyone went to Tutto Bene after that to dance at Tutto’s Saturday night disco party (it happens the first Saturday of each month). The place was packed. It took forever to get a drink. I got a little miffed at one point and we went outside, then we went home. It was way past our bedtime anyway.

Friday night we dined at Cafe Kaleidoscope with our friends Jim and Marg from NJ. We brought our wine, as the selection there has historically been quite limited. Michael and I shared the cream of mushroom soup and house mandarin salad as our starters. Our friends shared an appetizer of crab cakes. Yummy! Michael chose the coquilles St. Jacques for his entree (my usual favorite) and I had the flounder meuniere. Jim opted for the chicken dijonnaise and Marg the Asian style salmon (Michael’s usual favorite). All plates went back empty. Goliath had a bit of my fish and rice with some bread and butter. Sasha, the bartender/host got him his own chair, too.

We enjoyed lively conversation about the goings on in the neighborhood. And we had dessert, too!
The tiramisu is awesome. Pat (the chef) makes a great one. This one was purchased but still delicious. Jim had cheesecake and Marg the home-made key lime pie. More empty plates went back. It was a fun night combining great food and excellent company.

After his successful angioplasty last night, Llewellyn woke up this morning and spoke those words!

I just called the YC and spoke to Krista, one of the sailing teachers. This is encouraging news! We will post updates as we receive them…..

The news is not good, but we are hoping for the best. Our friend, one of the best sailors on St. Croix, a gentleman, storyteller, and first class entertainer, Llewellyn Westerman collapsed on his boat today as he was bringing folks back to his mooring in front of the Yacht Club.

Michael and I witness him sailing in, as we massaged a couple on the deck of their rental villa. A heavy rain squall was coming in just as he was. He turned Charis into the wind to take the sails down. We could hear the sails flapping, but they didn’t come down very fast. It looked as though he had caught the mooring line, but the sails kept flapping. Our client asked what was going on and we told him that Llewellyn was coming back and the sails would be coming down soon. But they continued flapping. Then the boat went backwards. We thought that perhaps his mooring line had broken.

The yacht club dinghy came racing out to help stop Charis from hitting any other boats. They tied her to another mooring and carried Llewellyn to shore. A few minutes later, the ambulances arrived. We thought it might have been one of his guests. But we just received a call from the clients we were working on that it was indeed our friend.

We are hoping for the best…..

The Sunday-Monday edition of our local newspaper listed 29 job openings. Not including those at the Buccaneer Hotel, which is looking for people to fill many vacant positions there. The Wednesday edition listed 28 openings, again, not including the Buccaneer. And at this time of year, we have many transient workers who are here for the high times, but will go to Sarasota or Alaska for the Summer. So there are not as many spots to fill as there are during the months of May through December. It’s still plenty. But people say “there are no jobs…”

We also frequently see “Help Wanted” ads (and we hear them on the radio) by the Divi Hotel and Casino. In fact, a few months ago, the Divi asked the government if they could hire people under 21 to work in the casino, since they could not find enough qualified Cruzans of age to work in the industry. Where are all the people who need jobs? Do they really WANT to work?

The “powers that be” support Paul Golden in his attempts to build a resort/convention center/casino on the South Shore because he’ll bring jobs to the territory. Hmmmm. There aren’t enough qualified people to fill the vacancies we have now, so….

He’ll have to hire more statesiders! And then the people dem will bitch about all “de outsiders dem takin’ all de jobs dem”.

It won’t be pretty.

And then there’s the guy we see at all the Paul Golden hearings. Roy Rogers. He has kids with college degrees. He wants them to work in Golden’s Resort. But he wants them to start out in managerial positions.

Well, I know a guy who’s the president of an oil company in RI. His father owned the company. But his father made him learn the business from the “ground up”. He started out cleaning boilers and working in freezing cold temperatures. He learned every aspect of the job so he could become a good manager. His company is very successful because of this. Why can’t Roy’s kids start out dealing cards at Divi to see what it’s like?

I came from the states a while ago, but I have paid my dues, doing everything (even with a master’s degree) from cleaning other peoples’ toilets to finally running a successful business. I don’t want an influx of Americans here. I left America because I wanted a simpler island-style life. Americans will bring their strip malls and IHOPs. Ugh!

St. Croix has so much potential to become a unique example of responsible development and non-invasive tourism. Why can’t we all just work together to make this happen rather than cow-towing to some big talking Jerseyite with a lot of PR and too little common sense and foresight?

(Also sent to the Source, the Avis and The Daily News)

As a person who fell in love with St. Croix the first time I landed at the Alexander Hamilton Airport in 1987, has lived here, raised my daughter here, worked myriad jobs (menial, professional and managerial), has done countless hours of volunteer work, and continues to try to promote the beauty and uniqueness of our island home, I must speak, yet again, about the potential damage that Paul Golden’s casino, convention center, golf course and “resort” will do to this amazing place.

There are a group of swimmers who get together every Saturday morning to swim from one point to another at various beaches around St. Croix. I have swum with them for over 10 years. One of the swims takes the participants from Robin Bay (east of Mt. Fancy) to the Boy Scout Camp. It can be a fabulous swim. The patch reefs in the Great Pond Bay, as well as the barrier reef, harbor innumerable species of colorful sea life. The waters are fresh and clear, until you get to the beach where Paul Golden wants to build this abomination. The beach may look nice from land, but it is murky and full of smelly seaweed once you get to the spot where this “resort” is proposed. The current takes a lot of yucky stuff to that particular beach.

During certain times of the year, the place smells like septic. The aroma of decaying vegetation in the area as part of the natural processes of a wetland/saltpond, aka swamp is prevalent. My belief is that Paul Golden was sold the proverbial, “Prime swampland in St. Croix that my buddies and I have been holding onto for just someone like you…” And that may be why we see former Senator David Jones’ face at every Golden hearing trying to dissuade naysayers like me, who actually know what the area is like and have had many years of contact with stateside tourists.

My business depends largely on tourism and I know the typical “golf resort/casino tourist” will definitely not enjoy their stay at this resort. But Golden does not want to look like an idiot who’s been sold a bill of goods, which is why he perseveres.

I can only imagine the pampered American tourist holding her nose walking from the beach to the golf course (or more likely being chauffeured in a fancy golf cart) to complain to her husband about the “awful smell of St. Croix” and wanting to go to Aruba or St. Martin.

St. Croix is a breathtakingly unspoiled gem with so much more potential than to be just another overdeveloped Caribbean island who has sold out to some (or a few) scam artist(s).
Let’s take better care of her and not let this happen.

Terry told me before that my posts were too political, so I’ve cut back, but I had to share this.

I just had an enlightening conversation with former senator David Jones. We were at the press conference where Paul Golden finally announced his partnership with Wyndham Worldwide to manage and operate the Wyndham St. Croix Golf Resort and Casino (formerly called Golden Gaming/Golden Resorts, LLC). Oddly, no one from Wyndham bothered to show up, or they kept quiet, they certainly weren’t introduced. How’s that for a resounding endorsement?

Anyway, I was discussing with Mr. Jones the fact that Mr. Golden’s checkered past includes episodes that would prevent him from employment in a casino, let alone running one, according to the Virgin Islands Casino Control Act. “We’re not here to judge anyone”, Mr. Jones said. He went on to say Paul Golden hasn’t murdered or raped anyone, as far as we know, so we should move forward. Right in our community, he told me, we have people who have raped and murdered and they’re flourishing, so why shouldn’t Mr. Golden. He seemed to be saying that, since we haven’t been able to enforce all our laws against more heinous crimes, we shouldn’t bother to enforce lowly laws like the Casino Control Act. It struck me as particularly odd, since our police commissioner was on a radio talk show this morning saying he and the force are committed to enforcing all the laws, from seat belt requirements, window tinting, cell phone use, noise ordinances and traffic rules on up. Yet here was a former senator, who used to be charged with making the laws, saying we should just ignore some of them, since we can’t enforce all of them.

I really wish someone from Wyndham had shown up at the press conference. I’ve heard all of Paul’s answers before, but I had a question for them. I’m wondering, given Mr. Golden’s history, in previous ventures, of ignoring municipal rules and regulations that he’s been unable to have changed to suit his purpose, how much consideration Wyndham has given to their liability should this practice continue on this resort project? I’d also like to know why they jumped the gun on his announcement by a few hours, sending a press release out to Marketwire, but failed to note it on their own Wyndham Worldwide website? (as of 4:00 pm AST 2/27/08)

Note: This editorial comment was also submitted to the St. Croix Source, The St. Croix Avis, and the VI Daily News

We worked until 6:30, were in the area, and we hadn’t been to Elizabeth’s since they moved from The Palms to H2O. We thought we’d give it a try.

We were warned by the clients we’d just massaged that it hadn’t been that great on two out of the three times they’d been there recently, but we HAD to try it so we’d have something to blog about.

We started with a bottle of Bogle Pinot Noir. Yum! It went well with our spinach and beet salad appetizers. And also with our entrees.

Michael had the pan seared, then oven roasted mahi with some sort of orange sauce, fried rice and mixed veggies. I had the corn chowder as my entree. I tasted the fish and thought it a little more dry than I like it, but it was tasty and the sides complemented it well. The chowder was not piping hot, but I thought the temperature perfect because I hate burning my tongue on soup. It was creamy and full of corn and other yummy veggies, with nice bits of rosemary and savory herbs. Excellent!!

Thumbs up for our experience at Elizabeth’s at H2O!!

But this time, we weren’t dressed up like people.

Meredith, Jenna, Michael and I had been planning our costumes for this event for weeks. And here it finally was….The Annual SEA Creatures Ball.

Jenna ordered some glow-gel and some hairpieces that light up. We bought sequined blue dresses and wore them with leggings, tights, and, in Michael’s case, boxer shorts. We put blue paint and glitter in our hair and hung the light-up barrettes off our tresses and dresses. The glow gel was dotted onto our exposed skin and clothing. Michael did his nails with it and the splattered blue glitter all over them. Michael bought dowels and attached strands of blue rope. We glued ribbons on each “wand” and tied them into bows. We started the dressing process at our house, and finished in the parking lot at the Palms Hotel, where the affair was being held.

Does Meredith have krill in her teeth?

We entered the party and some people actually understood that we were “Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates“. We were blue, we glowed and sparkled, and we had whip-like flagella. Yes, we were creatures of the sea (or at least nutrient-rich bays like the one off Vieques which we visited on our honeymoon).

The auction/fundraiser was very different from past years. There was not a sit-down dinner or even buffet. It was sort of a free-for-all, which was confusing and disappointing. There was a complimentary wine bar which somewhat made up for the lack of organization of food. The silent auction items were many and varied, some wonderful things and packages, but there were no minimum bids on any of the items. People could literally steal fabulous, expensive donations. It was extremely different from the fur ball two weeks ago, where there were hardly any silent auction items and there was NO live auction, but at least there were minimum bids.

Just like the fur ball, nice things could have been packaged: A two night stay at a local B&B with a couples massage and some flowers or a Buck Island trip. (The fur Ball had NOTHING like that, just individual items, and no one asked us for a massage donation, which we would have gladly provided). And, actually, there were a few great packages, which we stole one of. The one we got was a 5 night stay at the Palms Resort, an island flight tour with Captain Al, and a half-day trip to Buck Island with Big Beard’s. We got it for $250. It was very sad. Many of the live auction items could have been silent auction items, because they were not remarkable. Like an hour-long photo session with a little-known photographer (?). I didn’t get it. And there were almost TOO many live auction items. We weren’t able to pay attention, especially to the early ones that were so unimpressive. Rashidi was the auctioneer (I remember when he wrote the local sports news for the Avis), and he was excellent. But I still couldn’t get into some of the boring items.

Anyway, there were some nice live auction items like a trip to Dominica and a trip to Old San Juan (at the Gallery Inn, which is an amazing place). We bid on both of these, but lost, and that’s okay, because someone with more bucks than us is supporting SEA and that’s way cool.

Michael wanted to play the “rescue a turtle” game, so he shelled out 20 bucks for a chance and won a tee shirt and a gift certificate to “Off the Wall”. Meredith won a package with an air tour by Bohlke and Jenna won a beautiful Maria Henle print.

All in all, it was worse than the Fur Ball foodwise. The SEA Creatures Ball’s scattered and unimaginative buffet was unsatisfactory. It was better than the Fur Ball as far as auction items were concerned (and especially since there was an actual live auction). But I wish that after so many years of doing this kind of thing, that both of these worthwhile organizations would get it just right…..

Whatever that means.

This time of year, we work 7 days a week. It’s okay because season has started VERY slowly this year and we need to make the bucks while they’re there and save some for when it’s slow (from July through December).

We worked quite a bit yesterday. We did two couples massages and then I had two regular clients for 3 hours until 6 pm. We were going to stay home and finish making our costumes for the SEA Creatures masquerade ball tonight, but Michael thought there’d be time to do it today, since we had a last minute appointment for 4 massages cancel at the last minute because their flights were canceled, at the last minute, due to extreme weather conditions in America.

I’d been wanting to go to the Galleon for dinner, so we did. We didn’t call for reservations (a “no no” this time of year), but figured we’d just eat at the bar anyway. They weren’t extremely busy (they’d been slammed the night before), so we lucked out and found two stools at the bar far away from the piano. Usually the music is too loud for me in there, but Ben Staron, who we hadn’t heard before, kept the volume perfect for dining in the lounge area. He’s really good and plays a wide variety of favorites like Elton John and Billy Joel.

We looked at the wine list and noticed a malbec by the glass but not by the bottle, so we each ordered a glass after Cass let us try a sip of the Bogle Old Vine Zin she had open. It was good, but we liked the malbec better.

They had a few yummy sounding specials, and the new menu looked wonderful as well. We started with the mahi chowder, which was creamy and delicious, and the tuna futomaki in a cone of nori with wasabi and a ginger soy sauce, which was awesome, too. For an entree, Michael ordered the crispy snapper with a sweet and sour pomegranate-orange sauce, and I got the appetizer portion of smoked eggplant in an arugula and walnut pesto with a sweet onion and lemon marmalade and flat bread. Both were fabulous!

We had no room for dessert. Our tummies were full and our wallets empty by this time, so we walked off in a sated balance, got Biggie out of the car, and strolled along the docks for a while, admiring the moon’s fullness and the activities of the bats and night birds in that quiet section of the marina. Paradise at it’s finest.

I had lunch with my daughter, the thespian. Since neither of us had been there in a long time, we went to Cafe Christine, in the upper section of the Apothecary Hall courtyard. It was fabulous! We started by sharing the chilled creamy asparagus soup, then decided to also share the Vegetarian platter and a shrimp and asparagus salad. The Veg platter consisted of a slice of spinach quiche, a lentil salad, some tabouli, greens and pasta salad. Everything was delicious. While we ate, my phone rang twice and hers once. Her call was from Gloria, her assistant manager, about a customer looking for the diamond earrings he was going to buy. She sort of had to go, so we couldn’t stay for dessert. Annabelle, however, talked us into taking a piece of apple cranberry pie with us. So we took it back to the store, got a couple of coffees from Ivy’s Ice Cream in the Kings Alley, and devoured the tantalizing triangle.

I left to do a couple more errands before heading home to get ready for my 4:00 appointment.
After work, there was plenty of time to get ready for the function at the St. George Village Botanical Gardens at 7, so we took our time, had a bit of rum and got dressed for the evening.

The courtyard at the new Bodine Pavillion was decorated elegantly with table cloths, chair coverings and candles. It was catered by Teddy’s and the food was superb. There were passed hors d’oeuvre of crab and shrimp in puff pastry, ham in an eggroll-type crust, and mini eggplant parmesan with eggplant relish. We had sangre del toro wine while we mingled and Michael took pictures of the food and the bright full moon rising over the arches.

Sue Ladwig, a member of the board of directors of the Gardens, invited us to sit at her table and we gladly accepted, as did a few

more of our favorite people, local artist, Sondra Catts, Emmy Thomas, artist and author, Lindsey from the Galleon and her Mom, Marlene, visiting from the states.

The buffet table was beautifully set up with fresh fruit platters, brie en croute, spinach pasta salad, escargot, and boeuf on bread. After we dined and listened to the Governor’s and Lt. Governor’s wives, John deJongh himself, spoke about the Gardens and their cultural and economic value to the territory. The birthday cake came out and we stood up to sing happy birthday to the Gardens, then the Governor visited each table and shook hands with everyone. We thanked him and his wife for their support and got our picture taken with him.

After wolfing down our carrot cake, we went on a tour of the night blooming plants and historical buildings with David Hamada, the horticultural director of the Gardens. He is a wealth of knowledge and we always enjoy listening to him speak about the history of the place and the fun plants that are pollinated by bats.

Rare shot of the light actually
being sucked out of the moon,
presumably by Wreggie

When we were a few minutes into the tour, the skies opened up. It poured. We made our way down the path, back to the pavillion and went into the gift shop only slightly damp. We bought a couple of things and escaped to the car for the trek back home, stopping at plaza west for some organic eggs for breakfast. Back home, we went out to check on the progress of the eclipse. The moon was about half gone during the breaks in the clouds, but then a huge dark one engulfed it and we returned to the warmth of the hearth ;). I mean, the warmth of Biggie and the bedsheets…

Sunday, the winds died down. But it was overcast and rainy, and cold! The winds died down only for that day, though. I don’t know what is going on, but this is a really strange extended weather pattern. The seas have been too choppy for fun boating, sailing and snorkeling for almost two months!

I’ve done a few massages on the beach and after a couple of hours of being belted by the gusts, I just want to get home to cuddle up with a good book (or a cute husband or dog).

I was out at Tamarind Reef beach a few days ago, and although it wasn’t as cold as when Wreg and Wgigi were here, after two and a half hours (when the gusts actually worsened), I started asking the universe for just 10 lousy minutes of calm, just to soothe my nerves. I got about 90 seconds before the next gale force blast. Okay, it would be a lot worse.

I kept looking up at the coconuts in the trees and hoping they would come flying off at me or fall on my client. I probably wouldn’t be able to convince anyone that it was a “bonus feature of today’s massage”, like when the wind blows sand all over and I tell them it’s their free exfoliation.

Just after breakfast this morning, a wind and rainstorm blew by. Now it’s sunny again. But still windy, of course. Well, I’m off to Chenay to sit on the beach for a while and maybe do a little business. After that, I’ll do lunch at Cafe Christine with my little Pookie. Reviews of Christine’s to follow…..

….And tonight, Michael and I will go to the Botanical Gardens for their “Gardens by Moonlight” special event.

It has been a tough week. Lots of unpleasant stuff happening to those close to us.

Peter was not only devastated by the loss of Ben, but now he’s found out that his chef, Aaron has
cancer. At the beach the other night, he came toward us saying, “I’m gonna get through this.”

After all the crap he got from the government over the many many months since he bought the business, this is overwhelming. Aaron has been learning the Greek recipes and creating wonderful dinners at the homes of friends for weeks. And now this.

He, of course, has no health insurance, and the medical bills for his treatment will be outrageous. So there is a “pot luck” dinner planned for Friday night to allow folks to get together and create a plan for helping Aaron.

Just haven’t felt like writing and really haven’t had the time.

We went to the beach party memorial for Ben last night. Jody was a rock. He was walking out to see a friend whose handicap prevented her from making it all the way out to the festivities when we first got there. I gave him a hug, said how sorry I was, and he just gave us a big Jody smile saying something like, “Look at all the people Ben touched while he was here!”

And he was right. I estimate close to 200. We had to walk 1/2 mile to get to the beach because there were so many cars parked along the road getting to the beach. Good thing we had that tacky Budweiser cooler on wheels Wreggie won at the Divi Superbowl party! This is a picture of Ben and Darin. Darin died a few weeks before Ben did. Both of them worked at Savant.

Anyway, I had started crying even before getting ready to go there. And I knew I’d stupidly be drinking my bottle of red wine I’d bought a few days before (and wine makes me cry, too). So Michael valiantly put up with me all night.

We talked to Carsten and Amanda when we first arrived. Then Cindy, Ditty, Lesley, Tito and Sue, Peter and Aaron, etc. And we saw lots of friends we didn’t have time to talk to. There was a slide show going on with fun pictures of Ben and family and friends, and a bonfire and awful music, but Kurt would be playing later.

By 10pm (we’d gotten there around 6:30) I was ready to get home, having demolished my bottle and snacked on cheese and crackers we shared with a few folks. So home we went.

We lost another dear one this week.

Michael and I just found out this evening as we visited Peter and Heike (freshly home from Germany) at the Deep End.

We met Ben at the Deep End when he’d first moved here to be closer to his brother, Jody. He was very inexperienced and nervous as a waiter, but his great personality came out shortly and he became one of our wonderful, loving, island family.

Ben was found by Jody yesterday, eternally asleep in his apartment. We don’t know the details, but Jody is not answering his phone, as we can understand.

It was such a mediocre day yesterday that I thought I should go back to bed and try again.

I’d had a really strange dream about Nikki working for a dentist on Protestant Cay and riding for an hour in his boat back to the big island (instead of taking the 5 minute ferry). She had to get back to rehearse for her role in “Chicago”.

There were other strange parts of the dream involving a weird scientist guy on the waterfront testing out his plastic rescue submarine. And my mother, who’s been dead for almost 12 years, was being very civil to me, but Nikki said she was angry that I hadn’t paid for Nikki’s college education. Bizarre! There was also a person I was cooking for who didn’t like my scrambled tofu. Many a cuss word came out of my mouth during this dream….interesting…..

Anyway, it was a somewhat typical Monday except that Michael said “happy birthday” to me early in the day and I actually got a couple of phone calls from people just wishing me well. There was laundry and cleaning and scooping dog poop, and a couple of massage appointments in the afternoon. It didn’t feel like a birthday. It felt crummy until I got to Meredith’s. She’s always fun to be around and cheered me up with stories about her adventures working in veterinary hospitals.

As I left Meredith’s and got into my car, I noticed that someone had placed a wrapped gift and card on the passenger seat. It was Santa Jenna! Okay, it was starting to feel like a birthday. I got home and Michael was running around trying to feed the dogs that I had already fed while wrapping my presents and dealing with the repercussions of living in “Dance Time”. He was not a happy camper, but, oh well. I asked if he had made reservations for dinner at Savant and he said that he had, but they could only seat us inside at our requested 7:00. Ugh! I did NOT want to eat inside. It’s small and cave-like and I get claustrophobic in there. So I thought of Zebo’s and he called to see if they had space outside. Yes! They did.

So he called Savant to cancel and then Tom, the owner called him to say that there had been a delivery of flowers for me there. Michael had to apologize and say that we’d pick them up on our way to Zebo’s. So we did.

My little Pookie had arranged for flowers to be delivered to me at Savant since I’d told her earlier in the day that we would be having dinner there. What a sweetie! The flowers are lovely. Extremely fragrant lilies with anthuriums and orchids…..mmmmm.

Dinner at Zebo’s was great. Mitchell was our waiter and we feasted on fresh local tomatoes and basil with fresh mozzarella salad, tuna tartare, seafood chowder, delicious local mahi, and oysters Rockefeller. Dessert was tiramisu and more Kaikken malbec.

We finished up and went for a walk on the boardwalk. There were a bunch of cops sitting around between stixx (which was dead) and the deck bar. We walked past saying “good evening”, got up to the brew pub, which was not busy, and turned around to go back to the car. I was a little chilly from the breeze. As we approached the cops, Goliath decided to relieve himself in the sand just outside of stixx ( as a cat would). The cops saw this and one of them started harassing us about it. I became belligerent and mentioned the real criminals with guns walking the street and that there was no leash law in the territory, so they could stop harassing us. They said there was indeed a leash law on the boardwalk (which I doubt and will check out when I get the chance), so I said, “yeah and it’s illegal for kids to ride their bikes on the boardwalk, too, but I always see them doing it here anyway”. One guy was “sweetheart”-ing me in a patronizing way, so I “honey”-ed him right back as I walked away shouting about their priorities in law enforcement.

Michael and Goliath walked calmly behind and we reached the car without any further incidents.
I’m thinking of making up a new birthdate, during a less stressful time of year…