returning to the grid.

We are terrible at updating the blog. Our apologies. Things just take longer down here. Blame it on 'island time' and the fact that it takes the internet provider more than 3 weeks to flip a switch and turn your connection on...

-Last weekend we made the trip to St. Thomas for some shopping. Long story short, we messed up the ferry schedules and didn't arrive until noon. Our ferry back was at 3:30, giving us only about an hour an a half to hit Super K-Mart, Office Max and the McDonald's once you factor in taxi time. Needless to say, we had to skip the Mickey-D's to make it back to the docks on time with our truckload of crap. Stace had to sit on my lap in the front of some guy's truck, with the bed of it laden with our goods, for a ride back to the ferry dock. A miscommunication led him to drive us to the complete wrong side of the island. All the while, Stace was battling the flu and I had my usual shopping demeanor. It was not a fun trip, but we did get a much-needed rug. It really ties the room together, man.

Stray dog and Stacy.

-I've landed two tarpon. The 2nd one was chased by a 7ft shark as I reeled it in.

The baby...

and the big sister...

-We went out on a boat with Chris and Jeremy and Chris's father last Sunday. They stayed on St. John and paid us a visit on Thursday night. We checked out the infamous Bomba Shack. Alas, we didn't consult the lunar cycles and it wasn't time for a full-moon party, but the atmosphere was still very interesting. Chris and Jeremy were the first visitors to our humble abode. We offered them the 2^nd bedroom and all of our cardboard moving boxes as shelter for the night but they took the couches instead. We'll get a futon someday... They also hand-delivered my handy-dandy new underwater digital camera. I had it until Sunday before the seals failed and it died... These are two of the only 4 pictures that it ever took.

Notice the underwear....

Constructed from driftwood and broken surfboards, perched on the edge of the sea.

-The actual snorkeling of our Snorkel Club was cut short due to poor visibility on Tuesday, so we played a single-elimination tournament of ROCK. A 6^th grade girl was eventually crowned as champion.

-I did something stupid and got bitten by a shark. Luckily, it was a small one and I saw him coming.

more embarrassing than painful.

-Stace and I were suckered in to participating in a Halloween Parade at a fundraiser for the school. We were part of a foursome who dressed up as Scooby-Doo characters. We actually took the grand prize for the group category. Last year's Slash and Axl costumes would have blown these out of the water.

This pumpkin existed as a jack-o-lantern for 3 minutes before it was chopped up and made into pancakes and brownies.

Prisoners here have the best view on the island, supposedly.

Stace making a mess.

Missing: Mystery Machine

-Thanks to our tour-guide\librarian Ryan, we reached the summit of Mt. Sage at 1,709ft. It is the highest peak in the Virgin Islands and is surrounded by the only old-growth forest left on the entire island of Tortola. It was very interesting to hike through the rainforest flora for a few hours. During the days of the sugar cane plantations, the entire island was clear-cut to plant cane. Only a few dozen large trees remain. When I say 'reached the summit' I mean we drove to the top and walked for 10 minutes to the highest point.

Welcome to the Jungle.

Vines.

Stace, Ryan and myself.

Stace and Kelsey

-The winter swell seems to have arrived. Massive waves and surfers have replaced the original placidity of our front yard with thunderous surf in the 4-6ft range. The sound is deadly if you ever lay down on a couch. You'll be asleep before you know it.

Early morning full moon setting over Jost Van Dyke as seen from our porch.